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The legislation passed Wednesday in a “show-of-hands vote”, reported Lebanon’s official National News Agency. It is the first law of its kind since 1991.

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The office of the country’s parliament speaker said the law would “exceptionally” reduce certain prison terms.

Long demanded by numerous Lebanese political factions, the amnesty law aims to reduce overcrowding in prisons, where many inmates await trial for years.

However, it has faced backlash from some family members of Lebanese soldiers and servicemen killed in attacks, who fear the perpetrators could receive undue leniency.

Lebanese authorities did not immediately announce the number of people who would be freed or receive reduced sentences under the law, which comes a day after Lebanon’s parliament also formally abolished the death penalty.

According to Imad al-Hout, one of the lawmakers in favour of the bill, the law reduced the sentences of those facing death and life imprisonment to 17 “prison years”.

That is equivalent to 12 years and nine months of actual imprisonment in Lebanon, where a prison year is calculated as nine months.

The law also calls for the release of inmates in ongoing trials who have been detained for more than 12 prison years without charges.

In its 2025 report, the country’s National Human Rights Commission said that prisons had an overcrowding rate of 300 percent, with prison authorities reporting at least 6,268 inmates by the end of March.

‘Long-awaited’

A push for general amnesty grew after the 2024 fall of longtime Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, as Lebanon jailed many prisoners over events linked to the Syrian civil war.

Most of those prisoners hail from northern Lebanon’s Sunni-majority city Tripoli and are accused of crimes that include attacking the Lebanese army, participating in clashes and planning bombings.

Other political forces, including the Iran-backed Shia movement Hezbollah, have been demanding amnesty for their communities.

Thousands of families from the eastern Baalbek and Hermel regions, bastions of Hezbollah and its ally Amal, where illicit cannabis cultivation is widespread, have been demanding amnesty for drug-related offences and car theft for years.

Christian parties, meanwhile, pushed for an amnesty law to include the families of those who joined an Israeli-backed group and fled to Israel after its withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, fearing reprisals, particularly from Hezbollah and its supporters.

Deputy Walid Baarini praised the “long-awaited passage” of the amnesty law and expressed hope it would mark “a new chapter” that brings justice “to those who deserve it”.

“Amnesty is not forgetting a right, but rather prioritising mercy and wisdom when they align with the requirements of justice and the national interest,” he wrote in a post on X.

Lebanon previously passed a general amnesty law in the wake of its 1975-90 civil war. %!s()

Meanwhile, hostile rhetoric and calls for revenge continue to emanate from Tehran. Some Western commentators, especially on the right, have claimed that Iran is incapable of striking a deal because of its anti-American ideology. But that is a flawed assumption.

One just needs to look at the Iranian constitution and its recent history to discover that the Islamic Republic is not governed solely by ideology. The regime, in its present form, would not shy away from reaching a settlement with the US and even Israel, if it fell in line with its guiding principle: regime survival.

The limits of Iranian anti-imperialism

In January 1988, Iranian Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini settled an internal dispute over the scope of velayat-e faqih, the guardianship of the Islamic jurist, by declaring that the Islamic government ranks above all other rulings of Islam, including prayer, fasting and pilgrimage. The following month, he ordered the creation of a body to resolve deadlocks between the parliament and the Guardian Council by determining what was in the interest of the governing system.

The revisions to the constitution in 1989 gave it a permanent place as Article 112: the Council for Discerning the Expediency of the System.

The message was explicit. Preservation of the system — hefz-e nezam — was the highest religious obligation, and an organ was established to license departures from religious law whenever the system required them.

In the following years, this principle was clearly applied in how the Islamic Republic deployed official ideology, including its hostility towards Washington and Tel Aviv.

Today Tehran presents its anti-imperialist doctrine as a moral commitment grounded in opposition to domination, colonialism and Western hegemony. That self-presentation has earned it sympathy well beyond its borders, including among people who acknowledge its repression at home while treating it as an indispensable pillar of resistance abroad.

But Iran’s anti-imperialism is positional rather than universal. It opposes domination when the Islamic Republic is the object of it, but it has not consistently opposed domination as a political relationship.

The doctrine of “forward defence” has often treated Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Palestine as arenas in which Tehran deters enemies, projects power and acquires leverage. The anti-imperialist principle is therefore applied selectively.

Iran invokes sovereignty and self-determination when resisting external interference in its own affairs, while its regional strategy has often compromised those same principles elsewhere by subordinating other societies to its own security interests.

This behaviour is not peculiar to Iran, nor does it make Iran uniquely cynical. Realist theory has long held that survival is the primary end of states, from which other objectives are derived. On that reading, Iran is not an aberration. It is an ordinary state with an unusually elaborate justificatory apparatus.

That is exactly the point, and it is what makes a bargain thinkable.

The Islamic Republic’s commitments operate on two levels. Enmity towards the US and Israel, support for allied movements and the rejection of accommodation all guide policy. Above them sits a second-order norm that determines when the first-order commitments may be revised. That norm is hefz-e nezam, and Article 112 is its institutional expression.

Survival is the core; anti-imperialism is the protective belt, and belts can be loosened.

A settlement with the enemy

The Islamic Republic speaks the language of principle honoured regardless of cost while governing by calculation of consequence. That gap is not hypocrisy so much as a structural feature of any state that rules in a doctrine’s name, but it leaves a standing problem. It must compromise without appearing to have compromised.

The record shows how this is possible. In July 1988, Khomeini accepted the ceasefire with Iraq, saying publicly that doing so was more lethal to him than poison.

During that war, with the immediate danger coming from Saddam Hussein rather than the “Great Satan”, Tehran accepted American weapons routed through Israeli channels and entered secret dealings with Washington in what eventually would be known as the Iran-Contra affair. After the 9/11 attacks and the US invasion of Afghanistan, Iranian and American diplomats cooperated at the Bonn conference to shape the post-Taliban government.

None of this made Iran pro-American or pro-Israeli, and none of it shows that its doctrine was decorative. It shows that apparently absolute prohibitions have an off-switch, and that the switch is labelled survival.

This year the mechanism has operated under far greater strain. Strikes by the US and Israel on February 28 killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of a war whose declared aims included forcing regime change in Tehran. Within days, the Assembly of Experts for Leadership installed his son Mojtaba in a hereditary succession that the republic’s own doctrine disparages — another first-order norm surrendered to protect the core.

On June 17, President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the Islamabad memorandum of understanding (MoU), which included an end to hostilities, sanctions relief, access to frozen funds and reconstruction support. Mojtaba Khamenei endorsed it in writing while recording his misgivings. Again, the core held, but the belt was loosened.

The memorandum left much unresolved, and renewed fighting exposed its fragility. But its existence remains significant. Under existential pressure, the Islamic Republic accepted direct arrangements with Washington and made confrontation itself negotiable.

How can a state enter such an arrangement without renouncing the identity that legitimises it? Not by announcing that anti-imperialism has been abandoned, but by revising what it means. Ali Khamenei supplied the vocabulary in 2013 when he spoke of “heroic flexibility”, invoking a wrestler who gives ground without forgetting his opponent’s capabilities. Concession becomes strategic patience, and retreat becomes the preservation of the struggle.

Supporters largely follow, and not out of confusion. Where an institution interprets its own doctrine, that doctrine cannot constrain it, and a follower who defers to the leader’s reading is applying the principle as the system defines it. So the leadership can cross its own red line without losing its base, because much of the base crosses along with it.

The MoU follows the same logic. Anti-imperialism was not abandoned but reinterpreted as preserving Iran’s capacity to resist under changed conditions.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed in 2015 had already framed negotiation not as surrender but as another means of defending Iran’s interests. The same logic could support a future settlement involving the US and, indirectly, Israel, without recognition or reconciliation, if mutual restraint is judged better for the system’s survival than continued confrontation.

An agreement with the enemy reduces the risk of war and eases economic strangulation, both of which matter enormously to ordinary Iranians. But relief abroad does not mechanically produce liberty at home.

The state has already invoked wartime conditions to expand arrests, expedite prosecutions and accelerate executions. That repressive apparatus was not built by sanctions and will not be dismantled by their removal. Sanctions relief may ease hardship for Iranians, but without political reform it could also leave the state with greater resources to sustain the institutions of repression.

Therefore, the usual debate offers a false choice between confrontation that breaks the Islamic Republic and diplomacy that moderates it. A third and more likely possibility is already visible: an accommodation with the US that preserves the system but brings it no closer to democracy. One form of domination eased, another consolidated. Iran better protected from foreign attack; Iranians no less exposed to their own state.

Anyone still asking whether the Islamic Republic would trade its enmities for its survival should read Article 112 again. The answer has been in the constitution since 1989.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance. %!s()

Gemini gets more useful on Pixel

Google spent a good portion of the event talking about Gemini and other AI features coming to its devices.

One of the more notable accessibility updates is an expansion of “Live Transcribe” to support American Sign Language. Using the Pixel Camera, users can have sign language translated into text, giving people another way to communicate without relying on typing.

Google also introduced “Rambler,” a new voice-input feature designed to better understand the way people actually talk. Rather than requiring carefully phrased sentences, Rambler is designed to handle run-on sentences, filler words, and less structured speech while still figuring out what the user is trying to say.

There are a few smaller additions, too. “Circle to Search” can now be accessed more directly from the Pixel Camera, allowing users to identify objects, search for things in the distance, translate text, or ask questions about what’s around them without leaving the camera experience.

Pixel 11

The standard Pixel 11 gets a redesigned camera bar that is thinner than the one on the previous generation. Google says the new camera bar is more than 40% thinner and now uses an all-glass surface that stretches across the width of the phone. Google is also increasing the base storage to 256GB, doubling the previous starting capacity.

The starting price for the new model is set at $899, reflecting a $100 increase compared to the Pixel 10. This price hike comes with the decision to drop the 128GB storage option. Plus, the ongoing RAM supply shortage plays a part in this increase.

The Pixel 11 will be available in Frost, Hibiscus, Pistachio, and Obsidian.

Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL

Google is making durability a bigger part of the Pro lineup. The company says the Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL have improved drop resistance and a new anti-scratch display coating that provides more than twice the scratch resistance of the Pixel 10 Pro models.

The Pixel 11 Pro starts at $1,099, compared to $999 for the Pixel 10 Pro.

The phones are available in Canyon, Fog, Olive, and Obsidian. Notably, this year’s Obsidian option gets an all-matte finish.

Pixel 11 Pro Fold

Google says the new foldable is nearly 10% lighter and almost 1mm thinner than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. It also has slimmer bezels, a 48-megapixel main camera, and 30x Super Zoom.

The company is also building on the IP68 water and dust resistance introduced with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. The Pixel 11 Pro Fold uses a glass-fiber composite back cover designed to better withstand cracking, while a redesigned hinge offers additional protection for the inner display. Google says the changes make the model three times more durable than its predecessor.

The Pixel 11 Pro Fold comes in Olive and Obsidian.

Google takes aim at Apple’s AirTag

Google finally has its own tracking tag. Called Pixel Tag, the small device is designed to help people keep tabs on things such as keys, wallets, and luggage. It connects to Android’s Find Hub network, allowing users to see the tag’s location through the Find Hub app (similar to Apple’s Find My).

The tag, priced at $29 (or $99 for a four-pack), can also be located from a Pixel Watch. Pixel Buds users can ask Gemini to find or ring a Pixel Tag, adding a voice-controlled option for tracking something down.

Pixel Watch 5

The Pixel Watch 5 is getting several health-related updates. The Google Health app will provide monthly summaries of blood pressure trends, with the goal of helping users notice patterns over time. It will also provide monthly summaries of insulin resistance trends.

The 41mm Pixel Watch 5 starts at $399, while the 45mm version starts at $429. Google is also offering a Stephen Curry edition for $579, with an exclusive design built for workouts. (This is featured in the image above.) 

Meanwhile, the Pixel Buds Pro is arriving in a new Olive color.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence. %!s()

In this morning's edition, China's car market's sales skid just entered its tenth month, General Motors is setting up a $4.5 billion safety net to avoid future parts shortages, Porsche is partnering with Xpeng to help the Volkswagen Group meet its emissions targets and Toyota is recalling over half a million Camrys for malfunctioning gauge cluster screens.

If you'd like a recap of the latest auto news sent to your inbox each weekday, you can sign up for Jalopnik's free Morning Shift newsletter here.

1st Gear: China can't get out of this car sales funk

Aerialperspective Works/Getty Images

We recently talked about how German automakers were struggling mightily in China, but they're not the only ones. The country's overall market fell for the 10th straight month in July, though there were some signs that the pace of decline was easing. On the bright side, there was strong export growth as Chinese automakers stepped up overseas exports to offset cut-throat competition at home. No matter how you slice it, the decline underscores larger strains on China's economy, where household spending is slowing and exports have accounted for a greater share of growth.

Sales in China slid 21.1% in July from the same time a year earlier to 1.47 million vehicles. At the same time, exports rose a staggering 88.2% to 923,000 vehicles, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid exports also grew — up 147.8% year-over-year, but they suffered a 3.9% domestic decline. From Reuters:

For the first seven months of the year as a whole, domestic ​passenger vehicle sales declined 20.5%, equivalent to about 2.65 million fewer vehicles than in the same period a year earlier.

Automakers have stepped up efforts to expand abroad, particularly in Europe, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, creating a pronounced gap between domestic ​and overseas demand.

In the domestic market, some carmakers are also piling into the premium segment with bigger, feature-packed models, ​including Xiaomi's extended-range SkyNomad SUV series.

"Replacement demand has moderated after the subsidy-driven pull-forward, while consumers have become increasingly selective given frequent product launches ‌and a ⁠more competitive market," HSBC analysts said in a note in July.

The pressure is evident among industry leaders. BYD, the world's largest EV maker, has been grappling with a slowing home market, yet record overseas shipments in July helped lift its global sales for a third consecutive month.

But not everyone is suffering, even in the home ​market.

Stellantis-backed Leapmotor, one of BYD's ​fastest-growing challengers, reported global sales ⁠of more than 100,000 vehicles in July, more than double a year earlier.

Analysts say it is catering better for current consumer demand.

"What consumers want are vehicles with strong value ​for money, not necessarily premium models," Cui said. "Automakers want to move upmarket, but consumers ​are looking for ⁠affordability."

One tactic Chinese automakers are pushing as they move overseas is tapping into underutilized factories owned by traditional automakers. It's a way for them to expand production capacity and gain market access. Last month, Geely and Ford penned an agreement that let Geely build electric SUVs at a Ford plant in Spain. Still, these sorts of agreements don't make up for the losses they're seeing at home.

2nd Gear: GM doesn't want to get caught in a parts shortage ever again

John Gress Media Inc/Shutterstock

General Motors has been bitten more than once when it comes to critical parts shortages in recent years, and now it's setting up a $4.5 billion safety net designed to keep the flow of these parts strong even during supply chain troubles. The General wants to avoid future parts crunches by securing supplies of high-risk components through a financing agreement where it pre-funds the purchases of essential parts.

The move aims to give suppliers enough capital to maintain production and even potentially stockpile parts. That means GM can keep its assembly lines moving even if there's a supply chain disruption without tying up large sums of money. CEO Mary Barra has pledged she would reshape the automaker's supply chain and build a system more capable of dealing with disruptions. From the Wall Street Journal:

"Our industry has experienced significant supply chain disruptions in the past for various reasons, and it's safe to assume they will happen in the future," GM said. "This program will help ensure that we are prepared for multiple scenarios."

Under the deal, supply-chain management firm Procura will receive funding through a bank syndicate led by JPMorgan Chase and Santander. Procura will prepay certain suppliers on GM's behalf, giving them capital required to make and store inventory set aside for the Detroit automaker.

The substantial commitment underscores GM's push to avoid a repeat of the severe shortages that have dogged the industry in recent years. A postpandemic semiconductor shortage cost GM billions as the automaker was forced to sporadically idle assembly plants across North America.

Beyond semiconductors, GM and other automakers have wrestled with supplier bankruptcies, logistics delays across rail and freight networks and volatile raw-material pricing that have strained the industry's parts network.

In its filing, GM said it aims to lock down parts in case of a range of events. That means it'll be prepared for anything from a cyberattack to a demand spike to a natural disaster. Based on the struggles it has had in the past, I'd say this is a good move.

3rd Gear: Porsche gets creative to help VW meet emissions targets

onapalmtree/Shutterstock

Porsche is doing some fancy emissions footwork to help the Volkswagen Group meet its emissions goals. The German sportscar maker will pool its 2026-2027 emissions with Xpeng, the Chinese EV-only automaker that has a close relationship with VW. The move means Porsche will leave VW Group's emissions pool, which failed to reach its emissions target in 2025 after recording an average of 100 g/km — exceeding its EU-mandated target of 93.6 g/km. VW Group will need to reduce emissions by larger amounts in 2026 and 2027 to avoid EU fines. From Automotive News:

VW Group CFO Arno Antlitz said in May that the automaker could face a total of €1.5 billion in fines for missing its 2025-27 emissions targets.

He said the company anticipates annual EU penalties of €400 million to €500 million in that period.

[...]

Porsche, with a new focus on internal-combustion vehicles and declining sales of EVs such as the Taycan, would be a drag on VW Group emissions. Taycan sales were down about 20 percent and Macan electric sales in Europe down about 30 percent through June. Only the new Cayenne EV has shown growth, but at a lower volume.

Xpeng's sales are up 126 percent to about 19,000 in Europe through June, according to figures from Dataforce.

Since the EU began sharply reducing fleet emissions targets starting in 2020, many automakers have joined emissions pools with EV-only or EV-heavy brands in an effort to avoid fines that could reach into billions of euros.

Generally, the cost of paying an automaker to join a pool is less than that of potential fines, legal experts have said, although the terms of pooling are not required to be publicly available. In recent years, for example, Tesla has booked billions in profits through pools in Europe and selling credits in North America.

Automakers can join pools until the end of the calendar year, in this case Dec. 31, 2026. The Porsche-Xpeng pool, which will be managed by Porsche and applies to both 2026 and 2027, was published in an EU document dated Aug. 5. It is an open pool, meaning other brands or automakers can join, as opposed to a closed pool, which generally includes brands of a specific group.

Other open pools in place for 2026 include one managed by Tesla that includes Ford, Honda, Mazda and Suzuki; and a Mercedes-Benz pool that includes Volvo, Polestar and Smart.

The EU's current 2025-27 CO2 emissions targets, which are unique to each automaker, are about 15 percent lower than the 2021 levels. Missing the target results in a fine of €95 ($98) per gram of CO2 over the limit per vehicle. The targets were to go into place in 2025, but automakers were granted a reprieve in March 2025, and will now be averaged over three years

VW Group snapped up a 5% stake in Xpeng back in 2023 in order to gain access to its software architecture and AI capabilities. Since then, the two companies have jointly developed models for China, and they've been in talks for Xpeng to take over one of VW's European factories.

4th Gear: Over 500,000 Camrys recalled for banking gauge clusters

Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock

Toyota is recalling a whopping 508,354 Camrys from the 2025 and 2026 model years because of an issue with the digital gauge cluster. Well, issue might be a bit of an undersell, because it's not turning on with the car, and that's a bit less than ideal. From the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

The instrument cluster display may fail during vehicle startup, deactivating the hazard lights, turn signals, seat belt warning system, and smart key reminder. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 101, "Control and Displays," 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated Equipment," 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention," and 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

At the very least, the fix is fairly simple. Dealers will update the display software for free, and owners should expect to be mailed a letter if their Camry is impacted by September 21 of this year.

As you may have guessed, Toyota and NHTSA aren't aware of any accidents or injuries related to the issue; it's more of an annoyance and something that shouldn't be happening on brand-new cars.

Reverse: Test cars thuroughly

Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik

Whenever I land on a day with events I'm not particularly taken by, I always go through my camera roll to see what I was doing on that particular date. Well, as it turns out, on August 12, 2024, I was using a Bentley Continental GT Convertible to refill a propane canister. You can never accuse me of not putting the cars I test through their paces.

The Fuel Up

Al Drago/Getty Images

Tough news today, friends. Gas prices are once again moving in the wrong direction as Trump claims "total control" over the Strait or Hormuz. This hasn't exactly been great for oil, as WTI Crude Oil futures and Brent Crude prices were sitting at $83 and $89, respectively, at the time of publication.

Here's where national average prices stand right now, according to AAA:

AAA

This all shakes out to the average price of a gallon of gas rising another 3 cents overnight to $4.04, according to AAA. While that's far less than ideal, we can take some solace in knowing we're still well off the 2026 high of $4.56 that we saw back in May.

On the radio: Steely Dan - Do It Again

Happy WednesDan to all who celebrate. Let's make today the grooviest one yet. It's what we all deserve. %!s()

There are grand plans to reconnect England's second city to the club that bears its name, unlocking its true potential. Supporters clubs are springing up around the world, a product of Tom Brady's presence. And all the talk is of trying to be Premier League ready.

Given this context, with an ambitious ownership and a success-starved support, it is understandable if Birmingham are in a hurry. Excitement brings expectation, not just internally but externally. There is the sense of a club going places. But it takes time.

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On reflection, maybe last season was a moment for the club to breathe rather than a case of lost momentum. After all, you must go back 14 years to the 2011/12 season, when Birmingham were in Europe, for a better finish than the 10th-place effort of 2025/26.

"It was our first season back, which people found hard to remember at times," Birmingham manager Chris Davies tells Sky Sports. He is not talking about the club's supporters - "they have been great" - but everyone. This is a man carrying a lot of hopes and dreams.

"One thing I did learn was that I can handle it," he says. "I can handle the ups and downs." There had not been too many of the latter as Birmingham won the League One title with a record-breaking 111 points, their possession football proving utterly dominant.

Last season was more testing. "You can know about the Championship but to feel it is something different." England's second tier asked different questions. Davies and his team did not always have the answers. Plan A worked only some of the time.

"We came up from League One playing total football, having 80 per cent possession with a lot of circulating the ball, a lot of dominating the ball. It was really effective for us because we just controlled games pretty much the whole way through," he explains.

"In the Championship we were very technical in our recruitment of some smaller players, more technical players, and we tried to use that style. It had really good days and it had days where we just didn't have enough punch, especially away from home."

In that context, opening the season with a hard-fought Carabao Cup win at Swansea in which Birmingham scored the only goal having had 39 per cent of the ball was more than just satisfying. It suggested that his Blues side have added different elements to their game.

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The scorer, August Priske, is a robust young target-man added in January who looks to have benefited from that half-season in the Championship. The 22-year-old Dane also netted the opening goal against Barcelona in front of a packed St Andrew's last month.

"Jhon Solis, Carlos Vicente and August came in at the same time and that little six months that they did have is their initiation to what English football is like, what the Championship is like, and now they are ready to go. They have all done very well."

Vicente, a combative Spanish winger, provided the assist for Priske's goal at Swansea. Solis also scored against Barcelona with the Colombian already proving a popular figure with the fans. He adds presence to Birmingham's midfield just as Priske does up top.

"When I reflected on the season, I thought for us to take the next step and progress, physicality is going to be really important. The game now is a lot of man-to-man pressing, a lot of set-piece emphasis. You need the physical capacity to deal with it."

That thinking has shaped Birmingham's summer too. Supplementing those winter additions, the club have brought in Dael Fry. The expectation is that a 6ft 4in centre-back with nearly 300 Championship appearances to his name will be able to adapt quickly.

The intention is to add to what Davies has already built, rather than pivot completely. "As a team that can keep the ball, it is a lot easier to then move into a more pragmatic or direct style than being a team that only knows how to play pragmatic or direct football."

That change actually began during the closing weeks of the last campaign. Birmingham were in 17th place in mid-April, but Davies used the brief international break in the spring to make some of these adjustments to their style of play. They went more direct.

"I started thinking about being a little bit more flexible with the shape we were using and how we were positioning ourselves, but focusing more on more direct play, more transitions and more set-pieces if possible. So we sort of finished the season that way."

Birmingham ended the campaign on a five-game unbeaten run, earning that top-10 finish and taking some belief into the summer.

"It is a fine balance because we don't want to lose what we're good at. What I won't come away from is the pressing. I don't think any team last season in the Championship really played through our press consistently. I thought it was really effective for us."

But there will be tweaks once Birmingham win the ball back. "I think that hopefully is something that we can have as a weapon that we can use a little bit more. When we get the ball, just to go forward that little bit quicker, hopefully win more set-pieces."

That explains another addition behind the scenes. Birmingham have brought in a specialist set-piece coach in Scott Fry, with Davies identifying dead-ball situations as an obvious way that his team can become genuine promotion contenders this season.

Solis scored from one against Barcelona. Priske's winner against Swansea came after a set-piece found Vicente and he squared the ball for the striker. In other words, this emphasis on set-pieces is already making the difference. And Davies has been doing his sums.

"We have a set-piece coach and the idea is to score more from them. We needed to score 70-odd goals really to be in among those top teams last season." Crucially, that was the total hit by the top six but not the rest of the Championship. Birmingham scored 57.

The task this time around is to find those extra 13 goals somehow. "If six or seven of those can come from set-pieces and two or three can come from counter-attacks, then you only need another two or three from your general football. So it is absolutely doable."

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Absolutely doable. That sums up the mood. Last time, they were learning about the Championship. Now they know. "It was not just me, several players had never played in it before. Now they have 40 games in the bank. They know what it is like away at Millwall."

At the training ground, Davies has tried to strip back the buzzwords that once adorned the walls. No more gimmicks is the mantra now. Leaner and meaner, like the squad. The feeling is that there is more continuity now, that this Birmingham are ready to kick on.

Craig Gardner has left as director of football but the club has played down the impact, leaning on the experienced Mike Rigg. Commercially, Birmingham continue to grow, with the biggest revenue of any Championship club not reliant on parachute money.

After storming up and then stabilising, the next step awaits Birmingham City. And now, it feels like everyone is ready for it. "I am confident that we can keep progressing. That is the big thing," says Davies. "We just need to keep moving forward and getting stronger." %!s()