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Training held to strengthen journalists’ role in upholding fundamental freedoms
"The Premier League is as open as it has ever been." After helping West Ham to a stunning 2-0 win at Newcastle on Monday, Jarrod Bowen's words summed up England's top flight perfectly. Before the match, the Hammers were being talked about as in a relegation fight. Now they are just eight points off second place and eyeing Europe. Apart from runaway leaders Liverpool, the race for Europe in the Premier League has never been tighter. There is just one point separating second to fifth - the smallest the gap has ever been at this stage of the season. The previous low after 12 matches was two points, which had only happened three other times. Looking further down the table and the gap between second to 10th is just five points, which is the joint lowest after 12 matches. It has happened only twice previously. The gap between second to West Ham in 14th is just eight points - which has been matched only once previously - although the Hammers are now four points clear of the bottom six. Former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott told Sky Sports: "Everyone is beating everyone. You just can't predict any results now. The league is more unpredictable than ever." Ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher added: "That win has created a group of six at the bottom and maybe three of those six will now go. "That was a bad one for Newcastle. A win and they would have been right in the mix. There are so many teams so close together, who will be looking at those European places." English clubs are guaranteed four places in the Champions League next season but will be hopeful of gaining an extra spot, given to two countries with the strongest performances in this season's European competitions. There will be then two English teams in the Europa League next campaign. One place given to the fifth or sixth-placed teams - depending on how many teams qualify for the Champions League - and one for the winner of the FA Cup. That place will revert to the league though if the FA Cup winner has already qualified for Europe. The winners of the Carabao Cup would then qualify for the Europa Conference League but, again if they have already secured a place in Europe, that spot would be for the next highest-ranked team in the Premier League. As you can see there is plenty to play for. How long is a piece of string? It is one of those questions that feels impossible to answer definitively but one thing you can say is a lot of teams have been inconsistent. Between second to 12th, Manchester City, Arsenal, Brighton, Fulham and Newcastle are the only sides who have won back-to-back games more than once all season, while nine of them have at some point gone three games without a win. Many of the teams we would be expecting to be challenging for a Champions League place have underperformed this season. Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Manchester United all have fewer points at this stage than they did last campaign. Aston Villa, in the Champions League this season, have one win in seven but are still only four points off second. Chelsea, in third, have two wins in six, and fourth-placed Arsenal have one in five. Manchester City have lost their past three and remain second. Meanwhile, it would be fair to argue that Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Fulham are overachieving compared with many people's expectations, with their points tally significantly better than at this stage last season. Just five teams have won three matches in a row - Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest. As we enter the busiest period of the season, there will be a lot of teams still fancying their chances of making a push for Europe.
TikTok's future uncertain after appeals court rejects its bid to overturn possible US ban A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Haleluya Hadero, The Associated Press Dec 6, 2024 11:16 AM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message A neon TikTok logo hangs in the lobby of the TikTok office building in Culver City, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok's petition to overturn the law — which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — and rebuffed the company's challenge of the statute, which it argued had ran afoul of the First Amendment. “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” said the court's opinion, which was written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.” TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, though its unclear whether the court will take up the case. “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue," TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people,” Hughes said. Unless stopped, he argued the statute “will silence the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world on January 19th, 2025.” Though the case is squarely in the court system, its also possible the two companies might be thrown some sort of a lifeline by President-elect Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first term but said during the presidential campaign that he is now against such action . The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, was the culmination of a years-long saga in Washington over the short-form video-sharing app, which the government sees as a national security threat due to its connections to China. The U.S. has said it’s concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of user data, including sensitive information on viewing habits , that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion. Officials have also warned the proprietary algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect — a concern mirrored by the European Union on Friday as it scrutinizes the video-sharing app’s role in the Romanian elections. TikTok, which sued the government over the law in May, has long denied it could be used by Beijing to spy on or manipulate Americans. Its attorneys have accurately pointed out that the U.S. hasn’t provided evidence to show that the company handed over user data to the Chinese government, or manipulated content for Beijing’s benefit in the U.S. They have also argued the law is predicated on future risks, which the Department of Justice has emphasized pointing in part to unspecified action it claims the two companies have taken in the past due to demands from the Chinese government. Friday’s ruling came after the appeals court panel, composed of two Republican and one Democrat appointed judges, heard oral arguments in September. In the hearing, which lasted more than two hours, the panel appeared to grapple with how TikTok’s foreign ownership affects its rights under the Constitution and how far the government could go to curtail potential influence from abroad on a foreign-owned platform. On Friday, all three of them denied TikTok’s petition. In the court's ruling, Ginsburg, a Republican appointee, rejected TikTok's main legal arguments against the law, including that the statute was an unlawful bill of attainder or a taking of property in violation of the Fifth Amendment. He also said the law did not violate the First Amendment because the government is not looking to "suppress content or require a certain mix of content” on TikTok. “Content on the platform could in principle remain unchanged after divestiture, and people in the United States would remain free to read and share as much PRC propaganda (or any other content) as they desire on TikTok or any other platform of their choosing,” Ginsburg wrote, using the abbreviation for the People’s Republic of China. Judge Sri Srinivasan, the chief judge on the court, issued a concurring opinion. TikTok’s lawsuit was consolidated with a second legal challenge brought by several content creators - for which the company is covering legal costs - as well as a third one filed on behalf of conservative creators who work with a nonprofit called BASED Politics Inc. Other organizations, including the Knight First Amendment Institute, had also filed amicus briefs supporting TikTok. “This is a deeply misguided ruling that reads important First Amendment precedents too narrowly and gives the government sweeping power to restrict Americans’ access to information, ideas, and media from abroad,” said Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the organization. “We hope that the appeals court’s ruling won’t be the last word.” Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, lawmakers who had pushed for the legislation celebrated the court's ruling. "I am optimistic that President Trump will facilitate an American takeover of TikTok to allow its continued use in the United States and I look forward to welcoming the app in America under new ownership,” said Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, chairman of the House Select Committee on China. Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who co-authored the law, said “it's time for ByteDance to accept” the law. To assuage concerns about the company’s owners, TikTok says it has invested more than $2 billion to bolster protections around U.S. user data. The company has also argued the government’s broader concerns could have been resolved in a draft agreement it provided the Biden administration more than two years ago during talks between the two sides. It has blamed the government for walking away from further negotiations on the agreement, which the Justice Department argues is insufficient. Attorneys for the two companies have claimed it’s impossible to divest the platform commercially and technologically. They also say any sale of TikTok without the coveted algorithm - the platform’s secret sauce that Chinese authorities would likely block under any divesture plan - would turn the U.S. version of TikTok into an island disconnected from other global content. Still, some investors, including Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in purchasing the platform. Both men said earlier this year that they were launching a consortium to purchase TikTok’s U.S. business. This week, a spokesperson for McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative, which aims to protect online privacy, said unnamed participants in their bid have made informal commitments of more than $20 billion in capital. Haleluya Hadero, The Associated Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Get your daily Victoria news briefing Email Sign Up More Science News Mexico study's surprising finding: Killer heat hit harder for the young than the elderly Dec 6, 2024 11:13 AM Mexico study's surprising finding: Killer heat hit harder for the young than the elderly Dec 6, 2024 11:10 AM Killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO spotlights complex challenge companies face in protecting top brass Dec 6, 2024 9:34 AM
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However, it is important to remember that while the match against Liverpool is a great opportunity for us to enjoy the thrill of competition, it is also a serious test of our skills and abilities. We must approach the game with a mindset of full commitment and dedication, giving our all on the field and leaving nothing to chance. Every player must be prepared to push themselves to the limit, both physically and mentally, in order to compete at the highest level against a team of Liverpool's caliber.EXCLUSIVE: Boss Mark Cowie reacts as Fraserburgh land dream Scottish Cup draw against Rangers – again!
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THE senior men’s cricket national team on Tuesday slumped to a humiliating 10-wicket defeat against Pakistan in a T20 international match at the Queens Sports Club. With the embarrassing defeat, Zimbabwe surrendered the three-match series with a game to spare. Zimbabwe were bundled out for 57 in 12.4 overs, losing their 10 wickets over a [...] Tafadzwa Zimoyo-Lifestyle Editor Hello, December and it is 18 days before Christmas Day. As December unfolds in Zimbabwe, the countdown to Christmas becomes a vibrant tapestry of traditions, family reunions, and shared joy. This holiday season is not just a mark on the calendar; it represents a deep-rooted cultural celebration that brings together communities across [...] Ivan Zhakata-Herald Correspondent IN an era marked by global turmoil, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has emerged as a beacon of stability. Despite confronting challenges ranging from localised conflicts to climate change, the region’s collaborative efforts in governance, peacekeeping and development have drawn international commendation. Speaking at the recent virtual SADC-ICP dialogue platform meeting, [...]