volleyball online game
Owlcotes Lane Leeds: Two new blocks of flats, gym and coffee shop set to be built in Stanningley
I’ve bought a few high-risk, high-maintenance UK shares this year, and now I’d like to balance them with a brace of solid dividend shares. The type that won’t cost me too much time or trouble. Nice and easy no-brainer buys. I’m not looking for ultra-high yields, but a solid and sustainable rate of income that should rise over time. A bit of growth wouldn’t go amiss. I’m hoping to rustle up £2,000 to invest in January. If I do, I’ll consider splitting it between these two. Accounting software specialist ( ) fits the bill nicely. I’d always seen it as a growth stock, but data from shows it’s an unsung dividend hero too. Sage Group has a very wise dividend policy Over the last decade, the board has increased the dividend at an impressive rate 5.7% a year, according to . Let’s see what the chart says. Chart by TradingView Its dividend potential is easy to overlook, given a trailing yield of just 1.56%. That’s been eroded by its impressive share price performance. Sage shares are up 9.97% over 12 months, and 78.57% over five years. Some feared the group’s business model would be clobbered by the artificial intelligence revolution, but as we learn more about what AI can and (crucially) can’t do, it looks more likely to be boosted by it. On 20 November, Sage reported an 11% rise in annualised recurring revenue to £2.34bn, while underlying operating profit surged 21% to £529m. Subscription renewal rates are an enviable 101%. My big concern is that , with a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47. That’s more than double the FTSE 100 average of 15.8%. Growth only has to disappoint slightly for the shares to sell off. That’s a concern given the turbulent global economy, with small to medium-size businesses – Sage’s customers in other words – on the front line. So it’s not a 100% no-brainer but it’s jolly close. DCC is a dividend super hero Sales and marketing firm ( ) offers energy, healthcare and technology solutions. The trailing dividend yield is 3.6% but its history is a lot more impressive. It’s increased shareholder payouts at an average 10.8% a year for the past decade. This is a true , having hiked shareholder payouts every year for three decades. Yet the shares have fallen 2.34% over the last year. It’s cheaper than Sage, with a modest P/E of just 11.98 times earnings. DCC has been divesting lately, as it looks to simplify its operations and focus on the energy sector. It hopes to conclude the sale of DCC Healthcare next year, and will review its options for DCC Technology thereafter. The group raised £150m after divested its majority stake in liquid gas business Hong Kong & Macau in July. All this should help unlock embedded value, and focus attention on its successful energy sector. The risk is that having announced it, it struggles to follow through. Even if it does, there’s a danger that its narrow focus will leave it more exposed to volatile energy prices. No stock is a total no-brainer. But Sage and DCC are as close as they get and I’ll invest £1k in each when I get that £2k.Black Friday is the biggest shopping event of the year in the U.S. and an excellent opportunity to bag yourself a TV deal. Plenty of high-quality TVs are on sale this weekend, so you’re sure to nab a bargain if you act fast. Amazon makes an event out of Black Friday and often has excellent deals throughout Cyber Monday. Last updated on Nov. 30, 2024, at 2 a.m. ET. In this article: LG 65-Inch Class OLED evo C4 Series Smart TV , SAMSUNG 75-Inch Class QLED 4K LS03D The Frame Series Quantum HDR Smart TV , and TCL 55-Inch Class QLED 4K Smart NXTFRAME TV . Thanks to its NanoCell technology, this TV offers exceptionally rich color, with a sharp and clear 4K display. It’s easy to control with your voice, with built-in Alexa and compatibility with Google Assistant, Apple AirPlay and Apple HomeKit. You can choose from six sizes between 43 and 86 inches. You’re bound to get a decent discount on this high-end TV. The OLED screen contains millions of pixels that are independently lit, for incredibly rich and lifelike color. It has some great features, such as a gallery mode for displaying art when you’re not watching TV, a powerful a9 AI Processor that can do AI Super Upscaling and built-in voice control support. The impressive OLED display lights pixels individually to give you true blacks and more lifelike color reproduction. The gaming mode is especially beneficial for anyone with a next-gen console, like the PS5 or Xbox Series X. With dynamic crystal color, an ultrapowerful processor and 4K upscaling, this is a TV you’ll be pleased to own — especially if you get a decent Black Friday deal. It works with multiple voice assistants, or you can use a standard remote to control your TV the old-fashioned way. Its Airslim sleek profile will even help it blend in with the rest of your decor. Perfect for anyone who thinks their TV ruins the decor in their living room, The Frame from Samsung can display a static picture so that it looks like a frame art print when not in use. It also has a certified glare-free matte display to make the artwork look printed on the screen. When the TV is being used, it has great picture quality thanks to a 4K resolution, Pantone Validated ArtfulColor (exclusive to The Frame series TVs) and quantum dot technology. This TV has some great high-end features, including an ultraslim design (at only 1.1 inches deep), HDR ULTRA with Dolvy Vision IQ for rich color and QLED PRO Quantum Dot technology for enhanced contrast and accurate colors. The Game Accelerator 240 and Auto Game Mode provide low-latency gameplay, meaning gamers never need to miss a thing during fast-paced games. Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change. Check out our Daily Deals for the best products at the best prices and sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter full of shopping inspo and sales. BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. BestReviews and its newspaper partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.A DUP minister rebuffed a suggestion that there could be an extension of pub opening hours in Northern Ireland to celebrate the golden jubilee of the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2002, declassified files show. Stormont minister Maurice Morrow told an official he would not raise the issue with the Northern Ireland Executive, despite similar measures being considered in England and Wales. A file on planning arrangements for the jubilee celebrations reveals a series of civil service correspondences on how Northern Ireland would mark the occasion. It includes a letter sent on January 11 2001 from an official in the Office of the First Minister/Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) to the Department of Social Development, advising that a committee had been set up in London to consider a programme of celebrations. The correspondence says: “One of the issues the committee is currently considering is the possibility of deregulating liquor licensing laws during the golden jubilee celebrations on the same lines as the arrangements made for the millennium. “It is felt that the golden jubilee bank holiday on Monday 3 June 2002 is likely to be an occasion on which many public houses and similar licensed premises would wish to stay open beyond normal closing time.” The letter said a paper had been prepared on the issue of extending opening hours. It adds: “You will note that paragraph seven of the paper indicates that the devolved administrations ‘would need to consider deregulation separately within their own jurisdictions’. “I thought that you would wish to be aware that this issue is receiving active consideration for England and Wales and to consider whether anything needs to be done for Northern Ireland.” Some months later a “progress report” was sent between officials in OFMDFM, which again raised the issue of licensing laws. It says: “I spoke to Gordon Gibson, DSD, about Terry Smith’s letter of 12 January 2001 about licensing laws: the matter was put to their minister Maurice Morrow (DUP) who indicated that he would not be asking the NIE (Northern Ireland Executive) to approve any change to current licensing laws in NI to allow for either 24 hour opening (as at the millennium) nor a blanket approval for extended opening hours as is being considered in GB. “In both cases, primary legislation would be required here and would necessitate consultation and the minister has ruled out any consultation process.” The correspondence says individual licensees could still apply for an extension to opening hours on an ad hoc basis, adding “there the matter rests”. It goes on: “DSD await further pronouncements from the Home Office and Gibson and I have agreed to notify each other of any developments we become aware of and he will copy me to any (existing) relevant papers. “Ministers may well come under pressure in due course for a relaxation and/or parity with GB.” The document concludes “That’s it so far...making haste slowly?” Emails sent between officials in the department the same month said that lord lieutenants in Northern Ireland had been approached about local events to mark the jubilee. One message says: “Lord lieutenants have not shown any enthusiasm for encouraging GJ celebrations at a local level. “Lady Carswell in particular believes that it would be difficult for LLs to encourage such activities without appearing political.”
UDST commemorates Qatar National Day with cultural, educational festivities
President Biden’s Black Friday Purchase Sparks OutrageAlready widespread before, climate despair has likely reached new levels following former President Donald Trump’s reelection. With good reason: Trump is committed to policies that are projected to kill tens of millions of people and unleash unprecedented chaos everywhere. But the climate war isn’t an all-or-nothing affair. Each fraction of a degree of heating that we can prevent will save many lives. Similarly, everything we do to build a more equitable world will provide some insulation against the heating that we fail to prevent. Furthermore, the fossil fuel industry is much more vulnerable than most people realize, its current profits notwithstanding. This was true in Trump’s first term and will remain true in his second. We can exploit its vulnerabilities. To do so, we need strategies that don’t require majority support at the national level. Though the United States public overwhelmingly supports environmental protections, clean energy and climate justice, most people don’t grasp the magnitude of the emergency and obviously don’t prioritize the climate when voting. What we do have is tens of millions of potential activists, including millions in many individual states. According to a 2024 Yale/George Mason University survey, large minorities say they feel angry (38 percent), fearful (38 percent) and anxious (36 percent) about the climate. In polls from the past five years, between 13 and 20 percent say they would definitely or probably “engage in nonviolent civil disobedience (e.g. sit-ins, blockades or trespassing) against corporate or government activities that make global warming worse” if someone they “like and respect” recruited them. About twice as many say they would visit politicians’ offices to pressure them. It’s these millions whom organizers should target. Drawing from the recent history of the climate movement, here’s a nonexhaustive list of ideas for organizers. My focus is on the U.S. since that’s the context I know best. None of the following require us to persuade a majority of voters or politicians at the national level. Public protests, from rallies to civil disobedience, are essential for generating public scrutiny of fossil fuel projects. Building large coalitions of stakeholders can increase their potency. Some confrontations, like the campaign against the Dakota Access Pipeline, can galvanize broader public consciousness and action. This is especially true when they intertwine with related fights for Indigenous sovereignty, racial equity and economic justice, which the climate movement has also prioritized in recent years. This type of protest is getting riskier almost everywhere, including in the United States. In the past decade 21 U.S. states have passed 56 new laws to criminalize or more harshly punish nonviolent protesters. Amid this authoritarian turn organizers must proceed carefully. In some cases, they will choose to defy those laws, and we should support them however possible. In other cases, they may choose disruptive forms of protest that are not (yet) illegal. Some of the most disruptive tactics are not very flashy. Leafletting against a company, if persistent and widespread, is potentially more disruptive than blockading a pipeline. Legal filings against companies or regulators can be highly disruptive. As industry spokespeople warn , more lawsuits can mean “further capital cost increases and longer overall pipeline approval and construction timelines.” A gas industry executive recently complained that “the number of lawsuits being filed to challenge pipeline construction” has added “costs and time to the development of a pipeline, which in some cases has just forced the pipelines to throw up their hands and walk away from projects.” Lawsuits against polluters for past damages are also important, both for the compensation they can deliver and for the potential long-term impact on the industry. The efficacy of litigation will partly depend on future legislative and judicial changes. Reforms to the permitting process , which could simultaneously facilitate fossil fuel infrastructure and renewables projects, would make it harder for the movement to obstruct polluters through the courts. Oil and gas companies may never reallocate their investments to other sectors, but financial institutions like banks, insurers and large institutional investors may. They could do so without jeopardizing their returns (fossil fuel financing comprises just over 1 percent of total assets at Bank of America, Chase and Citigroup), and their long-term financial stability would be more secure if they did. Public pension funds are potentially more vulnerable to our pressures, since they have a mandate to protect the long-term viability of their investments. These campaigns can take various forms. The most effective involve tying financial institutions to specific frontline struggles and getting institutions — city councils, universities, faith institutions, labor unions, and so on — to close their accounts or demand that their money managers reallocate investments. For instance, in 2017 the city of Seattle voted to close its $3 billion account with Wells Fargo due to the bank’s financing of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Divestment campaigns have traditionally targeted only stock holdings, but recent years have seen more action targeting banks, insurers and asset managers . Banks were also central targets in the South Africa divestment campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s. As always, polluters are finding ways to fight back. Some state governments have penalized financial institutions that “discriminate” against fossil fuels. This backlash only makes it more urgent that we build up a counterweight that imposes costs of our own on financial institutions. States have tremendous power to promote renewables, slash demand for fossil fuels, and even directly limit fossil fuel production. One climate expert estimates that “three-quarters of the country’s Paris Climate commitments can be achieved by state and local policy.” Recent state laws have mandated public investment in renewables , the phaseout of gas-powered vehicles , corporate pollution disclosures and “make-polluters-pay” penalties linked to climate disasters. All these laws stand to have powerful national impacts by altering corporate investments, as state legislation has often done . The prospects for building electoral coalitions around climate are far greater at the subnational levels. The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication provides detailed opinion data by county, state and congressional district . Since some of the most progressive states are also among the most important economically, reforms in those places can have outsized impacts at higher levels. A rare bright spot in the 2024 election was a referendum in Washington State, where 60 percent of voters rejected an effort to repeal the state’s climate legislation. That win followed a coalitional mobilization by almost 600 organizations. Also important are local-level laws that ban new gas hookups , improve energy efficiency standards, build community solar and otherwise cut fossil fuel demand. Those projects face challenges , particularly since this type of initiative is still new in the U.S. But they are clearly worrisome to gas companies for the signal they send investors about the industry’s long-term outlook. Predictably, polluters have directed their proxies in friendly courts and state governments to prohibit local restrictions on fossil fuels. For those who work, study, travel, or otherwise participate in institutions that consume lots of dirty energy, decarbonizing them is an important contribution to the climate fight. When universities replace gas boilers with heat pumps and solar panels, they deprive gas companies of some of their biggest customers. When school districts or local transportation authorities switch to electric buses, they do the same to the oil industry. Republicans will cut federal funding for many of these projects as soon as they can, so state, local and private sources of funding will become more important. Boycott campaigns could take various additional forms beyond divesting from dirty financiers and phasing out fossil fuel use. They might target specific companies that rely on sales to household consumers, such as a meat or dairy corporation linked to deforestation. They might involve the targeted punishment of companies that operate in political jurisdictions where governments allow polluters free rein, potentially including global penalties on U.S. companies. They might target businesses that operate in our towns and cities but oppose climate measures. (These municipal-level boycotts were another crucial piece of the South Africa campaign.) Any campaign with a national or global scope would need buy-in from major organizations. Serious boycotts campaigns are rare today but their potential remains great . We could muster the numbers necessary to win. Even without outreach, 26 percent of U.S. consumers already try to “punish” companies with the worst environmental records. An organized campaign by just 26 percent could wipe out many companies’ profit margins. In addition to investors and consumers, polluters need a workforce. As many progressive analysts have stressed, the movement needs to build bridges with fossil fuel workers, namely by fighting for reforms that properly compensate laid-off workers with money, retraining and/or new jobs. In the more immediate future, the movement could dedicate more energy to countering the recruitment of workers, particularly on college campuses. Companies’ fear of becoming less attractive to talented young graduates could become a significant force for internal change. Recent trends suggest the potential. Between 2017 and 2022, graduation from U.S. petroleum engineering programs plunged by 83 percent . This happened even as oil prices were rising, as Trump was trying to prop up the industry, and as other engineering programs were flourishing. Whether their concerns are moral or pragmatic, it appears few students see a future in the industry. More powerful, perhaps, would be a counterrecruitment campaign targeting one or more of the financial institutions that invest in fossil fuels. Again, those companies are more likely to abandon dirty energy than companies that specialize in it. There are growing hints of climate discontent among bank employees, which could be nurtured by organizers. Building a bigger, more combative labor movement is important to the climate struggle for at least two reasons. First, strikes are the most potent weapon for forcing the transformations we need. Climate strikes on a large scale aren’t yet plausible, but in the meantime, workers can fight for immediate workplace improvements like air-conditioning, water breaks and better ventilation. They can refuse to work in unsafe temperatures. This can be done by unionized and nonunionized workers alike, as recent workplace walkouts have shown. More ambitiously, they can force employers to reduce their own carbon pollution and to put pressure on dirty financial institutions. These actions also make employers more likely to demand policy reforms from government, including ones that restrain the fossil fuel industry. Second, labor organizing can also protect workers against the austerity and inflation that the ruling class will try to impose as the economic costs of climate destruction explode. Forcing capitalists to absorb more of those costs may also push them into political confrontation with the fossil fuel industry. The Hitlerian rhetoric of Trump’s 2024 campaign — undocumented immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country” — is but a glimpse of the cruelty we’ll see as more fossil fuel refugees flee unlivable tropics and coastlines. Racist scapegoating will be central to the effort to shield polluters from accountability. And it will find fertile ground: Thirty-four percent of U.S. residents explicitly agree with Trump’s statement about “poisoning,” and over half now say they want more restrictions on immigration (nearly double from just a few years ago). In addition to organizing sanctuary campaigns , we’ll have to work constantly to redirect popular hatred onto the capitalist culprits while cultivating empathy for their victims. Standing with refugees is part of the larger imperative of international solidarity. Stabilizing the climate is impossible unless the Global South gets the resources it needs to decarbonize and adapt. The rich countries, led by the United States, have refused to offer adequate compensation for their carbon pollution, a stance they reaffirmed at the November 2024 COP29 meeting in Azerbaijan. On this count U.S. public opinion is more sympathetic, with most respondents supporting “aid to developing nations” for those purposes. That support would be much stronger if the public knew the true gravity of the crisis or the miserly stance of the U.S. government. (The public drastically overestimates the generosity of U.S. foreign aid, but also supports far more aid than what the government actually gives.) Climate disasters are already a significant source of inflation, including for food . We’ll see more dramatic spikes as climate breakdown causes more crop failures. Developing sustainable local agriculture and mutual aid projects of all kinds can cushion the working class while also fostering stronger community cohesion. The movement should also demand that governments create international reserves of essential commodities like food. These “buffer stocks” would buy up goods when they’re available in excess and sell them off at noninflated prices in times of shortage, thereby cushioning both producers and consumers against price shocks. We have to talk about our climate reality much more, with everyone we know and meet. Biblical hurricanes, droughts and wildfires simply have not made the climate crisis a topic of daily conversation for most U.S. residents. Two-thirds “rarely or never” discuss climate with friends or family. While some people have severe climate anxiety, most aren’t nearly anxious enough : Only 28 percent are “alarmed” by the crisis. (The rest range from “concerned” to “dismissive.”) In this context politicians find it easier to ignore the emergency or label it just another “issue.” For the minority who suffer high anxiety about the unfolding crisis, offer them ideas for collective action. For the majority who aren’t freaked out enough, urge them to tune in, and show them how the solutions will benefit them and their children. Republicans will do whatever they can to crush resistance. Protesters will be met with greater state violence. Refugees will face new levels of state terror. Public officials and employees will be fired. New laws and regulations will further criminalize “discrimination” against fossil fuels by lower levels of government. Yet two reminders are in order. First, conditions won’t be one-tenth as bad for U.S. citizens as they have been for foreign peoples, from Vietnam to El Salvador to Palestine, who have heroically resisted (and sometimes defeated) U.S. empire. Second, Trump will remain subservient to capital, and capital depends on our labor, our consumption and our quiescence. That gives us power. We will continue to have power, in 2025 and beyond, if we organize ourselves and use it.
Illinois running back Aidan Laughery The frigid temperatures Saturday afternoon in Chicago — the “feels like” number barely hit double digits — didn’t totally preclude a passing attack. But Illinois was still more productive on the ground, and Laughery was the primary reason for that success. The former Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley standout had, without a doubt, the best game of his career, which has been regularly marred by nagging injuries. Laughery topped 100 rushing yards for the first time and set a new career-best (twice) with a 30-yard touchdown run in the first quarter he managed to follow with a 64-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Offense Illinois: A- Northwestern: C- Luke Altmyer got a little loose with the ball Saturday afternoon. Two interceptions nearly doubled his season total. But the Illinois quarterback bounced back after his first-half mistakes to still contribute in a run-heavy second-half offense with a touchdown pass to Pat Bryant to go with Laughery’s ground game success. Northwestern wound up with more yards of total offense, but four turnovers doomed the Wildcats. Defense Illinois: B Northwestern: C- Remember the first month of the season when Illinois was among the national leaders in takeaways? The frequency of forced turnovers dipped precipitously in October and most of November, but three interceptions and a fumble recovery Saturday helped turn the tide against Northwestern. Giving up 442 yards to the Wildcats wasn’t ideal, but Illinois still wound up bending more than straight up breaking. Special teams Illinois: A Northwestern: B- A cold day coupled with being backed up against his own end zone didn’t help Illinois’ Hugh Robertson with a couple of second-half punts that gave Northwestern tremendous field position. But that was the only real issue. David Olano made his only field goal — by doinking it off the right upright, no less — and the return game was solid behind Hank Beatty and Kenari Wilcher. Northwestern kicker Luke Akers finished 2 of 3 on field goals. Coaching Illinois: B+ Northwestern: D Northwestern coach David Braun’s decision to rotate quarterbacks — giving both Jack Lausch and his backup Ryan Boe — a chance to run the offense Saturday was a baffling choice. Mostly because Boe was clearly not ready (even if Lausch wasn’t exactly a world beater with a significant amount of empty yardage). Both wound up with a pair of turnovers. Illinois didn’t have a perfect performance, of course, but the game plan was solid enough to get the win. Overall Illinois: A- Northwestern: C- Did Saturday’s game get a little closer than expected after it looked like Illinois had things firmly in hand after a pair of early touchdowns in the third quarter? Yeah, it did. But instead of folding in a tense moment, the Illini pushed their lead back to 18 before a late, inconsequential touchdown and two-point conversion by Northwestern. A nine-win regular season was secured, and the Land of Lincoln Trophy was on the bus back to Champaign. Can’t ask for much more.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday insisted at a meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump that any settlement with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine had to be "just", as fears grow in Kyiv on the position of the incoming administration. President Emmanuel Macron hosted three-way talks with Zelensky and Trump at the Elysee Palace, discussing what the incoming American president had termed a world that was a "little crazy". Hours after their meeting, the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden announced a new $988 million military assistance package for Ukraine. The package features drones, ammunition for precision HIMARS rocket launchers, and equipment and spare parts for artillery systems, tanks and armoured vehicles, the Pentagon said in a statement. Zelensky's meeting with Trump just before the three men headed to Notre Dame for the re-opening ceremony of the great Paris cathedral was his first face-to-face encounter with tycoon-turned-politician since his election victory. The meeting was of huge importance to Zelensky, given fears in Kyiv that Trump, who once boasted he could end Russia's war on Ukraine in 24 hours, may urge Ukraine to make concessions to Moscow. It also offered a unique chance for Macron to gain insights into how a second Trump presidency will look when he takes office in January. The trip to Paris is Trump's first international visit since his November 5 election win. "We all want peace. But it is very important for us... that the peace is just for all of us and that Russia, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin or any other aggressor has no possibility of ever returning," Zelensky said according to the presidential website. "And this is the most important thing -- a just peace and security guarantees, strong security guarantees for Ukraine," he added. Trump has scoffed at the billions of dollars in US military assistance to Ukraine and has spoken of forcing a quick settlement. But Zelensky also thanked Trump for his "unwavering resolve" describing the talks as "good and productive". Trump and Macron embraced and shook hands several times on the steps of the French presidential palace, with Trump given a full guard of honour despite not yet being in office. "It seems like the world is going a little crazy right now and we will be talking about that," Trump told reporters as he prepared to sit down for the talks with Macron. Despite tensions between the two men during his first term, Trump hailed his ties with the centrist French leader, saying: "We had a great relationship as everyone knows. We accomplished a lot." Macron told Trump it was "a great honour for French people to welcome you" for the re-opening ceremony at Notre Dame, which was devastated by a blaze in 2019 during Trump's first term. "You were president at that time and I remember the solidarity and the immediate reaction," Macron added, speaking in English. When he first took office in 2017, Trump's ties with Macron -- then also a fresh face on the world stage -- began warmly despite their obvious political differences. Their long and muscular handshakes -- which saw each man seek to assert his superiority -- became a light-hearted focus of attention before ties cooled, then soured, following disputes about climate change, trade and defence. Trump earlier wrote on his Truth Social platform that the United States should "not get involved" in the situation in Syria, where fast-moving rebel forces say they have begun to encircle the capital Damascus. The Republican's return to power has rung alarms in Paris and many European capitals after his promises on the campaign trail to force an end to fighting in Ukraine and levy tariffs on trading partners. In his own reaction to the discussions, Macron wrote on social media: "Let us continue our joint efforts for peace and security." European allies have largely enjoyed a close working relationship with Biden on the crisis in the Middle East, but Trump is likely to distance himself and ally the United States even more closely with Israel. In a sign of the importance of Trump's one-day trip to Paris, he was accompanied by his pick for White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, as well as his Near East and Middle East advisors, Steve Witkoff and Massad Boulos, according to a guest list issued by the Elysee Palace. Tesla tycoon and Trump advisor Elon Musk, who was also on the line during a phone call between the incoming president and Zelensky last month, also flew into the French capital was present at the Notre Dame ceremony. sjw/adp/jjMaking Money in Real Estate Stocks
Arizona State, Boise State clinch CFP bids as clarity emerges in Pac-12 bowl selection processElection 2024: Donohoe defends McEntee's record amid Dublin safety concerns
SINGAPORE : The "multi-millionaire" tag does "mean a lot" to new world champion D Gukesh but he doesn't play the game for material gains but for that unbridled joy, which he has been able to retain since the time a chess board used to be the "coolest toy" for him. Gukesh, the 18-year-old from Chennai, is now richer by Rs 11.45 crore which he will receive from FIDE as prize money for beating Ding Liren of China in the final. Gukesh's father Rajnikanth gave up his career as an ENT surgeon to accompany his son on the circuit while mother Padmakumari, who is a microbiologist, became the sole earner of the family. Asked what exactly does being a multi-millionaire mean to him, Gukesh said, "It means a lot. When I got into chess, we (as a family) had to make some hard decisions. My parents had gone through financial and emotional hardships. Now, we are more comfortable and parents don't need to think about those things," Gukesh told FIDE in an interview. "Personally, money isn't the reason I play chess," he said. He always tries to remember why he started playing the game when he got his first chess board. "I am still the kid who loves chess. It used to be the coolest toy," the reticent world champion explained. For him, his parents mean the world. Gukesh's dad doubles up as his manager by taking care of all the off-board activities and allowing him to concentrate on the game, while his mother is the emotional and spiritual pillar of strength. "She (mother) still says, I will be happy to know that you are a great chess player but I would be happier to hear that you are a greater person," Gukesh said. Still in his teens, Gukesh feels that as a student of the game, the more he learns about chess, the more aware he will become of how little he knows. "Even the greatest of players make a lot of mistakes. Even though technology is so advanced, there is still a lot to learn about chess. I strongly believe that the more you learn something, more you realise that you don't know that thing. "Whenever I am on the chess board, I feel I learn something new. It's a process of unlimited beauty." Journey and Destination both are "important" The process of the journey is very important but for Gukesh, it is even more important to be clear about the destination. "For example, I played a beautiful game and lost, I will feel sad. And if I win despite not playing a great game, I will be happy. I tend to look at the result," he said. Desire to win is more than the fear of losing The quality of games in the final was found to be pretty drab by experts but Gukesh doesn't believe that his desire to win is trumped by fear of losing. "My desire to win is stronger than the fear of losing," he said, while expressing a bit of surprise as to how Liren easily agreed to a draw in the second game. "I had a bit more freedom to attack as he was defending tenaciously. When he went too easy on me in the second game after I played a horrible first game, I felt like he could have pushed me a bit but it was a comfortable draw." However, he isn't too surprised that Liren opted for the "safer routes". "It was not a huge surprise. He was tending towards safer routes, maybe he should have taken more chances." Dance and Ice cream For someone who believes he has two left feet when it comes to dancing, his impromptu jig after receiving the Chess Olympiad Trophy went viral, and now he fears his friends won't leave him so easily. "Earlier, my friends would dance and I would sit in a corner. After the Olympiad win, the spirits were high and it was (the dance) in the moment. But the video went viral and now my friends said that 'you had danced there and now you will have to join us'," he smiled. He thanked the chef in Singapore for providing him with his comfort food, "south Indian delicacies" during the final. "I haven't had ice cream for one year. Maybe I will have one."About 30 friends crowded around four tables last month at Gus and George’s Spaghetti and Steak House in Virginia Beach chatting about when gas tanks could be filled for less than a dollar. As they waited on their lunches of fried fish and burgers, they remembered when Lucille Ball was all the rage, their parents preached patriotism and they were living in the empire of post-World War II America. The octogenarians graduated from Willard Elementary School in Norfolk around 1956 — some the year before, others a few years later — and gather each year for a reunion. The America they knew as boys and girls is gone, said reunion founder Catherine Rutter, but they still have each other. Rutter, 80, who now lives in Kill Devil Hills, left Virginia after graduating and spent a career working for telephone companies in Washington, D.C. She never lost touch with Dorothy Aksteter, whom she met at Willard and grew up with in the neighborhoods close to Fairmont Park. When Rutter moved to Carolina in 2001, Aksteter started flying from Minnesota every other year to visit. “And it wasn’t until about 2010 that I got my ‘bright idea,'” Rutter said. “I told Dorothy, ‘Let’s see how many of our classmates I can get together.” Rutter told Aksteter to think of how fun it would be: “‘We could go to Doumars!'” She researched for weeks at a familiar girlhood haunt, the downtown branch of Norfolk Public Library, where she once read away lazy, long and sleepy hours on summer breaks. In the stacks as an adult, she copied down names from yearbooks and school histories, combed city directories and pored over newspaper obituaries. That many of the Willard girls no longer used their maiden names made the quest trickier. In 2010, she and Aksteter met several friends at Doumar’s Cones & Barbecue before heading to Temple Baptist church’s social hall. There 23 people became that first Willard Elementary School reunion. Even more people came the next year and more still in 2012. Most people still lived close to home. Snooky Murden, whose father owned the Murden’s Drug Store chain, was there. Judy Commings Welch, who ended up working for Norfolk Public Schools and built a reputation as a veteran line dancer at The Banque, started coming too. So did Marjorie Joynes, who works at Regent University Library, and Sidney Skjei, who’d joined the Navy, and former Elizabeth City mayor, Steve Atkinson. In 2017, the group had grown so large that the reunion moved to the Virginia Beach steak house where they still meet. The group has reached a tipping point and the number of attendees shrinks each passing year. Last month, retired Chesapeake city attorney Ronnie Hallman sat at the table talking about which of his friends beat him at the spelling bees. “It was a good time back then. No crime. No mufflers. Well, I mean, the mufflers they had didn’t really filter out anything — a lot of carbon dioxide,” he said with a laugh. “I guess that’s why we’re so crazy.” The rest of the table laughed too as the food was served. The meandering talk leaped from lost, youthful looks, to lost parents and friends not yet forgotten. Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8139, colin.warrenhicks@virginiamedia.com
Dubai [UAE], : With uncertainty looming over the future of ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi stated that hosting the tournament in a hybrid model is "definitely not the formula" but if a new way is formed it will be an "equal one." The Board of Control for Cricket in India made its stance clear about not travelling to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. On the other hand, the PCB has been firm about hosting the entire tournament in Pakistan. Total Match 111 Total Runs 3284 Highest Score 128 runs Total Match 115 Total Runs 3127 Highest Score 96 runs Total Match 50 Total Runs 1326 Highest Score 104 runs Wickets 3 Best Bowling 2/29 Total Match 65 Total Runs 29 Highest Score 10 runs Wickets 76 Best Bowling 5/32 Total Match 260 Total Runs 37 Highest Score 8 runs Wickets 205 Best Bowling 5/40 Total Match 107 Total Runs 3582 Highest Score 124 runs Total Match 132 Total Runs 4683 Highest Score 132 runs Total Match 104 Total Runs 83 Highest Score 17 runs Wickets 121 Best Bowling 4/18 Total Match 35 Total Runs 195 Highest Score 27 runs Wickets 46 Best Bowling 3/15 Total Match 12 Total Runs - Highest Score - Wickets 12 Best Bowling 3/24 Total Match 93 Total Runs 109 Highest Score 14 runs Wickets 93 Best Bowling 4/21 Total Match 41 Total Runs 105 Highest Score 29 runs Wickets 51 Best Bowling 4/15 Total Match 21 Total Runs 653 Highest Score 89 runs Total Match 105 Total Runs 2644 Highest Score 99 runs Wickets - Best Bowling - Total Match 40 Total Runs 730 Highest Score 49 runs On Friday, the International Cricket Council held a meeting with all the members to decide the fate of the Champions Trophy, which will be held in Pakistan next year. On Saturday, Naqvi maintained Pakistan's stance and dismissed the idea of organising the tournament in a hybrid model while suggesting a new formula could be formed. "We will do what's best for cricket. It's definitely not a hybrid formula, but if a new formula is formed, it will be an equal one," Naqvi told reporters, as quoted from a video posted by PCB media on X. "We will not allow one-sided decisions [...] decisions should be made based on equality," he added. https://x.com/TheRealPCBMedia/status/1862868411132567681 Due to strained political relations between the two nations, India has not toured Pakistan since 2008, when they participated in the Asia Cup. The two arch-rivals last played a bilateral series in 2012-13 in India, comprising white-ball matches. After that, India and Pakistan have primarily faced each other in ICC tournaments and Asia Cups. On Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal cited BCCI's statement about "security concerns." During the press briefing, Jaiswal stated that it is "unlikely" that the Indian team would cross the border to play in Pakistan. Notably, Pakistan has travelled to India for the 2016 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup. Naqvi stressed that both nations should be treated equally under the same rules. "This is not acceptable that one-sided things happen. Every time Pakistan cannot play in India, we comply. Both nations must be treated equally under the same rules," Naqvi asserted. On Saturday, PCB took to X and stated that Naqvi met Mubashir Usmani, the chairman of the ICC associate member committee and former secretary of the Emirates Cricket Board in Dubai. https://x.com/TheRealPCBMedia/status/1862808341187289555 "Discussion on important issues regarding the organization of the Champions Trophy tournament," PCB wrote on X. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.DUP minister rejected suggestion licensing laws could be relaxed for jubilee
DUP minister rejected suggestion licensing laws could be relaxed for jubilee