Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Chuka Onwumechili, Professor of Communications, Howard University
Football is a game of passion, and passions can become particularly inflamed when the sport represents larger political struggles. In Nigeria in 1977, an Africa-wide football contest fuelled the ethnic rivalry between the Yoruba and the Igbo people to the point that the military had to intervene. The game was to be played as a semi-final in the Africa Cup Winners’ Cup, the club football tournament that would go on to become the Caf Confederation Cup.
As scholars of sports communication, we recently published a research paper about that 1977 confrontation between Shooting Stars of Ibadan (Ibadan is home to a Yoruba majority in the south-west) and Enugu Rangers (Enugu is an Igbo state).
Our study adds to a history of football and politics that is not well documented in Africa. In the process it shows that football represents more than just sport, but can also be a way of understanding cultural and political issues.
Yoruba vs Igbo
The rivalry between the Igbos and Yorubas is almost as old as the formation of Nigeria in 1914. Both groups vie politically and for jobs. Each forms roughly a fifth of the Nigerian population. The Igbo had lost political power after the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970.
This rivalry became particularly visible in Nigerian football from the 1950s when ethnic groups contested annually for the Alex Oni Cup. The Yorubas often won, the Igbos a close second but the tournament was eventually discontinued because of fights between players and spectators.
After this, Igbos did not have a representative club team in national competitions until after the war ended in 1970. Top Igbo footballers were employed at various clubs across the country, particularly in Lagos. Yorubas played for various clubs in their home region. One such club was the Shooting Stars. They made up the bulk of the Ibadan Lions team that won the national Challenge Cup four times from 1959 to 1969.
After the civil war, most Igbo footballers – who had fought unsuccessfully for the secession of Biafra state – were afraid to live in other parts of the country. Enugu Rangers was formed and the club dominated Nigerian football in the 1970s and 1980s.
Shooting Stars had become the beacon club of the Yorubas and quickly developed a rivalry with Enugu Rangers.
The semi-final that caused all the trouble
This ongoing rivalry escalated when the two clubs beat off opposition from across the continent to meet in the two legs of the semi-final of the Africa Cup Winners Cup in 1977. Shooting Stars were defending the title. Rangers chose not to take part in the more prestigious Africa Champions Club’s Cup – instead they sought to equal Shooting Stars’ feat of winning the Cup Winners Cup.
To add to the tension, Nigeria’s national team was made up of mainly by players from these two clubs – and the national team was competing in the last stage of the qualifiers for the 1978 men’s football World Cup. It was feared that the rivalry would affect its chances. Almost daily, the newspapers reported on accusations levelled by officials of the two teams at each other and the Nigerian Football Association (today the Nigeria Football Federation).
The association had to find solutions – fast. Both teams had played their home matches in their own cities so far. The association decided that their two semi-final games should be played in a “neutral” location: Lagos.
But after the first leg, a designated “home game” for Shooting Stars, ended 0-0, controversy erupted. Lagos is in the west of the country, home of the Yorubas. This was seen to give the Shooting Stars an advantage. There was also controversy about whether the teams could call up some or all of their players in the national team. The association’s authority to re-schedule the second leg was then called into question. These issues were argued at fever pitch and publicly by fans and in the media, with threats and ethnic undertones.
The association wanted to bar both Rangers and Shooting Stars from using their national team players, but was eventually forced to agree on the release of all players to play in the final leg of the Africa Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final. But not before making a very late request that the Confederation of African Football put off the game until after the national team’s World Cup qualifying games.
Shooting Stars, frustrated by the postponement, lashed out publicly and in the media. They accused Nigeria’s federal sports commissioner, Dandeson Isokrari, of ethnocentrism and favouritism. Isokrari was an easterner, from Enugu Rangers territory.
With tension boiling over and threats issued from both sides, the second-in-command of the Nigeria state, Major General Musa Yar’ Adua, stepped in to avoid ethnic strife and possible violence. He instructed the match to move to Kaduna, a northern city, away from the homes of the clubs. This decision by the country’s military leadership calmed nerves.
An overflowing crowd packed the Kaduna venue from the early morning. In the early minutes of the game, Shooting Stars mounted a siege in the Rangers’ goal area. It was so tense that journalists and photographers converged behind the Rangers goal. Angry Rangers supporters claimed they were not journalists and photographers, but disguised juju men concocting mystical incantations that kept the ball rooted in the Rangers goal area.
The match ended in another 0-0 tie but Rangers advanced when goalkeeper Emmanuel Okala helped to turn the penalty kick tiebreaker in the club’s favour, 4-2. Despite the tensions, there were no reported incidents of violence during the match.
This epic contest between two clubs during a continental cup contest in 1977 reminds us of the rivalry that persists even today among ethnic groups across the continent. Football often represents such ethnic rivalries beyond the field of play – and in the case of Enugu Rangers and Shooting Stars it reached a dangerous level that forced the state to step in.
As the summer boating season begins, Maritime New Zealand and the Safer Boating Forum are urging all boaties and watercraft users to prioritise safety.
Safer Boating Week, starting Monday, 21 October, highlights the importance of safety as recreational boaties, and craft users (whether in a power boat, waka ama, kayak, canoe or paddle board) return to the water. For many, this will be the first time since last summer they venture out, making this year’s theme, ‘Come Home Safe’, more relevant than ever. It builds on last year’s theme and reinforces the need for safe boating practices and encourages everyone to make safety a priority to ensure they return home.
Maritime NZ’s Director, Kirstie Hewlett, highlighted the ongoing importance of Safer Boating Week in promoting safety messages year-round. “This is our 11th Safer Boating Week, and it’s as important as ever. Over the past decade, more than 170 people have lost their lives in recreational craft incidents.
“These figures are deeply concerning, and the Safer Boating Forum is committed to reducing the number of deaths on the water,” she says.
The Safer Boating Forum represents a wide range of recreational craft activities, and this year’s launch event will focus on paddle craft safety.
Paddle craft users accounted for a significant portion of last year’s fatalities, with 5 out of 11 fatal incidents involving paddle craft.
At the launch event, we’ll hear from newly crowned Paris Olympic champions Tara Vaughan and Olivia Brett (members of the women’s K4 team with Lisa Carrington), and five-time NZ surf lifesaving Ironwoman champion Danielle Mackenzie. They will share their journeys to becoming elite athletes and how they want to encourage others to take up their sports -safely. Coming from surf lifesaving backgrounds, they know how crucial it is to stay safe around water.
Maritime NZ’s Harm Prevention Lead for Recreational Craft, Victoria Slade, says paddle craft are particularly vulnerable due to their design and the environments in which they operate.
“Paddle craft are more likely to capsize than non-paddle craft, and most incidents occurred within one nautical mile of shore or on inland waterways like lakes and rivers. This highlights that danger isn’t just far out at sea,” she says.
New Zealand’s waters can turn rough quickly, especially for paddle craft users. A calm day can become dangerous within minutes, with strong winds and waves easily overwhelming smaller vessels.
“If you’re planning to head out on the water, check the marine weather forecast, take two forms of waterproof communication to call for help, and always wear a properly fitting lifejacket,” Ms. Slade says.
As of 15 October this year, 14 people in recreational craft have died or gone missing after heading out on the water. These tragic incidents occurred in 10 separate incidents.
Therefore, to help reduce the number of these fatalities, this year’s launch event will also feature a safety campaign calledCome Home Safe Deals.
Research conducted for Maritime NZ about how diverse communities engage with recreational craft safety shows that whānau, family, and friends want to support each other in being safe on the water. These groups are key sources of information and strength.
Ms. Slade explains, “This safety campaign taps into the importance of these connections, encouraging children, partners, whānau, and friends to influence our target audience and promote safe behaviour.”
Come Home Safe Deals involves individuals pledging to take certain actions if people they care about follow key safety rules. For example, “If you promise to always wear a lifejacket, I’ll promise to clean my room,” or “If you check the marine weather forecast, I’ll cook your favourite dinner.”
As part of this initiative, a dedicated web app allows participants to enter into these agreements.
“Our safety campaign efforts will target this broader audience, guiding them to the Come Home Safe Deals webpage, where they can enter for a chance to win prizes by setting up their deal online,” Ms. Slade says.
The website,comehomesafe.nz, goes live on October 21 and will run for one month.
For more safety advice, visithttp://www.saferboating.org.nz, where recreational craft users can find guidance on planning their trips, staying safe on the water, maintaining their boats, and using different types of recreational crafts safely.
– The research was conducted by Litmus, a social research and evaluation agency with specialist multi-disciplinary teams. Maritime NZ commissioned Litmus to conduct a qualitative study on how different communities in Aotearoa New Zealand use craft in interactions with marine environments, how they kept themselves safe while doing so and what ideas they had for how safety could be improved.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robin Smit, Adjunct Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney
Statements have been circulating online, including leading news platforms, that battery electric cars will greatly increase the average mass of the on-road fleet. This claim is used as an argument against these cars.
Even the Australian motoring organisation NRMA has posed the question: “EVs are heavy. Are they safe on our roads and carparks?” (It does say the answer is yes.)
The stated reason for such concerns is generally that electric car batteries are heavy and increase overall vehicle mass. A heavier vehicle needs more energy to drive it and so will typically increase emissions. A greater mass also reduces traffic safety and could have damaging impacts on parking spaces and roads.
A critical review released yesterday took a closer look at these claims to see if they hold true in Australia. It finds these claims don’t stack up in a country where sales of fossil-fuelled (petrol, diesel, LPG) vehicles skew towards large and heavy utes and SUVs.
When adjusted for actual top 10 vehicles sold and using realistic mass values, the average mass of battery electric and fossil-fuelled cars differs by just 68 kilograms. That difference is not significant, especially because electric cars are much more energy-efficient.
Oversimplifying a complex topic
The claims being made often oversimplify a complex reality. They tell only part of the story, which can be misleading.
For instance, internal combustion engine cars have consistently increased in mass over time. Known as car obesity, this fact is often unfairly ignored in comparisons.
Similarly, these statements pretend to know how complex consumer behaviour will respond to future availability of battery electric cars and their fast-changing and improving features. Often, the results of overseas studies cannot be directly applied to different Australian conditions.
4 points of contention
Our report identifies and unpacks four main points of contention.
First, there are different ways to define and compare the mass of battery electric and combustion engine cars. In practice, the choice is rather arbitrary. Depending on the method, the comparison may be neither adequate nor accurate.
Often the comparison is made between similar or similarly sized battery electric and combustion engine cars. Or electric cars can be compared only to an equivalent non-electric version of models such as the VW Golf. Another variation is to simply compare the average mass of a large range of cars currently on sale, without considering the impact of sales volumes.
Second, a common argument is that batteries are heavy, so electric cars are heavier than fossil-fuelled cars. But this is simplistic – it’s not only the battery that matters.
Offsetting the extra battery mass, other parts of the electric car such as their motors are smaller and lighter. They can cut its mass by up to 50%.
And actual extra battery mass itself depends on a range of factors. Battery chemistry, battery size and energy storage capacity (which determines how often a car needs recharging) all affect the mass. Indeed, battery mass varies between 100 and 900 kilograms for cars.
Third, car obesity has greatly and consistently increased fossil-fuelled car mass. Unless we include this rise in car obesity, the comparison with battery electric cars tells only half the story.
Finally, it is challenging to accurately predict the mass impacts of electric cars. A common assumption is that future vehicle buyers’ behaviour does not change when switching to battery electric cars. This assumption seems unlikely and again oversimplifies the comparison.
For instance, market availability, marketing focus, purchase price and performance characteristics will largely guide buyers’ decisions. These considerations are all highly dynamic. They are changing significantly and fast.
So how do they compare in Australia?
A proper comparison needs, at least, to include realistic vehicle mass and sales data. Our study compares the differences in vehicle mass between the top ten best-selling cars for both battery electric and fossil-fuelled vehicles in Australia in 2022, as shown below.
Masses of the top 10 most popular new battery electric (top) and fossil-fuelled (bottom) passenger cars sold in Australia in 2022. Circle sizes represent sales volumes. The top-selling internal combustion engine car is the Toyota Hilux (64,391 sold). For pure battery electric cars it’s the Tesla Model 3 (10,877 sold). Vehicle mass is defined as ‘mass in running order’, adjusted for average vehicle occupancy. Author provided, Transport Energy/Emission Research (TER)
Currently sold top 10 models of battery electric cars cluster more at the heavy end, but the most popular cars are relatively light. The top 10 models of fossil-fuelled cars have a larger spread in mass. Yet, when it comes to sales, most are relatively heavy SUVs or utes.
When ranked by popularity and compared, battery electric cars are not always heavier. They can be almost 300kg (12%) lighter to almost 800kg (55%) heavier than the corresponding fossil-fuelled car. Importantly, the overall difference in the average mass of the two categories when adjusted for sales is just 68kg (about 3% of total vehicle mass).
This small difference is insignificant in terms of energy and emission impacts. A more important factor here is the superior energy efficiency of battery electric vehicles.
How will they compare in future?
Clearly, future sales profiles may differ from current sales profiles. The current profile may be largely defined by a certain type of customer (such as a high-income early adopter). They might not be typical of mainstream consumers in coming years.
Buyers’ future behaviour is uncertain and hard to predict. It would depend on the effectiveness of (new) policy measures such as Australia’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, the actual vehicles offered for sale, marketing efforts by car suppliers and possibly also cultural changes.
Any shifts in buyer behaviour could greatly influence the car fleet’s average mass. They could continue the current trend towards larger and heavier vehicles, or shift to smaller and lighter vehicles.
But this is the point: the impacts of electrification of passenger vehicles on average mass are highly uncertain. Statements on the matter are often speculative and can be unfairly biased by the methods used.
In markets where heavy petrol and diesel vehicles dominate car sales, such as Australia and New Zealand, current evidence suggests increased electric car sales are unlikely to greatly increase average vehicle mass. In fact, average mass could actually go down as cheaper and lighter electric cars go on sale here.
Vehicle mass remains important
Importantly, the report is not downplaying the importance of vehicle mass for transport emission abatement.
In previous research it was estimated that only a passenger vehicle fleet dominated by small and light battery electric vehicles may get Australia close to achieving the net-zero emissions target in 2050.
To meet the target, it is thus important to reverse the trend of increasing car obesity, for all cars. But vehicle mass should not be used as an argument against electrification.
Robin Smit is the founding Research Director at the Transport Energy/Emission Research (TER) consultancy.
New Zealanders have a huge amount to be proud about after five national sporting teams celebrated historic wins over the weekend, Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop says.
“In New Zealand’s history there haven’t been too many sporting weekends like the one we’ve just seen, with epic wins from Team New Zealand, the White Ferns, the Black Caps, the Silver Ferns and the Paddle Ferns,” Mr Bishop says.
“I know lots of Kiwis will be bleary-eyed today after a couple of long nights watching our teams go up against the best, but I bet they’re as stoked at the results and as proud of our teams as I am.
“The excitement started around 1am Sunday morning when Emirates Team New Zealand, who were on match point, took to the water off Barcelona with INEOS Britannia. Kiwi sailing fans with long memories were probably pretty nervous at this point, and they probably chewed through their fingernails as the Brittania clawed their way back to dead even around the midway mark – but Team New Zealand’sTaihorowas dominant in the end, finishing 37 seconds ahead. This three-peat victory by Team New Zealand was the first time any team has won the Cup three times in more than 30 years – a brilliant achievement by the team.
“The next sporting victory was on Sunday evening from the Black Caps who took out the first test in the series against India. This was just New Zealand’s third win against India in India ever, and our first since 1988. The Hutt Valley’s own Rachin Ravindra (deservedly Man of the Match) made a century in the first innings and helped chase down the target in the second innings, finishing unbeaten.
“There was also sporting action in Wellington on Sunday evening with the Silver Ferns taking on the world champion Diamonds in the Constellation Cup. The Ferns were dominant from the start, playing a bold attacking game which showed in the final score of 64-50 – the highest the Silver Ferns have ever scored against the Diamonds in regular time. The Ferns and the Diamonds have been pretty even in recent years so a 14 goal victory is an awesome achievement. While there are still three games to go, this is a brilliant start.
“That wasn’t all for Sunday evening though: over in China the Paddle Ferns, our women’s national Canoe Polo team, took on Italy in the final of the Canoe Polo World Cup and stormed home with the silverware. The final score of 6:1 shows how strong the Paddle Ferns were – continuing a long and proud history of excellence in the sport.
“And then to round out a truly amazing sporting weekend, at 3am Monday morning the White Ferns, led by Sophie Devine, stepped up to face South Africa in the women’s T20 World Cup final in Dubai and absolutely smashed it, bringing home their first World Cup since the One Day International in 2000. Amelia Kerr’s 43 runs off 38 balls, and then taking 3 wickets for 24 set our team up for their magnificent performance.
“All in all, I think this was a weekend that will go down in New Zealand’s sporting annals. All five teams should know that their country is enormously proud of them.
“And I think Kiwi sports fans can be forgiven if they’re caught yawning at work today, after so much sporting excitement packed into one weekend!”
Source: Switzerland – Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport
President Viola Amherd will chair the annual open debate on women, peace and security (WPS) in New York on Thursday, 24 October, as part of Switzerland’s presidency of the UN Security Council. The debate will be accompanied by events highlighting the role of women in peace processes and protection against sexual violence.
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
The department occupies an important place in the development of our university. Over 90 years, it has established itself as the center of sports life at SPbPU. On August 23, 1934, a department for military training was created at the Leningrad Industrial Institute, which included the departments of military disciplines and physical education. The latter included 16 teachers, andshe became the progenitor today’s Institute of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The anniversary was attended by Vladimir Glukhov, Advisor to the Rectorate, Dmitry Tikhonov, Vice-Rector for Additional and Pre-University Education, Natalya Antyukh, multiple world champion and Honored Master of Sports of Russia in track and field, Leonid Shiyanov, Chairman of the Physical Culture and Sports Society of Trade Unions of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region “Russia”, and many other representatives of physical culture and sports of the city.
The guests were greeted by the Director of the Institute of Physical Education, Sports and Tourism of SPbPU Valery Sushchenko: On behalf of our institute, I would like to sincerely congratulate all of us on the successful celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Department of Physical Education and Sports! This anniversary has become not only a significant milestone in the history of the department, but also a wonderful opportunity to remember all the achievements and people who have contributed to its development over all these years. I would like to thank everyone who came to share this important moment with us. It is not interesting to live in the present, forgetting the past and not dreaming about the future. Therefore, we treat our veterans with respect and warmth, honor traditions and perpetuate the memory of the worthy. Special thanks to all the teachers, staff and students who have actively worked and continue to work to improve the status of our department over the years.
After this, a presentation of the department’s activities and an award ceremony took place. Awards “For Merit”, gratitude from the physical education and sports society of trade unions for contribution to the development of the department were presented to employees and teachers.
Today, the department employs 49 highly qualified specialists. Among them, 14 teachers have an academic degree and 11 have an academic title. Currently, classes are held in specializations, where students can study based on their sports interests. There are ten specializations in total: fitness, martial arts, general physical training, strength sports, swimming, health technologies, sports games, orienteering and sports tourism, chess, phygital sports.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Hong Kong Museum of History to display early Chinese photography collection donated by Moonchu Foundation (with photos) Hong Kong Museum of History to display early Chinese photography collection donated by Moonchu Foundation (with photos) ******************************************************************************************
The Hong Kong Museum of History (HKMH) has received a generous donation of more than 24 000 invaluable photos of a Chinese photography collection from the Moonchu Foundation. Most of the donated photos were taken in the late Qing and the Republican period and feature a wide range of contents and subject matters, which form a rare and comprehensive collection of Chinese photography. It is also the largest donation of a Chinese photography collection received by the museum. The HKMH will stage the exhibition “In Retrospect: The Early Chinese Photography Collection of Moonchu Foundation” starting tomorrow (October 23), displaying over 500 selected photographs from the donation. As an expression of gratitude to the Foundation, the HKMH will name its Special Exhibition Gallery the “Moonchu Historical Images and Culture Gallery”, which will feature exhibitions from the Moonchu collection and exhibitions related to Chinese history and culture. The ceremony of the Moonchu Collection donation, gallery naming and opening of the “In Retrospect: The Early Chinese Photography Collection of Moonchu Foundation” exhibition was held today (October 22) at the HKMH. Addressing the ceremony, the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, said that this valuable and extensive collection of rare and complete images was collected by the Moonchu Foundation over the years in different places. Driven by their passion for Chinese culture, they specifically donated this collection to the HKMH, allowing these precious artifacts to be permanently preserved on Chinese soil. This donation not only significantly enriches the collections of the HKMH, but more importantly, provides excellent materials for studying modern Chinese society and increasing the public’s understanding of Chinese history from a century ago. He hopes that the selfless donation of the foundation and the enthusiasm for promoting Chinese culture will encourage more people to donate cultural relics related to Chinese history, telling good Chinese stories through these artifacts. Moonchu Foundation representative Mr Chang Tsong-zung said that the “Moonchu Historical Images and Culture Gallery” and the donation are made possible through the dedicated efforts of the curators and staff members of the HKMH over the years. Their commitment to passing on the torch of history and benefiting society is both admirable and deserving of appreciation. Other officiating guests included representatives from the Moonchu Foundation, Mr Chang Chi-wei and Mr Chang Tsong-zung; the Chairman of the Museum Advisory Committee, Professor Douglas So; the Acting Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Miss Eve Tam; and the Museum Director of the HKMH, Mr Terence Cheung. Most of the selected photographs in this exhibition have never been publicly displayed before. The contents cover major historical events such as the Second Opium War, the Self-Strengthening Movement, the First Sino-Japanese War, the Invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance and the Russo-Japanese War. There are also photographs depicting the urban landscapes, historic buildings and people’s livelihood during the late Qing and the Republican period, as well as specimens of different photographic materials and formats which reflect the development of early photography. Highlight exhibits include the image of Praia Grande Bay, Macao, which was taken 180 years ago and is one of the earliest photographs of China in existence today; the works of Chinese and foreign photographers, such as the stereoscopic photos taken by American photographer James Ricalton in 1900; landscape photographs taken by famous Chinese photographer Lai Fong; photos known as “Cartes de visite” in the size of a calling card, which were popular for exchanges in social gatherings during the 19th century; as well as some glass negatives; other stereoscopic photographs and hand-coloured photographs; photo albums, and more. An interactive area is featured in the exhibition. Visitors can use stereograph viewers to view stereoscopic photos and create their own photo album with selected old photographs. There is also a comparison of old and new photos on aerospace, infrastructure, agricultural development and people’s livelihood, illustrating how China has developed by leaps and bounds in the past century. The exhibition is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and organised by the HKMH and the Moonchu Foundation. In collaboration with the Chinese Culture Promotion Office, it is one of the activities in the Chinese Culture Promotion Series and also one of the events of the 4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival. The exhibition will run until February 3 next year. Admission is free. For more information on the exhibition, please visit hk.history.museum/en/web/mh/exhibition/Moonchu-Exhibition.html or call 2724 9042 for enquiries. Established in 2007, the mission of the Moonchu Foundation supports culture and education-related research, publications and talks. The Foundation hopes that the donation could enrich the HKMH’s displays and enhance research on historical images and history education, allowing members of the public to learn more about the traditional culture and the development of modern China through the research and display of the early Chinese photographs. The LCSD has long been promoting Chinese history and culture through organising an array of programmes and activities to enable the public to learn more about the broad and profound culture of China. For more information, please visit http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/ccpo/index.html.
That’s the verdict of Sunderland City Council Leader Councillor Michael Mordey on today’s announcement that England has drawn the USA in next summer’s Women’s Rugby World Cup opener.
England’s Red Roses kick off the tournament’s opening match against the USA at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on 22 August next year.
Today’s release of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 match schedule sets the stage for six weekends of compelling competition in the biggest ever celebration of women’s rugby.
Reacting to the news, Council Mordey, said: “It’s brilliant that England has drawn the USA at next summer’s opening match in Sunderland.
“Sunderland has a very special relationship with the USA, from the ancestral links between Washington Old Hall and George Washington dating back from 1183 to the Friendship Agreement Sunderland signed with the US capital Washington DC in 2006 which has created so many opportunities over the years.
“We’ve also seen significant investment and employment in Sunderland from American-owned companies over the years, such as Lear, Adient, UK Independent Medical Services, Apexon and Rayovac, to name just a few, creating valuable jobs for people across the city. While our young people have benefitted from a number of exchanges as a result of our unique Friendship Agreement – with Monkwearmouth Academy welcoming young people from School without Walls in Washington DC to the city and to City Hall just in the last couple of weeks.
“So, it’s incredibly exciting to have England playing the USA in the opening match of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in our city. And I’m very much looking forward to welcoming the US team and their fans, swelling the numbers we’re already looking to welcome from across the world. It will also be a real thriller for sports fans from across the North East.
“I think there’ll be a really electric atmosphere in our city that night and I would urge anyone who hasn’t already got their tickets to look out for the next ticket releases coming soon.
“Hosting the opening game is a wonderful opportunity for our city and our region to shine on the international stage at a time when Sunderland city centre is going through a £2 billion transformation so it’s brilliant news all round.”
The last few years have seen a massive surge of interest in women’s rugby and women’s sport in general both locally and nationally.
And tournament organisers, World Rugby say the match schedule has been developed with team and fan experience at heart, with exciting matchups in each of the eight host locations, family friendly kick-off times, inexpensive match tickets and optimised team travel.
With 95 per cent of the population in England within two hours of a match venue, fans will have an unprecedented opportunity to see rugby’s biggest stars in action, while host cities are getting ready to welcome international travelling fans with iconic and vibrant local experiences.
With excitement building, fans will have the opportunity to apply for tickets for all matches from 11:00 (GMT) on Tuesday 5 November until 11:00 (GMT) on Tuesday 19 November. Ballots will be used for any price categories which are oversubscribed. Fans can register to be the first to hear about ticket news here.
Prior to the two-week ticket application phase, Worldwide Partner Mastercard is offering its cardholders access to a 48-hour priority sale for all matches from 11:00 (GMT+1) today until 11:00 (GMT+1) on Thursday 24 October at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com. Only Mastercard payments will be accepted during this priority window.
American companies in the city employ over 3,000 people and Sunderland is also home to a number of businesses with plants both here and in the US, including Nissan and AESC, as well as Lear, Adient and Vantec, which promises to bring the opening match into day to day life across our communities on both sides of the Atlantic.
Sunderland’s friendship agreement with Washington DC also led to the creation of the popular Sunderland Shorts Film Festival which continues to go from strength to strength. The annual festival, which will celebrate its 10th birthday in 2025, proudly showcases the best short films from the UK and around the world including Australia and the United States of America, while championing homegrown talent from the region.
Nokia opens regional Innovation Center in Morocco to serve EMEA customers
Nokia launches its first Innovation Center in Africa and the Middle East, equipped with cutting-edge technologies from its entire Network Infrastructure portfolio, including Fixed, IP, and Optical Networks.
The center will benefit and contribute to Digital Morocco 2030 by playing a pivotal role in advancing digital skills and supporting 5G readiness across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
The event is also an opportunity to showcase some of Nokia’s latest innovations for major football events.
22 October 2024 Salé, Morocco – Nokia today announced the opening of its Innovation Center in Salé, Morocco, officiated by Ghita Mezzour, Minister of Digital Transition and Administration Reform.
Designed as a regional hub to serve EMEA, the Nokia Innovation Center (NIC) is equipped with advanced technologies from Nokia’s entire Network Infrastructure portfolio, spanning Fixed Networks, IP, and Optical Networks. The NIC will not only benefit but also contribute to Digital Morocco 2030 by playing a pivotal role in advancing digital skills, supporting 5G readiness and fostering innovation across EMEA.
As the first of its kind in the MEA region, the NIC features a comprehensive range of technologies, including IP, optical transport and fiber solutions, housed within a state-of-the-art data center. This facility supports diverse use cases from 5G mobile backhaul to data center fabric and security, and will be a focal point for innovation in critical network technologies, enabling testing, verification, deployment and training of advanced solutions across the EMEA region.
Beyond technology, the NIC strengthens Nokia’s role within Morocco’s ICT ecosystem by offering practical training to engineering schools and universities. This collaborative platform not only nurtures local engineering talent through certification programs like Service Routing Architect (SRA) and Network Routing Specialist (NRS II) but also provides Gen-AI integration tools using natural language thus contributing to the upskilling and reskilling of young Moroccan talent, aligning with Morocco’s 2030 digital vision.
The inauguration event was also an opportunity to showcase state-of-the art solutions demonstrating Nokia’s capabilities and determination to support Morocco’s ambitions in hosting major football events.
Mrs. Ghita Mezzour, Minister of Digital Transition and Administration Reform, said: “The opening of Nokia’s Innovation Center in Morocco is a testament to our country’s ability to attract leading global technology companies and foster innovation. This center will not only enhance our position as a regional hub for digital services across EMEA but will also play a crucial role in developing local talent. By aligning with Digital Morocco 2030, the center contributes to our efforts in advancing STEM education, equipping our youth with the skills they need to thrive in the digital economy, and supporting our nation’s 5G readiness and technological future.”
Pierre Chaume, Vice President of North, West and Central Africa for Network Infrastructure at Nokia, said: “We are proud to establish this Innovation Center in Morocco, which will serve our customers and partners in the EMEA region and contribute to the development of local talent and the broader digital ecosystem, in line with Digital Morocco 2030. This center underscores our commitment to innovation, sustainability, and the growth of critical networks that drive digital transformation across industries.”
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Headline: Rosneft and the Ministry of Tourism of the Samara Oblast Present the “Zhiguli Weekend” Motor Tourist Route
Rosneft and the Ministry of Tourism of the Samara Oblast presented the “Zhiguli Weekend” motor tourist route, which runs along the region’s landmark and most picturesque locations.
Rosneft is committed to the development of domestic automobile tourism and aims to create comfortable conditions for car travellers. One of Rosneft’s key objectives is to enhance the quality of its roadside assistance and customer service at its filling stations.
The route presentation was held at a Rosneft filling station in Samara. Egor Okhotnikov, a notable navigator of LADA Sport ROSNEFT racing team, took part in the event.
The tourist route “Zhiguli Weekend” runs through Samara, Togliatti, Syzran and unique landscapes and locations of the region. Tourists can efficiently use their travel time and immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the Volga region thanks to well-designed logistics. Rosneft filling station app makes it easy to find the nearest filling station along the route.
In the historic city of Syzran, guests will be introduced to the region’s only Kremlin. It was built in 1683 and is recognized as an object of national cultural heritage.
In the “Russia’s car capital” Togliatti tourists will be able to visit the AVTOVAZ museum, as well as the production site of LADA Sport ROSNEFT, the leading team in Russian circuit racing, whose title sponsor for many years is Rosneft.
Samara, the capital of the region, will surprise travelers with the longest five-kilometer waterfront. From any point of the waterfront there is a breathtaking panoramic view of the Volga River. In the historical part of the city visitors will be welcomed by the museum-appartment of the author of “The Golden Key” Alexei Tolstoy, an art museum and a unique underground structure – Stalin’s bunker, 37 metres deep.
Along the way, motor tourists can visit other cultural sights of the region: the old village Shiryaevo, where Ilya Repin wrote sketches for the painting “Barge Haulers on the Volga”, a Gothic castle on the shore of the Zhiguli Sea (Kuybyshev Reservoir) and much more.
The route also includes unique natural monuments: Samarskaya Luka National Park and Zhiguli Nature Reserve. This year the Samarskaya Luka National Park celebrates its 40th anniversary. Rosneft’s Samara Enterprises have been supporting the national park’s projects for 13 years, the most significant of which is the study and preservation of the population of the Red Book white-tailed eagle.
Samara Oblast is one of Rosneft’s strategic regions of operation. The Company is present in the region with a powerful full-cycle production complex, including scientific and project support, oil and gas production, oil and gas processing, oil refining, production of lubricants, additives and catalysts, as well as a retail network. Large enterprises such as Samaraneftegaz, Kuibyshev Refinery, Novokuibyshevsk Refinery, Syzran Refinery, Novokuibyshevsk Oil and Additives Plant, Novokuibyshevsk Petrochemical Company, and Samaranefteprodukt operate in Samara Oblast.
Rosneft’s network of filling stations is the largest in the region, covering all major highways in key tourist destinations, including the M-5 highway, as well as highways leading to neighboring regions: the Republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, Ulyanovsk, Saratov and Orenburg Oblasts. In the Samara Oblast there are 77 stations of the company, where you can fuel your car with high-quality fuel, have a comfortable rest in a cafe or buy goods you need on the road.
Rosneft filling stations with well-developed infrastructure will help to make traveling along the “Zhiguli Weekend” route as comfortable as possible.
Reference:
Rosneft’s retail network is the largest in the Russian Federation in terms of geographical coverage and number of stations, and the Rosneft filling station brand is one of the leaders in Russia in terms of recognition and fuel quality. The retail chain of the Company covers 61 Russian regions. The Company has a network of approximately 3,000 operating filling stations. In addition to high-quality fuel, the Company offers its customers a wide range of goods and services – from shops and cafes to roadside assistance.
Earlier, Rosneft signed memorandums on cooperation in the development of domestic tourism with the Moscow City Tourism Committee, the Krasnoyarsk and Altai Territories, the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Republic of Udmurtia, and the Arkhangelsk, Samara, Voronezh and Ulyanovsk Regions, and the Stavropol Krai.
In 2023, Rosneft launched a special information and service platform “Russian Horizons: Come With Us!”. The special project allows car tourists to choose and plan routes to places of interest using the infrastructure of Rosneft’s network of motorway services and filling stations.
For students at UConn Health, prioritizing well-being can be challenging among the many demands of the classroom, research labs, and clinics.
This is why the School of Medicine’s Wellness Committee hosted the first annual Husky Bowl, a weekend long Olympics-style event where dental, medical, and graduate students are invited to attend wellness centered activities to earn points for their schools.
“Medical, dental, and graduate school is often demanding,” said lead organizer and fourth-year medical student Omonike Oyelola. “We don’t always get to know our fellow classmates beyond the academic setting. The data shows that levels of stress and burnout are often high among those in health care professions, making events like this of the utmost importance. We wanted to create the Husky Bowl in order to be able to build a foundation of community, connectedness, and self care that could progress throughout the academic year, if not longer.”
The main goal is to promote student well-being while helping to build community.
“The Husky Bowl more than anything presents a low-stress opportunity for students from all three programs to enjoy community and togetherness in a fun and meaningful way,” said Dr. Adam Perrin, associate professor of family medicine and director of student wellness at UConn Health. “The array of activities offered provides many opportunities for students to get to know each other better and ideally create lasting bonds. Social support, physical fitness, brain fitness and humor are all essential factors in promoting resilience, and all were in play over the course of the Husky Bowl. We hope to see this event, the creation and implementation of which was driven by MS4 Nike Oyelola and her team, become an annual fall offering.”
The event kicked off on a Friday evening with an opening ceremony and trivia, and lasted all day on Saturday with events such as yoga, scavenger hunt, paint class, nature walk at the West Hartford Reservoir, iron chef competition, and basketball, pickleball, and ping pong tournaments. Each student could earn points for their team, three different learning communities, by participating in events. Students also received raffle tickets for each event they attended that went toward a drawing for self care items. Local companies further extended the theme of community connection by donating snacks towards the event.
“All events were held in low-pressure, welcoming, and supportive environments so that anyone could join, whether it was their first time or if they had been doing that activity for years,” said Oyelola.
On October 17, 2024 at approximately 4:45 p.m., Prince Albert RCMP received a report of a robbery in the RM of Garden River.
Initial investigation determined two individuals were in a vehicle driving on Garden River Road near Highway #55, northeast of Prince Albert. They approached a vehicle that looked like they were in need of assistance. When they stopped, a male threatened the individuals with a firearm and stole their vehicle.
No physical injuries were reported by the two individuals.
Prince Albert RCMP are actively investigating. Prince Albert Police Service received a report of a robbery near Little Red River Park around 5:40 p.m. on October 17. Their investigation determined two individuals were threatened with a firearm and assaulted, then their vehicle was stolen.
One of the suspect vehicles then struck a vehicle within the City of Prince Albert and fled. No injuries were reported by the occupants of the struck vehicle.
Investigators believe the incidents may be connected.
They are asking the public to report all information about these incidents.
The suspects are described as three males and one female. One male was wearing a red shirt and had many tattoos. Another male was wearing a dark-coloured hoodie.
They may be driving a red 2005 Dodge Dakota pick-up truck with Saskatchewan license plate 529 ISI or a black 2013 Kia Sportage with Saskatchewan license plate 803 MKY.
If you see these vehicles or suspects, do not approach them. The suspects should be considered armed and dangerous. Be cautious approaching any unknown or suspicious persons.
Report information or suspicious persons to Prince Albert RCMP immediately by dialling 310-RCMP. Information can also be submitted anonymously by contacting Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or http://www.saskcrimestoppers.com.
Updates will be provided as they become available. We are monitoring this situation. If investigation determines an imminent risk to public safety exists, we will alert the public.
Since their inception in 1962, the New York Mets have long been enamored – and at times endured – by their supportive fan base.
Some of those followers have even taken their sporting devotion across the Seven Seas, from haze gray underway across ocean vastness to running silent and running deep in the briny depths.
There have been several Mets fans who have celebrated and commiserated during their time assigned to Naval Hospital Bremerton.
Brooklyn, New York native U.S. Navy Capt. Robert Uniszkiewicz, MD, MPH, became a Mets fan the day he was born.
“I have been a Mets fan my entire life. I watched games as a kid. It was how I spent time with my grandfather. Every year was going to be ‘our year.’ Even if it wasn’t, it still felt like it was,” reminisced Uniszkiewicz, stationed with North American Aerospace Command and U.S. Northern Command office of the command surgeon, force health protection division for public health threats.
Being a Mets fan is not for the faint of heart. Uniszkiewicz can attest to that.
“I cannot recommend being a Mets fan as the ups and downs they put you through will take years off your life,” Uniszkiewicz related. “For me though, it is the ups and downs that make them so enjoyable. Win or lose, they get up to play again tomorrow. I equate that to life, and military life in particular. The thrilling highs and sometimes challenging lows come to us all. It is how we deal with them that builds our character. Baseball teaches patience and resiliency.”
Many a servicemember knows that sports provide common ground at times to connect, discuss and parse. To a certain degree it can even level the hierarchy playing field.
“Sports transcend ranks, rates, and all walks of life,” said Uniszkiewicz. “Baseball brought people like me and retired Navy Senior Chief Culinary Specialist Submarine Kevin Flatley together in ways we may never have otherwise.”
“When I was NHB Directorate of Branch Clinics leading chief petty officer and Dr. U took over as my boss we instantly connected over our shared fandom of the Mets. That blossomed into a wonderful friendship now that I have retired,” added Flatley. “It also keeps me connected to several friends I grew up with on Long Island even though I have not lived there in 28 years. The Mets have served as the glue that has brought me together with several important people in my life.”
That mutual formed bond over their chosen team has had Uniszkiewicz and Flatley savoring wins and lamenting loses.
“Met games are never boring. They prove to me over and over that nothing is guaranteed in life, but you have to get up and keep playing. Although nobody in my family will make the bigs, it is from the couch that I will get into every game,” Uniszkiewicz said.
Although he insists no family member will play in the big leagues, Uniszkiewicz did enjoy the unique opportunity of throwing out the first pitch at a Tacoma Rainier – Triple A farm team of the Seattle Mariners – home game in 2017.
“That’s remains a highlight of my life,” Uniszkiewicz said.
When the Mets traveled to Oakland in 2023 for a three-game series, Uniszkiewicz and Flatley took in one of the games. Not only did their team sweep the Athletics, 17-6, 3-2 and 4-3, Uniszkiewicz snagged a foul ball. The odds of that happening are one in a 1,000 chance.
“That was incredible. I take that ball everywhere. It’s my lucky charm each time the Mets play,” exclaimed Uniszkiewicz.
The cool memory of catching the foul ball and tossing out the first pitch join another cherished remembrance for Uniszkiewicz which is also intricately related to baseball.
“My dad took me to a game at Shea Stadium [home field of the Mets from 1964 to 2008] every year on my birthday,” said Uniszkiewicz. “He did this even though he has no interest in sports. He did it for me. I want to carry that on to my kids. Baseball fills me with joy even when it fills me with pain because of the close ties to family and so many friends.
For Flatley, he can trace his support to the Mets back to the mid-1980s. After finishing 98-64 in ’85, the Mets went on a roll in ’86, finishing with a 108-54 record, claiming the National League East by 21.5 games. After knocking off the Houston Astros to win the National League Championship Series, they took on the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. After dropping game one and two to the BoSox in the fall classic, they came back to claim the title in seven games.
“The Mets magical run to the World Series title in 1986 cemented me as a fan for life. Game six [Mets down by two runs, bottom of the tenth, two outs, no one on base, yet rallied for the win] is still one of my best childhood memories,” related Flatley.
“As a New Yorker, you have the Mets or Yankees. But my dad was a Mets fan,” Flatley continued. “He had rooted for the Giants growing up but was left without a team when they moved to San Francisco [for the 1958 season]. When the Mets brought National League baseball back to New York, he became a Mets fan. I simply followed suite.”
Flatley spent the majority of his Navy career on submarines. On those long silent service patrols, with confined working spaces and cramped living conditions, he would bring a little haberdashery of his team for a sporting dash of home. “I would typically bring a Mets hat and perhaps a t-shirt,” he said.
The 2024 Mets finished with an 89-73 record and claimed a National League wild card spot in the NL playoffs. They took two games out of three to knock off the Milwaukee Brewers before upending the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Division Series three games to one to make it to the NL Championship Series.
“This year’s team has the magic,” stated Flatley. “At the beginning of the season, this was billed as a gap year, during which the team would be competitive but not necessarily compete for a championship. At the end of May, the Mets were 11 under .500 and just got swept by the Dodgers. At home. After a team meeting, they have the best record in baseball. They have carried that momentum into the playoffs. They have done so because they believe in themselves, have a steady manager, and because they don’t rely on any one player to get the job done.
The Mets currently trail the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 in the NLCS, with the Dodgers slightly favored.
Yet not to steadfast fans like Flatley and Uniszkiewicz.
“They are truly playing as a team. The Mets have not enjoyed a lot of success over their history. I, along with most fans, tend to be pretty pessimistic. But this team has shown they can beat anyone. Will they win it all? I don’t know. But I plan to enjoy the ride as far as the team takes me,” said Flatley.
When asked for his prediction on the playoffs, Uniszkiewicz replied, “The Mets will go all the way.”
“Full disclosure,” noted Uniszkiewicz. “That’s my prediction every year.”
PRESIDENT OF INDIA MEETS PRESIDENT OF MALAWI; LEADS DELEGATION LEVEL-TALKS WITNESSES SIGNING OF MoUs ON ARTS & CULTURE, YOUTH MATTERS, SPORTS AND PHARMACEUTICAL COOPERATION
ADDRESSED INDIAN COMMUNITY IN MALAWI YESTERDAY
Posted On: 18 OCT 2024 7:46PM by PIB Delhi
On the second day (October 18, 2024) of her visit to Malawi, the President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, visited the State House, Lilongwe where she was warmly received by H.E. Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, the President of the Republic of Malawi. Both leaders held productive discussions on a wide range of issues to further deepen the India-Malawi relationship.
The President witnessed the signing of MoUs on Arts & Culture, Youth Matters, Sports and Pharmaceutical cooperation. She also witnessed the symbolic handing over of 1000 MT of rice as humanitarian assistance from India to Malawi and the handing over of the Bhabhatron cancer treating machine to Malawi. She announced the Government of India’s support in setting up of a permanent Artificial Limb Fitment Centre (Jaipur Foot) in Malawi.
Earlier this morning, the President visited the National War Memorial in Lilongwe and paid floral tribute to the soldiers and civilians who laid down their lives during the First and Second World Wars and other military operations. She also laid a wreath at the Kamuzu Mausoleum – the resting place of the first President of Malawi Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda.
Yesterday evening (October 17, 2024), the President addressed the members of the Indian Community in Malawi at a Reception hosted by the High Commissioner of India to Malawi.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that India values its partnership with Africa based on the principles of mutual trust, equality, and mutual benefit. The main pillars of our cooperation are development partnership, capacity building, trade and economic cooperation, defence and security, and people-to-people contacts. Each pillar is important to India-Africa relations.
The President said that India had played an important role in making the African Union a permanent member of the G20 organization. As a leading member of the Global South, India would continue to share its experiences and capabilities with countries of the Global South.
The President said that our diaspora is an integral part of the transformational journey of India. She urged the members of the Indian community to join this journey and take forward the development agenda of India.
Tomorrow (October 19, 2024), the President will perform Arati and Puja at Shree Radha Krishna Mandir in Lilongwe as well as visit Lake Malawi before leaving for New Delhi on the completion of three-nation State visits to Algeria, Mauritania and Malawi.
Youth Regains Lost Esteem in the Last 10 Years: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh Union Minister Inaugurates Mann Ki Baat Quiz-cum-Declamation Contest, Season 4
Posted On: 18 OCT 2024 4:51PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister of State for Science and Technology (Independent Charge) Dr.Jitendra Singh stated that in the last 10 years, India’s youth have regained their lost esteem under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Today, their talent and potential are being recognized globally.
Dr. Jitendra Singh was speaking after inaugurating the fourth season of ‘Mann Ki Baat Quiz-cum-Declamation’ contest, organized by Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan at the Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education (LNCPE), Sports Authority of India, Thiruvananthapuram.
During the event, Dr. Jitendra Singh emphasized the impressive achievements of India’s youth, both domestically and internationally. The minister mentioned that the event celebrates three key pillars: the power of youth, the importance of sports, and the transformative ideas shared by Prime Minister Modi through his Mann Ki Baat radio program. He further added that sports have now become a major source of livelihood and contribute to both physical and mental well-being.
The Minister also distributed certificates to the winners of the Mann Ki Baat Quiz competition from season three and honoured outstanding international athletes from the Sports Authority of India. The winners of the season four competition will have the opportunity to attend the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi.
Former Minister of State for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan, delivered the presidential address. Speaking on the occasion, Shri. V Muraleedharan also acknowledged Dr.Jitendra Singh’s major role in implementing Prime Minister’s visionary project, Mission Karmayogi, which has helped transform the Indian Civil Service.
Dr. A. Radhakrishnan, Director of Global Givers Foundation, Shri. M. Anilkumar, State Director of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, and Dr. G. Kishore, Principal of LNCPE, were also present.
Posted On: 18 OCT 2024 3:16PM by PIB Thiruvananthpuram
Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya will inaugurate two projects of Sports Authority of India, Thiruvananthapuram, on 20 October 2024 (Sunday). The minister will inaugurate Upgraded SAI Trivandrum Golf Course, at 10 am. The program will be presided over Shri Suresh Gopi, Minister of state for Tourism & Minister of state for Petroleum and Natural Gas. Shri V. Abdurahiman, Minister for Sports, Government of Kerala, Shri V. K. Prashanth, MLA, Smt. Sarada Muraleedharan, Chief secretary, Government of Kerala, Shri Suman Billa IAS, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India and Shri S.N. Raghuchandran Nair, Secretary, SAI TGC will attend the event.
Following the event, the minister will also inaugurate the newly constructed 300-bedded girls’ hostel at SAI LNCPE Thiruvananthapuram, at 12 pm. The three storied hostel spans a total area of 7,470.60 Sqm. The project was awarded to M/s WAPCOS and executed at a cost of Rs. 32.88 crores.
The program will be presided over by Shri V. Abdurahiman, Minister for Sports, Government of Kerala. Inauguration ceremony will be attended by distinguished guests, including Padmasri K M Beena Mol, Khel Ratna Awardee, Smt. Padmini Tomas, Arjuna Awardee and Shri S Gopinath IPS (Rtd), former international volleyball player, Dr. G. Kishore, Principal & Regional Head, SAI RC LNCPE and, Sh. Rajesh Kumar, Chief Engineer, WAPCOS.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Oct. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Wytec (OTCQB:WYTC) has announced today, plans to uplist to the Nasdaq Capital Markets to accelerate their Pilot Smart Sensor Project to be demonstrated in detecting active threats such as gunshots within America’s Independent School Districts (ISD’s) and cities. Wytec’s AI based sensor technology is patent protected and has produced a better than 90% gunshot detection accuracy on over 400,000 live samples and simulated environments.
The uplisting to Nasdaq includes expanding Wytec’s partnership with the Lemko Corporation under a Master Services Agreement utilizing their collective intellectual property and products to commercialize and offer its Smart Sensor solutions globally. “The Lemko Corporation, with over 50 patents related to its Distributed Mobile Architecture (DMA), will dramatically enhance Wytec’s expansion objective to assist in solving America’s growing gun violence and drug epidemic injuring our children and students within U.S. cities and ISD properties,” states Wytec’s CTO, Robert Sanchez.
Wytec plans to file its Nasdaq uplisting application in November providing additional exposure to the capital markets and access to its $100M shelf registration contract with Global Emerging Markes, a $3.5 Billion private alternative investment group, focused on emerging markets around the world.
“We are honored and extremely excited to be partnering with Wytec to deliver such an important capability for our schools and communities,” explained Brian Ponte, Vice President – Sales and Marketing for Lemko. “Our combined efforts will deliver a solution that significantly improves safety and protects our children throughout the United States and abroad.”
About Wytec
Wytec is a 5G network development company with proprietary, patent and patent-pending AI/sensor technology designed to support gunshot detection, drug sensing technology for public safety and distance learning solutions for schools and cities.
For further information about Wytec International, (OTCQB:WYTC), please visit http://www.wytecintl.com or follow us on social media via X (Twitter), or LinkedIn.
About Lemko
Lemko Corporation’s patented Distributed Mobile Architecture (DMA) provides the world’s leading fully edge capable mobile network platform. Our mission is to provide simple and resilient 4G/5G wireless networks for use in Industrial IoT applications, private 4G/5G networks, wireless rural broadband systems and military and public safety deployments. Lemko’s DMA systems are designed to be more reliable, survivable and portable than conventional 4G/5G systems. Lemko is based in Schaumburg, Illinois. To learn more about Lemko, visit http://www.lemkocorp.com or follow us at http://www.linkedin.com/company/lemko
All primary schools, Early Learning and Childcare (ELC), Intensive Support Provision (ISP) settings and Fairview School in Perth and Kinross will be closed on Monday October 21 because of industrial action taken by UNISON in a national dispute over pay.
All secondary schools except St John’s Academy (Secondary) in Perth and the Community School of Auchterarder, will be open on Monday. All secondary ISP provision will be closed. Navigate will be open.
Due to the October holidays, it has not been possible, as previously indicated, to complete Risk Assessments for our primaries and ELC settings. This means we cannot guarantee there will be enough staff to ensure pupil safety and so have taken the decision to close these settings.
The situation will be reviewed daily during the two weeks of industrial action planned by UNISON.
It is possible a small number of primary schools will be able to open later in the week. However, the situation is likely to remain fluid and may change for individual schools on a day-to-day basis. We will continue to provide updates when necessary. Schools will also email parents and carers about their arrangements on Monday.
Where schools are closed before and after school care (Breakfast Clubs, Kids Clubs and Wraparound Care) will also be closed.
Remote learning will be provided when schools are closed to pupils as teachers are not taking part in the industrial action.
Payments will be made to families whose children are eligible Free School Meals because their families are in receipt of qualifying benefits.
We thank you for your understanding.
Leisure services provided at our four community campuses (Breadalbane, Loch Leven, North Inch and Strathearn) are also likely to be disrupted because of the industrial action.
The following activities will still be able to proceed:
Block Booked, Club/Group activity – Indoor and Outdoor
Instructor / Coach led activity – Swimming Lessons, Gymnastics, Fitness Classes etc.
Jasper’s value is beyond measure. For decades, Jasper has been a place where families and friends from Alberta and across the world have travelled to experience the incredible Canadian Rockies, connect with locals and make memories that last a lifetime.
As Jasper has a tourism-based economy, tourism is essential for the recovery of the community. Alberta’s government is committed to that recovery, and the recovery of the tourism sector in Jasper and surrounding areas. As a show of that commitment, Alberta’s government has earmarked $2.5 million to support Jasper’s tourism industry.
“Tourism is the backbone of Jasper’s economy, and for the town to rebuild, we need to see a strong return of tourism businesses, accommodation providers, services and experiences. This funding will help Jasper’s tourism businesses prepare to welcome visitors this fall and winter, ensuring they remain viable and ready for next summer.”
“The return of visitors is essential for the health and well-being of Jasper. I am grateful that Minister Schow and Travel Alberta are ensuring that the recovery of the community of Jasper and the tourism businesses is a priority for the Government of Alberta.”
Alberta’s government recognizes that Jasper’s recovery, and that of its tourism industry, requires long-term support. This initial funding through Travel Alberta is aimed at supporting businesses and tourism operators in their early work to rebuild. In the immediate aftermath of the fires, this funding helped support the Jasper is Recovering campaign, and will support promotional activities to encourage visitation this fall and winter, sustainability funding for Tourism Jasper, and funding for existing tourism businesses to activate fall and winter experiences.
As Alberta’s destination management organization, Travel Alberta works to promote Alberta as a premier tourism destination and grow Alberta’s visitor economy through supporting destination development and close partnerships with tourism businesses provincewide.
“We know that this fall and winter will be critical to the long-term success of Jasper’s recovery. This investment will help Jasper tourism operators expand their offerings while inviting travellers to come make new memories in this special place, supporting the community as it rebuilds.”
“A strong and thriving visitor economy is essential for our residents to rebuild swiftly and continue welcoming visitors to Jasper. These funds will provide direct support to our tourism operators and help reinforce the message that Jasper is open for business this fall and into the winter season. We are deeply grateful for the support and contributions of our provincial tourism partners.”
Jasper represents an important destination for Alberta’s tourism sector, accounting for 22 to 25 per cent of tourism expenditures in the Canadian Rockies. For more information on Travel Alberta programs, please visit the Travel Alberta Industry Hub webpage.
Related information
Travel Alberta Industry Hub
Higher Ground: A Tourism Sector Strategy
Related news
Alberta tourism soars to new heights (Sept. 26, 2024)
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News
ST. LOUIS – A Pennsylvania man on Thursday admitted stealing $650,000 from investors in a sports betting fund.
Elijah A. Goshert, 48, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to three counts of wire fraud. He admitted defrauding investors from at least Feb. 1, 2017, through Nov. 15, 2023, by falsely claiming the Magellan Sports Fund used a “sophisticated computer algorithm” that substantially reduced betting risks. Goshert sent emails to investors falsely claiming that he’d used their money to make sports bets and false “investors performance” updates claiming that their investments were making substantial profits.
Goshert spent the vast majority of the victims’ investments on unauthorized expenses. He admitted stealing about $654,861 from at least 12 victims.
Goshert is scheduled to be sentenced January 22, 2025. Each wire fraud charge carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.
Jasper is one of Canada’s most iconic destinations, treasured by Canadians and renowned around the world.
October 18, 2024 – Jasper, Alberta
Jasper is one of Canada’s most iconic destinations, treasured by Canadians and renowned around the world. With its proximity to majestic mountains and clear blue lakes, Jasper draws over two million visitors from across Canada and around the world every year. This summer’s wildfires had a devastating impact on Jasper and the region’s economy, which is built on tourism. That’s why the Government of Canada is taking action to support Jasper’s recovery and help its tourism industry come back strong.
The Honourable Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, alongside Marsha Walden, President and CEO of Destination Canada, the Honourable Joseph Schow, Alberta Minister of Tourism and Sport, Richard Ireland, Mayor of the Municipality of Jasper, David Goldstein, CEO of Travel Alberta, and Tyler Riopel, CEO of Tourism Jasper, today announced $3 million in support from the Government of Canada to help Jasper and the region’s tourism industry recover, rebuild and retake its place on the world stage. This is made possible through collaboration between Destination Canada and Travel Alberta, which are integrating their marketing strategies to showcase one of Canada’s most sought-after experiences.
Key marketing initiatives delivered by Destination Canada include:
investing in Destination Canada-led seasonal marketing campaigns, in collaboration with Travel Alberta, with a focus on the United States—Canada’s top international arrivals market;
co-investing in opportunities for targeted Destination Canada-led marketing programs in additional key markets such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Mexico;
hosting Canada’s largest global tourism media event in Jasper in September 2025, which will be organized in collaboration with Travel Aberta and Tourism Jasper and will serve as a platform to foster relationships between over 80 top-tier travel media outlets from around the world and Canadian tourism industry representatives; and
leveraging Destination Canada’s $50 million International Convention Attraction Fund.
These important investments build on significant support for Jasper already announced by the Government of Canada. This began with calling in the Canadian Armed Forces to fight the wildfires in July. As Jasper began to recover, the government matched donations and ensured local residents received the benefits and services they needed. As the town started rebuilding, the government quickly made changes to put the municipality in charge of the effort. This work is being directed by a special cabinet committee, led by the Honourable Randy Boissonnault.
Today’s announcement followed Minister Ferrada and Minister Schow’s co-hosting of the annual Canadian Council of Tourism Ministers meeting in Banff, Alberta and subsequent tour of the region. At the meeting, federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for tourism discussed challenges facing the tourism sector and cross-governmental opportunities to support its growth.
Marie-Justine Torres Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec marie-justine.torresames@ised-isde.gc.ca 613-327-5918
Media Relations Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada media@ised-isde.gc.ca
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Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kieran Maguire, Senior Teacher in Accountancy and member of Football Industries Group, University of Liverpool
When the Premier League broke away from the rest of English football in 1992, its 22 clubs generated £205 million in its debut season, and the average player earned £2,050 a week. Thirty years later, despite having two fewer clubs, the league’s revenue had increased by 2,850% to £6.1 billion and the average player earned £93,000 a week.
At the heart of this extraordinary growth is an American revolution. In the Premier League’s inaugural season, football was still in recovery from the horrors of the stadium disasters at Hillsborough and Heysel. Owners tended to be from the local area and with a business background. The only foreign owner was Sam Hamman at Wimbledon, a Lebanese millionaire who bought the club on a whim having reportedly been much more interested in tennis. The season ended with Manchester United (under Alex Ferguson) winning the English game’s top league for the first time in 26 years.
Now, if the Texas-based Friedkin Group’s recent deal to buy Everton goes through, 11 of the 20 Premier League clubs will be controlled or part-owned by American investors. The US – long seen as football’s final frontier when it comes to the men’s game – suddenly can’t get enough of English “soccer”.
Four of the Premier League’s “big six” are American-owned – Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea – while a fifth, Manchester City, has a significant US minority shareholding. Aston Villa, Fulham, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, West Ham and Ipswich Town also have varying degrees of American ownership.
And it’s not even just the glamour clubs at the top of the tree. American investment has also been significant lower down the football pyramid, led by the high-profile acquisition of then non-league Wrexham by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny, and Birmingham City’s purchase by US investors including seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady. American investment in football has reached places as geographically diverse as Carlisle and Crawley in England, and Aberdeen and Edinburgh in Scotland.
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Manchester United was the first Premier League club to come under American ownership – after a row about a horse.
In 2005, United was owned by a variety of investors including Irish businessmen and racehorse owners John Magnier and J.P. McManus. Their erstwhile friend Ferguson, the United manager, thought he co-owned the champion racehorse Rock of Gibraltar with them – a stallion worth millions in stud rights. They disagreed – and their bitter dispute was such that Magnier and McManus decided to sell their shares in the football club.
The Miami-based Glazer family – already involved in sport as owners of NFL franchise the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – had already been buying up small tranches of shares in United, but the sudden availability of the Irish shares allowed Malcolm Glazer to acquire a controlling stake for £790 million (around £1.5 billion at today’s prices).
The fact Glazer did not actually have sufficient funds to pay for these shares was a solvable problem. In the some-might-say commercially naive world of top-flight English football before the Premier League, Manchester United was a club without debt, paying its way without leveraging its position as one of the world’s most famous football clubs. Glazer saw the opportunity this presented and arranged a leveraged buy-out (LBO), whereby the football club borrowed more than £600 million secured on its own assets to, in effect, “buy itself” in 2005.
Despite the need to meet the high interest costs to fund the LBO, United continued winning trophies under Ferguson – including three Premier League titles in a row in 2007, 2008 and 2009, as well as a Champions League victory in 2008. Amid this success, the club felt that ticket prices were too low and set about increasing them, with matchday revenue increasing from £66 million in 2004/05 to over £101 million by 2007/08.
Commercial income was another area the Glazers were keen to increase. United set up offices in London and adopted a global approach to finding new official branding deals ranging from snacks to tractor and tyre suppliers – doubling revenues from this income source too.
But in this new, more aggressive world of “sweating the asset”, the debts lingered – and most United fans remained deeply suspicious of their American owners. (Following their father’s death in 2014, the club was co-owned by his six children, with brothers Avram and Joel Glazer becoming co-chairmen.)
Today, despite its partial listing on the New York Stock Exchange and the February 2024 sale of 27.7% of the club to British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe for a reputed £1.25 billion, United still has borrowings of more than £546 million, having paid cumulative interest costs of £969 million since the takeover in 2005. But with the club now valued at US$6.55 billion (around £5bn), it represents a very smart investment for the Glazer family.
Indeed, while the prices being paid for football clubs across Europe have reached record levels, they are still seen as cheap investments compared with US sports’ leading franchises. Forbes’s annual list of the world’s most valuable sports teams has American football (NFL), baseball (MLB) and basketball (NBA) teams occupying the top ten positions, with only three Premier League clubs – Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City – in the top 50.
With NFL teams having an average franchise value of US$5.1 billion and NBA $3.9 billion, many English football clubs still look like a bargain from the other side of the pond.
The risk of relegation
The latest to join this US bandwagon, the Friedkin Group – a Texas-based portfolio of companies run by American businessman and film producer Dan Friedkin – is reported to have offered £400m to buy Everton, despite the club’s poor financial state.
“The Toffees” have been hit by loss of sponsorships as well as two sets of points deductions for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules, leading to revenue losses from lower league positions. While the new stadium being built at Liverpool’s Bramley-Moore dock has been yet another financial constraint, it will at least increase matchday income from the start of next season.
Everton’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore dock will open in time for the start of the 2025-26 season. Phil Silverman / Shutterstock
A wider reason for the relative bargain in valuations of European football clubs is the risk of relegation – something that is not part of the closed leagues of most US sports. While the threat of relegation (and promise of promotion) has always been an integral part of English and European football, the jeopardy this brings for supporters – and a club’s finances – does not exist in the NFL, NBA, Major League Soccer and similar competitions.
The Premier League, with its three relegation spots at the end of each season, has featured 51 different clubs since it launched in 1992. Only six clubs – Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton – have been ever present, with Arsenal now approaching 100 years of consecutive top-flight football.
Other Premier League clubs have experienced the dramatic cost-benefit of relegation and promotion. Oldham Athletic, who were in the Premier League for its first two seasons, now languish in the fifth tier of the game, outside the English Football League (EFL). In contrast, Luton Town, who were in the fifth tier as recently as 2014, were promoted to the Premier League in 2023 – only to be relegated at the end of last season.
While it is difficult to compare football clubs with basketball and American football teams, the financial difference between having an open league, with relegation, and a closed league becomes apparent when you look at women’s football on both sides of the Atlantic.
Angel City, a women’s soccer team based in Los Angeles, only entered the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in 2022 and is yet to win an NWSL trophy. But last month, the club was sold for US$250 million (£188m) to Disney’s CEO Bob Iger and TV journalist Willow Bay – the most expensive takeover in the history of women’s professional sport.
In comparison, Chelsea – seven-time winners of the English Women’s Super League and one of the most successful sides in Europe – valued its women’s team at £150 million ($US196m) earlier this summer. While there are a number of factors to this price differential, the confidence that Angel City will always be a member of the big league of US soccer clubs – and share very equally in its revenue – will have made its new owners very confident in the long-term soundness of their deal.
The story of Angel City FC, the most expensive team in women’s sport.
A further attraction for American investors is the potential to enter two markets – one mature (men’s football) and one effectively a start-up (the women’s game) – in a single purchase. In the US, the top men’s and women’s clubs are completely separate. But in Europe, most top-flight women’s teams are affiliated to men’s clubs – with the exception of eight-time Women’s Champions League winners Olympique Lyonnais Feminin, which split from the French men’s club when Korean-American businesswoman Michele Kang bought a majority stake in the women’s team in February 2024).
While interest in, and hence value of, the WSL is now growing fast, the women’s game in England is dwarfed by viewer ratings for the Premier League – the most watched sporting league in the world, viewed by an estimated 1.87 billion people every week across 189 countries.
These figures dwarf even the NFL which, while currently still the most valuable of all sporting leagues in terms of its broadcasting deals, must be looking at the growth of the Premier League with some jealousy. This may explain why some US franchise owners, such as Stan Kroenke, the Glazer family, Fenway Sports Group and Billy Foley, have subsequently purchased Premier League football clubs.
Ironically, for many spectators around the world, it is the intensity and competitiveness of most Premier League matches – brought on in part by the threat of relegation and prize of European qualification – that makes it so captivating. However, billionaire investors like guaranteed numbers and dislike risk – especially the degree of financial risk that exists in the Premier League and English Football League.
European not-so-Super League
In April 2021, 12 leading European clubs (six from England plus three each from Spain and Italy) announced the creation of the European Super League (ESL). This new mid-week competition was to be a high-revenue generating, closed competition with (eventually) 15 permanent teams and five annual additions qualifying from Europe. According to one of the driving forces behind the plan, Manchester United co-chairman Joel Glazer:
By bringing together the world’s greatest clubs and players to play each other throughout the season, the Super League will open a new chapter for European football, ensuring world-class competition and facilities, and increased financial support for the wider football pyramid.
The problem facing the Premier League’s “big six” clubs – and their ambitious owners – is there are currently only four slots available to play in the Champions League. So, their thinking went, why not take away the risk of not qualifying? However, the proposal was swiftly condemned by fans around Europe, together with football’s governing bodies and leagues – all of whom saw the ESL proposal as a threat to the quality and integrity of their domestic leagues. Following some large fan protests, including at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, Manchester City was the first club to withdraw – followed, within a couple of days, by the rest of the English clubs.
Under the terms of the ESL proposals, founding member clubs would have been guaranteed participation in the competition forever. Guaranteed participation means guaranteed revenues. The current financial gap between the “big six” and the other members of the Premier League, which in 2022/23 averaged £396 million, would have widened rapidly.
For example, these clubs would have been able to sell the broadcast rights for some of their ESL home fixtures direct to fans, instead of via a broadcaster. All of a sudden, that database of fans who have downloaded the official club app, or are on a mailing list, becomes far more valuable. These are the people most willing to watch their favourite team on a pay-per-view basis, further increasing revenues.
At the same time, a planned ESL wage cap would have stopped players taking all these increased revenues in the form of higher wages, allowing these clubs to become more profitable and their ownership even more lucrative.
American-owned Manchester United and Liverpool had previously tried to enhance the value of their investments during the COVID lockdowns era via ProjectBig Picture – proposals to reduce the size of the Premier League and scrap one of the two domestic cup competitions, thus freeing up time for the bigger clubs to arrange more lucrative tours and European matches against high-profile opposition.
Most importantly, Project Big Picture would have resulted in changing the governance of the domestic game. Under its proposals, the “big six” clubs would have enjoyed enhanced voting rights, and therefore been able to significantly influence how the domestic game was governed.
Any attempt to increase the concentration of power raises concerns of lower competitive balance, whereby fewer teams are in the running to win the title and fewer games are meaningful. This is a problem facing some other major European football leagues including France’s Ligue 1, where interest among broadcasters has dwindled amid the perceived dominance of Paris St-Germain.
So while to date, American-led attempts to change the structure of the Premier League have been foiled, it’s unlikely such ideas have gone away for good. The near-universal fear of fans – even those who welcome an injection of extra cash from a new billionaire owner – is that the spectacle of the league will only be diminished if such plans ever succeed.
And there is evidence from the women’s game that the US closed league format is coming under more pressure from football’s global forces. The NWSL recently announced it is removing the draft system that is designed (as with the NFL and NBA) to build in jeopardy and competitive balance when there is no risk of relegation.
Top US women’s football clubs are losing some of their leading players to other leagues, in part because European clubs are not bound by the same artificial rules of employment. In a truly global professional sport such as football, international competition will always tend to destabilise closed leagues.
Why do they keep buying these clubs?
Does this mean that American and other wealthy owners of Premier League clubs seeking to reduce their risks are ultimately fighting a losing battle? And if so, given the potential risks involved in owning a football club – both financial and even personal – why do they keep buying them?
The motivations are part-financial, part technological and, as has always been the case with sports ownership, part-vanity.
The American economy has grown far faster than that of the EU or UK in recent years. Consequently, there are many beneficiaries of this growth who have surplus cash, and here football becomes an attractive proposition. In fact, football clubs are more resilient to recessions than other industries, holding their value better as they are effectively monopoly suppliers for their fans who have brand loyalty that exists in few other industries.
From 1993 to 2018, a period during which the UK economy more than doubled, the total value of Premier League clubs grew 30 times larger. And many fans are tied to supporting one club, helping to make the biggest clubs more resilient to economic changes than other industries. While football, like many parts of the entertainment industry, was hit by lockdown during Covid, no clubs went out of business, despite the challenges of matches being played in empty stadiums.
Added to this, the exchange rates for US dollars have been very favourable until recently, making US investments in the UK and Europe cheaper for American investors.
So, while Manchester United fans would argue that the Glazer family have not been good for the club, United has been good for the Glazers. And Fenway Sports Group (FSG), who bought Liverpool for £300 million in 2010, have recouped almost all of that money in smaller share sales while remaining majority owners of Liverpool.
Despite this, the £2.5 billion price paid for Chelsea by the US Clearlake-Todd Boehly consortium in May 2022 took markets by surprise.
The sale – which came after the UK government froze the assets of the club’s Russian oligarch owner, Roman Abramovich, following the invasion of Ukraine – went through less than a year after Newcastle United had been sold by Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley to the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund for £305 million – approximately twice that club’s annual revenues. Yet Clearlake-Boehly were willing to pay over five times Chelsea’s annual revenues to acquire the club, even though it was in a precarious financial position.
Clearlake is a private equity group whose main aim is to make profits for their investors. But unlike most such investors, who tend to focus on cost-cutting, the Chelsea ownership came in with a high-spending strategy using new financial structuring ideas, such as offering longer player contracts to avoid falling foul of football’s profitability and sustainability rules (although this loophole has since been closed with Uefa, European football’s governing body, limiting contract lengths for financial regulation purposes to five years).
Chelsea’s location in the one of the most expensive areas of London, combined with its on-field success under Abramovich, all added to the attraction, of course. But there are other reasons why Clearlake, along with billionaire businessman Boehly, were willing to stump up so much for the club.
From Hollywood to the metaverse
While some British football fans may have viewed the Ted Lasso TV show as an enjoyable if slightly twee fictional account of American involvement in English soccer, it has enhanced the attraction of the sport in the US. So too Welcome To Wrexham – the fly-on-the-wall series covering the (to date) two promotions of Wales’s oldest football club under the unlikely Hollywood stewardship of Reynolds and McElhenney.
Welcome To Wrexham, season one trailer.
The growth in US interest in English football is reflected in the record-breaking Premier League media rights deal in 2022, with NBC Sports reportedly paying $2.7 billion (£2.06bn) for its latest six-year deal.
But as well as football offering one of increasingly few “live shared TV experiences” that carry lucrative advertising slots, there may also be more opportunity for more behind-the-scenes coverage of the Premier League – as has long been seen in US coverage of NBA games, for example, where players are interviewed in the locker room straight after games.
According to Manchester United’s latest annual report, the club now has a “global community of 1.1 billion fans and followers”. Such numbers mean its owners, and many others, are bullish about the potential of the metaverse in terms of offering a matchday experience that could be similar to attending a match, without physically travelling to Manchester.
Their neighbours Manchester City, part-owned by American private equity company Silverlake, broke new (virtual) ground by signing a metaverse deal with Sony in 2022. Virtual reality could give fans around the world the feeling of attending a live match, sitting next to their friends and singing along with the rest of the crowd (for a pay-per-view fee).
Some investors are even confident that advancements in Abba-style avatar technology could one day allow fans to watch live 3D simulations of Premier League matches in stadiums all over the world. Having first-mover advantage by being in the elite club of owners who can make use of such technology could prove ever more rewarding.
More immediately, there are some indications that competitive matches involving England’s top men’s football teams could soon take place in US or other venues. Boehly, Chelsea’s co-owner, has already suggested adopting some US sports staples such as an All-Star match to further boost revenues. Indeed, back in 2008, the Premier League tentatively discussed a “39th game” taking place overseas, but that idea was quickly shelved.
The American owners of Birmingham City were keen to play this season’s EFL League One match against Wrexham in the US, but again this proposal did not get far. Liverpool’s chairman Tom Werner says he is determined to see matches take place overseas, and recent changes to world governing body Fifa’s rulebook could make it easier for this proposal to succeed.
The potential benefits of hosting games overseas include higher matchday revenues, increased brand awareness, and enhanced broadcast rights. While there is likely to be significant opposition from local fans, at least American owners know they would not face the same hostility about rising matchday prices in the US as they have encountered in England.
When the Argentinian legend Lionel Messi signed for new MLS franchise Inter Miami in 2023, season ticket prices nearly doubled on his account. And while there is vocal opposition to higher ticket prices in England, this is not borne out in terms of lower attendances for matches against high-calibre opposition – as evidenced by Aston Villa charging up to £97 for last week’s Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich.
Villa’s director of operations, Chris Heck, defended the prices by saying that difficult decisions had to be made if the club was to be competitive.
Manchester United’s matchday revenue per EPL season (£m)
For much of the 2010s, with broadcast revenues increasing rapidly, many Premier League owners made little effort to stoke hostilities with their loyal fan bases by putting up ticket prices. Indeed, Manchester United generated little more from matchday income in the 2021-22 season, as football emerged from the pandemic, than the club had in 2010-11 (see chart above).
However, this uneasy truce between fans and owners has ceased. The relative flatlining of broadcast revenues since 2017, along with cost control rules that are starting to affect clubs’ ability to spend money on player signings and wages, has changed club appetites for dampened ticket prices. This has resulted in noticeable rises in individual ticket and season ticket prices by some clubs.
However, season ticket and other local “legacy” fans generate little money compared with the more lucrative overseas and tourist fans. They may only watch their favourite team live once a season, but when they visit, they are far more likely not only to pay higher matchday prices, but to spend more on merchandise, catering and other offerings from the club.
Today’s breed of commercially aware, profit-seeking US Premier League owners – pioneered by the Glazer family, who saw that “sweating the asset” meant more than watching football players sprinting hard – understand there is a lot more value to come from English football teams. The clubs’ loyal local supporters may not like it, but English football’s American-led revolution is not done yet.
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Kieran Maguire has taught courses and presented on football finance for the Professional Footballers Association, League Managers Association, FIFA and national football associations in Europe.
Christina Philippou is affiliated with the RAF FA, and Premier League education programs.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Frank Pallone (6th District of New Jersey)
South Amboy, NJ – Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ-06) has secured $250,000 in federal funding to transform a vacant lot near South Amboy’s Middle High School into a safe and engaging playground specifically designed for young children.
“This funding is a significant investment in South Amboy’s future,” said Pallone. “By creating a safe space where our youngest residents can play and grow, we’re not just building a playground — we’re fostering a sense of community and well-being. This new park will become a valuable gathering spot for families, encouraging outdoor activity and strengthening neighborhood connections. It’s projects like these that truly enhance the quality of life for our residents and ensure that every child has a safe place to play.”
“On behalf of the City of South Amboy and especially our young citizens, I would like to thank Congressman Frank Pallone for the $250,000 appropriation,” said South Amboy Mayor Fred Henry. “This generous funding will go a long way in helping to relocate our David Street park to the Allie Clark Sports Complex. With the expansion of the park more opportunities will be provided for our city’s children to recreate in a healthy and safe environment. Congressman Pallone continues to be a great friend and representative to the City of South Amboy.”
The new preschool play area will feature playground equipment suitable for young children, such as low swings, slides, a sandbox, and play sculptures. This project will not only provide a safe environment for children to play, but also provide healthy outdoor activities.
According to the city, the new funding will create a formal play area of approximately 50’ x 50’ (2,500 sq ft), capable of accommodating up to 33 children at a time, meeting national childcare standards for outdoor play areas. Landscaping plans include shade-providing trees and native plants to encourage children’s interaction with nature. A nearby parking area, which provides easy access for driving parents, will also be repaired and reconfigured to meet safety standards.
The funding for this project was requested by Pallone in the Fiscal Year 2025 annual spending bill. Each year, members of the U.S. House may request community funding projects in their district to direct federal resources toward the biggest needs in their communities.
Source: The White House
5:54 P.M. EDT THE FIRST LADY: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, Alexa. And I’m excited to see your generation forging new connections to our past and shining such a bright light into our future. And I’m also grateful to the National Italian American Foundation. (Applause.) John, Robert, you’ve all — you’ve helped so many people experience our heritage in Italy and preserve it here in the United States. So, thank you. Buonasera, everyone. (Laughter.) AUDIENCE: Buonasera! THE FIRST LADY: And welcome to the White House. When I was a little girl, I learned what it means to be Italian American in my grandparents’ tiny, well-worn kitchen — and not only because there were ribbons of pasta — homemade pasta and sauce bubbling over on the stove. No, the most important lesson that I learned in their kitchen was that, when you’re Italian American, there’s always room for one more chair at the table — (applause) — enough bread toast to feed one more guest, enough space in our hearts for another friend to become like family. And even when times are hard, there’s — THE PRESIDENT: Looking at me. (Laughter.) THE FIRST LADY: There’s always enough time to — (the president makes the sign of the cross) — (laughter) — enjoy the pleasures of life together. My grandparents also taught me to never waste an opportunity to invite more people to the table and make a difference together. So, I knew I had to bring those values of love, abundance, and service to the White House as the first Italian American first lady. (Applause.) That’s why I’ve used this platform to give more women a seat at the table in discussions about their own health — (applause) — to hear from military families about how we can support them, to uplift community college students. And I’ve had the opportunity to bring so many more people inside the historic walls of the White House by creating new educational experiences that allow more Americans to immerse themselves in this house, the People’s House; by using these rooms to celebrate the young people who are changing our world; by honoring the immigrants who helped build this country; and tonight — (applause) — thank you — and tonight, gathering with this community — my community — to celebrate our culture. (Laughter.) So, it’s been the honor of my life to serve as first lady. And during my time here, I’ve often thought of my great-grandparents leaving everything they knew behind to chase the promise of America. And then, when they arrived on Ellis Island to take their first strides into a new life, I don’t think that they could ever have imagined that a group of hundreds of Italian Americans — coming together in the White House. When our roots run deep, there’s no limit to how high we can reach. So, tonight, I hope that you feel the power of our ancestors’ values beating inside of us as we carry their legacy forward; that you feel home — you feel at home, eat good food, and end up with a little something sweet together, as a family. (Laughter.) Now, it’s my pleasure to introduce a man who’s always felt at home — (laughs) — with Italian Americans. (Applause.) In fact, Joe first met my family at a big cookout at my grandparents’ house in Hammonton, New Jersey. So, I was pretty nervous, you know, about Joe coming to meet my family. But as soon as Joe pulled up into the driveway — and you kn- — you can picture this — my tiny grandmom bolted out of the house, bounded down the porch steps, in her housecoat and her apron, and she gave Joe this huge hug, as if she’d known him his entire life. And before he could even get a plate, Joe was greeted not as a stranger but as family. Over the years, I’ve seen the Italian American community extend the same joyful love and support to Joe. You mean so much to him. (Laughs.) So, please welcome — I don’t know why I’m getting so emotional — your president, my husband, Joe. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: Welcome to the White House. (Applause.) My name is Joe Biden, and I’m Jill Biden’s husband. (Laughter and applause.) Now, I may be Irish, but I’m not stupid. (Laughter.) I married Dominic Giacoppa’s granddaughter. And five years ago, I want you to know, I received the Sons of Italy Man of the Year award. To the best of my knowledge, I’m the only non-Italian ever to receive that award. (Laughter and applause.) There was a large crowd when I received that award. It was down by the train station. You know, I said I — I moved from an Irish Catholic neighborhood in Scranton to an Italian Catholic neighborhood in Claymont, Delaware. And I went from a — where — a place where you ended like Finnegan and Murphy and all that, down if your name didn’t lend — end in “O,” you’re in real trouble. (Laughter.) I was one of the few guys whose name didn’t end in “O.” I’d look out there and look at all my friends. You know, I accepted the award and named some of the guys I grew up with next door: Sonny Daramo, whose mom would say, “Joey, it’s not sauce; it’s gravy, Joey. It’s gravy, Joey.” (Laughter and applause.) Oh, you think I’m kidding. I’m not. (Laughter.) No, Anzilotti, De- — Sabatino, Buchini, Bifferato, Ceni, Congialdi, Deluterio, Monaco — no, you think I’m kidding — Tancr- — By the way, after I talked about it, I looked down at that crowd and said, “You know…” — thinking about it, I said, “I deserve this damn award.” (Laughter.) “With that many Italian friends, man, I deserve that award.” (Laughter.) Thank you, Alexa, for being here and sharing your pride in your family and your heritage. Look, and it’s great to see so many friends from the National Italian American Foundation, you know, the Sons and Daughters of Italy, and so many other Italian American leaders and organization from all across the country. You know, I can honestly say I wouldn’t be president without you. I wouldn’t be president without the Italian American community. Now, what she didn’t say is we do have something in common. I’m Catherine Eugenia Finnegan — Irish Catholics background. You guys, a lot of you are Catholics, you know. (Laughter.) I know you don’t admit it as much, but there — (laughter). This month is about celebrating the extraordinary contributions and proud, proud herita- — heritage of Italian Americans to our nation. And it’s kind of endless. For some of our families, your story is America’s story. It stretches back generations. For others, it just started. No matter when these st- — stories of immigrants who left everything behind to travel across the ocean in pursuit of the American dream just for a shot — just a simple shot. You and your ancestors worked hard to help build this country and build the middle class. People like my college friend, the late Congressman Bill Pascrell — he’s been — Bill, Jr. is here. Where — where are you, Bill? (Applause.) There you are. I used to kid his dad all the time. I said, “You know, Delaware may be the second-smallest state in the Union, but we own the Delaware River up to the highwater mark in New Jersey.” (Laughter.) There was actually a Supreme Court case about that. Anyway. (Laughter.) But he represented New Jersey, and his son represents the House of Representatives. And Bill did it for 27 years, when he passed away this summer. He was the grandson of Italian immigrants, a giant in the community, and a devoted patriot to the nation. You got good blood, kid, as my dad would say. (Applause.) He was a part of a proud, proud heritage of Italian Americans who enrich every part of American life: entrepreneurs, educators, scientists, chefs, diplomats, doctors, servicemembers, veterans, athletes, actors, artists, and so much more. There’s nothing the Italian community is not engaged in — I mean, virtually nothing. There’s noth- — no community you don’t excel in. But I also know it wasn’t always easy. Many of your ancestors faced horrific discrimination, like my ancestors faced horrific discrimination, when they first came to our shores. Yet, even in the face of — Italian Americans proved that they had the resilient spirit and a devotion to family and community, an unshakeable faith in the promise of a better tomorrow. You know, my dad used to have an expression. He’d say, “Joey, family is the beginning, the middle, and the end — the beginning, the middle, and the end.” It’s a faith that has carried through to today, both at home and abroad. Italian Americans are central to our nation’s deep friendship and strategic partnership with Italy. I’ve — I’ve worked out a really good relationship with the Italians. I’m — well, Ital- — I better have done that but at home. (Laughter.) But all kidding aside, with th- — with Italy. What a magnificent country. You know, and — anyway, I won’t get started. But — (laughter) — you know, the bond between our countries is founded on a shared principle and shared commitments, including the shared support for the brave people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia’s illegal (inaudible). (Applause.) I might add, they have a female leader. (Applause.) I wish Sonny Daramo were here to hear that. (Laughter.) In addition, Italy’s remarkable stewardship with the presidency of the G7 this year, as well as Italy’s long-standing contributions to transatlantic security through NATO — look, and their strong leadership in the European Union — it underscores how important Italy’s role is on the global stage, not just, you know, for America but for the world. You know, let me close with this. You know, Michelangelo famously said he “saw an angel in the marble, and I carved until I set it free.” “I saw an angel in the marble, and I carved until I set it free.” To me, that’s the essence of what Italian Americans have done to our country for our entire history. You’ve carved until you set us free. I’m — I’m being dead- — deadly earnest. We’re all reminded that when Jill and I had the honor to host one of the greatest singers of all time, in my view, Andrea Bocelli, here at the White House for Christmas in our first year in office, he performed with his son and his daughter as if they were a choir of herald angels. They were incredible. You know, with their God-given talent, the Bocelli family moved our hearts, pierced our souls — and I mean this sincerely — I have all of the music on my — and they embodied the spirit and beauty of all that connects us as people. A powerful reminder that America’s story depends on — not on any one of us but on — not on some of us but all of us. It’s a story I see in all of you, working tirelessly — tirelessly to help realize the promise of America — and I mean it — for all Americans. Not a joke. Because some of you have been on the short end of the stick like my family growing up had been. This is what the Italian American Heritage Month is all about. It’s about celebrating and connecting, feeling the pride in heritage and community, remembering who the hell we are. We’re the United States of America, and there’s nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together — nothing, nothing, nothing. (Applause.) No, I really mean it. So, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And I want to tell you, you know what made me mo- — the — probably one of the most famous guys in my family — the whole family? Not being president. I took her to a beautiful little island off of Sicily. (Laughter.) And she keeps saying, “I’m going back.” (Laughter.) THE FIRST LADY: Soon! THE PRESIDENT: “With — with or without you.” (Laughter.) So, folks, all kidding aside, thank you. You’re an incredible community. (Applause.) THE FIRST LADY: Thank you. THE PRESIDENT: You’re an essential part of my life. Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.) Enjoy the day. God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. Thank you. (Applause.) All right. 6:07 P.M. EDT
Source: Switzerland – Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport
Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports
Bern, 16.10.2024 – On Thursday, 17 October, President Viola Amherd met with Poland’s President Andrzej Duda to discuss their countries’ bilateral relations, the negotiations between Switzerland and the EU, the security situation in Europe, migration matters and geopolitical developments. Poland will hold the presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2025.
At the meeting in Warsaw, both sides emphasised the excellent relations between Switzerland and Poland, which are characterised by close political, economic, cultural and scientific ties. Cooperation as part of Switzerland’s second contribution to selected EU member states is also important. With a total of CHF 320.1 million until 2029, Poland will receive the largest cohesion framework credit among the 15 countries benefiting from this second Swiss contribution. The cooperation programme is particularly geared towards socially disadvantaged regions and promotes stability in Europe. A further priority is research at Polish universities. The programme offers an opportunity to intensify contacts and technical cooperation between Swiss and Polish research institutions.
In the current, increasingly unstable geopolitical context, both sides agreed that close partners should maintain good and stable relations. With regard to the bilateral relations between Switzerland and the EU, President Amherd gave an update on the state of the negotiations. She and President Duda also discussed outstanding issues. Ms Amherd emphasised the need for balanced solutions to stabilise and further develop bilateral relations to the mutual benefit of both sides and to gain domestic support in Switzerland and in the EU. Mr Duda, in turn, outlined the priorities of his country’s presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2025.
The discussion on the security situation focused on the war in Ukraine and the Ukraine Mine Action Conference (UMAC2024), which opened in Lausanne on the same day and addresses the importance of mine clearance as part of the recovery of Ukraine. The conference in Lausanne follows the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2022) in Lugano in July 2022 and the Summit on Peace in Ukraine at the Bürgenstock resort in June 2024. The discussion in Warsaw focused on the solidarity of both countries with Ukraine and the steps needed to achieve a just and lasting peace.
Further topics included geopolitical developments, in particular the situation in the Middle East, the state of multilateralism, and Switzerland’s second presidency of the UN Security Council this month. On Friday, Ms Amherd will meet with the presidents of Poland’s parliamentary chambers, Szymon Hołownia and Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska.
In 2021, Samsung and the New York Mets embarked on a journey to transform Citi Field into the most technologically advanced professional ballpark in Major League Baseball. Today, that vision is a reality, with the ballpark sporting over 1,300 LCD displays and over 29,800 square feet of new LED displays, totaling 40 million pixels. The result is an unforgettable, immersive experience that hits a grand slam with all bases loaded – from elevating fan engagement to enhancing team practice and Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) advertising for brand partners.
“As a landmark for baseball and of New York City, Citi Field represents the very best in live sports experiences,” said David Phelps, Head of the Display Division at Samsung. “The New York Mets have set new standards for in-stadium technology and what ticketholders can expect at the ballpark. With cutting-edge displays that boost fan engagement, amplify the energy in the stands and unlock unique advertising possibilities, every visit to Citi Field leaves a lasting impression.”
A whole new ballgame for fan experience
The Mets set out to replace its previous static signage at Citi Field with state-of-the-art digital displays that would align the stadium experience with the team’s high-caliber performance on the field. The Mets selected Samsung as its technology partner due to its proven record of transforming large-scale stadiums into cutting-edge experiences. Moreover, Samsung could provide an end-to-end solution, encompassing design, manufacturing, installation and service.
Samsung and the Mets collaborated and pushed the boundaries of possibility to design a stadium-wide system that immerses fans in digital content throughout the park. For instance, ribbon boards wrapped around multiple levels of the seating bowl deliver real-time statistics, player data and messages during games. Direct View LED Displays in high-traffic spaces, such as the Jackie Robinson Rotunda and concourses, keep fans captivated from the moment they enter the stadium to the final inning.
Citi Field’s crown jewel remains its centerfield main scoreboard, a first-of-its-kind, dual-sided LED display that proudly stands as the largest scoreboard in professional baseball. Equivalent to the size of about 450 65-inch Samsung TVs combined, the high-resolution scoreboard features a 17,400 square-foot video display on the front and 6,900 square feet on the back. The display’s sheer size delivers maximum visibility and impact when showcasing live game action, 4K instant replays, player statistics and other engaging content.
From a Samsung-powered 4K control room, the Mets manage and ensure the centerfield scoreboard works harmoniously with the other displays on the field. Control room staff can synchronize content to “fly” across the entire network of displays to amazing effect to hype the crowd up at exciting points in a game, such as strikeouts and home runs. This thrilling use of digital content is nothing short of spectacular and creates wow-worthy moments like no other ballpark.
Batting practice gets the big-screen treatment
In addition to enhancing the fan experience, the Mets use the scoreboards as an effective coaching tool during batting practices before night games. When a player is in the batting cage, the coaches put a live feed on the right-field scoreboard and a delayed feed on the centerfield scoreboard. The displays will showcase key metrics for the batters, such as pitch speed, exit velocity and launch angle. After a session at bat, players can look up at the centerfield scoreboard and review their performance with the coaches to make adjustments to prepare for that night’s game.
“Samsung has been a true partner in our digital transformation journey not only from a hardware perspective but also through a shared vision for reinventing the stadium experience,” said Oscar Fernandez, Senior Vice President of Technology at the New York Mets. “Today, we can create remarkable experiences using the latest, best-in-class technologies to benefit our fans, the coaching staff, players and brand partners. There is now no better show than coming to Citi Field.”
Revenue and growth opportunities in a league of their own
The high-definition Samsung displays installed throughout Citi Field also offer dynamic canvases for DOOH advertising. For example, the Mets’ brand partners can take advantage of the unique double-sided design of the main scoreboard and showcase content on the rear side that faces the ballpark’s exterior, further extending the reach of their advertising as fans can see the display from the highway before they even arrive at the park.
The revolutionary stadium technology also opens new revenue potential by empowering the Mets to offer more flexible and attractive advertising opportunities for partners like brand takeovers. Companies can amplify their name and logo by owning specific moments in the game, such as an entire inning. Since the Mets can easily control and change the content through the stadium, every display becomes a valuable marketing asset and creates limitless options for creative advertising.
Beyond gamedays, Samsung displays allow the Mets to further diversify their revenue by supporting various other events, from New York City Football Club games and concerts to fundraisers and corporate events. Citi Field’s technologically advanced experience makes it a sought-after venue for event organizers and entice attendees who look forward to the same excitement they enjoy at New York Mets games.
Learn more about the one-of-a-kind stadium experience at Citi Field powered by Samsung display technology in the full case study: https://insights.samsung.com/2024/10/17/the-ny-mets-and-samsung-reinvent-the-fan-experience-at-Citi-Field.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Athalie Redwood-Brown, Senior Lecturer in Performance Analysis of Sport, Nottingham Trent University
Regular workouts may help lessen the pain of those dreadful mornings.PintoArt/ Shutterstock
Most of us have been there: a night of fun turns into a morning of regret – complete with a pounding headache, nausea and fatigue.
While there are plenty of supposed hangover “cures” out there – from eating a greasy breakfast to the ill-advised “hair-of-the-dog” – a recent paper suggests that regular exercise may be the key to alleviating these dreadful mornings.
The study, published in the journal Addictive Behaviours, involved 1,676 undergraduate students who had experienced at least one hangover in the past three months. All participants did at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. They completed online questionnaires assessing their alcohol consumption patterns, physical activity levels and the frequency and severity of hangover symptoms. Activity levels were scored by calculating the intensity of the activity against the number of hours.
The findings indicated a significant association between physical activity and hangover symptoms. Unsurprisingly, people who consumed more alcohol experienced hangovers more frequently and with greater severity. But, these associations were reduced in people who engaged in vigorous physical activity (such as running) – suggesting that higher levels of exercise may reduce the severity of hangover symptoms.
While the study only established a correlation between exercise and reduced hangover severity, several mechanisms may help explain why physical activity could mitigate hangover symptoms.
1. Modulates pain response
Hangovers often cause physical pain, such as headaches and muscle aches, due to several factors. Alcohol leads to dehydration, which affects the way the blood vessels function and reduces fluid levels around the brain. This can trigger headaches.
Some studies have also noted that the concentration of alcohol you have in your blood after a night of drinking is also linked to common hangover symptoms, such as pain.
But exercise triggers the release of endorphins – hormones produced by the brain which serve as natural painkillers. Regular exercise may even elevate your baseline endorphin levels. This could potentially lead to a lower perception of pain and discomfort during a hangover.
2. Better quality sleep
Hangovers tend to be accompanied by poor quality sleep. Alcohol reduces REM sleep, which is the part of the sleep cycle that helps the brain rest and recover. Drinking can also make you wake up more throughout the night because alcohol causes your body to lose fluids – making you need to use the bathroom more often.
But regular exercise is linked to better sleep patterns by helping to regulate the circadian rhythm. Overall, physical activity can improve sleep duration, sleep quality and reduce the number of times you wake up during the night. This may in turn help you get a better night’s sleep after drinking – which could improve your overall recovery from a hangover.
3. Improves metabolism
Regular physical activity contributes to better metabolic health, which may facilitate the efficient processing of alcohol.
While the liver primarily metabolises alcohol, having a good metabolic rate can help clear alcohol and its byproducts from the system more effectively.
Exercise also improves circulation, which may also aid in flushing out acetaldehyde. This is a toxic chemical released by alcohol when the body metabolises it. Acetaldehyde significantly contributes to hangover symptoms.
4. Reduces inflammation
Alcohol triggers an inflammatory response (the body’s defence mechanism that works against harmful pathogens and substances) which can exacerbate hangover symptoms.
It releases chemicals called cytokines that promote inflammation, which helps fight off infections or injuries. However, in the case of a hangover, this inflammation can worsen symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches, fatigue and sensitivity to light and sound. The body’s heightened immune response amplifies these discomforts, making the hangover feel more intense.
But exercise has well-documented anti-inflammatory properties as it stimulates the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines. This means regular exercisers could experience less inflammation-related discomfort during hangovers.
The hangover cure?
It’s important to clarify that while exercise might help make hangovers more bearable, it’s not a cure. The most effective way to prevent a hangover is to drink in moderation – or avoid it altogether. But for those who choose to indulge, integrating regular physical activity into your lifestyle might just make hangovers a little less debilitating.
However, there are a few things that aren’t quite clear from the study. For example, it isn’t clear how soon before a night of drinking you should work out to see benefits on hangover severity. This makes it difficult to say whether regular exercisers have less severe hangovers, or whether having worked out before a night out helps manage hangover symptoms.
The study was also conducted using undergraduate students, whose drinking and physical activity levels may differ from older adults. Research in different age groups will be important to see if the benefits are similar.
It’s also crucial to distinguish between the benefits of consistent exercise and the impulse to work out while hungover. The latter can be counterproductive, as the body is already dehydrated and under stress. This may make your hangover feel worse.
Instead, try doing gentle, low-effort activities during a hangover – such as a walk or yoga. This may help boost your mood.
While this recent study’s findings shouldn’t be seen as providing an excuse to overindulge, it does highlight the ways that exercise equips the body to better handle the aftermath of a night of drinking – potentially making those rough mornings a bit more manageable.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Dmitry Chernyshenko took part as a moderator at the plenary session “Sport – a comprehensive view of the future” at the XII International Sports Forum “Russia – a Sports Power” in Ufa
October 17, 2024
Dmitry Chernyshenko took part as a moderator at the plenary session “Sport – a comprehensive view of the future” at the XII International Sports Forum “Russia – a Sports Power” in Ufa
October 17, 2024
Dmitry Chernyshenko took part as a moderator at the plenary session “Sport – a comprehensive view of the future” at the XII International Sports Forum “Russia – a Sports Power” in Ufa
October 17, 2024
Dmitry Chernyshenko took part as a moderator at the plenary session “Sport – a comprehensive view of the future” at the XII International Sports Forum “Russia – a Sports Power” in Ufa
October 17, 2024
Dmitry Chernyshenko took part as a moderator at the plenary session “Sport – a comprehensive view of the future” at the XII International Sports Forum “Russia – a Sports Power” in Ufa
October 17, 2024
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Dmitry Chernyshenko took part as a moderator at the plenary session “Sport – a comprehensive view of the future” at the XII International Sports Forum “Russia – a Sports Power” in Ufa
At the XII International Sports Forum “Russia – Sports Power” in Ufa, a plenary session on the topic “Sport – a comprehensive view of the future” was held. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at it.
“The prospects and the future of world sports really need serious, substantive discussion, a joint search for an answer to the question of how to overcome the difficult challenges of our time, prevent a split in the international sports family, cleanse sports of vulgar politicization, double standards, perverted rules, humiliating discrimination, including on the basis of citizenship and nationality of athletes,” the head of state emphasized.
The moderator of the plenary session was Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.
At the beginning of his speech, he quoted the President’s words: “Our country has been and remains one of the leading sports powers on the planet, the birthplace of great athletes, victories and records.” The Deputy Prime Minister noted that successes in the development of sports are achieved thanks to the synergy of efforts at all levels – government bodies, sports federations, societies, leagues, clubs, the media, as well as the contribution of the citizens themselves.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, sport is a powerful tool for interethnic dialogue, a means of building peace, friendship, and cooperation, including in the international arena.
“Russia always remains true to the principle: sport is a universal language of communication, and it should be outside of politics. For our part, we consistently defend the ideals of fair, open sports competition and continue to strengthen our sports sovereignty. Now we are all consolidated around our President and are using this moment to build a modern sports management system, involving all industry participants, including public organizations, in key processes,” Dmitry Chernyshenko emphasized.
Russia continues to develop new formats of international competitions, free from the jurisdiction of politicized international sports organizations. One of the most striking examples is the “Games of the Future” project.
The Deputy Prime Minister stressed the importance of developing sports infrastructure and increasing the level of public involvement in physical education and sports.
“President Vladimir Putin set the task of involving 70% of our citizens in regular physical education and sports by 2030. To achieve this goal, the Strategy for the Development of Physical Education and Sports was adopted, which defines the main areas of development of the industry until the end of the decade. We see that the results are already truly tangible. Today, more than 56% of people are involved in physical education and sports, and the provision of sports facilities has reached 61.5%. There are about 350 thousand sports facilities of various levels in Russia. Funds for the creation of non-capital structures are also planned in our budget law. This is more than 19 billion, which will allow us to build 350 sports facilities annually,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko.
In 2023, 72 major sports facilities were put into operation. The plan for this year is another 85. Under the federal project “Business Sprint”, about 150 smart sites and modular halls were opened last year, and another 97 are planned for this year.
There are about 24 million people registered in the GTO system. About 11 million of them successfully passed the standards and received badges.
Acting Prime Minister of the Republic of Bashkortostan Andrey Nazarov shared Bashkortostan’s experience in supporting non-governmental organizations in the sports industry.
“Along with supporting state and municipal sports institutions, we involve and support non-governmental organizations. There are 133 public associations of physical culture and sports orientation registered in the republic, of which 122 are accredited regional sports federations,” said the acting Prime Minister.
The event was also attended by the Minister of Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Belarus Sergei Kovalchuk, the Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Iraq Ahmed Al-Mubarka, the Minister of Youth and Sports of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal Teju Lal Chaudhary, the President of the All-Russian Phygital Sports Federation Nikita Nagorny, the Minister of People’s Power for Youth and Sports of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Arnaldo Sanchez, the Minister of Sports and Leisure of the Togolese Republic Lidi Bessi-Kama, the Deputy Governor of the Vologda Region Alexander Povetkin, the head coach of the Russian national rhythmic gymnastics team Irina Viner, and Metropolitan Mitrofan of Murmansk and Monchegorsk.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Headline: Designing against the deaf tax: How we can flip the script on tokenism
Inclusive Design – UX/UI
How we can flip the script on tokenism
By
Toby Fitch
– The estimated reading time is 11 min.
“Your baby has failed” isn’t a phrase any parent wants to hear. Yet for parents born with deaf children, babies are labeled failures before even leaving the hospital because they don’t pass mandated hearing tests. The weight and impact of that label is never felt by the hearing population because in an audio-dominant world, there’s no such thing as a mandatory sign language test. It’s no surprise, then, that systems fail to design for what dominant culture does not see or value: the creativity, brilliance, and depth of deaf culture.
When my parents found out I was deaf, my mother cried, worrying that I would have to navigate the challenges she and my father endured. Like me and my sister, both of my parents are deaf. As author Isabel Wilkerson describes in her book about race, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, my parents experienced firsthand how our world is run by a caste system that is “about respect, authority and assumptions of competence — who is accorded these and who is not.”
American Sign Language for “born failures” is made up of three signs: ‘BORN, FAIL, FINISH’
From medicine to education, our systems are developed and implemented based on policies, attitudes, and institutional practices. It’s not biology that disables people in the Deaf or Disability community; it is the mismatches between our abilities and designed systems not designed for us. As disability rights activist Haben Girma put it, “They designed this environment for people who can see and hear. In this environment, I am disabled. They place the burden on me to step out of my world and reach into theirs.” Those mismatches place a disability tax on Deaf people at an early age. For example, fighting for accommodations like sign language interpreters for school, work, or receiving healthcare, or having the courage to speak up in the face of discrimination.
Despite the exclusion, ridicule, and language deprivation — my parents didn’t learn sign language until I entered elementary school because their [hearing] parents were told that they had to ‘talk’ (eg: speech) to succeed in life — they were never without hope. “Deaf people can do anything hearing people can, except hear,” said Dr. I. King Jordan, the first Deaf president of Gallaudet University. When a child endures language deprivation, they don’t get adequate exposure to other forms of effective communication, thus delaying their cognitive, social, and emotional development. Ultimately, having my sister and I would give new meaning to my parents’ personal histories and broaden their perspective in profound ways. As a born failure, I grew up in a world of mismatches, but as desktop computers became more readily available, those mismatches would lead me down a path of using my lived experience to break barriers in society, design and technology.
American sign language for “accessibility” shows a dominant hand moving under the non-dominant hand in a motion that implies the ability for anyone to go in and out of a space with ease.
Technology cracks the door open
Growing up, there weren’t really computers in classrooms and since most kids my age didn’t care for them, I was one of the first kids in my area to start using a computer. Since I had limited access to communicate with my classmates, computers helped me fill the time. My first computer was a PowerMac G3 Desktop, gifted by my cousin who ran his own design firm. I tinkered with different programs and video games like Backyard Baseball (1998) and the door to my future slowly opened.
I got my second computer in 7th grade because my parents were trying to be creative in how I would keep up in class with note taking. Pencil and paper weren’t working for me. My eyes were focused on my interpreter, the whiteboard, and just taking everything in. Couple that with the fact that teachers don’t stop speaking just because you’re looking down to write, and it’s not a surprise that I missed a lot of information. Typing notes was much faster than writing, so my school provided a PC and that widened the doorway to technology. It was a Dell Inspiron 8100 with Windows 2000 that was built like a tank, and it was really heavy! I sank a lot of time on that computer and surfed on the Internet quite often to learn just about anything. Ask Jeeves was my best friend, eventually replaced by MSN search and Google.
Access to information was my lifeline to learning about the world… and I did it through technology because I didn’t receive my information from conversations around the room. This wasn’t from lack of effort. I took over 15 years of speech training and learned to speak quite well to try and meet people halfway. The problem was, when they responded, I would only partially or pretend to understand, nodding my way through communication mismatches. This led to shallow interactions and pretending didn’t feel good because there was always something lacking — a missed opportunity for true human connection — when people were not willing to meet me halfway. These days, I rarely speak. Primarily using sign language gives me 100% access. I also use a notetaking app using speech-to text on my phone to interface with folks who don’t know sign language.
American Sign Language for “design” shows a dominant hand expressively drafting something in one swooping motion on the non-dominant hand with an open palm representing a canvas.
Using a Deaf lens at Microsoft
Designing at Microsoft, I often think about my lived experience and bringing empathy to the mismatches I face daily. I may be an avid user of technology, but there is plenty of room for technology to grow and fill accessibility gaps. I advocate for accessibility not because I want to, but because I have to. Design should be about how Deaf people experience the world, anticipating every need, and shifting left to prevent issues later in the product cycle. Differing lived experiences inform our unique perspectives, creating an exchange that can open opportunities. Overlooked problems get discovered and the approach to solving them become very mindful and effective.
As a profession, design has evolved tremendously in the past few years, moving from the aspirational towards the functional. UX mismatches in the systems we use still exist because, while they’re made based on a very wide set of users, they still lack all of the necessary elements for me to be accommodated. To solve these problems, we sometimes need to focus on “design for one and solve for many.” In other words, when we focus on designing for a single problem (or disability), it helps us to navigate the problem space writ large using empathy, our lived experiences, and leveraging co-design principles.
Part of what catalyzed many recent changes in design thinking was the 2020 Pandemic and rapid transition to remote work. For Deaf folks, we quickly found that video conferencing was the great equalizer because for once we were on equal footing with our peers. Meetings were more mindful and easier to track because people couldn’t talk over each other. This made work easier for Deaf people as others modified their behaviors to ensure clear audio or taking turns when speaking in meetings. Deaf people could also rely on captions to figure out who was speaking or catch the dropped information that interpreters may miss due to accents or things being lost in translation. For the first time, millions of people were experiencing Deaf gain. Communication and human connection through technology was improved by the Deaf community because anyone could use those features (including folks forced to mute their audio thanks to a screaming kid in the background!).
UX for Sign Language View in Teams. The D/HH experience in Microsoft Teams has driven the development of accessibility features like Sign Language View, designed specifically for those who rely on sign language for communication. Through a collaborative, co-design process with the D/HH community and sign language interpreters, we have developed features that ensure sign language users can perform at their best in any virtual collaboration setting. Key enhancements — such as the ability to manage and prioritize a list of signers, improved video quality for clearer sign language visibility, and simplified meeting controls — empowering D/HH users to engage quickly, fully and confidently.
The creation of Sign Language View in Teams
One shortfall of this new way of working, however, was the existing captioning solutions. It was painful for my Deaf peers and I to have to turn on captions with each call. Every time, you had to look for and prioritize the interpreters, open the chat window, and then finally be ready to participate in meetings. This design mismatch led to two Deaf employees (myself and a coworker) innovating an UX proposal for Microsoft Teams that would be more accommodating for Deaf users. Sign Language View was born out of a mismatch that we as employees faced daily, to the point that it was weighing on our disability tax. These days, I can now join meetings with less friction than I had before — but there are still more doors to open and work to do!
With AI, it’s truly an exciting time in tech and so much is yet to be determined. This makes it critical to enter the space with curiosity, humility, and nuance. People in the Deaf and Disabled community operate outside of societal norms, attuning us to gaps often missed by others. That creates a very sensitive, nuanced lens and curiosity is also often at play. When your ability to succeed is determined by how creatively you can hack a system that doesn’t work for you, it necessitates innovation. In totality, this gives us a lens to approach problems in ways that may be more holistic than traditional design best practices.
Co-design is great, but representation is an even better way to ensure people with lived experiences work directly to solve problems for their own communities. Ultimately, this leads to more equitable products for everyone and potentially more enjoyable ones, too. With sign language, for example, people often see it as a lesser form of communication but it’s highly expressive and an integral part of our cultural identity. People often want to travel to other countries to enrich their own lives by better understanding different ways of living. Living without sound is another way of experiencing life, and Deaf culture has its own social beliefs, behaviors, traditions, art, and values.
American Sign Language for “empathy” shows two people, one of which is the signer. With one hand close to the heart, both hands sign the word ‘UNDERSTAND,’ showing how sign language can expressively convey empathy for different viewpoints.
So, of the 90% of deaf children born to hearing parents, what if instead of being given the “bad news,” they were told they now had the chance to dive into a culture rich with language and expression? I think it could help erode the disability tax over time, leading to products and systems that are truly meant for all.
The new Northern Territory government is planning a swathe of changes to alcohol policy.
If implemented, these changes fly in the face of what evidence shows works to reduce alcohol-related harms. Some are also out of step with the rest of Australia.
Among our concerns are plans that would lead to harmful alcohol products becoming cheaper, alcohol becoming more easily available, criminalising public drunkenness, and a particularly worrying type of mandatory alcohol treatment – all of which evidence suggests will cause more harms.
No one is downplaying the magnitude and complexities of alcohol-related issues in the NT. But we hope the territory government will pay more heed to the evidence and voices of those most impacted.
Alcohol-related harm in the NT is complex
Alcohol-related harms in the NT are significantly higher (for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people) than elsewhere in Australia.
In the territory, these harms contribute to health and social outcomes costing at least A$1.4 billion a year. Alcohol harms result in costs related to health care, deaths, crime, policing and child protection.
Aboriginal communities in the NT have for decades cried out for solutions and services that effectively respond to alcohol-related harm. Instead, they found their lives made part of a political football match on law and order. Policies have been reactive and mostly ineffective. They’ve been overturned at each election.
Now, the new NT government is discussing changes that promise to exacerbate the very issues it aims to address.
1. Cheap alcohol that contributes most harm would be on the market
The World Health Organization recognises that raising the price of alcohol is one of the most effective ways for governments to reduce alcohol-related harm.
So some governments around the world, including in the NT, have set a price below which alcohol cannot be sold, known as the minimum or “floor price”. This targets cheap, high-strength alcohol associated with patterns of drinking that cause the most harm.
The new NT government plans to repeal this, despite evidence showing this works to reduce harms.
14% reduction in alcohol-related assaults in Darwin and Palmerston
11% reduction in domestic and family violence assaults
21% reduction in domestic and family violence assaults involving alcohol
19% reduction in alcohol-related emergency department attendances.
Originally, experts recommended a $1.50 floor price but this was reduced to $1.30 after a backlash from alcohol industry lobbyists. Had the policy not been watered down, evidence suggests the impacts above would likely have been greater.
The floor price has likely also lost some of its initial impact as it has never been indexed for inflation.
The best available research shows the floor price has reduced alcohol-related harms with no evidence of unintended consequences or negative impacts on the alcohol industry, despiteclaims otherwise.
Researchers and experts from around the world have been writing to NT ministers urging them to reconsider repealing this effective policy.
This includes researchers from the United Kingdom and Canada, who have coauthored this article. In these countries, evidence on the effectiveness of minimum pricing has been used to increase the floor price by 30%, not abolish it.
2. Bottle shops could be open longer
There are also proposals to repeal current restrictions on bottle shop trading hours. Such restrictions are highly effective in reducing alcohol harms, including violence.
Our paper from earlier this year found that in the town of Tennant Creek, restrictions to reduce trading hours and introduce purchase limits at bottle shops resulted in a 92% reduction in alcohol-involved domestic and family violence assaults.
Preliminary analyses of the reduced trading hours introduced in Alice Springs following Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit in early 2023 also suggest a clear reduction on violence rates.
Ministers were also set to pass laws to create a new offence for “nuisance” public intoxication (also known as public drunkenness). This would allow police officers to arrest people and fine them up to $925, in addition to current powers to seize and tip out alcohol from people drinking in prohibited areas.
This is at the time when nearly every other jurisdiction in Australia is in the process of decriminalising public drunkenness, making the NT out of step with the rest of the nation.
The NT’s proposed new laws on public drunkenness would criminalise more people who are already locked out from our society, placing them at risk of the negative, intergenerational and preventable impacts that often arise from contact with the justice system.
In its previous term of government, mandatory alcohol treatment was focused on people with a public intoxication offence rather than providing quality care to people with alcohol dependence in life-saving circumstances. If the same model is reintroduced, this is potentially harmful and at best ineffective.
In the NT, this model of mandatory alcohol treatment had no better outcomes than for those who may not have received any treatment at all. But it cost the taxpayer three times as much.
Where to from here?
Researchers, health professionals and partner organisations have urged the NT government to reconsider these decisions, as we have well-founded concerns these may worsen the very issues the government aims to address.
There’s no need to guess the outcomes of changing, repealing or introducing alcohol policies. We can draw on robust evidence, including extensive research from the NT, on what works in our communities.
Cassandra Wright receives funding from the Australian Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, Music NT, NT Motor Accident Compensation Commission and Commonwealth government Department of Health.
Beau Jayde Cubillo receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and Fisheries Research Development Corporation on behalf of the Australian Commonwealth.
John Holmes receives funding from the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research and has previously received funding from UK Research & Innovation, the Wellcome Trust, Alcohol Change UK and other similar public health charities and government bodies. He has received funding from NHS Health Scotland (now part of Public Health Scotland) to evaluate the impact of minimum unit pricing in Scotland. He has also received funding from UK and international governments to model the potential impact of minimum unit pricing in various jurisdictions.
Mark Mayo receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Ian Potter Foundation, Ramaciotti Foundation.
Mark Robinson currently receives, or has previously received, funding from Health and Wellbeing Queensland, Queensland Health, National Health and Medical Research Council, and Australian government Department of Health and Aged Care. He was a member of the Consumption and Health Harms Evaluation Advisory Group for the evaluation of minimum unit pricing led by Public Health Scotland.
Michael Livingston receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council, HealthWay, VicHealth and the Commonwealth Department of Health. He is on the board of the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.
Nicholas Taylor receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Cancer Council, VicHealth, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, the Northern Territory government, and the Queensland government Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability.
Sarah Clifford receives funding from National Health and Medical Research Council, Music NT, and NT Motor Accident Compensation Commission.
Tim Stockwell receives funding from the Canadian Cancer Society, the the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. He has accepted travel expenses from IOGT-Sweden, the Swedish temperance society. He has been an expert witness in court cases in Canada relating to contested liquor licence applications and damages for the victims of alcohol-related violence and road crashes. He has received research funds, travel expenses and minor personal fees for conducting public health related research for government-owned alcohol retail monopolies in Finland, Sweden and Canada.
