Aston Villa’s impressive Champions League debut continued as they strengthened their chances of automatic qualification to the last 16 after a 3-2 win at RB Leipzig. Ross Barkley’s 85th-minute winner gave them victory after they had twice squandered the lead in Germany. John McGinn and Jhon Duran goals at the start of each half were cancelled out by Lois Openda and Christoph Baumgartner. But Barkley had the final say less than two minutes after coming off the bench as his deflected effort earned the points which sent his side third in the new Champions League league phase. The top eight automatically qualify for the next stage and with games against Monaco and Celtic to come, Unai Emery’s men are a good bet to avoid the need for a play-off round in their first foray in this competition. Leipzig are out, having lost all six of their games. Villa enjoyed a dream start and were ahead with less than three minutes on the clock. Matty Cash, playing in a more advanced position on the right, crossed for Ollie Watkins, who nodded down into the path of McGinn and the skipper made no mistake from close range. That gave the visitors confidence and they had enough chances in the first 15 minutes to have the game wrapped up. Lucas Digne’s cross from the left was begging to be converted but Watkins could not make contact from close range and then Morgan Rogers shot straight at Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi. Then Youri Tielemans found himself with time and space on the edge of the area from Watkins’ tee-up but the Belgium international disappointingly dragged wide. All that good work was undone in the 27th minute, though, as Emiliano Martinez was left red-faced. The Argentinian was too casual waiting to collect Nicolas Seiwald’s long ball and Openda nipped in to get the ball first and tap into an empty net. pic.twitter.com/LGoAMrLkQy — Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 10, 2024 Duran was introduced at the break and needed just a couple of minutes to fire a warning when he drilled wide after a loose ball fell to him 14 yards out. But the Colombian got his goal in the 52nd minute, though it was another moment for the goalkeeper to forget. Duran was invited to drive forward and unleashed a 25-yard shot, which was hardly an Exocet, but still was too much for Gulacsi, who barely even jumped. It was his 10th goal of the season and sixth from the bench as he continues his super-sub role. 😍 pic.twitter.com/ZHeVFiYUW9 — Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 10, 2024 The striker was not complaining and he thought he had doubled his tally shortly after when he converted Cash’s centre but the provider was ruled offside by VAR. Five minutes later, Villa found themselves pegged back again with a finish of real quality. Openda was sent clear by another long ball and his cross was perfect for Baumgartner to cushion a far-post volley back across goal and into the corner. Digne brought a save out of Gulacsi and then Openda shot straight at Martinez as both sides pushed for a winner. It was Villa who got it as Barkley saw his deflected effort wrong-foot Gulacsi and hit the back of the net.
Ross Barkley’s 85th-minute winner gave them victory after they had twice squandered the lead in Germany. John McGinn and Jhon Duran goals at the start of each half were cancelled out by Lois Openda and Christoph Baumgartner. But Barkley had the final say less than two minutes after coming off the bench as his deflected effort earned the points which sent his side third in the new Champions League league phase. The top eight automatically qualify for the next stage and with games against Monaco and Celtic to come, Unai Emery’s men are a good bet to avoid the need for a play-off round in their first foray in this competition. Leipzig are out, having lost all six of their games. Villa enjoyed a dream start and were ahead with less than three minutes on the clock. Matty Cash, playing in a more advanced position on the right, crossed for Ollie Watkins, who nodded down into the path of McGinn and the skipper made no mistake from close range. That gave the visitors confidence and they had enough chances in the first 15 minutes to have the game wrapped up. Lucas Digne’s cross from the left was begging to be converted but Watkins could not make contact from close range and then Morgan Rogers shot straight at Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi. Then Youri Tielemans found himself with time and space on the edge of the area from Watkins’ tee-up but the Belgium international disappointingly dragged wide. All that good work was undone in the 27th minute, though, as Emiliano Martinez was left red-faced. The Argentinian was too casual waiting to collect Nicolas Seiwald’s long ball and Openda nipped in to get the ball first and tap into an empty net. pic.twitter.com/LGoAMrLkQy — Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 10, 2024 Duran was introduced at the break and needed just a couple of minutes to fire a warning when he drilled wide after a loose ball fell to him 14 yards out. But the Colombian got his goal in the 52nd minute, though it was another moment for the goalkeeper to forget. Duran was invited to drive forward and unleashed a 25-yard shot, which was hardly an Exocet, but still was too much for Gulacsi, who barely even jumped. It was his 10th goal of the season and sixth from the bench as he continues his super-sub role. 😍 pic.twitter.com/ZHeVFiYUW9 — Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 10, 2024 The striker was not complaining and he thought he had doubled his tally shortly after when he converted Cash’s centre but the provider was ruled offside by VAR. Five minutes later, Villa found themselves pegged back again with a finish of real quality. Openda was sent clear by another long ball and his cross was perfect for Baumgartner to cushion a far-post volley back across goal and into the corner. Digne brought a save out of Gulacsi and then Openda shot straight at Martinez as both sides pushed for a winner. It was Villa who got it as Barkley saw his deflected effort wrong-foot Gulacsi and hit the back of the net.NORAD’s Santa tracker was a Cold War morale boost. Now it attracts millions of kidsNORAD’s Santa tracker was a Cold War morale boost. Now it attracts millions of kids
"If you do not want to die in the war," the Ukrainian government-backed hotline, "I Want To Live," proclaims in large letters on its homepage, then they are the ones to contact. Established for Russian soldiers to surrender and get themselves out of Moscow's ranks, the hotline is preparing for North Korean soldiers to reach out for the first time. The "I Want To Live" project isn't expecting a "massive" wave of messages or calls from North Korean soldiers, but is anticipating a few fighters drafted into front-line clashes to make contact, Vitalii, a spokesperson for the hotline, told Newsweek . None of the thousands of soldiers sent from North Korea to Russian soil have contacted the project yet, Vitalii said. South Korean, U.S. and Ukrainian intelligence have indicated that upward of 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to the western Russian region of Kursk to support Moscow's war effort. Ukraine launched an offensive into the region in early August, andstill holds hundreds of square miles of Russian territory. Pyongyang's fighters are thought to be kitted out in Russian garb and have been taken into the Kremlin's existing military forces. Russia has not confirmed or denied the presence of North Korean troops in Kursk, but has signed a mutual defense pact with the secretive country's supreme leader, Kim Jong-un. Russian Preside nt Vladimir Putin said it was "entirely our own business" how to implement the defense agreement between Moscow and Pyongyang. North Korea has supplied a significant number of missiles and shipments of munitions to prop up the Kremlin's war effort. A South Korean intelligence official said earlier this week that Russia had provided air-defense equipment and "economic aid in various forms" to North Korea. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that he expected to see North Korean soldiers "engaged in combat soon." The State Department confirmed in mid-November that North Korean soldiers were "engaging in combat operations with Russian forces" after undergoing training in how to use drones, artillery, and carry out "basic infantry operations." Ukraine's Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov, told South Korean media earlier this month that North Korean soldiers had been involved in "small-scale clashes" so far. The North Korean troops arrived in Russia at a moment when Moscow, like Kyiv, is searching for ways to backfill its military ranks in the face of eye-watering casualty counts. Russia has been steadily advancing in Ukraine's east, but has racked up a high number of casualties in the process, according to numbers coming out of Ukraine. The "I Want To Live" hotline was quick to launch a social media appeal in Korean more than a month ago. "We appeal to the fighters of the Korean People's Army who were sent to help the Putin regime," the hotline said in a post to messaging app Telegram, using the formal name for North Korea's army. "You should not die senselessly on foreign soil," the project wrote. "Do not repeat the fate of hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers who will never return home!" Those who surrender to Ukrainian forces are promised shelter, hot meals and medical care for those who need it. "It does not matter how many soldiers Pyongyang sends to help Russia, it does not matter in which direction—Ukrainian prisoner of war camps are ready to accept soldiers of any nationality, religion and ideological views," the hotline said. Extracting each soldier from the fighting is a unique process, Vitalii said. "There are many factors and variables, so I cannot say exactly how we will do it," he said, "but the main thing is the safety of both the surrendered and our units that are being brought to the territory controlled by Ukraine." Each fighter who reaches out keeps up a constant link with the hotline, Vitalii said. A bespoke evacuation plan is then devised, taking into account the weather conditions, the landscape and which section of the hundreds of miles of front line the soldier is deployed to, he added. It's not yet clear whether North Korean fighters will be found along other sections of the front line. Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said earlier this week that an unspecified number of North Korean soldiers were "transferred to the border areas of the Belgorod region." Belgorod borders Kursk, sitting across from Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region. Newsweek could not independently verify this. The hotline is "monitoring" where North Korean forces end up, Vitalii said. "We have now made a video message to the North Korean military and developed leaflets that will be distributed at the front," he added. The project also has specialists who can communicate in Korean, Vitalii said. There are still big question marks over how well the North Korean soldiers, for whom this will be their first combat experience, will cope with warfare on the front lines in Europe. Officials and experts have pointed to likely problems with communication, slotting into the command structure of Russia's military, and morale. Pyongyang's fighters are "conditioned with unwavering loyalty to their leadership and a unique psychological resilience cultivated by the regime," Ji Hyun Park, a North Korean defector, now a senior fellow for human security at the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy, previously told Newsweek . It is designed to instill a willingness to sacrifice everything for the state, Park said. "However, this psychological preparation may not translate effectively into practical resilience in the type of active combat scenarios currently seen in Ukraine, where they would face modernized and highly capable opposition in unfamiliar territory," Park added. A group of North Korean defectors based in the South Korean capital said earlier this month that they handed over written instructions and audio messages for North Korean fighters on how to defect to Ukrainian officials in Seoul. Jang Se-yul, heading up the group, said Kyiv's military "could secure mass surrender and defection among North Korean soldiers if proactive psychological warfare is mobilized," according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. Although the North Koreans may be unfamiliar with Russia's territory and weapons stockpiles, they probably will not need extensive training on the guns, rifles, mortars and other explosives Moscow uses against Ukraine, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a professor of international relations at King's College London, previously told Newsweek . At least some of the thousands of fighters are thought to be "Storm Troops," or members of Pyongyang's special operations forces trained for infiltration and assassination. It is impossible to tell how well equipped they are for active conflict.
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An Israeli rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates has been found murdered, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Sunday, denouncing his death as a "heinous antisemitic terrorist act." Zvi Kogan, who worked in the UAE for the Orthodox Jewish group Chabad, which seeks to support Jewish life for thousands of Jewish visitors and residents in the Gulf Arab state, vanished in Dubai on Thursday. "The state of Israel will use all means at its disposal to bring the criminals responsible for his death to justice," the prime minister's statement said. Kogan's body was found in the Emirati city of Al Ain, which borders Oman, though it is not clear if he was killed there or elsewhere, former Israeli Druze politician Ayoob Kara told Reuters in an English-language interview in Dubai. Kara said he was waiting for the UAE to finish an investigation, but blamed Iran for the murder. "The one enemy (Israel has) today is the terror and Iran that supports the terror. The indication that we have now is this is the direction of the investigation," said Kara, a member of Israel's ruling right-wing Likud party who works to promote economic relations between Israel and the Arab world. Iran's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Kara said Kogan's body would be sent to Israel for burial after the UAE finished investigating. Emirati and Israeli authorities have not said who was involved in the killing nor what the motive might have been. The UAE state news agency said on Saturday the interior ministry was investigating Kogan's disappearance but the foreign ministry did not comment on Sunday's news that the body of Kogan, who also held Moldovan citizenship, had been discovered. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, posted on social media on Sunday that the UAE would remain an "oasis of stability, a society of tolerance and coexistence", without making direct reference to Kogan's murder. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities reissued their recommendation against all non-essential travel to the UAE and said visitors now there should minimise movement, remain in secure areas and avoid visiting places associated with Israel and Jewish populations. UAE Jewish community in 'shock' The UAE's Israeli and Jewish community has grown more visible since 2020 when the country became the most prominent Arab state in 30 years to establish formal ties with Israel under a U.S.-brokered agreement, dubbed the Abraham Accords. The UAE has maintained the relationship during the 13-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. However, the public presence of Israelis and Jews in the UAE has appeared to recede since the devastating Hamas cross-border attack on Israeli communities of Oct. 7, 2023 that triggered the Gaza conflict, which has sparked protests worldwide. Kara said the UAE's Jewish community was in "shock" at the news of Kogan's murder, but that Israelis and Jews would still visit and build ties in the Gulf country. "I am sure that lots of Jewish (people) will continue to invest here. No way to stop this relationship and this cooperation," said Kara, who is not Jewish and is a member of Israel's Druze minority. Jewish community members in the UAE told Reuters informal synagogues in Dubai were closed after Hamas' Oct. 7 assault over security concerns, with Jews instead gathering to pray at home. The one government-approved synagogue in the UAE remains open in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital. There are no official synagogues in Dubai, the UAE's biggest city and commercial hub. There are no official statistics on the number of Jews or Israelis living in the country, but estimates from Jewish groups suggest the community numbers in the several thousand.EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Justin Jefferson might be weary of all the safeties shadowing his every route, determined not to let the Minnesota Vikings go deep, but he’s hardly angry. The double and triple coverage he continually faces, after all, is a sign of immense respect for his game-breaking ability. The strategy also simply makes sense. “I would do the same,” Jefferson said. “It’s either let everybody else go off or let Justin go off. I’m going to let everybody else go off. That would be my game plan.” When the Vikings visit Chicago on Sunday, they’re expecting the usual heavy dose of split-safety coverage designed to put a lid on the passing attack and force them to operate primarily underneath. “We see that every week: Teams just have different tendencies on film, and then when we go out on the field they play us totally different,” Jefferson said, later adding: “I don’t really feel like anyone else is getting played how I’m getting played.” Jefferson nonetheless is second in the in receiving yards (912) behind Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase, his former college teammate at LSU. Last week, Jefferson set yet another all-time record by passing Torry Holt for the most receiving yards over the first five seasons of a career. Holt logged 80 regular-season games and accumulated 6,784 yards for St. Louis. Jefferson has 6,811 yards — in just 70 games. “I want to go up against those single coverages. I want to go have my opportunities to catch a deep pass downfield, just one-on-one coverage, like a lot of these other receivers get,” Jefferson said. “It’s definitely difficult going up against an extra person or an extra two people, but it is what it is and the concepts that we’re drawing up and the ways that we’re trying to get me open, it definitely helps.” With fellow tight end Josh Oliver ruled out of the game on Sunday because of a sprained ankle, T.J. Hockenson is certain to have his heaviest workload since returning from knee surgery four weeks ago. He’s also certain that Jefferson will continue to see persistent double-teams. “It puts it on us to make some plays and do some things to get them out of that,” Hockenson said. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell has been forced to dig deeper into the vault of play designs and game plans to help keep quarterback Sam Darnold and the offense on track. O’Connell said after Minnesota’s 12-7 win at Jacksonville, when Darnold threw three interceptions to precipitate a safer strategy down the stretch, that he superseded his play-calling role with the wisdom of a head coach to help win that game. “Not just the egomaniac of wanting to score points and constantly show everybody how smart we are. There was a mode that I think you have to go into sometimes to ensure a victory,” O’Connell said on his weekly show on KFAN radio. Taking what the defense gives is usually the shrewdest strategy. “You’ve got to really implement some new things and some things that maybe you didn’t come across during your early coaching years whether as a coordinator or position coach or even when you’re responsible for a small area of the game plan as a younger coach,” O’Connell said. “You really have to kind of look outside the lens of always what you see on tape.” ___ AP NFL:
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He finished it by producing an astonishing save that vindicated those awards. The Argentina international illuminated a 0-0 draw between his Aston Villa team and Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday by plucking the ball from behind him and scooping it off the goal line to deny Francisco Conceição what could have been the winner. Replays showed the ball was almost entirely over the line before Martinez hooked it clear, and the goalkeeper was quickly congratulated by his teammates. No save by Martinez will ever beat the one he pulled off for Argentina in the last seconds of extra time in the 2022 World Cup final , denying France striker Randal Kolo Muani and keeping teammate Lionel Messi’s dream alive of finally winning soccer’s biggest prize. He might just have run it close. It was fitting he produced his wonder save against Juve on the night he showed off the two Yashin Trophies he claimed at the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony in each of the past two years. The most recent one came last month. As for Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio, he finished the game relieved that what appeared to be a mistake in the final seconds of stoppage time didn't cost his team. Di Gregorio spilled a cross under pressure from Villa defender Diego Carlos and Morgan Rogers was there to poke the ball into the net. A goal was awarded by the on-field referee but after a two-minute check, it was ruled out for a foul on Di Gregorio by Carlos. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerMarket Whales and Their Recent Bets on CLSK Options
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16 Movie Roles That Changed Actors' Personalities Permanently, In Fans' OpinionsNoneLast month, Microsoft announced that , thanks to a recent ruling, it would allow people buy and play Xbox games directly from the Xbox App on Android starting in November. But, as we reach the end of the month, it looks like those plans will have to wait a bit. Xbox President Sarah Bond announced on X/Twitter on Wednesday that "a temporary administrative stay recently granted by the courts" has delayed the functionality. Still, Bond added that they're ready to launch with the feature as soon as they have the legal go-ahead. At Xbox, we want to offer players more choice on how and where they play, including being able to play and buy games directly from the Xbox app. I recently shared our ambition to unlock these features first with the Google Play Store on Android devices in the U.S. while other app...— BondSarahBond (@BondSarah_Bond) November 27, 2024 "At Xbox, we want to offer players more choice on how and where they play, including being able to play and buy games directly from the Xbox app," Bond wrote. "I recently shared our ambition to unlock these features first with the Google Play Store on Android devices in the U.S. while other app stores adapt to meet consumer demand." "Due to a temporary administrative stay recently granted by the courts, we are currently unable to launch these features as planned," she continued. "Our team has the functionality built and ready to go live as soon as the court makes a final decision. We are eager to launch and give more choice and flexibility to players." Microsoft announced its plans following a recent decision by a U.S. judge that forces Google to open up its Play Store to competitors for three years . Per the ruling — the latest victory in Epic Games' long-running antitrust battle against Google — Google will have carry third-party Android app stores in the Play Store and grant third-party app stores full access to Google Play's catalogue of apps. Google, however, vowed to appeal the decision in a subsequent blog post . For Microsoft, the ruling meant that, in theory, it would free to sell Xbox games on Android devices and allow them to be streamed as soon as they're purchased from within the same app without having to use Google Play Billing. However, it's currently unclear what this court order will mean for Microsoft's plans beyond just delaying them. The ability to expand purchasing to the Google Play Store was only one of Microsoft's recent moves to grow Xbox's footprint in the mobile space. In May , Bond announced that Microsoft was planning to launch its own mobile game store in July, although that's been delayed. In the wake of Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which owns Candy Crush maker King, the company certainly has more firepower to bring to the mobile landscape. Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.