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Undeterred, military court convicts another 60 over May 9 riots involvement In first phase, FGCM announced punishment to 25 culprits involved in May 9 riots A view of a house in the cantonment area, which was set afire by supporters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan during a protest against his arrest, in Lahore, Pakistan May 9, 2023. —Reuters RAWALPINDI: Amid concerns expressed by the European Union, United States and United Kingdom, the field general court martial, in the second phase, on Thursday announced punishments to remaining 60 people involved May 9 violent acts at General Headquarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi, Jinnah House Lahore and other military buildings and installations. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700472799616-0'); }); “Sequel to announcement of May-9 punishments in the light of the Supreme Court’s decision, the Field General Court Martial (FGCM) has promulgated the punishments to the remaining 60 culprits after examining all evidence, ensuring provision of all legal rights to the convicts, and completion of due process and appropriate legal proceedings,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. In the first phase, the FGCM announced punishment to 25 culprits involved in similar acts. The convicts include Imran Khan’s nephew Hassan Khan Niazi, son of Hafizullah Niazi, 10-year rigorous imprisonment (RI) in Jinnah House incident; Brig (retd) Javed Akram, son of Chaudhry Muhammad Akram, six-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Mian Abbad Farooq, son of Amanat Ali, two-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Raees Ahmed, son of Shafiullah, six-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Arzam Junaid, son of Junaid Razzaq, six-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Ali Raza, son of Ghulam Mustafa, six-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Raja Danish, son of Raja Abdul Waheed, four-year RI in GHQ attack incident; Syed Hassan Shah, son of Asif Hussain Shah, nine-year RI in GHQ attack incident; Ali Hussain, son of Khalilur Rehman, seven-year RI in Armed Forces Institute of Mental Health (AFIMH) Rawalpindi attack incident; Zahid Khan, son of Muhammad Nabi, two-year RI in Punjab Regimental Centre Mardan incident; Sohrab Khan, son of Riaz Khan, four-year RI in HQ Dir Scouts Timergara incident; Khuram Liaquat, son of Liaquat Ali Shahid, four-year RI in Multan Cantt Check-post incident; Zakir Hussain, son of Shah Faisal, seven-year RI in Chakdara Fort incident; Ameen Shah, son of Mashter Khan, nine-year RI in Bannu Cantt incident; Fahim Sajid, son of Muhammad Khan, eight-year RI in PAF Base Mianwali incident; Hamza Sharif, son of Muhammad Azam, two-year RI in ISI Office Faisalabad incident; Muhammad Arslan, son of Muhammad Siraj, seven-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Muhammad Umair, son of Abdul Sattar, six-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Noman Shah, son of Mehmood Ahmad Shah, four-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Ikramullah, son of Khanzada Khan, nine-year RI in Bannu Cantt incident; Muhammad Ahmed, son of Muhammad Nazir, two-year RI in Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident; Pirzada Mian Muhammad Ishaq Bhutta, son of Pirzada Mian Qamaruddind Bhutta, three-year RI in Multan Cantt Check-post incident; Muhammad Abdullah, son of Kanwar Ashraf Khan, four-year RI in GHQ attack; Amjad Ali, son of Manzoor Ahmed, two-year RI in ISI Office Faisalabad incident; Muhammad Raheem, son of Naeem Khan, six-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Ehsanullah Khan, son of Najeebullah Khan, 10-year RI in PAF Base Mianwali incident; Muneeb Ahmed, son of Naveed Ahmed Butt, two-year RI in Rahwali Gate Gujarnwala incident; Muhammad Ali, son of Muhammad Boota, two-year RI in ISI Office Faisalabad incident; Samiullah, son of Meerdad Khan, two-year RI in Bannu Cantt incident; Mian Muhammad Akram Usman, son of Mian Muhammad Usman, two-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Mudassir Hafiz, son of Hafeezullah, six-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Sajjad Ahmed, son of Muhammad Iqbal, four-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Khizar Hayat, son of Umar Qiyaz Khan, nine-year RI in Bannu Cantt incident; Muhammad Nawaz, son of Abdul Samad, two-year RI in Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident; Muhammad Bilal, son of Muhammad Afzal, four-year RI in PAF Base Mianwali incident; Muhammad Suleman, son of Said Ghani Jan, two-year RI in HQ Dir Scouts Timergara incident; Asadullah Durani, son of Badshahzada, four-year RI in HQ Dir Scouts Timergara incident; Ikramullah, son of Shah Zaman, four-year RI in Chakdara Fort incident; Muhammad Farrukh, son of Shams Tabriz, five-year RI in ISI Office Faisalabad incident; Waqas Ali, son of Muhammad Ashraf, six-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Ameer Zohaib, son of Nazeer Ahmed Sheikh, four-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Farhad Khan, son of Shahid Hussain, seven-year RI in AIMH Rawalpindi incident; Izzat Khan, son of Awal Khan, two-year RI in HQ Dir Scouts Timergara incident; Asher Butt, son of Muhammad Arshad Butt, two-year RI in Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident; Saqlain Haider, son of Rafiullah Khan, nine-year RI in Bannu Cantt incident; Muhammad Salman, son of Zahid Nisar, two-year RI in ISI Office Faisalabad incident; Hamid Ali, son of Syed Hadi Shah, three-year RI in Multan Cantt Check-post incident; Muhammad Waqas, son of Malik Muhammad Khalil, two-year RI in Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident; Izzat Gul, son of Mirdat Khan, nine-year RI in Bannu Cantt incident; Haider Majeed, son of Muhammad Majeed, two-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Group Capt (retd) Viqas Ahmed Mohsin, son of Bashir Ahmed Mohsin, two-year RI in Jinnah House incident; Muhammad Ilyas, son of Muhammad Fazal Haleem, two-year RI, in HQ Dir Scouts Timergara incident; Muhammad Ayaz, son of Sahibzada Khan, two-year RI in Main Gate FC Cantt Peshawar incident; Raees Ahmed, son of Khaista Rehman, four-year RI in Chakdara Fort incident; Gohar Rehman, son of Gul Rehman, seven-year RI in Chakdara Fort incident; Naik Muhammad, son of Nasrullah Jan, nine-year RI in Bannu Cantt incident; Fahad Imran, son of Muhammad Imran Shahid, nine-year RI in ISI Office Faisalabad incident; Sufayan Idrees, son of Idrees Ahmed, two-year RI in Rahwali Gate Gujranwala incident; Raheemullah, son of Baitullah, nine-year RI in Bannu Cantt incident; and Khalid Nawaz, son of Hamid Khan, nine-year RI in Bannu Cantt incident. The ISPR said the trial of May 9 accused under military custody, had been concluded under the relevant laws, and all convicts had the right to appeal and avail other legal recourses, as guaranteed by the Constitution and law. It said the nation, government, and the armed forces remain steadfast in their commitment to upholding justice and ensuring that the inviolable writ of the state was maintained. Reacting over the development, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan announced filing appeals against the military court’s verdict. He explained that appeals would be filed against the military court sentences individually also. He also called upon the Supreme Court to decide the case related to the military trial at the earliest, demanding that a judicial commission should be formed on the incidents of May 9 and November 26. Agencies add: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, meanwhile, welcomed the punishments awarded in the May 9 incidents. In a video message issued on Thursday, he said justice had prevailed and that no one would dare attack the country’s defence installations again. He said these culprits were involved in vandalism and were punished after a fair trial. He said the culprits of the May-9 incident were given all fundamental rights during trial. He added that no hasty decisions were made in the trial court as the prosecution took ample time and proper evidence was presented. Attaullah Tarar said the right to a fair trial includes the right to legal representation, access to records and family. He said the culprits had two rights of appeal against their sentence. The minister said the May 9 incident was a conspiracy, hatched by the PTI founder chairman. He said the mastermind and other plotters of the conspiracy should also be taken to task. Separately, Adviser in the Ministry of Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik hailed judgments of the military courts in May 9, 2023 incidents, and said it would help the state establish its writ and send a strong message to miscreants. In a short statement on social media platform X, he appreciated the sentences of imprisonment and rigorous imprisonment ranging from two to ten years, and said it was a decisive step towards upholding the rule of law and maintaining order. The adviser said accountability of culprits of the May 9 incidents was a clear message. “Rule of law and ensuring dispensation of justice is the top priority of the state. The verdicts of the military courts fully enjoy confidence of the nation. It shows that no hurdle is acceptable in provision of justice and national commitment in ensuring the rule of law is beyond any doubt,” the adviser said in his tweet. Later, five accused sentenced by military courts in the 9 May mayhem were transferred to the Adiala jail, according to jail sources. The convicts transferred to Adiala jail were Muhammad Abdullah, son of Kanwar Ashraf, Raja Danish Waheed, son of Raja Abdul Waheed, Hassan Shah, son of Sabir Hussain Shah, Ali Hasnain, son of Khalil-ur-Rehman, and Farhad Khan, son of Shahid Hussain.The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is to ask the Ministry of Finance to exempt the retrospective tax for merger and acquisition (M&A) deals of listed companies, as part of its moves to boost the sluggish domestic exchange. It also aims to push the Thai stock market as a listing hub for flagship businesses in sectors with the potential to grow, such as healthcare, data centres, and food and beverage. The Jump+ project will be launched next year to boost market capitalisation. SET president Asadej Kongsiri said during an interview with the Bangkok Post that listed companies are considering acquiring businesses outside the stock market, but they are concerned over potential negative consequences. "In the process of business expansion, there may be a merger along the way and sometimes the companies on the SET want to acquire non-listed peers," he said. Consequently, the SET is preparing to ask for support from the Ministry of Finance by avoiding retrospective tax collection for those businesses pursuing M&As. "That would help companies expand and grow to their goals faster without being afraid of having their accounting audited retrospectively," said Mr Asadej. These companies would grow, and that will allow the government to collect more tax revenue in the future. In turn, it would let more companies enter the official tax system, he added. JUMP+ PROJECT Mr Asadej revealed that the SET aims to increase the value of stocks and the market capitalisation of the Thai bourse through the Jump+ project, which is similar to a successful initiative by South Korea's stock exchange. Currently, there are more than 800 companies listed on the Thai bourse, with a market cap of roughly 17 trillion baht. Several companies have a large amount of assets and cash, with only a small portion of debt. Nonetheless, they do not have a plan to expand their business. "These companies are classified as having a lazy balance sheet, but they have growth potential," Mr Asadej noted. If a listed company has developed a business expansion plan and future investment, they will be able to increase their stock value, whether they grow in their current business or a new business. The Jump+ initiative is a growth acceleration platform designed to enhance the value creation journey of high-potential listed firms across the Thai capital market. Through this voluntary programme, the SET will empower listed companies by driving operational excellence, advancement in ESG (environmental, social and governance), and adoption of analytical tools and artificial intelligence (AI). Participants will gain access to advisory services and communication channels to enhance market visibility, along with benefits and incentives from the SET, government agencies and partners. The SET will also introduce a new index tracking the performance of successful Jump+ companies and provide analysis reports in partnership with the Investment Analysts Association to support their investment decisions. A group index, possibly called the SET Jump Plus Index, would be set up if a large number of companies participated in the programme, noted Mr Asadej, adding that this initiative would be implemented from the first half of 2025. LISTING HUB According to the president, the SET aims to be a listing hub for flagship Thai businesses, or industries that have strengths and high growth potential, and that are in investment trends. Target businesses include healthcare, wellness, data and cloud centres, and electronic parts. "We are preparing to meet with relevant agencies, including the Board of Investment, the Finance Ministry, and foreign embassies to help attract companies from all over the world to invest in Thailand," Mr Asadej said. "This is a long-term plan that may not be completed in my term. But it must be started to put the Thai stock market in the spotlight and increase the bourse's potential in the long term." Additionally, information spreads through social media and various other channels very quickly nowadays. They contain both the truth and untruths. Therefore, proper and effective communication and warnings provided to investors must be carried out more quickly. He added that the SET is considering the use of AI to help analyse small stocks to provide investors with better information for their investment decisions. One of the pain points nowadays is that investors can only see analysis of large stocks. It is not worth it for brokers to analyse smaller stocks that investors do not trade often. "Now there is technology that can do it. It is a basic analysis that can be translated into many languages for investors to choose from. It helps them access investment information more comprehensively," Mr Asadej said. RISK FACTORS Mr Asadej said that US-China trade is an external factor that could have implications for the Thai stock market in terms of both opportunities and risks. During the first Donald Trump administration from 2017 to 2021, there were US$130 trillion worth of manufacturing relocations from China to the rest of Asia, of which only 10% was captured by Thailand. Vietnam attracted a significant portion due to various factors such as its natural resources and a young workforce whose skill sets were better than that of the Thai population. When Trump returns to the White House next month, Thailand should adjust itself to be capable of seizing the opportunities, including manufacturing relations that are better than during the first Trump administration, said Mr Asadej. Another risk factor is that Trump will increase import taxes on countries that have a trade surplus with the US. Among the members of Asean, Thailand ranks second in terms of its trade surplus with the US and 12th within Asia. "We must closely monitor the US tax policies under the Trump government on countries where China has production bases, including Thailand," Mr Asadej said. As for domestic factors, Mr Asadej believes the political situation is more stable now and the economy is bouncing back thanks to the recovery in tourism to pre-pandemic levels and the government's faster budget disbursement. However, the energy and petrochemical groups, which are heavyweight stocks on the SET, are being pressured by the global economic slowdown while the high level of supply in the market has affected the profits of many companies. Those factors have resulted in a decrease in the total profits of listed firms on the SET overall. In future, it will be necessary to increase contributions from other industries on the SET to balance that of the energy sector, Mr Asadej added.
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By Katheryn Houghton and Arielle Zionts, KFF Health News (TNS) Tescha Hawley learned that hospital bills from her son’s birth had been sent to debt collectors only when she checked her credit score while attending a home-buying class. The new mom’s plans to buy a house stalled. Hawley said she didn’t owe those thousands of dollars in debts. The federal government did. Hawley, a citizen of the Gros Ventre Tribe, lives on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana. The Indian Health Service is a federal agency that provides free health care to Native Americans, but its services are limited by a chronic shortage of funding and staff. Hawley’s local Indian Health Service hospital wasn’t equipped to deliver babies. But she said staff there agreed that the agency would pay for her care at a privately owned hospital more than an hour away. That arrangement came through the Purchased/Referred Care program, which pays for services Native Americans can’t get through an agency-funded clinic or hospital. Federal law stresses that patients approved for the program aren’t responsible for any of the costs. But tribal leaders, health officials, and a new federal report say patients are routinely billed anyway as a result of backlogs or mistakes from the Indian Health Service, financial middlemen, hospitals, and clinics. The financial consequences for patients can last years. Those sent to collections can face damaged credit scores, which can prevent them from securing loans or require them to pay higher interest rates. The December report , by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, found these long-standing problems contribute to people in Native American-majority communities being nearly twice as likely to have medical debt in collections compared with the national average. And their amount of medical debt is significantly higher. The report found the program is often late to pay bills. In some cases, hospitals or collection agencies hound tribal citizens for more money after bills are paid. Hawley’s son was born in 2003. She had to wait another year to buy a home, as she struggled to pay off the debt. It took seven years for it to drop from her credit report. “I don’t think a person ever recovers from debt,” Hawley said. Hawley, a cancer survivor, still must navigate the referral program. In 2024 alone, she received two notices from clinics about overdue bills. Frank White Clay, chairman of the Crow Tribe in Montana, testified about the impact of wrongful billing during a U.S. House committee hearing in April. He shared stories of veterans rejected for home loans, elders whose Social Security benefits were reduced, and students denied college loans and federal aid. “Some of the most vulnerable people are being harassed daily by debt collectors,” White Clay said. No one is immune from the risk. A high-ranking Indian Health Service official learned during her job’s background check that her credit report contained referred-care debt, the federal report found. Native Americans face disproportionately high rates of poverty and disease , which researchers link to limited access to health care and the ongoing impact of racist federal policies . White Clay is among many who say problems with the referred-care program are an example of the U.S. government violating treaties that promised to provide for the health and welfare of tribes in return for their land. The chairman’s testimony came during a hearing on the Purchased and Referred Care Improvement Act, which would require the Indian Health Service to create a reimbursement process for patients who were wrongfully billed. Committee members approved the bill in November and sent it for consideration by the full House. A second federal bill, the Protecting Native Americans’ Credit Act , would prevent debt like Hawley’s from affecting patients’ credit scores. The bipartisan bill hadn’t had a hearing by mid-December. The exact number of people wrongfully billed isn’t clear, but the Indian Health Service has acknowledged it has work to do. The agency is developing a dashboard to help workers track referrals and to speed up bill processing, spokesperson Brendan White said. It’s also trying to hire more referred-care staff, to address vacancy rates of more than 30%. Officials say problems with the program also stem from outside health providers that don’t follow the rules. Melanie Egorin, an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said at the hearing that the proposed legislation doesn’t include consequences for “bad actors” — health facilities that repeatedly bill patients when they shouldn’t. “The lack of enforcement is definitely a challenge,” she said. But tribal leaders warned that penalties could backfire. Related Articles How America lost control of the bird flu, setting the stage for another pandemic How to kick back, relax and embrace a less-than-perfect holiday New childhood leukemia protocol is ‘tremendous win’ Norovirus is rampant. Blame oysters, cruise ships and holiday travel Abortion opponents shift focus to pills with lawsuits, proposed laws and possible federal action White Clay told lawmakers that some clinics already refuse to see patients if the Indian Health Service hasn’t paid for their previous appointments. He’s worried the threat of penalties would lead to more refusals. If that happens, White Clay said, Crow tribal members who already travel hours to access specialty treatment would have to go even farther. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report found clinics are already refusing to see any referred-care patients due to the program’s payment problems. The bureau and the Indian Health Service also recently published a letter urging health care providers and debt collectors not to hold patients accountable for program-approved care. White, the Indian Health Service spokesperson, said the agency recently updated the referred-care forms sent to outside hospitals and clinics to include billing instructions and to stress that patients aren’t liable for any out-of-pocket costs. And he said the staff can help patients get reimbursed if they have already paid for services that were supposed to be covered. Joe Bryant, an Indian Health Service official who oversees efforts to improve the referral program, said patients can ask credit bureaus to remove debt from their reports if the agency should have covered their bills. Leaders with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington state helped shape the proposed legislation after their citizens were repeatedly harmed by wrongful billing. Tribal Chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson said problems began in 2017, when a regional Indian Health Service office took over the referred-care program from local staff. It “created a domino effect of negative outcomes,” Erickson wrote in a letter to Congress. He said some tribal members whose finances were damaged stopped using the Indian Health Service. Others avoided health care altogether. Responsibility for the Colville Reservation program transferred back to local staff in 2022. Staffers found the billing process hadn’t been completed for thousands of cases, worth an estimated $24 million in medical care, Erickson told lawmakers . Workers are making progress on the backlog and they have explained the rules to outside hospitals and clinics, Erickson said. But he said there are still cases of wrongful billing, such as a tribal member who was sent to collections after receiving a $17,000 bill for chemotherapy that the agency was supposed to pay for. Erickson said the tribe is in the process of taking over its health care facilities instead of having the Indian Health Service run them. He and others who work in Native American health said tribally managed units — which are still funded by the federal agency — tend to have fewer problems with their referred-care programs. For example, they have more oversight over staff and flexibility to create their own payment tracking systems. But some Native Americans oppose tribal management because they feel it releases the federal government from its obligations. Beyond wrongful billing, access to the referred-care program is limited because of underfunding from Congress. The $1 billion budget this year is $9 billion short of the need, according to a committee report by tribal health and government leaders. Donald Warne, a physician and member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, called the proposed legislation a “band-aid.” He said the ultimate solution is for Congress to fully fund the Indian Health Service, which would reduce the need for the referred-care program. Back in Montana, Hawley said she braces for a fight each time she gets a bill that the referral program was supposed to cover. “I’ve learned not to trust the process,” Hawley said. ©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Experts Propose ‘Grand Bargain’ to Solve US Economic, Social Challenges
Published 00:07 IST, December 27th 2024 The Government of India on Thursday announced a seven-day mourning in honour of former prime minister Manmohan Singh. New Delhi: The Government of India on Thursday announced a seven-day mourning in honour of former prime minister Manmohan Singh. All government programs scheduled for Friday have been cancelled. Union Cabinet will hold a meeting on Friday tomorrow at 11 am in this regard, official sources said. Dr Manmohan Singh’s last rites to be conducted with full state honours, sources added. What Does National Mourning Mean and Its Importance During a period of national mourning in India, the National Flag will be flown at half-mast on all buildings where it is regularly displayed, and no official entertainment will take place on the designated days of mourning. Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday evening, December 26, at AIIMS Delhi. He was 92 years old. Singh breathed his last at 9:51 PM due to age-related health complications. The nation united in grief, with tributes pouring in from across the political spectrum and beyond. Leaders, economists, and citizens alike hailed him as a visionary statesman, a distinguished economist, and a man of impeccable integrity. Prime Minister Modi Leads Tributes Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his sorrow in an X post, stating:"India mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished leaders, Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji. Rising from humble origins, he became a respected economist and served in various government positions, leaving a lasting imprint on our economic policies. As our Prime Minister, he made extensive efforts to improve people’s lives." Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar called Singh the "architect of India's economic liberalization," recalling his courage in steering the nation through its most challenging economic transitions. "Deeply pained to learn about the passing of Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji. A Padma Vibhushan awardee, he boldly opened new pathways for growth and prosperity," VP Dhankhar said. Get Current Updates on India News , Entertainment News along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world. Updated 00:42 IST, December 27th 2024US stocks surge to records, shrugging off upheaval in South Korea, France
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Salman Khan, the Bhaijaan of Bollywood, is turning 59 today, and the actor kicked off the celebrations at his sister Arpita Khan's house. Happy Birthday Salman Khan Salman arrived in style and fans cannot keep calm! The actor looks dapper in black shirt, grey jacket as he waved for his fans from his car. Joining the actor are Sangeeta Bijlani, Zeeshan Siddiqui, Sohail Khan among others. Many pictures and videos of Salman's arrival are going viral on social media. His car was escorted by high security as Police cars were covering the actor. Fans were waiting outside Arpita's house for him and the actor waved for them on his birthday. Salman Khan's Sikandar Yesterday, he dropped the first look from his 2025 release Sikandar. Sharing the first poster of Sikandar on Instagram and dropping info on film's teaser, Khan wrote, "See u again kal subah theek 11.07 baje... SikandarTeaserTomorrow #SajidNadiadwala’s #Sikandar Directed by @a.r.murugadoss Releasing in cinemas EID 2025" Salman Khan, known for his larger-than-life roles, will be stepping into a character that blends intense action with emotional depth—a hallmark of Murugadoss’s filmmaking. The collaboration has fans buzzing, with many anticipating the director’s signature storytelling prowess to shine through. Salman Khan is set to return on Eid 2025 with Sikandar, produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and directed by AR Murugadoss. Sikandar features a stellar supporting cast, including Sathyaraj, Prateik Babbar, Kajal Aggarwal, and Sharman Joshi in pivotal roles. The female lead of the film is Rashmika Mandanna. A source close to the project shared with Pinkvilla that Sajid Nadiadwala was looking for a fresh pairing, and Rashmika was the perfect fit for the script. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Bollywood, Entertainment News and around the world.How long do FBI directors normally serve? What to know as Wray announces resignationThe World Health Organization’s director-general said airstrikes on Yemen’s main airport occurred as he was about to board a flight in the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa. The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport as well as power stations and ports. One of the U.N. plane’s crew was wounded, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a post on X, but he and his WHO colleagues were safe. He said the strikes hit the airport's air traffic control tower, departure lounge and runway. Israel's strikes on Thursday follow several days of Houthi launches setting off sirens in Israel, and last week, Israeli jets bombed Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people. The Houthis have also been targeting shipping in the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Israel's bombardment and ground invasion in Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count. The Hamas-led militant attack on Israel in October 2023 resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people. Around 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza , although only two-thirds are believed to still be alive. Here’s the latest: UNITED NATIONS — The head of the U.N. health agency says he and his team were about to board a flight in Yemen’s rebel-held capital Sanaa when the airport came under aerial bombardment. The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the airport as well as power stations and ports in Houthi-controlled areas. “The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters (yards) from where we were — and the runway were damaged,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X. He said one of the U.N. plane’s crew was injured but he and his WHO colleagues were safe. “We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave.” Tedros said the U.N. team was in Yemen to negotiate the release of U.N. staff detained by the Houthis and to assess the health and humanitarian situation in the country, which faces one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. JERUSALEM — Houthi rebels in Yemen said Israeli airstrikes on Thursday targeted the rebel-held capital of Sanaa and the port city of Hodeida, following several days of Houthi launches that set off air-raid sirens in Israel. The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports at Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib along with power stations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech on Wednesday that “the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad’s regime and others learned.” The Iran-backed Houthis’ media outlet reported the strikes in a Telegram post, but gave no immediate details. The U.S. military also has targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days. The United Nations has noted that the ports are important entryways for humanitarian aid. Over the weekend, 16 people were wounded when a Houthi missile hit a playground in Tel Aviv . Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks. The Houthis also have been targeting shipping on the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. QAMISHLI, Syria — Thousands of people in northeastern Syria attended a funeral Thursday for six fighters from a Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed force who were killed in ongoing clashes with Turkish-backed militias. The Turkish-backed groups are launching attacks to take the Arab cities west of the Euphrates River that are under the control of the Kurdish group . The Turkish-supported groups helped overthrow Bashar al-Assad’s rule of Syria, and have since kept pushing eastward against the Kurdish groups. “We thought that Syria today has entered a new stage after the fall and escape of Assad. We thought that we got rid of all of this, but this attack on us changed everything and those who came in are taking orders from Turkey,” said Nihayet Hassan, the uncle of a killed fighter. The fighters were killed during attacks on Tishreen Dam near the strategic city of Manbij in recent days. The bodies were returned to the city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria where the U.S.-backed group, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, has a strong presence. Ankara sees the SDF as an affiliate of its sworn enemy, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which Turkey classifies as a terrorist organization. Turkish-backed armed groups backed by Turkish jets have for years attacked positions where the SDF are present across northern Syria, in a bid to create a buffer zone free from the group along the Turkish border. “It is obvious that Turkey’s issue is with the Kurds. It is not about an organization, or the PKK, no, their target are the Kurds,” said Ahmad Ammo, a Qamishli resident who attended the funeral. The U.S. has about 2,000 soldiers in eastern Syria to help fight the Islamic State group and protect critical oil fields there. BEIRUT — The Lebanese military said Thursday that Israeli troops encroached on areas of southern Lebanon, violating a ceasefire agreement that ended the war between Israel and the Hezbollah group. The U.S.-brokered ceasefire that went into effect a month ago called for Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops to leave southern Lebanon over a 60-day period as Lebanese army soldiers gradually deploy in the country south of the Litani River. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the reported incident. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Israeli bulldozers are setting up dirt barricades that would close off the road between Wadi Slouqi and Wadi Hujeir. Lebanon’s military said it brought reinforcements into the areas entered by Israeli troops. NNA said the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, sent a patrol unit to an area near the southern town of Qantara where Israeli forces are present. UNIFIL in a statement expressed its “concern at continuing destruction by the IDF (Israeli military) in residential areas, agricultural land, and road networks in south Lebanon.” Lebanese army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun traveled to Saudi Arabia earlier Thursday as part of ongoing efforts by the cash-strapped military to find financial support to deploy in larger numbers. The Lebanese military and government have complained about Israeli strikes and overflights in the country to a new monitoring committee headed by the U.S. that also includes France. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, the Health Ministry said Thursday. The Israeli army said it had targeted a group of militants. The strike hit a car outside the Al-Awda Hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in the central part of the territory. The journalists were working for the local news outlet Al-Quds Today, a television channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group. The military said it targeted a group of fighters from Islamic Jihad, a militant group allied with Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel ignited the war. Associated Press video showed the incinerated shell of a van, with press markings still visible on the back doors. The Committee to Protect Journalists says over 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the start of the war. Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military embeds. This post has been corrected to show that the name of the local news outlet is Al-Quds Today, not the Quds News Network. BEIJING — China has pledged two more shipments of humanitarian aid to Gaza, in an indication of support for the Palestinian Authority, state media reported Thursday. The agreement was overseen in Cairo by Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang and Palestinian Ambassador to Egypt Diab al-Louh. “To ease the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, the Chinese government has continued to provide assistance to Palestine,” Liao was quoted as saying. The types and quantities of aid to be delivered via Egypt were not given, but China has previously shipped food and medicine to Gaza. China has longstanding ties with the Palestinian Authority but has also sought to strengthen economic and political relations with Israel. Al-Louh “voiced appreciation for China’s consistent and firm support for the just cause of the Palestinian people and for raising this issue on international occasions," state media said. UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday at Israel’s request to discuss recent attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Israel’s U.N. Mission said Wednesday the meeting will take place at 10 a.m. Monday. Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said he expects the council will condemn the Houthi attacks. He urged the council “to enforce international law and hold Iran, the Houthis’ patron, accountable.” Alluding to Israeli retaliation for the attacks, Danon said ”It seems that the Houthis have not yet understood what happens to those who try to harm the state of Israel.”
A former lawmaker, Shehu Sani, has faulted President Bola Tinubu for saying that he is not interested in probing military spending under his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari. It was learnt that during a media chat on Monday, Tinubu said that he won’t be investigating military expenditures under Buhari’s government. Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday, the former lawmaker, who represented Kaduna Central, said that doing that was tantamount to rewarding larceny and corruption. He said: “When you find yourself in this position, especially with a nation facing these critical issues like ours, you still have to go backward and see how public funds that were looted have been recovered and I think we have been doing that with what has happened in the CBN the last time. READ MORE: “No Regret Over Removal Of Subsidy” — Tinubu Insists “But when one of the panelists questioned him (Tinubu) about the looting, the mismanagement of security and defense forces under the Buhari administration, which he needs to probe, I think he made it clear that he is more interested in moving forward than moving backward. “It’s a bit contradictory; you can move backward in CBN but you can’t move backward in security. “I believe that what should have been is that if he is being provided with evidence that shows that there are clear cases of corruption, he would move to recover public funds. That is what the answer was supposed to be. “If you say that whatever happened in the past has gone, it is more like rewarding larceny which he has done by saying he is not going to go back.” Speaking further, Mr. Sani called on Nigerians to hold President Tinubu responsible over the state of the nation. He said: “He (Tinubu) should be held responsible for what has happened under his government. “He has economic reforms. He has started, there are lots of pains, Nigerians are suffering but it is a fact all over the world and in history: economic reforms have never been popular with the citizens.”AP News Summary at 1:37 p.m. EST
NoneJERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen on Thursday targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa and multiple ports. The World Health Organization's director-general said the bombardment occurred close to where he was at the time, getting ready to board a flight in Sanaa and that a crew member was injured. “The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on the social media platform X. He added that he and U.N. colleagues were safe. “We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave,” he said, without mentioning anything about the source of the bombardment. The Israeli strikes followed several days of Houthi launches setting off sirens in Israel. The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports in the cities of Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib, along with power stations. It didn't immediately respond to questions about Tedros' statement. The latest strikes came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad’s regime and others learned" as his military has battled those more powerful proxies of Iran. Netanyahu monitored Thursday's strikes along with military leaders, his government said. The Iran-backed Houthis' media outlet confirmed the strikes in a Telegram post but gave no immediate details. The U.S. military also has targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days. The United Nations has noted that the targeted ports are important entryways for humanitarian aid for Yemen, the poorest Arab nation that plunged into a civil war in 2014 . Over the weekend, 16 people were wounded when a Houthi missile hit a playground in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv . Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks. The Houthis also have been targeting shipping on the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. 5 journalists killed in Gaza Meanwhile, an Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight , the territory's Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said that all were militants posing as reporters. The strike hit a car outside Al-Awda Hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The journalists were working for the local news outlet Al-Quds Today, a television channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group. Islamic Jihad is a smaller and more extreme ally of Hamas and took part in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel, which ignited the war. The Israeli military identified four of the men as combat propagandists and said that intelligence, including a list of Islamic Jihad operatives found by soldiers in Gaza, had confirmed that all five were affiliated with the group. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian militant groups operate political, media and charitable operations in addition to their armed wings. Associated Press footage showed the incinerated shell of a van, with press markings visible on the back doors. Sobbing young men attended the funeral outside the hospital. The bodies were wrapped in shrouds, with blue press vests draped over them. The Committee to Protect Journalists says more than 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the start of the war. Israel hasn't allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military embeds. Israel has banned the pan-Arab Al Jazeera network and accused six of its Gaza reporters of being militants . The Qatar-based broadcaster denies the allegations and accuses Israel of trying to silence its war coverage, which has focused heavily on civilian casualties from Israeli military operations. Another Israeli soldier killed Separately, Israel's military said that a 35-year-old reserve soldier was killed during fighting in central Gaza early Thursday. A total of 389 soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground operation more than a year ago. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border in an attack on nearby army bases and farming communities. They killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. About 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead. Israel's air and ground offensive has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry. It says more than half the fatalities have been women and children, but doesn't say how many of the dead were fighters. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The offensive has caused widespread destruction and driven around 90% of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are packed into squalid tent camps along the coast, with little protection from the cold, wet winter. Also Thursday, people mourned eight Palestinians killed by Israeli military operations in and around the city of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The Israeli military said that it opened fire after militants attacked soldiers, and it was aware of uninvolved civilians who were harmed in the raid. Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. A previous version of this story was corrected to show that the name of the local news outlet is Al-Quds Today, not the Quds News Network. Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Football clubs ‘alarmed’ by lack of consultation on regulator – Karren Brady
Wales vs South Africa live stream: How to watch 2024 Autumn Internationals rugbyThe Apprentice star also argued that a lack of clarity from the Government on the ownership test is causing “significant uncertainty” for potential investors. This came as the House of Lords continued its scrutiny of the Football Governance Bill, which seeks to establish an independent regulator for the top five tiers of the men’s game. In the upper chamber, Baroness Brady said: “We are creating legislation which will profoundly affect 160 quite unique institutions, from Premier League clubs through to the National League community clubs, but it is important for everyone to understand that the consultation with these affected businesses by the current Government has been remarkably limited, almost unbelievably so. “Just seven Premier League clubs, I was one of them, was granted a brief half-hour meeting with the Secretary of State over the summer. “And following this cursory engagement, significant decisions were made that could fundamentally affect the future of English football, most notably with the inclusion of parachute payments within the backstop mechanism. “This is particularly concerning given that fundamental issues still remained unresolved, we still lack any clarity on Uefa’s position on state interference, for example, this clearly creates profound uncertainty for clubs competing in or aspiring to European competition, as well as our national teams.” “We don’t know what the ownership test will look like, this causes significant uncertainty for potential investors as to whether they are able to own a club,” she added. Lady Brady continued: “I have spoken to many of my colleagues across all of the football pyramid, we are all alarmed about and puzzled by the lack of discussion on the Bill with ministers. “Would the minister agree that we all want to get the detail of this Bill right? And can she see any downsides to providing meaningful opportunities to hear from all clubs across the football pyramid affected by the legislation?” Prior to this, Tory shadow sports minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay had tabled an amendment which he said would allow clubs to “make their views known on this legislation” by including specific competitions on the face of the Bill. Labour frontbencher Baroness Twycross told the upper chamber: “I don’t think the leagues are confused either on which leagues this legislation will apply to.” She added: “This power is both reasonable and the result of evidence-based consultation with all key stakeholders in the industry. “This power ensures that the competitions in scope can be amended in a timely manner and ensures the scope of the regime remains relevant.” The peer later said: “Over the past three years there have been countless opportunities for all affected and interested parties to make representations.” Lady Brady also raised concerns about the financial distribution backstop, which she said is “clearly designed as a mechanism to gain direct access to, and apportionate Premier League revenue, and no-one else’s”. “I might add the backstop will allow the IFR (Independent Football Regulator) to do this even if it was against the Premier League clubs’ will, or even without the clubs’ agreement, even if it was to have a detrimental effect on the clubs and the overall competition it removes revenue from,” she added. The backstop would allow the new IFR to intervene in the distribution of Premier League broadcast revenue down the leagues as a last resort. It could be triggered by the Premier League, English Football League (EFL) or National League to mediate the fair financial distribution of this revenue if they are not able to come to an agreement. Conservative peers later raised concerns over the cost implications to clubs of establishing the regulator, although they faced claims of “filibustering” – wasting time by making overlong speeches in a bid to delay progress. Watching opposition benches blatantly filibustering to destroy the Football Governance Bill is nothing short of sporting vandalism.Football is broken. Clubs are struggling. Now those seats have been lost, do they no longer care about likes of Reading or Southend? @FairGameUK — Niall Couper (@NiallCouper) December 4, 2024 Labour peer Lord Watson of Invergowrie questioned why Lord Parkinson was showing “confected outrage” at the Bill when the former culture minister would have been defending a similar proposal had the Tories remained in power. Lord Parkinson, in his reply, said: “We want to see this regulator established, we want to see it doing its work and doing so effectively, but we also see before us a Bill that is different because of the election that was called and the result that happened, and we’re interrogating particularly closely the changes that the Government have made to the Bill – of which there are many. “And we have more concerns on these benches than we did before the election from my colleagues behind me about the way we do it.” The Tory peer pointed to Labour frontbenchers fulfilling their duties to “properly scrutinise” then-government legislation when they were on the opposition benches. Lady Twycross, in an intervention, said: “While I agree that (Lord Parkinson) is correct that I would scrutinise legislation when I was sitting on those (opposition) benches, I have never sought to filibuster a Bill to which my party had committed, which my party had laid before Parliament, and intended to filibuster it to the point of getting us stuck in treacle.” Lord Parkinson replied: “That is not what we’re doing.” Niall Couper, chief executive of the campaign group Fair Game, wrote on social media site X: “Watching opposition benches blatantly filibustering to destroy the Football Governance Bill is nothing short of sporting vandalism.”PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The guy on the Philly sports talk radio station had something to say, and he started to vent about the perceived strained relationship between star quarterback Jalen Hurts and standout wide receiver A.J. Brown. Why weren’t these two Pro Bowl Eagles on the same page? Why had their personal and professional relationship changed even with Philadelphia enjoying tremendous success? It was football gossip usually ripe for a hot-take host or fed-up fan to stir up on the air — only in this instance, the temperature check came from inside the locker room. Normally respected team leader Brandon Graham, who is sidelined with a triceps injury, noted in a radio appearance that “ things have changed ” between Hurts and Brown in the wake of a stale passing game in last week’s win over Carolina. An apologetic Graham walked back his comments. Hurts and Brown both insisted their relationship was cool in front of media hordes more appropriate for the Super Bowl. As for the rest of the Eagles, they were ready to squash the so-called controversy. “We are moving on,” offensive lineman and Christmas song crooner Jordan Mailata said. “It is the Pittsburgh Steelers this week. Not the A.J. Brown and Jalen Show. It is the Pittsburgh Steelers. That’s it.” Oh yeah, the Steelers! Lost in the brouhaha ignited in a Philly sports bar is the fact that sitting — and winning — on the western side of Pennsylvania are the Steelers (10-3). Unlike most matchups in series history, this one Sunday at the Linc comes with the tantalizing appeal of a potential Super Bowl preview. The Steelers have won seven of eight, and the Eagles (11-2) have won nine straight and could clinch the NFC East with a win and a Washington loss or tie. It's the first time the teams — among the original eight NFL teams — will play each other when they both have a double-digit win total. Both teams are in strong position for a playoff run — the Eagles led by Saquon Barkley and his pursuit of Eric Dickerson's NFL season rushing record; Russell Wilson and the soft-schedule Steelers atop the AFC North in large part thanks to six wins against teams that currently have losing records. “I do like playing really good people, I think there's growth in it,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “You've got to get the job done. But man, I think there's significant growth in pitting your collective talents and skills versus big-time opponents and they're certainly that.” Will the drama out of Philly this week affect the Eagles? They certainly don't think so and neither do the oddsmakers — the Eagles are 5 1/2-point favorites, per BetMGM. “What I’ve noticed about this football team is they’re so locked in and determined to get better each day,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “We don’t really want anyone else talking to us about anything other than the Pittsburgh Steelers.” Good luck with that, Coach. Maybe playing the Steelers on Sunday at home can snap the Eagles out of their offensive malaise. Hurts threw three TD passes to Brown in a 35-13 win in 2022. Barkley leads the NFL in rushing with 1,623 yards, 216 yards ahead of Baltimore’s Derrick Henry. He is averaging 124.8 yards per game. At that pace, and with one more game to play than Dickerson had, he would become the top single-season rusher in NFL history. He needs 483 yards over the final four games to top Dickerson’s 40-year-old record. Barkley is on pace for 2,122 yards, which would put him just 17 yards beyond Dickerson’s 2,105 in 1984. Barkley doesn’t need much of a reminder from his 2020 performance when, while playing for the New York Giants, he ran into a Pittsburgh defense that seemed reminiscent of its famed Steel Curtain. The Steelers held Barkley to 6 yards on 15 carries. The Steelers will have to find a way forward against the NFL’s toughest defense without wide receiver George Pickens, who will miss his second straight game with a hamstring injury. Pittsburgh survived last week against Cleveland, with Mike Williams and Scotty Miller — afterthoughts of late — coming off the bench to make an impact. While Tomlin believes “the strength of the pack is the pack,” the reality is the Steelers don’t have anyone who can stretch the field like Pickens, who leads the team in receptions (55) and yards (850) by a wide margin. It’s a challenge, but considering the way Wilson has spread the ball around — eight players caught passes against the Browns — he won’t lack for options. “Everybody in the receiver room has a different skill set, different strengths,” Calvin Austin III said. “The coaching staff knows that and they know how to put us in position to be able to show that.” The cross-state trip to Philadelphia, where the Steelers haven’t won in nearly 60 years, is the start of an 11-day stretch in which Pittsburgh faces three teams likely bound for the playoffs. While Tomlin is leaning into the “nameless, gray faces” mantra he uses for every opponent, his players know facing the Eagles, Ravens and Chiefs in such a short period is a litmus test for what’s to come in January. “That’s why I’m in the league, period,” linebacker Patrick Queen said. “When you sign up to play football, you want to play at the highest level. ... I love to play the game the right way. I think these next few games is going to show that and it starts with the Eagles.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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Wall Street stocks surged to fresh records, extending a post-election rally on optimism about more interest rate cuts and for an artificial intelligence boom after strong Salesforce results. All three major indices scored records, led by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which finished above 45,000 for the first time. “The market at this point is looking for excuses to go up, and there’s not really anything that might work against that narrative,” said Steve Sosnick, of Interactive Brokers. “Over the last couple of days, it’s managed to ignore all sorts of inconvenient things,” Sosnick said of the market’s shrugging response to political upheaval in France and South Korea . The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.7% at 45,014.04.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — This was not the homecoming scenario Kirk Cousins would have scripted. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — This was not the homecoming scenario Kirk Cousins would have scripted. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — This was not the homecoming scenario Kirk Cousins would have scripted. Cousins’ return to Minnesota, his NFL home from 2018 through 2023, on Sunday comes as he is hearing speculation about his job security in Atlanta. Cousins has thrown six interceptions with no touchdowns in the Falcons’ three-game losing streak. That includes four picks in last week’s 17-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, his most in a decade. “It’s kind of the challenge always in pro football to be able to get back up off the mat and get back going,” Cousins said after Wednesday’s practice. A vote of confidence from coach Raheem Morris can’t silence suggestions that it’s time to give rookie first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. a chance to jump-start the Falcons’ struggling offense. Morris said Sunday he didn’t consider removing Cousins from the game, and he repeated his support for the veteran on Wednesday. “Got to go to Minnesota and get a big-time win and Kirk’s ready to go,” Morris said before acknowledging Cousins must bounce back from “obviously a tough game.” “You know, realistically, man he is built for this and he’s ready to go,” Morris said. The losing streak has left the Falcons (6-6) struggling to remain on top of the weak NFC South. They hold the tiebreaker advantage with Tampa Bay (6-6), but need Cousins to end his turnover streak. Cousins, 36, was expected to be the reliable leader on offense after he signed a four-year, $180 million contract. He will be in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. He said he expects a loud reception from Minnesota’s fans. “They’re great fans, great football fans,” Cousins said. “As a result I think they’ll make it as hostile as they can for us.” Cousins ranks fifth in the league with 3,052 passing yards. He has 17 touchdown passes and his 13 interceptions are only one shy of his career high. Cousins insists he feels strong in his return from last season’s torn Achilles tendon. He was critical of his mental mistakes in the loss to the Chargers. He said he rushed some passes, sometimes lacking the necessary velocity on his throws and giving defensive backs the opportunity to step in front of receivers for interceptions. Atlanta offensive coordinator Zac Robinson also said Cousins’ lack of velocity on his throws “just goes back to, you know, decisiveness, being decisive when you do cut it loose. Certainly those things happen with quarterbacks. There might be times where, you know, you’re not as convicted on a throw. And it shows by the way the football comes out.” Morris said he still has confidence in Cousins’ arm and the mental side to his game. “He’s done a great job with us, and I have no real qualms about him bouncing back and him being able to play the game the way it needs to be done,” Morris said. “He’s still an elite processor. He has the ability to make all the throws. He’s shown that throughout the year.” Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores also said he expects Cousins will shake out of his slump. “I know the narrative is he had a tough game last week, but he’s played some good football,” Flores said. “I think the people in this building know what Kirk can do. He’s a very, very good quarterback.” Added Flores: “He’s a bounce-back type of guy, as we all know. I’m expecting his best, the best version of Kirk, the best version of that offense. It’s going to be a major challenge for us.” Atlanta’s offensive production has dipped while the veteran quarterback’s turnovers have been on the rise. The Falcons were held to under 20 points in each of their three straight losses. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. “Have to just believe that tough times don’t last, tough people do,” Cousins said. “You have to keep pushing.” ___ AP Pro Football Writer Dave Campbell contributed to this report. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Advertisement AdvertisementDeep-pocketed investors have adopted a bearish approach towards Vistra VST , and it's something market players shouldn't ignore. Our tracking of public options records at Benzinga unveiled this significant move today. The identity of these investors remains unknown, but such a substantial move in VST usually suggests something big is about to happen. We gleaned this information from our observations today when Benzinga's options scanner highlighted 12 extraordinary options activities for Vistra. This level of activity is out of the ordinary. The general mood among these heavyweight investors is divided, with 16% leaning bullish and 75% bearish. Among these notable options, 6 are puts, totaling $199,700, and 6 are calls, amounting to $252,128. Projected Price Targets Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $115.0 to $170.0 for Vistra over the recent three months. Volume & Open Interest Trends Assessing the volume and open interest is a strategic step in options trading. These metrics shed light on the liquidity and investor interest in Vistra's options at specified strike prices. The forthcoming data visualizes the fluctuation in volume and open interest for both calls and puts, linked to Vistra's substantial trades, within a strike price spectrum from $115.0 to $170.0 over the preceding 30 days. Vistra 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot Noteworthy Options Activity: Symbol PUT/CALL Trade Type Sentiment Exp. Date Ask Bid Price Strike Price Total Trade Price Open Interest Volume VST CALL TRADE BEARISH 01/16/26 $36.9 $35.8 $36.0 $145.00 $68.4K 124 20 VST CALL TRADE BULLISH 02/21/25 $33.0 $32.1 $32.8 $115.00 $49.1K 11 15 VST CALL TRADE BEARISH 01/24/25 $7.3 $7.1 $7.1 $148.00 $46.8K 48 96 VST PUT TRADE BEARISH 07/18/25 $40.7 $39.8 $40.7 $170.00 $40.7K 3 20 VST PUT TRADE BEARISH 07/18/25 $40.7 $39.8 $40.7 $170.00 $40.7K 3 10 About Vistra Vistra Energy is one of the largest power producers and retail energy providers in the us Following the 2024 Energy Harbor acquisition, Vistra owns 41 gigawatts of nuclear, coal, natural gas, and solar power generation along with one of the largest utility-scale battery projects in the world. Its retail electricity business serves 5 million customers in 20 states, including almost a third of all Texas electricity consumers. Vistra emerged from the Energy Future Holdings bankruptcy as a stand-alone entity in 2016. It acquired Dynegy in 2018. In light of the recent options history for Vistra, it's now appropriate to focus on the company itself. We aim to explore its current performance. Where Is Vistra Standing Right Now? Currently trading with a volume of 1,016,633, the VST's price is up by 0.59%, now at $144.2. RSI readings suggest the stock is currently is currently neutral between overbought and oversold. Anticipated earnings release is in 62 days. Turn $1000 into $1270 in just 20 days? 20-year pro options trader reveals his one-line chart technique that shows when to buy and sell. Copy his trades, which have had averaged a 27% profit every 20 days. Click here for access . Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely. If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Vistra, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.Haiti gang attack on journalists covering a hospital reopening leaves 2 dead, several wounded
BEREA, Ohio — Future Hall of Fame defensive end Myles Garrett sat on a couch in the Browns locker room within earshot of All-Pro left guard Joel Bitonio conducting his weekly press conference at the mic stand. Garrett, who said last week that he wants to see the Browns’ plan for winning in 2025 or he might ask to be traded, heard something very familiar from Bitonio if he was able to make it out over the normal hooting and yelling amongst players in the locker room. Like Garrett, Bitonio wants to know the Browns’ blueprint for winning in 2025 before deciding if he’ll return for the final year of his contract, worth an average of $16 million a year, or retire after 11 seasons. The longest-tenured member of the team, Bitonio has taken 3-12 arguably harder than anyone else on the team. If he decides to retire and ease the aches and pains all over his body, Sunday’s game against the Dolphins will be his last home game. More Cleveland Browns coverage As Dustin Hopkins continues ‘working through’ issues, meet the player who could kick in Browns' final 2 games Will Browns left guard Joel Bitonio return next season? Berea Report (Video) Key Browns weapon idle on Thursday of Dolphins week; starting defender to IR; outlook for Dustin Hopkins Week 17 NFL Preview: Find everything you need to know with our Week 17 NFL preview. “The goal now, you’re in year 11, year 12, you want to try and win games,” Bitonio said. “It’s hard to go out there and have three wins right now. That’s been tough. It’s tough on your body. You just don’t feel as good on Monday when you lose a game. So it’s part of the process and you’d love to hear what the plan is going forward and kind of see where we’re at, see how much winning you can do. “I don’t know specifically with Joe Thomas, but he was in the start/middle of a rebuild when he was retiring and I don’t know if that played a factor or if he was just done anyway, but you see that sometimes with guys where it’s like, what do they have coming back and stuff like that. But that’s all stuff I’m going to worry about in the offseason. Right now, I’ve got a game to play and we’ve got to lock in because they have some good players up front.” Also like Garrett, Bitonio would like to know the QB plan for 2025. Will the Brown draft a QB with their first-round pick, which is currently No. 5 overall? Sign a quality free agent? Give Deshaun Watson another chance? But it won’t necessarily dictate his decision. “For me personally, I don’t what they’re thinking there, but I’m going to be a Cleveland Brown, I think, for my career,” he said. “So if I come back, whatever decision they make at quarterback is what decision they make. I’m not as young as Myles where you have some options other places. So for me it’s more going to be like how I feel personally, how my family feels and all that stuff.” Unlike Garrett, Bitonio, 33, has no plans to take his talents elsewhere for a championship if he doesn’t like what he hears from the Browns. “Cleveland gave me a chance and I’ve been here for 11 years and there’s been some losing and things like that, but we’ve had some moments where we’ve won and we’ve had some runs here and those memories are always great for me, but they’ve given me so much and I love this organization and what they’ve done for me and my family and at this point in my career, I just can’t see myself putting on a different helmet,” he said. “It just doesn’t make sense to me.” Furthermore, the grass might not be greener on the other side. The Browns are a case in point. They were expected to challenge for the playoffs this year and tumbled from 11-6 to 3-12 instead. “It’s hard to pick who’s going to win the Super Bowl this year, you know what I mean?” Bitonio said. “It’s hard to pick a team that needs a left guard that wants to bring you in, that wants to take care of you and you make that decision to be like, ‘Hey, we’re going to win a Super Bowl here’ and the quarterback gets hurt or someone gets hurt or you get hurt and then you’re like, ‘dang, I just chased the Super Bowl for what purpose?’ “It’s easy in hindsight to be like, ‘oh yeah, Joe should have gone to Denver that one year,’ but you don’t know what would’ve happened when he goes out there and stuff like that. So I think that all that is so hard to decide on. That’d be out of the question for me.” When Bitonio looks around the locker room, he sees the Garretts and the Denzel Wards and Conklins and Jerry Jeudys and other talented guys, and believes the turnaround can be quick. “I do,” he said. “I think I’ve seen it with majority of guys in here, we were a playoff team last year, won 11 games, so I see the people and the talent and the pieces. I don’t think it’ll be easy though. I think you have to put your head down, you have to work, you have to have a plan in the off season, all these things have to go into it, but I don’t think it’s a total like ‘gosh, we have no talent, nobody here.’” Over the years, Bitonio watched his good friend Thomas play 11 seasons through knee injuries and back injuries and elbow pain, and never experience a playoff campaign. At least Bitonio has gotten to experience two in his 11 seasons, but as fate would have it, he missed the lone playoff victory in that span — the 48-37 win over the Steelers in the wild card round after the 2020 season — because he tested positive for Covid-19. His only two playoff appearances were losses, the 22-17 loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round after 2020, and the 45-14 loss to the Texans in the wild card round last year. But he watched Thomas suffer from depression from all the losing, including 1-31 in 2016 and 2017, and he understands the physical and emotional toll the game can take. Bitonio and his wife, Courtney, welcomed their third child over the summer, and they built a house out west. He has plenty of reasons to walk away, and plenty to stay. “Truthfully, it’s mostly personal, just how my body feels going into another season,” Bitonio said. “The game, it’s an amazing game, blessed to play it, but it’s a stressful game, you put a lot on your body, how are you going to feel in 10 years or 15 years or 20 years?” This season, Bitonio got to watch his close friends Jack Conklin and Nick Chubb battle back from devastating knee injuries that would’ve ended the career of many players. He also got to block for Jameis Winston while he averaged more than 300 yards a game during his seven starts and resuscitated the Browns’ anemic offense. But the Browns are in the midst of their worst season since their 0-16 campaign in 2017, and now is not the time to make major life choices. “We’ll see how we’re doing in a couple weeks after the season,” he said. “It’s very hard to make a decision when you’re in the middle of it, you’re going through the daily grind. So I’m going to finish the year as strong as I can and see how we feel in a couple weeks and go from there.” Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com's Browns reporters.JERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen on Thursday targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa and multiple ports, while the World Health Organization's director-general said the bombardment occurred nearby as he prepared to board a flight in Sanaa, with a crew member injured. “The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on the social media platform X. He added that he and U.N. colleagues were safe. “We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave,” he said, without mentioning the source of the bombardment. The Israeli strikes followed several days of Houthi launches setting off sirens in Israel. The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports in the cities of Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib, along with power stations, asserting they were used to smuggle in Iranian weapons and for the entry of senior Iranian officials. Israel's military didn't immediately respond to questions about Tedros' post but issued a statement saying it had "capabilities to strike very far from Israel’s territory — precisely, powerfully, and repetitively.” The strikes came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad’s regime and others learned" as his military has battled those more powerful proxies of Iran. The Iran-backed Houthis' media outlet confirmed the strikes in a Telegram post but gave no immediate details. The U.S. military also has targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days. The United Nations has noted that the targeted ports are important entryways for humanitarian aid for Yemen, the poorest Arab nation that plunged into a civil war in 2014 . Over the weekend, 16 people were wounded when a Houthi missile hit a playground in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv . Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks. The Houthis also have been targeting shipping on the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The U.N. Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting Monday in response to an Israeli request that the council condemn the Houthi attacks and Iran for supplying weapons to the rebels. Meanwhile, an Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight , the territory's Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said that all were militants posing as reporters. The strike hit a car outside Al-Awda Hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The journalists were working for the local news outlet Al-Quds Today, a television channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group. Islamic Jihad is a smaller and more extreme ally of Hamas and took part in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel, which ignited the war. The Israeli military identified four of the men as combat propagandists and said that intelligence, including a list of Islamic Jihad operatives found by soldiers in Gaza, had confirmed that all five were affiliated with the group. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian militant groups operate political, media and charitable operations in addition to their armed wings. Associated Press footage showed the incinerated shell of a van, with press markings visible on the back doors. Sobbing young men attended the funeral outside the hospital. The bodies were wrapped in shrouds, with blue press vests draped over them. The Committee to Protect Journalists says more than 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the start of the war. Israel hasn't allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military embeds. Israel has banned the pan-Arab Al Jazeera network and accused six of its Gaza reporters of being militants . The Qatar-based broadcaster denies the allegations and accuses Israel of trying to silence its war coverage, which has focused heavily on civilian casualties from Israeli military operations. Separately, Israel's military said that a 35-year-old reserve soldier was killed during fighting in central Gaza early Thursday. A total of 389 soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground operation more than a year ago. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border in an attack on nearby army bases and farming communities. They killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. About 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead. Israel's air and ground offensive has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry. It says more than half the fatalities have been women and children, but doesn't say how many of the dead were fighters. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The offensive has caused widespread destruction and driven around 90% of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are packed into squalid tent camps along the coast, with little protection from the cold, wet winter. Also Thursday, people mourned eight Palestinians killed by Israeli military operations in and around the city of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The Israeli military said that it opened fire after militants attacked soldiers, and it was aware of uninvolved civilians who were harmed in the raid. Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. A previous version of this story was corrected to show that the name of the local news outlet is Al-Quds Today, not the Quds News Network. Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war