After announcing that they are expecting their first baby, Ignacio Baladán and ‘La Segura’ are enthusiastically preparing to discover the sex of their firstborn. The couple thrilled their followers by sharing a special moment on their social networks. Ignacio Baladan and Natalia Segura, better known as ‘La Segura’, excited their followers by announcing that they are expecting their first baby. The couple, who got engaged during the reality show ‘The House of the Famous’ recently shared a moving moment when having an ultrasound and seeing the body of her first-born for the first time. The influencer published a short video on her Instagram account where, together with the Uruguayan, she stars in this emotional moment. Ignacio Baladán and ‘La Segura’ discover the sex of their baby ‘La Segura’ and the Uruguayan chef Ignacio Baladán are living one of the most exciting moments of their lives. After two years of relationship, both confirmed that they will be parents for the first time, a dream they shared publicly with a photograph of the ultrasound and a pregnancy test. Recently, the Colombian influencer shared a moving video in which, together with the father of her first child, they observe their baby’s little body for the first time. Emotional and with tears in their eyes, they were both amazed by the special moment. In her Instagram post, the influencer showed her joy at seeing her baby for the first time during a recent ultrasound. “Mom and dad, we are looking forward to seeing you.” wrote. The couple plans to reveal whether their first child will be a boy or a girl at an emotional event. Meanwhile, the influencer has challenged her followers to guess the sex of the baby. When will the sex of Ignacio Baladán and ‘La Segura”s baby be revealed? The reveal of the sex of Ignacio Baladán and ‘La Segura’s baby is scheduled for next December 6 a date that both have enthusiastically announced on their social networks. Through their publications, the couple has invited their followers to participate in a fun dynamic to guess if it will be a boy or a girl. “Anxiety is killing me, what do you think it is? “Let the betting begin.” wrote the Colombian influencer. Join the WhatsApp channelTrump’s demand Mexico stop migrants and drugs may never be metWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Sunday that the sudden collapse of the Syrian government under Bashar Assad is a “fundamental act of justice” after decades of repression, but it was “a moment of risk and uncertainty” for the Mideast. Speaking at the White House, Biden said the U.S. was not sure of Assad's whereabouts, but was monitoring reports he was seeking refuge in Moscow. Biden credited action by the U.S. and its allies for weakening Syria's backers — Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. He said “for the first time” that they could no longer defend Assad's grip on power. “Our approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East," Biden said. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. WASHINGTON (AP) — The sudden collapse of the Syrian government under Bashar Assad is forcing the Biden administration and the incoming Trump team to confront intensifying questions about the possibility of greater conflicts across the Middle East. President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday that Assad had fled his country, which his family had ruled for decades , because close ally Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, “was not interested in protecting him any longer.” Those comments on Trump's social media platform came a day after he used another post to decry the possibility of the U.S. intervening militarily in Syria to aid the rebels, declaring, “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT." The Biden administration had no intention of intervening, according to President Joe Biden's national security adviser. Biden was meeting with his national security team at the White House on Sunday. He was expected to make public comments later in the day. The U.S has about 900 troops in Syria, including forces working with Kurdish allies in the opposition-held northeast to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State group. Assad's fall adds to an already tense situation throughout much of region on many fronts, including Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza and its fragile cease-fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Trump, who takes office Jan. 20, 2025, made a connection between the upheaval in Syria and Russia's war in Ukraine , noting that Assad's allies in Moscow, as well as in Iran, the main sponsor of Hamas and Hezbollah, “are in a weakened state right now.” The Syrian opposition that brought down Assad is led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham . The Biden administration has designated the group as a terrorist organization and says it has links to al-Qaida, although Hayat Tahrir al-Sham says it has since broken ties with al-Qaida. Vice President-elect JD Vance , a veteran of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, wrote on own social media Sunday to express skepticism about the insurgents. “Many of ‘the rebels’ are a literal offshoot of ISIS. One can hope they’ve moderated. Time will tell,” he said, using another acronym for the group. Trump has suggested that Assad's ouster can advance the prospects for an end to fighting in Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in February 2022. Trump wrote that Putin's government “lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine” and the Republican called for an immediate cease-fire, a day after meeting in Paris with the French and Ukrainian leaders . Daniel B. Shapiro, a deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said the American military presence will continue in eastern Syria but was “solely to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS and has nothing to do with other aspects of this conflict.” “We call on all parties in Syria to protect civilians, particularly those from Syria’s minority communities to respect international military norms and to work to achieve a resolution to include the political settlement,” Shapiro said. “Multiple actors in this conflict have a terrible track record to include Assad’s horrific crimes, Russia’s indiscriminate aerial bomb bombardment, Iranian-back militia involvement and the atrocities of ISIS," he added. Shapiro, however, was careful not to directly say Assad had been deposed by the insurgents. “If confirmed, no one should shed any tears over the Assad regime,” he said. As they pushed toward the Syrian capital of Damascus, the opposition freed political detainees from government prisons. The family of missing U.S. journalist Austin Tice renewed calls to find him. “To everyone in Syria that hears this, please remind people that we’re waiting for Austin,” Tice’s mother, Debra, said in comments that hostage advocacy groups spread on social media. "We know that when he comes out, he’s going to be fairly dazed & he’s going to need lots of care & direction. Direct him to his family please!” Tice disappeared in 2012 outside Damascus, amid intensification of what became a civil war stretching more than a decade. ___ Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Manama, Bahrain, contributed to this report. Will Weissert, The Associated Press
It has been a turbulent week for international traders, with the French government toppled in a vote of no confidence, plunging the euro zone’s second-largest economy into a period of deep political uncertainty. Coming on the back of a stalled German economy in a political stalemate with snap elections coming in February, it has created a very uncertain outlook for Irish exporters as they survey their sales options in their two largest European markets. The OECD last Wednesday cut its forecast for German economic growth next year. Deutsche Banks’s CEO, Christian Fleming at a banking summit in London during the week said Germany needs to adjust its business model, calling for less regulation and lower taxes on business. The political dispute which tipped President Macron‘s premier Michel Barnier over the edge, rejecting the 2025 annual budget, suggests it will now be even harder to address the country’s economic woes. With a deficit of over 6% of GDP, France already has the worst budget imbalance in the eurozone. Irish exporters were firing on all cylinders throughout 2024, with exports in September, being the highest monthly on record. Many were hoping for a stable European market, to counter the likelihood of tariffs damaging trade with the important US market. Many other exporters, however, are quietly euphoric about President Trump’s plans to cut taxes and lighten regulation and are banking on the continued rapid expansion of Irish goods exports to the market, which raced ahead by a whopping 64 % in September. Ireland is not the only country to have gained from the increases in cross-border trading in the past year. The United Nations (UNCTAD) announced last week that world trade is about to reach a record in 2024, breaking through the $3tr mark. They indicate that the increase is largely determined by the increase in trade in services, in which Ireland excels, and which accounted for half of the global growth. However, the UN report points to uncertainty looming over 2025, amid risks of trade wars and ongoing political turmoil in many markets. In particular, they point to potential US trade policy shifts under the Trump administration, including the much-projected tariff increases. Such measures they state risk triggering retaliation, with ripples affecting industries and economies along the supply chain. Of particular concern, and reinforced by the UN report, is the statement that countries most exposed to changes in US policy changes are likely to be those with large trade surpluses with the US. Based on the latest statistics Ireland is one of the top five countries in terms of goods trade surpluses, which is expected to exceed €47bn in the current year. The fact that Ireland buys more from the US in computer and business services, appears not to be recognised by Mr Trump's choice for commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, stating on the pre-election campaign trail that it's "nonsense that Ireland of all places runs a trade surplus at our expense...when we end this nonsense, America will be a truly great country again". Most annoying is that Lutnick should know better, with his background in selling services internationally from his Irish-based company Cantor Fitzgerald. The big technology companies, including Apple, Intel, Amazon, Facebook and Google, that have driven much of Ireland’s exports across this and prior years, may have been hoping to get an easy ride under Trump. But, they may be mistaken, judging by his statement on his social media platform Truth Social, that Big Tech has run wild for years, suggests he wants to keep pursuing them with antitrust crackdowns. The common refrain amongst executives is that what happens in politics and what happens in business, are not the same thing. But, there is no doubt that an outbreak of political tranquillity in Germany and France would be helpful for European and Irish businesses. In the US, the post-Trump election jump in the stock market has benefited a wide range of companies, both in Ireland and internationally, despite the more outlandish statements of the US political leader. It is to be hoped that the incoming Trump administration will continue the trend of strengthening export controls and heavy tariff increases on exports destined for China and give Europe a break. While Santa may bring peace and joy, the new year is likely to bring much turbulence.COLUMBUS — Almost all the predictions said No. 8 Ohio State (10-2) would play No. 9 Tennessee (10-2) in the first round of the College Football Playoff and that is exactly what was announced on Sunday afternoon. The Buckeyes and Volunteers will play at 8 p.m. Saturday Dec. 21 at Ohio Stadium, the latest in the year OSU has ever played a home night game. “We’re fired up. We’re obviously excited about playing the first playoff game in Ohio Stadium. Night game. Eight o’clock. Our guys are going to be fired up about this,” Day said at a press conference on Sunday. Until a stunning 13-10 loss to Michigan on Nov. 30, Ohio State appeared to be in position to possibly get one of the four first-round byes in the 12-team College Football Playoff field. But a bad game by the Buckeyes’ offense, particularly by the offensive line, against Michigan knocked them out of contention for one of those spots. Season-ending injuries to left tackle Josh Simmons and center Seth McLaughlin took away Ohio State two best offensive linemen and also left it without depth at offensive line. So OSU will be spending some time in practice the next two weeks installing new people or changes to things that didn’t work on the offensive line. “We feel confident in who we are and where we are when we’re playing at our best. We also have to make adjustments and make corrections and fix the things that need to be fixed coming off the last game. That has to happen,” Day said. “It’s similar to kind of what happened on defense in the Oregon game when you saw some of the adjustments that were made. To the naked eye it was like what really was different? But there were differences. That’s how it’s going to be here – up front and how we’re running the ball and how we’re operating. Some of that is execution and some of it is making sure we put the guys in the right position.” “I know who is going to be in the mix. I’m not going to give you that right now. We have two weeks that we have to dive into and identify what gives us the best chance in two weeks to go win this thing. We’ll look at it and make sure it’s right but there will be some guys in the mix – Luke Montgomery will be in the mix, Josh Padilla will be in the mix. We’ll make sure it’s right. Based on how they practice, we’ll figure out how it’s going to look,” Day said. “Taking a couple of key injuries did set us back. But these guys have what it takes to go make this run. So we’ve got to help them and I think there are ways to do that. “I’ve definitely been spending some time with the offense. We’ll look at it and whatever makes the most sense to win this game, we’ll do. Whatever it takes. We’ve already been looking at Tennessee. Now we know for sure. We’ll have a really clear game plan, probably by Tuesday. I’ll make sure I’m a big part of it.” If Ohio State beats Tennessee it would play its second-round playoff game in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 against No. 1-seeded Oregon, which won a regular-season matchup against the Buckeyes 32-31 in October. The Ducks got a first-round bye. Winning the national championship would require OSU to win four games. “We’ve got to win the first game and build from there. I don’t think there is one person in this building who is looking way down the road. You’ve got to win this game,” Day said.
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