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Who are former jihadists now holding Aleppo?NEW YORK (AP) — Top-ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen is headed back to the World Blitz Championship on Monday after its governing body agreed to loosen a dress code that got him fined and denied a late-round game in another tournament for refusing to change out of jeans . Lamenting the contretemps, International Chess Federation President Arkady Dvorkovich said in a statement Sunday that he’d let World Blitz Championship tournament officials consider allowing “appropriate jeans” with a jacket, and other “elegant minor deviations” from the dress code. He said Carlsen’s stand — which culminated in his quitting the tournament Friday — highlighted a need for more discussion “to ensure that our rules and their application reflect the evolving nature of chess as a global and accessible sport.” Carlsen, meanwhile, said in a video posted Sunday on social media that he would play — and wear jeans — in the World Blitz Championship when it begins Monday. “I think the situation was badly mishandled on their side,” the 34-year-old Norwegian grandmaster said. But he added that he loves playing blitz — a fast-paced form of chess — and wanted fans to be able to watch, and that he was encouraged by his discussions with the federation after Friday’s showdown. “I think we sort of all want the same thing,” he suggested in the video on his Take Take Take chess app’s YouTube channel. “We want the players to be comfortable, sure, but also relatively presentable.” The events began when Carlsen wore jeans and a sportcoat Friday to the Rapid World Championship, which is separate from but held in conjunction with the blitz event. The chess federation said Friday that longstanding rules prohibit jeans at those tournaments, and players are lodged nearby to make sartorial switch-ups easy if needed. An official fined Carlsen $200 and asked him to change pants, but he refused and wasn’t paired for a ninth-round game, the federation said at the time. The organization noted that another grandmaster, Ian Nepomniachtchi, was fined earlier in the day for wearing sports shoes, changed and continued to play. Carlsen has said that he offered to wear something else the next day, but officials were unyielding. He said “it became a bit of a matter of principle,” so he quit the rapid and blitz championships. In the video posted Sunday, he questioned whether he had indeed broken a rule and said changing clothes would have needlessly interrupted his concentration between games. He called the punishment “unbelievably harsh.” Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone. Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you. Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read. You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you. Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all. You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you. Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all. Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages. “Of course, I could have changed. Obviously, I didn’t want to,” he said, and “I stand by that.” Related From Our Partner
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NoneMax Verstappen has been stripped of his pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix to elevate George Russell to top spot on the grid for the penultimate round of the season. Verstappen looked to have scored his first pole in five months after he edged out Mercedes’ Russell by just 0.055 seconds at the Lusail International Circuit. However, at 1:06 local time (10:06pm GMT), more than three hours after qualifying ended, it was confirmed that Verstappen had been penalised one place for impeding Russell as both drivers geared up for their final laps. The sanction promoted Russell, who took a lights-to-flag victory in Las Vegas a week ago, to the front of the grid for Sunday’s 57-lap race. Explaining their decision, the stewards said Verstappen was “driving unnecessarily slowly considering the circumstances” as he “attempted to cool his tyres” ahead of the lap in which he claimed pole. Speaking before the stewards’ verdict, Russell said he believed Verstappen’s tactics cost him outright pole. “I had a really scrappy out lap with the near collision with Max and I ended up going through the gravel two corners prior to opening my lap,” said the British driver. “It was not a good start to the lap, so that was probably the 55 milliseconds. “I hope it didn’t damage the car, but maybe that’s the reason why we didn’t improve, I don’t know. It was a bit of a hairy one, two corners before we start the lap.” Verstappen said: “There were two cars in front of me also making a gap, so I had to make a gap. And I knew that everyone was on a slow lap, not on a push lap. “George got excited. He wanted to pass and get around. That’s fine. I mean everyone, of course, tries to get their position, you know, to have the best possible start to the lap.” Verstappen has won in just one of his 12 previous appearances, and, after he started sixth and finished only eighth in the earlier sprint race, he would not have expected to be in the fight for pole. “It is a crazy turnaround,” said the Red Bull driver before the stewards took their decision. “I didn’t expect that. Well done to the team for giving me a car that is more connected. “We changed some bits on the car, but I never thought it would make such a swing in performance. That is encouraging and I hope it continues into the race.”
4 people inside vehicle that went into Phoenix canal able to escape, authorities say
Stocks closed higher on Wall Street, giving the market its fifth gain in a row and notching another record high for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% Friday. The Dow added 1%, and the Nasdaq composite tacked on 0.2%. Retailers had some of the biggest gains. Gap soared after reporting quarterly results that easily beat analysts’ estimates. EchoStar fell after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company’s Dish Network unit. European markets closed mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. Crude oil prices gained ground. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. Stocks rose on Wall Street in afternoon trading Friday, keeping the market on track for its fifth straight gain. The S&P 500 was up 0.2% and was solidly on track for a weekly gain that will erase most of last week's loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 333 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite was essentially flat with a gain of less than 0.1% as of 3:07 p.m. Eastern. Markets have been volatile over the last few weeks, losing ground in the runup to elections in November, then surging following Donald Trump's victory, before falling again. The S&P 500 has been steadily rising throughout this week to within close range of its record. “Overall, market behavior has normalized following an intense few weeks,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide, in a statement. Several retailers jumped after giving Wall Street encouraging financial updates. Gap soared 10.8% after handily beating analysts' third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, while raising its own revenue forecast for the year. Discount retailer Ross Stores rose 1.5% after raising its earnings forecast for the year. EchoStar fell 2.4% after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company's Dish Network unit. Smaller company stocks had some of the biggest gains. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.8%. A majority of stocks in the S&P 500 were gaining ground, but those gains were kept in check by slumps for several big technology companies. Nvidia fell 3.3%. Its pricey valuation makes it among the heaviest influences on whether the broader market gains or loses ground. The company has grown into a nearly $3.6 trillion behemoth because of demand for its chips used in artificial-intelligence technology. Intuit, which makes TurboTax and other accounting software, fell 5.6%. It gave investors a quarterly earnings forecast that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Facebook owner Meta Platforms fell 0.8% following a decision by the Supreme Court to allow a multibillion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit to proceed against the company. It stems from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. European markets closed mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Crude oil prices rose. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.41% from 4.42% late Thursday. In the crypto market, Bitcoin hovered around $99,000, according to CoinDesk. It has more than doubled this year and first surpassed the $99,000 level on Thursday. Retailers remained a big focus for investors this week amid close scrutiny on consumer spending habits headed into the holiday shopping season. Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, reported a quarter of strong sales and gave investors an encouraging financial forecast. Target, though, reported weaker earnings than analysts' expected and its forecast disappointed Wall Street. Consumer spending has fueled economic growth, despite a persistent squeeze from inflation and high borrowing costs. Inflation has been easing and the Federal Reserve has started trimming its benchmark interest rates. That is likely to help relieve pressure on consumers, but any major shift in spending could prompt the Fed to reassess its path ahead on interest rates. Also, any big reversals on the rate of inflation could curtail spending. Consumer sentiment remains strong, according to the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index. It revised its latest figure for November to 71.8 from an initial reading of 73 earlier this month, though economists expected a slight increase. It's still up from 70.5 in October. The survey also showed that consumers' inflation expectations for the year ahead fell slightly to 2.6%, which is the lowest reading since December of 2020. Wall Street will get another update on how consumers feel when the business group The Conference Board releases its monthly consumer confidence survey on Tuesday. A key inflation update will come on Wednesday when the U.S. releases its October personal consumption expenditures index. The PCE is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation and this will be the last PCE reading prior to the central bank's meeting in December.
Investigators have asked a South Korean court to issue an arrest warrant for suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol. A joint investigation unit criminally investigating Mr Yoon wants to question him on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion over his short-lived declaration of martial law . While the declaration on 3 December only lasted a few hours, his attempt to ban political activity and censor the media has triggered weeks of political turmoil, halted high-level democracy in South Korea and rattled the country's financial markets. The Corruption Investigation Office, which requested the arrest warrant, is leading the investigation into Mr Yoon and other senior government figures by police and military authorities. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Mr Yoon has avoided several requests to appear for questioning and also blocked searches of his offices. He has been impeached and would not be immune from criminal prosecution if accused of rebellion or treason. It is not clear whether the court will grant the warrant or whether Mr Yoon can be forced to appear for questioning. More from World Jimmy Carter dies: President Biden leads tributes to 'a man for all time' Former US president Jimmy Carter dies South Korea plane crash latest: Pilot reported bird strike before declaring mayday, says transport ministry Mr Yoon claimed his martial law decree was necessary to overcome political deadlock, despite originally saying it was to "eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces". As well as being accused of attempting to block the parliament vote which overturned martial law, it is claimed he ordered defence counterintelligence officials to detain key opponents. Last week, South Korea's acting president Han Duck-soo was impeached over his refusal to immediately fill three places on the Constitutional Court - which is reviewing Mr Yoon's case. Mr Han was prime minister under Yoon Suk Yeol and has been accused of "acting for insurrection". Mr Han's successor, Choi Sang-mok, has only been acting president since Friday but is dealing with the aftermath of a plane crash which killed 179 people . South Korea's former defence minister Kim Yong Hyun was arrested on 11 December over claims he played a key role in the martial law decree and abused his power. Mr Kim tried to take his own life while being held in detention, officials said. South Korea's national police chief and the top police officer for the capital Seoul have also been detained for their roles in the short-lived decree.SUMMARY SpyLoan Rise: SpyLoan apps have increased by 75% between Q2 and Q3 2024, targeting users globally. Play Store Threat: 15 malicious loan apps on Google Play have been downloaded over 8 million times. How They Work: These apps lure users with fake loan offers, harvest sensitive data, and exploit victims financially. Global Impact: High prevalence reported in India, Mexico, the Philippines, Kenya, and seven other countries. Staying Safe: Users should research apps, avoid granting excessive permissions, and use antivirus software. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Cybercriminals are exploiting SpyLoan, or predatory loan apps, to target unsuspecting users globally. McAfee cybersecurity researchers report a whopping 75% rise in SpyLoan apps and infected devices between Q2 and Q3 of 2024. These apps lure users with promises of quick, hassle-free loans but are designed to harvest sensitive data, resulting in extortion, harassment, and financial losses. This increase can be understood by the fact that researchers spotted 15 such apps on the official Google Play Store with over 8 million installations worldwide. These apps, especially targeting users in South America, Southern Asia, and Africa, use social engineering tactics to trick users into providing sensitive information and granting excessive permissions. Here’s a list of malicious PayLoan apps found on the Google Play Store: Préstamo Seguro-Rápido, seguro – Downloads 1M, Country: Mexico – Deleted Préstamo Rápido-Credit Easy – Downloads 1M, Country: Colombia – Available ได้บาทง่ายๆ-สินเชื่อด่วน – Downloads: 1M, Country: Senegal – Available RupiahKilat-Dana cair – Downloads: 1M, Country: Senegal – Available ยืมอย่างมีความสุข – เงินกู้ – Downloads: 1M, Country: Thailand – Deleted เงินมีความสุข – สินเชื่อด่วน – Downloads: 1M, Country: Thailand – Deleted KreditKu-Uang Online – Downloads: 500K, Country: Indonesia – Deleted Dana Kilat-Pinjaman kecil – Downloads: 500K, Country: Indonesia – Available Cash Loan-Vay tiền – Downloads: 100K, Country: Vietnam – Available RapidFinance – Downloads: 100K, Country: Tanzania – Deleted PrêtPourVous – Downloads: 100K, Country: Senegal – Deleted Huayna Money – Préstamo Rápido – Downloads: 100K, Country: Peru – Deleted IPréstamos: Rápido Crédito – Downloads: 100K, Country: Chile – Available ConseguirSol-Dinero Rápido – Downloads: 100K, Country: Peru – Deleted ÉcoPrêt Prêt En Ligne – Downloads: 50K, Country: Thailand – Available (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); How SpyLoan Apps Work These apps operate by using a common framework to encrypt and exfiltrate data from a victim’s device to a command and control (C2) server. They often use deceptive marketing, mimicking reputable financial institutions, and are promoted through social media ads. Once installed, they request unnecessary permissions, such as access to contacts, SMS, storage, and even a microphone or camera. The apps then use a similar onboarding process, including a countdown timer to create a sense of urgency and require users to provide sensitive identification documents and personal information. This data is then exfiltrated and used for financial exploitation, including hidden fees and high interest rates, as well as privacy violations, such as data misuse and harassment. The consequences of using these apps can be devastating. Users have reported receiving threatening calls and death threats, having personal photos and IDs misused, and experiencing emotional and psychological distress. In some cases, victims have even reported suicidal thoughts. The threat of SpyLoan apps is not limited to a single region. They have been reported globally, with localized adaptations. India, Mexico, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Kenya, Colombia, Vietnam, Chile, and Nigeria are among the top 10 countries with the highest prevalence of fake loan apps. Law Enforcement Actions While law enforcement agencies have taken action against some of these operations, the threat persists. In Peru, authorities raided a call center engaged in extortion and fake loan app operations, detaining over 300 individuals. In Chile, the commission for the financial market has highlighted tens of fraudulent credit applications distributed on Google Play. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Protecting Yourself To avoid falling victim to these predatory loan apps, users must be cautious when downloading financial apps. Here are some tips: Read reviews and check ratings Research the app and its developer thoroughly Be wary of apps that request excessive permissions Use reputable antivirus software to detect and block malicious apps Never provide sensitive information without verifying the app’s legitimacy RELATED TOPICS New Tool DVa Detects and Removes Android Malware Scammers Using Fake Loan Apps for Money Laundering These 8 Apps on Play Store Contain Android/FakeApp Trojan “Scary” FakeCall Android Malware Captures Photos and OTPs Octo2 Android Malware Uses Fake NordVPN App to Infect Phones