The captains of two Premier League teams are in the spotlight for their choices as the competition celebrates LGBTQ+ inclusion in its campaign to promote equality and diversity. Rainbow-colored captain armbands were issued to the 20 clubs for matches last weekend and the current midweek round. Ipswich's Sam Morsy has been the only captain in action who didn't wear the rainbow armband, in games against Nottingham Forest on Saturday and Crystal Palace on Tuesday. Ipswich said after the Forest game that Morsy made the decision “due to his religious beliefs.” Morsy, a British-born Egypt midfielder, is a practicing Muslim. Ipswich said it “respect(s) the decision” of Morsy but is “committed to being a fully inclusive club." “We will continue to grow an environment where all are valued and respected, both on and off the pitch," Ipswich said. Palace captain Marc Guehi wore a rainbow armband bearing the words “I love Jesus” on it during the match against Newcastle on Saturday. A heart was used instead of the word “love.” The England defender, who is a devout Christian, and Palace were contacted by the Football Association reminding them that the appearance on, or incorporation in, any item of clothing, soccer boots or other equipment of any religious message is prohibited under Rule A4 of the governing body’s regulations, Britain's PA news agency reported Tuesday. For the game against Ipswich, Guehi's message on the rainbow armband read, “Jesus loves you” — again using a heart sign. It raises the prospect of the player being sanctioned by the FA for defying its rules. Addressing the issue after the match, Palace manager Oliver Glasner said: “We respect every player and especially Marc. He is our captain. Everyone knows he is a great guy, very humble, and I don’t think we should make it bigger than it is. In football we are all against discrimination and it’s a great campaign. “We spoke about it. He’s no child, he’s an adult, he has his opinion and we respect it.” The league's Rainbow Laces campaign, introduced in 2013, is in partnership with LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall and includes a range of activities to “highlight community and education initiatives designed to encourage discussion and promote allyship with LGBTQ+ communities,” the competition said. Rainbow Laces branding is widely visible within stadiums on things like corner flags and ball plinths. It is not mandatory for captains to wear the rainbow armband and it is deemed a personal choice. Last season, Anel Ahmedhodzic, the then-Sheffield United captain, wore a standard armband instead of the rainbow version. In France, Nantes fined striker Mostafa Mohamed for refusing to play against Toulouse last year on the weekend teams wore rainbow-colored numbers on their jerseys to support the fight against homophobia. In May, Monaco midfielder Mohamed Camara was given a four-game suspension by the league for covering up an anti-homophobia message on the team’s shirt during the club’s final league game of the season. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerPure Storage and Kioxia Collaborate to Drive Scalability, Efficiency, and Performance in Hyperscale Data CentersAfter rallying his party's caucus and staffers on Parliament Hill Tuesday with his vision for the "gutsy" campaign he eventually intends to run, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh signalled that he's still not ready to help the other opposition parties trigger an early election, yet. Though, as the only party still propping up the Liberal government, there will be a few chances in the next two weeks, where the NDP's readiness to send Canadians into that campaign early, will be tested. After two months of gridlock, on Monday, House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus informed MPs that he'll be halting the Conservate-led filibuster of a privilege motion regarding documents related to a now-defunct green technology fund, so that a series of potentially high-stakes votes can happen before the holidays. Fergus ruled that the now months-long debate that's blocked most other House business from advancing can take a back seat temporarily, so that remaining "supply" or opposition days and the supplementary estimates can be delt with. "A privilege motion must take priority over all other orders of the day, still, this practice is not absolute," Fergus said. "The Standing Orders require the House to dispose of supply matters by Dec.10." The Speaker ordered that this Thursday and Friday, and then next Monday and Tuesday will all be allotted as opposition days . Thursday will be a Conservative opposition day, and today the party confirmed it will be advancing a non-confidence motion that quotes Singh's past criticism of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government. "Whereas the Leader of the New Democratic Party said he 'ripped up' his supply and confidence agreement with the Liberal government. Whereas the NDP Leader said, 'the Liberals are too weak, too selfish and too beholden to corporate interests to fight for people,'" the motion reads in part. Asked Tuesday afternoon how his caucus will vote on this motion pushing for the House of Commons to declare "it has lost confidence in the prime minister and the government," Singh said he wouldn't "play Pierre Poilievre's games," but didn't go so far to confirm how his party will vote on the other coming confidence vote opportunities. Friday's opposition day will go to the NDP , but the Singh has already said his party won't be using it to advance a confidence motion. Both Thursday and Friday's opposition day motions are expected to come to a vote next Monday. Today, the Conservatives confirmed they intend to use all three of their remaining opposition days to try to topple the Liberal minority government and trigger an early election. "Now that even the Liberal Speaker has ruled that Justin Trudeau must face opposition debate on nine years of his failures, common sense Conservatives will put forward three confidence motions that will be debated and voted on starting this week," said Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer in a statement. This decision comes after the Tories shot denied unanimous consent for the Singh-citing opposition day non-confidence motion to be debated yesterday, a move Government House Leader Karina Gould called "quite weak." "But, you know, that's where we are," Gould said. After the Liberals blew off the Bloc Quebecois' ultimatum , Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet has said his party would be ready to join the Conservatives in voting non-confidence in the Liberals when opportunities arise. The Bloc sided with the Conservatives last week in voting against the federal government's five-page piece of legislation to enact Trudeau's promised two-month tax break on a range of consumer goods over the holidays. The Liberals – who first tried unsuccessfully to advance the remaining opposition days by using similar procedural mechanism as seen last week with the GST bill – welcomed the Speaker's decision. "Despite the ridiculous games that the Conservatives have been playing in their attempt to really obstruct the important work of parliamentarians, that we do on behalf of Canadians, we are going to get this work done," Gould said. While facing successive confidence tests in the days ahead, the Speaker's intervention also means Treasury Board President Anita Anand's supplementary estimates — which need MP's sign-off for billions in additional spending to flow for certain departments — will be able come to a vote, preventing a potential U.S.-style shutdown. As of next Tuesday, there will be just five scheduled House of Commons sitting days left until MPs are set to break until the new year. Gould indicated Tuesday that she's "having conversations" with her counterparts about all avenues forward, though barring a major breakthrough, or an agreement to adjourn early, it's expected that the privilege debate filibuster would resume in those remaining days.
'Crazy': Alexander confirms Bantams appealed Byrne red card
ASX set to retreat as Wall Street drifts to mixed finish
Chinese researchers have invented a new gel that could better protect wood from historic shipwrecks from the dangers of erosion. The hydrogel , which is made of water and other synthetic substances known as polymers, melts into the artifacts and works to neutralize elements that could harm the waterlogged material, including wood-eating fungi and acid-producing bacteria. Hydrogels are also used in medicine and firefighting . “The gels can be stretched to 20 times their initial length and demonstrate a 99 percent reduction in bacterial presence,” the researchers said . “This innovative hydrogel effectively neutralizes the acid generated by bacteria metabolism and notably possesses self-dissolution behavior that avoids the damage caused by peeling off the hydrogel from the wood surface.” Researchers said the goo’s characteristics “provide a distinct advantage for the timely protection and multipurpose preservation of wooden artifacts and offer potential in other comparable scenarios.” The gel was the result of a collaboration between multiple institutions, including Guangdong’s Sun-Yat Sen university and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Their findings were published recently in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering . The Royal Society of Chemistry says that state of a shipwreck depends on several factors, including how long it was underwater its materials, and the conditions where the ship sank. For example, the SS Endurance , the vessel of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton that had been lost since 1915, was well-preserved 10,000 feet below the surface of the extremely cold Antarctic Weddell Sea when it was found more than a century later. To help keep the history alive, conservators slowly dry marine wooden artifacts to preserve them. They utilize a process that replaces the water with highly pressurized carbon dioxide or a viscous polymer. They can also freeze-dry the artifacts. These efforts take months and can inflict damage, according to the American Chemical Society . The wood can become brittle or warped. Nearly two decades ago, scientists found that the production of sulphuric acid inside the ship wood could be the cause of chemical and physical damage. Scientists said a year later that iron from the Swedish warship Vasa , located at the bottom of Stockholm’s harbor, was causing its degradation. “Upon recovery and exposure to air, waterlogged wood undergoes substantial drying shrinkage and deformation. As a result, marine waterlogged archaeological wood preserved in museums becomes more sensitive to changes in humidity,” researchers from Beijing and Quanzhou said in a separate study published in the Journal of Cultural Heritage earlier this year. While newly-created gel could act like a face mask for the wood, the group noted, removing the substance could still harm its surface. In response to this issue, the authors of the study made a gel that would both provide the wood with compounds to fight bacteria and acid and gradually dissolve. To do it, they mixed two polymers with the acid-neutralizing potassium bicarbonate, alongside silver nitrate: a compound historically used in photography to process prints. To create hydrogels with different staying power, they adjusted the amount of silver nitrate used. Those with more of the compound remained a “gooey solid.” To test those hydrogels, they used 800-year-old pieces of wood from the Nanhai No. 1 shipwreck, discovered off of China’s south coast. The ship’s remains were discovered just over 80 feet below the sea in 1987. It is believed that the vessel was built between 1127 and 1279, during the Southern Song Dynasty. The Nanhai No. 1 was recovered in 2007 and preserved at an aquarium in the Guangdong Maritime Silk Road Museum, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization . “They found that each gel neutralized acid up to a centimeter deep after 10 days, but the dissolving gels that contained less silver did so more quickly, after one day. The team also found that artifacts treated with the liquifying gels better maintained their cellular structure and were less brittle than those treated with the solid gels,” the society said. The study’s authors say their new hydrogel could enhance the world’s ability to untangle its mysteries. There are an estimated 3 million shipwrecks littered across the ocean floor, according to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History .After weeks of fear and bewilderment about the drones buzzing over parts of New York and New Jersey , U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer is urging the federal government to deploy better drone-tracking technology to identify and ultimately stop the airborne pests. The New York Democrat is calling on the Department of Homeland Security to immediately deploy special technology that identifies and tracks drones back to their landing spots, according to briefings from his office. Schumer’s calls come amid growing public concern that the federal government hasn’t offered clear explanations as to who is operating the drones, and has not stopped them. National security officials have said the drones don’t appear to be a sign of foreign interference. “There’s a lot of us who are pretty frustrated right now,” said Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, on Fox News Sunday. “The answer ‘We don’t know’ is not a good enough answer.” President-elect Donald Trump posted on social media last week: “Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge? I don’t think so. Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down.” Certain agencies within the Department of Homeland Security have the power to “incapacitate” drones, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. “But we need those authorities expanded,” he said, without saying exactly how. The drones don’t appear to be linked to foreign governments, Mayorkas said. “We know of no foreign involvement with respect to the sightings in the Northeast. And we are vigilant in investigating this matter,” Mayorkas said. Last year, federal aviation rules began requiring certain drones to broadcast their identities. It’s not clear whether that information has been used to determine who is operating the drones swarming locations in New York and New Jersey. Mayorkas’ office didn’t immediately respond to questions about whether they’ve been able to identify drones using this capability. Schumer is calling for recently declassified radar technology to be used to help determine whether an object is a drone or a bird, identify its electronic registration, and follow it back to its landing place. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday said federal officials were sending a drone detection system to the state. “This system will support state and federal law enforcement in their investigations,” Hochul said in a statement. The governor did not immediately provide additional details including where they system will be deployed. Dozens of mysterious nighttime flights started last month over New Jersey, raising concerns among residents and officials. Part of the worry stems from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility and over Trump’s golf course in Bedminster. Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use, but they are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be FAA certified.
Sealed Air Corp. stock rises Monday, outperforms marketDAMASCUS, Syria — Syria's prime minister said Monday that most cabinet ministers were back at work after rebels overthrew President Bashar Assad, but some state workers failed to return to their jobs, and a United Nations official said the country's public sector had come "to a complete and abrupt halt." Meanwhile, streams of refugees crossed back into Syria from neighboring countries, hoping for a more peaceful future and looking for relatives who disappeared during Assad's brutal rule. The rebel alliance now in control of much of the country is led by a former senior al-Qaida militant who severed ties with the extremist group years ago and promises representative government and religious tolerance. The rebel command said Monday they would not tell women how to dress. "It is strictly forbidden to interfere with women's dress or impose any request related to their clothing or appearance, including requests for modesty," the command said on social media. Nearly two days after rebels entered the capital, some key government services shut down after state workers ignored calls to go back to their jobs, the U.N. official said, causing issues at airports and borders and slowing the flow of humanitarian aid. Rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was long known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, also met for the first time with Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Jalali, who stayed in Syria when Assad fled. Israel said it carried out airstrikes on suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets to keep them from falling into the hands of extremists. Israel also seized a buffer zone inside Syria after Syrian troops withdrew. In northern Syria, Turkey said allied opposition forces seized the town of Manbij from Kurdish-led forces backed by the United States, a reminder that even after Assad's departure, the country remains split among armed groups that have fought in the past. The Kremlin said Russia granted political asylum to Assad, a decision made by President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Assad's specific whereabouts and said Putin did not plan to meet with him. Damascus was quiet Monday, with life slowly returning to normal, though most shops and public institutions were closed. In public squares, some people still celebrated. Civilian traffic resumed, but there was no public transport. Long lines formed in front of bakeries and other food stores. There was little sign of any security presence, though in some areas small groups of armed men were stationed in the streets. Across swathes of Syria, families are now waiting outside prisons, security offices and courts, hoping for news of loved ones who were imprisoned or who disappeared. Just north of Damascus in the feared Saydnaya military prison, women detainees, some with their children, screamed as rebels broke locks off their cell doors. Amnesty International and other groups say dozens of people were secretly executed every week in Saydnaya, and they estimate that up to 13,000 Syrians were killed between 2011 and 2016. "Don't be afraid," one rebel said as he ushered women from packed cells. "Bashar Assad has fallen!" In southern Turkey, Mustafa Sultan was among hundreds of Syrian refugees waiting at border crossings to head home. He was searching for his older brother, who was imprisoned under Assad. "I haven't seen him for 13 years," he said. "I am going to go see whether he's alive." Jalali, the prime minister, sought to project normalcy since Assad fled. "We are working so that the transitional period is quick and smooth," he told Sky News Arabia TV on Monday, saying the security situation already improved from the day before. At the court of Justice in Damascus, which was stormed by the rebels to free detainees, Judge Khitam Haddad, an aide to the justice minister in the outgoing government, said Sunday that judges were ready to resume work quickly. "We want to give everyone their rights," Haddad said outside the courthouse. "We want to build a new Syria and to keep the work, but with new methods." But a U.N. official said some government services were paralyzed as worried state employees stayed home. The public sector "has just come to a complete and abrupt halt," said U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria Adam Abdelmoula, noting, for example, that an aid flight carrying urgently needed medical supplies was put on hold after aviation employees abandoned their jobs. "This is a country that has had one government for 53 years and then suddenly all of those who have been demonized by the public media are now in charge in the nation's capital," Abdelmoula told The Associated Press. "I think it will take a couple of days and a lot of assurance on the part of the armed groups for these people to return to work again."(The Center Square) – The state of Pennsylvania’s updated guidelines for teacher preparation and professional development has toned down its focus on racial biases that were implemented in 2022. New teachers in the state will receive the principles in education preparation programs. The state’s Department of Education announced the changes last week, introducing the Common Ground Framework, which replaces the Culturally-Relevant and Sustaining Education Framework. The new framework is less emphatic when it comes to racial bias and no longer mentions microaggressions. The Common Ground framework includes three categories of competencies for teachers: cultural awareness, trauma-aware mental health and wellness and, finally, technological and virtual engagement. Education Secretary Khalid N. Mumin said in an email announcing the changes that the framework adopted in 2022 had been replaced. The email also explained the function of the guidelines for current and future teachers. “Common Ground principles are not directly applicable to student conduct or locally adopted curriculum,” Mumin said. “Rather, Common Ground principles are intended to inform current and future teachers in their knowledge and ability to serve all students, including learners from varying socio-economic backgrounds and those with different abilities, in an effort to create an inclusive learning environment for all students.” The principles are intended to “create an inclusive learning environment for all students” according to a webpage on the Common Ground Framework program guidelines. “Common Ground is designed to help educators to better understand and relate to students experiencing homelessness and food insecurity, military-connected students and their families, students who have experienced trauma, students with disabilities or special needs, children of migratory seasonal farm workers, and more,” the webpage reads. The webpage says the iteration provides “updated guidance.” The previous version of the program included a stronger focus on racial biases, including starting with the premise that educational institutions are biased. The 2022 list of competencies says professional educators “know and acknowledge that biases exist in the educational system” and “identify literature and professional learning opportunities for themselves to understand more about the manifestations of racism and other biases at institutional and structural levels that can result in disadvantaging some groups of learners, educators, educational leaders, and families while privileging others.” In the updated competencies, the state says educators should “identify possible cultural biases in the educational system” and “identify literature and professional learning opportunities to understand the biases that can result in disadvantaging learners, educators, educational leaders, and families.” The webpage for Common Ground says it “provides guidance to help educators handle issues related to mental wellness, trauma informed approaches to instruction, engagement with technological and virtual strategies, and myriad other factors that can inhibit student success in the classroom if unaddressed.” The new technology focused competencies say teachers will “plan for and implement digital devices and resources in the teaching process to enhance the effectiveness of teaching, learning, and interventions” and “experiment with and develop new formats and pedagogical methods for instruction.” Teaching programs must show the state they have implemented the Common Ground principles teacher preparation programs by Aug. 31 2025, for the Cultural Awareness competencies and Aug. 31 2026, for the technology and mental health competencies. • This story initially published at Chalkboard News, a K-12 news site that, like The Center Square, is also published by Franklin News Foundation.
New Delhi: In a major booster for India’s efforts to localise Chinese investments in India, smartphone giant Vivo has decided to form a joint venture with domestic Dixon Technologies for contract manufacturing its devices and other electronics products. Dixon will hold 51% stake in the JV, while the remaining will be with Vivo India. Dixon and Vivo India said entered into a Binding Term Sheet for the proposed JV to undertake OEM business of electronic devices, including smartphones. However, neither Dixon nor Vivo India will have any stake in each other. “The facility will undertake part of Vivo’s OEM orders of smartphones in India, and can also engage in OEM business of various electronic products of other brands,” Dixon said, emphasising that the deal will not have any impact on its contract manufacturing business for other brands such as Motorola and Nokia. “The parties will agree on an optimum structure and the relevant terms and conditions to be set out in the definitive agreements. The transaction will be subject to execution of such definitive agreements, completion of customary conditions precedent and receipt of applicable regulatory approvals including as required under the foreign exchange control laws of India,” the company said. Tata group was also believed to be looking at a deal with Vivo India, but it could not materialise. Dixon Vice Chairman and MD Atul B Lall said the company sees Vivo India as an “ideal strategic partner” that shares its core values of quality, engineering prowess and customer satisfaction. “We believe that this association will bolster our manufacturing excellence and superior execution abilities and Vivo’s leadership in the Indian business ecosystem. We are excited to work together to create a stronger, more diversified, and future-proof organization. “ Jerome Chen, CEO of Vivo India said the deal with Dixon gets “rich localized management experience and outstanding professional manufacturing” prowess. “The proposed JV will undertake part of Vivo's OEM orders of smartphones in India, and can also engage in OEM business of various electronic products of other brands. This partnership will effectively complement the current manufacturing operations of Vivo India,” Chen said. Ready to Master Stock Valuation? ET’s Workshop is just around the corner!
Playoff game at Ohio State has sold 34% more tickets than Notre Dame game on StubHubPorter's 26 lead Middle Tennessee over South Florida 95-88