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PARIS — Howling winds couldn’t stop Notre Dame’s heart from beating again. With three resounding knocks on its doors by Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, wielding a crosier carved from fire-scorched beams, the cathedral roared back to life Saturday evening. For the first time since a blaze engulfed it in 2019, the towering Gothic masterpiece reopened for worship. Unusually fierce December winds whipping across the Île de la Cité, flanked by the River Seine, forced all the events inside. Yet the occasion lost none of its splendor. Inside the nave, choirs sang psalms, and the cathedral’s mighty organ thundered back to life in a triumphant interplay of melodies. The evening’s celebration, attended by 1,500 dignitaries, including President-elect Donald Trump , Britain’s Prince William and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, underscored Notre Dame’s role as spiritual and cultural beacon. For President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the ambitious restoration timeline, it was a rare moment of unity amid profound political crises and threats to his presidential legacy. Amid global unrest, with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East , the cathedral’s resurrection emerged as a symbol of resilience and unity. “Notre Dame is not just a French monument — it is a magnificent sign of hope,” said its rector, the Rev. Olivier Ribadeau Dumas. “What seemed impossible has become possible.” Ukrainian pastor Andriy Morkvas, attending his first Mass at Notre Dame in more than a decade, found hope in the cathedral’s rebirth. “God is powerful; he can change things,” he said. “I hope Notre Dame and Mary will help resolve our conflict.” Guests entered through Notre Dame’s iconic western façade, whose arched portals adorned with biblical carvings were once a visual guide for medieval believers. Above the central Portal of the Last Judgment, the Archangel Michael is depicted weighing souls, as demons attempt to tip the scales. In the restoration, more than 50,000 square yards of stonework — an area equal to six soccer fields — were cleaned, revealing luminous limestone and intricate carvings long cloaked in soot. Above the nave, 2,000 oak beams, nicknamed “the forest,” were used to rebuild the spire and roof, restoring the cathedral’s iconic silhouette. The ceremony began with Ulrich symbolically reopening Notre Dame’s grand wooden doors, tapping them three times with his fire-scarred crosier. A prerecorded concert featured luminaries such as pianist Lang Lang, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and soprano Pretty Yende. Their performances offered a message of harmony, celebrating the cathedral’s role as a sanctuary of faith and art. Personal stories of faith punctuated the evening. Huguette Euphrasie, attending with her cancer-stricken mother, gazed at the cathedral’s illuminated towers. “It has huge spiritual value for me,” she said. “It’s very moving.” For Patricia and Cyrille Brenner, who traveled overnight from Cannes, the reopening felt like a pilgrimage. “The fire was a call to renew our faith,” Cyrille said. For Macron, the reopening offered a rare reprieve from political turmoil. Just days earlier, his government collapsed in a historic no-confidence vote, plunging France into uncertainty. The achievement of restoring Notre Dame within five years — a timeline dismissed as overly ambitious by many — was a political win for Macron. Macron described the reopening as “a jolt of hope.” Security was tight, with police vans and soldiers in body armor patrolling embankments, while a special detail followed President-elect Donald Trump. Public viewing areas along the Seine accommodated 40,000 spectators, who watched the ceremonies unfold on large screens. After the reopening, the cathedral is expected to welcome 15 million visitors annually, up from 12 million before the fire. As the evening drew to a close, the cathedral stood as a testament to what collective will and faith can achieve. “It’s the soul of Paris,” Dumas said. “And tonight, its heart beats again.” Adamson and Leicester write for the Associated Press. AP journalists Sylvie Corbet, Yesica Brumec, Marine Lesprit and Mark Carlson in Paris contributed to this report .PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. RELATED COVERAGE How co-writing a book threatened the Carters’ marriage The Latest: Former President Jimmy Carter is dead at age 100 Notable quotes by Jimmy Carter Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter’s in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Defying expectations Carter’s path, a mix of happenstance and calculation , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That’s a very narrow way of assessing them,” Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” ‘Country come to town’ Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn’t suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he’d be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter’s tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter’s lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the Georgians and their inner circle as “country come to town.” A ‘leader of conscience’ on race and class Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. Born Oct. 1, 1924 , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor’s race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama’s segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival’s endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King’s daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn was Carter’s closest advisor Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters’ early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Reevaluating his legacy Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to “move to a very liberal program,” lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan’s presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan’s Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on family property alongside Rosalynn . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. Pilgrimages to Plains The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as public pilgrimages to Plains became advantageous again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —- Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.dragon tiger live casino 。

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Big boost for parents as Aldi Ireland brings school uniforms back – with prices from €1.65NEW YORK — They have seen him smiling on a hostel security camera, but don’t know his name. They found the backpack he discarded while fleeing, but don’t know where he went. As the search for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer goes on, investigators are reckoning with a tantalizing dichotomy: They have troves of evidence, but the shooter remains an enigma. Police don’t know who he is, where he is, or why he did it — though they are confident that it was a targeted attack instead of a random act. “The net is getting tighter,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday. Hours after he spoke, police divers were seen searching a pond in Central Park, where the killer fled after the shooting. Officers have been scouring the park for days for any possible clues. Get the latest breaking news as it happens. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy . Retracing the gunman’s steps using surveillance video, police say, it appears he left the city by bus soon after the shooting Wednesday morning outside the New York Hilton Midtown. He was seen on video at an uptown bus station about 45 minutes later, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. With the high-profile search expanding across state lines, the FBI announced late Friday that it was offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, adding to a reward of up to $10,000 that the NYPD offered. Police say they believe the suspect acted alone. This image provided by the New York City Police Department shows a man wanted for questioning in connection to the investigation of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. Credit: AP/HOGP Police provided no new updates on the hunt Saturday, but investigators are urging patience, even with shooter on the loose. Hundreds of detectives are combing through video recordings and social media, vetting tips from the public and interviewing people who might have information, including Thompson’s family and coworkers and the shooter’s randomly assigned roommates at the Manhattan hostel where he stayed. “This isn’t ‘Blue Bloods.’ We’re not going to solve this in 60 minutes," Kenny told reporters Friday. “We’re painstakingly going through every bit of evidence that we can come across.” The shooter paid cash at the hostel, presented what police believe was a fake ID and is believed to have paid cash for taxi rides and other transactions. He didn't speak to others at the hostel and almost always kept his face covered with a mask, only lowering it while eating. But investigators caught a break when they came across security camera images of an unguarded moment in which he briefly showed his face soon after arriving in New York on Nov. 24. Communters wait for buses at the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in New York, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, where the gunman fleeing Wednesday's shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson took a taxi to, according to surveillance video. Credit: AP/Richard Drew Police distributed the images to news outlets and on social media but so far haven't been able to ID him using facial recognition — possibly because of the angle of the images or limitations on the use of the technology, Kenny said. On Friday evening, investigators found a backpack in Central Park that had been worn by the gunman, police said. They didn’t immediately reveal what, if anything, it contained but said it would be tested and analyzed. Another potential clue, a fingerprint on an item he purchased at a Starbucks minutes before the shooting, has so far proven useless for identifying him, Kenny said. Aided by surveillance cameras on nearly every building and block, police have been able to retrace the shooter’s movements. They know he ambushed Thompson at 6:44 a.m. as the executive arrived at the Hilton for his company’s annual investor conference, using a 9 mm pistol that resembled the guns farmers use to put down animals without causing a loud noise. They know ammunition found near Thompson’s body bore the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” mimicking a phrase used by insurance industry critics. Kenny said the fact that the shooter knew UnitedHealthcare group was holding a conference at the hotel and what route Thompson might take to get there suggested that he could possibly be a disgruntled employee or client. Investigators know from surveillance video that the shooter fled into Central Park on a bicycle and ditched it around 7 a.m. near 85th Street. He then walked a couple blocks and got into a taxi, arriving at 7:30 a.m. at the George Washington Bridge Bus Station, which is near the northern tip of Manhattan and offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington. Investigators don't know what happened next. They are searching through more surveillance video but have yet to locate video of the shooter getting on a bus or exiting the station. “We have reason to believe that the person in question has left New York City,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told CNN on Friday. Police have determined from video that the gunman initially arrived at the main bus terminal Manhattan on a Greyhound bus that originated in Atlanta, though it's not clear whether he embarked there or at one of about a half-dozen stops along the route. Immediately after that, he took a cab to the vicinity of the Hilton and was there for about a half hour, Kenny said. At around 11 p.m., he went by taxi to the HI New York City Hostel. It was there, while speaking with an employee in the lobby, that he briefly pulled down the mask and smiled, giving investigators the brief glimpse they are now relying on to identify and capture a killer.

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Jimmy Carter: Many evolutions for a centenarian ‘citizen of the world’The recently concluded 2024 State Literary Festival, held at Temple Trees, stood as a resplendent testament to our literary and cultural vibrancy. With origins tracing back to 1957, this annual celebration is orchestrated by the Department of Cultural Affairs. Kumuduni Haputhanthri receives the Award for publishing the highest number of award-winning books on behalf of Sarasavi Bookshop The State Literary Festival is a platform to acknowledge excellence in Sinhala, Tamil, and English literature. The festival has continued to laud the written word in its capacity to promote understanding, empathy, and hence social progress. The event brings together wordsmiths to celebrate the power of literature. The awardees receive a trophy, a certificate, and a cash prize. The nominees are presented with a certificate complemented by a cash prize—a practice initiated at last year’s festival. Emphasising the role of literature in rebuilding society. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his message to the festival, noted how literature has historically served as a purpose of hope during global crises: “History has shown that even in the greatest global crises, creative literature has reignited hope, inspiring people to pursue life with renewed purpose. As we navigate the path of national recovery and social reconstruction, the role of literature and its creators is pivotal in shaping our collective future. Professor Jinadasa Danansuriya receives the Sahitya Ratna Award for Sinhala category (Pictures by Dushmantha Mayadunne) We are facing a society full of distress—a society that ignores others. We must create a human habitation that can bear ethnic diversity and appreciates the beauty of diversity regardless of caste and religion. Doesn’t the declined appreciation of art meet us again in society as violence? The various characters, behaviours, imaginations, and cultural contacts found in a work of literature expand our imagination. A century’s worth of life experience can be gained through the study of literature.” Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya delivered a message about the arts’ declining status in society due to decades of underfunding. She calls for a paradigm shift to advance cultural engagement from an early age: “A society distant from literature, music, and art is in front of us because of the low funds allocated to cultural life by those who led the country. This must first be accurately identified, weighed, and prioritised. An emotional citizen who emerges as a part of the education system of the country should be created. Annalakshmi Rajadurai receives the Sahitya Ratna Award for Tamil category It should be systematically developed from early childhood. Only half of our tree of life is completed by technology, science, or an industrial approach. Its other part represents aesthetically oriented thoughts, a heart filled with human dignity. This is generated by literature. We are facing a society full of distress—a society that ignores others. We must create a human habitation that can bear ethnic diversity and appreciates the beauty of diversity regardless of caste and religion. Doesn’t the declined appreciation of art meet us again in society as violence? The various characters, behaviour, imaginations, and cultural contacts found in a work of literature expand our imagination. A century’s worth of life experience can be gained through the study of literature.” Cultural Affairs Minister Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi elaborated on literature’s role in advancing empathy and reducing societal conflict: Vihanga Perera receives the award for the Best Original Novel in English “The State Literary Festival means to offer the gratitude of the state to the literati of the country. If they did not have this incredible imagination potential, any group that is in power at this moment has to accept a weak community. We should have the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings. Unhappiness, violence, and conflict are inevitable in a society of unsympathetic people The progress achieved by art in a country is not the same as the progress measured in number or indicators measured by ‘development projects’ Any country is immeasurably indebted to literature.” Sahitya Rathna Award A highlight of the festival is the presentation of the Sahitya Rathna Awards, which honour lifetime contributions to literature. This year’s laureates—Prof. Jinadasa Danansuriya, Annalakshmi Rajadurai, and Professor Emeritus Senath Walter Perera—do proclaim the noble power of literary pursuits, transcending the bounds of Sinhala, Tamil, and English tongues. Born in 1945 in Dambadeniya, Prof. Danansuriya has had a remarkable career as a scholar, critic, and translator in Sinhala literature. A graduate of the University of Vidyalankara, he served in academia for over four decades, contributing significantly to literary criticism and translation studies. Prof. Walter Perera receives the Sahitya Ratna Award for English category Among his notable works are Sahithya Vesmuhunu (1978), Vichaara Satahan (1995), and Kalaathmaka Parikalpanaya (2005). His translations, including Hirakaruva Bahdakkemu (1974) and Ithala Janakantha (2009), have introduced Sri Lankan readers to global literary traditions. Recognised with numerous accolades, including the Pranaama Award (1996) and Kalabooshaana State Award (2021), Prof. Danansuriya continues to contribute to the field of children’s literature. Annalakshmi Rajadurai, born in 1939 in Jaffna, made history as the first woman to receive the Sahitya Rathna Award. A literary icon in Tamil literature, she has blended journalism, poetry, and fiction throughout her career. Her editorial roles in Jhothi and Mithran revolutionised Tamil media, while her works, including Vilichudar (1970) and Neruppu Velichcham (1984), explore themes of unity and resilience. Ethnic harmony Her contributions to ethnic harmony are notable in her translations under the title Uru Thai Makkal, which aim to bridge communal divides. She has won awards such as the Tamil Nithi Award (2023) and the Sri Lanka-London Tamil Literary Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award (2019). Prof. Emeritus Senath Walter Pereradedicated over 40 years to teaching and promoting postcolonial and Sri Lankan writing. His tenure at the University of Peradeniya saw the creation of ground breaking courses that introduced students to the richness of local English literature. In addition to his academic work, Professor Perera’s contributions to literary journals such as Phoenix and The Journal of Commonwealth Literature have brought international attention to Sri Lankan writers. His mentorship roles with The Gratiaen Trust and involvement with the Commonwealth Writers Prize highlight his commitment to promoting local voices on a global stage. The festival celebrates contemporary authors, translators, and critics across 25 categories. Key awardees in English medium include Vihanga Perera (Best Original Novel: Students and Rebels), Sajida Fazal (Best Original Children’s Literature: Collin and the Caterpillar), A.A. Moses (Best Original Youth Literature: Anya: The Spirit of Yala), Shirani Rajapaksha (Best Original Short Story Collection: Offerings to the Blue God) and Gayathri M. Hewagama (Best Original Poetry Collection: Amber Lights). Other notable winners included The Petition by Leel Gunasekara for Best Translated Novel and Beyond Check-Points by Duleep De Chickera for Original Text on Varied Subjects. The Daily News Associate Features Editor Sachitra Mahendra has been nominated for the Best Translated Novel award at the State Literary Awards 2024 for his English translation of Dr. Palitha Ganewatta’s Sinhala novel ‘Mawatha Abiyasa’, titled ‘Road Ahead’. The festival’s credibility rests on its rigorous evaluation process. Books published between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year are collected and registered with the Department of National Archives. Categories span 25 subject areas, covering original and translated works in prose, poetry, drama, children’s literature, and academic texts. Each submission undergoes an assessment by a panel of experts.Ex-Niger governor lambastes opposition to Tax Reform Bill

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched in downtown Barcelona on Saturday to protest the skyrocketing cost of renting an apartment in the popular tourist destination. Protesters cut off traffic on main avenues in the city center, holding up homemade signs in Spanish reading “Fewer apartments for investing and more homes for living" and “The people without homes uphold their rights.” The lack of affordable housing has become one of the leading concerns for the southern European Union country, mirroring the housing crunch across many parts of the world, including the United States . Organizers said that over 100,000 had turned out, while Barcelona’s police said they estimated some 22,000 marched. Either way, the throngs of people clogging the streets recalled the massive separatist rallies at the heigh of the previous decade’s Catalan independence movement. Now, social concerns led by housing have displaced political crusades. That is because the average rent for Spain has doubled in last 10 years. The price per square meter has risen from 7.2 euros ($7.5) in 2014 to 13 euros this year, according to the popular online real estate website Idealista. The growth is even more acute in cities like Barcelona and Madrid. Incomes meanwhile have failed to keep up, especially for younger people in a country with chronically high unemployment. Protestor Samuel Saintot said he is “frustrated and scared” after being told by the owners of the apartment he has rented for the past 15 years in Barcelona’s city center that he must vacate the premises. He suspects that the owners want him out so they can renovate it and boost the price. “Even looking in a 20- or 30-kilometer radius outside town, I can’t even find anything within the price range I can afford,” he told The Associated Press. “And I consider myself a very fortunate person, because I earn a decent salary. And even in my case, I may be forced to leave town.” A report by the Bank of Spain indicates that nearly 40% of Spaniards who rent dedicate an average of 40% of their income to paying rents and utilities, compared to the European Union average of 27% of renters who do so. “We are talking about a housing emergency. It means people having many difficulties both in accessing and staying in their homes,” said Ignasi Martí, professor for Esade business school and head of its Dignified Housing Observatory. The rise in rents is causing significant pain in Spain, where traditionally people seek to own their homes. Rental prices have also been driven up by short-term renters including tourists. Many migrants to Spain are also disproportionately hit by the high rents because they often do not have enough savings. Spain is near the bottom end of OECD countries with under 2% of all housing available being public housing for rent. The OECD average is 7%. Spain is far behind France, with 14%, Britain with 16%, and the Netherlands with 34%. Carme Arcarazo, spokesperson for Barcelona’s Tenants Union which helped organize the protest, said that renters should consider a “rent strike” and cease paying their monthly rents in a mass protest movement. “I think we the tenants have understood that this depends on us. That we can’t keep asking and making demands to the authorities and waiting for an answer. We must take the reins of the situation,” Arcarazo told the AP. “So, if they (the owners) won’t lower the rent, then we will force them to do it." The Barcelona protest came a month after tens of thousands rallied against high rents in Madrid. The rising discontent over housing is putting pressure on Spain’s governing Socialist party, which leads a coalition on the national level and is in charge of Catalonia’s regional government and Barcelona’s city hall. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez presided over what the government termed a “housing summit” including government officials and real estate developers last month. But the Barcelona’s Tenants Union boycotted the event, saying it was like calling a summit for curing cancer and inviting tobacco companies to participate. The leading government measure has been a rent cap mechanism that the central government has offered to regional authorities based on a price index established by the housing ministry. Rent controls can be applied to areas deemed to be “highly stressed” by high rental prices. Catalonia was the first region to apply those caps, which are in place in downtown Barcelona. Many locals blame the million of tourists who visit Barcelona, and the rest of Spain, each year for the high prices. Barcelona’s town hall has pledged to completely eliminate the city’s 10,000 so called “tourist apartments,” or dwellings with permits for short-term rents, by 2028.Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Stock Price Down 0% – Should You Sell?

Saudi’s $1.2bn investment to create more jobs for Nigerians – FGOklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy will be staying on after agreeing to a restructured deal, according to news reports published Saturday. The deal reportedly will shift some of his salary to revenue sharing with players. Gundy has talked often about how difficult it is to compete financially in this new era. The Cowboys were among the preseason favorites in the Big 12, but a rash of injuries and problems at quarterback tanked the team, and a 3-9 season culminated with a 52-0 loss at Colorado . The school's Board of Regents held a special meeting on Friday morning regarding his status, but no immediate action was taken. The fact that Gundy has 169 wins in 20 years and has reached the Big 12 title game two of the past four seasons, plus a hefty buyout, likely saved him from being fired outright. The Cowboys won the conference in 2011 and had been to bowl games for 18 straight seasons before this one. It had been a while since the Cowboys struggled like they did this season, and Gundy upset the fan base when he fired back at his critics. “In most cases, the people that are negative and voicing their opinion are the same ones that can’t pay their own bills,” Gundy said. “They’re not taking care of themselves. They’re not taking care of their own family. They’re not taking care of their own job. But they have an obligation to speak out and complain about others because it makes them feel better. "But then, in the end, when they go to bed at night, they’re the same failure that they were before they said anything negative about anybody else.” Gundy has made several apologies over the years for comments and behavior, but his success has kept him safe. In 2020, he apologized for calling COVID-19 the “Chinese Virus .” He apologized again that year after he wore a T-shirt featuring the far-right One America News Network that upset star running back Chuba Hubbard. The Cowboys reportedly have parted ways with offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn and defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo. Dunn became offensive coordinator in 2020. He held the position last season, when running back Ollie Gordon II won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back. Gordon wasn't quite as good this season, and a highly touted offensive line struggled to open holes for him. Nardo was hired in 2023 and had a solid first year. He coached much of this season without injured stars Nick Martin and Collin Oliver. Martin was the top defensive player in the AP's Big 12 mid-season awards. The Cowboys ranked last in the Big 12 in points allowed and yards per game allowed. They gave up 500.6 yards per contest, by far the worst in the 16-team league. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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