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☆ Nike severs ties with Kyrie Irving after antisemitism controversy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | Jessica Golden | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Nike has officially cut ties with Kyrie Irving, the company said Monday. A Nike spokesperson didn’t immediately make any additional comment about the decision. Representatives for Irving didn’t immediately comment. The decision to sever ties with Irving comes just a month after Nike suspended its agreement with the longtime guard and announced it wouldn’t be releasing the latest version of his sneakers, the Kyrie 8. Nike founder Phil Knight told CNBC in an interview last month that he believed Irving stepped over the line.

☆ NHL roundup: Kasperi Kapanen's hat trick sends Pens past Blues
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Oskar Sundqvist scored the only goal of the game for Detroit, which lost its third straight game. Toronto's Mitch Marner scored twice to set a club record with 19th straight games with a point. Bruins 5, Avalanche 1David Pastrnak and Trent Frederic each scored twice as the host Bruins cruised past the Avalanche. Tomas Hertl scored twice for the Sharks, who have lost five of six (1-4-1). Panthers 5, Kraken 1Carter Verhaeghe scored twice and Sam Bennett had three assists as Florida defeated host Seattle, ending the Kraken's franchise-record seven-game winning streak.

DOHA, Qatar—A World Cup staged in one desert city by a first-time host with little experience of major sporting events was always going to be a high-wire act—even with the financial might of a petrostate prepared to spend $220 billion to make it work. Halfway through, the tournament is unfolding as a functional, if occasionally stressed, event. Qatar, a Middle Eastern country the size of Connecticut, hasn’t stumbled even as its population swells with more than two million fans expected over the course of the month.

☆ Maine Governor Janet Mills criticized Whole Foods after the grocery chain decided to stop selling the state's lobsters at its stores
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Whole Foods will no longer sell Maine lobster in its stores. The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative, which represents the Gulf of Maine fishery, also called the decision "disappointing" in a statement to Maine Public. Right whales can reach up to 52 feet in length and live up to 70 years. The main causes of unusual death for right whales include entanglements with fishing gear and collisions with ships. Representatives for Whole Foods, the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative, and the Marine Stewardship Council did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ France's Macron says Qatar must move towards "tangible changes"
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Nov 26 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday urged Qatar to continue in the direction of "tangible changes" that he said are signposted by Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup. "This football World Cup, the first organised in an Arab country, is a sign of tangible changes underway. It must continue, and it can count on our support," Macron said on Twitter during the France-Denmark game. France became the first team to book a spot in the World Cup knockout stage on Saturday when it defeated Denmark 2-1 in a tense encounter. Earlier this month, Macron had said sports should not be politicised, brushing off suggestions that he should boycott the World Cup in Qatar.

Or they feature commercial characters from media juggernauts, imbued with predetermined personalities and storylines that encourage children to copy, not create. Yet bestselling toys — as distinct from best — are too often those that are most advertised to kids; digitally enhanced or linked to popular media characters; or both. Companies that profit hugely from licensed characters have a vested interest in preventing children’s creative play — and stifling their creativity. Toys that promote creativity are less likely to be huge moneymakers because they can be used repeatedly in lots of different ways. These toys seem to be made with a kind of planned obsolescence, so new ones will soon be needed.

☆ England fans face stadium ban over crusader costumes in Qatar
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DOHA, Nov 25 (Reuters) - England fans will be barred from Friday' match in Qatar against the United States and future World Cup games if they wear crusader replica costumes which are considered culturally insensitive in a Muslim country, FIFA has said. England supporters have used imitation chain-mail armour, plastic helmets and toy weapons as a fancy dress for games for years. Issues around culture and rights have been in focus almost as much the soccer at the World Cup in Qatar. Some Wales fans were ordered to remove hats with the rainbow colours of the LGBT community at their team's first match of the tournament against the United States earlier this week. The captains of England, Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark this week dropped their plans to wear armbands to back gay rights under pressure from FIFA.

☆ African leaders agree on ceasefire in east Congo from Friday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KINSHASA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - African leaders have declared a ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo starting Friday, which is aimed in particular at stopping attacks by the M23 rebel group, they said in a statement. The declaration was issued by the leaders of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Angola, and former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, after a summit in Luanda on Wednesday aimed at finding solutions to the east Congo crisis. Eastern Congo is facing an insurgency by the M23, a Tutsi-led rebel group which the Congolese government claims is supported by neighbouring Rwanda. In addition to the ceasefire, the statement said the M23 must withdraw from its occupied territories or face intervention by regional forces. "If M23 does not withdraw the East African Community (EAC) heads of states shall authorize use of force to compel the group to comply," it said.

☆ Top US diplomat rips FIFA for punishing World Cup players who wear the 'One Love' armband promoting inclusion
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Blinken criticized FIFA for threatening to punish World Cup players who wear a "One Love" armband. "As national federations, we can't put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games." The nations decried the FIFA decision as "unprecedented" and said they were "very frustrated." Fans wearing clothing featuring rainbows, a symbol of support for the LGBTQ community, have reported being prevented from entering World Cup stadiums in Qatar. FIFA, soccer's global governing body, previously said fans were "welcome to express themselves; they are welcome to express their love for their partners."

☆ Last minute recruits in Qatar highlight World Cup security issues
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Andrew Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Qatar is the first Middle Eastern country and smallest nation ever to host the World Cup. It has called up hundreds of civilians, including diplomats summoned back from overseas, for mandatory military service operating security checkpoints at World Cup sites. LABOUR REFORMSQatar already hosts tens of thousands of workers employed as security guards outside government buildings, university campuses and shopping complexes. Seven out of the eight World Cup stadiums are brand new and have rarely experienced large crowds. Neither the Qatari government nor the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Qatar's World Cup organisers, responded to a request for comment.

The running of the World Cup is the only opportunity that Qatar sees for redemption," said Marc Owen Jones, an associate professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. "The markers of a successful World Cup would be as a nation-branding exercise, to position Qatar as an important sports hub in the Middle East and the wider Arab world," he said. 'HYPOCRISY'The first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup, Qatar hailed it as a regional milestone when it was awarded the tournament in 2010. "The reasons given for boycotting the World Cup do not add up. Pressing back against its criticism, Qatar points to labour reforms aimed at protecting migrant workers from exploitation and says the system is a work in progress.

☆ Argentine writer releases book of bizarre World Cup tales ahead of Qatar
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Lucila Sigal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

These are some of the unusual facts that Argentine writer Luciano Wernicke has compiled in the latest version of his book "Incredible World Cup Stories," published in 20 languages, ahead of the Qatar World Cup opening match on Sunday. In 1994, he wrote, an Albanian man went into a betting shop and gambled his wife on an Argentina win against Bulgaria. With a new chapter added for each World Cup, this is Wernicke's third edition of the book, and he is already gathering bizarre titbits on the upcoming Qatar tournament, the first to be held in a Middle Eastern country. "There are many interesting things, starting with all these boycott claims and the human rights issues," Wernicke, 52, said. Wernicke's next chapter may be inspired by Friday's news: World soccer governing body FIFA announced alcoholic beer would not be sold at stadiums in the conservative Muslim nation.

☆ North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile After U.S. Summit With South Korea, Japan
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Dasl Yoon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

North Korea warned that the summit between the U.S., South Korea and Japan would bring the situation on the Korean Peninsula to an ‘unpredictable phase.’SEOUL—North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its east coast Thursday, just hours after threatening a fiercer military response to the U.S. bolstering its security presence in the region with its allies South Korea and Japan. The short-range ballistic missile was fired at 10:48 a.m. local time from the North’s eastern coastal city of Wonsan, Seoul’s military said. The missile hit an estimated altitude of roughly 29 miles, traveling about 149 miles before splashing into waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

☆ North Korea fires ballistic missile as it vows ‘fiercer’ military response to U.S. and allies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward its eastern waters on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, hours after the North threatened to launch “fiercer” military responses to the U.S. bolstering its security commitment to its allies South Korea and Japan. It said South Korea has strengthened its surveillance of North Korea while maintaining military readiness in close coordination with the United States. It was North Korea’s first ballistic missile firing in eight days and the latest in its barrage of tests in recent months. North Korea previously said some of the tests were simulations of nuclear attacks on South Korean and U.S. targets. Many experts say North Korea would eventually want to enhance its nuclear capability to wrest bigger concessions from its rivals.

SEOUL, Nov 17 (Reuters) - South Korean and Saudi Arabian leaders pledged stronger ties on Thursday in the fields of energy, defence industry and building projects, as the oil-rich kingdom signed investment agreements worth $30 billion with South Korean companies. "In particular, he said he would like to drastically strengthen cooperation with South Korea in the areas of defence industry, infrastructure and construction," Yoon's office said. Saudi-based Asharq TV quoted the kingdom's investment minister as saying deals signed on Thursday were worth $30 billion. "The (South Korean) government will actively support the successful implementation of cooperative projects which apply Korea's state-of-the-art architecture ... in NEOM," said South Korea's trade minister, Lee Chang-yang. Shares in Lotte Fine Chemical (004000.KS), which signed an agreement for chemical industry cooperation with the Saudi Ministry of Investment, rose 2.1%.

A G20 declaration on Wednesday said "we will play our part fully in implementing" last year's Glasgow Climate Pact, under which countries pledged to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C above pre-industrial times. "As things stand, the Glasgow Climate Pact is broken, but the G20 have the opportunity to fix it." MISSED OPPORTUNITYThe G20 declaration recognised the need to phase down use of unabated coal and phase out "inefficient" fossil fuel subsidies. Avinash Persaud, special envoy on climate finance to Prime Minister Mia Motley of Barbados, meanwhile, told Reuters the G20 declaration missed the mark on finance. "Unfunded ambition gets us nowhere fast," Persaud said, adding he wanted G20 countries to unlock more lending from multilateral development banks they control to help climate-vulnerable countries.

☆ Middle East's Fertile Crescent dries up as rains fail
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Alaa Al-Marjani | Orhan Qereman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

As world leaders meet in Egypt for a climate summit to address issues including water and food security, Elwan’s plight highlights a crisis facing Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries that could fuel more turmoil in the region as communities fight over dwindling water resources. Reuters spoke to more than two dozen people in five provinces across Iraq who all said that a prolonged drought, which has only worsened in recent years, was crippling livelihoods. Farmers in neighbouring Syria and Turkey are also struggling with lower rainfall. In Iraq, officials and water experts said rains had come later and ended sooner in each of the last three years. “Desertification now threatens almost 40% of the area of our country - a country that was once one of the most fertile and productive in the region,” Iraq's President Abdul Latif Rashid told the climate summit in Egypt last week.

That’s what you work so hard for … That’s why you play,” Rooney reminisces. The club went into administration after debts spiraled and it failed to play players their wages. “He was great to play for, he’s the reason I signed for Manchester United to play for him. Then Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson congratulates Wayne Rooney after his final Premier League title win in 2013. While Rooney was in Dubai, goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes gave the Manchester club a dominant victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

Hurricane Nicole weakened into a tropical storm shortly after making landfall on Florida’s Atlantic coast just south of Vero Beach early Thursday, officials said. Just under an hour later, the hurricane center said Nicole had weakened into a tropical storm as it made its way over east-central Florida, bringing strong winds, heavy rains and dangerous storm surge. Hurricane Nicole approaches the Florida coast on Nov. 10, 2022. After striking Florida, Nicole is expected to move over central and northern Florida and into southern Georgia on Thursday and Thursday night, forecasters said, before moving into the Carolinas. Nicole struck Florida as a hurricane about six weeks after Hurricane Ian hit the state as a Category 4 hurricane.

☆ Iran arrests 'agent' of London-based opposition TV channel -Fars
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Iranian forces have arrested an "agent" of an opposition television broadcaster, Iran International, while the individual was fleeing the Middle Eastern country, its semi-official Fars news agency said. On Tuesday, Iran's intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib, called the London-based channel a "terrorist" organisation. Iran believes Saudi Arabia is behind the opposition news outlet which has covered the protest movement extensively since it started. On Wednesday, Khatib warned Riyadh there was no guarantee Tehran would continue to maintain "strategic patience" towards its regional rival. read moreReporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia mined Kherson as it retreated, trying to turn it into a 'city of death,' says Ukraine official
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

One official said Russia laid mines to make a "city of death." The UK Ministry of Defence also said Russia likely laid mines as it withdrew. Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Thursday that Russia "wants to turn Kherson into a 'city of death.'" He said Russia "mines everything they can: apartments, sewers." The UK Ministry of Defence also said on Thursday that Russian troops likely laid mines as they moved back.

☆ Orlando, Palm Beach Airports Close Ahead of Tropical Storm Nicole’s Expected Hit on Florida
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Arian Campo-Flores | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Tropical Storm Nicole neared the Bahamas on Wednesday morning and was projected to become a hurricane later in the day before striking the eastern coast of Florida in the night, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm will likely snarl travel in the Sunshine State, with at least two airports canceling flights ahead of the expected hit.

NASA has delayed the launch of its next-generation megarocket and space capsule to the moon as Florida braces for an approaching storm. Tropical Storm Nicole, which is expected to strengthen into a hurricane Wednesday, is projected to batter Florida's eastern coast, forcing the space agency to reschedule its planned launch on Nov. 14. NASA is now aiming to launch its uncrewed Space Launch System rocket Nov. 16, during a two-hour window that opens at 1:04 a.m. The rocket is sitting at launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA said the SLS booster is designed to withstand 85 mph winds and will remain at the launch pad during the storm.

☆ North Korea fires ballistic missile toward sea, South says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile toward its eastern sea on Wednesday as it extended a recent barrage of weapons demonstrations including what it described as simulated attacks on South Korean and U.S. targets last week. Some experts earlier said the results of the U.S. elections were not likely to change the Biden administration’s policies on North Korea. North Korea fired dozens of missiles last week, including an intercontinental ballistic missile that set off evacuation warnings in northern Japan, in an angry reaction to the U.S.-South Korea military exercises. Some experts say it’s possible that North Korea reached into the inventory of some of its older weapons to support the expanded scale of last week’s launches. “It may be in North Korea’s interest to hold some of its modern capabilities in reserve and test them at opportune occasions.

☆ Nicole Becomes a Hurricane Ahead of Expected Hit on Florida
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Arian Campo-Flores | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Nicole strengthened to a hurricane Wednesday evening while making landfall on Grand Bahama Island in the Bahamas, before taking aim at the eastern coast of Florida later in the night, according to the National Hurricane Center. Nicole, which was a tropical storm as it approached the Bahamas, became a Category 1 hurricane, with winds of 75 miles an hour, the hurricane center said. A hurricane warning is in effect for parts of the northwestern Bahamas and a roughly 225-mile stretch of Florida’s coast from Boca Raton in the southeast to the border of Volusia and Flagler counties in the state’s northeast.

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