FIFA head Infantino says Women’s World Cup breaks even but plays down calls for equal prize money

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:23 GMT

FIFA head Infantino says Women’s World Cup breaks even but plays down calls for equal prize money SYDNEY (AP) — FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Friday that the Women’s World Cup has “broken even” after generating more than $570 million in revenue but dismissed suggestions for equal prize money with the men’s World Cup.The current World Cup prize pools sit at $110 million for women and $440 million for men. Infantino has consistently played down calls for equal payments.On Friday, he suggested demands for equal prize money were a “slogan” that “would not solve anything.”“Some voices were raised, where it cost too much, we don’t make enough revenues, we will have to subsidize,” Infantino said at the FIFA Women’s Football Convention.“And our opinion was, ‘Well, if we have to subsidize, we will subsidize’, because we have to do that. But actually, this World Cup generated over $570 million in revenues, and so we broke even.”Infantino said FIFA didn’t lose money “and we generated the second-highest income of any sport, besides of course the men’s World Cu...

It’s Coming Home: England looks to bring Women’s World Cup trophy back to birthplace of soccer

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:23 GMT

It’s Coming Home: England looks to bring Women’s World Cup trophy back to  birthplace of soccer SYDNEY (AP) — England’s rallying cry “It’s Coming Home” may finally come true after a 57-year drought in global soccer.But if the World Cup trophy does return to the birthplace of soccer for the first time since 1966, it will be with the women’s national team, not the men. The Lionesses will play for their first Women’s World Cup title Sunday against Spain. England coach Sarina Wiegman is back in her second consecutive finale as the only coach in the history of the tournament to take two nations to the final. Wiegman was coach of the Netherlands when the Dutch lost 2-0 to the United States in 2019. “Every step has been really, really hard. But again, we find a way,” she said. “And I think the opponents, the women’s game has grown so much that it’s really hard to get through. So I know it’s very, very special and that’s how it feels, too.”Wiegman is after the second major trophy at the helm of England. The Lionesses also won the European Championship last year for the first tim...

Belarús utilizaría armas nucleares en caso de “agresión”, afirma Lukashenko

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:23 GMT

Belarús utilizaría armas nucleares en caso de “agresión”, afirma Lukashenko (CNN) — Belarús estaría dispuesto a utilizar las armas nucleares cedidas por su aliado cercano Rusia ante una “agresión” extranjera, declaró el jueves el presidente Alexander Lukashenko, mientras aumentan las tensiones en torno a las fronteras del país con las naciones de la OTAN.Minsk ha desempeñado un papel clave en la guerra de Rusia en Ucrania: Moscú utilizó a Belarús como una de sus plataformas de lanzamiento para la invasión en 2022, mientras que los simulacros militares conjuntos de Rusia y Belarús en el último año han alimentado la preocupación de que las tropas bielorrusas podrían unirse a las fuerzas rusas en el conflicto.En junio hubo reportes sobre el envío de cabezas nucleares rusas a Belarús con fines “disuasorios”, según el presidente Vladimir Putin.En una entrevista concedida a la agencia estatal de noticias Belta, Lukashenko afirmó que Belarús “nunca se involucraría en esta guerra” a menos que los ucranianos cruzaran su fron...

Adultos de más de 65 años, el nuevo rostro de la marihuana

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:23 GMT

Adultos de más de 65 años, el nuevo rostro de la marihuana WASHINGTON, DC – Entre pipas de fumar coloridas, jóvenes con los brazos tatuados y pósteres gigantes con imágenes de hojas de marihuana, Willie Marby, de 73 años, recoge periódicamente su prescripción de cannabis medicinal en Takoma Wellness, el mayor dispensario de Washington D.C.Un ortopedista le recomendó usar THC -el principal componente psicoactivo de la planta de cannabis- para paliar los síntomas de la artritis en su hombro derecho y ahora forma parte del grupo demográfico en el que más está creciendo el consumo de marihuana en EEUU: las personas mayores de 65 años.“Antes era considerada una droga y muchas personas fueron arrestadas por consumir marihuana (…) ahora estamos entendiendo lo valiosa que es en los procesos de sanación”, dice Marby.Y es que el cannabis, legal actualmente en 38 de los 50 estados de EEUU y el Distrito de Columbia, puede ser usado para tratar “cada uno de los síntomas geriátricos”, explica Mikhail Kogan, médico y pr...

First ship safely exits Ukraine’s Black Sea corridor despite Russian blockade

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:23 GMT

First ship safely exits Ukraine’s Black Sea corridor despite Russian blockade A cargo ship has successfully made the voyage across the Black Sea from Ukraine to Turkey, using a shipping corridor established by Kyiv in an effort to break the Russian siege of its ports.Maritime tracking platform MarineTraffic shows the German-Chinese owned Joseph Schulte, an almost 1,000-foot long container ship flying under the flag of Hong Kong, had reached Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait in the early hours of Friday morning, while eyewitnesses report spotting it arriving in the NATO country’s waters. The vessel had been stranded in Ukraine’s southern port of Odesa for a year and a half, having arrived there the day before Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.The journey is the first under the terms of a Kyiv-backed “humanitarian corridor” designed to guarantee safe passage through the mine-strewn waters of the Black Sea. According to the Ukrainian Navy, the shipping lane will “primarily be used for civilian ships which have been in the Ukrain...

China confirms Xi will attend economic summit in South Africa followed by state visit

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:23 GMT

China confirms Xi will attend economic summit in South Africa followed by state visit BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend next week’s summit of the BRICS nations in Johannesburg, to be followed by a state visit to South Africa, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying also said in a statement that during his Aug. 21-24 visit to South Africa, Xi will co-chair the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa. China is a core member of the BRICS nations, which also include Brazil, Russia and India. The grouping was predicated on linking the interests of the world’s leading emerging economies but has sought to expand into other civil and governmental fields. Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided not to attend the summit because of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for him, according to South African authorities.The development could be viewed as embarrassing for Putin, who is expected to be the only leader of a country in the bloc not to a...

In wake of N.S. flooding tragedy, a mother and father press for better preparedness

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:23 GMT

In wake of N.S. flooding tragedy, a mother and father press for better preparedness MARTOCK, N.S. — Tera Sisco reaches into a drawer, pulls out a sheet of paper and reads a sentence prepared for her son’s funeral after he died in Nova Scotia’s historic flooding in late July. “I’m not done being Colton’s Mom,” it says.During a recent interview at her home, Sisco said this phrase is her reminder she will advocate for improvements in how Nova Scotia prepares for and responds to climate disasters, as she grieves the little boy whose feet she still imagines tiptoeing into her room. However, almost one month after the deaths of Colton Sisco and Natalie Harnish, both six, and 52-year-old Nick Holland and 14-year-old Terri-Lynn Keddy, many of the questions haunting her and Colton’s father, Chris Sisco, remain unanswered. The issues include a public alert that was delayed close to two hours, unreliable cellular service and a lack of flood-risk mapping officials could have used to prepare for the torrential thunderstorms of July 21-2...

Developing hot dome to build into the Plains and Midwest bringing hot, humid weather to Chicago; "Hurricane Hilary" off Mexico pulling wind, waves and potentially heavy rains into California

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:23 GMT

Developing hot dome to build into the Plains and Midwest bringing hot, humid weather to Chicago; CONTINUE READING HEREThere's a tie-in with the mammoth hot air dome—the most expanded air mass to date this summer—and a tropical system arriving in California at tropical storm strength Sunday into Monday. The heat dome is forecast to develop over the nation's mid-section late this weekend into next weekDaytime satellite view of HURRICANE HILARY off the west coast of Mexico ThursdayHere's Hurricane Hilary Thursday as viewed by GOES EASTSeveral additional Thursday satellite view of Hurricane Hilary off Mexico--this one from GOES WESTOne of several clusters of track forecast off hurricane/tropical cyclone forecast models of Hurricane Hilary's future movement toward and into California and Nevada.The NWS GEFS model Hurricane Hilary track forecastsThe European Centre's ensemble model forecast tracksHere’s more on the potential flooding tropical rains which may occur there and how the mammoth hot air dome predicted to bring Chicago heat and humidity later this weekend into early next is...

European Citizens' Initiative: Commission decides to register initiative on preservation and development of Ukrainian culture and heritage

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:23 GMT

European Citizens' Initiative: Commission decides to register initiative on preservation and development of Ukrainian culture and heritage The European Commission has decided to register a European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) entitled ‘Preservation and development of Ukrainian culture, education, language, and traditions in EU states'.The organisers of the initiative urge the Commission to step up its actions in supporting the integration of Ukrainian refugees in the EU. They also call on the Commission to propose new legislation to preserve Ukrainian culture, language, traditions and heritage, as well as to establish a pan-European structure of integration centres.The decision to register is of a legal nature and it does not prejudge the final legal and political conclusions of the Commission on this initiative and the action it will intend to take, if any, in case the initiative obtains the necessary support.The Commission considers this European Citizens' Initiative legally admissible but has not analysed the substance of the proposal at this stage.Following today's registration, the organisers have six months to ope...

Dear Abby: Our neighbors are such narcissists. How do we deal with this?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:23 GMT

Dear Abby: Our neighbors are such narcissists. How do we deal with this? DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been retired for almost 10 years. We moved to a coastal resort area we love. However, we have noticed that these retired couples/singles are extremely competitive and mostly a bunch of one-uppers.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: My neighbor is too noisy but I’m the one catching flak Advice | Dear Abby: Is it weird that I think this actress could be my sister? Advice | Dear Abby: Why are people so rude to me lately? I’m a nice guy. Advice | Dear Abby: My financial adviser won’t listen to me, but he insists he’s not sexist Advice | Dear Abby: Our teen’s messy breakup has had awkward repercussions for us Is this common in all retirement communities? Does everyone need to have their last hurrah and wave the “I made it” flag? We have met only a handful of people who don’t always talk about themselves and their achievements, re...