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The by ‘s has been delayed due to technical issues during the raffle draw. Portelli, who bought all five properties from the 2024 season of the construction-based reality show, planned to give away the properties or $8 million in cash to one lucky winner on behalf of his company LMCT+. The draw was meant to take place at 8:30pm on Boxing Day. However, when it came time for the live draw of the winner on Facebook, the 75,000 people logging on to watch caused the LMCT+ systems to crash. Portelli was left to buy time on the live stream while his team worked to fix the issues. Unable to find a solution, Portellia took to the LMCT+ Instagram to announce that the draw would be postponed. “If you did miss the Livestream, I have made the decision to draw the winners tomorrow. The gates are closed, and the promotion ran as it should,” Portelli said in a video. He noted that although his team fixed the issues in time, he decided to postpone the draw so he could “personally go over everything” and “ensure that everything is running as it should” before the giveaway is continued. “This is what happens when you run things live, unfortunately, this is how you know it’s all legitimate because things like this happen,” “It’s annoying, I’m frustrated but I’d rather be safe and preserve my company’s reputation and my reputation and not disappoint you guys or break trust in any way.” Portelli announced the competition in November, two days after buying all five houses on ‘s Phillip Island houses for a whopping $15 million, making it one of the richest competitions in Australian history. “Under New Management! And as mayor of Portelli town, I would like to announce a world first. LET’S GIVE AWAY A FKN RESORT!!!” the billionaire wrote on Instagram. “One Giveaway – One Prize – Winner takes the whole resort OR take $8,000,000 Instant Tax-Free Cash! Let the games begin.” To have a chance to win the entire The Block resort, punters had to buy an entry pack which ranged from $10 for one entry and $500 for 500 entries. Although it’s a doozy of a giveaway, it’s not the first time Portelli has raffled off houses from the reality show. In 2023, he raffled off and ‘s Japandi home. However, this time around, the 35-year-old said it would be his last appearance on the show so he wanted to “go out with a bang.” Although Portelli is known for his giveaways, he is reportedly facing nine charges in South Australia for personally conducting or assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery, with his company, Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, which runs under LMCT+, facing the same nine charges. These offences are in relation to multiple promotions by the entrepreneur and LMCT+ between January 2023 and May 2024, with the acting liquor and gambling commissioner alleging that Portelli and his business “did not hold a licence to conduct the lottery in South Australia”, the reports. Portelli will have a mention hearing in the South Australian Magistrate’s Court on January 15. If convicted, he could face charges of $190,000.
forward will have another notch in his belt as he heads toward Canadian Marner and Finnish (currently injured) were selected Wednesday to play in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Marner has been the best Leaf this season, while talk of a contract extension bubbles under the surface of what could be a career year for the 27-year-old from Thornhill. Injuries have created more opportunities for William Nylander, but could others be trying to send a message to Berube? Injuries have created more opportunities for William Nylander, but could others be trying to send a message to Berube? Though he took the brunt of criticism for the team’s latest failed playoff attempt, it’s clear Marner is held in high regard around the NHL. “He’s such a dangerous player,” said Nashville star Steven Stamkos, who was left off the Canadian team. “He’s great on the penalty kill. He’s so smart. He’s elusive. His edge work is great. We all talk about it as players, you play against these guys (Leafs) and you have an appreciation for how good they are. And because of the market that they’re in, they get a lot of attention — some negative and a lot probably unwarranted. That’s the way it is in this market. “But I think if you poll the league, they know how good of a player he is, and how important he is to that team.” Sweden and Finland rounded out their rosters for the 4 Nations Face-Off on Wednesday by choosing a handful of recent Stanley Cup champions in ... Sweden and Finland rounded out their rosters for the 4 Nations Face-Off on Wednesday by choosing a handful of recent Stanley Cup champions in ... Marner leads the Leafs with 33 points and has 12 multipoint games this season. He also leads the team in time on ice (a rarity for forwards) averaging 21 minutes and 34 seconds. “He’s got a great engine,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “His ice time is up, he plays in all situations. He’s out there a lot on the penalty kill. I don’t see him get too gassed or losing too much energy very often.” Auston Matthews (United States) and William Nylander (Sweden) had been pre-selected, so the Leafs are assured of having one player return with a gold medal from the tournament set for Feb. 12 to 20 in Montreal and Boston. The likes of and Morgan Rielly (both Canadian), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Sweden) and Matthew Knies (U.S.) could still get there as injury replacements. On that front, Finland might need to replace Hakanpää, who has played only two games after off-season knee surgery and is on injured reserve again. “Just managing the knee, that’s all that is,” Berube said of the latest Hakanpää development. The Finns are somewhat hamstrung for the tournament, which is run by the NHL and requires the four countries to use NHLers only. Only 10 Finns have dressed as defencemen for NHL teams, and only seven have played regularly.Published 5:39 pm Monday, November 25, 2024 By Data Skrive Here’s a look at the injury report for the Minnesota Timberwolves (8-8), which currently has just one player listed, as the Timberwolves prepare for their matchup with the Houston Rockets (12-6, also one injured player) at Target Center on Tuesday, November 26 at 8:00 PM ET. Watch the NBA, other live sports and more on Fubo. What is Fubo? Fubo is a streaming service that gives you access to your favorite live sports and shows on demand. Use our link to sign up for a free trial. Get the latest news sent to your inbox The Timberwolves lost their most recent game 107-105 against the Celtics on Sunday. In the Timberwolves’ loss, Anthony Edwards led the way with a team-high 28 points (adding nine rebounds and seven assists). The Rockets dropped their last game 104-98 against the Trail Blazers on Saturday. The Rockets got a team-high 22 points from Alperen Sengun in the loss. Sign up for NBA League Pass to get live and on-demand access to NBA games. Get tickets for any NBA game this season at StubHub. Catch NBA action all season long on Fubo. Bet on this or any NBA matchup at BetMGM. Not all offers available in all states, please visit BetMGM for the latest promotions for your area. Must be 21+ to gamble, please wager responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, contact 1-800-GAMBLER .
By David French (Reuters) -Upbound Group said on Thursday it reached agreement on a $460 million cash-and-stock deal for Brigit, a financial technology company that has been backed by investors including the venture capital firms of actor Ashton Kutcher and basketball star Kevin Durant. The move, confirming a Reuters story from earlier on Thursday, will help Upbound expand its product offerings to credit-poor consumers and give it access to Brigit’s data modeling and technology platform, allowing it to create more accurate customer financial profiles. Brigit provides financial services including cash advances and credit-profile building through its subscription-based digital app. It currently has nearly 2 million monthly active customers, according to a statement announcing the agreement. Under terms of the deal, Upbound is paying $325 million at a closing date forecast for the first quarter of 2025, of which 75% is in cash and the rest in stock. There are further cash payments due over two years, some of which are dependent on Brigit achieving performance targets. Upbound Chief Executive Mitch Fadel told Reuters the Brigit acquisition would immediately contribute to its business because the app is already profitable, but also in the ways it can interact with its customers. With only 10% overlap between the two companies’ customer bases, he said, there was significant opportunity for cross-selling. “When you have more products, you can create more lifetime customers, especially when you are helping to build their credit and access a greater array of financial products,” Fadel said. Plano, Texas-based Upbound, whose brands include Rent-A-Center and Acima, offers consumers with low credit scores help to buy products, including furniture, electronics, and other home goods, through so-called lease-to-own agreements. Brigit’s founders, Zuben Mathews and Hamel Kothari, will continue to run Brigit as a segment within Upbound, and Brigit will retain its existing branding, the statement said. “By combining forces with Upbound, we can accelerate our impact and better serve the millions of Americans who have been historically underserved by traditional financial institutions,” Mathews said. (Reporting by David French in New York; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Bill Berkrot) Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content. var ytflag = 0;var myListener = function() {document.removeEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);lazyloadmyframes();};document.addEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);window.addEventListener('scroll', function() {if (ytflag == 0) {lazyloadmyframes();ytflag = 1;}});function lazyloadmyframes() {var ytv = document.getElementsByClassName("klazyiframe");for (var i = 0; i < ytv.length; i++) {ytv[i].src = ytv[i].getAttribute('data-src');}} Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );Israel launches new strikes on Lebanon as leaders draw closer to ceasefire with Hezbollah
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), has identified what it describes as complex challenges in the African insurance market space to include low insurance penetration, fragmented regional markets, unstable economic policies, trust and credibility concerns, poor product innovation, and inadequate technology adoption. Mr Segun Omosehin, the Commissioner for Insurance (CFI), who described the challenges as complex, stressed that by tackling these challenges, there’s need for practitioners across the continent to unlock the African insurance sector’s full potential, foster sustainable growth, and position them strategically within the global insurance landscape, thereby enabling African insurance companies to compete favourably with their international counterparts. According to him, the challenges transcend gender and regional boundaries which necessitate collaboration and synergy among all and sundry. To drive growth and development, he stresses that it is imperative for industry practitioners to prioritize the development of young professionals, unhindered by gender or age constraints, and foster expertise across markets. He warned that insurance sector in Africa must evolve beyond traditional ownership and embrace innovation asserting that with vast growth potential existing across the region, not just Nigeria, unity and industry development can significantly contribute to the continent’s economic prosperity. “The African insurance market faces complex challenges that transcend gender and regional boundaries, necessitating collaborative efforts and synergy across the continent. “To drive growth and development, it is imperative that we prioritize the development of young professionals, unhindered by gender or age constraints, and foster expertise across markets. “The insurance sector must evolve beyond traditional ownership and embrace innovation. With vast growth potential existing across Africa, not just Nigeria, unity and industry development can significantly contribute to the continent’s economic prosperity”. “I encourage the African Insurance Women Association (AIWA) to capitalize on these opportunities, leverage innovative solutions, and promote educational advancement to propel the African insurance sector forward saying that, these trends also exacerbate existing challenges hindering insurance development on the continent. “To remain competitive globally, urgently address these pressing issues, including low insurance penetration, fragmented regional markets, unstable economic policies, trust and credibility concerns, poor product innovation, and inadequate technology adoption”. “By tackling these challenges, we can unlock the African insurance sector’s full potential, foster sustainable growth, and position ourselves strategically within the global insurance landscape, thereby enabling African insurance companies to compete favourably with their international counterparts.” Omosehin added. The CFI emphasised that Insurance is evolving rapidly across Africa in response to technology and demographic shifts while digital innovation is reshaping customer experience, making insurance more accessible, personalised and mobile and internet-based solutions are helping insurers reach untapped markets, bringing coverage to rural communities that were once hard to serve. Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru, Chairman Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other financial institutions, pointed out that the widespread adoption of mobile money in regions, East and West Africa has demonstrated the transformative power of technology in enhancing financial inclusion. Abiru, stated that as part of their effort as legislators was to advocate for policies that enhance regulatory alignment and foster regional cooperation, as this is crucial for the expansion and competitiveness of African insurers on the global stage. He noted that this has also created a model for micro insurance, where small premiums are accessible to millions, offering protection against health issues, crop failures, and more.” “We see a growing interest in inclusive insurance products that cater specifically to the diverse needs of Africans. Health insurance, agricultural insurance, and products that support small and medium-sized enterprises are emerging as essential offerings, underscoring the role of insurance as a vehicle for social and economic empowerment. “The conference provides a platform to discuss how we can collectively shape this future, especially as we empower women—who play an instrumental role in this industry— to lead and thrive,” said the Senator. Abiru, lamented that the African insurance sector faces notable challenges, stressing that low insurance penetration remains a pressing concern across the continent, with several factors contributing to this, including limited awareness, affordability issues, and regulatory inconsistencies. The senator frowned at individuals and businesses who still view insurance as a luxury rather than a necessity, saying that there is work to be done to build trust and communicate the value of insurance to the broader public. “Another challenge is regulatory alignment across borders, which limits insurers’ ability to operate efficiently across Africa’s diverse markets. Consistency in standards and frameworks would facilitate cross-border offerings and support growth within the industry” “The industry is also grappling with the impacts of climate change, which introduces new risks and complexities, especially for sectors like agriculture that are fundamental to African economies,” said the distinguished Senator.FILE PHOTO: This pool image distributed by Sputnik agency shows Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un (L) shaking hands during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur region on September 13, 2023, ahead of planned talks that could lead to a weapons deal with Russian President. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, on June 12, 2024, hailed his country’s ties with Russia, saying the two nations were “invincible comrades-in-arms”, amid reports President Vladimir Putin will visit Pyongyang imminently. (Photo by Vladimir SMIRNOV / POOL / Agence France-Presse) SEOUL, South Korea — A landmark defense pact between North Korea and Russia, signed by its leaders in June, has gone into effect after the two sides exchanged ratification documents, North Korea’s official KCNA news agency said Thursday. The formalization of the treaty comes as the United States and South Korea have accused the nuclear-armed North of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine. Experts say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is keen to acquire advanced technology from Moscow and battle experience for his troops in return. Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the strategic partnership deal during the Kremlin chief’s visit to Pyongyang. It obligates both states to provide military assistance “without delay” in the case of an attack on the other and to oppose Western sanctions jointly. It came into effect from Wednesday, December 4, when the ratification documents were exchanged in Moscow by the countries’ vice foreign ministers Kim Jong Gyu and Andrei Rudenko, KCNA reported. READ: North Korea ratifies defense treaty with Russia Lawmakers in Moscow last month voted unanimously for the deal and it was later signed by Putin. Pyongyang said it was ratified by a decree from Kim. The treaty will serve “as a strong driving force accelerating the establishment of an independent and just multi-polarized world order without domination, subjugation and hegemony,” KCNA said. Analysts have suggested Pyongyang could be using Ukraine as a means of realigning its foreign policy. READ: Seoul slams Russia’s treaty with North Korea By sending soldiers, North Korea is positioning itself within the Russian war economy as a supplier of weapons, military support and labor — potentially even bypassing traditional ally, neighbour and main trading partner China, they say. North Korea and Russia have strengthened their military ties since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Both countries are under rafts of UN sanctions — the former for its nuclear weapons program and the latter for the Ukraine conflict. Kim said last week during a visit to Pyongyang by Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov that his government, army and people would “invariably support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity”. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . Putin hailed the deal in June as a “breakthrough document.”
Damian Williams, Manhattan's top federal prosecutor, to resign ahead of Trump inaugurationManmohan Singh passes away: Govt offices, educational institutions in Telangana to be closed on December 27East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel Jr., a potential first-round pick, declared for the 2025 NFL Draft on Friday. Revel, who sustained a torn left ACL in practice in September, had one season of eligibility remaining. "After an incredible journey at East Carolina, I am officially declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft," the senior posted on social media. "... Pirates nation, thank you for your unwavering energy and support every game. Representing ECU is an honor, and I look forward to continuing to do so on Sundays!" Revel recorded two interceptions in three games this season, returning one 50 yards for a touchdown on Sept. 14 against Appalachian State. Over three seasons with the Pirates, Revel had three interceptions, 15 passes defensed and 70 tackles in 24 games. He was a second-team All-American Athletic Conference selection last season. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Revel as the No. 2 cornerback and No. 23 overall prospect in the 2025 draft class. --Field Level MediaAn Israeli airstrike flattened a multistory building in central Gaza, killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens more, according to Palestinian medical officials, after strikes Thursday across the Gaza Strip killed at least 28 others. The latest deadly strike hit the urban just hours after U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters in Jerusalem that the recent ceasefire in Lebanon has helped clear the way for a potential deal to end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the deadly strike in Nuseirat. Israel says it is trying to eliminate Hamas, which led the attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that sparked . The Israeli military says Hamas militants hide among Gaza’s civilian population. The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine in some of the hardest-hit parts of the territory. Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and around 250 others were taken hostage. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Here's the latest: DAMASCUS, Syria — Mohammad Salim Alkhateb, an official with the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces — an internationally backed group of the opposition in exile — said his group wants to see a transitional government formed via a United Nations-backed process in the wake of Bashar Assad ouster. It is not yet clear if Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main rebel group now in control of Syria, will pursue such a process. The insurgents have said an interim government headed by Mohammad al-Bashir, who is also the head of the “salvation government” of HTS in its former stronghold in northern Syria, will oversee the country until March but have not made clear how the transition to a new, fully empowered government would take place. “The transitional governing body should be formed in Geneva to have international legitimacy,” said Alkhateb, who is now in Damascus. “The transitional governing body, whatever its form, whether it is the ‘salvation government’ or any other, what matters is that it has international recognition.” Alkhateb said that the unexpectedly rapid fall of Damascus and departure of Assad after opposition forces launched their offensive had created confusion and a governance vacuum. A day before the insurgents pushed into Damascus, diplomats from countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Iran and Russia met in Qatar to discuss the situation in Syria. Alkhateb said that they had discussed a scenario in which the rebels would halt their advance, keeping the territory they had captured so far in the north — including Syria’s largest city, Aleppo — and the opposition and Assad’s government would go to Geneva for talks on a political settlement to the conflict. However, he noted, “there were no Syrians in that meeting.” Assad fled to Russia before the rebel forces arrived in Damascus but has not officially announced his resignation, which is “why we are living in a vacuum rather than a political transition,” Alkhateb said. He added that creating a professional army should be a priority of the transitional government. “We do not want a civilian who was trained during the revolution to carry military weapons to become the military,” he said. Israel bombed hundreds of military sites in Syria this week in a wave of airstrikes that destroyed “most of the strategic weapons stockpiles” in the country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the in neighboring Syria was necessary to keep the weapons from being used against Israel following the Syrian government’s . WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karine Jean-Peirre says Austin Tice, an American journalist missing in Syria for 12 years, “is a top priority for this president.” During a briefing with reporters on Thursday, Jean-Pierre said of Tice, “There is no indication that he is not alive. There’s also no indication about his location or condition.” “What our goal is, is to bring him home. And so, we hope certainly that he is alive and, as we have stated many times before, we are talking through this with the Turks and we want to do everything we can to bring him home,” she said. BEIRUT — Amnesty International said Thursday that four Israeli airstrikes between September and October that killed at least 49 civilians in Lebanon “must be investigated as war crimes.” The rights organization said in a new report that the four strikes targeted homes in the Bekaa Valley, northern and eastern Lebanon, and municipal offices in the south. “These four attacks are emblematic of Israel’s shocking disregard for civilian lives in Lebanon and their willingness to flout international law,” said Amnesty International’s Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns. The rights group said this report was part of its ongoing investigation into violations of the laws of war in Lebanon. Amnesty International investigated four Israeli airstrikes, including one on Sept. 29 in al-Ain that killed all nine members of the same family. On Oct. 21, a strike in Baalbek city in eastern Lebanon killed six members of the same family. Another on Oct. 14 in the village of Aitou in northern Lebanon killed 23 displaced people, including a 5-month-old baby. A fragment from the attack site in Aitou was identified by an Amnesty weapons expert as likely part of a Mk-80 series aerial bomb, weighing at least 500 pounds. These munitions are primarily supplied to Israel by the United States, Amnesty said. The fourth strike Amnesty investigated was the strike that hit the municipal headquarters in Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, on Oct. 16, killing 11 civilians including the mayor. “The air strike took place without warning, just as the municipality’s crisis unit was meeting to coordinate deliveries of aid, including food, water and medicine, to residents and internally displaced people who had fled bombardment in other parts of southern Lebanon,” Amnesty said. The rights group said it interviewed survivors and witnesses, examined evidence, and found no military targets near the sites of the four strikes. The Israeli military gave no warnings and did not respond to Amnesty’s inquiries, the group said. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike hit the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 25 Palestinians and wounding dozens more, Palestinian medics said, just hours after President Joe Biden’s national security adviser to end the war in Gaza. Photos from the scene of the blast that circulated on social media showed a completely collapsed building with people walking through its mangled and charred remains, smoke rising from piles of belongings strewn over the rubble. Officials at two hospitals in the Gaza Strip, al-Awda Hospital in the north and al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, reported they received a combined total of 25 bodies from an Israeli strike on a multistory residential building in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp. Palestinian medics also reported that over 40 people, most of them children, were receiving treatment at the two hospitals. The al-Aqsa Hospital said that the Israeli attack also damaged several nearby houses in Nuseirat. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the deadly strike. Israel is trying to eliminate Hamas, which led the attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that sparked . The Israeli military says Hamas militants hide among Gaza’s civilian population. Israel’s war against Hamas has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine. Israel says it allows enough aid to enter and blames U.N. agencies for not distributing it. The U.N. says Israeli restrictions, and the breakdown of law and order after Israel repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, make it extremely difficult to operate in the territory. UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. food agency is trying to deal with massive needs in Syria not only from escalating war-related food insecurity and an upsurge in displaced people fleeing Lebanon but also the dramatically new environment following the ouster of Bashar Assad, a senior U.N. official says. “It’s a triple crisis and the needs are going to be massive,” said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program, in an interview with The Associated Press late Wednesday. The WFP estimated that 3 million people in Syria were “acutely food insecure” and very hungry. However, that estimate was made before the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon pushed many Syrian refugees back to their home country, plus the instability caused by the overthrow of Assad. Due to funding cuts, the WFP had been targeting only 2 million of those people, he said. Because WFP has been working in Syria during the 13-year civil war, he said, it has pre-positioned food in the country. It has 500 staff in seven offices nationwide and has operated across conflict lines, across borders, and with all different parties, he said. Skau said Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main rebel group now in control of Syria, has promised to provide security for WFP warehouses. Humanitarian aid supplies had been looted at U.N. warehouses in the disorder after Assad fell. “We’re not really up and running in Damascus because of the continued kind of uncertainty there,” he said. WFP initially thought of relocating non-essential staff but the situation in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, has been “quite calm and orderly," he said. In the short term, Skau said, “what we’re seeing is that markets are disrupted, the value of the currency dropped dramatically, food prices are going up, transport lines don’t work,” and it’s unclear who will stamp required papers for imports and exports. This means that a bigger humanitarian response is needed initially, he said, but in the next phase, the U,N. will be looking at contributing to Syria’s recovery, and ultimately the country will need reconstruction. Skau said he expects a new funding appeal for Syria and urged donors to be generous. JERUSALEM — President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters in Jerusalem on Thursday that Israel’s ceasefire in Lebanon has helped clear the way for another deal to end the war in Gaza. He plans to travel next to Qatar and Egypt — key mediators in the ceasefire talks — as the Biden administration makes a final push on negotiations before Donald Trump is inaugurated. Sullivan said “Hamas’ posture at the negotiating table did adapt” after Israel decimated the leadership of its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon and reached a ceasefire there. “We believe it puts us in a position to close this negotiation,” he said. Sullivan dismissed speculation that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was waiting for Trump to take office to finalize a deal. He the U.S. believes there are three American hostages still alive in Gaza, but it’s hard to know for sure. He also said “the balance of power in the Middle East has changed significantly” since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, especially with the overthrow of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key ally of Hezbollah and Iran. “We are now faced with a dramatically reshaped Middle East in which Israel is stronger, Iran is weaker, its proxies decimated, and a ceasefire that is new and will be lasting in Lebanon that ensures Israel’s security over the long term,” he said. KHIAM, Lebanon — An Israeli strike killed at least one person Thursday in the Lebanese border town of Khiam, the Health Ministry said, less than a day after Israeli troops to the Lebanese army in coordination with U.N. peacekeepers, Khiam is the first Lebanese town Israel has pull out of since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah militants began two weeks ago, and marks an important test of . Lebanon's Health Ministry and state news agency did not provide details on who was killed, and did not report airstrikes elsewhere on Thursday. The Israeli military said the airstrike in Khiam targeted Hezbollah fighters. Lebanese troops deployed in the northern section of the town on Thursday morning and were coordinating with U.N. peacekeepers to finalize Israel’s withdrawal before fully entering into other neighborhoods. An Associated Press reporter who visited Khiam on Thursday observed widespread destruction, with most houses reduced to rubble. Entire neighborhoods were flattened, with collapsed walls and debris scattered across the streets. Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, sharply criticized Israel for striking the town less than 24 hours after the Lebanese army returned, saying it was “a violation of the pledges made by the parties that sponsored the ceasefire agreement, who must act to curb Israeli aggression.” The truce was brokered by the U.S. and France. Israel has previously said the ceasefire deal allows it to use military force against perceived violations. Near-daily attacks by Israel during the ceasefire, mostly in southern Lebanon, have killed at least 29 people and wounded 27 others. Khiam, which sits on a ridge less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the border with Israel, saw some of the most intense fighting during the war. The Lebanese army was clearing debris and reopening roads in the northern section of the town. Civilian access to other areas remained challenging as the army clears roads and works alongside the U.N. peacekeepers to ensure the area is free of unexploded ordnance. AQABA, Jordan -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is urging the many players in Syria to avoid taking any steps that could lead to further violence. Blinken spoke to reporters in Jordan on Thursday shortly after meeting King Abdullah II as he opened a trip in the region to discuss Syria's future after former President Bashar Assad's ouster. Blinken will next visit Turkey, a NATO ally and a main backer of Syrian rebel groups. Blinken called this “a time of both real promise but also peril for Syria and for its neighbors.” He said he was focused on coordinating efforts in the region “to support the Syrian people as they transition away from Assad’s brutal dictatorship” and establish a government that isn’t dominated by one religion or ethnic group or outside power. Blinken was asked about that had been demilitarized for the past half century. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the move is temporary and defensive, but also indicated Israel will remain in the area for a long time. Blinken declined to say whether the U.S. supports the move, but said the U.S. would be speaking to Israel and other partners in the region. “I think, across the board, when it comes to any actors who have real interests in Syria, it’s also really important at this time that, we all try to make sure that we’re not sparking any additional conflicts,” he said. ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin, arrived in Damascus on Thursday, according to Turkish media reports. Kalin was seen arriving at the Umayyad Mosque to pray, surrounded by a large crowd, according to video shown on Turkish television. The visit is highly symbolic. Turkish officials, who supported the opposition against Syria’s government, had predicted at the start of the civil war in 2011 that President Bashar Assad’s government would fall, allowing them to pray at the Umayyad Mosque. JERUSALEM — Paraguay reopened its embassy in Jerusalem Thursday, becoming one of a small handful of nations to recognize the city as Israel’s capital and marking a diplomatic victory for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel’s international isolation has increased as the war in Gaza drags on, and Paraguay was the first country to move its embassy to Jerusalem since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack that kickstarted the war. The United States, Honduras, Guatemala, Kosovo, and Papua New Guinea are among the few countries with Jerusalem embassies. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in 1967 but it wasn’t recognized by the international community, and most countries run their embassies out of Tel Aviv. Spirits were high at the ceremony marking the embassy’s inauguration Thursday, with Netanyahu and Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar lavishing praise on Paraguayan President Santiago Pena. “My good friend Santiago,” said Netanyahu, addressing Pena. “We’re a small nation. You’re a small nation. We suffered horrible things but we overcame the odds of history...we can win and we are winning.” Paraguay had an embassy in Jerusalem in 2018, under Former President Horacio Cartes. That embassy was moved back to Tel Aviv by Cartes’ successor, Mario Abdo Benitez, prompting Israel to close its embassy in Asuncion. Saar said Israel and Paraguay shared a “friendship based not only on interests but also values and principles.” He and the Paraguayan foreign minister, Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, signed a series of bilateral agreements and Saar said he would soon visit Asunción with a delegation from the Israeli private sector. “Israel is going to win and the countries we are standing next to Israel, we are going to win," Pena said. AQABA, Jordan — U.S. Secretary of State is renewing calls for Syria’s new leadership to respect women and minority rights, prevent extremists from gaining new footholds in the country and keeping suspected chemical weapons stocks secure as he makes his first visit to the Mideast since the weekend ouster of . Making his 12th trip to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war erupted lasted year but amid fresh concerns about security following the upheaval in Syria, Blinken emphasized Thursday to Jordan’s King Abdullah II U.S. “support for an inclusive transition that can lead to an accountable and representative Syrian government chosen by the Syrian people,” the State Department said. Blinken also repeated the importance the outgoing Biden administration puts on respect for human rights and international law, the protection of civilians and stopping terrorist groups from reconstituting. Blinken met with the monarch and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Aqaba before traveling to Turkey for talks with Turkish officials on the situation in Syria and the urgency of securing a long-elusive deal to release hostages and end the fighting in Gaza that has devastated the Palestinian territory since October 2023. Abdullah told Blinken that “the first step to reach comprehensive regional calm is to end the Israeli war on Gaza." GENEVA — The U.N. envoy for Syria is calling on authorities to save evidence from detention centers that were a hub of “unimaginable barbarity” that Syrians have faced for many years and cooperate with international investigators looking into such crimes. Geir Pederson referred to new images from the notorious Saydnaya military prison north of the capital, Damascus, after President Bashar Assad fled Syria as armed groups stormed in to overthrow his government over the weekend. “The images from Saydnaya and other detention facilities starkly underscore the unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured and reported for years,” Pedersen said in a statement. Documentation and testimonies “only scratch the surface of the carceral system’s horrors,” he added. Pedersen urged authorities to cooperate with U.N. bodies like an independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which was created in 2011, and an independent group known as the IIIM that was set up five years later to also compile evidence of crimes. ROME — Leaders of the Group of 7 industrialized nations offered their full support for an inclusive political transition in Syria and invited all parties to preserve the country’s territorial integrity. In a message released by Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office, the leaders said they were ready to support a transition that “leads to a credible government, inclusive and not sectarian, that guarantees respect for the state of law, universal human rights, including rights for women, (and) the protection of all Syrians, including religious and ethnic minorities.” The leaders also underlined the importance that ousted President Bashar Assad’s government is held responsible for crimes, citing “decades of atrocities.” They said they would also cooperate with groups working to prohibit chemical weapons “to secure, declare and destroy” remaining chemical arms in Syria. Italy currently holds the rotating presidency of the G-7, which also includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United States. JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it struck Hamas militants in two locations in the southern Gaza Strip who planned to hijack aid convoys. Palestinian Health officials had earlier said that the two strikes killed 15 men who were part of local committees established to secure aid deliveries. The committees have been organized in cooperation with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza. It was not possible to independently confirm either account of the strikes, which occurred overnight into Thursday. Israel has long accused Hamas of hijacking humanitarian aid deliveries, while U.N. officials have said there is . U.N. agencies and aid groups say deliveries are held up by Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid and movement within Gaza, as well as the breakdown of law and order more than 14 months into the war between Israel and Hamas. Israel has repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, which maintained internal security before the war. The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, the main aid provider in Gaza, said a U.N. convoy of 70 trucks carrying humanitarian aid in southern Gaza “was involved in a serious incident,” resulting in just one of the trucks reaching its destination. It did not provide further details on the incident but said the same route had been used successfully two days earlier. Israel’s offensive, launched after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, has caused vast destruction and displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, leaving the territory heavily reliant on international food aid. DAMASCUS, Syria — An American who turned up in Syria on Thursday says he was detained after crossing into the country by foot on a Christian pilgrimage seven months ago. Travis Timmerman appears to have been among after rebels reached Damascus over the weekend, and ending his family’s 54-year rule. As video emerged online of Timmerman on Thursday, he was initially mistaken by some for who went missing in Syria 12 years ago. In the video, Timmerman could be seen lying on a mattress under a blanket in what appeared to be a private house. A group of men in the video said he was being treated well and would be safely returned home. The Biden administration is working to bring Timmerman home, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Aqaba, Jordan, without offering details, citing privacy. Timmerman later gave an interview with the Al-Arabiya TV network, saying he had illegally crossed into Syria on foot from the eastern Lebanese town of Zahle seven months ago, before being detained. He said he was treated well in detention but could hear other men being tortured. AQABA, Jordan — U.S. Secretary of State has arrived in Jordan on his 12th visit to the Mideast since the erupted last year and his first since the weekend ouster of that has sparked new fears of instability in a region wracked by three conflicts despite a in Lebanon. Blinken was meeting in Aqaba with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Thursday before traveling to Turkey for talks with Turkish officials on Friday. The meetings will focus largely on Syria but also touch on long-elusive hopes for a deal to end the fighting in Gaza that has devastated the Palestinian territory since October 2023. Blinken is the latest senior U.S. official to visit the Middle East in the five days since Assad was deposed as the Biden administration navigates more volatility in the region in its last few weeks in office and as President-elect Donald Trump has said the U.S. should stay out of the Syrian conflict. Other include national security adviser Jake Sullivan and a top military commander who traveled there as the U.S. and Israel have launched airstrikes to prevent the Islamic State militant group from reconstituting and prevent materiel and suspected chemical weapons stocks from falling into militant hands. Blinken “will discuss the need for the transition process and new government in Syria to respect the rights of minorities, facilitate the flow of humanitarian assistance, prevent Syria from being used as a base of terrorism or posing a threat to its neighbors, and ensure that chemical weapons stockpiles are secured and safely destroyed,” the State Department said. The U.S. would be willing to recognize and fully support a new Syrian government that met those criteria. U.S. officials say they are not actively reviewing the foreign terrorist organization designation of the main Syrian rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, known as HTS, which was once an al-Qaida affiliate, but stressed they are not barred from speaking to its members. JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli forces will remain in a Syrian buffer zone until a new force on the other side of the border can guarantee security. After the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Israeli forces that had been established after the 1973 Mideast war. The military says it has seized additional strategic points nearby. Israeli officials have said the move is temporary, but Netanyahu’s conditions could take months or even years to fulfill as Syria charts its post-Assad future, raising the prospect of an open-ended Israeli presence in the country. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Thursday that created a vacuum on the border. “Israel will not permit jihadi groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities on the Golan Heights with October 7th style attacks,” it said, referring to Hamas’ 2023 attack out of Gaza, which ignited the war there. “That is why Israeli forces entered the buffer zone and took control of strategic sites near Israel’s border.” The statement added that “this deployment is temporary until a force that is committed to the 1974 agreement can be established and security on our border can be guaranteed.” The buffer zone is adjacent to the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed. The international community, except for the United States, views the Golan as occupied Syrian territory. JERUSALEM — Israel’s military said Thursday that the attacker who fatally shot a 12-year-old Israeli boy in the occupied West Bank overnight turned himself in to authorities. The attacker opened fire on a bus near the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit, critically wounding the boy, who hospital authorities pronounced dead in the early morning. Three others were wounded in the attack, paramedics said. The shooting took place just outside Jerusalem in an area near major Israeli settlements. JAKARTA, Indonesia — The Indonesian government has evacuated 37 citizens from Syria following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad government, officials said Thursday. The evacuees were taken by land from Damascus to Beirut, where they boarded three commercial flights to Jakarta, said Judha Nugraha, director of citizen protection at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The Indonesian Embassy in Damascus said all 1,162 Indonesian citizens in Syria were safe. Indonesian Ambassador to Syria Wajid Fauzi said the situation in Syria has gradually returned to normal. “I can say that 98% of people’s lives are back to normal, shops are open, public transportation has started running,” Fauzi said, adding that most Indonesian nationals living in Syria had chosen to stay. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian medical officials say Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 28 people in the Gaza Strip, including seven children and a woman. One of the strikes overnight and into Thursday flattened a house in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby city of Deir al-Balah, where the casualties were taken. An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies at the hospital’s morgue. Two other strikes killed 15 men who were part of local committees . The committees were set up by displaced Palestinians in coordination with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry. The Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis received the bodies and an AP reporter counted them. The hospital said eight were killed in a strike near the southern border town of Rafah and seven others in a strike 30 minutes later near Khan Younis. began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 people. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine. Israel says it allows enough aid to enter and blames U.N. agencies for not distributing it. The U.N. says Israeli restrictions, and the breakdown of law and order after Israel repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, make it extremely difficult to operate in the territory. UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved resolutions Wednesday and backing the . The votes in the 193-nation world body were 158-9 with 13 abstentions to demand a ceasefire now and 159-9 with 11 abstentions to support the agency known as UNRWA. The votes culminated two days of speeches overwhelmingly calling for an end to the 14-month . General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, though they reflect world opinion. There are no vetoes in the assembly. Israel and its close ally, the United States, were in a tiny minority speaking and voting against the resolutions.
Erling Haaland’s failure from the penalty spot and Bruno Fernandes' latest red card compounded the woes of Manchester City and Manchester United on another tough day for the two Premier League giants. City dropped more points Thursday in its improbably poor run of form by drawing 1-1 at home to Everton, with Haaland having a spot kick saved by England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the 53rd minute. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get updates and player profiles ahead of Friday's high school games, plus a recap Saturday with stories, photos, video Frequency: Seasonal Twice a weekBoxing Day shopper footfall was down 7.9% from last year across all UK retail destinations up until 5pm, MRI Software’s OnLocation Footfall Index found. However, this year’s data had been compared with an unusual spike in footfall as 2023 was the first “proper Christmas” period without Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, an analyst at the retail technology company said. It found £4.6 billion will be spent overall on the festive sales. Before the pandemic the number of Boxing Day shoppers on the streets had been declining year on year. The last uplift recorded by MRI was in 2015. Jenni Matthews, marketing and insights director at MRI Software, told the PA news agency: “We’ve got to bear in mind that (last year) was our first proper Christmas without any (Covid-19) restrictions or limitations. “Figures have come out that things have stabilised, we’re almost back to what we saw pre-pandemic.” There were year-on-year declines in footfall anywhere between 5% and 12% before Covid-19 restrictions, she said. MRI found 12% fewer people were out shopping on Boxing Day in 2019 than in 2018, and there were 3% fewer in 2018 than in 2017, Ms Matthews added. She said: “It’s the shift to online shopping, it’s the convenience, you’ve got the family days that take place on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.” People are also increasingly stocking-up before Christmas, Ms Matthews said, and MRI found an 18% increase in footfall at all UK retail destinations on Christmas Eve this year compared with 2023. Ms Matthews said: “We see the shops are full of people all the way up to Christmas Eve, so they’ve probably got a couple of good days of food, goodies, everything that they need, and they don’t really need to go out again until later on in that week. “We did see that big boost on Christmas Eve. It looks like shoppers may have concentrated much of their spending in that pre-Christmas rush.” Many online sales kicked off between December 23 and the night of Christmas Day and “a lot of people would have grabbed those bargains from the comfort of their own home”, she said. She added: “I feel like it’s becoming more and more common that people are grabbing the bargains pre-Christmas.” Footfall is expected to rise on December 27 as people emerge from family visits and shops re-open, including Next, Marks and Spencer and John Lewis that all shut for Boxing Day. It will also be payday for some as it is the last Friday of the month. A study by Barclays Consumer Spend had forecast that shoppers would spend £236 each on average in the Boxing Day sales this year, but that the majority of purchases would be made online. Nearly half of respondents said the cost-of-living crisis will affect their post-Christmas shopping but the forecast average spend is still £50 more per person than it was before the pandemic, with some of that figure because of inflation, Barclays said. Amid the financial pressures, many people are planning to buy practical, perishable and essential items such as food and kitchenware. A total of 65% of shoppers are expecting to spend the majority of their sales budget online. Last year, Barclays found 63.9% of Boxing Day retail purchases were made online. However, a quarter of respondents aim to spend mostly in store – an 11% rise compared with last year. Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays, said: “Despite the ongoing cost-of-living pressures, it is encouraging to hear that consumers will be actively participating in the post-Christmas sales. “This year, we’re likely to see a shift towards practicality and sustainability, with more shoppers looking to bag bargains on kitchen appliances and second-hand goods.” Consumers choose in-store shopping largely because they enjoy the social aspect and touching items before they buy, Barclays said, adding that high streets and shopping centres are the most popular destinations.
Exact date all Winter Heating Payment should be paid by – and what to do if yours is missing
