A look back at 2024 in photos
Is Enron back? If it’s a joke, some former employees aren’t laughingBank of America became FIFA’s first global banking partner in August and sealed a separate deal for a second event also being played in the United States, two days before the group-stage draw in Miami for the revamped 32-team club event . It features recent European champions Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea. “FIFA is going to take America by storm and we’re going to be right at their side,” the bank’s head of marketing, David Tyrie, said in a telephone interview Tuesday. Bank of America joins 2026 World Cup sponsors Hisense and Budweiser brewer AB InBev in separately also backing the club event, and more deals are expected after Saudi Arabia is confirmed next week as the 2034 World Cup host. While games at the next World Cup, co-hosted with Canada and Mexico, will be watched by hundreds of millions globally mostly on free-to-air public networks, the Club World Cup broadcast picture is unclear. FIFA has promised hundreds of millions of dollars in prize money for the 32 clubs to share but is yet to announce any broadcast deals for the month-long tournament. It is expected to land on a streaming service. “You have to think about how you are going to connect with these fans,” Tyrie told the Associated Press from Boston. “TV is one, sure, social media is a big avenue. “The smart marketing capabilities are able to say ‘Hey, we need to tilt this one a little bit more away from TV-type marketing into social-type marketing.’ We have got a pretty decent strategy that we’re putting in place to do activation.” Engaging Bank of America’s customers and 250,000 employees are key to that strategy, Tyrie said. “It’s going to be for our clients, and entertainment, it’s going to be for our employees in creating excitement. All of the above.” The Club World Cup will be played in 12 stadiums across 11 cities, including Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C, and Lumen Field where the hometown Seattle Sounders play three group-stage games. European powers Madrid, Man City and Bayern Munich lead a 12-strong European challenge. Teams qualified by winning continental titles or posting consistently good results across four years of those competitions. The exception is Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, who FIFA gave the entry reserved for a host nation team in October based on regular season record without waiting for the MLS Cup final. LA Galaxy hosts New York Red Bulls playing for that national title Saturday. Messi’s team opens the FIFA tournament June 15 in the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium and will play its three group games in Florida. “The more brand players you bring in, the bigger the following you have got,” Tyrie acknowledged, though adding Messi being involved was “not a make or break for the event.” The Club World Cup final is July 13 at Met Life Stadium near New York, which also will host the World Cup final one year later. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerN44bn accrued benefits: Group slams FG over uncovered retirees’ fate
Winter Abayas And Hijab: 28 Wardrobe Must-Haves To Cozy Up In Style This SeasonIn the last 10 days, Amir Fattal says he's been glued to the TV at his home in Oakville each night, watching for any updates out of Syria. When news broke that Syrian leader Bashar Assad had fled the country, Fattal said he felt like he was dreaming. "Today I woke up and as a Syrian, I feel like I'm free." Fattal, who came to Canada in 2016 after fleeing his home country four years earlier, is among Syrians across Ontario who are celebrating the end of the Assad family's 50-year iron rule after a rapid offensive by armed factions seized control of the country — a day many say they thought might never come. Amir Fattal came to Canada in 2016 after fleeing Syria four years earlier. Now that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's rule has come to an end, Fattal says he hopes to return to Syria to help with efforts to rebuild the country. (CBC) In Mississauga, a group of people came together overnight Saturday to rejoice. By Sunday afternoon, hundreds of people gathered in the city's Celebration Square to mark the fall of their home country's former president. Among the crowd was Houssam Harwash, who came to Canada from Syria in 2018 after being arrested and thrown in a Syrian jail for 43 days. He said several of his close friends were killed during protests against the Assad regime. "I've been dreaming for this for the last 13, 14 years since the start of the revolution," he said Sunday. After witnessing so much violence, Harwash said he feels hopeful for the future of his country. "Right now, there's a good change and a good opportunity for us and to live free." Houssam Harwash came to Canada from Syria in 2018. He said the end of the Assad regime is a chance for positive change in his home country. (CBC) Marwah Kobieh, executive director of the Syrian Canadian Foundation said many Syrians had lost hope that they would ever see this day come. "We kind of just accepted the fact that we're just going to support Syrian refugees here in Canada or who have been scattered across the countries across the world," she said. Now, Kobieh said she hopes Syrian's new leadership will live up to its promises of a free state. "And we're hoping that all the Syrians who are scattered across the world can come back to Syria and just hold each other's hand and rebuild the country that have been really facing so much for half a century." THE LATEST Assad flees to Moscow after rebels take Syrian capital, Russian state media report World leaders, Trudeau hail 'fall of Assad's dictatorship' after rebels topple Syrian government The leader of Syria's biggest rebel faction, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, is poised to chart the country's future. The former al-Qaeda commander cut ties with the group years ago and says he embraces pluralism and religious tolerance. His Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the UN. Some analysts say what happens next depends largely on al-Golani and what type of leader he turns out to be. "It's a new chapter — that's a fact. What sort of chapter, whether this is a happy ending or a horror story, a new horror story, remains to be seen," said Randall Hansen, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto Hansen said the country's new leader now faces the daunting task of uniting a deeply divided country. "Much will depend on him and what they decide and how he behaves," he said. Abu Mohammed al-Golani, leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, Syria's biggest rebel faction, speaks at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on Sunday. (Omar Albam/The Associated Press) In Oakville, Fattal said he too worries about what will come next, but says for now, he's happy Syria at least has a chance for a new future. "I hope to see a free country with democratic system. I hope to see our country build again," he said. He hopes to return one day to help his home country rebuild — something he said wouldn't be possible without the safety, education and experience he found in Canada.
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Bank of America signs again with FIFA for US-hosted Club World Cup that still has no TV dealsBERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Jaylen Blakes and Maxime Raynaud scored 20 points apiece and Stanford beat California 89-81 on Saturday in the first Atlantic Coast Conference opener for the former Pac-12 rivals. Blakes sank 7 of 13 shots with two 3-pointers and made all four of his free throws for the Cardinal (8-2). He added six assists and blocked a pair of shots. Raynaud made 8 of 15 shots — 4 of 6 from beyond the arc — and blocked five shots. 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 week
