Brighton were booed off after their winless run was stretched to six Premier League games by a frustrating goalless draw against away-day strugglers Brentford. Albion dominated for large periods on a foggy evening at the Amex Stadium and hit the woodwork inside four minutes through Julio Enciso. Bees goalkeeper Mark Flekken also made a string of important saves before being forced off injured in the 36th minute, albeit his replacement Hakon Valdimarsson was rarely tested on his Premier League debut. Brentford, who remain without a top-flight away win this term, had an early Yoane Wissa finish ruled out for offside following VAR intervention but barely threatened, despite an improved second-half showing. The Seagulls remain 10th ahead of Monday’s trip to Aston Villa, with Thomas Frank’s visitors a position and two points below moving towards their New Year’s Day showdown with Arsenal. Brighton have plummeted from second place to mid-table amid a poor run of form which has increased scrutiny on head coach Fabian Hurzeler. Seagulls chief executive Paul Barber called for perspective from fans in his programme notes after revealing he revealed emails “full of doom and gloom” following the recent 3-1 home defeat to rivals Crystal Palace. Enciso, one of two players recalled by Hurzeler following Saturday’s 1-1 draw at West Ham, almost gave Albion a dream start. A poor pass from Bees goalkeeper Flekken was intercepted by Carlos Baleba and, following a neat layoff from Joao Pedro, Paraguay forward Enciso curled against the right post. Brentford arrived in Sussex with the worst away record in the division, having previously taken a solitary point from 24 available this term. Flekken saved well from Baleba and then collected a tame header from the unmarked Enciso before the away side thought they had snatched a 13th-minute lead. After being slipped in by Mads Roerslev at the end of a swift counter-attack, Wissa thumped high into the net beyond Seagulls keeper Bart Verbruggen only to be ruled marginally offside. Flekken made further saves from Brajan Gruda and Matt O’Riley before hurting himself keeping out a deflected Kaoru Mitoma cross and being replaced by 23-year-old Iceland international Valdimarsson. Brentford remained on the back foot and, aside from Wissa’s disallowed effort, offered little going forward in a one-sided opening period which somehow ended level. Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke produced a crucial block to deny Wissa as the west London club began the second half brightly before Christian Norgaard’s ambitious effort deflected wide amid groans from increasingly restless home fans. Hurzeler responded with a triple change, introducing Yasin Ayari, Simon Adingra and Yankuba Minteh in place of O’Riley, Gruda and Mitoma. Albion forward Pedro then escaped punishment in the 76th minute after swinging an arm at Bees substitute Yehor Yarmoliuk without making contact before defender Ben Mee became the second visiting player to depart injured. The introduction of Solly March in the 88th minute for his first appearance since suffering a serious knee injury in October last year briefly lifted the mood on the terraces. But, following a frantic five minutes of added time, some Seagulls supporters vented their displeasure at full-time as their club’s wait for victory goes on.AP Business SummaryBrief at 3:50 p.m. ESTShare this Story : Christmas gift guide with golfers in mind, Callaway tops the list Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Breadcrumb Trail Links Gift Guide Holiday Guide Sports Golf Christmas gift guide with golfers in mind, Callaway tops the list Technology and equipment have never been better; there's plenty to choose from. Author of the article: Tim Baines Published Dec 07, 2024 • 5 minute read Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here . Or sign-in if you have an account. Xander Schauffele of the United States plays his shot from the 12th tee during the final round of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club on May 19, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky. Photo by Christian Petersen / Getty Images Article content With Christmas fast approaching, finding the perfect gift for the golfer in your life can be exhausting. Article content We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Try refreshing your browser, or tap here to see other videos from our team . Christmas gift guide with golfers in mind, Callaway tops the list Back to video Article content Trying to figure out what to choose from a busy market full of equipment, rangefinders, clothing, shoes, golf balls and everything in between can be mind-numbing, especially if you’re on the outside looking in, not knowing what’s hot and what’s not. The good news: Technology and equipment have never been better; there’s plenty to choose from. Advertisement 2 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office. Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account. Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office. Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account. Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Sign In or Create an Account Email Address Continue or View more offers If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, online access is included in your subscription. Activate your Online Access Now Article content Here are a few ideas. Let’s start with equipment and golf balls. You can’t go wrong with Callaway Golf, long an industry trailblazer. Through its Odyssey brand, Callaway recently launched the Square 2 Square putter, with its zero-torque technology, the hottest trend in putters right now. And they’re selling, a lot. Basically, it helps you aim, sink putts, lower your score. That’s good, right? The company is coming off a huge year for its putters. Thirty-nine players at the Canadian Open were playing a version of the Jailbird putter. Most of them were not on staff; they weren’t being paid to use a Callaway product. They were just swayed by the results of the putters. Callaway is really good with its drivers (Paradym Smoke) and irons (Apex); just ask anybody who’s got them in their golf bag. There are plenty of locations to get them properly fitted, which is always a good idea. “Of course, we’re excited about the Ai 200s, the Ai 300s and the Ti Fusion is amazing,” Callaway Golf Canada’s general manager Bruce Carroll said. “We hadn’t introduced a new Apex iron in three years so we were super excited.” Sports Get the latest sport headlines and breaking news. There was an error, please provide a valid email address. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sports will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again Article content Advertisement 3 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content It’s been a big year for golf ball sales. With Callaway, there are lots of options, some conventional and others a bit more light-hearted, but still producing those great results. Some of the unique offerings in time for Christmas are Chrome Tour’s Ugly Sweater and the Let the Big Dog Eat balls. There’s also the Holiday Double Dozen. Personally, I like the Chrome Soft Triple Track balls; they really help me dial in with my aim. “We have the highest share we’ve ever had,” Carroll said. “Our golf ball business has become huge; it’s the No. 1 category for Callaway, bigger than our driver, bigger than our irons.” “Our Tour ball won three majors, two of them by Xander Schauffele, one with Yuka Saso.” For more info, check out www.callawaygolf.ca . GETTING A GRIP: Golf club grips are something we take for granted. Getting fitted for nice clubs is a great thing; not taking care of them over the years ... not so much. The rule of thumb is replace the grips every 12-18 months, or every 30-40 rounds. It can make a difference. SuperStroke, considered the No. 1 putter grip, has some terrific options; a few attention-grabbing ones caught my eye. Advertisement 4 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content As a bit of a superhero guy, I was drawn to SuperStroke’s partnership with Marvel. The latest release is SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0 grips, inspired by Marvel’s Venom. Previous putter grip collaborations with Marvel have been inspired by Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, Deadpool and Wolverine. For sports fans, there are also NFL, NCAA and MLB putter-grip options. 2UNDR: Looking for the perfect stocking stuffer? A good place to start is 2UNDR ( ca.2undr.com ), an underwear company that has become so much more. Let’s start with the undies that feature technology like the patented Joey Pouch, that “ separates man’s most valuable assets away from the body to reduce unwanted skin-on-skin contact.” Designed in Vancouver, the underwear comes in different collections, including Swing Shift, Sport Shift, Day Shift, Power Shift, Flow Shift and Eco Collection, plus it comes in different lengths. I have a drawer full of them. I love the comfort and I particularly like the ones with the funkier designs. Also in my drawer: The super lightweight Bodhi short, which is featured in 12 colours and has a terrific comfort level on or off the golf course. Advertisement 5 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content ON WITH THE SHOE: There are plenty of golf shoes on the market, a lot of them very good options. I found one earlier this year that’s become my go-to: OG Cush by True Linkswear ( truelinkswear.ca ). A press release from True Linkswear says the OG Cush “ marries a barefoot feel with maximum comfort.” After walking around the golf course, that sounds about right. The shoe has a first-of-its-kind zero-drop Wanderlux foam. The zero drop sole means it’s completely level from heel to forefoot with a cushioned foam platform underfoot for a comfortable walk. The boosted Wanderlux cushioning will wear into each golfer’s foot shape over time to create a natural arch that provides more support with each step, from the course to the trail, the streets or the office. True Linkswear also offers plenty of apparel options. HOME ON THE RANGE(FINDER): I’ve gone through a few rangefinders and watches over the years. Earlier this year, I saw an ad for the Shot Scope V5 GPS watch. So, I bought one. Can’t say enough good things about the watch, with automatic performance tracking; a big key was no subscription fees on the Shot Scope mobile app, which gives you plenty of statistics to crunch. Advertisement 6 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content The watch has a full-colour daylight readable screen and provides front, middle, and back distances to every green as well as measurements to hazards, layups, and doglegs on 36,000 preloaded courses. A big plus for stats geeks: You can measure shot distances with tracking tags you screw into the top of your club. I like gadgets, so I took it a step further and got my hands on the Pro L2, a hand-held rangefinder. A daptive slope technology adjusts your distance, taking the up-and-down hills into account to allow for better club selection. Advanced features include rapid-fire detection and target-lock vibration. It’s lightweight and, despite my shaky hands, seems to lock into the target quicker than other rangefinders I’ve used. The website is ShotScope.com/ca . Recommended from Editorial Ottawa Senators had no serious talks on Jacob Trouba as search for help continues Brady Tkachuk to New York Rangers rumour is 'Total bulls--t' and 'garbage' Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Christmas gift guide with golfers in mind, Callaway tops the list Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Comments You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments. Create an Account Sign in Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Trending Ottawa police release photo of suspect in Riverside Drive shooting News 'Travel advisory' in effect in Ottawa, as 15 cm of snow on the way Local News Ottawa man and woman face drug charges after south-end traffic stop News Pure Kitchen shuts doors on Rideau Street location Local Business Brady Tkachuk to New York Rangers rumour is 'Total bulls--t' and 'garbage' Ottawa Senators Read Next Latest National Stories Featured Local Savingsonline slots play for real money 。

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An online debate over foreign workers in tech shows tensions in Trump's political coalitionNone

(Note to subs: amends byline error) The world stands at the dawn of a “third nuclear age” in which Britain is threatened by multiple dilemmas, the head of the armed forces has warned. But alongside his stark warning of the threats facing Britain and its allies, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said there would be only a “remote chance” Russia would directly attack or invade the UK if the two countries were at war. The Chief of the Defence Staff laid out the landscape of British defence in a wide-ranging speech, after a minister warned the Army would be wiped out in as little as six months if forced to fight a war on the scale of the Ukraine conflict. The admiral cast doubt on the possibility as he gave a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) defence think tank in London. He told the audience Britain needed to be “clear-eyed in our assessment” of the threats it faces, adding: “That includes recognising that there is only a remote chance of a significant direct attack or invasion by Russia on the United Kingdom, and that’s the same for the whole of Nato.” Moscow “knows the response will be overwhelming”, he added, but warned the nuclear deterrent needed to be “kept strong and strengthened”. Sir Tony added: “We are at the dawn of a third nuclear age, which is altogether more complex. It is defined by multiple and concurrent dilemmas, proliferating nuclear and disruptive technologies and the almost total absence of the security architectures that went before.” The first nuclear age was the Cold War, while the second was “governed by disarmament efforts and counter proliferation”, the armed forces chief said. He listed the “wild threats of tactical nuclear use” by Russia, China building up its weapon stocks, Iran’s failure to co-operate with a nuclear deal, and North Korea’s “erratic behaviour” among the threats faced by the West. But Sir Tony said the UK’s nuclear arsenal is “the one part of our inventory of which Russia is most aware and has more impact on (President Vladimir) Putin than anything else”. Successive British governments had invested “substantial sums of money” in renewing nuclear submarines and warheads because of this, he added. The admiral described the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers on Ukraine’s border alongside Russian forces as the year’s “most extraordinary development”. He also signalled further deployments were possible, speaking of “tens of thousands more to follow as part of a new security pact with Russia”. Defence minister Alistair Carns earlier said a rate of casualties similar to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would lead to the army being “expended” within six to 12 months. He said it illustrated the need to “generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis”. In comments reported by Sky News, Mr Carns, a former Royal Marines colonel, said Russia was suffering losses of around 1,500 soldiers killed or injured a day. “In a war of scale – not a limited intervention, but one similar to Ukraine – our Army for example, on the current casualty rates, would be expended – as part of a broader multinational coalition – in six months to a year,” Mr Carns said in a speech at Rusi. He added: “That doesn’t mean we need a bigger Army, but it does mean you need to generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis.” Official figures show the Army had 109,245 personnel on October 1, including 25,814 volunteer reservists. Mr Carns, the minister for veterans and people, said the UK needed to “catch up with Nato allies” to place greater emphasis on the reserves. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Defence Secretary John Healey had previously spoken about “the state of the armed forces that were inherited from the previous government”. The spokesman said: “It’s why the Budget invested billions of pounds into defence, it’s why we’re undertaking a strategic defence review to ensure that we have the capabilities and the investment needed to defend this country.”NoneAn online debate over foreign workers in tech shows tensions in Trump's political coalition

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Opposition fighters are at Damascus' gates. Who are they and what now?Stocks fell in morning trading Friday as Wall Street closes out a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 fell 1.4%, with more than 80% of stocks in the benchmark index losing ground. Still, the index is managing to hold onto a modest gain for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 402 points, or 0.9%, to 42,945 as of 10:41 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite fell 2%. Both the Dow and the Nasdaq are also holding on to weekly gains. Technology stocks were the biggest drag on the market Friday. Semiconductor giant Nvidia slumped 3.2%. Its enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes. Other Big Tech stocks losing ground included Microsoft, with a 2.2% decline. A wide range of retailers also fell. Amazon fell 2.2% and Best Buy slipped 1.9%. The sector is being closely watched for clues on how it performed during the holiday shopping season. Energy was the only sector within the S&P 500 rising. It gained 0.5% as crude oil prices rose 0.8%. Investors don't have much in the way of corporate or economic updates to review as the market moves closer to another standout annual finish. The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of around 25% in 2024. That would mark a second consecutive yearly gain of more than 20%, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998. The gains have been driven partly by upbeat economic data showing that consumers continued spending and the labor market remained strong. Inflation, while still high, has also been steadily easing. A report on Friday showed that sales and inventory estimates for the wholesales trade industry fell 0.2% in November, following a slight gain in October. That weaker-than-expected report follows an update on the labor market Thursday that showed unemployment benefits held steady last week. In Asia, Japan’s benchmark index surged as the yen remained weak against the dollar. Stocks in South Korea fell after the main opposition party voted to impeach the country’s acting leader. Markets in Europe gained ground. Bond yields held relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury remained at 4.59% from late Thursday. The yield on the two-year Treasury slipped to 4.32% from 4.33% late Thursday. Wall Street's main indexes opened lower, dampening an upbeat holiday-shortened week that started out looking like a classic "Santa Claus" rally was unfolding. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was up slightly but hovered below a near-eight-month high reached Thursday, while shorter-term Treasury yields eased. The U.S. dollar was headed for an almost 7% annual gain while Japan's yen was set for a fourth consecutive year of losses on Friday, as traders anticipated robust U.S. growth, as well as tax cuts, tariffs and deregulation by the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, would make the Federal Reserve cautious on rate-cutting well into 2025. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.56% lower after the open. The S&P 500 fell 0.65%, leaving Wall Street's benchmark on course for a 1% weekly gain. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.79% in early trade. The Dow is up 14% in 2024, the S&P 500 is up 25% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 30%. Analysts said stock markets could change direction as investors returned from holiday and reassessed the risks of elevated U.S. inflation under Trump for richly-valued Wall Street equities. MSCI's broad global share index was 0.32% lower on Friday to remain 1.07% higher for the week. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.12%, marking a 1.5% weekly rise, while Tokyo's Nikkei rose 1.8%. Europe's Stoxx 600 was 0.27% firmer on Friday and 0.7% higher for the week. The dollar index, which measures the currency against six other major currencies, eased 0.09%, looking at a small weekly gain, and to close 2024 with a more than six percent year-on-year gain. Dollar/yen was down 0.15%, but near levels last seen in July, while the greenback was also showing a 5.3% gain this month against the yen and a near 12% advance for 2024 against the weakened Japanese currency. The euro , up 0.09%, stayed close to two-year lows Fed Chair Jerome Powell said earlier this month that U.S. central bank officials "are going to be cautious about further cuts" after an as-expected quarter-point rate reduction. The U.S. economy also faces the impact of Donald Trump, who has proposed deregulation, tax cuts, tariff hikes and tighter immigration policies that economists view as both pro-growth and inflationary. Traders, meanwhile, anticipate the Bank of Japan will keep its monetary policy settings loose and the European Central Bank will deliver further rate cuts. Traders are pricing in 37 bps of U.S. rate cuts in 2025, with no reduction fully priced into money markets until June, by which time the ECB is expected to have lowered its deposit rate by a full percentage point to 2% as the euro zone economy slows. Higher U.S. rate expectations pulled the 10-year Treasury yield, which rises as the price of the fixed income security falls, to its highest since early May early on Thursday, at 4.641%. It was last up 1.4 basis points at 4.595%. The two-year Treasury yield, which tracks interest rate forecasts, traded around 4.32% off 1.2 bp since late Thursday. U.S. debt trends also sent euro zone yields higher, with Germany's benchmark 10-year bund yield rising 4.8 bp to 2.372% on Friday. Elsewhere in markets, gold prices dipped 0.84% to $2,612.20 per ounce, set for about a 27% rise for the year and the strongest yearly performance since 2011 as geopolitical and inflation concerns boosted the haven asset. Oil prices were also set for a weekly rise as investors awaited news of economic stimulus efforts in China, the world's biggest crude importer. Brent crude futures rose 1% on the day to $73.99 a barrel, 1.5% higher for the week.

Infosys founder Narayana Murthy buys second luxury flat in Bengaluru’s Kingfisher TowersSan Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was limited with the right shoulder injury that sidelined him last week and there is growing concern about the long-term status of left tackle Trent Williams. Wednesday's practice was not the start to the NFL workweek head coach Kyle Shanahan had hoped after Purdy was unable to bounce back from a shoulder injury in Week 11. Brandon Allen started at Green Bay and the 49ers (5-6) lost 38-10 with the backup-turned-starter committing three turnovers. Williams was reportedly spotted in the locker room with a knee scooter and is experiencing pain walking. He played through an ankle injury against the Seattle Seahawks Nov. 17. Defensive end Nick Bosa (hip, oblique) also missed practice Wednesday, leaving the 49ers to spend the holiday plotting to play the Buffalo Bills (9-2) without the three Pro Bowlers again. "I don't know anyone who gets Thanksgiving off unless maybe you have a Monday night game. You just start a lot earlier and get the players out," Shanahan said. "We cram everything in so the players get out, tries to be home with the family by 5. I usually get home by 7 and they're all mad at me, then get back to red-zone (installation)." The 49ers are in danger of a three-game losing streak for the first time since Oct. 2021. Injuries have been a common thread since September when running back Christian McCaffrey was a surprise scratch with an Achilles injury for the opener. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (ACL) is out for the season at a position dinged from top to bottom. Star linebacker Fred Warner also is ailing and said Wednesday that he fractured a bone in his ankle on Sept. 29 against the New England Patriots. The game against the Bills will mark his eighth straight game playing with the injury. "It's something I deal with every game," Warner said. "I get on that table before every game and get it shot up every single game just to be able to roll. But it's not an excuse. It's just what it is. That's the NFL. You're not going to be healthy. You've got to go out there, you've got to find ways to execute, to play at a high level and to win every single week." Shanahan wasn't interested in injury talk. He said the 49ers have not played well in the past two weeks, and puts part of his focus on getting more out of the running game with snow in the forecast on Sunday night. He's not in agreement with pundits who doubt McCaffrey's ability early into his return from injured reserve, with a per-carry average of 3.5 yards compared to 5.4 in 2023. "The speculation on Christian is a little unfair to him," Shanahan said. "Christian is playing very well. He's playing his ass off. To think a guy who misses the entire offseason is going to come back and be the exact same the day he comes back would be unfair to any player in the world." San Francisco opened the 21-day practice window for linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who tore his Achilles in the Super Bowl in February. His return date is unclear. --Field Level Media