‘All we can do is fight’Foreign Office advice for travel to destination changes dramatically after 'developing situation'I HAVE received a bit of heat this week for some comments on Mohamed Salah — so let me talk you through it. I claimed Salah is NOT world class. 6 Mo Salah is brilliant player, but falls short of being world class 6 Troy Deeney has named five players who could walk into any team in the world The Liverpool player is a brilliant winger, his goalscoring numbers are incredible and he has achieved some truly amazing things at the club. But world class? No. Let me make this clear — this is not a personal attack on Salah. I think he is a top player and a great guy. I played against him a lot in my career and can appreciate just how good he is. READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS GET IN LINE Ex-England star more popular than Lineker named fans' favourite to host MOTD But trying to be everyone’s friend? That’s not my bag. I will say it how it is. In general, this is about the term "world class" as a whole — what does it actually mean and when can we use it? Firstly, it is a very lucid way to describe a footballer. It's not like at The Masters when you get your Green Jacket and you are a champion of Augusta forever, regardless of how bad you play afterwards. Most read in Football LEAVE IT OUT Rangers boss Clement shuts down reporter who quizzed him on his future JIM DELAHUNT Our man's tips on Gers v United, Hearts v Hoops & all the weekend action 'LONGER-TERM' Rangers boss Philippe Clement provides grim Neraysho Kasanwirjo update UNHAPPY BHOY Furious Celtic fan calls out fellow Hoops supporters who 'discredit our brand' FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS It is something as a player that takes ages to earn and probably half a season to lose, and then the fight to get it back begins again. Some players — great players — have struggled to earn that title at all during their careers. Top 10 highest-paid Premier League stars Gary Neville is one of the most decorated full-backs of all time, but we all considered Roberto Carlos or Cafu to be a level above. Yet if I had Neville’s career behind me, would I care if someone said I wasn’t world class? Of course not. No player is safe from dropping out of this subjective, opinionated category, but there is always a way back. For instance, someone like Kylian Mbappe I would argue is also currently NOT world class. An incredible player, won plenty, got his big move to Real Madrid this summer , but his form has not been at the level of previous seasons. 6 PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe has failed to hit the mark in Madrid so far To earn and keep that world class tag, I believe you need to be able to transcend your whole team, transcend the game — not simply by having the most shirt sales, but being able to consistently lift a club to glory by yourself. Can Mbappe at 25 get back to being world class? Definitely. But for now, he has some work to do. As for Salah, you can look at his stats — 165 Prem goals in 274 games — and say this and that but ultimately, it is about what he brings to the team and the impact he has season after season, not just in certain games and moments. I was on the end of loads of drubbings at Watford when Salah was amazing for Liverpool. But when we prepared to face them, it was not just a case of "stop Salah and you win". It was a lot harder when they also had Sadio Mane in the side who, in my opinion , was more effective over that period than Salah. And if we were basing this purely off numbers and goals, then Bruno Fernandes would be one of the best midfielders in the world, but he is not. You see where I am coming from? I can remember Graeme Souness once telling me his theory on whether you were world class, and it was based on whether you could walk into any starting XI in world football. With that in mind, here are the five players currently in world football who, for me, can be deemed world class — who could stroll into any team on the planet and start: Alisson (Liverpool) Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) Rodri (Manchester City) Erling Haaland (Manchester City) Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid) Read more on the Scottish Sun COMIC'S CASTLE Still Game star takes £150,000 hit to offload luxury £4m Scots castle HITTING THE HIGH NOTES Much-loved pub named best music bar in Scotland Saying all this, it is just my opinion . Someone can turn around and tell me I am wrong and that is absolutely fine. And if Salah is worrying about what I think, then he is definitely not world class. 6 Vinicius Junior is one the best wingers in the world 6 Erling Haaland is the best striker in the world 6 Virgil van Dijk is a world class Prem defender

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — A political party in North Macedonia on Saturday demanded authorities ban social networks whose content incites violence and self-destructive behavior after several young people were seriously injured in connection with the popular “Superman challenge” on TikTok. Health authorities said at least 17 students, ages 10 to 17, were brought to hospitals in the capital Skopje and other towns over the past week with broken bones, contusions and bruises. The children were injured after being thrown into the air by their friends to fly like superheroes and get applause on the internet. The Liberal-Democratic Party, which was part of the left-led coalition that ruled the country from 2016 to earlier in 2024, issued a press statement Saturday strongly condemning “the irresponsible spread of dangerous content on social media, such as the latest TikTok ‘challenge’ known as ‘Superman,’ which has injured six children across (the country) in the past 24 hours.” “The lack of adequate control over the content of social media allows such ‘games’ to reach the most vulnerable users,” the party statement said. It demanded the “immediate introduction of measures to ban content that incites violence and self-destructive behavior, increase surveillance, and sanction platforms that enable dangerous trends.” North Macedonia’s education minister Vesna Janevska said students should focus on education, not TikTok challenges. “The ban on mobile phones in schools will not have an effect. Phones will be available to children in their homes, neighborhoods and other environments,” she said. Psychologists have warned that the desire to be “in” with the trends on social networks, combined with excessive use of mobile phones, is the main reason for the rise in risky behaviors among children. They urged parents and schools to talk with students.So I heard. I watched Puig play only twice this year, once in the Galaxy's season-opening 1-1 draw with Inter Miami and a second time in his team's Fourth of July defeat to LAFC at the Rose Bowl. Outside of short highlight clips on social media, I never saw the former Barcelona prospect, not even when he assisted on the goal that sent the Galaxy to the MLS Cup final. That wasn't a reflection of my interest. Some of my friends will make fun of me for publicly admitting this, but I like Major League Soccer. I covered the league in my first job out of college and have casually kept up with it since. I take my children to a couple of games a year. My 11-year-old son owns Galaxy and LAFC hats but no Dodgers or Lakers merchandise. When flipping through channels in the past, if presented with the choice of, say, college football or MLS, I usually watched MLS. But not this year. While the MLS Cup final between the Galaxy and New York Red Bulls will be shown on Fox and Fox Deportes, the majority of games are now exclusively behind a paywall, courtesy of the league's broadcasting deal with Apple. MLS Season Pass subscriptions were reasonably priced — $79 for the entire season for Apple TV+ subscribers, $99 for non-subscribers — but I was already paying for DirecTV Stream, Netflix, Amazon Prime, PlayStation Plus and who knows what else. MLS became a casualty in my household, as well as in many others, and the possibility of being out of sight and out of mind should be a concern for a league that is looking to expand its audience. Which isn't to say the league made a mistake. This was a gamble MLS had to take. Now in the second year of a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with Apple, MLS did what Major League Baseball is talking about doing, which is to centralize its broadcasting rights and sell them to a digital platform. Regional sports networks have been decimated by cord cutting, making traditional economic models unsustainable. The move to Apple not only increased the league's broadcast revenues — previous deals with ESPN, Fox and Univision were worth a combined $90 million annually, according to multiple reports — but also introduced a measure of uniformity in the league. The quality of the broadcasts are better than they were under regional sports networks. Viewers know where to watch games and when, as every one of them is on Season Pass and most of them are scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. local time either on Wednesday or Saturday. "That's been fueling our growth and driving our fan engagement," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Friday at his annual state of the league address. Apple and MLS declined to reveal the number of League Pass subscribers, but the league provided polling figures that indicated 94% of viewers offered positive or neutral reviews of League Pass. The average viewing time for a game is about 65 minutes for a 90-minute game, according to Garber. In other words, the League Pass is well-liked — by the people who have it. The challenge now is to increase that audience. The launch of League Pass last year coincided with the arrival of Lionel Messi, which presumably resulted in a wave of subscriptions. But the league can't count on the appearance of the next Messi; there is only one of him. MLS pointed to how its fans watch sports on streaming devices or recorded television than any other U.S. sports league, as well as how 71% of its fans are under the age of 45. The league also pointed to how it effectively drew more viewers to the Apple broadcast of Inter Miami's postseason opener with a livestream of a "Messi Cam' on TikTok, indicating further collaborations with wide-reaching entities could be in its future. Garber mentioned how Season Pass is available in other countries. The commissioner also made note of how Apple places games every week in front of its paywall. "What we have, really, is a communication problem," Garber said. "This is new, and we've got to work with Apple, we've got to work with our clubs and we've got to work with our partners to get more exposure to what we think is a great product." The greatest benefit to the league could be Apple's vested interest in improving the on-field product. MLS insiders said Apple has not only encouraged teams to sign more high-profile players but also pushed the league to switch to a fall-to-spring calendar more commonplace in other parts of the world, reasoning that doing so would simplify the process of buying and selling players. The on-field product is what matters. The on-field product is why MLS continues to face competition for viewers from overseas leagues. The on-field product is why the league hasn't succeeded in converting every soccer fan into a MLS fan. And ultimately, if casual viewers such as myself are to pay to watch the Galaxy or LAFC on a screen of some kind, the on-field product will be why.NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Casey Simmons scored 18 points as Yale beat Vermont 65-50 on Saturday. Simmons had eight rebounds and three steals for the Bulldogs (5-5). Nick Townsend scored 13 points while shooting 4 for 10 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line and added six rebounds. Bez Mbeng had 11 points and went 4 of 11 from the field (2 for 5 from 3-point range). The Catamounts (5-6) were led by TJ Hurley, who recorded 21 points. Shamir Bogues added 12 points for Vermont. Ileri Ayo-Faleye finished with seven points and three blocks. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by and data from . The Associated PressMen’s basketball: CU Buffs sharing the wealth on offense

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4 Promising Cryptos for the New Year: Build a Portfolio That Stands Out in 2025CALGARY - A former Calgary police officer has been accused of using the force's database to strike up personal relationships with women he met during service calls and other police-related matters. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * CALGARY - A former Calgary police officer has been accused of using the force's database to strike up personal relationships with women he met during service calls and other police-related matters. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? CALGARY – A former Calgary police officer has been accused of using the force’s database to strike up personal relationships with women he met during service calls and other police-related matters. “I would say a bit of shock, strong disappointment as ... this is not behaviour that is consistent with the values of our service,” police Chief Mark Neufeld said Wednesday, when asked for his response to the charges. “You gotta be able to trust the police and, especially in your moment of need or vulnerability, if you can’t trust a police officer, we’re all in trouble.” The 16-year member of the service, who has since resigned, has been charged with one count of breach of trust and one count of misuse of a computer system. A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for the arrest of Brett Singer, 51. But police say it’s believed he’s no longer in the country. It’s alleged that between 2008 and 2023, the officer engaged in relationships with many women and used police databases to find and contact them outside of his policing duties. A16-month investigation began in July 2023. Katherine Murphy, executive director of the police service’s legal and regulatory services division, said four women came forward that summer and more later reported “similar inappropriate contact from this police officer.” Murphy commended the women for coming forward. “That takes a significant amount of courage. Because we recognize when our members respond to any call for service, they are in a position of power and authority over everyone they’re interacting with.” Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Singer was suspended with pay in January. His duty status was assessed as the investigation progressed. He was suspended without pay in September. Shortly after, he resigned, and it’s believed he left Canada. “We have information about where he may be. But because we don’t have independent confirmation of that, I don’t see any value in speculating on where he is,” said Neufeld. “The individual does have significant ties back to Canada and, if he returns to Canada, he will immediately be arrested.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2024. Advertisement Advertisement

HOUSTON (AP) — An elaborate parody appears to be behind an effort to resurrect Enron, the Houston-based energy company that exemplified the worst in American corporate fraud and greed after it went bankrupt in 2001. If its return is comedic, some former employees who lost everything in Enron’s collapse aren’t laughing. “It’s a pretty sick joke and it disparages the people that did work there. And why would you want to even bring it back up again?” said former Enron employee Diana Peters, who represented workers in the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. Here’s what to know about the history of Enron and the purported effort to bring it back. Once the nation’s seventh-largest company, Enron filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 2, 2001, after years of accounting tricks could no longer hide billions of dollars in debt or make failing ventures appear profitable. The energy company's collapse put more than 5,000 people out of work and wiped out more than $2 billion in employee pensions. Its aftershocks were felt throughout the energy sector. Twenty-four Enron executives , including former CEO Jeffrey Skilling , were convicted for their roles in the fraud. Enron founder Ken Lay’s convictions were vacated after he died of heart disease following his 2006 trial. On Monday — the 23rd anniversary of the bankruptcy filing — a company representing itself as Enron announced in a news release it was relaunching as a “company dedicated to solving the global energy crisis.” It also posted a video on social media, advertised on at least one Houston billboard and a took out a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle In the minute-long video full of generic corporate jargon, the company talks about “growth” and “rebirth.” It ends with the words, “We’re back. Can we talk?” In an email, company spokesperson Will Chabot said the new Enron was not doing any interviews yet, but "We’ll have more to share soon.” Signs point to the comeback being a joke. In the “terms of use and conditions of sale” on the company's website, it says “the information on the website about Enron is First Amendment protected parody, represents performance art, and is for entertainment purposes only.” Documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show College Company, an Arkansas-based LLC, owns the Enron trademark. The co-founder of College Company is Connor Gaydos, who helped create a joke conspiracy theory claiming all birds are actually government surveillance drones. Peters said she and some other former employees are upset and think the relaunch was “in poor taste.” “If it’s a joke, it’s rude, extremely rude. And I hope that they realize it and apologize to all of the Enron employees,” Peters said. Peters, 74, said she is still working in information technology because “I lost everything in Enron, and so my Social Security doesn’t always take care of things I need done.” “Enron’s downfall taught us critical lessons about corporate ethics, accountability, and the consequences of unchecked ambition. Enron’s legacy was the employees in the trenches. Leave Enron buried,” she said. But Sherron Watkins, Enron’s former vice president of corporate development and the main whistleblower who helped uncover the scandal, said she didn’t have a problem with the joke because comedy “usually helps us focus on an uncomfortable historical event that we’d rather ignore.” “I think we use prior scandals to try to teach new generations what can go wrong with big companies,” said Watkins, who still speaks at colleges and conferences about the Enron scandal. This story was corrected to fix the spelling of Ken Lay’s first name, which had been misspelled “Key.” Follow Juan A. Lozano on X at https://x.com/juanlozano70

Dylan Hernández: MLS deal with Apple TV could be hurting league's efforts to grow its fan baseThe JVP-led NPP government has failed to carry out its promise to import rice due to some flaws in the process of preparing tenders. It has asked for some more time to bring in the promised rice from India. Private traders have already imported 72,000 MT of rice. The state sector stands exposed for its inefficiency. Is it that the new government is not competent enough to carry out even a simple task like importing rice, which successive governments resorted to, as an ad hoc measure, to address the issue of escalating prices of rice, instead of taming the Millers’ Mafia? Why the incumbent administration has botched the process of tendering for rice imports defies comprehension. Has anyone scuttled the government’s import plan in support of the private sector importers, as alleged by the Opposition, and some consumer rights protection groups, which have called for a probe? It has been pointed out in Parliament that the government is taxing imported rice at the rate of Rs. 65 a kilo and boosting its revenue instead of making a serious effort to make rice available at affordable prices vis-à-vis market manipulations by the Millers’ Mafia. The Opposition has alleged that some powerful millers are also among the rice importers, and they are getting the best of both worlds. Close on the heels of the JVP-led NPP’s victory in the last presidential election, the owner of Araliya Rice, Dudley Sirisena, who is one of the wealthy millers blamed for manipulating rice/paddy markets and exploiting farmers and consumers alike, promised at a media briefing to ensure that there would be enough rice in the market at the then maximum retail prices stipulated by the Consumer Affairs Authority. The medium/small scale millers panicked and released all their rice stocks to the market, but the millers’ cartel did not do so and is now making the most of the artificially created rice scarcity to earn unconscionable profits. The government, in its wisdom, increased the maximum retail prices of rice by Rs. 10 and played into the hands of the rice hoarders. As a result, the price of nadu rice has increased from Rs. 230 much to the glee of the powerful millers! The price of this particular variety of rice, which is popular among a majority of Sri Lankans, was about Rs. 180 before the 21 September presidential election. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and other JVP/NPP stalwarts have gone on record as saying that the country has produced enough paddy, and the rice shortage is due to hoarding, but the government has baulked at taking on the hoarders and is trying band-aid remedies. The government has extended the deadline for rice imports until 10 Jan. 2025. The large-scale millers will ensure that more rice is imported before the commencement of the next harvesting period so that they can release some of their stocks, flood the rice market, bring down the prices of rice and exploit farmers by purchasing paddy at cheaper rates. Thereafter, they will hoard their paddy, causing the prices of rice to rise. They also leverage their influence derived from their financial prowess to delay bank loans for small/medium-scale millers so that the latter cannot begin purchasing paddy when harvesting commences. Previous governments did not care to put an end to the powerful millers’ sordid operations, and the people expected the incumbent administration to be different due to its rhetoric and numerous promises. That is why they voted overwhelmingly for it in last month’s general election, enabling it to secure a two-thirds majority in Parliament. But the millers’ cartel with political connections and huge slush funds, continues to call the shots. Have the people been taken for a ride again?

Is Enron back? If it's a joke, some former employees aren't laughing

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NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes rose to more records Wednesday after tech companies talked up how much of a boost they’re getting from the artificial-intelligence boom. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to add to what’s set to be one of its best years of the millennium. It’s the 56th time the index has hit an all-time high this year after climbing in 11 of the last 12 days . The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 308 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq composite added 1.3% to its own record. Salesforce helped pull the market higher after delivering stronger revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit fell just short. CEO Mark Benioff highlighted the company’s artificial-intelligence offering for customers, saying “the rise of autonomous AI agents is revolutionizing global labor, reshaping how industries operate and scale.” The stock price of the company, which helps businesses manage their customers, jumped 11%. Marvell Technology leaped even more after delivering better results than expected, up 23.2%. CEO Matt Murphy said the semiconductor supplier is seeing strong demand from AI and gave a forecast for profit in the upcoming quarter that topped analysts’ expectations. All the optimistic talk helped Nvidia , the company whose chips are powering much of the move into AI, rally 3.5%. It was the strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500 by far. They helped offset an 8.9% drop for Foot Locker, which reported profit and revenue that fell short of analysts’ expectations. CEO Mary Dillon said the company is taking a more cautious view, and it cut its forecasts for sales and profit this year. Dillon pointed to how keen customers are for discounts and how soft demand has been outside of Thanksgiving week and other key selling periods. Retailers overall have offered mixed signals about how resilient U.S. shoppers can remain. Their spending has been one of the main reasons the U.S. economy has avoided a recession that earlier seemed inevitable after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates to crush inflation. But shoppers are now contending with still-high prices and a slowing job market . This week’s highlight for Wall Street will be Friday’s jobs report from the U.S. government, which will show how many people employers hired and fired last month. A narrower report released Wednesday morning suggested employers in the private sector increased their payrolls by less last month than economists expected. Hiring in manufacturing was the weakest since the spring, according to Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. The report strengthened traders’ expectations that the Fed will cut its main interest rate again when it meets in two weeks. The Fed began easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high in September, hoping to offer more support for the job market. The central bank had appeared set to continue cutting rates into next year, but the election of Donald Trump has scrambled Wall Street’s expectations somewhat. Trump’s preference for higher tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation , which could alter the Fed’s plans . Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the central bank can afford to cut rates cautiously because inflation has slowed from its peak two years ago and the economy remains sturdy. A separate report on Wednesday said health care, finance and other businesses in the U.S. services sector are continuing to grow, but not by as much as before and not by as much as economists expected. One respondent from the construction industry told the survey from the Institute for Supply Management that the Fed’s rate cuts haven't pulled down mortgage rates as much as hoped. Plus, “the unknown effect of tariffs clouds the future.” In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.18% from 4.23% late Tuesday. On Wall Street, Campbell’s sank 6.2% for one of the S&P 500’s sharper losses despite increasing its dividend and reporting a stronger profit than analysts expected. Its revenue fell short of Wall Street’s expectations, and the National Football League’s Washington Commanders hired Campbell’s CEO Mark Clouse as its team president. Gains for airline stocks helped offset that drop after JetBlue Airways said it saw stronger bookings for travel in November and December following the presidential election. It also said it’s benefiting from lower fuel prices, as well as lower costs due to improved on-time performance. JetBlue jumped 8.3%, while Southwest Airlines climbed 3.5%. All told, the S&P 500 rose 36.61 points to 6,086.49. The Dow climbed 308.51 to 45,014.04, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 254.21 to 19,735.12. In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi sank 1.4% following a night full of drama in Seoul. President Yoon Suk Yeol was facing possible impeachment after he suddenly declared martial law on Tuesday night, prompting troops to surround the parliament. He revoked the martial law declaration six hours later. In the crypto market , bitcoin climbed near $99,000 after Trump said he would nominate Paul Atkins , a cryptocurrency advocate, to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission. AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.Dylan Hernández: MLS deal with Apple TV could be hurting league's efforts to grow its fan base