50 jili asia
50 jili asia
NEW YORK (AP) — Top-ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen is headed back to the World Blitz Championship on Monday after its governing body agreed to loosen a dress code that got him fined and denied a late-round game in another tournament for refusing to change out of jeans . Lamenting the contretemps, International Chess Federation President Arkady Dvorkovich said in a statement Sunday that he'd let World Blitz Championship tournament officials consider allowing “appropriate jeans” with a jacket, and other “elegant minor deviations” from the dress code. He said Carlsen's stand — which culminated in his quitting the tournament Friday — highlighted a need for more discussion “to ensure that our rules and their application reflect the evolving nature of chess as a global and accessible sport.” Carlsen, meanwhile, said in a video posted Sunday on social media that he would play — and wear jeans — in the World Blitz Championship when it begins Monday. “I think the situation was badly mishandled on their side,” the 34-year-old Norwegian grandmaster said. But he added that he loves playing blitz — a fast-paced form of chess — and wanted fans to be able to watch, and that he was encouraged by his discussions with the federation after Friday's showdown. “I think we sort of all want the same thing,” he suggested in the video on his Take Take Take chess app’s YouTube channel. “We want the players to be comfortable, sure, but also relatively presentable.” The events began when Carlsen wore jeans and a sportcoat Friday to the Rapid World Championship, which is separate from but held in conjunction with the blitz event. The chess federation said Friday that longstanding rules prohibit jeans at those tournaments, and players are lodged nearby to make sartorial switch-ups easy if needed. An official fined Carlsen $200 and asked him to change pants, but he refused and wasn't paired for a ninth-round game, the federation said at the time. The organization noted that another grandmaster, Ian Nepomniachtchi, was fined earlier in the day for wearing sports shoes, changed and continued to play. Carlsen has said that he offered to wear something else the next day, but officials were unyielding. He said “it became a bit of a matter of principle,” so he quit the rapid and blitz championships. In the video posted Sunday, he questioned whether he had indeed broken a rule and said changing clothes would have needlessly interrupted his concentration between games. He called the punishment “unbelievably harsh.” “Of course, I could have changed. Obviously, I didn’t want to,” he said, and “I stand by that.”( MENAFN - Asia Times) The United States, like all nations, was created through territorial conquest. Most of its current territory was occupied or frequented by human beings before the US came; the US used force to either displace, subjugate, or kill all of those people. To the extent that land“ownership” existed under the previous inhabitants, the land of the US is stolen land. This was also true before the US arrived. The forcible theft of the land upon which the US now exists was not the first such theft; the people who lived there before conquered, displaced, or killed someone else in order to take the land. The land has been stolen and re-stolen again and again. If you somehow destroyed the United States, expelled its current inhabitants, and gave ownership of the land to the last recorded tribe that had occupied it before, you would not be returning it to its original occupants; you would simply be handing it to the next-most-recent conquerors. If you go back far enough in time, of course, at some point this is no longer true. Humanity didn't always exist; therefore for every piece of land, there was a first human to lay eyes on it and a first human to say“This land is mine.” But by what right did this first human claim exclusive ownership of this land? Why does being the first person to see a natural object make you the rightful owner of that object? And why does being the first human to set foot on a piece of land give your blood descendants the right to dispose of that land as they see fit in perpetuity, and to exclude any and all others from that land? What about all the peoples of the world who were never lucky enough the first to lay eyes on any plot of dirt? Are they simply to be dispossessed forever? I have never seen a satisfactory answer to these questions. Nor have I seen a satisfactory explanation of why ownership of land should be allocated collectively, in terms of racial or ethnic groups. In general, the first people who arrived on a piece of land did so in dribs and drabs, in small family units and tiny micro-tribes that met and married and fought and mixed and formed into larger identities and ethnicities and tribes over long periods of time. In most cases, the ethnic groups who now claim pieces of land as their own did not even exist when the first humans discovered or settled that land. But even in those cases when it did exist, why should land ownership be assigned to a race at all? Why should my notional blood relation to the discoverers or the conquerors of a piece of land determine whether I can truly belong on that land? Why should a section of the map be the land of the Franks, or the Russkiy, or the Cherokee, or the Han, or the Ramaytush Ohlone, or the Britons? Of course, you can assign land ownership this way - it's called an“ethnostate.” But if you do this, it means that the descendants of immigrants can never truly be full and equal citizens of the land they were born in. If Britain is defined as the land of the Britons, then a Han person whose great-great-great-grandparents moved there from China will exist as a contingent citizen - a perpetual foreigner whose continued life in the land of their birth exists only upon the sufferance of a different race. This is the price of ethnonationalism. The downsides of ethnonationalism have been exhaustively laid out in the decades since World War 2, and I'm not going to reiterate them all now. Suffice it to say that most nations of the world have moved away from ethnonationalism - there is an informal sense in which some people still think of France as the land of the Franks and so on, but almost all nations define citizenship and belonging through institutions rather than race. Israel, one of the few exceptions to this rule, receives a large amount of international criticism for defining itself as an ethnostate. And yet these days I am subjected to a constant stream of ethnonationalist claims from progressives in the country of my birth. Here's one from the ACLU of Nebraska: And here's an Instagram post from Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib: This isn't just something you see on social media around Thanksgiving.“Land acknowledgments” have become ubiquitous in progressive spaces and institutions - just the other day I saw one at my friend's community dance recital. These land acknowledgments are, legally speaking, incorrect - there is no legal sense in which the land on which they are being performed belongs to a Native American tribe. These are moral claims about rightful land ownership. But the moral principle to which they appeal is ethnonationalism - it's the idea that plots of land are the rightful property of ethnic groups. There is an obvious moral appeal to these land acknowledgments. They are a way of decrying the brutal, cruel, violent history of conquest and colonization. And they probably feel like a way of standing up for the weak, the marginalized, and the dispossessed. Yet what should we think of the morality of following the principles behind land acknowledgments to their logical conclusion?“Decolonization” of the land of the U.S. would likely be an act of ethnic cleansing surpassing even the previous conquests - there are 330 million people here now, and almost none of them descend from Native Americans. An attempt to dispossess 330 million people would inevitably involve violence on a colossal scale. Here was Najma Sharif Alawi's famous tweet right after the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel: Of course,“colonizers” could presumably avoid violent death or second-class citizenhood by voluntarily deporting themselves. But where would they go? Take me, for example. My ancestors were Lithuanian Jews. I could leave the country of my birth and go“back” to Lithuania - a land I don't know, whose language I don't speak. Yet my ancestors were not“indigenous” to Lithuania either; they moved there from somewhere else. What if the ethnic Lithuanians chose not to accept me? Where would I go then? Israel? But the folks who do land acknowledgments would consider me a“colonizer” there as well.1 Would I then wander the Earth, desperately seeking some ethnostate that would allow me and my descendants to live there as a permanently precarious resident aliens? Once the logic of land acknowledgments and“decolonization” is followed, it leads very quickly to some very dark futures. Assigning each person a homeland based on their ethnic ancestry and then declaring that that homeland is the only place they or their descendants can ever truly belong, would not be an act of justice; it would be a global nightmare made real, surpassing even the horrors of previous centuries. And in practice, any attempt to create such a world would inevitably lead to violent resistance by the groups in danger of being“decolonized.” The orderly world of nation-states would dissolve into a chaotic free-for-all of competing irredentist claims, backed by genocides and expulsions. Ten thousand October 7th-style attacks would be followed by ten thousand Gaza-style wars. I do not want that, and you should not want it either. The American people certainly don't want it, and the insistence of progressives on intoning land acknowledgments has probably tanked the movement's cachet in wider society. I agree with Wayne Burkett when he says that land acknowledgments have probably hurt the Democratic party: Americans do not want to see their country destroyed in the name of irredentist ethnonationalism. Nor do I blame them. So does this mean we should paper over, ignore, or deliberately forget America's history of violent conquest? Absolutely not. That history ought to be remembered, so that we don't repeat it in the present day. The world's evolution from one based on ethnic cleansing and territorial conquest to one based on fixed borders and institutions is something to celebrate - and something we must fight to preserve . We need to remember what the world used to be like, precisely so we can avoid backsliding. The most recent of conquests, expulsions, and genocides should be the last to ever happen. And what of the Native Americans who still live in America today? Must they simply be regarded as the unlucky losers of history, and told to either assimilate into broader American society or shut up? Absolutely not. For one thing, tribal organizations still exist - they may notionally represent ethnic groups, but they are institutions. And they are institutions with which the United States has many agreements and legal obligations that must be honored, which often give the tribes sovereignty over areas of land. Neil Gorsuch has been especially active in pushing the Supreme Court to uphold tribal rights, and I think this is a good thing. But respect for Native American tribal organizations doesn't have to stop at ancient obligations. There are ways to incorporate those tribes into the modern American nation that both respects them and their history and helps them prosper in the present. Vancouver, Canada shows us an example of how this can be done. Part of Vancouver's downtown urban area is officially under the governance of the Squamish Nation, rather than the city itself. The Squamish Nation, realizing they could do whatever they wanted with that land, decided to build a giant high-rise housing development : Here's a picture of what it will look like: An even bigger development called Jericho Lands is now being planned, by a consortium of tribal organizations, on land officially owned by Vancouver. Hilariously, Vancouver's NIMBYs are complaining , claiming that the developments are not in keeping with Indigenous tradition . But Canada's First Nations seem to have little interest in hewing closely to other people's view of what their traditions are. Modern people do not want to live like premodern farmers. They are not mystical Tolkien elves. They would like to have shiny new apartment buildings and walkable neighborhoods. This, I believe, is the key to respecting and honoring Native Americans - not to focus on the tragedies of their past, but to give them the right to build a better future. Tribal lands should definitely have the autonomy to do whatever they want with their lands, including building housing or industry. In fact, we're starting to see a pattern emerge where Native Americans embrace laissez-faire policies toward industry and manage to poach business from their over-regulated neighbors: This sort of thing could lead to a win-win for the US and Native American tribes. American reindustrialization is being held back by a thicket of procedural requirements and local land-use regulations; if tribes were able to use their special legal status to circumvent those barriers, it could end up benefitting everyone.2 The tribes would get both jobs and the ability to tax local industry; America would get to execute an end run around the NIMBYs that are holding it back. In fact, it's probably possible for various American cities to turn over parts of their land to tribal jurisdiction, with the assistance of the federal government. This would probably result in dense urban developments like the ones being planned in Vancouver. But even if it didn't, it could have other commercial benefits - again, a win-win for the US and for the tribes. That would certainly be a lot more substantive than a bunch of land acknowledgments. And it would likely satisfy many people's desire for“giving land back” to Native Americans, without embracing dubious moral principles of ethnic land rights and irredentism. In other words, you're not living on Indigenous land right now, but you could be in the future - and it might be pretty great. The general principle here is that instead of a dark world of ethnic cleansing in the name of“decolonization”, we should try to build a bright future where Native Americans and the United States of America exist in harmony and cooperation rather than in conflict. And that principle doesn't just apply to America, but to the whole world. The history of land ownership is a violent and terrible one, but that doesn't mean the future has to be more of the same. Notes: 1 It is a bitter irony that many of the same people who morally condemn Israel for setting itself up as an ethnostate also justify its destruction using ethnonationalist principles. Personally, I tend to agree with the criticism of Israel's ethnocentrism, but I don't think replacing this with Palestinian ethnocentrism would make things better. 2 There's a lot of historical precedent for this. For example, in the 1960s, Fairchild Semiconductor opened a factory on Navajo land in New Mexico, which was quite beneficial to the economy until an industry downturn and a labor dispute led to its demise in the late 70s. This article was first published on Noah Smith's Noahpinion Substack and is republished with kind permission. Become a Noahopinion subscriber here. Thank you for registering! An account was already registered with this email. Please check your inbox for an authentication link. MENAFN30112024000159011032ID1108942157 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. 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WASHINGTON (AP) — A machinists strike. Another safety problem involving its troubled top-selling airliner. A plunging stock price. 2024 was already a dispiriting year for Boeing, the American aviation giant. But when one of the company’s jets on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, it brought to a close an especially unfortunate year for Boeing. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and aviation experts were quick to distinguish Sunday’s incident from the company’s earlier safety problems. Alan Price, a former chief pilot at Delta Air Lines who is now a consultant, said it would be inappropriate to link the incident Sunday to two fatal crashes involving Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jetliner in 2018 and 2019. In January this year, a door plug blew off a 737 Max while it was in flight, raising more questions about the plane. The Boeing 737-800 that crash-landed in Korea, Price noted, is “a very proven airplane. “It’s different from the Max ...It’s a very safe airplane.’’ For decades, Boeing has maintained a role as one of the giants of American manufacturing. But the the past year’s repeated troubles have been damaging. The company’s stock price is down more than 30% in 2024. The company’s reputation for safety was especially tarnished by the 737 Max crashes, which occurred off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019 and left a combined 346 people dead. In the five years since then, Boeing has lost more than $23 billion. And it has fallen behind its European rival, Airbus, in selling and delivering new planes. Last fall, 33,000 Boeing machinists went on strike, crippling the production of the 737 Max, the company’s bestseller, the 777 airliner and 767 cargo plane. The walkout lasted seven weeks, until members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers agreed to an offer that included 38% pay raises over four years. In January, a door plug blew off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight. Federal regulators responded by imposing limits on Boeing aircraft production that they said would remain in place until they felt confident about manufacturing safety at the company. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration regulators who approved the 737 Max. Acting on Boeing’s incomplete disclosures, the FAA approved minimal, computer-based training instead of more intensive training in flight simulators. Simulator training would have increased the cost for airlines to operate the Max and might have pushed some to buy planes from Airbus instead. (Prosecutors said they lacked evidence to argue that Boeing’s deception had played a role in the crashes.) But the plea deal was rejected this month by a , who decided that diversity, inclusion and equity or in the government and at Boeing could result in race being a factor in choosing an official to oversee Boeing’s compliance with the agreement. Boeing has sought to change its culture. Under intense pressure over safety issues, David Calhoun departed as CEO in August. Since January, 70,000 Boeing employees have participated in meetings to discuss ways to improve safety. Paul Wiseman, The Associated PressA deep-storage battery being trialled in Kununurra in the Kimberley region of Western Australia could solve the clean energy challenge for some of the nation's most remote communities. Login or signup to continue reading As well as being a challenging environment to live or work in, hot and humid Kununurra is not connected to the state or national electricity grid. "A lot of our communities are remote and do struggle with the cost of living and we don't want them to miss out on the energy transition," Horizon Power's executive general manager for business development and strategy Vi Garrood told AAP. "And we don't want to compromise on safety - that's why small-scale trials are really important," she said. the vanadium flow battery won't power cars, laptops or fit into a mobile phone, but it can store energy for 10-12 hours and help homes and worksites to displace diesel and gas with clean, safe and reliable power. As the state's regional power provider, Horizon is using the trial to learn how to provide safe, affordable, reliable off-grid power during extreme temperatures and major weather events. "It's one of the technologies we need to get us to net zero and running on 100 per cent renewables for periods of time," Ms Garrood said. After stress-testing the technology in Kununurra, it could be rolled out across Horizon's microgrids and other systems. "Each battery design is examined on the basis of what application we need it for - so what is the problem it's solving," she said. With a 78-kilowatt capacity and 220 kilowatt hours of storage, WA Energy Minister Reece Whitby says the vanadium battery is well suited to Kimberley conditions, where energy storage must cope with extreme temperatures and deliver energy over a long period of time. "Here in Kununurra, where it was 44 degrees the other day, you need a battery that's tough ... and these, we hope, will do the job very well," Mr Whitby said. "We know that the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow so batteries are the answer in terms of capturing that energy when it's available and dispatching it when it's really needed. "The eyes of the energy world are looking at Kununurra to see how this goes." Horizon is also trialling Redflow's zinc bromine flow battery (100 kW/400 kWh) on Nullagine's microgrid and BASF's sodium sulphur battery (250 kW/1450 kWh) at Carnarvon. The various technologies can shift rooftop solar electricity produced in the middle of the day to evening hours and operate alongside existing lithium-ion batteries in Horizon's network, to provide longer-duration storage. Most of Horizon's systems are microgrids, for remote communities and mining operations, and involve generation, network and retail components all within the particular community they are supporting. Ms Garrood said deep-storage batteries can cover periods of "renewable drought" when there is minimal generation, including for night-time loads. "Long-duration energy storage is important for us because it's predicted to be cost-effective when compared to lithium-ion batteries," she said. "It could open the door to taking our small, microgrid communities to 100 per cent renewable energy - that's the plan." "Our best chance of success at decarbonisation is to throw everything at it, and deep storage is one of many solutions in our toolkit," she said. As the technology is based around a tank of liquid electrolytes, they are less likely to catch fire. They can be scaled up and save space by adding more tanks rather than shipping in container-sized lithium batteries. It's also very important to have local support and gain experience when trialling new technology, especially for systems that are in remote locations and typically automated, Ms Garrood said. The technology supplied by VSUN Energy, an offshoot of mining company Australian Vanadium Ltd (AVL), can charge and discharge energy at the same time and the units have a life span of more than 25 years. With most of the world's vanadium supply coming from Russia, China, and South Africa, AVL intends to provide an ethical supply of vanadium to battery, steel and metals markets. Their electrolyte manufacturing facility in WA is part of a "pit to battery" strategy that could support the rollout of vanadium flow batteries in Australia, according to chief executive Graham Arvidson. While it's a first for Horizon, the 40-year-old technology was invented in Australia at the University of NSW and has been grid-connected for 20 years in other countries. "It's really coming into its own with the energy transition because we're looking at long-duration batteries to enable renewable energy like solar to be shifted from day to evening," Mr Arvidson. "Now that this battery is commissioned, we're looking forward to a true test of what it can do for communities like Kununurra," he said. Australian Associated Press DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. 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If you value our coverage and want to support more of it, please join us as a member . What do we celebrate on Hanukkah? After quickly mentioning the miraculous jar of temple oil that burned for eight days, many sources will tell you it’s about the unlikely triumph of the Maccabees, who fought for Jewish religious freedom in the face of persecution by the Assyrians (Syrian Greeks) who then ruled the land of Judah. At the center of the holiday is the menorah, an eight-branched candelabra we light each night, adding one candle per day, until on the eighth and final night it’s ablaze in its full glory. But if you take a look at a collection of old-fashioned Italian and German menorahs, you’ll find a different figure again and again who goes unmentioned in the standard story: a lone woman, triumphantly raising a knife. This is Judith, a much earlier heroine, and the OG Jewish badass lady who was once commonly celebrated at Hanukkah time alongside the Maccabees. Her spear once shone in the candlelight, reflecting these menorahs’ intricate metalwork and illuminating another chapter in Jewish history — lost in the overlapping shadows of modern-day misogyny, assimilation, and Zionism. Her story, told in hundreds of permutations through the centuries, goes something like this: Judith is a young wealthy widow in the town of Bethulia during the time of the Maccabees when she takes it upon herself to save her people from the Assyrian army. She sheds her traditionally ragged and drab mourning clothes, dresses up in her finest fabrics and jewels, and creeps into the enemy’s camp with a sack of salty cheese and wine. Get the latest art news, reviews and opinions from Hyperallergic. Daily Weekly Opportunities Once in the center of camp, she slips into the tent of their general, Holofernes. Seemingly praising his military might, she offers him her delicious snacks — and perhaps a little more. Holofernes quickly gobbles up the cheese, failing to realize that its saltiness is making him thirstier than usual, leading him to drink quite a bit of wine. When he falls into a drunken sleep, Judith grabs his sword and slices off his head. She and her maidservant stuff his head into their sack, and the next morning they raise it on a spike for all to see. The Assyrian army bursts into chaos and fear, and soon they retreat. The siege on Bethulia is lifted, and, effectively, her people are saved. The Book of Judith is not in the Hebrew Bible — like the Books of Maccabees, it was incorporated into the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christian bibles and is included in the “Apocrypha” section of some Protestant bibles. Yet, sometime in the Middle Ages, Judith became a major Hanukkah heroine. Eventually, it wasn’t Judah the Maccabee but Judith who appeared in the center of menorahs , flanked by lions and mermaids, dressed in fine gowns, and always holding her signature dagger. And by the 16th century, some rabbis suggested snacking on cheese to honor her bravery, commemorating the salty tidbits that once felled Holofernes. Italianate Jews took to the task at hand with their usual culinary brilliance, combining the miracle of the oil with Judith’s tale by concocting delectable fried ricotta pancakes . Judith was especially popular in Italy — and not just among Jews. Depicted by dozens of Italian artists, she represented the triumph of an oppressed people over their oppressors. Some Italians saw parallels between the occupying Assyrian forces and the Medici oligarchy in Florence. So it’s little surprise that Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the few prominent women Baroque artists, drew inspiration from the story to depict herself murdering her rapist , painter Agostino Tassi. Perhaps the fascination that both Jewish and Gentile Jews had with Judith was another factor behind there being so many Italianate Menorahs featuring her form; often, non-Jewish craftspeople were actually creating ritual objects during that era, so they may have divulged in their shared love here in the form of these candelabras. Many sages compared Judith’s heroism with that of Esther, the legendary Persian Jewish queen who risked her life to save her people, and who is celebrated in the Book of Esther and on the holiday of Purim. Unlike the Maccabees, whose campaign against the Assyrians also included massacring scores of fellow Jews and other countrymen along the way, Judith achieved victory with no collateral damage. She went straight to the top — literally — and took care of business. So, why did we stop celebrating her? Especially when delicious fried ricotta pancakes were involved? Some have pointed to pure assimilation as the reason for her disappearance, as Jews began to change Hanukkah festivities to include gift giving in an attempt to emulate European and American Christmas. While that was certainly a factor, Hanukkah wasn’t a major holiday until the advent of late-19th century political Zionism. And under the leadership of figures like Max Nordau and Theodore Herzl, Zionist organizations were made up of Jews who had already attempted to assimilate in order to avoid antisemitic attacks for generations. This resulted in Nordau’s fantasy of “ Muscular Judaism :” a buff, manly “ new Jew ,” who took his fate into his own hands. Rather than fighting hatred through organized labor , this Jewish Übermensch would defy stereotypes of the “effeminate” and “weak” Ashkenazi Jew by breeding it out of himself. Especially after the Holocaust, former Haaretz writer Mira Shakin explained , “Zionism looked high and low for episodes from Jewish history that would be appropriate for the image of the ‘new Jew’ who takes his fate in his hands, in order to erase from the collective memory the ostensibly flaccid character of the Diaspora Jew with the shtetl aura, who ‘went like sheep to the slaughter.’” They found the perfect role models in the macho Maccabees. Today, soldiers in the Israeli military are commonly viewed as carrying on the Maccabees’ legacy. In enshrining the Maccabees as the sole heroes of Hanukkah, the largely secular early Zionists did not heed the warnings of the ancient sages who authored the Talmud. These rabbis refuted the violence of the Maccabees, from how they forced circumcisions on their neighbors to their ushering in the despotic Hasmonean dynasty. They saw that this violence led to nothing but more hardship. Or, as Rabbi Mike Rothbaum writes , “Born in violence, it became addicted to violence.” Instead of the Maccabees’ warfare, the rabbis recorded how when rededicating a desecrated temple, a tiny portion of oil that was only enough for one night miraculously lasted for eight. This is the reason for the menorah today. During the Shabbat service that falls during the holiday, we read from the Book of Zechariah, which says that God would bless the world, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit.” Perhaps the ancient rabbis could foresee the crimes wrought by the Israeli state’s army today, which tragically includes rampant misogyny and sexual violence — not only against Palestinians in countless horrifying events, but, to a remarkable degree , even against female soldiers themselves . They knew not only was this violence against God’s commandments, but that it would do nothing to make Jews safer. No wonder that a strong woman like Judith has been largely forgotten. Judith’s story shows that for those of us Jews who protest against Israel’s crimes, our spirit of revolution is already written into our tradition. It’s well past time that we remember Judith’s story, and start crafting new menorahs with her visage once again. We hope you enjoyed this article! Before you keep reading, please consider supporting Hyperallergic ’s journalism during a time when independent, critical reporting is increasingly scarce. Unlike many in the art world, we are not beholden to large corporations or billionaires. Our journalism is funded by readers like you , ensuring integrity and independence in our coverage. We strive to offer trustworthy perspectives on everything from art history to contemporary art. We spotlight artist-led social movements, uncover overlooked stories, and challenge established norms to make art more inclusive and accessible. With your support, we can continue to provide global coverage without the elitism often found in art journalism. If you can, please join us as a member today . Millions rely on Hyperallergic for free, reliable information. By becoming a member, you help keep our journalism free, independent, and accessible to all. Thank you for reading. Share Copied to clipboard Mail Bluesky Threads LinkedIn Facebook
About 12,000 supporters of ex- Ooni of Ife queen, Prophetess Naomi Ogunwusi, have demanded justice for her, saying her arrest, arraignment and remand in a custodial facility was unfair. Naomi is the estranged wife of Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi. She was arrested alongside the Chief Executive Officer of Agidigbo FM, Oriyomi Hamzat, after a stampede at a funfair the duo organised in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The prophetess, Hamzat, and the Principal of Islamic High School, Ibadan, where the event was held, Fasasi Abdullahi, are currently remanded at the Agodi Custodial Centre by Chief Magistrate Olabisi Ogunkanmi of Magistrate’s Court 1, Iyaganku, Ibadan. The defendants were arraigned on four counts bordering on conspiracy, causing death by negligence, endangering public safety, and failing to provide adequate security and medical facilities at the event. Naomi, Hamzat, and Abdullahi pleaded not guilty to the charges. According to a report, the programme, which was meant to offer succour to residents, turned into tragic, thereby claiming the lives of 35 children on December 18, 2024. The ex-queen had planned to host 5,000 children, aged 0-13, across Ibadan for free under the aegis of the Women in Need of Guidance and Support Foundation with the funfair. The programme was scheduled to start at 10 am, while police were expected to be at the venue by 8 am. Reports indicated that the event was initially planned for 5,000 children, but over 7,500 children showed up. Reports that filtered out indicated that the stampede occurred as children and their parents attempted to break through the main gate and scale the school fence to enter the venue at all costs. Naomi and Hamzat have been in custody since the incident turned disastrous. However, the ex-queen’s supporters continue to call for her release, arguing that she was carrying out a charitable programme to bring smiles to the faces of underprivileged children. Thousands of Naomi’s supporters signed an online petition to demand fairness in the judicial process concerning her matter. The petition, had so far gathered 12,000 signatures as at weekend. The originator of the petition, Yetunde Ola, stated that Naomi’s actions were driven by an earnest intention to alleviate the suffering of hungry children, but she found herself “unfairly entangled in a web of legal accusations that were both disheartening and misplaced.” “We, the supporters of Queen Naomi, are seeking justice. It is paramount that her court cases are addressed with utmost impartiality and integrity. We must hold our judicial systems accountable for their actions and ensure that they remain transparent, fair, and unbiased in their proceedings. “Our plea is, thus, simple: Give Queen Silekunola Naomi a fair trial, unaffected by bias and calumny. We present this petition to highlight the necessity for a just legal process that respects the evidence and operates in compliance with the principles of justice. “We reinforce our commitment to stand by Queen Naomi, championing justice, fairness, and truth,” she said. This was as her mother, Funmilayo Ogunseyi, called on President Bola Tinubu and well-meaning Nigerians to intervene in her daughter’s legal troubles. In an emotional video that has gone viral, Ogunseyi claimed that her daughter’s predicament was orchestrated by “powerful persons.” “They say her ordeal is an ‘order from above.’ Please, I beg those in power to release her. She is not a killer; she came to help. Naomi is fragile and sick. President Tinubu, I beg you, come to our aid,” she implored. But countering, the Oyo State Government has said there was no reason to persecute the prophetess. The state Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, said those spreading such insinuations would be unfair if they expected the government to interfere with the judicial process. He also denied that the government knew about the programme. He said: “It is a laughable insinuation. What is the motive for victimising the lady? We barely know her name. The government does not know anything about her apart from the normal stuff on social media. We have no relationship with her in any manner. There is no altar of political conflict or anything that looks like it between the Oyo State Government and the woman. “The government did not officially know anything about her enterprise, what she does, or what she planned to do in Oyo State. We were not formally notified because there is no documentation to show that the government was given notification of what she wanted to do through the normal time-tested processes. So, she remained an unknown quantity and faceless to this administration. “Are they asking us to meddle with the judiciary? A case was taken to court. Even a government official, the principal of a secondary school, was equally arraigned and detained because 35 of our children died. “And there are no draconian issues extraneous to a normal course of justice on the ground. “So, we will advise, therefore, that those who are engaged in such meddlesomeness allow the course of justice to prevail. That is the beauty of democracy. No matter whose ox is gored, for democracy to survive and thrive, justice must take its course.” However, a video of a meeting between the Oyo State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Toyin Balogun, and Naomi has surfaced online. The meeting was held a day before the programme. In the video, Balogun is seen and heard asking the ex-queen about the programme. After Naomi explained, the commissioner promised to attend the event. Balogun said, “It is a fantastic intervention, I must say. It’s laudable to have an aspiration to put smiles on the faces of children, particularly the ones I call the special children. You are probably going to have to do this again next year; you are probably going to have to come back. “On behalf of the Oyo State Government, on behalf of the Ministry of Women Affairs, we will be looking forward to doing something collaborative for both the women and the children in Ibadan, going forward. It is a laudable venture, one we are proud of and happy to be part of.”
A defiant Conor McGregor has repeated his vow to appeal against a jury's decision to award a hair colourist €250,000 in damages for sexual assault, describing the civil case against him as "absolute nonsense". The controversial UFC star walked out of the High Court on Friday evening after a jury's decision to award Nikita Hand €248,603 in damages. Ms Hand, who had alleged that McGregor raped her in the penthouse suite of the Beacon Hotel in Dublin in December 2018, afterwards claimed that "justice had been served". However, in a social media post yesterday, McGregor insisted that he would be appealing the decision. He wrote on X: "We are not done yet, not by a long shot. No chance. On we fight." He described the case against him as "absolute nonsense", while also claiming that the reporting of the case was an "absolute laughing stock to everyone present." In an emotional statement outside the court following a two week civil trial, Nikita Hand said hoped the decision of the court would give other victims of sexual assault the courage to speak up. She said: "To all the victims of sexual assault. I hope my story is a reminder that no matter how afraid you might be, speak up. You have a voice and keep on fighting for justice." For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage . Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice .NW_FG Akers 21, 9:31. ILL_Laughery 30 run (Olano kick), 8:12. NW_D.Turner 13 interception return (Akers kick), 2:14. ILL_Altmyer 1 run (Olano kick), 13:21. ILL_Laughery 64 run (Olano kick), 14:15. ILL_Altmyer 43 run (Olano kick), 10:08. NW_FG Akers 34, 5:35. NW_Henning 11 pass from Lausch (Akers kick), 1:34. ILL_Laughery 31 run (Olano kick), 12:15. ILL_FG Olano 24, 11:06. NW_Gordon 15 pass from Lausch (Lang pass from Lausch), 1:00. RUSHING_Illinois, Laughery 12-172, McCray 11-46, Altmyer 4-20, Valentine 7-16, Anderson 1-4, (Team) 2-(minus 3). Northwestern, Porter 12-53, Komolafe 8-32, Lausch 5-22, Himon 3-21, Boe 1-0. PASSING_Illinois, Altmyer 9-16-2-127. Northwestern, Lausch 26-50-2-293, Boe 3-11-1-33. RECEIVING_Illinois, Franklin 3-54, P.Bryant 3-27, Dixon 1-38, McCray 1-5, Arkin 1-3. Northwestern, Henning 10-119, Gordon 7-54, C.Johnson 3-38, Eligon 2-35, Kirtz 2-25, Wagner 2-24, Porter 1-25, Himon 1-4, Arthurs 1-2. MISSED FIELD GOALS_Northwestern, Akers 44.Hundreds of companies pay dividends. Many currently offer higher yields, making them attractive for those seeking passive income. With so many options, it's easy to miss some appealing opportunities. MPLX ( MPLX 2.55% ) and Omega Healthcare Investors ( OHI -0.07% ) are two high-yielding dividend stocks many investors have overlooked. Here's why investors won't want to miss these excellent passive income producers. High yield and high growth MPLX doesn't get a lot of attention from investors. It's not as popular as fellow master limited partnerships (MLPs) , Energy Transfer ( ET 0.53% ) and Enterprise Products Partners ( EPD 1.45% ) . However, it stacks up well compared to those high-yielding rivals: MLP Distribution Yield Distribution Coverage Ratio Leverage Ratio Energy Transfer 6.7% 2.0x 4.0x-4.5x Enterprise Products Partners 6.4% 1.7x 3.0x MPLX 7.8% 1.5x 3.4x Data source: MPLX, Energy Transfer, and Enterprise Products Partners. MLP = master limited partnership. As the table shows, MPLX has a much higher yield. That's because it has a lower distribution coverage ratio, largely due to its rapid growth in recent years. It recently increased its distribution by 12.5%, which followed 10% increases in 2023 and 2022. That compares to 5% distribution growth from Enterprise Products Partners over the past year and a 3%-5% annual growth target range from Energy Transfer. MLPX has plenty more growth coming down the pipeline . The company expects to complete its BANGL pipeline expansion next year, while the Blackcomb and Rio Bravo pipelines should enter service in the second half of 2026. The MLP also has a couple more natural gas processing plants under construction that should enter commercial service over the next two years. In addition to that visible growth, MPLX has ample financial capacity to continue making accretive acquisitions. It has made two deals this year, including boosting its stake in BANGL. These growth drivers should give it the fuel to continue increasing its high-yielding distribution at a healthy clip. That makes it a great option for those comfortable with investing in MLPs that send their investors a Schedule K-1 federal tax form each year. This high yield is growing healthier Omega Healthcare Investors has quietly been a very enriching investment over the years . The healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT) pays a 6.7%-yieldin g dividend, which is a lot higher than the average REIT (around 4%). While its dividend growth has stalled in recent years (it hasn't increased the payout since 2019), it has delivered 7.1% compound annual dividend growth overall since it came public in 2003. The REIT invests in income-generating skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in the U.S. and U.K. It leases these facilities back to healthcare companies under long-term triple net (NNN) agreements. It will also invest in real estate loans backed by skilled nursing and senior housing properties. Those investments generate very stable rental and interest income for the REIT to support its high-yielding dividend. Omega Healthcare routinely invests money in additional healthcare properties. For example, it completed $440 million of new investments in the third quarter, including $390 million in real estate acquisitions and $50 million in real estate loans. Its new investments help grow its cash flow, supporting the REIT's high-yielding dividend. The company currently has a rather high dividend payout ratio (95%), which has prevented it from increasing its dividend. However, with its cash flow per share rising, its dividend is getting even healthier. If it can continue growing its cash flow, it should eventually be able to start increasing its dividend again. Enticing options for income-seeking investors MPLX and Omega Healthcare Investors have hefty dividend yields these days. Because of that, they're worth a closer look for those seeking to generate passive income. They could enable investors to collect more income than they would from similar investments.
Christmas market opens for 2024 holiday season at Lansdowne ParkWoodland Farm Brewery celebrates 9 years of brewing in Marcy
Trump gave Interior nominee one directive for a half-billion acres of US land: ‘Drill.’Nov 23 - This was originally published in the Reuters On the Money newsletter, where we share U.S. personal-finance tips and insights every other week. Sign up here to receive it for free. Inflation-weary Americans should see the cost of a classic Thanksgiving dinner gobble less of their paychecks this year. That is because we are buying less of the meal's centerpiece dish, turkey. The price tag of the traditional holiday meal, which also includes cranberries, sweet potatoes and stuffing, dropped for a second consecutive year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual survey released on Wednesday. The average cost for a 10-person meal came to $58.08, down from $61.17 last year and a record $64.05 in 2022, Farm Bureau data shows. That’s the good news. The bad news is the overall cost of hosting Thanksgiving is up, thanks to inflation . The typical host will shell out $431 on food, drinks and decor, a 19% increase from last year, according to a survey from Lending Tree , opens new tab . What is on your Thanksgiving menu? Where are you seeing the biggest changes in food, drink and decor prices? Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com. All three of our kids are coming home to New York for Thanksgiving this year – and they are traveling by train as well as by plane. They will be in good company: About 1.7 million more people will travel this year from Tuesday, Nov. 26 to Monday, Dec. 2, compared to a similar period in 2023, travel group AAA says. Americans are expected to set a new record for Thanksgiving travel, with nearly 80 million expected to hit the roads, catch flights and board cruises over the holiday period. Betting on increased demand from Thanksgiving travelers, Uber launched "XXL" rides with extra trunk space this week. The ride-hailing company is trying to overcome a slowdown in its mainstay app-based taxi business. Bitcoin marches towards $100,000 on optimism over Trump crypto plans How to stop a late-in-life divorce from ruining your retirement , opens new tab (NYT) Why it’s so hard to find a safe-deposit box , opens new tab (WSJ) Fed to lower rates in Dec but slow pace in 2025 on inflation risks: poll PIMCO bullish on stocks on US soft-landing hopes, cautious on inflation How to become a digital nomad , opens new tab (Washington Post) Weight-loss drug coverage rises among largest US employers, Mercer survey finds Like what you're reading? Subscribe to On the Money here. SHOP UNTIL YOU DROP? My inbox is bursting with holiday shopping deals. But it looks like it is going to take more than a few emails and app alerts to nudge shoppers like me to open our wallets. Overall holiday shopping is expected to grow at the slowest pace in six years , with mobile spending accounting for 53% of online holiday sales. To lure consumers, companies such as Target are cutting prices on thousands of essential and gift items ahead of the holiday season. But inflation is still a big hurdle. (Do you see a theme to this week’s newsletter?!?) Deloitte’s 2024 holiday retail survey found 70% of consumers expect to face higher prices this year, so they're being especially frugal . I’ve been eyeing some holiday items, but I’m also parking them in my online shopping cart, just in case better deals emerge. Do you have any tricks to share on ways to save? And, out of curiosity, how much do you plan to spend on holiday gifts? Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com. The ins and outs of Medicare are always tricky. Medicare Advantage plan marketers are trying to capitalize on changes that take effect next year in Medicare’s Part D prescription-drug coverage. If signed up for traditional Medicare with a standalone Part D plan, you may find your premium jumping or see changes in deductibles or cost-sharing arrangements. That means it is important to re-check your coverage this autumn if you are in a standalone plan. The same is true if you have a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage wrapped in with no extra premium – the terms of that drug coverage may be changing, too. Here is what you need to know now . Are you wondering if you should lease or buy a new car? Are you wondering how to save for college? Send your money questions to onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com and I'll tap my extensive source network and braintrust for expert advice. Don’t forget to subscribe to this newsletter ! Even better, share it with a friend! Sign up here. Reporting by Lauren Young; Editing by Rod Nickel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Thomson Reuters From retirement to real estate, Lauren Young covers wealth and workplace topics at Reuters, where she is the editor of digital special projects and writes the On the Money newsletter. In 2020, she was recognized as a Reuters Journalist of the Year for a social media series on race in America.Previously, Young covered personal finance at BusinessWeek, SmartMoney Magazine and the Dow Jones Newswires. Young co-founded the 29 Post at Brooklyn’s P.S. 29 elementary school. She serves on the board of the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, where is she is the immediate past president.She holds a BA in English from Penn State and an MSJ from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
Police are appealing for any witnesses, CCTV and dash camera footage which may assist their investigation A teenager has died after falling from a vehicle. Merseyside Police were called to the junction of Hoole Road and Grass Wood Road in Woodchurch on Saturday, November 30 at around 6.25pm after a report that two men had fell off a vehicle, believed to be a motorbike. Police have confirmed that a 17-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. An 18-year-old man has been taken to hospital and is currently in a critical condition. It is not believed that any other vehicle is involved in the incident. A road closure remains in place at the scene and motorists are advised to avoid the area. Police are appealing for any witnesses, CCTV and dash camera footage which may assist the investigation. Inspector Ian Cowell from our Roads Policing team said: “This is a tragic incident that has resulted in a teenager losing his life and our thoughts are with his family. “Another young man has also sustained significant injuries and he is currently in a critical condition in hospital. A road closure remains in place at the scene and increased patrols are in the area to carry out initial inquiries and establish exactly what happened. “We believe there were other males who were with them at the time of the collision and we are trying to locate them to see if they have any information. When officers arrived, the vehicle involved in the collision, which we believe was a motorbike, had been removed and part of our inquiries will be trying to locate this vehicle. “If you saw what happened or have any information at all that could help our inquiries, please get in touch. If you live in the area or were driving past at the time, please review your CCTV to see if you captured anything, even if it appears small or insignificant, because it could be vital to our investigation.” If you saw what happened or have any information, you can call 101 or DM @MerPolCC on social media, quoting log number 751 of 30th November or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.Jet crash disaster in South Korea marks another setback for Boeing
Fifteen of Ukraine's civilian airports have been damaged since Russia invaded the country in February 2022, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has been quoted as saying by local media. Ukraine, which the state aviation service says has 20 civilian airports, has been exploring avenues to partially open its airspace. It has been completely closed since the start of the war. Ukrainians who want to fly abroad currently have to go via road or rail to neighbouring countries to catch flights. For those living in the east, the journey out of Ukraine can take a day in itself. "We conducted a risk assessment and determined the needs of the air defence forces to partially open the airspace," local news agency Ukrinform quoted Shmyhal as saying at a transportation conference. "Security issues and the military situation remain key to this decision," he said. Shmyhal added that Russia had attacked Ukraine's port infrastructure nearly 60 times in the last three months, damaging or destroying nearly 300 facilities and 22 civilian vessels. A senior partner at insurance broker Marsh McLennan told Reuters earlier this month that Ukraine could reopen the airport in the western city of Lviv in 2025 if regulators deem it safe and a political decision is made. The Ukrainian military on Saturday reported heavy fighting along the front lines in the eastern Donbas region as Russia continued to launch attacks. Fierce clashes were reported in the key areas of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, which are the focal point of the Russian advance in eastern Ukraine. A breakthrough would pave the way for the Russian forces to advance towards the strategic cities of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia. However, Ukrainian military experts say the front in the Donbas region has stabilised after Ukraine deployed reinforcements to the area. In total, the General Staff in Kyiv recorded 153 engagements along the front lines. with DPAPolice are appealing for any witnesses, CCTV and dash camera footage which may assist their investigation A teenager has died after falling from a vehicle. Merseyside Police were called to the junction of Hoole Road and Grass Wood Road in Woodchurch on Saturday, November 30 at around 6.25pm after a report that two men had fell off a vehicle, believed to be a motorbike. Police have confirmed that a 17-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. An 18-year-old man has been taken to hospital and is currently in a critical condition. It is not believed that any other vehicle is involved in the incident. A road closure remains in place at the scene and motorists are advised to avoid the area. Police are appealing for any witnesses, CCTV and dash camera footage which may assist the investigation. Inspector Ian Cowell from our Roads Policing team said: “This is a tragic incident that has resulted in a teenager losing his life and our thoughts are with his family. “Another young man has also sustained significant injuries and he is currently in a critical condition in hospital. A road closure remains in place at the scene and increased patrols are in the area to carry out initial inquiries and establish exactly what happened. “We believe there were other males who were with them at the time of the collision and we are trying to locate them to see if they have any information. When officers arrived, the vehicle involved in the collision, which we believe was a motorbike, had been removed and part of our inquiries will be trying to locate this vehicle. “If you saw what happened or have any information at all that could help our inquiries, please get in touch. If you live in the area or were driving past at the time, please review your CCTV to see if you captured anything, even if it appears small or insignificant, because it could be vital to our investigation.” If you saw what happened or have any information, you can call 101 or DM @MerPolCC on social media, quoting log number 751 of 30th November or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
NoneStrictly Come Dancing fans were left in disbelief after Tess Daly's "embarrassing" remark to Chris McCausland . During Musicals Week, Chris and his dance partner Dianne Buswell performed a Quickstep to a number from Anything Goes. However, the mood shifted when Tess was heard saying to Chris and Dianne as they approached her, "can you see how happy she is with you". This comment sparked outrage among viewers, as Chris is visually impaired due to retinitis pigmentosa. Fans expressed their dismay on social media, with one commenting: "No Tess, Chris can't see how happy he made Dianne...... #strictly." Another stated: "Surely Tess didn't just ask Chris 'can you see how happy she is with you? ' #Strictly." A third viewer posted: "Tess saying to Chris 'can you see how happy she is? '....um no Tess, he can't #Strictly," while another remarked: "Tess just asked Chris if he could see how happy Diane was...." One more added: "did tess actually just say 'can you see how happy she is with you' to chris. a blind man." Another wrote: "Did um...did Tess really just ask 'can you see how happy she is with you?'" Chris has previously shared that he was "terrified" about being the first blind contestant to take part in the show. He discussed how his blindness is a hereditary condition, but he's determined to make it a manageable aspect of his life. Speaking to Big Issue, he shared: "Being blind wasn't just something that happened to me, it was hereditary. Nan was blind, my mum was losing her sight. It was always treated as just part of life, so you get on with it. That's fed into my way of viewing it. "But I did always think, things are moving so fast, we've got the internet now, surely there will be a cure and I'll be able to see by the time I'm 30. I mean 40. I mean... and it just moves on and on." He added: "When you're losing your sight gradually, there's never a clear moment when you are forced to deal with it. I'd refuse to be associated with things connected to it, like, 'I'm not using a stick, I'm going to pretend I can see'. But you get into more trouble pretending there's nothing wrong. It wasn't until I lost my sight completely that I accepted it." * Strictly Come Dancing airs Sunday night on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
50 jili asia
NEW YORK (AP) — Top-ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen is headed back to the World Blitz Championship on Monday after its governing body agreed to loosen a dress code that got him fined and denied a late-round game in another tournament for refusing to change out of jeans . Lamenting the contretemps, International Chess Federation President Arkady Dvorkovich said in a statement Sunday that he'd let World Blitz Championship tournament officials consider allowing “appropriate jeans” with a jacket, and other “elegant minor deviations” from the dress code. He said Carlsen's stand — which culminated in his quitting the tournament Friday — highlighted a need for more discussion “to ensure that our rules and their application reflect the evolving nature of chess as a global and accessible sport.” Carlsen, meanwhile, said in a video posted Sunday on social media that he would play — and wear jeans — in the World Blitz Championship when it begins Monday. “I think the situation was badly mishandled on their side,” the 34-year-old Norwegian grandmaster said. But he added that he loves playing blitz — a fast-paced form of chess — and wanted fans to be able to watch, and that he was encouraged by his discussions with the federation after Friday's showdown. “I think we sort of all want the same thing,” he suggested in the video on his Take Take Take chess app’s YouTube channel. “We want the players to be comfortable, sure, but also relatively presentable.” The events began when Carlsen wore jeans and a sportcoat Friday to the Rapid World Championship, which is separate from but held in conjunction with the blitz event. The chess federation said Friday that longstanding rules prohibit jeans at those tournaments, and players are lodged nearby to make sartorial switch-ups easy if needed. An official fined Carlsen $200 and asked him to change pants, but he refused and wasn't paired for a ninth-round game, the federation said at the time. The organization noted that another grandmaster, Ian Nepomniachtchi, was fined earlier in the day for wearing sports shoes, changed and continued to play. Carlsen has said that he offered to wear something else the next day, but officials were unyielding. He said “it became a bit of a matter of principle,” so he quit the rapid and blitz championships. In the video posted Sunday, he questioned whether he had indeed broken a rule and said changing clothes would have needlessly interrupted his concentration between games. He called the punishment “unbelievably harsh.” “Of course, I could have changed. Obviously, I didn’t want to,” he said, and “I stand by that.”( MENAFN - Asia Times) The United States, like all nations, was created through territorial conquest. Most of its current territory was occupied or frequented by human beings before the US came; the US used force to either displace, subjugate, or kill all of those people. To the extent that land“ownership” existed under the previous inhabitants, the land of the US is stolen land. This was also true before the US arrived. The forcible theft of the land upon which the US now exists was not the first such theft; the people who lived there before conquered, displaced, or killed someone else in order to take the land. The land has been stolen and re-stolen again and again. If you somehow destroyed the United States, expelled its current inhabitants, and gave ownership of the land to the last recorded tribe that had occupied it before, you would not be returning it to its original occupants; you would simply be handing it to the next-most-recent conquerors. If you go back far enough in time, of course, at some point this is no longer true. Humanity didn't always exist; therefore for every piece of land, there was a first human to lay eyes on it and a first human to say“This land is mine.” But by what right did this first human claim exclusive ownership of this land? Why does being the first person to see a natural object make you the rightful owner of that object? And why does being the first human to set foot on a piece of land give your blood descendants the right to dispose of that land as they see fit in perpetuity, and to exclude any and all others from that land? What about all the peoples of the world who were never lucky enough the first to lay eyes on any plot of dirt? Are they simply to be dispossessed forever? I have never seen a satisfactory answer to these questions. Nor have I seen a satisfactory explanation of why ownership of land should be allocated collectively, in terms of racial or ethnic groups. In general, the first people who arrived on a piece of land did so in dribs and drabs, in small family units and tiny micro-tribes that met and married and fought and mixed and formed into larger identities and ethnicities and tribes over long periods of time. In most cases, the ethnic groups who now claim pieces of land as their own did not even exist when the first humans discovered or settled that land. But even in those cases when it did exist, why should land ownership be assigned to a race at all? Why should my notional blood relation to the discoverers or the conquerors of a piece of land determine whether I can truly belong on that land? Why should a section of the map be the land of the Franks, or the Russkiy, or the Cherokee, or the Han, or the Ramaytush Ohlone, or the Britons? Of course, you can assign land ownership this way - it's called an“ethnostate.” But if you do this, it means that the descendants of immigrants can never truly be full and equal citizens of the land they were born in. If Britain is defined as the land of the Britons, then a Han person whose great-great-great-grandparents moved there from China will exist as a contingent citizen - a perpetual foreigner whose continued life in the land of their birth exists only upon the sufferance of a different race. This is the price of ethnonationalism. The downsides of ethnonationalism have been exhaustively laid out in the decades since World War 2, and I'm not going to reiterate them all now. Suffice it to say that most nations of the world have moved away from ethnonationalism - there is an informal sense in which some people still think of France as the land of the Franks and so on, but almost all nations define citizenship and belonging through institutions rather than race. Israel, one of the few exceptions to this rule, receives a large amount of international criticism for defining itself as an ethnostate. And yet these days I am subjected to a constant stream of ethnonationalist claims from progressives in the country of my birth. Here's one from the ACLU of Nebraska: And here's an Instagram post from Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib: This isn't just something you see on social media around Thanksgiving.“Land acknowledgments” have become ubiquitous in progressive spaces and institutions - just the other day I saw one at my friend's community dance recital. These land acknowledgments are, legally speaking, incorrect - there is no legal sense in which the land on which they are being performed belongs to a Native American tribe. These are moral claims about rightful land ownership. But the moral principle to which they appeal is ethnonationalism - it's the idea that plots of land are the rightful property of ethnic groups. There is an obvious moral appeal to these land acknowledgments. They are a way of decrying the brutal, cruel, violent history of conquest and colonization. And they probably feel like a way of standing up for the weak, the marginalized, and the dispossessed. Yet what should we think of the morality of following the principles behind land acknowledgments to their logical conclusion?“Decolonization” of the land of the U.S. would likely be an act of ethnic cleansing surpassing even the previous conquests - there are 330 million people here now, and almost none of them descend from Native Americans. An attempt to dispossess 330 million people would inevitably involve violence on a colossal scale. Here was Najma Sharif Alawi's famous tweet right after the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel: Of course,“colonizers” could presumably avoid violent death or second-class citizenhood by voluntarily deporting themselves. But where would they go? Take me, for example. My ancestors were Lithuanian Jews. I could leave the country of my birth and go“back” to Lithuania - a land I don't know, whose language I don't speak. Yet my ancestors were not“indigenous” to Lithuania either; they moved there from somewhere else. What if the ethnic Lithuanians chose not to accept me? Where would I go then? Israel? But the folks who do land acknowledgments would consider me a“colonizer” there as well.1 Would I then wander the Earth, desperately seeking some ethnostate that would allow me and my descendants to live there as a permanently precarious resident aliens? Once the logic of land acknowledgments and“decolonization” is followed, it leads very quickly to some very dark futures. Assigning each person a homeland based on their ethnic ancestry and then declaring that that homeland is the only place they or their descendants can ever truly belong, would not be an act of justice; it would be a global nightmare made real, surpassing even the horrors of previous centuries. And in practice, any attempt to create such a world would inevitably lead to violent resistance by the groups in danger of being“decolonized.” The orderly world of nation-states would dissolve into a chaotic free-for-all of competing irredentist claims, backed by genocides and expulsions. Ten thousand October 7th-style attacks would be followed by ten thousand Gaza-style wars. I do not want that, and you should not want it either. The American people certainly don't want it, and the insistence of progressives on intoning land acknowledgments has probably tanked the movement's cachet in wider society. I agree with Wayne Burkett when he says that land acknowledgments have probably hurt the Democratic party: Americans do not want to see their country destroyed in the name of irredentist ethnonationalism. Nor do I blame them. So does this mean we should paper over, ignore, or deliberately forget America's history of violent conquest? Absolutely not. That history ought to be remembered, so that we don't repeat it in the present day. The world's evolution from one based on ethnic cleansing and territorial conquest to one based on fixed borders and institutions is something to celebrate - and something we must fight to preserve . We need to remember what the world used to be like, precisely so we can avoid backsliding. The most recent of conquests, expulsions, and genocides should be the last to ever happen. And what of the Native Americans who still live in America today? Must they simply be regarded as the unlucky losers of history, and told to either assimilate into broader American society or shut up? Absolutely not. For one thing, tribal organizations still exist - they may notionally represent ethnic groups, but they are institutions. And they are institutions with which the United States has many agreements and legal obligations that must be honored, which often give the tribes sovereignty over areas of land. Neil Gorsuch has been especially active in pushing the Supreme Court to uphold tribal rights, and I think this is a good thing. But respect for Native American tribal organizations doesn't have to stop at ancient obligations. There are ways to incorporate those tribes into the modern American nation that both respects them and their history and helps them prosper in the present. Vancouver, Canada shows us an example of how this can be done. Part of Vancouver's downtown urban area is officially under the governance of the Squamish Nation, rather than the city itself. The Squamish Nation, realizing they could do whatever they wanted with that land, decided to build a giant high-rise housing development : Here's a picture of what it will look like: An even bigger development called Jericho Lands is now being planned, by a consortium of tribal organizations, on land officially owned by Vancouver. Hilariously, Vancouver's NIMBYs are complaining , claiming that the developments are not in keeping with Indigenous tradition . But Canada's First Nations seem to have little interest in hewing closely to other people's view of what their traditions are. Modern people do not want to live like premodern farmers. They are not mystical Tolkien elves. They would like to have shiny new apartment buildings and walkable neighborhoods. This, I believe, is the key to respecting and honoring Native Americans - not to focus on the tragedies of their past, but to give them the right to build a better future. Tribal lands should definitely have the autonomy to do whatever they want with their lands, including building housing or industry. In fact, we're starting to see a pattern emerge where Native Americans embrace laissez-faire policies toward industry and manage to poach business from their over-regulated neighbors: This sort of thing could lead to a win-win for the US and Native American tribes. American reindustrialization is being held back by a thicket of procedural requirements and local land-use regulations; if tribes were able to use their special legal status to circumvent those barriers, it could end up benefitting everyone.2 The tribes would get both jobs and the ability to tax local industry; America would get to execute an end run around the NIMBYs that are holding it back. In fact, it's probably possible for various American cities to turn over parts of their land to tribal jurisdiction, with the assistance of the federal government. This would probably result in dense urban developments like the ones being planned in Vancouver. But even if it didn't, it could have other commercial benefits - again, a win-win for the US and for the tribes. That would certainly be a lot more substantive than a bunch of land acknowledgments. And it would likely satisfy many people's desire for“giving land back” to Native Americans, without embracing dubious moral principles of ethnic land rights and irredentism. In other words, you're not living on Indigenous land right now, but you could be in the future - and it might be pretty great. The general principle here is that instead of a dark world of ethnic cleansing in the name of“decolonization”, we should try to build a bright future where Native Americans and the United States of America exist in harmony and cooperation rather than in conflict. And that principle doesn't just apply to America, but to the whole world. The history of land ownership is a violent and terrible one, but that doesn't mean the future has to be more of the same. Notes: 1 It is a bitter irony that many of the same people who morally condemn Israel for setting itself up as an ethnostate also justify its destruction using ethnonationalist principles. Personally, I tend to agree with the criticism of Israel's ethnocentrism, but I don't think replacing this with Palestinian ethnocentrism would make things better. 2 There's a lot of historical precedent for this. For example, in the 1960s, Fairchild Semiconductor opened a factory on Navajo land in New Mexico, which was quite beneficial to the economy until an industry downturn and a labor dispute led to its demise in the late 70s. This article was first published on Noah Smith's Noahpinion Substack and is republished with kind permission. Become a Noahopinion subscriber here. Thank you for registering! An account was already registered with this email. Please check your inbox for an authentication link. MENAFN30112024000159011032ID1108942157 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. 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WASHINGTON (AP) — A machinists strike. Another safety problem involving its troubled top-selling airliner. A plunging stock price. 2024 was already a dispiriting year for Boeing, the American aviation giant. But when one of the company’s jets on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, it brought to a close an especially unfortunate year for Boeing. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and aviation experts were quick to distinguish Sunday’s incident from the company’s earlier safety problems. Alan Price, a former chief pilot at Delta Air Lines who is now a consultant, said it would be inappropriate to link the incident Sunday to two fatal crashes involving Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jetliner in 2018 and 2019. In January this year, a door plug blew off a 737 Max while it was in flight, raising more questions about the plane. The Boeing 737-800 that crash-landed in Korea, Price noted, is “a very proven airplane. “It’s different from the Max ...It’s a very safe airplane.’’ For decades, Boeing has maintained a role as one of the giants of American manufacturing. But the the past year’s repeated troubles have been damaging. The company’s stock price is down more than 30% in 2024. The company’s reputation for safety was especially tarnished by the 737 Max crashes, which occurred off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019 and left a combined 346 people dead. In the five years since then, Boeing has lost more than $23 billion. And it has fallen behind its European rival, Airbus, in selling and delivering new planes. Last fall, 33,000 Boeing machinists went on strike, crippling the production of the 737 Max, the company’s bestseller, the 777 airliner and 767 cargo plane. The walkout lasted seven weeks, until members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers agreed to an offer that included 38% pay raises over four years. In January, a door plug blew off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight. Federal regulators responded by imposing limits on Boeing aircraft production that they said would remain in place until they felt confident about manufacturing safety at the company. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration regulators who approved the 737 Max. Acting on Boeing’s incomplete disclosures, the FAA approved minimal, computer-based training instead of more intensive training in flight simulators. Simulator training would have increased the cost for airlines to operate the Max and might have pushed some to buy planes from Airbus instead. (Prosecutors said they lacked evidence to argue that Boeing’s deception had played a role in the crashes.) But the plea deal was rejected this month by a , who decided that diversity, inclusion and equity or in the government and at Boeing could result in race being a factor in choosing an official to oversee Boeing’s compliance with the agreement. Boeing has sought to change its culture. Under intense pressure over safety issues, David Calhoun departed as CEO in August. Since January, 70,000 Boeing employees have participated in meetings to discuss ways to improve safety. Paul Wiseman, The Associated PressA deep-storage battery being trialled in Kununurra in the Kimberley region of Western Australia could solve the clean energy challenge for some of the nation's most remote communities. Login or signup to continue reading As well as being a challenging environment to live or work in, hot and humid Kununurra is not connected to the state or national electricity grid. "A lot of our communities are remote and do struggle with the cost of living and we don't want them to miss out on the energy transition," Horizon Power's executive general manager for business development and strategy Vi Garrood told AAP. "And we don't want to compromise on safety - that's why small-scale trials are really important," she said. the vanadium flow battery won't power cars, laptops or fit into a mobile phone, but it can store energy for 10-12 hours and help homes and worksites to displace diesel and gas with clean, safe and reliable power. As the state's regional power provider, Horizon is using the trial to learn how to provide safe, affordable, reliable off-grid power during extreme temperatures and major weather events. "It's one of the technologies we need to get us to net zero and running on 100 per cent renewables for periods of time," Ms Garrood said. After stress-testing the technology in Kununurra, it could be rolled out across Horizon's microgrids and other systems. "Each battery design is examined on the basis of what application we need it for - so what is the problem it's solving," she said. With a 78-kilowatt capacity and 220 kilowatt hours of storage, WA Energy Minister Reece Whitby says the vanadium battery is well suited to Kimberley conditions, where energy storage must cope with extreme temperatures and deliver energy over a long period of time. "Here in Kununurra, where it was 44 degrees the other day, you need a battery that's tough ... and these, we hope, will do the job very well," Mr Whitby said. "We know that the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow so batteries are the answer in terms of capturing that energy when it's available and dispatching it when it's really needed. "The eyes of the energy world are looking at Kununurra to see how this goes." Horizon is also trialling Redflow's zinc bromine flow battery (100 kW/400 kWh) on Nullagine's microgrid and BASF's sodium sulphur battery (250 kW/1450 kWh) at Carnarvon. The various technologies can shift rooftop solar electricity produced in the middle of the day to evening hours and operate alongside existing lithium-ion batteries in Horizon's network, to provide longer-duration storage. Most of Horizon's systems are microgrids, for remote communities and mining operations, and involve generation, network and retail components all within the particular community they are supporting. Ms Garrood said deep-storage batteries can cover periods of "renewable drought" when there is minimal generation, including for night-time loads. "Long-duration energy storage is important for us because it's predicted to be cost-effective when compared to lithium-ion batteries," she said. "It could open the door to taking our small, microgrid communities to 100 per cent renewable energy - that's the plan." "Our best chance of success at decarbonisation is to throw everything at it, and deep storage is one of many solutions in our toolkit," she said. As the technology is based around a tank of liquid electrolytes, they are less likely to catch fire. They can be scaled up and save space by adding more tanks rather than shipping in container-sized lithium batteries. It's also very important to have local support and gain experience when trialling new technology, especially for systems that are in remote locations and typically automated, Ms Garrood said. The technology supplied by VSUN Energy, an offshoot of mining company Australian Vanadium Ltd (AVL), can charge and discharge energy at the same time and the units have a life span of more than 25 years. With most of the world's vanadium supply coming from Russia, China, and South Africa, AVL intends to provide an ethical supply of vanadium to battery, steel and metals markets. Their electrolyte manufacturing facility in WA is part of a "pit to battery" strategy that could support the rollout of vanadium flow batteries in Australia, according to chief executive Graham Arvidson. While it's a first for Horizon, the 40-year-old technology was invented in Australia at the University of NSW and has been grid-connected for 20 years in other countries. "It's really coming into its own with the energy transition because we're looking at long-duration batteries to enable renewable energy like solar to be shifted from day to evening," Mr Arvidson. "Now that this battery is commissioned, we're looking forward to a true test of what it can do for communities like Kununurra," he said. Australian Associated Press DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. 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If you value our coverage and want to support more of it, please join us as a member . What do we celebrate on Hanukkah? After quickly mentioning the miraculous jar of temple oil that burned for eight days, many sources will tell you it’s about the unlikely triumph of the Maccabees, who fought for Jewish religious freedom in the face of persecution by the Assyrians (Syrian Greeks) who then ruled the land of Judah. At the center of the holiday is the menorah, an eight-branched candelabra we light each night, adding one candle per day, until on the eighth and final night it’s ablaze in its full glory. But if you take a look at a collection of old-fashioned Italian and German menorahs, you’ll find a different figure again and again who goes unmentioned in the standard story: a lone woman, triumphantly raising a knife. This is Judith, a much earlier heroine, and the OG Jewish badass lady who was once commonly celebrated at Hanukkah time alongside the Maccabees. Her spear once shone in the candlelight, reflecting these menorahs’ intricate metalwork and illuminating another chapter in Jewish history — lost in the overlapping shadows of modern-day misogyny, assimilation, and Zionism. Her story, told in hundreds of permutations through the centuries, goes something like this: Judith is a young wealthy widow in the town of Bethulia during the time of the Maccabees when she takes it upon herself to save her people from the Assyrian army. She sheds her traditionally ragged and drab mourning clothes, dresses up in her finest fabrics and jewels, and creeps into the enemy’s camp with a sack of salty cheese and wine. Get the latest art news, reviews and opinions from Hyperallergic. Daily Weekly Opportunities Once in the center of camp, she slips into the tent of their general, Holofernes. Seemingly praising his military might, she offers him her delicious snacks — and perhaps a little more. Holofernes quickly gobbles up the cheese, failing to realize that its saltiness is making him thirstier than usual, leading him to drink quite a bit of wine. When he falls into a drunken sleep, Judith grabs his sword and slices off his head. She and her maidservant stuff his head into their sack, and the next morning they raise it on a spike for all to see. The Assyrian army bursts into chaos and fear, and soon they retreat. The siege on Bethulia is lifted, and, effectively, her people are saved. The Book of Judith is not in the Hebrew Bible — like the Books of Maccabees, it was incorporated into the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christian bibles and is included in the “Apocrypha” section of some Protestant bibles. Yet, sometime in the Middle Ages, Judith became a major Hanukkah heroine. Eventually, it wasn’t Judah the Maccabee but Judith who appeared in the center of menorahs , flanked by lions and mermaids, dressed in fine gowns, and always holding her signature dagger. And by the 16th century, some rabbis suggested snacking on cheese to honor her bravery, commemorating the salty tidbits that once felled Holofernes. Italianate Jews took to the task at hand with their usual culinary brilliance, combining the miracle of the oil with Judith’s tale by concocting delectable fried ricotta pancakes . Judith was especially popular in Italy — and not just among Jews. Depicted by dozens of Italian artists, she represented the triumph of an oppressed people over their oppressors. Some Italians saw parallels between the occupying Assyrian forces and the Medici oligarchy in Florence. So it’s little surprise that Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the few prominent women Baroque artists, drew inspiration from the story to depict herself murdering her rapist , painter Agostino Tassi. Perhaps the fascination that both Jewish and Gentile Jews had with Judith was another factor behind there being so many Italianate Menorahs featuring her form; often, non-Jewish craftspeople were actually creating ritual objects during that era, so they may have divulged in their shared love here in the form of these candelabras. Many sages compared Judith’s heroism with that of Esther, the legendary Persian Jewish queen who risked her life to save her people, and who is celebrated in the Book of Esther and on the holiday of Purim. Unlike the Maccabees, whose campaign against the Assyrians also included massacring scores of fellow Jews and other countrymen along the way, Judith achieved victory with no collateral damage. She went straight to the top — literally — and took care of business. So, why did we stop celebrating her? Especially when delicious fried ricotta pancakes were involved? Some have pointed to pure assimilation as the reason for her disappearance, as Jews began to change Hanukkah festivities to include gift giving in an attempt to emulate European and American Christmas. While that was certainly a factor, Hanukkah wasn’t a major holiday until the advent of late-19th century political Zionism. And under the leadership of figures like Max Nordau and Theodore Herzl, Zionist organizations were made up of Jews who had already attempted to assimilate in order to avoid antisemitic attacks for generations. This resulted in Nordau’s fantasy of “ Muscular Judaism :” a buff, manly “ new Jew ,” who took his fate into his own hands. Rather than fighting hatred through organized labor , this Jewish Übermensch would defy stereotypes of the “effeminate” and “weak” Ashkenazi Jew by breeding it out of himself. Especially after the Holocaust, former Haaretz writer Mira Shakin explained , “Zionism looked high and low for episodes from Jewish history that would be appropriate for the image of the ‘new Jew’ who takes his fate in his hands, in order to erase from the collective memory the ostensibly flaccid character of the Diaspora Jew with the shtetl aura, who ‘went like sheep to the slaughter.’” They found the perfect role models in the macho Maccabees. Today, soldiers in the Israeli military are commonly viewed as carrying on the Maccabees’ legacy. In enshrining the Maccabees as the sole heroes of Hanukkah, the largely secular early Zionists did not heed the warnings of the ancient sages who authored the Talmud. These rabbis refuted the violence of the Maccabees, from how they forced circumcisions on their neighbors to their ushering in the despotic Hasmonean dynasty. They saw that this violence led to nothing but more hardship. Or, as Rabbi Mike Rothbaum writes , “Born in violence, it became addicted to violence.” Instead of the Maccabees’ warfare, the rabbis recorded how when rededicating a desecrated temple, a tiny portion of oil that was only enough for one night miraculously lasted for eight. This is the reason for the menorah today. During the Shabbat service that falls during the holiday, we read from the Book of Zechariah, which says that God would bless the world, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit.” Perhaps the ancient rabbis could foresee the crimes wrought by the Israeli state’s army today, which tragically includes rampant misogyny and sexual violence — not only against Palestinians in countless horrifying events, but, to a remarkable degree , even against female soldiers themselves . They knew not only was this violence against God’s commandments, but that it would do nothing to make Jews safer. No wonder that a strong woman like Judith has been largely forgotten. Judith’s story shows that for those of us Jews who protest against Israel’s crimes, our spirit of revolution is already written into our tradition. It’s well past time that we remember Judith’s story, and start crafting new menorahs with her visage once again. We hope you enjoyed this article! Before you keep reading, please consider supporting Hyperallergic ’s journalism during a time when independent, critical reporting is increasingly scarce. Unlike many in the art world, we are not beholden to large corporations or billionaires. Our journalism is funded by readers like you , ensuring integrity and independence in our coverage. We strive to offer trustworthy perspectives on everything from art history to contemporary art. We spotlight artist-led social movements, uncover overlooked stories, and challenge established norms to make art more inclusive and accessible. With your support, we can continue to provide global coverage without the elitism often found in art journalism. If you can, please join us as a member today . Millions rely on Hyperallergic for free, reliable information. By becoming a member, you help keep our journalism free, independent, and accessible to all. Thank you for reading. Share Copied to clipboard Mail Bluesky Threads LinkedIn Facebook
About 12,000 supporters of ex- Ooni of Ife queen, Prophetess Naomi Ogunwusi, have demanded justice for her, saying her arrest, arraignment and remand in a custodial facility was unfair. Naomi is the estranged wife of Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi. She was arrested alongside the Chief Executive Officer of Agidigbo FM, Oriyomi Hamzat, after a stampede at a funfair the duo organised in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The prophetess, Hamzat, and the Principal of Islamic High School, Ibadan, where the event was held, Fasasi Abdullahi, are currently remanded at the Agodi Custodial Centre by Chief Magistrate Olabisi Ogunkanmi of Magistrate’s Court 1, Iyaganku, Ibadan. The defendants were arraigned on four counts bordering on conspiracy, causing death by negligence, endangering public safety, and failing to provide adequate security and medical facilities at the event. Naomi, Hamzat, and Abdullahi pleaded not guilty to the charges. According to a report, the programme, which was meant to offer succour to residents, turned into tragic, thereby claiming the lives of 35 children on December 18, 2024. The ex-queen had planned to host 5,000 children, aged 0-13, across Ibadan for free under the aegis of the Women in Need of Guidance and Support Foundation with the funfair. The programme was scheduled to start at 10 am, while police were expected to be at the venue by 8 am. Reports indicated that the event was initially planned for 5,000 children, but over 7,500 children showed up. Reports that filtered out indicated that the stampede occurred as children and their parents attempted to break through the main gate and scale the school fence to enter the venue at all costs. Naomi and Hamzat have been in custody since the incident turned disastrous. However, the ex-queen’s supporters continue to call for her release, arguing that she was carrying out a charitable programme to bring smiles to the faces of underprivileged children. Thousands of Naomi’s supporters signed an online petition to demand fairness in the judicial process concerning her matter. The petition, had so far gathered 12,000 signatures as at weekend. The originator of the petition, Yetunde Ola, stated that Naomi’s actions were driven by an earnest intention to alleviate the suffering of hungry children, but she found herself “unfairly entangled in a web of legal accusations that were both disheartening and misplaced.” “We, the supporters of Queen Naomi, are seeking justice. It is paramount that her court cases are addressed with utmost impartiality and integrity. We must hold our judicial systems accountable for their actions and ensure that they remain transparent, fair, and unbiased in their proceedings. “Our plea is, thus, simple: Give Queen Silekunola Naomi a fair trial, unaffected by bias and calumny. We present this petition to highlight the necessity for a just legal process that respects the evidence and operates in compliance with the principles of justice. “We reinforce our commitment to stand by Queen Naomi, championing justice, fairness, and truth,” she said. This was as her mother, Funmilayo Ogunseyi, called on President Bola Tinubu and well-meaning Nigerians to intervene in her daughter’s legal troubles. In an emotional video that has gone viral, Ogunseyi claimed that her daughter’s predicament was orchestrated by “powerful persons.” “They say her ordeal is an ‘order from above.’ Please, I beg those in power to release her. She is not a killer; she came to help. Naomi is fragile and sick. President Tinubu, I beg you, come to our aid,” she implored. But countering, the Oyo State Government has said there was no reason to persecute the prophetess. The state Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, said those spreading such insinuations would be unfair if they expected the government to interfere with the judicial process. He also denied that the government knew about the programme. He said: “It is a laughable insinuation. What is the motive for victimising the lady? We barely know her name. The government does not know anything about her apart from the normal stuff on social media. We have no relationship with her in any manner. There is no altar of political conflict or anything that looks like it between the Oyo State Government and the woman. “The government did not officially know anything about her enterprise, what she does, or what she planned to do in Oyo State. We were not formally notified because there is no documentation to show that the government was given notification of what she wanted to do through the normal time-tested processes. So, she remained an unknown quantity and faceless to this administration. “Are they asking us to meddle with the judiciary? A case was taken to court. Even a government official, the principal of a secondary school, was equally arraigned and detained because 35 of our children died. “And there are no draconian issues extraneous to a normal course of justice on the ground. “So, we will advise, therefore, that those who are engaged in such meddlesomeness allow the course of justice to prevail. That is the beauty of democracy. No matter whose ox is gored, for democracy to survive and thrive, justice must take its course.” However, a video of a meeting between the Oyo State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Toyin Balogun, and Naomi has surfaced online. The meeting was held a day before the programme. In the video, Balogun is seen and heard asking the ex-queen about the programme. After Naomi explained, the commissioner promised to attend the event. Balogun said, “It is a fantastic intervention, I must say. It’s laudable to have an aspiration to put smiles on the faces of children, particularly the ones I call the special children. You are probably going to have to do this again next year; you are probably going to have to come back. “On behalf of the Oyo State Government, on behalf of the Ministry of Women Affairs, we will be looking forward to doing something collaborative for both the women and the children in Ibadan, going forward. It is a laudable venture, one we are proud of and happy to be part of.”
A defiant Conor McGregor has repeated his vow to appeal against a jury's decision to award a hair colourist €250,000 in damages for sexual assault, describing the civil case against him as "absolute nonsense". The controversial UFC star walked out of the High Court on Friday evening after a jury's decision to award Nikita Hand €248,603 in damages. Ms Hand, who had alleged that McGregor raped her in the penthouse suite of the Beacon Hotel in Dublin in December 2018, afterwards claimed that "justice had been served". However, in a social media post yesterday, McGregor insisted that he would be appealing the decision. He wrote on X: "We are not done yet, not by a long shot. No chance. On we fight." He described the case against him as "absolute nonsense", while also claiming that the reporting of the case was an "absolute laughing stock to everyone present." In an emotional statement outside the court following a two week civil trial, Nikita Hand said hoped the decision of the court would give other victims of sexual assault the courage to speak up. She said: "To all the victims of sexual assault. I hope my story is a reminder that no matter how afraid you might be, speak up. You have a voice and keep on fighting for justice." For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage . Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice .NW_FG Akers 21, 9:31. ILL_Laughery 30 run (Olano kick), 8:12. NW_D.Turner 13 interception return (Akers kick), 2:14. ILL_Altmyer 1 run (Olano kick), 13:21. ILL_Laughery 64 run (Olano kick), 14:15. ILL_Altmyer 43 run (Olano kick), 10:08. NW_FG Akers 34, 5:35. NW_Henning 11 pass from Lausch (Akers kick), 1:34. ILL_Laughery 31 run (Olano kick), 12:15. ILL_FG Olano 24, 11:06. NW_Gordon 15 pass from Lausch (Lang pass from Lausch), 1:00. RUSHING_Illinois, Laughery 12-172, McCray 11-46, Altmyer 4-20, Valentine 7-16, Anderson 1-4, (Team) 2-(minus 3). Northwestern, Porter 12-53, Komolafe 8-32, Lausch 5-22, Himon 3-21, Boe 1-0. PASSING_Illinois, Altmyer 9-16-2-127. Northwestern, Lausch 26-50-2-293, Boe 3-11-1-33. RECEIVING_Illinois, Franklin 3-54, P.Bryant 3-27, Dixon 1-38, McCray 1-5, Arkin 1-3. Northwestern, Henning 10-119, Gordon 7-54, C.Johnson 3-38, Eligon 2-35, Kirtz 2-25, Wagner 2-24, Porter 1-25, Himon 1-4, Arthurs 1-2. MISSED FIELD GOALS_Northwestern, Akers 44.Hundreds of companies pay dividends. Many currently offer higher yields, making them attractive for those seeking passive income. With so many options, it's easy to miss some appealing opportunities. MPLX ( MPLX 2.55% ) and Omega Healthcare Investors ( OHI -0.07% ) are two high-yielding dividend stocks many investors have overlooked. Here's why investors won't want to miss these excellent passive income producers. High yield and high growth MPLX doesn't get a lot of attention from investors. It's not as popular as fellow master limited partnerships (MLPs) , Energy Transfer ( ET 0.53% ) and Enterprise Products Partners ( EPD 1.45% ) . However, it stacks up well compared to those high-yielding rivals: MLP Distribution Yield Distribution Coverage Ratio Leverage Ratio Energy Transfer 6.7% 2.0x 4.0x-4.5x Enterprise Products Partners 6.4% 1.7x 3.0x MPLX 7.8% 1.5x 3.4x Data source: MPLX, Energy Transfer, and Enterprise Products Partners. MLP = master limited partnership. As the table shows, MPLX has a much higher yield. That's because it has a lower distribution coverage ratio, largely due to its rapid growth in recent years. It recently increased its distribution by 12.5%, which followed 10% increases in 2023 and 2022. That compares to 5% distribution growth from Enterprise Products Partners over the past year and a 3%-5% annual growth target range from Energy Transfer. MLPX has plenty more growth coming down the pipeline . The company expects to complete its BANGL pipeline expansion next year, while the Blackcomb and Rio Bravo pipelines should enter service in the second half of 2026. The MLP also has a couple more natural gas processing plants under construction that should enter commercial service over the next two years. In addition to that visible growth, MPLX has ample financial capacity to continue making accretive acquisitions. It has made two deals this year, including boosting its stake in BANGL. These growth drivers should give it the fuel to continue increasing its high-yielding distribution at a healthy clip. That makes it a great option for those comfortable with investing in MLPs that send their investors a Schedule K-1 federal tax form each year. This high yield is growing healthier Omega Healthcare Investors has quietly been a very enriching investment over the years . The healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT) pays a 6.7%-yieldin g dividend, which is a lot higher than the average REIT (around 4%). While its dividend growth has stalled in recent years (it hasn't increased the payout since 2019), it has delivered 7.1% compound annual dividend growth overall since it came public in 2003. The REIT invests in income-generating skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in the U.S. and U.K. It leases these facilities back to healthcare companies under long-term triple net (NNN) agreements. It will also invest in real estate loans backed by skilled nursing and senior housing properties. Those investments generate very stable rental and interest income for the REIT to support its high-yielding dividend. Omega Healthcare routinely invests money in additional healthcare properties. For example, it completed $440 million of new investments in the third quarter, including $390 million in real estate acquisitions and $50 million in real estate loans. Its new investments help grow its cash flow, supporting the REIT's high-yielding dividend. The company currently has a rather high dividend payout ratio (95%), which has prevented it from increasing its dividend. However, with its cash flow per share rising, its dividend is getting even healthier. If it can continue growing its cash flow, it should eventually be able to start increasing its dividend again. Enticing options for income-seeking investors MPLX and Omega Healthcare Investors have hefty dividend yields these days. Because of that, they're worth a closer look for those seeking to generate passive income. They could enable investors to collect more income than they would from similar investments.
Christmas market opens for 2024 holiday season at Lansdowne ParkWoodland Farm Brewery celebrates 9 years of brewing in Marcy
Trump gave Interior nominee one directive for a half-billion acres of US land: ‘Drill.’Nov 23 - This was originally published in the Reuters On the Money newsletter, where we share U.S. personal-finance tips and insights every other week. Sign up here to receive it for free. Inflation-weary Americans should see the cost of a classic Thanksgiving dinner gobble less of their paychecks this year. That is because we are buying less of the meal's centerpiece dish, turkey. The price tag of the traditional holiday meal, which also includes cranberries, sweet potatoes and stuffing, dropped for a second consecutive year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual survey released on Wednesday. The average cost for a 10-person meal came to $58.08, down from $61.17 last year and a record $64.05 in 2022, Farm Bureau data shows. That’s the good news. The bad news is the overall cost of hosting Thanksgiving is up, thanks to inflation . The typical host will shell out $431 on food, drinks and decor, a 19% increase from last year, according to a survey from Lending Tree , opens new tab . What is on your Thanksgiving menu? Where are you seeing the biggest changes in food, drink and decor prices? Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com. All three of our kids are coming home to New York for Thanksgiving this year – and they are traveling by train as well as by plane. They will be in good company: About 1.7 million more people will travel this year from Tuesday, Nov. 26 to Monday, Dec. 2, compared to a similar period in 2023, travel group AAA says. Americans are expected to set a new record for Thanksgiving travel, with nearly 80 million expected to hit the roads, catch flights and board cruises over the holiday period. Betting on increased demand from Thanksgiving travelers, Uber launched "XXL" rides with extra trunk space this week. The ride-hailing company is trying to overcome a slowdown in its mainstay app-based taxi business. Bitcoin marches towards $100,000 on optimism over Trump crypto plans How to stop a late-in-life divorce from ruining your retirement , opens new tab (NYT) Why it’s so hard to find a safe-deposit box , opens new tab (WSJ) Fed to lower rates in Dec but slow pace in 2025 on inflation risks: poll PIMCO bullish on stocks on US soft-landing hopes, cautious on inflation How to become a digital nomad , opens new tab (Washington Post) Weight-loss drug coverage rises among largest US employers, Mercer survey finds Like what you're reading? Subscribe to On the Money here. SHOP UNTIL YOU DROP? My inbox is bursting with holiday shopping deals. But it looks like it is going to take more than a few emails and app alerts to nudge shoppers like me to open our wallets. Overall holiday shopping is expected to grow at the slowest pace in six years , with mobile spending accounting for 53% of online holiday sales. To lure consumers, companies such as Target are cutting prices on thousands of essential and gift items ahead of the holiday season. But inflation is still a big hurdle. (Do you see a theme to this week’s newsletter?!?) Deloitte’s 2024 holiday retail survey found 70% of consumers expect to face higher prices this year, so they're being especially frugal . I’ve been eyeing some holiday items, but I’m also parking them in my online shopping cart, just in case better deals emerge. Do you have any tricks to share on ways to save? And, out of curiosity, how much do you plan to spend on holiday gifts? Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com. The ins and outs of Medicare are always tricky. Medicare Advantage plan marketers are trying to capitalize on changes that take effect next year in Medicare’s Part D prescription-drug coverage. If signed up for traditional Medicare with a standalone Part D plan, you may find your premium jumping or see changes in deductibles or cost-sharing arrangements. That means it is important to re-check your coverage this autumn if you are in a standalone plan. The same is true if you have a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage wrapped in with no extra premium – the terms of that drug coverage may be changing, too. Here is what you need to know now . Are you wondering if you should lease or buy a new car? Are you wondering how to save for college? Send your money questions to onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com and I'll tap my extensive source network and braintrust for expert advice. Don’t forget to subscribe to this newsletter ! Even better, share it with a friend! Sign up here. Reporting by Lauren Young; Editing by Rod Nickel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Thomson Reuters From retirement to real estate, Lauren Young covers wealth and workplace topics at Reuters, where she is the editor of digital special projects and writes the On the Money newsletter. In 2020, she was recognized as a Reuters Journalist of the Year for a social media series on race in America.Previously, Young covered personal finance at BusinessWeek, SmartMoney Magazine and the Dow Jones Newswires. Young co-founded the 29 Post at Brooklyn’s P.S. 29 elementary school. She serves on the board of the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, where is she is the immediate past president.She holds a BA in English from Penn State and an MSJ from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
Police are appealing for any witnesses, CCTV and dash camera footage which may assist their investigation A teenager has died after falling from a vehicle. Merseyside Police were called to the junction of Hoole Road and Grass Wood Road in Woodchurch on Saturday, November 30 at around 6.25pm after a report that two men had fell off a vehicle, believed to be a motorbike. Police have confirmed that a 17-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. An 18-year-old man has been taken to hospital and is currently in a critical condition. It is not believed that any other vehicle is involved in the incident. A road closure remains in place at the scene and motorists are advised to avoid the area. Police are appealing for any witnesses, CCTV and dash camera footage which may assist the investigation. Inspector Ian Cowell from our Roads Policing team said: “This is a tragic incident that has resulted in a teenager losing his life and our thoughts are with his family. “Another young man has also sustained significant injuries and he is currently in a critical condition in hospital. A road closure remains in place at the scene and increased patrols are in the area to carry out initial inquiries and establish exactly what happened. “We believe there were other males who were with them at the time of the collision and we are trying to locate them to see if they have any information. When officers arrived, the vehicle involved in the collision, which we believe was a motorbike, had been removed and part of our inquiries will be trying to locate this vehicle. “If you saw what happened or have any information at all that could help our inquiries, please get in touch. If you live in the area or were driving past at the time, please review your CCTV to see if you captured anything, even if it appears small or insignificant, because it could be vital to our investigation.” If you saw what happened or have any information, you can call 101 or DM @MerPolCC on social media, quoting log number 751 of 30th November or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.Jet crash disaster in South Korea marks another setback for Boeing
Fifteen of Ukraine's civilian airports have been damaged since Russia invaded the country in February 2022, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has been quoted as saying by local media. Ukraine, which the state aviation service says has 20 civilian airports, has been exploring avenues to partially open its airspace. It has been completely closed since the start of the war. Ukrainians who want to fly abroad currently have to go via road or rail to neighbouring countries to catch flights. For those living in the east, the journey out of Ukraine can take a day in itself. "We conducted a risk assessment and determined the needs of the air defence forces to partially open the airspace," local news agency Ukrinform quoted Shmyhal as saying at a transportation conference. "Security issues and the military situation remain key to this decision," he said. Shmyhal added that Russia had attacked Ukraine's port infrastructure nearly 60 times in the last three months, damaging or destroying nearly 300 facilities and 22 civilian vessels. A senior partner at insurance broker Marsh McLennan told Reuters earlier this month that Ukraine could reopen the airport in the western city of Lviv in 2025 if regulators deem it safe and a political decision is made. The Ukrainian military on Saturday reported heavy fighting along the front lines in the eastern Donbas region as Russia continued to launch attacks. Fierce clashes were reported in the key areas of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, which are the focal point of the Russian advance in eastern Ukraine. A breakthrough would pave the way for the Russian forces to advance towards the strategic cities of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia. However, Ukrainian military experts say the front in the Donbas region has stabilised after Ukraine deployed reinforcements to the area. In total, the General Staff in Kyiv recorded 153 engagements along the front lines. with DPAPolice are appealing for any witnesses, CCTV and dash camera footage which may assist their investigation A teenager has died after falling from a vehicle. Merseyside Police were called to the junction of Hoole Road and Grass Wood Road in Woodchurch on Saturday, November 30 at around 6.25pm after a report that two men had fell off a vehicle, believed to be a motorbike. Police have confirmed that a 17-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. An 18-year-old man has been taken to hospital and is currently in a critical condition. It is not believed that any other vehicle is involved in the incident. A road closure remains in place at the scene and motorists are advised to avoid the area. Police are appealing for any witnesses, CCTV and dash camera footage which may assist the investigation. Inspector Ian Cowell from our Roads Policing team said: “This is a tragic incident that has resulted in a teenager losing his life and our thoughts are with his family. “Another young man has also sustained significant injuries and he is currently in a critical condition in hospital. A road closure remains in place at the scene and increased patrols are in the area to carry out initial inquiries and establish exactly what happened. “We believe there were other males who were with them at the time of the collision and we are trying to locate them to see if they have any information. When officers arrived, the vehicle involved in the collision, which we believe was a motorbike, had been removed and part of our inquiries will be trying to locate this vehicle. “If you saw what happened or have any information at all that could help our inquiries, please get in touch. If you live in the area or were driving past at the time, please review your CCTV to see if you captured anything, even if it appears small or insignificant, because it could be vital to our investigation.” If you saw what happened or have any information, you can call 101 or DM @MerPolCC on social media, quoting log number 751 of 30th November or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
NoneStrictly Come Dancing fans were left in disbelief after Tess Daly's "embarrassing" remark to Chris McCausland . During Musicals Week, Chris and his dance partner Dianne Buswell performed a Quickstep to a number from Anything Goes. However, the mood shifted when Tess was heard saying to Chris and Dianne as they approached her, "can you see how happy she is with you". This comment sparked outrage among viewers, as Chris is visually impaired due to retinitis pigmentosa. Fans expressed their dismay on social media, with one commenting: "No Tess, Chris can't see how happy he made Dianne...... #strictly." Another stated: "Surely Tess didn't just ask Chris 'can you see how happy she is with you? ' #Strictly." A third viewer posted: "Tess saying to Chris 'can you see how happy she is? '....um no Tess, he can't #Strictly," while another remarked: "Tess just asked Chris if he could see how happy Diane was...." One more added: "did tess actually just say 'can you see how happy she is with you' to chris. a blind man." Another wrote: "Did um...did Tess really just ask 'can you see how happy she is with you?'" Chris has previously shared that he was "terrified" about being the first blind contestant to take part in the show. He discussed how his blindness is a hereditary condition, but he's determined to make it a manageable aspect of his life. Speaking to Big Issue, he shared: "Being blind wasn't just something that happened to me, it was hereditary. Nan was blind, my mum was losing her sight. It was always treated as just part of life, so you get on with it. That's fed into my way of viewing it. "But I did always think, things are moving so fast, we've got the internet now, surely there will be a cure and I'll be able to see by the time I'm 30. I mean 40. I mean... and it just moves on and on." He added: "When you're losing your sight gradually, there's never a clear moment when you are forced to deal with it. I'd refuse to be associated with things connected to it, like, 'I'm not using a stick, I'm going to pretend I can see'. But you get into more trouble pretending there's nothing wrong. It wasn't until I lost my sight completely that I accepted it." * Strictly Come Dancing airs Sunday night on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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