Author: Karl Morgan

Nyon, Manchester, Milan (19/12 – 31) The group phase of the 2023-2024 UEFA Champions League is to conclude this month. Names of the sixteen clubs who will compete in the knock-out phase have been released. On Monday, 18 December 2023, UEFA conducted the draw for the last-16 round, at their headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Defending champion Manchester City came out from the draw with the biggest smile as they will face off with the arguably easiest opponent. Pep Guardiola’s team will Danish champion Copenhagen, who were down at 37th in the UEFA club coefficient ranking. As the current title holder,…

Copenhagen (14/11 – 40) The massive mobilization and sustained pressure jolted the Sri Lankan presidency of the previously all-powerful Gotabaya Rajapaksa, prompted mass resignations from the government at the time, and solidified existing spaces and created new spaces for dissent and discussions on much-needed reforms. Sri Lanka is facing an exceptional political and economic crisis that has sparked months-long protests across the country. The new leadership under President Ranil Wickremesinghe struggles with the economic situation and seemingly failed to uphold basic human rights and pursue accountability for grave crimes towards the people of Sri Lanka. Despite troubling trends of authoritarianism,…

American superstar Taylor Swift on Saturday postponed a show in Rio de Janeiro due to extreme heat, after a fan died at the singer’s concert the previous night. Saturday’s postponement came after the heat index in the city had risen to as high as 59 degrees Celsius (138 Fahrenheit) Friday, when a 23-year-old fan in the crowd of 60,000 died during the first “Eras Tour” show in Brazil. “I’m writing this from my dressing room in the stadium,” Swift posted on Instagram Saturday. “The decision has been made to postpone tonight’s show due to extreme temperatures in Rio.” “The safety…

Brussels (3/12) Governments may be doing great while the people suffer. Bombing of the Nordstream 2 pipeline, carrying cheap Russian natural gas to industry and consumers in Europe, is exerting a cascading effect on companies and employment, eventually to be reflected in rising places and sharpening inflation. Russia is steadily experiencing price increases for a variety of goods and services, Russian media report. Is there obviously not a link to the sanctions placed on Russia and the seizure of Russian funds and savings abroad? Punishment for Russia’s “Special Military Operation” to purportedly protect Russian-speaking citizens in eastern Ukraine from state…

Valencia, Turin, Madrid (28/11 – 25) Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia retained his MotoGP world title with many records; there are nevertheless signs that the Ducati rider will face sterner competition next season. The Italian rider won the 2023 season-ending MotoGP Grand Prix in Valencia on Sunday to clinch his second world title in a row. The protege of Valentino Rossi becomes the third rider to take back-to-back MotoGP titles since the introduction of the class in 2002. Only Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez previously managed to do that. Bagnaia is the first rider to successfully race and defend #1 in the…

Morgan Stanley’s Ted Pick won the race to succeed long-time CEO James Gorman and on Wednesday promised to stick to the blue chip Wall Street firm’s strategy as it navigates a deal-making slump and uncertain economic outlook. The investment bank said Gorman, who has held the top job since 2010 and steered the bank in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, will become executive chairman and may stay a full year to help with the transition. Pick, 54, a three-decade company veteran who heads the institutional securities division, home to the bank’s investment banking and trading unit, had been…

According to a survey conducted by financial management consulting firm Normandin Beaudry, workers across this country are expected to see a wage increase of 3.6%, on average, in 2024. Surveying more than 700 companies across Canada, the Ontario-based firm noted several findings of value for employed Canadians, some of which allude to a positive future and some revelations that suggest salary freezes could be on the horizon as well. What follows will recap the results of Normandin Beaudry’s survey and provide a look into what this means for Canadians, with a particular focus on potential impacts for newcomers to Canada. Survey Results…

A key senator said Tuesday he does not expect lawmakers to make major property-insurance changes during the 2024 legislative session, as they continue to watch the results of an overhaul passed last year. A key senator said Tuesday he does not expect lawmakers to make major property-insurance changes during the 2024 legislative session, as they continue to watch the results of an overhaul passed last year. “In my opinion, we swung for the fences, and we got a lot done,” Senate Banking and Insurance Chairman Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, said after his committee received updates about the property-insurance market from state…

KANSAS CITY, — Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca says County Executive Frank White’s office has been exploring other avenues to fund the stadiums that the Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs will play in in the future. On Oct. 2, County Administrator Troy Schulte told FOX4 that if there’s a will, there’s a way to get an agreement done to keep the Royals in Jackson County. The county currently owns both Kauffman and Arrowhead stadiums. “We’ve got some ideas from a county perspective,” Schulte said in an interview with FOX4 that day. “If we can get the Royals to…

The U.S. may have to step in to soothe the frayed ties between its security ally and neighbor Canada and a critical strategic partner, India. The confrontation, which has simmered for years, escalated this week after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau voiced suspicions that Indian authorities might be linked to the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in suburban Vancouver in June. Trudeau’s unusual decision to go public with such a serious allegation, even before any arrests have been made in the murder case, has caused widespread condemnation in India, while attracting only muffled expression of concern and calls for further investigation from Canada’s Western…