As many as 740,000 urgent cancer case referrals have been missed in the UK since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic due to backlogs and growing waiting lists, a new report has warned.
The UK National Audit Office (NAO) estimated in a report on Wednesday that between 240,000 and 740,000 urgent referrals for suspected cancer cases were missed from the start of the pandemic until September 2021, as “millions of people have avoided seeking, or been unable to obtain, healthcare.”
The report claimed that the number of people undergoing cancer treatment dropped to such levels as Covid-19 took hold in the UK. “By June 2021, NHS cancer services activity had recovered to pre-pandemic levels. However, in September 2021 only 68% of patients requiring treatment within 62 days of urgent referral by their GP were receiving that treatment on time,” the NAO said.
The NAO also warned that the waiting list in 2025 could be much higher than it is today, explaining that if “50% of missing referrals return to the NHS and activity grows only in line with pre-pandemic plans, the waiting list would reach 12 million by March 2025.”
Catchup With Cancer co-founder Professor Pat Price said the report “shows we are in the middle of the biggest cancer catastrophe ever to hit the NHS.”
“There is a deadly cocktail of delays across the board, a regional lottery of cancer inequality and a growing cancer backlog. And it feels like the Government and NHS leaders have their heads in the sand,” she said, calling the situation “frightening.”
The US Department of Energy is looking to store spent nuclear fuel in willing communities around the country, calling on volunteers to host the radioactive waste as it attempts to implement the White House’s climate plan.
The department announced the move in a statement on Tuesday, requesting feedback from communities on a “consent-based siting process” that will be used to identify new storage locations for nuclear waste, with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm noting the project could mean “jobs” and “new infrastructure” in the towns selected.
“Hearing from and then working with communities interested in hosting one of these facilities is the best way to finally solve the nation’s spent nuclear fuel management issues,” she said, adding that “the public’s input is central to identifying those locations to make this process as inclusive and effective as possible.”
BREAKING: @ENERGY issues request for information on interim storage of our nation’s spent nuclear fuel—officially restarting consent-based siting program.
The Energy Department also argued that nuclear energy is “essential” to the Joe Biden administration’s goal to create a “carbon pollution-free power sector” by 2035, and a net zero emissions economy by 2050, and cited the need for “near-term action” in managing the stockpile of spent fuel.
The voluntary siting initiative was first suggested under President Barack Obama, who commissioned a panel of experts to issue a recommendation for future nuclear waste policy. The panel ultimately called for a “consent-based approach,” and by 2015 the Obama administration said it would attempt to move in that direction. President Donald Trump pushed the program another step forward last year in signing the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which set aside some $27.5 million for nuclear waste disposal activities and directed the Energy Department to find and develop new storage sites.
Xiomara Castro, the wife of ousted former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, was pronounced the winner of Honduras’ presidential election on Tuesday after rival Nasry Asfura conceded defeat.
Asfura conceded the election after 52% of the counted votes showed Castro had a clear majority of 53% over Asfura’s 34% and he publicly congratulated her victory, saying, “I hope that God illuminates and guides her so that her administration does the best for the benefit of all of us Hondurans, to achieve development and the desires for democracy.”
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also congratulated Castro for becoming Honduras’ first female president and said the US was looking forward to working with her government.
“We congratulate Hondurans for the high voter turnout, peaceful participation, and active civil society engagement that marked this election, signaling an enduring commitment to the democratic process,” Blinken declared.
Castro previously served as Honduras’ First Lady between 2006 and 2009, up until her husband Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a military coup. Zelaya claimed the US was behind the coup and attributed it to his signing of Hugo Chavez’s Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA).
“The US warned me: If you sign the Bolivarian Alternative to the Americas (ALBA), you’re going to have problems with the US. I signed it, and six months later, I had problems,” he told RT America in 2019, adding, “When you give them competition in the free market, they stop being capitalist. They become retrograde, authoritarian, and they play coups, wars, invasions.”
US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has claimed that the US and China were engaged in an accelerating hypersonic arms race and that the US military hadn’t done enough to develop weapons capable of “scaring” Beijing.
Kendall told Reuters on Tuesday that “there is an arms race, not necessarily for increased numbers, but for increased quality” and that the race had “been going on for quite some time.”
The secretary also claimed “the Chinese have been at it very aggressively,” and that while the US hadn’t “done nothing,” it also hadn’t “done enough.”
“I love the A-10. The C-130 is a great aircraft that's been very capable and very effective for a lot of missions. The MQ-9s have been very effective for counterterrorism and so on. They're still useful, but none of these things scare China,” Kendall said, referring to A-10 Thunderbolt straight wing fighter jet, Lockheed C-130 Hercules four-engine transport aircraft, and MQ-9 Reaper drones. The aircrafts were produced in 1972, 1954, and 2001 respectively.
US military top brass has been sounding the alarm over Beijing's alleged advantage in cutting-edge military technology. Reports in the US media of a hypersonic test allegedly conducted by China in summer riled up the Pentagon, with a top US Space Force general stating that the US was far behind China and Russia when it comes to hypersonic weapons.
“We’re not as advanced as the Chinese or the Russians in terms of hypersonic programs,”said US Space Force General David Thompson in November, adding that the US has “catching up to do very quickly.”
Beijing, however, has repeatedly denied reports that it had tested a hypersonic missile, insisting that the July launch involved a regular reusable space vehicle.
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has discussed the chances of SpaceX going bankrupt, saying it’s “not impossible” under the right conditions amid reports of a production “crisis” plaguing the firm’s Raptor engines.
Commenting on the alleged production problems on Tuesday, Musk outlined a scenario in which SpaceX could go bankrupt, saying a worldwide financial downturn coupled with other problems at the company could spell its demise, though noted that was not likely to happen.
“If a severe global recession were to dry up capital availability / liquidity while SpaceX was losing billions on Starlink & Starship, then bankruptcy, while still unlikely, is not impossible,” he said in a tweet.
If a severe global recession were to dry up capital availability / liquidity while SpaceX was losing billions on Starlink & Starship, then bankruptcy, while still unlikely, is not impossible.
The post came in response to a report citing an email allegedly sent by Musk to SpaceX employees and obtained by a news site, Space Explored, in which the company founder voiced grave concerns about the Raptor engine used by its Starship craft.
“Unfortunately, the Raptor production crisis is much worse than it had seemed a few weeks ago,” he said in the leaked message, telling employees the firm “will need all hands on deck to recover from what is, quite frankly, a disaster.”
What it comes down to, is that we face a genuine risk of bankruptcy if we can’t achieve a Starship flight rate of at least once every two weeks next year.
Musk did not confirm the authenticity of the email to Space Explored, though also did not dispute its veracity in responding to the report online, instead commenting further on whether the company could go belly-up.
The leaked email also noted the “exiting of prior senior management” involved with the Raptor project, possibly referring to the departure of two company executives earlier this month, first reported by CNBC. SpaceX’s vice president of propulsion, Will Heltsley, was reportedly taken off of the Raptor team “due to a lack of progress” before ultimately resigning his post.
Musk added yet more intrigue with his internet commentary on Tuesday. When asked about “the Raptor thing” by a Twitter user, he replied “It’s getting fixed” without elaborating, kicking off a storm of questions from curious observers.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has revealed the penalties that National Guard members might face if they refuse vaccination against Covid-19, giving soldiers an ultimatum that could affect their pay.
In a Tuesday memo, Austin restated his claim that vaccination is “essential to the health and readiness of the Force,” and ordered the establishment of “policies and implementation guidance to address the failure to maintain this military medical readiness requirement by members of the non-federalized National Guard who remain unvaccinated.”
The penalties Austin outlined included a ban on participation in training and drills for unvaccinated state National Guard members and a withdrawal of federal funding for “payment of duties” to those who refuse the vaccine.
Additionally, Austin stated that “no credit or excused absence shall be afforded to members who do not participate drills, training, or other duty due to failure to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.”
The Pentagon has been engaged in a standoff with the Oklahoma state National Guard since Governor Kevin Stitt requested in November that his state’s Guard be exempt from vaccine requirements. The request was rejected this week.
The Oklahoma National Guard’s 45th Infantry Brigade Commander, Brigadier General Thomas Mancino, told his soldiers earlier this month that “no negative administrative or legal action” would be taken if they refused vaccination, however the Pentagon has repeatedly warned that refusal could “jeopardize the member’s status in the National Guard,” even if they serve under state control instead of federal.
France has sent police reinforcements to its overseas territory Martinique after riots broke out in response to a mandatory Covid-19 vaccine policy for health care workers.
Some 70 armed French police officers, known in France as gendarmes, arrived in Martinique on Tuesday to tackle the violent protests, marred by arson, looting, and vandalism.
French Minister of Overseas Territories Sebastien Lecornu said in a press conference that “social dialogue is not possible without a sound basis and that sound basis is the re-establishment of freedoms... and our capacity to re-establish order.”
Civil unrest broke out after France imposed a vaccine mandate for health care workers in Martinique, which has reported low vaccination rates amid high levels of mistrust in the government and faith in natural medicine
As a result of the riots – which included an attack on the residence of France’s most senior official on the island – France revealed on Friday that it would be postponing its vaccine mandate.
Lecornu has blamed Martinique’s vaccine hesitancy on the island’s culture, saying, “I don’t want to stigmatise but the mistrust over vaccines is cultural.”
Protesters, however, have argued that they are unable to trust officials with their health after previous cases of misconduct. 95% of adults in Martinique have traces of a pesticide with links to cancer in their blood after it was consistently sprayed on the island for several decades.
Martinique was colonized by France in 1635 and has remained under French control despite independence efforts.
US President Joe Biden’s plans for mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations have been blocked by two federal judges. One order blocked the federal healthcare mandate nationwide, while another blocked it for contractors in three states.
Federal Judge Terry Doughty in Louisiana issued a nationwide injunction against the mandate for employees and contractors of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Tuesday evening, saying Biden’s mandate violated the constitutional separation of powers.
Judge Terry Doughty has enjoined the CMS mandate NATIONALLY.
This is the case brought by Louisiana, Montana, Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia in the Western District of Louisiana.https://t.co/7AGpVpgBlnpic.twitter.com/dKpK5xmREC
“If human nature and history teach anything, it is that civil liberties face grave risks when governments proclaim indefinite states of emergency,” Doughty wrote in his ruling. “During a pandemic such as this one, it is even more important to safeguard the separation of powers set forth in our Constitution to avoid erosion of our liberties.”
While the case will ultimately be decided in a higher court, “it is important to preserve the status quo in this case. The liberty interest of the unvaccinated requires nothing less,” the judge wrote.
The case was brought by attorneys-general of Louisiana, Montana, Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia – all Republicans.
Judge Doughty’s injunction applies to all US states except ten where it was already enjoined by another federal judge. US District Judge Matthew Schelp blocked the CMS mandate in Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota on Monday.
Meanwhile, US District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove in the Eastern District of Kentucky blocked the attempt to mandate vaccinations for federal contractors in Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.
In his opinion, Van Tatenhove said the challenge was not “about whether vaccines are effective. They are.”
However, the case brought by Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron asked if Biden can “use congressionally delegated authority to manage the federal procurement of goods and services to impose vaccines on the employees of federal contractors and subcontractors.”
In all likelihood, the answer to that question is no.
If the mandate can be invoked in the name of economy and efficiency in federal procurement, then such powers can be exploited by the president “to enact virtually any measure... under the guise of economy and efficiency,” wrote Van Tatenhove, granting the injunction.
The Biden administration previously set a November 22 deadline for federal workers and January 4 for federal contractors to be vaccinated against Covid-19, with those who did not receive an exemption facing penalties or loss of jobs.
Top CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has been suspended “indefinitely” from the network after new details emerged about his efforts to do damage control for his brother, ex-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, during a sexual harassment scandal.
CNN announced the move in a statement on Tuesday, saying that newly released documents from the New York Attorney General’s office raised “serious questions” about Cuomo’s conduct. The network claimed that while it was aware Cuomo had given his brother “advice” during the harassment controversy, it did not realize the extent of his involvement.
“When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother’s staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly. But we also appreciated the unique position he was in and understood his need to put family first and job second,” CNN said.
“However, these documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brother’s efforts than we previously knew.
As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation
Released on Monday by New York AG Letitia James, the trove of documents includes text messages and emails detailing Cuomo’s efforts to protect his brother, then the governor, from public scrutiny. In one message, the governor’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, asked the CNN pundit to consult his “sources” about a rumor that Politico was planning on publishing a story with additional allegations, to which Cuomo replied “On it.” Cuomo also offered to keep tabs on pending news reports concerning harassment allegations at other outlets. Governor Cuomo, who resigned in August amid the scandal, was accused of sexual misconduct by at least 12 women, with a State Assembly report issued last week claiming there was “overwhelming evidence that the former governor engaged in sexual harassment” while in office. Despite resigning, the ex-governor has denied the allegations, at one point claiming that “playful” behavior was “misinterpreted as unwanted flirtation.”
The allegations of sexual misconduct overshadowed another scandal over Cuomo’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. The ex-governor has been accused of covering up coronavirus deaths at nursing homes, and was blamed for indirectly causing some of them with a controversial order to release recovering Covid-19 patients into long-term care facilities early in the pandemic.
A major hospital near the Portuguese capital will implement a two-week closure of multiple children’s wards after a doctor there tested positive for the Covid-19 Omicron variant, with dozens now in quarantine amid a new outbreak.
The Garcia de Orta hospital in Almada, located some 12 kilometers (7 miles) south of Lisbon, said it would temporarily shut down its pediatric emergency and outpatient departments on Tuesday night, citing a single Omicron infection among staff, according to a statement obtained by Reuters. The wards will remain closed for 14 days.
The hospital noted that 28 people believed to have interacted with the infected doctor are now in isolation, while another 69 people across Portugal are currently in quarantine after coming into contact with other suspected Omicron carriers, bringing the total to 97, according to local media reports.
The Garcia de Orta doctor who tested positive on Tuesday also serves on the medical staff of a top division football club, Belenenses SAD. In addition to the doctor, 12 other Omicron cases have been detected among the team as of Monday, health authorities said. At least one athlete on the team recently returned from South Africa, where some of the first Omicron infections were detected earlier this month.
The World Health Organization (WHO) designated the new “variant of concern” last week, with its chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan noting that Omicron was seen to have a large number of mutations in its spike protein, the mechanism by which the coronavirus hijacks host cells and causes infection. However, while Omicron has already triggered alarm around the world, prompting travel bans and other restrictions in a growing number of countries, it remains unclear if the new strain is more infectious or deadly than others seen before it. The WHO has suggested it could take several weeks before much insight is gleaned into the variant, as researchers race to determine whether it is resistant to existing Covid-19 vaccines or therapies.
Americans are increasingly frustrated with President Joe Biden and his administration's handling of soaring gas prices, with a recent poll showing that less than 30% believe the White House has done a good job on the issue.
The latest Rasmussen poll shows that only 26% of respondents approve of the president's response to climbing gas prices, which are now averaging well over a dollar higher than a year ago across the country.
According to data from the American Automobile Association, the current average cost of gas per gallon in the US is about $3.40, while it was just over $2 per gallon last year.
Over 80% of those polled pointed to gas prices as a serious problem in the US, with almost 60% of that group identifying it as a “very serious” problem. The issue is not partisan, with the poll showing that a majority of Republicans, Democrats, as well as Independents see rising gasoline prices as a serious issue.
Overall, some 62% of respondents said that Biden has not done enough to address the issue, while 14% said they did not see the rising energy prices as a real problem. Biden's highest support on the issue came from Democrats, standing at 38%.
Ballooning fuel costs, supply chain issues and record inflation have seen Biden's own approval numbers tumble in recent weeks.
Biden and others in his administration have expressed a long-term goal of moving away from the gas industry, and petroleum in general, with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently urging Americans to buy electric vehicles and ditch their gasoline expenses for good. While Buttigieg has discussed a potential e-vehicle “discount” of up to $12,500 in Biden's Build Back Better bill, his buying recommendation prompted charges that the administration is out of touch with working class Americans, as such ‘green’ cars can average around $50,000.
Biden has also talked about reducing the US' dependence on gas, saying the country needs to switch to “clean energy” in the long term. He doubled down on that plan when he ordered the release of 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve last week in an effort to tackle the gas crisis.
Among 1,000 likely voters interviewed by Rasmussen, most didn’t see clean energy as a solution to today's problems. Only 24% said they believe a switch to clean energy could happen in the next five years, while 21% suggested it may happen in 10. Another 32% see more than 10 years in that journey, while 17% think it'll simply never happen.
At least three students were killed and six other people were wounded in a school shooting in Oakland County, Michigan, north of Detroit. A 15-year-old suspect who police said acted alone and used a handgun, is in custody.
“We have one suspected shooter in custody along with a handgun,” Oakland County undersheriff Mike McCabe said on Tuesday.
Police believe the suspect acted alone in the attack at Oxford High School, and used only one weapon. He surrendered to deputies without further incident.
The FBI is assisting local law enforcement and looking at the suspect’s social media to figure out a potential motive.
Oxford is a suburban township about 40 miles (64 km) north of Detroit. Police got a call at 12:51p.m. local time about an active shooter at Oxford High School. Deputies had the suspect in custody within five minutes of that, the sheriff’s department said. A deputy assigned to the school assisted in the arrest.
The school was evacuated and students were reunited with parents and relatives at a nearby parking lot.
The pilot who flew pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell between their high-end haunts has testified at her sex-trafficking trial, confirming certain VIPs were on board.
Larry Visoski, who testified he flew Epstein to his private island in the Caribbean “at least every 10 days for 20 years,” told the court on Tuesday during the second day of Maxwell’s trial that it was “not unusual” for Maxwell – Epstein’s close confidante and the alleged procurer of the young girls from whom he received “erotic massages” – to sit with him in the cockpit and fly his helicopters.
The accused child sex trafficker is a licensed helicopter pilot, though it’s not clear how many of the flights Visoski made with Epstein were made with her present – in the cockpit or elsewhere on the plane. He did recall flying both a “powder-blue-eyed” singer from Interlochen Music Camp in Michigan and was familiar with Virginia Roberts (now Virginia Roberts Giuffre) who has accused both Epstein and Britain’s Prince Andrew of abuse.
While Visoski said that he “never saw any sexual activity,” he also acknowledged that Epstein and Maxwell probably would have asked him to stay in the cockpit had they been engaged in such illicit activity.
He also testified that former US president Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and Donald Trump, among others, flew on the jet.
Visoski’s testimony was not the only source of details related to the late sex offender’s air travel to go public the week of Maxwell’s trial. The Federal Aviation Administration managed to leak data on hundreds of previously unknown flights by Epstein’s private planes in response to an inquiry by Business Insider on Monday. While the publication had previously asked for the data, they had been refused, and only later received the records “in response to an unrelated request.”
The information was added to a searchable database featuring details on Epstein’s mile-high companions, one of which now contains data on 2,618 flights by Maxwell’s alleged partner in crime between 1995 to July 6, 2019 – the day the plane landed in Teterboro, New Jersey, where Epstein was arrested, never to fly again.
It included a list of 704 flights that were previously unknown to the public, many dating from a three year ‘gap’ in the public record, from 2013 to 2016, when the jets’ movements were told to be “unaccounted for.” The mistakenly released records do not include passenger names, but may “offer clues” about the travel destinations of Epstein's closest companions, Insider noted.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell informed a Senate committee on Tuesday that “transitory” is a word that should be retired when talking about inflation as it suggests the phenomenon will be “short-lived.”
Asked about his use of the term transitory when speaking about inflation by Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania), Powell admitted the word’s actual definition may not exactly fit what he and others have been trying to get across to Americans dealing with record inflation and booming costs on everything from food to fuel.
“It carries a time, a sense of [being] short-lived,” Powell said of the word in question. “We tend to use it to mean that it won’t leave a permanent mark in the form of higher inflation. I think it’s probably a good time to retire that word and try to explain clearly what we mean.”
Stock markets took a hit following Powell’s remarks, with the Dow Jones, S&P, and Nasdaq indexes all tumbling by over 1%, which marked 500 and 200 points for the Dow Jones and Nasdaq.
Inflation hit a 30-year high in October, with consumer prices rising 6.2%, which had already followed months of rising costs and inflation over 5%, as reported by the Labor Department.
The Fed chair said because consumer market rates have continued to rise, it may be time for the Federal Reserve to change its strategy of bond purchases, meant to help the economy recover, though some have said the Fed’s economic meddling has only further contributed to a ballooning market.
“At this point, the economy is very strong and inflationary pressures are high and it is therefore appropriate, in my view, to consider wrapping up the taper of our asset purchases,” he said.
Already-introduced vaccines might hopefully be capable of shielding people from severe Covid-19 disease even against the new Omicron variant, World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Russia Melita Vujnovic told RT.
The WHO does not have any “strong indications” so far suggesting the Covid-19 strain recently discovered in southern Africa possesses a “major immune escape” mechanism, Vujnovic said on Tuesday, adding that the UN health watchdog hopes that means the existing vaccines would work against it as they do in the case of all previous Covid-19 variants, including Delta.
All the existing jabs mainly prevent severe disease where a vaccinated person contracts Covid-19, the WHO representative explained. They also reduce infection rate but are still unable to break the infection chain completely, she admitted.
They will provide a certain level of protection, including for the most vulnerable. That is the most important.
The world is yet to find out how high this level of protection would be, Vujnovic said, adding that all the vaccine producers are currently testing their products against the new strain and are to present the results of these tests shortly.
The WHO representative also said she personally supports the idea of the jabs becoming a “global good so that we can vaccinate everybody,” when asked if vaccine patents should be suspended.
The UN health watchdog still does not know just how dangerous the new strain is, Vujnovic admitted. Many Omicron cases recorded in South Africa so far involved fairly young people and Covid-19 generally tends to be not so severe when it comes to this demographic, she explained.
“We do not have reports at this moment that it is causing a more severe disease or that it is more lethal,” she said, adding, though, that the WHO does not possess enough epidemiological data to confirm that is indeed the case.
No Omicron infection clusters have so far been identified in the WHO European Region, Vujnovic also said, referring to the group comprising European nations, former Soviet states, Turkey and Israel. “Delta continues to be the predominant strain” there, she said.
So far, only a handful of Omicron cases have been reported by several European nations, including Germany, Belgium, the UK, and the Netherlands. The latest data published by the Dutch health authorities suggest, though, that the new Covid-19 variant may have arrived to the continent earlier than previously thought.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ordered Meta, the ‘company formerly known as Facebook’, to offload money-losing recent acquisition Giphy, insisting the app could harm competition.
Meta, which bought the GIF-making app back in May when it was still called Facebook, has been ordered to sell Giphy “in its entirety,” according to a Tuesday press release from the CMA. The regulator body reasoned that the deal could “harm social media users and UK advertisers,” by denying or limiting other platform’s access to Giphy gifs.
In doing so, Meta could start directing traffic instead to its subsidiary sites – Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp – or change the terms of access to require competitors to supply more user data in order to use the animated images on Giphy, the CMA pointed out.
It’s the first time the CMA has attempted to undo an acquisition by the tech giant, despite the social media behemoth’s previous purchases of competitors or their apps. It pointed out that Giphy’s “advertising services” could potentially compete with Facebook’s own, and “would have also encouraged greater innovation from others in the market” – but they were terminated due to the merger.
“By requiring Facebook to sell Giphy, we are protecting millions of social media users and promoting competition and innovation in digital advertising,” said Stuart McIntosh, chair of the independent inquiry group.
Meta responded by arguing the CMA was sending a “chilling message” to start-up entrepreneurs that they should “not build new companies because you will not be able to sell them.”
The order, which Meta has the right to appeal, takes care to point out how much money will be at stake, noting that the company (which is still referred to as Facebook in the order, despite having recently begun a lavish rebranding campaign) controls “nearly half of the £7 billion [$9.3 billion] display advertising market in the UK.”
Facebook bought Giphy for a reported $400 million and was said to be destined for integration into Instagram before the CMA slapped it with a £50.5 million ($67.12 million) fine for failing to follow its earlier orders regarding the acquisition in October.
One of the most successful players in African football history has produced a blistering live rant to an audience of millions during a Premier League game, urging Muslim people to act on homosexuality.
Mohamed Aboutrika boasts more than seven million followers on Instagram, including Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah and Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez.
Providing punditry for BeIN Sports on Manchester United's 1-1 draw at Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday, Aboutrika launched into a homophobic rant sparked by the wearing of rainbow-themed LGBTQ laces.
Players are donning the symbols on their boots in solidarity with the UK-based LGBT rights charity Stonewall as part of a Premier League-backed campaign between November 27 and December 2 to promote equality and diversity.
Mohamed Aboutrika, a retired soccer player, went on Arab equivalent of ESPN (@beINSPORTS) to say homosexuality is against humanity. He’s criticizing @premierleague for its #RainbowLaces campaign. World Cup will be in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal. pic.twitter.com/lnpl9reBve
The joint initiative encourages "LGBT+ acceptance among children and young people" and aims to equip coaches, teachers and leaders withresources and programs promoting positive attitudes towards the LGBT+ community.
Aboutrika, who won back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations titles with Egypt and scored the winning goal in the 2008 final, clearly doesn't approve.
"This phenomenon, the sexual abnormality of homosexuality – we must educate and raise young kids," the committed Muslim said in his on-air outburst, via translation.
"Such a phenomenon does not fit our faith and does not fit our religion. In the past, we used to say 'ignore this phenomenon.' But no – now this phenomenon became nasty and it exists.
"We give credit to many Muslim players in the Premier League for not participating in LGBT campaigns. That's the role of Muslim players and Muslim scholars – this phenomenon broke through our society.
"This phenomenon is not only against Islam's nature; it's against human nature. Allah says in the Quran, 'we have honored the children of Adam.' So by doing this homosexuality, we are not honoring humans, we are humiliating them. People should pay attention and be careful – sports are inside every home now.
"We all have a role to play to stand up against this homosexuality, this phenomenon which is not complete with Islam and is against common sense.
"Our religion, Islam, and all religions [must] fight it and warn about it. So this is our role to play, we have to pay attention. I hope that in the coming years, BeIN Sports, during [LGBT campaigns], will only show the game live at the referee's whistle, without studios in order to avoid everything LGBT-related.
"We can't guarantee what happens in the middle of games, but anyway, this is a suggestion to beIN Sports. Our role is to stand up to homosexuality because it's a dangerous ideology, it's becoming nasty and people are not ashamed of it anymore. They will tell you that homosexuality is 'human rights'. No, it is not 'human rights' – in fact, it's against humanity."
BeIN Sports issued a response amid a backlash. "As a global media group we represent, champion and support people, causes and interests of every single background, language and cultural heritage across 43 hugely diverse countries, as we show every day," the Qatari channel said through a spokesperson.
The Premier League said that it "wholeheartedly" disagrees with the analyst's views.
"The Premier League and its clubs are committed to supporting LGBTQ+ inclusion and making clear football is for everyone," it added.
The mayor of Oakland, California is seeking to reverse a multi-million dollar budget cut planned for local police, instead calling to hire more officers and boost funding amid a surge in violent crime and homicides in the area.
Mayor Libby Schaaf said her office would press the Oakland City Council to undo the upcoming $18 million budget cut, which was approved by local lawmakers in June and is set to take effect next year. She vowed to continue efforts at “violence prevention” outside the realm of law enforcement, but nonetheless stressed the need to expand the police force.
“While we are not backing down whatsoever on our historic investments in prevention, as well as a non-police response option..., we must address police staffing shortages, and that is what we will do,” Schaaf said on Monday.
There is nothing progressive about unbridled gun violence. This is what Oaklanders want, a comprehensive and effective approach to safety, and that includes adequate police staffing.
Today I announced our plan to restore police staffing by keeping the promise to voters who passed Measure Z + cancelling some of the police cuts scheduled for July 1. Increased police response will not reduce our historic investments in violence prevention + MACRO.
The announcement followed a series of shootings last weekend that left three people dead, including a 1-year-old boy struck by a stray bullet as he slept in a car seat, as well as a retired police officer killed while working a security detail for a local news crew, according to the Associated Press. Those brought the number of homicides investigated by the Oakland PD to 127 so far this year.
The mayor also noted that a measure passed by voters in 2014 requires the city’s police department to have at least 678 officers on staff, and that the PD had fallen just one officer short of that threshold, adding that it would boost its recruitment outreach to meet the quota.
The decision to defund the Oakland Police Department mirrored similar moves in a number of cities following the death of George Floyd at the hands of officers in Minnesota last year, which sparked months of protests nationwide and calls to slash police budgets across the country.
However, some cities that saw cuts, including New York, Los Angeles, Portland and Washington, DC, have begun to revive law enforcement budgets, or at least flirt with the idea. In July, DC’s Mayor Muriel Bowser pressed for an additional $11 million to hire and train more officers after city lawmakers voted to slash the police budget, while Portland more recently passed a measure to restore $5.2 million to the local PD following similar cuts last year.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has rejected a bid from the Oklahoma National Guard that would give its members the freedom to not get vaccinated against Covid-19, with the Pentagon ruling vaccination to be mandatory.
In a letter on Monday, Austin formally rejected Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt’s request that the state’s National Guard be exempt from the Pentagon’s Covid-19 military vaccine mandate.
Austin also threatened action against unvaccinated members of Oklahoma’s National Guard, warning that refusal to get vaccinated “may lead to a prohibition on the member’s participation in drills and training” and could “jeopardize the member’s status in the National Guard.”
Though Governor Stitt expressed concern that the vaccine mandate could result in an understaffed National Guard, which would be less able to respond to state security threats and weather emergencies, Austin argued that such concerns did “not negate the need for this important military readiness requirement.”
The governor had requested an exemption in a letter earlier this month, claiming that the “irresponsible” vaccine mandate “violates the personal freedoms of many Oklahomans, as it asks them to potentially sacrifice their personal beliefs in order to not lose their jobs.”
Oklahoma’s National Guard and the Pentagon have been engaged in a standoff since the Guard’s 45th Infantry Brigade Commander, Brigadier General Thomas Mancino, told his soldiers earlier this month that “no negative administrative or legal action” would be taken if they refused vaccination.
The state’s National Guard argued that the Pentagon’s mandate only applied to federal soldiers, not state, however the Pentagon has repeatedly threatened disciplinary action for all National Guard members who refuse to comply, calling it a “lawful order” and citing the Guard’s federal funding.
Despite claims to the contrary, CNN host Chris Cuomo helped do damage control for his brother Andrew as the disgraced New York governor was dealing with sex-pest scandal, texts released by NY Attorney General Letitia James show.
Cuomo, who had supposedly promised not to cover his brother on the air in an agreement with CNN that fell by the wayside during the Covid-19 pandemic, apparently spent much of his time over the past year struggling to cover up for Andrew’s alleged sexually harassing behavior, according to messages AG James released on Monday.
In a text exchange between @ChrisCuomo and top Andrew Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa, the CNN host asks to “please let me help with the prep” of his older brother’s sexual harassment defense and helps devise a PR strategy. pic.twitter.com/XnQ3W2axWE
The CNN talking head texted back and forth dozens of times with Cuomo’s chief aide Melissa DeRosa and even used the network’s resources to dig up “dirt” on women who’d accused Andrew of harassment, despite Chris’s repeated insistence he was not “closely advising” his brother and had only “irregular contact” with DeRosa.
Indeed, his involvement with DeRosa went deep enough that he would ask her to “please let me help with prep” to get Andrew ready for his next public appearance, telling her “We are making mistakes we cant [sic] afford” and even expressing unease about chatting with her behind the backs of the CNN brass and his brother’s other staff.
“I panic every f***ing time I see your name,” he texted DeRosa in another comment after returning an annotated version of a lengthy, awkward mea culpa apparently penned by his brother.
The former governor was officially denounced as a sex pest who’d harassed 12 women, with “overwhelming evidence,” in a report released last week. He resigned in August, swamped from one side with sexual harassment allegations and from the other with accusations of negligent homicide regarding his treatment of senior citizens held in state nursing homes during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A misdemeanor complaint alleging forcible touching was filed against him last month and a probe into his lucrative book deal is reportedly underway, complete with allegations that he misused his office resources to write the self-adulatory tome – focused on the “leadership lessons” he learned during the pandemic – for free.
Howard Zucker, the state healthcare commissioner responsible for the care home policy that allegedly led to tens of thousands of deaths, resigned in September. That left lieutenant governor Kathy Hochul as governor and highest-ranking holdover from Cuomo’s tenure in Albany.
Human rights groups in Israel have asked the supreme court to repeal the government’s decree reauthorizing the internal security service to spy on cell phones as part of a plan to stop the new Omicron Covid-19 variant.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, to use the phone-tracking technology initially developed for counter-terrorism purposes, as part of the measures announced Sunday aimed at preventing the new Omicron strain of the virus from spreading. Bennett also sealed Israel to all foreign travelers for 14 days.
Four human rights groups petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice on Monday, challenging Bennett’s decision as “ill-fated and illegal” and in violation of the court’s earlier ruling.
“The High Court ruled in April 2020 that the Shin Bet cannot be authorized to implement contact tracing via Emergency regulations or government decision, but must convene the Knesset [Israel’s parliament] and advance legislation. Thus resuming the program via emergency regulation is a blatant disregard for the rule of law,” the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), one of the groups involved, said in a statement.
Furthermore, Shin Bet’s spying “violates the basic trust between the citizen and the government,” ACRI said. The program was first authorized in March 2020, under Covid-19 emergency measures, but the court ruled it “no longer justifiable” this March.
The surveillance technology matches the location of a person’s phone to others nearby to determine who may have come into close contact with a potential carrier of the virus. A Health Ministry official said on Sunday that its use would be “surgical” and target only confirmed or suspected carriers of Omicron.
Israel has two confirmed and ten more suspected cases of the new strain of the virus, first detected in southern Africa. While information about it is still limited, doctors in South Africa and Botswana have said it seemed significantly more transmissible than earlier variants, while causing only mild symptoms so far.
The supreme court has given Bennett until Tuesday to respond to the petition.
Prosecutors have urged the US Supreme Court to review a decision that overturned the sexual assault conviction of comedian and actor Bill Cosby, arguing that the ruling was based on a questionable non-prosecution deal.
A petition filed on Monday by Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele asked the court to take another look at the ruling that freed Cosby in June, the Associated Press reported. While a judge had accepted that Cosby was immune from prosecution under a deal made in exchange for testimony in a previous civil suit, Steele questioned the legitimacy of the deal and insisted that Cosby was eligible to be charged after all.
The only evidence of the supposed non-prosecution deal is a 2005 press release from the then-Montgomery County DA, Bruce Castor, who noted that he did not have sufficient evidence to charge Cosby at the time. However, Castor created some ambiguity with the statement, as he added that his office would “reconsider this decision should the need arise,” a passage that’s been disputed for years by lawyers on both sides.
While the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ultimately agreed that Cosby was immune from prosecution and should have never been tried, Steele insisted that Castor’s press release should not be treated as an immunity agreement, and would set a worrying precedent if it were accepted as such.
“This decision as it stands will have far-reaching negative consequences beyond Montgomery County and Pennsylvania. The US Supreme Court can right what we believe is a grievous wrong,” Steele said.
The DA’s attempt to revive the case will likely face an uphill battle, as the Supreme Court accepts fewer than 1% of all petitions filed, according to the AP.
Cosby, now 84, was among the first celebrities convicted of a sex crime during the ‘#MeToo’ campaign, which saw a number of big names in Hollywood accused of sexual assault or misconduct, some later charged. Though he continues to deny all wrongdoing, he was found guilty of drugging and molesting a college sports administrator, Andrea Constand, in 2018, before being freed last June, at which point he had served nearly three years of a 10-year sentence. Cosby’s legal problems did not end there, however, as he was sued by another sexual assault accuser just months after his release from prison, a case that is still ongoing.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has encouraged all American adults to get a booster shot of the Covid-19 vaccine citing the “increased transmissibility” of the Omicron variant of the virus.
“Everyone ages 18 and older should get a booster shot either when they are six months after their initial Pfizer or Moderna series or two months after their initial J&J vaccine,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement on Monday.
<Breaking news>@CDCDirector has changed booster guidance.
Now stating all adults 18+ who are more than 6 months from Pfizer or Moderna or 2 months from J&J *should* boost, based on Omicron concerns.
— Jeremy Faust MD MS (ER physician) (@jeremyfaust) November 29, 2021
Citing “early data from South Africa” where the variant was first identified earlier this month, Walensky pointed out that the newly-detected strain appears to be more contagious, and noted that its discovery prompted a review of vaccine effectiveness in the US and around the world.
The official also seized the opportunity to call on some 47 million Americans older than 18 who have been reluctant to get vaccinated so far to get the jab “as soon as possible,” as well as to vaccinate their children, “because strong immunity will likely prevent serious illness.”
By urging all Americans to get a booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, the CDC expanded its previous recommendation that pertained only to those aged 50 and older and people living in long-term care facilities.
Earlier this month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made all adults in the US eligible for booster shots, but stopped short of outright recommending the extra doses.
The new Covid-19 strain – known as B.1.1.529 or Omicron – has stirred panic globally, amid concerns that it could render the existing vaccines far less effective or completely useless. The variant, which is marked by 32 mutations of the spike protein, has spread beyond southern Africa and has already triggered a wave of travel bans around the world.
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Fans could not believe what they were watching as Chelsea legend Didier Drogba asked two bizarre questions to the best female footballer in the world at the Ballon d'Or ceremony.
Deadpanning Drogba was one of the star names taking part in the glitzy ceremony at the Chatelet Theater in Paris, where Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or for a seventh time.
As many of the planet's best-known footballers and the eyes of the world watched on, Drogba presented Barcelona captain Alexia Putellas with the Ballon D'or Feminin.
The two-time African Footballer of the Year then asked the Women's Champions League: "Who are you?"
The brief silence that ensued was reminiscent of the farce when football great Aga Hegerberg won the award in 2018.
On that occasion, DJ Martin Solveig unfathomably chose one of the finest moments of her career to ask Hegerberg whether she could 'twerk' – a sexually-provocative dance.
Hegerberg replied "no" and later played down the incident, with the saga leading to accusations of sexism from sports stars included tennis ace Andy Murray.
Crying at that “who are you?” comment. Drogba lowkey calling Alexia Putellas a random. #BallonDor 
Fans were shocked by 43-year-old Drogba's remark. "Crying at that 'who are you?' comment," said one. "Drogba low-key calling Alexia Putellas a random person."
Others could not understand why Drogba asked the five-time Women's Champions League winner if she was happy at winning the most prestigious individual award in her sport.
"Drogba is so uninterested in giving [the award] to Alexia," claimed one viewer.
Drogba is like so uninterested in giving it to alexia
People repeatedly snubbing Covid-19 vaccination summons in Austria after immunization becomes compulsory there might face fines of up to $8,100 or several weeks behind bars, according to a draft that was leaked to the media.
Those resisting vaccination in Austria might soon face stiff punishments, according to a leaked draft of the so-called Covid-19 Vaccination Protection Act seen by the Austrian Die Presse daily. If passed, the legislation, which is set to take effect in February, would apply both to the Alpine nation’s citizens and its permanent residents.
Under the bill, anyone who refused to attend a scheduled vaccination appointment would receive an official summons from local authorities. If an individual failed to show up, they would then be summoned one more time within the next four weeks.
Should the second official request be ignored as well, the person would face a fine of €3,600 ($4,061) or four weeks in prison. The fine would increase to €7,200 ($8,000) for those who had already been fined twice for violating the vaccination requirement.
Exceptions are only allowed for those who cannot get a jab due to “a danger to life or health” as well as pregnant women and children up to the age of 12. The bill further says that booster shots would be compulsory. The Health Ministry is tasked with regulating intervals between vaccinations and possible vaccine combinations, according to the draft.
The government would also decide who was considered “vaccinated” and whether people who have recovered from Covid-19 should be counted as “vaccinated” as well. Still, no one would be “forcibly brought” to a vaccination center or made to get a jab against their will, Die Presse reported.
The text of the bill, which will be discussed at the chancellor’s office on Tuesday, might still change, the Austrian media notes. If passed, the legislation is reportedly expected to stay in force for at least three years.
As Ghislaine Maxwell’s federal trial opened, prosecutors argued that Jeffrey Epstein’s associate helped him devise a “pyramid scheme” of sex abuse, while her defense argued Maxwell is being scapegoated for Epstein’s crimes.
After the 18-member jury was seated on Monday, Assistant US attorney Lara Elizabeth Pomerantz laid out the government’s opening arguments with a story of Jane – a reference to three minor victims named in the complaint only as “Jane Doe” – who met “dangerous predators” Epstein and Maxwell at the age of 14 and was lured into a “nightmare” by an offer of a scholarship.
AUSA Pomerantz: The man and woman were predators. Jane was not their only victim. There were other young girls. Who was that woman? It was the defendant, Ghislaine Maxwell. The defendant took these girls on shopping trips and won their trust. She talked sex
Maxwell created a “culture of silence” in which Epstein’s employees were to “see nothing, say nothing” as the “pyramid scheme of abuse” urged girls to bring in other girls, Pomerantz argued.
Epstein and Maxwell had a “playbook” to gain the girls’ trust, targeting the struggling daughters of single mothers, and using the “cover” of massage to get lure them into sex, Pomerantz said, adding that they lured the girls in with a promise of a brighter future, then destroyed their lives.
Maxwell “knew exactly what she was doing,” Pomerantz said.
Lead defense counsel Bobbi Sternheim urged jurors not to put Maxwell on trial for Epstein’s crimes. The financier and convicted sex offender reportedly committed suicide in a Manhattan jail in August 2019.
“Ever since Eve was accused of tempting Adam for the apple, women have been blamed for the bad behavior of men and women are often villainized and punished more than the men ever are,” Sterhneim said.
Epstein is the “elephant in the room” consuming the entire trial, but the jury is here to judge not him but Maxwell, Sternheim said. She described Epstein as “like a 21st-century James Bond” whose mystery stirred interest and attracted the rich and famous – and those who have “shaken the money tree.”
Arguing that prosecutors have no evidence but “memory” of the alleged victims, Sterhneim told jurors that “false memory” can be manipulated and created over time. The government’s case is stitched together from “paper cut-outs” of four different stories, with the only common denominator among the alleged victims being that they “got big payouts” from the Epstein fund.
“What you will hear are stories that are based on words and words alone,” Sternheim said. “There will not be substantive evidence to support the charges.”
Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 and charged with six counts related to sex trafficking under the Mann Act. US District Judge Alison Nathan, presiding over the trial, has limited public and media access to the proceedings, and ruled to redact certain evidence and transcripts on the grounds they would serve only to cater to a “craving for that which is sensational and impure.”
Lionel Messi has had a superb year and almost dragged Barcelona to an unlikely league triumph. Yet the numbers behind his Ballon d'Or win set out why the result is unfair on some of his rivals – not least Robert Lewandowski.
For the Ballon d'Or winner, crediting your team-mates in your post-win interviews is mandatory. Professionalism demands effusive platitudes – and this year, they are as inevitable as the debate around Lionel Messi's seventh win.
In Messi's case, it could be argued that his victory owes more to the failures of some of his team-mates. Barcelona's demise has been sufficiently dramatic to make it hard to countenance that doomed former boss Ronald Koeman's deteriorating side were in the Liga title race until weeks before the end of last season. That's what having the most fabled attacking magician in the world does for a flawed team.
Lionel Messi: "I would like to mention Lewandowski. Everyone knows and we agree that you were the winner last year. I think France Football should award you your 2020 Ballon d’Or - you deserve it and you should have it at home." pic.twitter.com/7d3wLUSqz2
Congratulations Leo Messi and @alexiaputellas winners of the #BallonDor2021, congratulations also to all nominated players!👏 I won Striker of the Year Award and no Player can win an individual award without strongest team and loyal fans behind him. Thank you for your support🤜🤛 pic.twitter.com/I6j4BtluYS
That Messi's 30 goals were seven more than two players who were on fire for much of the season – Real Madrid's Benzema and Villarreal's Gerard Moreno – is another reminder of what a freakish talent he is.
Benzema, too, dragged a side that was poor by Madrid's standards through a season when champions Atletico profited on the two kingpins' considerable shortcomings. You could argue he has done that for at least two years. With 43 goals and 14 assists, he has one fewer goal involvement during the calendar year that the award is curiously counted by than Messi. Had Messi's goals trailed off a little earlier than they have since his move to Paris Saint-Germain in August, Benzema's claim to the title would be even more compelling.
Lothar Matthäus: "To be honest, after this vote I don't understand the world anymore. With all due respect to Lionel Messi and all the other great nominated players, Nobody deserved it like Lewandowski." [Sky]
Time has also done for Lewandowski. Not in his advancing footballing years – at 33, his relentless dedication is being rewarded with ever-greater feats for Bayern – but in the certainty that he would have won the award had it not been canceled in 2020.
With a jury of journalists voting, a slight suspicion lingers that the romanticism of voting for a player who glides majestically around the turf like Messi, as opposed to the pistons-and-power of Lewandowski or Benzema, played on the panel.
People said Lionel Messi shouldn't win the Ballon d'Or because he never won a World Cup or a Copa America. The year he wins and dominates a Copa America, people say he doesn't deserve it. The hate is real.
OFFICIAL: Lionel Messi won the 2021 Men's Ballon d'Or with 613 points, finishing 33 ahead of Robert Lewandowski in second place.#BallondOrpic.twitter.com/7OzT3NlhdU
Even without breaking Gerd Muller's remarkable Bundesliga record, Lewandowski's 64 goals in a year may never be repeated. Novelty isn't enough of a reason on its own to ultimately decide where your tick goes in the ballot in a tight contest, but if ever there was a year to conclusively argue that a player had usurped Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as super-human, this was it.
Could anyone have done more than Benzema and Lewandowski? Winning the Copa America, justifiably, has clearly swayed the king-makers more than Benzema's Nations League glory with France and the Bundesliga title which the Poland captain fired Bayern to. Messi was the best player and top scorer at the tournament, and there was a redemptive air to him finally winning a trophy with his country.
There have been enough photos of him sloping around the pitch in muted disconsolation to make the Copa win seem a fairytale which France and Bayern's consistent successes are not. Even in winning the Copa del Rey with Barca, there was a sense of sympathy for Messi, of winning in spite of the club he adores being at its lowest ebb. Lewandowski and Benzema's team-mates would not have asked them for photos with the cup in the immediate aftermath, as some of the Barcelona squad did with the spirit of starstruck celebrity spotters.
There are few signs that Benzema and Lewandowski will let up anytime soon. Kylian Mbappe and Mohamed Salah will be back in the running should they emulate the outstanding year they have had. Mbappe, at 22, is not yet as fashionable as Messi but has scored five more goals than him already for PSG this season, and will surely take the crown at some point once the older guard have stepped away.
Messi: "I fought a lot in the national team. I received criticism, but I did not lower my head, because I felt like I could not finish my national team career without winning something important." pic.twitter.com/rae4JqAeO4
Messi's potency appears to be on the wane at PSG. Then again, accusations of dwindling form seem absurdly shaky when you watch him curl in a strike of the preposterous class that he did at home to Premier League champions Manchester City, or haunt a defense on his way to setting up all of his side's goals in a game.
He did that on Sunday after Paris went a goal down, providing three sublime assists, looking like no other player in the world could do what he does. Messi is undoubtedly a worthy winner of the Ballon d'Or again. The identity of the rightful recipient is less clear.
By Ben Miller
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
