Mark Tisshaw reckons the pure-petrol Renault Clio is the best bargain out there right now The Ford Fiesta has gone off sale but long-term rival the Renault Clio is carrying on, despite a new range of similar-sized Renault EVs soon to join it in the showroom. Renault is continuing to develop the Clio too. The firm recognises the need to serve the part of its customer base that is unable or unready to go electric and keep an affordable, accessible small car on offer with no fixed deadline for its demise. Recently, it has launched a facelifted Clio, an update initially planned to make the supermini hybrid-only with an automatic gearbox, but Renault has gone further and done something that has become a quiet trend of 2023: reintroduced a pure-petrol version with a manual gearbox. Jeep and Citroën have done similar by adding petrol versions of the Avenger and C4 X to lower the price of cars originally planned as EVs only. The sole purpose of Renault’s decision is to ensure the Clio can be as affordable and as accessible as possible and the TCe 90 Evolution model is a chunky £3500 cheaper than the hybrid, at £17,795. Put a 35% deposit down and you can even have one with 0% APR, with tiny monthly payments thanks to the high residual value. Dealers are giving discounts of up to 5% as well. This Clio’s 1.0-litre triple is turbocharged and equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox. The only option is colour and it’s already a very well-equipped car, with electric everything, rear parking sensors and an infotainment that includes Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. To show how good value that Clio is, the cheapest Fiesta on the most recent price list was £19,350 and that was for the old 1.1-litre normally aspirated triple with a five-speed manual in basic Trend trim. The Clio remains a fabulous small car to drive, mixing fun handling with big-car long-distance refinement and comfort. The interior is a lovely place to be and the boot is a good size. So many boxes are ticked. Such cars of the Clio’s ilk are now an endangered species. That Renault is carrying on making them and for the right reasons is to be celebrated. Enjoy it while you still can, but rest assured that Renault’s moral compass ensures this particular Clio isn’t going anywhere for a while yet. https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/favourite-cars-2023-renault-clio-tce-90

Defender set to lead side into battle against Fluminense in Club World Cup final on Friday on back of stuttering Premier League campaign Manchester City captain Kyle Walker during the Fifa Club World Cup win over Urawa Red Diamonds at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, on December 19, 2023. Getty Images John McAuley author image John McAuley Jeddah Dec 21, 2023 Listen In English Listen in Arabic Powered by automated translation Kyle Walker is aware of the criticism - what’s more, he's used to it by now - but he has no problem taking the lead in Manchester City’s stuttering bid for silverware this season. The full-back, hugely decorated since joining City in 2017, captained the team on Tuesday night, when the English and European champions made light work of their Fifa Club World Cup debut against Asian counterparts Urawa Red Diamonds in Jeddah. Walker played a pivotal role in the 3-0 victory at King Abdullah Sports City, laying on a sumptuous assist for Mateo Kovavic to grab City’s second. The win, and the tournament overall, provides Pep Guardiola's side some respite from recent domestic troubles. City landed in the kingdom fresh from Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, when they surrendered a two-goal lead at home. The draw, extending City’s unwanted Premier League streak to a single victory in six, means they sit fourth in the table, five points from leaders Arsenal. The fault-finding, from outside at least, has followed. “I'm always going to get heat; if I'm not doing something right, I get scrutinised,” Walker says. “That's been my whole career, but it gives me the fire to keep going. “You do see it and I've had a lot of criticism from the fans about me being captain and that it's all my fault. We're a team. We're in a team game. I've said it continuously throughout my career that, if I wanted to play a solo sport, then I'd go and play tennis or golf. “But I feel being one of the most experienced players and the captain, I'm going to have to take that burden, and it's something I'm going to have to just carry on my shoulders. “And, as I say to the lads in the [pre-match] huddle, we're here because we went and achieved what we achieved, that no one's going to roll the red carpet out for us. We have to go in there, earn the right.” Walker’s words take root from not only the Palace collapse, but the matches against Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in which City conceded late goals to eventually draw. “Teams are thinking now that they can come and play against us and do what they do, which it's full credit to them,” he says. “But especially the Liverpool, Tottenham and Palace game, we're always defending. And that's not me sticking up for the defence; we're not killing games off that we used to where we go and get three, four goals or games put to bed. “And we're always defending on a knife edge. But listen, us as defenders need to deal with that pressure, because sometimes we have to hang in games and save the day sometimes.” Walker’s correct that City could be, to some extent, victims of their own success. Last year’s historic treble – Premier League, FA Cup, Uefa Champions League – stretched their top-fight title haul to five from the past six years. Successfully defend this season, still very much in play given the league has not even reached midway point, and they become the first English team to win the league in four consecutive years. Also adding “world champions” to their roll of honours might go some way to changing perceptions. Or, as Walker points out, maybe not. “I don't think we'll be looked at differently for a good couple of years now,” he says. “Because to go and achieve what the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United did, doing it year-in, year-out for a number of years. “So to be considered the best club in the world, obviously, it's a great achievement, but the lads know we're probably just starting the building blocks for this club. “Obviously. clubs have gone and won Premier Leagues in the past, but to go and do it for a dominant amount of time, like we've done it, it's not been done before. “Hopefully we're starting a new generation and we set the path for the youngsters that are coming through. And the likes of Phil Foden, the Rico [Lewises], they emulate what we've been doing over the last couple of years.” Should City clinch the Club World Cup on Friday – they face South American champions Fluminense in the final – they will reside as only the second English team to capture five trophies in a calendar year (the Uefa Super Cup the fifth). Combine the quintet of titles with three consecutive league crowns, and City would have just cause to be considered the greatest Premier League team in history. “It makes it sound easier when you say it like that, but to go and do it like your Manchester Uniteds with your Ryan Giggses that have won 14 Premier Leagues … it's a flip of a coin. “I've been involved in the Premier League since I was 19. I’m 33 now, and I can assure you it's a lot harder to win a Premier League probably than it is to go on and win a Champions League. “Champions League, you need a little bit of luck, it needs to swing your way like it did in the final for us [June's 1-0 win against Inter Milan]. “For us to do what we've done, we take great pride in that. But to be recognised as one of the top, top clubs in the world, I think we have to do it for a little bit more.” Walker believes City’s struggles are not as bad as have been portrayed, that “we’ve been a little unlucky” even if he concedes in past seasons fortune has at certain times favoured his side. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola pats Kyle Walker on the back after the win over Urawa Red Diamonds. Reuters “It swings and roundabouts, and we've been a little bit lucky that teams probably haven't capitalised on us dropping points,” he says. “So I still feel it's open. “But we're concentrating on the game on Friday now. And that's to make history for this club, a competition we've never won as players or as a club. “We'll go and tick that off and then we return to the Premier League with a tough, tough game at Goodison Park against Everton [on December 27].” Walker highlights the departure of Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez, players of exceptional talent but bona fide Premier League experience too, and need for the summer arrivals – Josep Gvardiol, Jeremy Doku, Matheus Nunes, etc – to settle as another reason for City not quite clicking into gear. But the squad are not panicking. Far from it. “We're right there, and I feel confident, the lads feel confident, that maybe this is what we need from such a high: a snap back down to reality, and we go again now,” Walker says. “Hopefully that's the starting block where we go on our good run that we seem to do along the Christmas period and pick up the points.” Still, given how the fixtures fall, by the time City return to league action next week, they could be as many as 10 points off the summit. https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2023/12/20/man-city-captain-kyle-walker-criticism-gives-me-the-fire-to-keep-going/

The IDF said the tunnels linked hideouts and homes belonging to Hamas leaders. UN says more than half a million people in Gaza are starving ABC New’s foreign correspondent Britt Clennett reports from Tel Aviv, Israel, on the latest...Show More The temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel ended on Dec. 1, and Israel has resumed its bombardment of Gaza. The end of the cease-fire came after Hamas freed over 100 of the more than 200 people its militants took hostage during the Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel. In exchange, Israel released more than 200 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. Click here for updates from previous days. Latest headlines: The Israel-Hamas war has now passed the two-month mark. In the Gaza Strip, at least 20,000 people have been killed and more than 52,600 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to figures released by Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health and the Hamas government media office. In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured by Hamas and other Palestinian militants since Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces. There has also been a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed at least 297 Palestinians in the territory since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian health authorities. Kibbutz Reim survivors move together to Tel Aviv in first-of-its-kind ‘urban kibbutz’ The surviving members of Kibbutz Reim have relocated as a unified group to temporary housing in Tel Aviv. The move creates a "first-of-its-kind urban kibbutz," according to a statement from the kibbutz. The families will live in a compound that includes two buildings and a community center, similar to what the original kibbutz had. The new temporary housing will also connect the survivors to services including psychological support and a local school. -ABC News’ Becky Perlow White House on Gaza humanitarian crisis: 'Nobody can look at the images … [and] not feel sense of pain' National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. is “leading the world” in getting humanitarian aid to Gaza, where the crisis worsens by the day. “Nobody can look at the images coming out of Gaza and … not feel a sense of pain and anguish for so many innocent people that have been displaced from their homes, families killed, many wounded,” Kirby said. Palestinian children stand in front of a pile of debris following Israeli bombardment in Raf... Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images Relatives of Palestinians, killed during Israeli strikes, mourn at the EU hospital in Khan Yu...Read More ABC News asked Kirby about a letter sent to President Joe Biden this week from a group of House Democrats that raised concerns with Israel's military operation in Gaza. The lawmakers called the civilian death toll in Gaza unacceptable and urged Biden to work to shift Israel’s strategy. Kirby acknowledged, “We don't believe you're going to be able to wipe out the ideology that inspires Hamas through military action." Kirby said the U.S. is "not dictating the terms and timelines to the Israelis" on moving to lower intensity military operations. -ABC News’ Lauren Peller Dec 21, 2:25 PM EST IDF forces destroyed network of underground tunnels in Hamas’ ‘Elite Quarter’ in Gaza The Israel Defense Forces said it has destroyed a network of tunnels found in Hamas' "Elite Quarter" in Gaza City. https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-hamas-war/?id=105728765

In a way, maybe money does grow on trees. Nicolas Puech, the fifth-generation heir of Thierry Hermès, is reportedly planning to bequeath part of his massive wealth to his 51-year-old gardener, who he also intends to legally adopt. According to the Swiss French-language publication Tribune de Genève, as well as Fortune magazine, the 80-year-old fashion house heir has indicated he will leave a substantial portion of his US$11 billion (over C$14.7 billion) fortune to his gardener. Puech is unmarried and has no children. He inherited the wealth as a descendant of Thierry Hermès, who established the Hermès fashion house in 1837. Today, the company is best known for its iconic, and very pricey, Birkin bags. Puech owns between five and six per cent of the shares in Hermès, according to numerous reports. Tribune de Genève said the gardener could inherit as much as half of the wealth from Puech. The gardener has not been named publicly but is reportedly of Moroccan descent and married with two children. He may also inherit US$5.9 million (nearly C$7.9 million) worth of property assets from Puech, who owns property in Switzerland, Morocco, Marrakesh and Montreux. Fortune said the inheritance of Swiss property specifically may pose an issue due to the country’s strict laws surrounding adult adoption. Regardless, Puech has allegedly already initiated the adoption processes to position the unnamed gardener as his true heir. There may be legal battles to come surrounding the allocation of Puech’s estate. The fashion house heir reportedly dedicated his fortune to the Isocrates Foundation years earlier, which he founded to promote media diversity in Switzerland. Puech is not directly involved in Hermès’ operations and left the brand’s supervisory board in 2014. At the time, a representative for Puech said he resigned after he was “beleaguered by members of his family, who have attacked him on several fronts.” Some of the inter-family disagreement appeared to revolve around LVMH’s stealthy acquisition of a 23 per cent stake in Hermès between 2001 and 2013. Puech is still reportedly arranging the beneficiaries of his estate. Today, Hermès is valued at approximately US$220 billion (almost C$294.9 billion). Hermès is the second most valuable luxury brand, second only to LVMH. Puech is not the only ultra-wealthy person to make unconventional decisions about their will and estate. After his death in 2010, fashion designer Alexander McQueen left £50,000 (C$85,550) to his three dogs, Minter, Juice and Callum. In 1988, a cat named Blackie inherited £7 million (about C$12 million, by today’s standards) from their deceased owner, who was an antiques dealer. The owner, Ben Rea, did not leave any money to his family — though Blackie went on to become the wealthiest cat ever. https://globalnews.ca/news/10170044/hermes-heir-nicolas-puech-billions-gardener-adopt/

Image of a fish catching a lift on a jellyfish elevator is one of the winners of the Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition. During nightfall, many small or juvenile animals hitch a ride on jellyfishes to be transported to different depths. (Image credit: Tom Shlesinger/Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition) A jellyfish "elevator" carrying a hitchhiking fish up from the ocean depths has been captured in a photo documenting one of the largest migrations in the world — one that takes place every night. Tom Shlesinger, a marine ecologist at Tel Aviv University, took the photo, titled "Nightly Elevator," off the coast of Florida's Palm Beach. It won the Behavior category at this year's Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition. The jellyfish was photographed on its nightly ascent to the surface off the coast of Florida. (Image credit: Tom Shlesinger) Shlesinger's photo captures the vertical journey of billions of marine creatures that live in the twilight zone — between 660 and 3,280 feet (200 to 1,000 meters) beneath the ocean surface — as they travel up to the surface. In the photo, an unidentified jellyfish species carries a hitchhiking yellow fish as it ascends from the depths. According to a statement from the Royal Society, many small or young animals hitch a ride up to the surface on jellyfishes, providing them with a "unique elevator." "Not only that these juveniles can peacefully rest while the jellyfish transports them above, but they also get some protection," representatives wrote. "With their stinging cells, the jellies protect their hitchhikers from predators that will avoid getting too close." Researchers think the nightly migration — known as the diel vertical migration (DVM) — is related to feeding behaviors, enabling smaller creatures to feed in the food-rich surface waters under the cover of darkness, which helps protect them from predators. Before dawn, they descend back to the safety of the twilight zone. Related: Alien-like comb jellies have a nervous system like nothing ever seen before The overall winner of the photography competition was Irina Petrova Adamatzky, whose image "Martian landscape" depicted the slime mold Lamproderma scintillans growing on a fallen leaf in the U.K. Other category winners included an image of a starfish on a coral reef, also taken by Shlesinger, and "A crack in time," by Chia-Hsin Tsai, which shows a fault in an outcrop in the Corinth Canal in Greece that was exposed during excavation work in 2022. https://www.livescience.com/animals/jellyfish-elevator-carrying-fish-from-ocean-depths-captured-in-weird-otherworldly-photo

Watch: Dramatic videos from Prague as people are seen leaping from building ledge A gunman has shot dead 14 people and injured another 25 at a university in Prague, officials say, in the deadliest attack in modern Czech history. Police say the 24-year-old gunman was also "eliminated" following the shooting at Charles University in the historic centre of the capital. University staff were told to barricade themselves in rooms during the attack. Prime Minister Petr Fiala said he had cancelled upcoming engagements in light of the "tragic events" on Thursday. The shooting started at about 15:00 local time (14:00 GMT) at the university's Faculty of Arts building on Jan Palach Square. Dramatic footage later emerged on social media showing some people jumping to safety from one of the building's ledges several storeys up, and gunshots are also heard. In a separate video, terrified crowds are seen fleeing the area po[CENSORED]r with tourists. At a briefing on Thursday evening, the country's police chief and the interior minister said the gunman had been a student at the faculty. They said he was from a village 21km (13 miles) outside Prague. The suspect's father had been found dead earlier on Thursday. The gunman's motives were not immediately known. Preliminary information suggested that no police officers were injured in the attack, the authorities said. The police said they were also working on the theory that the gunman may have been responsible for the deaths of two people last week in a forest near Prague. Police have urged any witnesses with photo or video footage of what happened to send it in The area around the university remained sealed off late into the night Sergei Medvedev, a professor at the university, told the BBC he had been in one of the university's auditoriums when the shootings began. "I was giving a lecture at the moment and at first didn't quite realise what happened because there were some sounds. The students... heard it better because I was so much concentrated on my talking, on my lecture," he said. "Then... we understood that something big is happening. There was nothing online yet, nothing in the Czech press and the [news] networks. Then at some point, the special operation groups went storming in, they searched the room briefly and then went out... they told us to stay inside. "One hour later, another police squad broke in and then put us on the floor, briefly searched us then evacuated from the building." US tourist Hannah Mallicoat told the BBC that she and her family had been on Jan Palach Square during the attack. "A crowd of people were crossing the street when the first shot hit. I thought it was something like a firecracker or a car backfire until I heard the second shot and people started running," she said. "I saw a bullet hit the ground on the other side of the square about 30 ft (9m) away before ducking into a store. The whole area was blocked off and dozens of police cars and ambulances were going towards the university." Britain's Joe Hyland, 18, told the BBC he had heard four gunshots. "Everyone was sprinting and running for cover. I have a bad knee, am on a crutch. So I hobbled as quickly as possible," added Mr Hyland, who was on his first holiday with friends. "We got to the metro and went down there because we thought it would be safest." Charles University students said they had barricaded themselves in classrooms. "Currently stuck inside my classroom in Prague," Jakob Weizman, a student at Charles University, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) as it unfolded. "Locked the door before the shooter tried to open it." An email to staff at the faculty of arts, seen by Reuters news agency, warned staff of the shooting. It read: "Stay put, don't go anywhere, if you're in the offices, lock them and place furniture in front of the door, turn off the lights." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was "shocked by the senseless violence". Founded in 1347, Charles University is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic, and one of the oldest such institutions in Europe. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67793962

Music title: Jonas Blue, Tifa Chen - Billboard (Official Video) Signer: Jonas Blue, Tifa Chen Release date: Dec, 13, 2019 Official YouTube link:

Nick movie: The Regime Time: Dec, 20, 2023 Netflix / Amazon / HBO: HBO Duration of the movie: 1 Min - 55 Sec Trailer:

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By Scott McLean and Umut Sevdi Tangor, CNN 5 minute read Published 8:55 AM EST, Wed December 20, 2023 CNN — More than a week after Turkish professional soccer was suspended following the violent assault of a referee by a club president, matches resumed on Tuesday only for the Süper Lig to immediately became embroiled in more controversy. İstanbulspor president Ecmel Faik Sarıalioğlu withdrew his players from the pitch after his team was denied a penalty call midway through the second half against Trabzonspor, resulting in the match being abandoned. The last-placed Boğalar had clamored for a penalty after a collision between Trabzonspor’s Batista Mendy and İstanbulspor midfielder Florian Loshaj, but play went on. The visitors then quickly scored to go 2-1 up in the 68th minute thanks to a Paul Onuachu header, leading Sarıalioğlu to come onto the pitch and demand his team walk off in the 73rd minute. After punching referee in the face, former president of Turkish soccer club is banned for life İstanbulspor defender Simon Deli was seen on one knee pleading with Sarıalioğlu to let the team play the game out, but ultimately, the players followed the club president’s orders and went into their dressing room, with the referees soon following suit. According to Turkish state news agency Anadolu, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) will have to decide what happens next. “A team that leaves a competition will be declared a loser by default, and in addition, the number of points awarded in case of victory will be deducted from its existing points,” according to TFF rules. İstanbulspor is currently bottom of the table and five points behind 19th-placed Pendikspor and what happened on Tuesday could significantly endanger the club’s hopes of avoiding relegation. “It is a sad day for football … We will wait for the football federation’s decision [on what happens with the result],” Trabzonspor head coach Abdullah Avcı said after the game. Earlier, across the city, the first match to kick off on Tuesday after the Süper Lig’s suspension had Başakşehir hosting Sivasspor in a mostly-empty stadium in an outer suburb of Istanbul. Flowers were presented to referees before the match by children wearing shirts bearing the Turkish word for “respect.” The home team’s manager, Çağdaş Atan, was absent from the sideline after having been suspended for a series of yellow cards in prior matches, while referee decisions had a impact on the match: two penalty kicks were awarded to Başakşehir – both hammered home by Polish striker Krzysztof Piątek – and a goal in the 62nd minute by the Boz Baykuşlar was initially ruled offside, but was then given following a video assistant referee (VAR) review. “A team that leaves a competition will be declared a loser by default, and in addition, the number of points awarded in case of victory will be deducted from its existing points,” according to TFF rules. İstanbulspor is currently bottom of the table and five points behind 19th-placed Pendikspor and what happened on Tuesday could significantly endanger the club’s hopes of avoiding relegation. “It is a sad day for football … We will wait for the football federation’s decision [on what happens with the result],” Trabzonspor head coach Abdullah Avcı said after the game. Earlier, across the city, the first match to kick off on Tuesday after the Süper Lig’s suspension had Başakşehir hosting Sivasspor in a mostly-empty stadium in an outer suburb of Istanbul. Flowers were presented to referees before the match by children wearing shirts bearing the Turkish word for “respect.” The home team’s manager, Çağdaş Atan, was absent from the sideline after having been suspended for a series of yellow cards in prior matches, while referee decisions had a impact on the match: two penalty kicks were awarded to Başakşehir – both hammered home by Polish striker Krzysztof Piątek – and a goal in the 62nd minute by the Boz Baykuşlar was initially ruled offside, but was then given following a video assistant referee (VAR) review. After the match, Piątek told CNN – with a smirk – that the quality of officiating “could be better, but it was OK.” Sivasspor manager Servet Çetin also had his say on refereeing in the Süper Lig when asked by CNN if Turkish soccer culture has a problem with respect for officials. “We try to approach all referees with respect and love,” Çetin said in a post-match press conference. “Sometimes, we get angry. But this comes and goes. “Today, for example, I hope the referees were correct in their decisions because, otherwise, they’ll get a reaction from Sivasspor fans. This accumulates. This turns into anger,” he added. “There are mistakes made in our country that are not made in Europe.” Criminal charges Murat Fevzi Tanırlı, a former Turkish pro referee-turned sports columnist and commentator, told CNN that “Turkey is incomparably worse when it comes to respect [for referees] in the world.” That view seemed to be borne out last week when then Ankaragücü club president Faruk Koca stormed onto the pitch and punched referee Halil Umut Meler in the face, leaving him with a black eye and a slight fracture to his skull, according to Turkish Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç. At least two other people kicked the referee when he was down and three people were arrested by Turkish authorities, including Koca, following the incident. Koca, however, has refuted the claims of punching Meler, saying he only “slapped” the referee in the face, but he resigned from his position as club president on December 12, saying he wanted to “avoid any further harm to the Ankaragücü club, Ankaragücü fans, the community I am in.” Koca is now amongst those facing criminal charges and a possible prison sentence. The Turkish Professional Football Disciplinary Board has also banned him from the sport for life, fined his former club around $69,000 (2,000,000 Turkish lira) and ordered Ankaragücü to play five home games without any fans in attendance. On Wednesday, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet published a lengthy interview with Meler. “I will never forgive those who did it or those who provoked it,” he told the newspaper. On Saturday, he gave his first public statement on the incident; “I want those responsible and perpetrators of the incident to be punished in the most severe way,” he wrote, according to Anadolu Agency. ‘Verbal abuse and attacks will continue’ The TFF has promised a broader crackdown – and tougher penalties – for bad behavior towards referees. Tanırlı told CNN that those decisions, which are expected next month, will determine whether any change will be lasting. “Will this impact only Ankaragücü? Because right now, the matches will start this week and the same verbal abuse and attacks will continue. That’s why the federation needs to make the penalties for this behavior tougher,” said Tanırlı. Before the matches kicked off on Tuesday, fans were united in condemning Koca’s violent attack but were divided on whether broader reforms were needed. “No matter how harsh the punishment will be [for Koca], ultimately the problem starts with the fans. We need to educate ourselves first. Only after that, will the changes they make have an impact,” Başakşehir fan Ceyhun Coban, who was attending the match with his son, told CNN. İstanbulspor players leave the field after their president Ecmel Faik Sarıalioğlu called them off the pitch in protest of not getting penalty. Serkan Hacioglu/Dia Images/AP Fatih Ates, another Başakşehir supporter, agreed that harsher punishment was needed for offenders but said there should be no broader sanctions against fans or teams for the behavior of one person. “We should know that this is a football match, and we are here for entertainment, not war,” Ates told CNN. Back in the stadium, Piątek doesn’t think major changes are needed to prevent violent incidents in the future. “I think we are all humans. Football is emotional, we need to keep calm sometimes and I think this cannot happen again,” he said. “We have conversations always in the game with the referees and sometimes we need to have more respect.” However, with the latest incident involving İstanbulspor and its club president, the spotlight will likely remain on the Turkish game and its love-hate relationship with referees for the foreseeable future. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/20/sport/istanbulspor-president-turkish-soccer-referee-spt-intl/index.html

Ford is the most recalled brand for the third straight year, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) through December 20, Ford has issued 54 recalls potentially affecting 5,692,135 vehicles in 2023, the most of any automaker. This year marks the third year in a row Ford has held the top spot for recalls in the United States. Going strictly by vehicles affected, Ford had nearly twice as many as second-place Kia at 3 million, the bulk of which came through a single recall for leaking brake fluid leading to a fire risk. If you go by total recalls, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles USA was second to Ford with 45, affecting 2.7 million cars. BMW had 29 recalls, Mercedes-Benz had 27, and Nissan rounds out the top five for automakers at 22. Ford's numbers are down from 65 recalls affecting 8.5 million cars in 2022 but it's still way ahead of other automakers. Things have improved roughly 30 percent over last year per Ford, which offered the following statement to Motor1: "We’re constantly working to improve vehicle quality and deliver the best experience for our customers. Voluntary recalls are one of the ways we proactively protect customers from experiencing an issue. Our initial quality is improving and customers with our latest vehicles are benefiting from it. Compared with 2022, about 30% fewer Ford customers were affected by safety related recalls in 2023." The surprise recall story for 2023 is actually Volkswagen. You may recall the German brand holding the number two spot behind Ford for 2022, clocking 45 recalls affecting 1 million vehicles. Imagine our surprise when VW didn't show up on NHTSA's pie chart for 2023, which only shows 12 brands. We thought perhaps data wasn't available, but searching specifically for the company reveals a total of 18 recalls for 332,700 cars. That's considerably lower than last year. We contacted VW to see what kind of magic they're working these days, and if we get some answers we'll jump in with an update. While Ford still leads for recalls, Tesla takes the dubious honor of having the largest single recall for automakers in 2023 over its Autopilot driver-assist system. This one is likely fresh in your memory as it occurred in early December, affecting 2,031,220 vehicles. That's pretty close to every Tesla the company built for the US market, but it likely won't be a costly recall for the automaker. NHTSA determined that Autopilot doesn't do enough to prevent misuse, which Tesla plans to remedy with an over-the-air software update. https://www.motor1.com/news/701756/ford-most-recalled-brand-america/

Hamas says it will not enter negotations over releasing captives until Israel ends its war on Gaza. 19 Dec 2023 Israeli President Isaac Herzog has said his country is willing to agree a new temporary truce with Hamas in Gaza to secure the release of more captives held by the Palestinian group. “Israel is ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid in order to enable the release of hostages,” Herzog told a gathering of ambassadors on Tuesday. The comments come amid growing international pressure on Israel to pause its assault on Gaza and to allow more humanitarian aid into the besieged territory. A previous Israel-Hamas agreement mediated by Qatar and Egypt led to a week-long truce at the end of November during which Hamas released 86 women and children it was holding in exchange for 240 Palestinian women and teenagers held in Israeli jails. Hamas also released 24 foreign nationals during the pause in fighting. Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as the Gulf state’s foreign minister, Mossad Director David Barnea and CIA Director Bill Burns held talks in Poland on Monday to discuss a potential new deal to secure the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli prisons and a humanitarian pause in the fighting. “The talks were positive with negotiators exploring and discussing different proposals in an attempt to progress on negotiations,” a source briefed on the diplomatic efforts told the Reuters news agency. “An agreement is not expected imminently, however.” Hamas said in a statement on Tuesday that it rejects any forms of negotiations about prisoner exchanges “under the continuing Israeli genocidal war.” The Palestinian group said it is open to any initiative that contributes to “ending the aggression” and opening border crossings “to bring in aid and provide relief to the Palestinian people.” Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith said the statements from Herzog and Hamas on Tuesday indicate some progression towards a potential truce. “The question will be whether it is just that, a pause – a humanitarian pause – as the Israelis would call it, or a full ceasefire,” Smith said, reporting from Tel Aviv. The war has flattened large parts of northern Gaza and driven most of the po[CENSORED]tion to the southern part of the besieged territory, where many are in crowded shelters and tent camps. Some 1.9 million Palestinians – about 90 percent of Gaza’s po[CENSORED]tion – have fled their homes. At least 19,667 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in the Israeli assault on Gaza since, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israel launched the assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters from the territory stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 240 others hostage, according to Israeli officials. Israel is facing growing international pressure to scale back its offensive as the civilian death toll in Gaza continues to soar. France, the United Kingdom and Germany on Sunday added their voices to calls for a ceasefire, while US President Joe Biden last week called the bombing “indiscriminate”. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is expected to vote later on Tuesday on a resolution calling for a halt to the fighting in Gaza. Earlier, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the war in Gaza is a “moral failure” of the international community, calling on Israel and Hamas to reach a new truce to halt the fighting. “I have been speaking of moral failure because every day this continues is a day more where the international community hasn’t proven capable of ending such high levels of suffering and this will have an impact on generations not only in Gaza,” ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric told journalists in Geneva following trips to the Gaza Strip and Israel. SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/19/israel-signals-readiness-for-new-temporary-truce-in-gaza-as-pressure-mounts

Garment from royal tour of Italy in 1985 fetches more than 11 times the estimate at US auction Diana, Princess of Wales wearing the Jacques Azagury evening dress in 1985. Photograph: Tim Graham/Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty Images An evening dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1985 has sold at a Hollywood auction for almost $1.15m – more than 11 times its estimate and a record price for one of her dresses. The black and blue ballerina-length velvet evening dress by the Moroccan-British fashion designer Jacques Azagury was sold at Julien’s Auctions in Hollywood for a total of $1,148,080 (£907,000). The Jacques Azagury ballerina-length evening dress that was worn by Diana, Princess of Wales The garment, which Diana wore at a dinner at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence while on a royal tour with her then husband, Charles, had been expected to sell for $100,000. The outfit, which came complete with shoulder pads, a blue organza skirt, a large bow and a sash, is now by far the most expensive dress worn by the late royal sold at auction. The previous record holder, a 1991 velvet gown by Victor Edelstein, fetched $604,800 in January. The identity of the buyer of the Azagury dress, which came with a matching illustration, is unknown. Diana wore the dress at a dinner hosted by the mayor of Florence in April 1985, and again to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 1986. The ballerina skirt was considered, according to the auctioneer, as a “nod to Diana’s love of dance and her being a patron of the English National Ballet”. It was sold at an event on Sunday night titled Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies Present: Hollywood Legends. The catalogue described it as a “beautiful, romantic ballerina-length evening dress”. It said: “With padded shoulder pads features a black velvet bodice with embroidered stars in metallic thread made from Jakob Schlaepfer fabric with a two-tier royal blue organza skirt with a sash and bow. Diana would wear numerous dresses and gowns by Azagury, one of her favourites was an ice blue silk georgette minidress worn 3 June 1997 to Royal Albert Hall for a performance of Swan Lake.” The Jacques Azagury ballerina-length evening dress that was worn by Diana, Princess of Wales Photograph: Valérie Macon/AFP/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/18/dress-worn-by-diana-sells-for-record

The cat family has an amazing array of eye colors stemming from one unusual ancestor. How cat eye color evolved has been discovered by scientists. (Image credit: Getty Images) The evolution of eye color in cats has been mapped for the first time, and researchers found that one unusual ancestor is responsible for the feline family's dazzling variety of peepers — from yellow-eyed tigers to blue-eyed snow leopards. In the new study, scientists identified different eye colors in living cats and used a computer model to predict where they evolved on the feline family tree. Their model found that the ancestor of all cats must have had gray and brown eyes, and the gray enabled other colors to later emerge. Cats' closest living relatives, including linsangs, hyenas and genets, all have brown eyes, suggesting the common ancestor of all these groups had brown eyes too. But something changed with the arrival of the cat (Felidae) family millions of years ago, evident in the variety of eye colors we see today. "Suddenly, you see an explosion of [eye color] diversity," lead author Julius Tabin, a graduate researcher and doctoral student at Harvard University, told Live Science. "You get blue eyes and green eyes and yellow eyes all popping up." Tabin posted his findings on the preprint database bioRxiv on Oct. 9, which means they haven't been peer-reviewed. However, other researchers have reacted positively to the study so far. Related: Cats have nearly 300 facial expressions, including a 'play face' they share with humans "I love this paper," Juan Negro, an evolutionary biologist at the Doñana Biological Station in Spain who was not involved in the study, told Science earlier this month. "Eye coloration in cats is something that, surprisingly, hasn’t been approached by scientists before." Close up of snow leopard at zoo. (Image credit: Ellen van Bodegom via Getty Images) Tabin and his co-author documented the eye colors of more than 40 cat species by looking at cat images online. They then combined this data with what is already known about the evolutionary relationships between living and extinct cats to predict the eye color of the first cats using a statistical model. The images of the living cats revealed that excluding selectively bred domestic cats, there are five major eye colors in the Felidae family today: Brown, gray, yellow, green and blue. Amur leopards (Panthera pardus orientalis), rusty-spotted cats (Prionailurus rubiginosus), southern African wildcats (Felis lybica cafra) — a subspecies of the Afro-Asiatic wildcat, which is the ancestor of domestic cats — and two species of lynx can have up to four different eye colors, while most others have two or three. The presence of two pigments called eumelanin and pheomelanin determines what eye color a cat gets, according to the study. Brown eyes have more eumelanin; yellow eyes have more pheomelanin; and gray eyes have moderate amounts of both but not enough of either to become another color. Blue and green eyes have lower levels of both. Tabin and his co-author concluded that gray eyes emerged because of a random mutation in the ancestor of all cats — which they did not identify — that reduced eumelanin, and this became a stepping stone between brown eyes and the other colors. However, what drove the other colors to emerge is an open question. Tabin said they didn't find convincing correlations between eye color and other physical characteristics, behaviors or habitat to explain the different colors, so he suspects it's related to mate choice preference — some researchers argue that this sexual selection is the reason humans have different eye colors. "It doesn't seem like it's a lifestyle thing, and so that's why I fall back on sexual selection," Tabin said. However, researchers not involved in the study have suggested different possible explanations. Shu-Jin Luo, an evolutionary geneticist at Peking University in China, told Science that eye color could be a "side effect" of selection for coat color, while Rosalyn Price-Waldman, an evolutionary biologist and doctoral candidate at Princeton University, suggested that as long as the eye colors aren't detrimental to the cats, they could evolve randomly. https://www.livescience.com/animals/cats/cats-dazzling-eye-colors-may-come-from-1-unusual-ancestor

By Philippa Roxby Health reporter A sub-variant of the Omicron strain of coronavirus has been classified as a "variant of interest" by the World Health Organization, because of "its rapidly increasing spread". JN.1 has been found in many countries around the world, including India, China and the United States. The risk to the public is currently low and current vaccines continue to offer protection, the WHO says. But it warns Covid and other infections could rise this winter. Respiratory viruses such as flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and childhood pneumonia are also on the rise in the northern hemisphere. The virus which causes Covid is constantly changing over time and sometimes this leads to new variants developing. Omicron has been the globally dominant variant for some time. The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently tracking a number of variants of interest linked to Omicron - including JN.1 - although none of them are deemed to be concerning. JN.1 is currently the fastest-growing variant in the United States, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, accounting for 15 to 29% of infections. The UK Health Security Agency said JN.1 currently made up around 7% of positive Covid tests analysed in a lab, and it would continue to monitor all available data on this and other variants. Winter surge JN.1 is spreading fast in all regions, probably because it has an additional mutation in the spike protein compared to the BA.2.86 variant from which it's descended. "It is anticipated that this variant may cause an increase in Sars-Cov-2 [coronavirus] cases amid a surge of infections of other viral and bacterial infections, especially in countries entering the winter season," the WHO's risk assessment says. There is still limited evidence on how capable JN.1 is of getting round the immunity offered by vaccines, the WHO says. There are no reports of people becoming more ill with this variant than previous ones. But more studies are needed to work out the health impact, the WHO says, as the number of countries reporting data on people admitted to hospital with Covid has dramatically reduced. To prevent infections and severe disease, the WHO advises: wear a mask in crowded, enclosed areas cover up coughs and sneezes clean your hands regularly stay up to date with Covid and flu vaccinations, especially if vulnerable stay home if ill get tested if you have symptoms https://www.bbc.com/news/health-67772390