Home Blog Page 142

New York City mayor heads to Latin America with message for asylum seekers: ‘We are at capacity

Kyung An
-
0
New York City mayor heads to Latin America with message for asylum seekers: ‘We are at capacity

New York City mayor heads to Latin America with message for asylum seekers: ‘We are at capacity

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday said he will travel to Latin America to discourage people from seeking asylum in the city as it struggles to handle a massive influx of migrants that have overwhelmed its shelter system and strained financial resources.

The Democratic mayor is set to visit Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia during a four-day trip this week. The city has absorbed almost 120,000 migrants over the past year, with hundreds still arriving daily in need of housing and employment.

“We want to give an honest assessment of what we are experiencing here in this city,” said Adams. “We are at capacity.”

READ MORE : Mexico’s president says 10,000 migrants a day head to US border; he blames US sanctions on Cuba

“We’re going to tell them that coming to New York doesn’t mean you’re going to stay in a five-star hotel. It doesn’t mean that, the mere fact that you come here, you automatically are going to be allowed to work,” he said.

Adams has made a series of urgent pleas for a shift in federal immigration policy and for funding to help the city manage the arrival of migrants, which he said could cost the city $12 billion as it rents space at hotels, erects new emergency shelters and provides various government services for asylum seekers.

The trip will begin Wednesday in Mexico, where Adams will attend the North Capital Forum and meet with government officials. He will then travel to Quito, Ecuador, for additional meetings before he heads to Bogotá, Colombia and eventually to the Darien Gap, a dangerous section of the route many migrants pass through on their way to the U.S.

Adams has recently moved to tighten New York shelter rules by limiting adult migrants to just 30 days in city-run facilities amid overcrowding. The city has also been challenging a decades-old legal agreement that requires it to provide shelter to anyone who requests it. On Tuesday, the city asked a judge to allow the rule to be suspended during a state of emergency where the shelter population increases at a rapid rate.

City and state leaders in New York, Illinois and elsewhere have urged the federal government to make it easier for migrants to get work permits, which would allow them to pay for food and housing.

The Biden administration last month took a step toward complying with the demand by extending a temporary legal status to an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans in the U.S., which will make it easier for them to get work authorization. Adams and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul have announced $38 million in new state funding to help connect migrants with legal services.

Still, expediting work permits for migrants in general would take an act of Congress to shorten the mandatory six-month waiting period for work permits for asylum-seekers who cross the border illegally. With divided control of Congress, such legislation appears unlikely.

Chicago is also planning to send a delegation to the Texas border with Mexico to meet with government officials and nongovernmental organizations, and give migrants a more realistic portrayal of what they might expect in Chicago.

Cristina Pacione-Zayas, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first deputy chief of staff, said the Texas border trip will be used, in part, to warn migrants about Chicago winters.

“We want to manage the number of people that are coming and staying in Chicago,” she said.

___

For more AP coverage of immigration: https://apnews.com/hub/immigration

Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube |

Iraqi Christian religious leaders demand an international investigation into deadly wedding fire

Dr Mohd Ramzan Ali
-
0
Iraqi Christian religious leaders demand an international investigation into deadly wedding fire

Iraqi Christian religious leaders demand an international investigation into deadly wedding fire 

BY QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA AND BASSEM MROUE

BAGHDAD (AP) — Christian religious leaders in northern Iraq called for an international investigation Monday into a deadly wedding fire that killed more than 100 people last week and slammed the government’s probe, which had blamed the blaze on negligence and lack of precautionary measures.

An Iraqi Syriac Catholic priest, meanwhile, said widespread corruption in the country and the influence of armed militias on the government was one of the factors that enabled the fire.

Father Boutros Sheeto, spoke to The Associated Press over the phone from the town of Qaraqosh, where five members of his family, including his Iraqi-American sister, were buried on Monday morning. He claimed the fire was “intentional,” without offering any evidence.

READ MORE : A fire at a wedding hall in northern Iraq has killed around 100 people and injured 150

Scores of panicked guests surged for the exits on Tuesday night in the Haitham Royal Wedding Hall in the predominantly Christian area of Hamdaniya in Nineveh province after the ceiling panels above a pyrotechnic machine burst into flames.

Iraq released the results of its probe on Sunday saying unsafe fireworks were the main reason that caused the fire that killed 107 and injured 82. Several local officials in Nineveh were also subjected to “administrative measures” because of negligence.

People gather at the site of a fatal fire, in the district of Hamdaniya, Nineveh, Iraq, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. A fire that the raced through a hall hosting a Christian wedding in northern Iraq killed multiple people, authorities said. Photo : Hadi Mizban/ AP

“We reject the idea that the cause of the fire was an accident,” Sheeto said. “We are confident that it was intentional and therefore we demand an international investigation.”

Ten of his relatives, including his sister Faten Sheeto who had traveled to Iraq from her home in Arizona to attend the wedding were killed by the fire.

Iraqi media quoted Chaldean Catholic Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako from Rome as saying the blaze “was the act of someone who sold his conscience and nation for a specific agenda.”

In July, Sako left his Baghdad headquarters and returned to northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region after Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid revoked a decree recognizing his position as patriarch of the Chaldeans, Iraq’s largest Christian denomination and one of the Catholic Church’s eastern rites.

Another Iraqi Christian religious leader, Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Mosul Benedictus Younan Hanno said a probe should be done under “the supervision of international investigators,” and added that he and others among the Iraqi Christians do not accept the results of the Iraqi probe.

Iraqi women react during a funeral for the victims of a deadly fire at a wedding hall, in the district of Hamdaniya, Nineveh, Iraq, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. A fire that the raced through a hall hosting a Christian wedding in northern Iraq killed multiple people, authorities said. Photo : Hadi Mizban/ AP

On Monday, the Nineveh Heath Department updated the death toll to 113, including 41 who have not been identified yet. It said 12 people who suffered severe burns were sent for treatment abroad and eight will follow.

The tragedy was the latest to hit Iraq’s Christian minority, which has dwindled to a fraction of its former size over the past two decades.

The decline started before the militant Islamic State group’s persecution of religious minorities after the extremists captured large parts of Iraq in 2014. Christians were among groups targeted by militants as security broke down after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein.

The number of Christians in Iraq today is estimated at 150,000, compared to 1.5 million in 2003. Iraq’s total population is over 40 million.

___
Mroue reported from Beirut

Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube |

Asian Games 2023 : Anu Rani ‘s First Gold in women’s javelin throw at the Asian Games in Hangzhou

Shasi Kumar
-
0
Asian Games 2023 : Anu Rani ‘s First Gold in women’s javelin throw at the Asian Games in Hangzhou

Asian Games 2023 : Anu Rani ‘s First Gold in women’s javelin throw at the Asian Games in Hangzhou

Annu Rani finished on top of the podium with her season’s best throw of 62.92 metres in her fourth attempt.

Hangzhou (TFPJ) – India’s Annu Rani made history on Tuesday as she clinched the gold medal for the country in the women’s javelin throw final at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou.

Rani finished in top with her season’s best throw of 62.92 metres in her fourth attempt. The 31-year-old, who hails from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, is the first Indian woman to win a gold in javelin at the Asian Games.

Rani’s maiden gold is India’s 15th at these continental Games in China. India currently occupies the fourth position on the medals tally with 15 gold, 26 silver and 28 bronze.

China (159G, 87S, 46B) continues to lead the list ahead of Japan (33G, 46S, 64B) and Republic of Korea (32G, 42S, 64B).

READ MORE : Parul Chaudhary conquers 5000m gold, second medal at 2023 Asian Games

Athletics Federation of India post winning photo on their twitter/X handle and said Gold in women’s javelin throw at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Annu Rani best throw was 62.92m.

Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube |

Parul Chaudhary conquers 5000m gold, second medal at 2023 Asian Games

Roshan Bilung
-
0
Parul Chaudhary conquers 5000m gold, second medal at 2023 Asian Games

Parul Chaudhary conquers 5000m gold, second medal at 2023 Asian Games

By Shyam Vasudevan

Hangzhou (ESPN) – With 30 metres to go in the 5000m on Tuesday, Parul Chaudhary had already run 7970 meters, including the 3000m steeplechase yesterday, in under 24 hours. Japan’s Ririka Hironaka was several metres ahead of her. A lesser athlete might have faded.

But, as the lactic acid in her legs started kicking in, she got a second wind. And as Hironaka looked right, Parul overtook her from the left. All the Japanese saw was a blur of blue on the inside track. The look on the two athletes’ faces told the story: Utter disbelief on Hironaka’s face, sheer joy on Parul’s as she claimed gold.

READ MORE : Avinash Sable, Tajinderpal Singh win gold; Jyothi Yarraji bags silver in athletics medal rush

What makes it more special is that this is Parul’s second medal of the Games: she’d won silver in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase on Tuesday, finishing second only to the world champion. And the steeplechase is a demanding race: 28 hurdles and seven water barriers.

Not just that, she became the first athlete in Asian Games history to medal in the women’s steeplechase as well as 5000m. She’s also the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games 5,000m gold.

When the schedule for the Asian Games were drawn, Paul knew the kind of conditioning she needed to be able to compete in both events. Training alongside her steeplechase counterpart Avinash Sable, she built herself to handle the rigors of two back-to-back races.

It was something that both worried her and excited her. The prospect of becoming a double Asian Games medallist had her smacking her lips.

“Everyone will know me if I win two medals at the Asian Games. That’s my main target: I am competing in two events, so I might as well medal in both,” she told ESPN a week before the Games.

“It’s important for me to medal in both events because then the juniors will have someone to look up to. Sudha [Singh] didi and Lalita [Babar] didi were there when I was a junor and now I want to set an example like them. I want the juniors to look up to me and say ‘I want to be like Parul.”

Parul Chaudhary cross the wining line. Photo : WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images

She’s done her bit to set the bar. This season she’s won the 3000m steeplechase gold at the Asian Athletics Championships and followed it up with a silver in the 5,000m. A month later, she ran a massive personal best at the World Championships and finished a creditable 11th. She’s reduced her steeplechase personal best by 23 seconds and her 5,000m personal best by 29 seconds. Both are, you would have guessed by now, national records.

Athletics Federation of India shared an video on their twitter/X handle where Parul giving thanks remarks to people of India and Government.

Off the field, she has one more ambition: to silence all the naysayers back home in Meerut who would tell her “girls should not wear shorts and compete in sports.” “This happens in every village. They pass comments if a girl is wearing shorts and running. Unfortunately, this is so common that it is considered normal. If not for athletics, gaon mein rehte to shaadi vagera ho jaati (smiles) [if I was staying in my village I would have been married]. That’s how it works in villages.”

“Earlier, they would say get married at 23 or 24. But now they say you are running so well, focus on that and we’ll look at marriage later.”

Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube |

Europe Union’s top diplomat dismisses concern about bloc’s long-term support for Ukraine

Rania Lampou
-
0
Europe Union’s top diplomat dismisses concern about bloc’s long-term support for Ukraine

Europe Union’s top diplomat dismisses concern about bloc’s long-term support for Ukraine

By SUSIE BLANN

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The European Union’s foreign policy chief on Monday led a delegation of top diplomats on an unannounced visit to Kyiv and dismissed concerns about political tension in the bloc over its long-term support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

Though largely symbolic, the informal meeting between EU and Ukrainian diplomats demonstrated the EU’s “clear commitment” to Ukraine in its 19-month-long war, Josep Borrell said.

“The EU remains united in its support to Ukraine … I don’t see any member state folding on their engagement,” Borrell told a news conference in the Ukrainian capital.

READ MORE : Zelenskyy to speak before Canadian Parliament in his campaign to shore up support for Ukraine

The gathering was the first time EU foreign ministers have met outside the bloc — and in a war zone, according to Borrell.

The talks took place after the weekend election victory in EU member Slovakia of former Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose pro-Russian agenda has increased the question marks about the EU’s continued support for Kyiv.

The small eastern European country could bring more tension to the EU’s discussions on Ukraine, as has happened with Hungary’s at-times cool attitude toward Kyiv. Budapest has maintained close relations with Moscow and argued against supplying arms to Ukraine or providing it with economic assistance. Slovakia operates a key rail line used to transport western military hardware to Ukraine.

The EU, the United States and the United Kingdom have provided massive military and financial support to Ukraine, enabling it to stand up to the Kremlin’s attack. The assistance is crucial for Ukraine’s weakened economy and has so far been open-ended.

But uncertainty has set in over how long Kyiv’s allies will keep sending aid worth billions of dollars (euros).

U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday reassured allies of continued U.S. financial support for the war effort, after Congress averted a government shutdown by adopting a short-term funding package that dropped assistance for Ukraine in its battle against Russia.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that Biden had rallied more than 140 countries to condemn Russia’s invasion and built a coalition of more than 50 countries to provide aid to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia’s finances are deteriorating in part over sanctions.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell attends his press conference during informal EU Foreign Ministires meting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. Photo : Efram Luketsky/AP

“There is a strong, very strong international coalition behind Ukraine,” Jean-Pierre said. And if Russian President Vladimir Putin “thinks he can outlast us, he’s wrong.”

Many U.S. lawmakers acknowledge that winning approval for Ukraine assistance in Congress is growing more difficult as the war grinds on.

Borrell, at his news conference, insisted the EU is devoted to “sustained engagement” with Ukraine. “Our resolve … is firm and will continue,” he said.

He ticked off a list of ongoing commitments the 27-nation EU has made and hopes to make, including proposed military aid of 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) next year, a target to train some 40,000 Ukrainian troops and possible joint arms industry ventures between EU and Ukrainian defense companies.

Other signs of the EU’s commitment include help with cyber defense, a demining program to enable Ukraine’s postwar recovery and the reform of Ukrainian law enforcement to crack down on corruption, Borrell said.

But the EU’s “strongest security commitment” for Ukraine is to grant it membership of the bloc, he said.

Ukraine is bent on becoming a member of the EU, and EU officials have encouraged that course, even though it could take years amid a war of attrition with no end in sight.

Zelenskyy’s 10-point plan, which demands Russia’s total withdrawal from Ukrainian soil, includes establishing a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes and building a European-Atlantic security architecture with guarantees for Ukraine.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said the only way to achieve peace is to “inflict an unequivocal military defeat on Russia” and then rebuild Ukraine.

“This path is achievable if the West commits to supporting Ukraine in the prolonged effort likely needed to walk down it,” the agency said in an assessment published Sunday.

___
Associated Press writers Raf Casert in Brussels, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, Jill Lawless in Manchester, England, and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this story.

Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube |

Mexico’s president says 10,000 migrants a day head to US border; he blames US sanctions on Cuba

José Ángel Ramirez
-
0
Mexico’s president says 10,000 migrants a day head to US border; he blames US sanctions on Cuba

Mexico’s president says 10,000 migrants a day head to US border; he blames US sanctions on Cuba

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president said Monday that about 10,000 migrants per day are heading to the U.S. border, and he blamed U.S. economic sanctions on countries like Cuba and Venezuela for the influx.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the number of migrants reaching Mexico’s northern border with the United States was partly due to about 6,000 migrants per day crossing into Mexico from Guatemala over the past week.

He said many of those migrants are traveling on a route through Central America that includes the jungle-clad Darien Gap region between Panama and Colombia.

READ MORE : As migration surges in Americas, ‘funds simply aren’t there’ for humanitarian response, UN says

López Obrador seemed to join Colombian President Gustavo Petro in blaming the situation on U.S. sanctions on countries like Venezuela and Cuba, whose citizens make up a large part of the migrant flow. Experts say economic mismanagement and political repression are largely to blame for the tide of migrants leaving those countries.

The United States has sanctioned both governments over what it considers the suppression of democracy. López Obrador suggested the sanctions are because of ideological differences and not to uphold human rights, and said the “sanctions and blockades cannot be maintained.”

Petro’s government has been criticize d for doing little to stop the industrial-scale smuggling of migrants through Colombia. And López Obrador’s administration has done little to stop migrants from hopping freight trains toward the U.S. border, until the country’s largest railway line complained last month and stopped some trains itself, citing safety risks.

López Obrador also has slammed U.S. aid for Ukraine and said the United States should spend some of the money sent to Ukraine on economic development in Latin America.

“They (the U.S.) don’t do anything,” he said Friday. “It’s more, a lot more, what they authorize for the war in Ukraine than what they give to help with poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

He called Friday for the U.S. “to remove blockades and stop harassing independent and free countries.” He said there should be “an integrated plan for cooperation so the Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans and Ecuadorans, Guatemalans and Hondurans wouldn’t be forced to emigrate.”

There has been a surge in Venezuelan migrants moving through Mexico in recent weeks in a bid to reach the U.S. border. Many of the migrants say deteriorating economic and political conditions in their home country led them to make the journey.

Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. File Photo

Mexico has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine but has adopted a policy of neutrality and has refused to participate in sanctions. Mexico also continues to buy 2020-vintage COVID vaccines from Russia and Cuba.

Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube |

Asian Games 2023 Updates : Avinash Sable, Tajinderpal Singh win gold; Jyothi Yarraji bags silver in athletics medal rush

Shasi Kumar
-
0
Asian Games 2023 Updates : Avinash Sable, Tajinderpal Singh win gold; Jyothi Yarraji bags silver in athletics medal rush

Asian Games 2023 Updates : Avinash Sable, Tajinderpal Singh win gold; Jyothi Yarraji bags silver in athletics medal rush

Sunday as India’s medal tally at Hangzhou surged up to 53! The Indian men’s badminton team and Aditi Ashok scripted Asian Games history.

Hangzhou(Olympics) –  India bagged 15 medals – three gold, seven silver and five bronze – on a dramatic eighth day at the Asian Games 2023 on Sunday, where athletics headlined the success.

Avinash Sable shattered the Asian Games record as he comfortably raced to India’s first men’s 3000m steeplechase gold medal at the continental meet. Tajinderpal Singh Toor, meanwhile, defended his men’s shot put crown at Hangzhou.

READ MORE : Undefeated Eagles remain work in progress following tough overtime win over Commanders

Jyothi Yarraji clinched a dramatic women’s 100m hurdles silver after China’s Wu Yanni, who originally finished second, was disqualified for a false start. Harmilan Bains in women’s 1500m and Murali Sreeshankar in men’s long jump also won silver. Ajay Kumar Saroj and Jinson Johnson were second and third in the men’s 1500m.

Discus thrower Seema Punia and heptathlon athlete Nandini Agasara settled for bronze medals.

History created in badminton, golf and shooting

The Indian men’s badminton team, despite losing a thrilling final against China, scripted Asian Games history, winning the first-ever men’s team silver.

Aditi Ashok also created history. She became the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Asian Games golf tournament after claiming silver in the women’s individual event.

Shooters won three medals, one of each colour, to wrap up their Hangzhou campaign with a record 22 medals, the highest in shooting in a single edition for India.

Boxer Nikhat Zareen, on the other hand, settled for a bronze medal in her debut Asian Games campaign.

The Indian women’s hockey team were held to a 1-1 draw against five-time Asian Games champions Republic of Korea. Archery also kicked off today.

Badminton: India win first-ever men’s team silver

The Indian men’s badminton team claimed their maiden silver medal at the Asian Games 2023 after losing the final 3-2 against China. It is only India’s second silver medal at the Asian Games, following PV Sindhu’s singles silver at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. India had previously won three men’s team bronze medals.

Lakshya Sen and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy / Chirag Shetty had handed India a 2-0 lead in the men’s team badminton gold medal match. However, Li Shifeng beat former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth in straight games while Liu Yuchen / Ou Xuanyi made light work of Dhruv Kapila / Sai Pratheek to level the tie. Weng Hongyang won the decider 21-12, 21-4 against Mithun Manjunathan as China defended their title.

Basketball: China hand India first 5×5 defeat

The Indian women’s basketball team lost 111-53 against China in the women’s Group A match at Hangzhou 2023. All four quarters showcased a dominant attacking performance by the Chinese team.

Li Yueru from China scored 25 points, finishing as the top-scorer in the match. Four other players from the host nation also registered double figures. For India, Pushpa Senthil Kumar and Sanjana Ramesh notched 14 points, each, while Shireen Limaye scored 12.

After finishing second in the Group A standings, India will make the women’s basketball quarter-finals at the Asian Games 2023.

Athletics: Jyothi Yarraji bags dramatic 100m hurdles silver

Ace Indian hurdler Jyothi Yarraji clocked 12.91 seconds in the women’s 100m hurdles final at the Asian Games 2023. The 24-year-old athlete was initially awarded the bronze medal. However, China’s Wu Yanni was disqualified after the race, upgrading Yarraji’s medal to a silver.

Jyothi Yarraji and Wu Yanni were under review for false starts. The race, meanwhile, continued without any disqualification but the post-race investigation saw Wu Yanni lose her silver medal.

Lin Yuwei from China clinched the gold with a personal best time of 12.74 seconds. Japan’s Yumi Tanaka, initially fourth, clocked 13.04 seconds and bagged the bronze medal.

Indian athlete Jyothi Yarraji won the silver medal in the women’s 100m hurdles at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou. Photo: AFI

Athletics: Medals in long jump, heptathlon, discus throw

Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar bagged the silver medal with a best of 8.19m at the Asian Games 2023. The 24-year-old jumped just 0.3m short of the gold medal winner Wang Jianan from China. Sreeshankar also won the silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Jeswin Aldrin, meanwhile, finished eighth (7.76m) in the men’s long jump final at Hangzhou.

In the women’s heptathlon, Nandini Agasara, a U20 world championships finalist, won the 800m race with a personal best time of 2:15.33 and won the bronze medal after seven events. She notched personal best scores in the 200m race and javelin throw too. Swapna Barman fell just four points shy of her compatriot to finish fourth at the Asian Games 2023.

Seema Punia hurled a season-best 58.62m in the women’s discus throw final, winning the bronze medal at Hangzhou 2023. China’s Bin Feng (67.93) won gold with an Asian Games record. The 40-year-old Seema Punia completed a hat-trick Asian Games medals – gold in 2014, bronze in 2018 and bronze in 2023.

“I’m very, very happy. I was focusing on beating my personal best, but in the last leg I thought I’d better go for the gold. And then I saw that I broke the record. I’m very happy about that.” – Avinash Sable

Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube |

Undefeated Eagles remain work in progress following tough overtime win over Commanders

Roshan Bilung
-
0
Undefeated Eagles remain work in progress following tough overtime win over Commanders

Undefeated Eagles remain work in progress following tough overtime win over Commanders

By Judy Battista

PHILADELPHIA (NFL)– This is how you know when bad things are happening to the Philadelphia Eagles: from underneath the stadium, you can hear fans wailing “Oh, nooooooo.” as they did when Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell, with one second remaining in regulation, found Jahan Dotson in the end zone for the game-tying touchdown.

This is how you know Eagles fans are not really all that concerned about their team’s early season perceived struggles: hundreds of them, most wearing their new Kelly green throwback jerseys, left minutes before the game was even decided by a 54-yard Jake Elliott field goal, heading to their cars or a post-game bar, when the Eagles were still gutting out an overtime victory to remain undefeated with a 34-31 win on Sunday.

READ MORE : Inter Miami Coach Martino Disputes Messi Injury Reports

The Commanders handed the Eagles their first loss of the season in 2022, and that they came so very close to doing it again was little consolation. Ron Rivera, who had earned the moniker Riverboat for his penchant for high rick plays, went the safe route, and opted to kick the extra point to send the game to overtime, rather than try for a two-point conversion that would have won the game outright. His team had already executed a perfect two-minute drill, slicing through the Eagles defense with one Sam Howell pass after another. The Eagles looked exhausted. Why not try for two and the win?

“They were gassed,” Rivera said of his own team. “It was a long-ass drive.”

It was that. And the resilience of the Commanders, and Howell in particular — who had been whipped by nine sacks from the Buffalo Bills last week — indicated that the NFC East might not be done with the Commanders, who are 2-2, quite so easily this season. Rivera noted that the Commanders had had some good drives this season, but to do it against the Eagles, with a game on the line, was impressive. And then he pounded his fist on the lectern.

“There’s no moral victories,” Rivera said. “We’re going to learn from it and I think this is going to help us going forward.”

For the first month of the season, the Eagles have followed each victory with a vow that they are still a work in progress. This victory won’t change that narrative, or the fretting of Eagles fans, or the — almost certainly correct — confidence among some that everything is going to be just fine, so fine that a traffic jam is a viable alternative to waiting for the Eagles to win. Most of the concern until Sunday was centered around Jalen Hurts, and the sputtering start to the passing game. Worry no more, Hurts threw for 319 yards, two touchdown and no interceptions. This was the best defensive front the Eagles had faced and they still ran for 104 yards. Even on Sunday, the Eagles had to be patient before the offense opened up, with Hurts starting the day with short passes on the opening drive and then hitting A.J. Brown on a 59-yard bomb and again for a 28-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

“I think tension and pressure build character,” Hurt said after the game. “We needed a game like this for us. I think a win like this does so much for the spirit of a team because winning is not easy. Winning is hard.”

The Eagles defense would likely agree. They were uneven, struggling early to get home on the pass rush (Howell was sacked five times), and allowing Howell to throw for 290 yards. This was the first game of the season in which they ceded more than 76 yards rushing (the Commanders had 107). Still, the Eagles held the Commanders without a point in the third quarter, when the Eagles mounted their rally, and they had the ultimate lucky break when Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin appeared to catch a pass from Howell on third down on the first possession of overtime. But McLaurin landed on Reed Blankenship’s left forearm — the bright red marks near his elbow attested to it — which prevented him from landing in bounds and extending the drive. Instead, the Commanders had to punt. And they never got the ball back.

Not much has been easy for the Eagles through four weeks. Hurts got called for intentional grounding on the game-winning drive, eliciting another long groan in the stadium, one of 11 penalties that nearly undid the Eagles. And it was a taunting call on Brown, following his late-game touchdown that gave the Eagles a brief lead, which gave the Commanders favorable field position to start their game-tying drive. But the Eagles need to be battle-tested for a brutal stretch of games that begins in three weeks after winnable games against the Rams and Jets. Then, starting in mid-October and stretching for nearly two months, are games against the Dolphins, Commanders again, Cowboys, Chiefs, Bills, 49ers and the Cowboys again.

It is telling that after the game, Brown acknowledged he can’t make mistakes like the taunting penalty. It was Hurts who told him on the sideline that he can’t do it. That refining of the details is a form of progress that the Eagles are working on, too. They are far from a finished product, but the finish line for one of the league’s most talented teams is far off.

“I would love to blow a team out,” center Jason Kelce said. “But I’ll take it. A win’s a win. We’re not playing our best ball right now, but we’re still finding ways to win games.”

Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube |

Inter Miami Coach Martino Disputes Messi Injury Reports

Roshan Bilung
-
0
Inter Miami Coach Martino Disputes Messi Injury Reports

Inter Miami Coach Martino Disputes Messi Injury Reports

(CTN News) – Inter Miami and New York City FC played to a dramatic 1-1 draw, with Messi in street clothes. The Herons equalized in stoppage time, and the latter effort hit the crossbar.

After a wild finish to the game that was delayed by storms around DRV PNK Stadium, Messi remained the major talking point.

Inter Miami Podcast (not affiliated with the team) reported that Messi had “sustained a 2 [centimeter] hamstring tear, which is likely to put him out for the remainder of the season.”

Gerardo “Tata” Martino dismissed the report after the match.

“Time will tell whether what I say is true or whether the person who wrote the report is correct,” Martino said in his post-match press conference. “That’s what I said. This will be seen game by game.

He will be evaluated. We’ll see if he’s on the bench, if he’s not available, whether against Chicago or FC Cincinnati. “He’s training separately from the group, but he’s feeling better and better.”

In Inter Miami recent training sessions, Messi was seen working to some extent, but how much he’s capable of remains a mystery. Messi was expected to return before the end of the MLS season, according to Martino.

READ MORE : Lionel Messi will miss another game for Inter Miami after leaving Toronto match early

Messi’s return still holds hope for Inter Miami

The single point wasn’t really what Messi’s side needed with the regular season winding down.

Miami finished the night one point closer to the top nine than it was when play started, despite the Eastern Conference playoff race being sloppy and slippery. Three of the seven teams competing for the final two spots were defeated on Saturday, including the Chicago Fire.

Is there bad news? On the games-won tiebreaker, the Herons are four points behind ninth-place CF Montréal. In just four games left, there is no room for error.

What’s good? It will only take a couple of blunders from teams that seem immune to positive streaks for Inter Miami to have an opening against Montréal and Chicago.

“We’ve played a lot of decisive games, not just mentally but physically,” said Martino. “Despite all our problems, we tried to win today with dignity. Three months ago, we were in last place, and these guys helped us catch up. Our expectations are high.”

Inter Miami has fought hard late in close games despite its relentless schedule. Following the draw with NYCFC, the club will play two more matches within the next six days. After Wednesday’s match against the Fire, the team will play Cincinnati on Saturday.

Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube |

A fire at a nightclub in Spain’s southeastern city of Murcia kills 13

Rania Lampou
-
0
A fire at a nightclub in Spain’s southeastern city of Murcia kills 13

A fire at a nightclub in Spain’s southeastern city of Murcia kills 13

MADRID, Spain (AP) — A fire broke out in a nightclub in the southeastern Spanish city of Murcia on Sunday, killing 13 people and injuring several others, authorities said.

The fire started around 6 a.m. in the popular Teatre nightclub and quickly tore through the venue, according to Spain’s state news agency EFE.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire.

READ MORE : Tenerife wildfire : Tens of thousands evacuated as wildfire burns out of control on Spain’s Tenerife

A video shared by Murcia’s fire service showed firefighters trying to control flames inside the nightclub. Police and emergency services worked to secure the interior of the club to avoid a possible collapse and were trying to locate and identify the bodies.

Officials said the death toll could increase.

The city council declared three days of mourning with flags flown at half-staff on public buildings throughout the region of Murcia.

Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube |

1...141142143...205Page 142 of 205

Explore

Countries

Crime & War

More

Others

Follow us

© DT Broadcasting Pvt Ltd formerly known as Diplomat Times Pvt Ltd Registered No: U60200DL2024PTC426518 , Diplomat Times International Co. LTD. (Thailand) Registered No: 0105566195031 | PT Diplomat Times International Broadcasting (Indonesia) 4023120636101176 | Trade Mark 4791109 | All Rights Reserved