It is that time when columnists, like me, are asked to put down their mallets, reflect on the past year and ponder the next. The aim, I suppose, is to try to share with readers a morsel of wisdom that columnists are expected to possess without using a blunt club to make the point. Sometimes, year-end columns veer into the confessional and sentimentality – a practice that I have tried to avoid as a writer since the best columns tend to look outward, not inward. I have made an exception with this, my final column of 2022. I have decided,…
Author: National Tone
Hundreds of migrants are almost certain to spend Christmas in crowded shelters or on the streets of Mexican border towns amid a winter storm.Hundreds of migrants are camping in the cold at Mexico’s northern border over Christmas, hoping for a swift reversal in restrictions imposed by the United States as they endure the bite of a winter storm ravaging the region. After the US Supreme Court this week ruled that restrictions known as Title 42 could stay in place temporarily, many migrants are facing a Christmas weekend in what Mexico’s weather service called a “mass of Arctic air.” “I am…
A fierce winter storm has knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the United States and left at least 18 people dead due to exposure and car crashes on icy roads. The “bomb cyclone” storm, one of the most powerful in decades, also forced the cancellation of more than 3,000 US flights on Saturday, stranding thousands of travellers who were making last-minute dashes for Christmas. The storm, now in its third straight day, was nearly unprecedented in its scope, stretching from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico.…
Phoenix Suns fans could be getting an extra Christmas gift, as ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that star guard Devin Booker is expected to return to the lineup when the Suns square off against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. .acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container width: 340px; margin: 0 auto; Booker has missed the past three games as he is currently dealing with a groin injury. The Kentucky product last played on Dec. 17 vs. the New Orleans Pelicans when he dropped a season-high 58 points in a 118-114 win. Without Booker in the lineup for the past three contests, the Suns went 1-2.…
Rescuers say the deadly blast occurred after a tanker carrying LPG got caught beneath a bridge close to a hospital and houses.At least 10 people have died, and 40 others were injured in South Africa when a fuel tanker exploded in a city near Johannesburg, according to the emergency services. The explosion took place on Saturday morning in the city of Boksburg after the tanker, which was transporting liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), got caught beneath a bridge close to a hospital and houses. “We received a call towards 7:50am (05:50 GMT) telling us a gas tanker was stuck under a…
The UFC announced that Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar died “from presumed heart complications while at work” on Thursday. He was 45. Bonnar, who primarily competed in the light heavyweight division, finished runner-up during the debut season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005. His loss in the final against Forrest Griffin is regarded as one of the greatest matches in UFC history. .acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container width: 340px; margin: 0 auto; Bonnar’s victory over Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 116 in 2010 earned Fight of the Night honours. He announced his retirement after losing to Anderson Silva at UFC 153 on Oct 13,…
With a giant evergreen tree, colourful balloons in the streets and selfies in the Church of the Nativity, Christmas tourism has returned to the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem after two years of COVID-related restrictions. Revered in the Christian tradition as the birthplace of Christ, the town of Bethlehem welcomes thousands of pilgrims and tourists for Christmas every year, a windfall that dried up during the past two years due to the pandemic and travel restrictions. Now with restrictions lifted in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel, where the closest international airport with access to Bethlehem is located, the…
Authorities say the 69-year-old suspect, who allegedly killed three people, was removed from custody for health reasons.A French man suspected of killing three people in an attack at a Kurdish cultural centre in Paris has been transferred to a psychiatric unit, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said on Saturday that the 69-year-old suspect had been removed from custody for health reasons on the same day and taken to a police psychiatric facility. The shots at the cultural centre and a nearby hairdressing salon on Friday sparked panic in the city’s bustling 10th district, home to several shops and restaurants and a…
Washington Capitals defenceman John Carlson was discharged from a hospital Saturday following a frightening incident Friday where he was hit in the head by the puck. The injury occurred a minute into the third period of Washington’s 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets at home Friday night. .acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container width: 340px; margin: 0 auto; After Winnipeg won a faceoff in Washington’s zone, Jets defenceman Brenden Dillon fired a slapshot from the point and the puck made contact with the side of Carlson’s head. Carlson, who rushed off the ice and was taken to a local hospital for precautionary measures, remains under the…
A cross-country march led by Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has reached the capital New Delhi after passing through eight states, hoping to regain some of the popularity it lost to the ruling Hindu nationalist party. Tens of thousands of people have joined Gandhi’s “Unite India March” against “hate and division”, which aims to turn the Congress party’s fortunes around after its drubbing by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in two successive national elections. “Hindu-Muslim hatred is being spread twenty-four-seven to divert your attention from real issues,” Gandhi said in his speech at the Mughal-era Red Fort in the Indian…