US State Department says it ‘will not stand by’ in the face of a crackdown on religious freedoms.The United States has added Latin American adversaries Cuba and Nicaragua as well as Russia’s Wagner Group to a blacklist on international religious freedom, opening the path to potential sanctions. “Around the world, governments and non-state actors harass, threaten, jail, and even kill individuals on account of their beliefs,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Friday. “The United States will not stand by in the face of these abuses.” The Wagner Group was being designated for alleged involvement in…
Author: National Tone
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has eased any health fears after a heart scare.The 47-year-old was taken to hospital in Perth after feeling unwell while working as a television pundit during the Test match against the West Indies on Friday. Ponting had been commentating for Channel 7 during the third morning and is understood to have sought medical attention at the lunch interval at Optus Stadium but returned to his TV duties on Saturday.Ponting told Channel 7: “I probably scared a lot of people yesterday and had a scary moment for myself. I was sitting in the comms box halfway…
A long time ago, when I was an investigative reporter, I hunted Nazis. They were living out the twilight of their lives in Canada, enjoying a quiet, comfortable retirement with a government pension, to boot. I made it a priority to find them and make their agreeable lives decidedly less agreeable. It was my modest way of ensuring that these murderers were held to some measure of account for the monstrous crimes they perpetrated – mostly against Jewish families. I remember one Nazi, in particular. His name was Josef Nemsila. He was a Slovakian Nazi who helped round up the…
US Air Force plans to buy at least 100 B-21 Raider stealth bombers, which come with a $700 million price tag per plane.The United States has unveiled its latest high-tech strategic bomber – the B-21 Raider – which is capable of carrying a nuclear payload and can be flown without a crew on board. The next-generation stealth bomber was rolled out at arm’s manufacturer Northrop Grumman’s facility in California during a flashy ceremony attended by top US officials on Friday. The US Air Force plans to buy at least 100 of the B-21 aircraft, which comes with a $700m price…
Several World Cup stars are in a race to be fit ahead of the round of 16 after picking up knocks in the group stages.Several big-name players have missed out on the World Cup 2022 through injury, including France’s midfield duo of Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante. Others were brought to Qatar by their managers who hoped they could recover but have yet to feature. This list includes Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema and Senegal’s Sadio Mane, who has now undergone surgery. The group stages also saw their fair share of injury scares, but these updates have often been drowned…
Day 13 of the World Cup 2022 in Qatar was another filled with shock surprises for the world of football as Cameroon defeated Brazil – becoming the first African nation to do so. There was also bitter sadness as Uruguay won their final game against Ghana but were sent home on goal difference when South Korea beat Portugal. South Korea advanced on the tie-breaker of goals scored, pushing Uruguay into third place in one of the wildest finishes to a World Cup group stage in the tournament’s 92-year history. Switzerland and Serbia offered up a five-goal extravagance of high-paced football…
Madison Square Garden isn’t a venue unfamiliar to the Heavyweight bout. It was the venue for the “Fight of the Century” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1971 as well as their rematch in 1974. Friday was much of the same for the historic arena, however, it was a tilt between captains on the ice that captured the attention of all those in attendance. New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba and Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk took centre stage, dropped their gloves seemingly out of nowhere, and met each other in the faceoff circle. The Senators would go on…
They might not have made it through to the next stage of the World Cup tournament but Cameroon’s supporters departed Lusail Stadium in Qatar knowing their team had made history by beating Brazil. Capping a series of stunning upsets football fans have now become accustomed to at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, Cameroon delivered a shock 1-0 defeat to Brazil on Friday night – the first time an African nation has beaten the Brazilians at the World Cup. Brazil has won all seven previous meetings with African teams at the World Cup, including beating Cameroon in 1994 and again in…
In a move that upends nearly 50 years of tradition, members of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) — which oversees one of the two major political parties in the United States — have voted to reshuffle their primary calendar for the 2024 presidential race. South Carolina is now set to open the nominating schedule, followed by votes in New Hampshire and Nevada a week later. The decision is slated to bump the Midwestern state of Iowa from the top spot: Since 1972, Iowa has kicked off the presidential nomination process with its first-in-the-nation caucuses. While the shake-up is expected to…
The Boston Red Sox signed right-handed reliever Chris Martin to a two-year $17.5 million deal pending a physical on Friday afternoon, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. .acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container width: 340px; margin: 0 auto; Martin spent the 2022 season with the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers, posting a 3.05 ERA in 56 innings while striking out 74 batters. The 36-year-old excelled after a late July trade sent him to the west coast. In 24.2 innings with the Dodgers, Martin had a 1.46 ERA, stuck out 12.41 batters per nine and walked just 0.36 per nine. The seven-year MLB veteran will join…