Women’s U-17 World Cup: Indian Federation Asks FIFA To Lift Suspension

Veteran U.S. tennis player Serena Williams returns a ball during her match against Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic during the National Bank Open in Toronto, Ontario, Canada August 10, 2022.

Serena Williams enters her final U.S. Open as a long shot to take home the trophy but her title as the biggest earner in the history of women’s tennis will remain for many years to come.

Since turning professional in 1995, Williams has amassed a mind-boggling $94.6 million in prize money, more than twice as much as the second name on the list, which happens to be her older sister Venus, with $42.3 million.

“It’s hard to overstate her success,” Victor Matheson, a sports economist at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, said of the 23-time Grand Slam champion.

“There are few other examples of athletes in sport who are so far beyond the number two like that.”

Put another way, about 25,000 women have won prize money in the history of the WTA and Serena Williams has earned more than the bottom 80% of those players combined, he said.

“She has far and away the most career earnings among female athletes and is one of the very few female athletes to be solidly in the top 20 money earners among all athletes in a given year.

“It’s very unusual in sports to see a female athlete have this sort of financial presence.”

While it is difficult to quantify Williams’ financial impact on the sport as a whole, her career has coincided with huge growth in the women’s game.

In 1995, the WTA handed out $35 million in total prize money, an amount that jumped to $180 million in 2020, said Bob Dorfman, Sports Marketing Analyst at San Francisco’s Pinnacle Advertising.

But there is no doubt that Williams, who along with Venus was introduced to the predominately white sport at an early age by their father in Compton, California, helped bring in a new audience.

“It used to be very country clubby,” Dorfman said.

“Then she came along and it became accepted in public parks and people who never thought about playing tennis before started playing. And a lot more African American players came along.”

And as she turns her attention to growing her family and becoming a full-fledged business mogul, it is tough to see anyone replicating her on-court dominance anytime soon.

“There’s nobody on the horizon right now that’s going to come close to that,” Dorfman said.

“Hopefully somebody else will come along and dominate but nobody is doing it right now. I don’t think there’s anybody who has the drive and desire to win that Serena does.”

2023: Nollywood Actor Kenneth Okonkwo Defects To Labour Party

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August 25, 2022

Nollywood actor, Kenneth Okonkwo, has joined the Labour Party (LP), about one month after he left the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Okonkwo resigned from the APC on 11 July over the party’s Muslim-Muslim Ticket.

The presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, a Southern Muslim, recently picked Kashim Shettima, a former governor of Borno State and Northern Muslim, as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election.

The actor announced his defection to the LP in a series of social media posts on Wednesday.

Okonkwo said he was joining the LP to help enthrone good governance and achieve a new Nigeria.

He said the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is the symbol of the new Nigeria and called on all Nigerians to support the former governor to emerge the country’s president in 2023.

“It was an honour and a privilege to be welcomed into the Labour Party on the 23rd of August, 2022, at the Supreme God House, Apo, Abuja, by the entire executive of the FCT Labour Party, representing the National Executive of the party,” he said.

The actor attached some photographs of himself and some LP officials as he was being welcomed into the party.

“I feel loved and cherished by the visit of these distinguished officials of this people-centric party to our chambers which culminated in my officially joining the Labour Party as a member,” Okonkwo stated.

He said his membership of the LP would help him to contribute to working for the emergence of Obi as Nigeria’s president in 2023.

Okonkwo thanked the Dynamics Ambassadors for Peter Obi (DAPO) for facilitating his defection to the party.

The actor is the national spokesperson of DAPO, a political group canvassing support for the LP candidate.

“I am passionate for a new Nigeria and I will stop at nothing to see it come to pass,” he added.

He said although Nigeria is “so blessed” but regretted that the country had been “battered by bad leaders”.

In 2019, the ‘Living in Bondage’ actor explained the rationale behind joining the APC, which has shaky roots in South-east Nigeria.

Kobe Bryant’s Widow Awarded $16m Leaked Crash Photos Payout

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August 25, 2022

Kobe Bryant’s widow has been awarded $16m (£13.6m) in damages over leaked graphic photos of the helicopter crash that killed the US basketball star and his daughter in 2020.

Vanessa Bryant, 40, said she had panic attacks after learning images taken by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and firefighters had been shared.

A federal jury now said the county must pay Mrs Bryant for emotional distress.

Co-plaintiff Christopher Chester will be paid $15m.

Mrs Bryant’s husband Kobe Bryant, 41, daughter Gianna, 13, and six family friends died when their helicopter crashed in California in January 2020. Chester lost his wife Sarah and daughter Payton in the crash.

A report by the Los Angeles Times claiming county employees took photos at the crash site and shared them with others has enraged the victims’ families.

Last November, the county agreed to pay $2.5m (£2.1m) over the emotional distress caused to two families who lost relatives in the crash – but Mrs Bryant refused to settle.

Sobbing on the witness stand last week, Mrs Bryant recalled being at home with her other children when she read the LA Times story.

“I bolted out of the house and I ran to the side of the house so the girls couldn’t see me. I wanted to run… down the block and just scream,” she said.

Mrs Bryant said she had felt “blindsided, devastated, hurt and betrayed” by news of the leak and “[lives] in fear every day of… having these images pop up” on social media.

“I don’t ever want to see these photographs,” she said. “I want to remember my husband and my daughter the way they were.”

Jurors at the trial heard how sheriff’s deputies and firefighters took gruesome mobile phone photos at the accident site and showed them to others, including at a bar and a gala event.

These employees “poured salt in an open wound and rubbed it in” with their actions, Mrs Bryant’s lawyer Luis Li said during opening statements last week.

A lawyer for the county unsuccessfully argued that “site photography is essential” and that the photos had not been posted anywhere publicly.

Bryant, a five-time NBA champion, played for the LA Lakers throughout his career and is considered one of the greatest players in the game’s history.

Japan National Police Chief Resigns Over Abe Assassination

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August 25, 2022

The head of Japan’s National Police Agency announced his resignation on Thursday after an investigation confirmed “shortcomings” in the security plans for assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“There were shortcomings in the security plans and the risk assessments on which they were based, and direction from the field commander was insufficient,” Itaru Nakamura told reporters.

“The root of this problem lies in the limitations of the current system, which has been in place for years, in which local police bear sole responsibility for providing security,” he added.

Nakamura said he would take responsibility for the failings and step down from his post as police chief.

“We have decided to shake up our personnel and start afresh with our security duties, and that’s why I tendered my resignation to the National Public Safety Commission today,” he said.

Abe was shot and killed on the campaign trail on July 8 in the Nara region.

His suspected killer was detained at the scene and is believed to have targeted Abe because he thought he was linked to the Unification Church.

Abe was Japan’s best-known politician and longest-serving prime minister, but security was comparatively light as he delivered a stump speech on a street in the western region.

Local police in the area have already acknowledged “undeniable” flaws in security for the former leader.

The man suspected of killing Abe, Tetsuya Yamagami, is reportedly undergoing a psychiatric evaluation to determine his state of mind at the time of the assassination.

Prosecutors are expected to determine whether Yamagami can bear criminal liability based on the examination, before making a decision on whether to indict him.

Yamagami’s mother is reported to have made large donations to the church, which her son blamed for the family’s financial difficulties.

Abe’s family held a private funeral for him shortly after his death, but a state funeral is also being organised, with leaders from around the world expected to attend the September 27 event.

The event will be “non-denominational, simple and sombre” according to the government — but the plan has faced some opposition, with criticism over the expenditure of public funds on a funeral for a politician.

While Abe maintained a prominent place in public life even after resigning in 2020 for health reasons, he was also a divisive figure who faced cronyism allegations and was criticised for his staunch nationalist views.

Britain’s Princess Diana’s One-Of-A-Kind Ford Escort Goes Up For Auction

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August 25, 2022

A unique black Ford Escort driven by Britain’s late Princess Diana in the 1980s is due to be auctioned this weekend at Silverstone racing circuit.

One of 130 lots going up for sale on Saturday, the RS Turbo Series 1 Escort belonged to Diana between 1985 and 1988. It is thought to be the only example of the model made in black, according to Silverstone Auctions, which expect it to fetch more than £100,000 (€118,600).

The RS Turbo Series 1 was usually made in white but the royal family police guard asked for Diana’s to be painted black “for discretion”, the auctioneers said.

For the princess to drive the vehicle, which has just under 25,000 miles (around 40,000 km) on the clock, was “a very brave choice,” Arwel Richards, Classic Car Specialist at Silverstone Auctions, told correspondents.

“All the other members of the royal family would be driving around London in the back… of an official car… and she’s driving in a car… that you would see on a housing estate not outside the palace.”

Next week marks 25 years since Diana died, aged 36, when the limousine in which she was a passenger crashed in a Paris tunnel as it sped away from paparazzi giving chase on motorbikes.

Other lots at the auction, taking place in conjunction with the Classic – a three-day motor racing festival at the Northamptonshire circuit – include a Rolls-Royce convertible once owned by Bee Gee Maurice Gibb.

The singer, who died in 2003, bought the black 1973 Corniche in 1979. Decked out with red leather interiors, the vehicle stayed in the family until 2012. It is listed with a guide price of £100,000-£115,000 (€118,570-€136,360).

Also going under the hammer are a 1973 Rover P5, used to drive former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher upon her 1979 election to meet with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, with a guide price of £35,000-£45,000 (€41,500-€53,360).

A 1988 Volkswagen T25 Caravelle GL 112 minibus used to transport late British physicist Stephen Hawking is being offered without a reserve price.

Oil Spill: Peru To Sue Spanish Oil Firm

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August 24, 2022

Peru’s consumer protection agency is suing Spanish oil firm Repsol over a huge oil spill which blackened beaches off the coast of Lima in January.

The spill, which Peru called the worst ecological disaster around Lima in recent memory, leaked more than 10,000 barrels into the Pacific Ocean.

The civil lawsuit seeks $3bn (£2.54bn) for environmental damage and $1.5bn (£1.27bn) for damages to locals.

Repsol has denied responsibility.

The company initially said the spill was caused by “sudden and extraordinary anomalous waves produced by the volcanic eruption in Tonga”. However, it later blamed the oil tanker.

Post Covid Era – Indonesia To Attract 100,000 Middle Eastern Tourists To Bali

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August 24, 2022

Indonesia’s officials and travel industry players have set their sights on visitors from the Middle East, with efforts underway to attract more arrivals from the region.

The country, which closed its borders to international tourists for almost two years to curb the spread of COVID-19, has already scrapped most travel restrictions and allowed quarantine-free entry for fully vaccinated travelers.

As foreign tourists slowly make their way back to the Southeast Asian archipelago nation — with more than 345,000 international visitors in June according to Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy data — officials are working to attract more tourists.

From the Middle East, over 263,000 tourists arrived in Indonesia in 2019, before the pandemic, contributing more than $369 million in foreign currency inflows.

Husin Bagis, Indonesia’s ambassador to the UAE, told Arab News that he has set an ambitious target for 2023.

“Hopefully next year, my target is to attract 100,000 tourists from the UAE,” Bagis said, adding that the Indonesian embassy in Abu Dhabi has been working around the clock to achieve this.

“We have been all-out with our efforts,” Bagis said. “If you hold a UAE passport, you can get a visa on arrival, there’s no issue.”

Other visitors from Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Kuwait, are also eligible for visas on arrival.

Indonesia’s most popular destination, Bali, usually gets heavy promotion, Bagis said, as he hoped the holiday island could serve as an entry point to other parts of the archipelago such as the nearby island of Lombok.

“We will optimize the role of Bali,” he added.

Travel industry players are also eyeing the arrival of Middle Eastern visitors.

“It’s a potential market,” I.G.N. Rai Suryawijaya, who heads the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association’s chapter in Bali’s Badung regency, told Arab News.

He said many travelers from the Middle East choose to stay at hotels in Nusa Dua, a resort area located in Badung.

“Tourists from the Middle East are also upper middle class, and they stay in five-star and four-star hotels, that’s what we have been seeing, and they have good spending power,” Suryawijaya said.

“We are doing all sorts of collaborations in promotional efforts so that more travelers from the Middle East will come to Bali.”

Beautiful Nigeria: Ikogosi Warm Spring, Ekiti State

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August 24, 2022

The Ikogosi Warm Springs is a tourist attraction located at Ikogosi, a town in Ekiti State, southwestern Nigeria.

Flowing abreast the warm spring is another cold spring which meets the warm spring at a confluence, each maintaining its thermal properties.

These attributes make the spring a tourist attraction in Nigeria.

Research suggested that the warm spring has a temperature of about 70°C at the source and 37°C at the confluence.

The success of joint management adopted by Ekiti State Government for Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort was investigated vis-à-vis its current status, operation and its contribution to the adjourning community.

A number of Sampling techniques were employed to select sample for this study. Purposive sampling method was used to select 100 residents of the Ikogosi community who are 18 years and above.

Accidental and Availability Sampling methods were also used to select 100 tourists from the site where the investigation was carried out.

Random sampling method was then employed to select 25 respondents each from the staff of Ekiti Sate Tourism Board, Ekiti State Board of Internal Revenue, Ekiti State Ministry of Finance and Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort Limited.
Decorated with rich vegetation and picturesque landscapes, this resort is a perfect place for those who love nature.

It’s no wonder thousands of tourists flock to this beautiful place to have their fill of one of nature’s gifts every year.

Exploring Tsunami Monument, Maldives

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August 24, 2022