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What is the image that you conjure up when you hear the term “able-bodied”? It means a person who has, and is in full control of, all bodily organs. But not everyone is so lucky. An estimated 1.3 billion people out of the world population of eight billion experience significant disability. This represents 16 percent of the world’s population, or in simple terms, one in six of us. Life is indeed difficult for those born with some sort of disability or those who get disabled later in life through accidents, disease and other circumstances. At the same time, many disabled people have unique talents and skills (inborn or acquired) which sometimes exceed those of able-bodied persons. Sometimes, Nature itself lends a hand to those who lack one or more cognitive functions. For example, it is rather well-known that most blind people have exceptional hearing that helps them navigate the world around them with minimal help. Hence the politically correct term “differently-abled” for those who suffer from some sort of disability. Overall, though, life is difficult for those experiencing some sort of disability. Many persons with disabilities die up to 20 years earlier than those without disabilities. Persons with disabilities have twice the risk of developing conditions such as depression, asthma, diabetes, stroke, obesity or poor oral health. According to the United Nations (UN), health inequities arise from unfair conditions faced by persons with disabilities, including stigma, discrimination, poverty, exclusion from education and employment, and barriers faced in the health system itself. Just to give an example, even some hospitals do not have access ramps for wheelchairs. Sugath Wasantha de Silva, Sri Lanka’s first ever visually impaired MP The leadership of persons with disabilities is epitomised by the global disability rights movement’s slogan “Nothing About Us Without Us”. It connotes the basic requirements of participation, representation and inclusion and calls for persons with disabilities to actively shape the conditions of their lives. Promoting inclusive development One of the priorities of the global disability agenda is to advance the agency and leadership of persons with disabilities. In the past decades, persons with disabilities and organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) have already championed for the changes in their communities, and have been leading many of the community-led initiatives not only to advance their own rights, and wellbeing but also promoting inclusive development for instance enabling universal access to basic services by all; they have done so by taking both targeted and mainstreaming approaches to disability inclusion through, among others, consultation, data collection and analysis, and support with advocacy and accountability efforts. The observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2024 (IDPD 2024) on December 3 takes place against the backdrop of pivotal global developments, from the Summit of the Future to the upcoming Second World Summit for Social Development. These key global Summits will complement one another in providing a continuous roadmap toward disability-inclusive and sustainable peace and development. By emphasising this complementarity, the theme chosen for the observance in 2024 aims to underscore the importance of leveraging the leadership of persons with disabilities to ensure disability-inclusive and sustainable peace and development for all. In this regard, a recent development in Sri Lanka bodes well. For the first time ever in Sri Lanka, a visually impaired person has become a Member of Parliament. This is a significant breakthrough, as he will be a beacon of hope for many other differently-abled persons to reach greater horizons in life. It is hoped that this will open the door to many more disabled persons to tread the same path. A disability should not be a liability to the person concerned or to the society. In other words, they can be productive and useful to society. One shortcoming we have witnessed in Sri Lanka is that many so-called “equal opportunity” employers are rather reluctant to recruit differently-abled persons. But there are many jobs that they can do with some training. For example, a visually impaired person can easily work as a telephone operator. A hearing impaired person can engage in clerical duties without any difficulty. Yet, only a few companies give them a chance. And it is extremely rare for a differently-abled person to become a company director or CEO here, though in other countries there are plenty of examples. Another bone of contention is the paucity or even outright lack of support services for the disabled community. Guide dogs for the legally blind are unheard of here, whereas it is very common abroad. Guide dogs are literally the eyes of visually impaired persons and allow them to live independently without having a permanent human guide. The Government or a charity (foreign funding is readily available) should begin a “training school” for guide dogs (the main breeds are Golden Retrievers, Labradors, Standard Poodles, Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, Boxers, Airedales, Collies and Doberman) in Sri Lanka, so that they can be allocated to visually impaired persons. Granted, maintaining a GR or BC is rather expensive, but again, a charity can step in. More books should be published in Braille and all equipment used by the blind should be allowed in duty and tax free. Another challenge The hearing impaired have another challenge – there are only around 10 professionally qualified sign language translators in the whole country. Only two channels employ sign language translators for news broadcasts, though Parliament proceedings are also shown with sign language interpretation. The country needs more real-time sign language interpreters. In the alternative, all TV programs should be subtitled in Sinhala and Tamil, as appropriate. All hearing aids and implants imports should be free of duties and taxes. Although all new buildings are supposed to be disabled-friendly, this is not always the case as we have observed in many instances. Many of them still do not have ramps for wheelchair access nor toilets designed for wheelchair users. While city planners have designed pebble effect sidewalks and crossings with audible signals for the visually impaired, such facilities have not been extended to most buildings. Even elevators are supposed to have tactile numbers for their benefit, but such lifts are few and far between. Also, there should be more outlets for making and selling prosthetics that benefit amputees, both congenital and accident cases. Again, all equipment for these persons should be free of import duties and taxes. Society has still not taken cognisance of silent disabilities, whereby a person may appear to be completely normal but is actually harbouring a disability within. Dementia is one such disability, of which even scientists know little about. The condition can, however, be really debilitating, not only for the patient but also for his or her family members. Some people may also be suffering inside from depression or other mental issues, which may take a heavy toll including suicide. It is best to seek counselling in such instances. Some physical diseases may also manifest as disabilities. Long Covid, a condition where some Covid-19 symptoms such as fatigue and joint pains last for a couple of years, can make a patient effectively bed-ridden. Then there are diseases that can gradually lead to permanent disability – a good example being Glaucoma, which can lead to blindness if not detected and treated early. Osteoporosis can be dangerous in the case of a fall. In fact, many disabilities can be prevented if preventive action and mindfulness are practised. It is no secret that many accidents happen in workplaces. Occupational Safety must be a priority for all workplaces, but especially so in the case of factories, construction sites and machinery operations. From helmets to boots to goggles, all safety precautions and protective wear regulations must be followed to avoid accidents. Motor accidents can also result in severe disabilities, mostly the loss of limbs. It is best to practice discipline while on the road, regardless of whether you are a motorist or a pedestrian. This can prevent most accidents. A disability may no longer be a lifetime sentence of suffering if technology has its way. If you remember TV serials such as Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman (well, I am a child of the 80s), they feature lead characters who have bionic or artificial implants that are way more powerful than natural organs such as eyes and hands. The hit movie Robocop featured a “dead” policeman who is brought back to life through such bionic implants. But this may be commonplace say, a decade or two from now. The biggest breakthroughs are reported from vision advancements targeted at the legally blind. Right now, “bionic” eyes work well only for those who have had sight previously, but solutions are on the way for those blind from birth or infancy. Some scientists have turned to Nature in the hunt for bionic vision. A team of engineers from the Center for Nanoparticle Research, Seoul National University, the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, all in Korea, has developed a new type of artificial eye based on natural cat eyes. Latest research Meanwhile, results of the first clinical trial of Australia’s second-generation bionic eye have demonstrated ‘substantial improvement’ in four participants’ functional vision, daily activities and quality of life over a period of more than two and a half years. The bionic eye comprises an electrode array, designed by the Bionics Institute and the Center for Eye Research Australia, that is surgically implanted behind the eye. The electrode receives signals from a video camera mounted on glasses, which stimulate the patient’s retina. The camera converts images into electrical pulses delivered by the electrode array that activate retinal cells and create flashes of light called phosphenes to help patients detect edges, shapes and movement. Likewise, there are high hopes for those who have lost their limbs in accidents or even partially paralysed persons. Scientists have now realized that restoring full mobility for such persons means restoring the ability to sense touch and temperature, not just hold an object. However, many challenges remain because Somatosensation — the collection of senses that interpret touch, temperature, pain and body position — is dauntingly complex. Yet, rapid advances in prosthetics are likely to give a new lease of life for amputees and those who do not possess one or more limbs from birth. In fact, advanced exoskeletons could enable even totally paralysed persons to walk. The final, and perhaps the most controversial frontier in the battle against is gene editing in the womb itself. In other words, scientists are even now theoretically capable of identifying certain congenital diseases and defects in fetuses and rectifying some of them through gene editing techniques. But this is an ethical and moral minefield that many scientists do not want to venture into. It is indeed a moral dilemma, but what if gene editing can give a better life to a baby who would otherwise be deformed? Answering this question in the affirmative could give us a world without disabilities. Still, it is not an easy question to answer. Perhaps the future will bring better answers and better solutions to end all disabilities.Authorities in Bucharest have alleged Russian meddling and "preferential treatment" by TikTok of the far-right candidate Calin Georgescu, who won the first-round vote. TikTok denied the claim, and Russia insisted it was not interfering in the election. With tension mounting ahead of Sunday's runoff, several thousand Romanians meanwhile rallied in the capital in support of pro-European candidate Elena Lasconi. Waving European Union flags, they chanted "freedom" and "Europe". While stopping short of announcing an infringement by TikTok, the European Commission said the Chinese-origin video-sharing platform should "freeze and preserve" data related to the "actual or foreseeable systemic risks its service could pose on electoral processes and civic discourse in the EU". The European executive acts as the EU's digital watchdog under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which came fully into force on 17 February. Far-right candidate tops first-round of Romania's presidential poll TikTok, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, must also retain internal documents and information about the design and functioning of its "recommender systems", as well as information on the way it addresses the risk of "intentional manipulation", the commission said. "We have already been cooperating with the commission and will continue to do so," a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement. "We look forward to establishing the facts in light of some of the speculation and inaccurate reports we have seen." The commission said its retention order related to "national elections in the European Union between 24 November 2024 until 31 March 2025". "The order follows information received by the commission in the context of the ongoing Romanian elections, including recently declassified information pointing to foreign interference from Russia ," it added. Moscow is regularly accused of orchestrating disinformation campaigns in favour of candidates that could be favourable to it, in the EU and elsewhere. Romania – an EU and NATO member state – could elect its first far-right president in Sunday's runoff. The vote is being keenly watched, as the country neighbours Ukraine . Far-right surge Nationalist candidate Georgescu, a 62-year-old former civil servant, was a surprise winner in the first round on 24 November. Centre-right candidate Lasconi came second. Fears are rife that under Georgescu, Romania – increasingly of strategic importance since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine – will join the EU's far-right bloc and undermine European unity against Moscow . Bucharest pointed the finger at the Kremlin after claims of interference in the first-round vote, including suspicions of unbalanced treatment of candidates on TikTok, which Georgescu has used heavily. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denied any meddling in Romania's affairs. "The campaign for the Romanian presidential election is accompanied by an unprecedented outburst of anti-Russian hysteria," she said of the allegations. "We firmly reject all hostile attacks, which we consider absolutely groundless." Romania's Supreme Council of National Defence last month alleged that TikTok had given "preferential treatment" to Georgescu, and said he benefited from "massive exposure" by not being labelled as a "political candidate". The situation, it said, requires "emergency measures" targeting the popular app, which has eight million users in the country, according to data supplied to the commission by the company. Georgescu was a relative unknown until a few months ago. He is currently followed by more than 530,000 people on TikTok, where his videos – against vaccinations, praising Russian President Vladimir Putin and calling for an end to aid to Ukraine – have garnered millions of "likes". His popularity has been seen as a protest vote against economic turbulence, but TikTok has also played "a decisive role" in his rise, Andrei Curararu, co-founder of the Moldova-based anti-disinformation Watchdog.md, told AFP. He estimated that Georgescu's clips were seen 52 million times in four days. On November 29, the European Commission asked TikTok to detail how it analysed and mitigated the risk of information being manipulated, particularly via its "recommender systems".

Mayor Brandon Johnson on Thursday maintained that he was in the dark about his former communications director’s alleged misconduct until seeing public records requests for his personnel file, despite having sent urgent text messages about Ronnie Reese days before his termination. At an unrelated news conference in Englewood, the mayor again told reporters that “like everybody else,” he learned about the sexual harassment, misogyny, racism, antisemitism and homophobic complaints against Reese after a Freedom of Information Act request was made. The Tribune filed a FOIA for those records on Oct. 25, after news broke that the mayor’s longtime friend and former press secretary for his mayoral campaign and for the Chicago Teachers Union was being fired. But Oct. 19 texts that the Tribune also obtained via FOIA show the mayor making an apparent reference to Reese while messaging CTU President Stacy Davis Gates just four days before Reese was given notice of his termination. “Ronnie!” he wrote. “Call me. Message from the Elders.” Davis Gates responded to the apparent reference to Reese, who previously worked with her and Johnson at the teachers union, with only an exclamation reaction, according to a copy of the text exchange. She said this week that she did not engage further nor know about the accusations surrounding Reese until the Tribune reported on them. Johnson on Thursday addressed his October texts by saying, “I have conversations and text messages with a variety of people, and I’ve communicated to Stacy on a number of occasions of where there are opportunities for us to continue to grow our city through the lens of public education.” Asked why he couldn’t elaborate on what he wanted to discuss with Davis-Gates concerning Reese, the mayor merely said, “I’m actually saying more than more. ... I’ve said repeatedly that when the FOIA requests came through and it was made public, that’s when I found out.” Mayor Brandon Johnson, left, arrives with then-press secretary Ronnie Reese to discuss safety planning for Memorial Day weekend on May 25, 2023, at 63rd Street Beach. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) The mayor also claimed he did not have specific information on earlier accusations made against Reese in 2023, which the Tribune reported on back in January. “If you’re referring to individuals that were dismissed from the department, that’s a personnel matter, right?” Johnson said when asked whether he was aware of the first batch of complaints. “And as I’ve said repeatedly, we don’t discuss personnel matters. But when those individuals who were dismissed from the city of Chicago as employees, there was no discussion around or information around their specific interactions with their supervisor at that time.” In August 2023, three of Reese’s staffers were fired after complaining about how Reese and Johnson senior adviser Jason Lee treated them. They were then placed on the city’s Do Not Hire list, with two of them only getting removed last week after the new allegations against Reese became public. The Tribune story from January notes that Reese’s employees had complained to Mondine Harding with the mayor’s office about his treatment of women, including allegedly telling female staffers they “laugh too much” while “in contrast, Ronnie would joke with male colleagues.” The mayor on Thursday also hinted at future, unspecified changes to City Hall’s reporting mechanism for personnel complaints. “There is a break within that system where information was not made readily available until the FOIA request,” Johnson said. “Now that is something that we certainly should explore and look into. But make no mistake about it, the most important thing here is that I have no tolerance for sexism, racism, antisemitism, anti-Blackness, anti LGBTQ-plus.”

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Children of the wealthy and connected get special admissions consideration at some elite U.S. universities, according to new filings in a class-action lawsuit originally brought against 17 schools. Georgetown’s then-president, for example, listed a prospective student on his “president’s list” after meeting her and her wealthy father at an Idaho conference known as “summer camp for billionaires,” according to Tuesday court filings in the price-fixing lawsuit filed in Chicago federal court in 2022. Although it’s always been assumed that such favoritism exists, the filings offer a rare peek at the often secret deliberations of university heads and admissions officials. They show how schools admit otherwise unqualified wealthy children because their parents have connections and could possibly donate large sums down the line, raising questions about fairness. Stuart Schmill, the dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote in a 2018 email that the university admitted four out of six applicants recommended by then-board chairman Robert Millard, including two who “we would really not have otherwise admitted.” The two others were not admitted because they were “not in the ball park, or the push from him was not as strong.” In the email, Schmill said Millard was careful to play down his influence on admissions decisions, but he said the chair also sent notes on all six students and later met with Schmill to share insight “into who he thought was more of a priority.” The filings are the latest salvo in a lawsuit that claims that 17 of the nation’s most prestigious colleges colluded to reduce the competition for prospective students and drive down the amount of financial aid they would offer, all while giving special preference to the children of wealthy donors. “That illegal collusion resulted in the defendants providing far less aid to students than would have been provided in a free market,” said Robert Gilbert, an attorney for the plaintiffs. Since the lawsuit was filed, 10 of the schools have reached settlements to pay out a total of $284 million, including payments of up to $2,000 to current or former students whose financial aid might have been shortchanged over a period of more than two decades. They are Brown, the University of Chicago, Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Northwestern, Rice, Vanderbilt and Yale. Johns Hopkins is working on a settlement and the six schools still fighting the lawsuit are the California Institute of Technology, Cornell, Georgetown, MIT, Notre Dame and the University of Pennsylvania. MIT called the lawsuit and the claims about admissions favoritism baseless. “MIT has no history of wealth favoritism in its admissions; quite the opposite,” university spokesperson Kimberly Allen said. “After years of discovery in which millions of documents were produced that provide an overwhelming record of independence in our admissions process, plaintiffs could cite just a single instance in which the recommendation of a board member helped sway the decisions for two undergraduate applicants." In a statement, Penn also said the case is meritless that the evidence shows that it doesn't favor students whose families have donated or pledged money to the Ivy League school. “Plaintiffs’ whole case is an attempt to embarrass the University about its purported admission practices on issues totally unrelated to this case," the school said. Notre Dame officials also called the case baseless. “We are confident that every student admitted to Notre Dame is fully qualified and ready to succeed,” a university spokesperson said in a statement. The South Bend, Indiana, school, though, did apparently admit wealthy students with subpar academic backgrounds. According to the new court filings, Don Bishop, who was then associate vice president for enrollment at Notre Dame, bluntly wrote about the “special interest” admits in a 2012 email, saying that year's crop had poorer academic records than the previous year's. The 2012 group included 38 applicants who were given a “very low” academic rating, Bishop wrote. He said those students represented “massive allowances to the power of the family connections and funding history,” adding that “we allowed their high gifting or potential gifting to influence our choices more this year than last year.” The final line of his email: “Sure hope the wealthy next year raise a few more smart kids!” Some of the examples pointed to in this week's court filings showed that just being able to pay full tuition would give students an advantage. During a deposition, a former Vanderbilt admissions director said that in some cases, a student would get an edge on the waitlist if they didn’t need financial aid. The 17 schools were part of a decades-old group that got permission from Congress to come up with a shared approach to awarding financial aid. Such an arrangement might otherwise violate antitrust laws, but Congress allowed it as long as the colleges all had need-blind admissions policies, meaning they wouldn't consider a student’s financial situation when deciding who gets in. The lawsuit argues that many colleges claimed to be need-blind but routinely favored the children of alumni and donors. In doing so, the suit says, the colleges violated the Congressional exemption and tainted the entire organization. The group dissolved in recent years when the provision allowing the collaboration expired. The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .Apple Cash: How to use it to send and receive money

Digital Ally, Inc. Receives Notification of Deficiency from Nasdaq Related to Delayed Filing of Quarterly Report on Form 10-QThe Swans stunned Pride Park into silence with less than two minutes on the clock when Zan Vipotnik sent a bullet past Jacob Widell Zetterstrom before Ronald slotted home his first of the season in the 14th minute. Cyrus Christie brought Tom Barkhuizen down inside the box and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing dispatched the resulting penalty to cut the deficit in half and, despite piling on the pressure, Derby succumbed to a second home defeat of the season. Williams told a press conference: “We started the game very well, we were good up until we scored the second goal then we lost the grip on the game and I thought Derby were the better team. “The next thing for us we have to be able to maintain that level throughout the game and we weren’t able to do that to be quite honest today. “They made it difficult, reacted very well after the second goal and didn’t go under, far from it.” Swansea leapfrogged their opponents into the top half of the table with their sixth win of the season and took three points back to south Wales following two last-minute defeats by Burnley and Leeds heading into the match. Williams added: “We’ve recently conceded late goals but they’re a very resilient group and we saw it out in the end. “We’ve dominated games a lot but probably failed to score when we’ve been that dominant and tonight we managed to score the goals when we were dominant. “We scored the goals at the right time today.” Derby had been unbeaten in their last three matches coming into this one but Paul Warne put defeat down to a poor start. He said: “We conceded two and didn’t get close enough, weren’t aggressive enough, not enough body contact and looked soft, that’s my fault. “Maybe I didn’t message it properly. Sometimes it doesn’t come down to shape and tactics but I thought that was what the difference was. “Credit Swansea for the win but after the 25 mins it looked like we would score. I really enjoyed it, that’s the truth. I had 70 minutes of a team giving everything, I don’t think we’ve had that many attempts in the Championship this season. “It’s a rude awakening, last year we would’ve won that 4-2.”

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In a dynamic pivot, OpenAI , renowned for its AI prowess, is reportedly setting its sights on a new challenge: the development of humanoid robots. Known internationally for innovations like ChatGPT, OpenAI is leveraging its advanced AI capabilities in a novel direction, marking a return to a field it paused two years ago. OpenAI had dabbled in robotics prior to 2021, with a dedicated division training robotic arms for tasks such as solving Rubik’s cubes. However, this initiative was halted as more emphasis was placed on refining their AI systems. Now, with significant strides in AI technology and hardware, OpenAI sees new potential in turning its focus back toward robotics. The company is not alone in this venture. OpenAI is strategically investing in companies like Figure and 1X, both of which specialize in humanoid robots. Figure’s latest model, the Figure 02, has already proven itself in industrial environments, accomplishing complex tasks at BMW factories. Meanwhile, 1X has introduced robots that could revolutionize household chores, showcasing remarkable capabilities as consumer helpers. Further bolstering these efforts, OpenAI is also involved in developing custom AI chips. Collaborations with industry leaders such as Broadcom and TSMC aim to enhance AI systems’ performance, potentially optimizing processors for integration into humanoid robots. Humanoid robots, familiar to fans of science fiction, are emerging as a real-world possibility, with the potential to transform both domestic and industrial landscapes through their humanlike form and versatility. As OpenAI explores this frontier, the line between fantasy and function continues to blur. Are Humanoid Robots the Future? OpenAI’s Bold New Venture In an exciting development within the tech industry, OpenAI is reigniting its interest in robotics, with a focus on the creation of humanoid robots. Known for its groundbreaking work with AI systems like ChatGPT, OpenAI is poised to revolutionize how humanoid robots are perceived and utilized both domestically and industrially. OpenAI’s Strategic Partnerships and Innovations OpenAI’s renewed venture into robotics involves strategic investments in Figure and 1X, companies at the cutting edge of humanoid robot technology. Figure’s sophisticated robots have already made their mark in industrial settings, particularly in complex manufacturing processes at BMW factories. This demonstrates their potential to perform tasks that require precision and adaptability. 1X, on the other hand, has developed robots with significant implications for household use. This could herald a new era in which humanoid robots simplify and enrich our daily lives by automating tedious chores, providing customized assistance, and offering companionship, thus changing the way we interact with technology at home. Custom AI Chips: The Power Behind the Robots To support these ambitious projects, OpenAI is venturing into the development of custom AI chips. By collaborating with industry giants such as Broadcom and TSMC, OpenAI aims to design processors tailored specifically to enhance the capabilities of AI systems in humanoid robots. This move not only reflects a commitment to pushing technological boundaries but also points towards the creation of robots that could become integral to various aspects of human life. These innovations represent a game-changing step in AI hardware, optimizing performance, efficiency, and integration into more complex robot bodies. The Promise and Reality of Humanoid Robots Humanoid robots have long been a staple of science fiction, symbolizing the intriguing blend of humanlike form and machine intelligence. OpenAI’s exploration of this domain highlights a blurred line between fiction and reality, as these robots stand to significantly impact both our homes and workplaces. Their potential for versatility, combined with advanced AI, offers the promise of increasing productivity and convenience across multiple facets of life. Future Possibilities and Predictions As OpenAI delves deeper into humanoid robotics, the implications for numerous industries are profound. These robots have the potential not just to enhance, but also to redefine labor dynamics and domestic life, ultimately resulting in enhanced productivity and new forms of human-robot interaction. Predictably, as technology continues to advance, the application of humanoid robots will broaden, leading to innovative solutions across sectors. The convergence of AI and robotics initiated by OpenAI paves the way for future advancements that may soon transcend current limitations. For more on groundbreaking AI developments, visit OpenAI .

Fiona Byrne Don't miss out on the headlines from Fiona Byrne. Followed categories will be added to My News. Former tennis ace Andy Murray has thrilled golfers at the prestigious Metropolitan Golf Club in Oakleigh South by taking to the Club’s fairways. Murray was at the renowned sandbelt course on Thursday enjoying a casual round of golf with a friend while he was in Melbourne to film a commercial. It did not take long for fellow golfers to twig that they had a tennis great in their midst and it turns out Murray is no slouch with a golf iron. Since retiring from professional tennis in August following the Paris Olympics Murray has thrown himself into the game. Andy Murray at the Metropolitan Golf Club with a young golfer who spotted him on the fairways. Picture: Supplied/Instagram He reportedly plays off a handicap of seven and wants to get down to scratch in a few years. And with his competitive spirit, who would doubt his ability to do that? Murray happily posed for selfies with fellow golfers who politely approached him. Murray was announced in November as the new coach of tennis superstar Novak Djokovic. The pair will work together until at least the end of the Australian Open, which means Murray will be back in Melbourne next month. If Djokovic likes golf, Murray will know exactly where to take him when they are in town for the Open. He was reportedly very impressed with the Metropolitan. Join the conversation Add your comment to this story To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout More related stories Fiona Byrne Former high-flyer accused of stealing almost $500k A well-known face on Melbourne’s social circuit and ex-husband of a Miss Universe Australia beauty has been accused of stealing almost half a million dollars from his employer. Read more Fiona Byrne Australian tennis star Alexei Popyrin announces engagement It is shaping up as a summer of love for Australian tennis star Alexei Popyrin who has popped the question to his long-time girlfriend Amy Pederick. Read more

How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday, 11/27/2024The Swans stunned Pride Park into silence with less than two minutes on the clock when Zan Vipotnik sent a bullet past Jacob Widell Zetterstrom before Ronald slotted home his first of the season in the 14th minute. Cyrus Christie brought Tom Barkhuizen down inside the box and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing dispatched the resulting penalty to cut the deficit in half and, despite piling on the pressure, Derby succumbed to a second home defeat of the season. Williams told a press conference: “We started the game very well, we were good up until we scored the second goal then we lost the grip on the game and I thought Derby were the better team. “The next thing for us we have to be able to maintain that level throughout the game and we weren’t able to do that to be quite honest today. “They made it difficult, reacted very well after the second goal and didn’t go under, far from it.” Swansea leapfrogged their opponents into the top half of the table with their sixth win of the season and took three points back to south Wales following two last-minute defeats by Burnley and Leeds heading into the match. Williams added: “We’ve recently conceded late goals but they’re a very resilient group and we saw it out in the end. “We’ve dominated games a lot but probably failed to score when we’ve been that dominant and tonight we managed to score the goals when we were dominant. “We scored the goals at the right time today.” Derby had been unbeaten in their last three matches coming into this one but Paul Warne put defeat down to a poor start. He said: “We conceded two and didn’t get close enough, weren’t aggressive enough, not enough body contact and looked soft, that’s my fault. “Maybe I didn’t message it properly. Sometimes it doesn’t come down to shape and tactics but I thought that was what the difference was. “Credit Swansea for the win but after the 25 mins it looked like we would score. I really enjoyed it, that’s the truth. I had 70 minutes of a team giving everything, I don’t think we’ve had that many attempts in the Championship this season. “It’s a rude awakening, last year we would’ve won that 4-2.”

‘Mera paani utarta dekh, mere kinare par ghar mat basaa lena. Main samandar hoon, laut kar wapas aaunga’ (Don’t settle on my banks, thinking my water has receded. I am an ocean. I will return) In 2019, after failing to form the government in Maharashtra after a split with Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis quoted this couplet on the floor of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. The BJP was the single largest party then. After failed attempts to form a government, the BJP sat in Opposition for two and a half years. Uddhav Thackeray had joined hands with Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, accusing Mr. Fadnavis and Amit Shah of backstabbing him and of going back on their word. The acrimony between Mr. Fadnavis and Uddhav continues till date in Maharashtra politics. In 2022, after a split in the Shiv Sena under the leadership of Eknath Shinde, which Uddhav blamed on Mr. Fadnavis, the BJP returned to power in Maharashtra. Some time later, the NCP split as well, with the Ajit Pawar-led faction joining the BJP-Sena combine. It was a peculiar situation where different factions of the Shiv Sena and the NCP, locked in a bitter battle over their claims to be the true party, were part of the government and the opposition at the same time. The opposition factions of both parties blamed Mr. Fadnavis and the central leadership of the BJP for their “divisive politics” and accused Mr. Fadnavis of devising the split. Today, as his couplet goes viral on the Internet due to the landslide victory of the Mahayuti alliance in which the BJP has performed impressively well with a strike rate of almost 90%, the focus is back on Mr. Fadnavis, or ‘Deva bhau’ as the BJP campaign had branded him in September, ostensibly to negate the references to caste politics, where the Maratha-dominated political landscape had chosen to pick on his Brahmin identity. Throughout the campaign during this election, his rivals contemptuously referred to Mr. Fadnavis as Annaji Pant, a controversial figure in Maratha history, who is considered a ‘traitor’ by many for conspiring against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s son Chhatrapati Sambhaji, trying to get him killed. Today, Mr. Fadnavis is being seen as the sculptor of the BJP’s victory in Maharashtra. But during the Lok Sabha election earlier this year, the party had won only nine of the 28 seats it contested in the State. “I take complete responsibility for the performance of the party in Maharashtra. I request the central leadership to please free me of the responsibility of the Deputy Chief Minister. I want to dedicate myself for strengthening the party organisation,” Mr. Fadnavis said then in a press conference in Mumbai, creating a flutter at the national level. Five months later, in the Assembly election, the BJP contested 148 seats and won 132 of them. Early career In his political career which started at a very young age, he has earned several distinctions. Coming from a humble background in Nagpur, Mr. Fadnavis belonged to a family which had firm affiliation with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Jan Sangh. His father Gangadhar Fadnavis was a member of the Legislative Council, and was affiliated with the Jan Sangh. Mr. Fadnavis joined the RSS at a very young age. He started his political journey in his student days by joining the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a right wing students’ association linked with the RSS. He became the youngest Mayor of Nagpur city at the age of 27 years. He is the second youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra, the second youngest Mayor in the history of the country, and one of the only two Chief Ministers to complete a full term of five years in the State. His supporters claim that his leadership transformed Nagpur, the karmabhoomi of both Mr. Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The Opposition, on the other side, has claimed that Mr. Fadnavis failed to develop Nagpur, and that the crime rate has increased in the city. Resurgence His current resurgence is being seen as a testimony to his grit, perseverance, resilience, strategic thinking and adaptability. His supporters say he has taken the responsibility of the party’s performance, burnt many bridges in the party’s interest, put a lot at stake for strengthening the party organisation, and devised strategies to weaken the opposition. His detractors say Mr. Fadnavis has not let any other leadership centres emerge, and that he has shown a vindictive nature. In 2019, after his claim that he will return to power (‘Mi punha yein’ poem was trolled on the social media for years thereafter), there were speculations on whether his importance within the party had diminished. After the split in the Shiv Sena in 2022, when Eknath Shinde joined hands with the BJP, many of Mr. Fadnavis’s supporters expected that his name would be announced as the Chief Minister. Instead, Mr. Fadnavis himself made the announcement that Mr. Shinde would be the Chief Minister and that though he wanted to stay out of power, he would take up the position of the Deputy Chief Minister due to the party’s directions. It was considered a step-down. “What has he not done for the party? He was the mastermind. The Sena leaders trusted him when they took this step,” a BJP leader told this correspondent at the time of the government formation in 2022, indicating that Mr. Fadnavis was ‘not rewarded despite his master stroke’. As a politician, he is extremely guarded and careful about the perception created about him. Several of his political opponents refer to him as simultaneously meritorious and insecure, someone who doesn’t take very kindly to competition. Unlike many senior politicians in Maharashtra’s political ecosystem, he isn’t known as someone who openly discusses his thoughts and plans. He is also someone who is seen to have climbed the ladder quite fast. In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had thanked Nagpur for “giving the gift of Devendra Fadnavis”. In 2024, after the State Assembly victory, Mr. Modi referred to him as ‘param-mitra’ (eternal friend). Proximity to RSS Hailing from Nagpur, Mr. Fadnavis has always shared proximity with the RSS. As a karyakarta, a swayamsevak, he was involved in several campaigns of the RSS. “On all the parameters of ‘swayamsevakatva’, he completely fulfils them. From Kashmir to Ayodhya, he has participated in many campaigns. He has shown the same austerity. He is a composite and ideal politician, who has established himself on merit,” someone close to the Sangh said. “But when a political party grows, it has several considerations beyond individual aspirations. It has a plan for 25 years ahead. So one should not look at it as a preference for or against a leader. But a vision for the party. That is how larger decisions are taken. It may not have a bearing on an individual leader,” said another leader. Published - December 01, 2024 01:04 am IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 / Maharashtra / Bharatiya Janata Party / alliances and coalition / The Hindu Explains / The Hindu ProfilesESPN — Toledo vs. Pittsburgh at Ford Field (Detroit, MI) ESPN — Kansas State vs. Rutgers at Chase Field (Phoenix, AZ) ESPN — Bowling Green vs. Arkansas State at Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, AL) NHLN — Sweden U20 at Slovakia U20 NHLN — Germany U20 at USA U20 NHLN — Switzerland U20 at Czech Republic U20 NHLN — Canada U20 at Finland U20 NBA TV — Oklahoma City at Indiana NBA TV — Utah at Portland USA — Premier League: Everton vs. Manchester City CBSSN — League One: Blackpool vs. Wrexham USA — Premier League: Aston Villa vs. Newcastle United USA — Premier League: Manchester United vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers CBSSN — Scottish Premiership: Rangers F.C. vs. St. Mirren USA — Premier League: Leicester City vs. Liverpool TENNIS — Mixed Coverage: Center Court Live The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive TV listings provided by LiveSportsOnTV .

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Percentages: FG .440, FT .619. 3-Point Goals: 11-26, .423 (Wolf 3-6, Poindexter 3-8, Pence 2-4, Kinziger 2-5, Banks 1-3). Team Rebounds: 3. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 3 (Banks, Kinziger, Pence). Turnovers: 7 (Banks 5, Pence, Walker). Steals: 3 (Banks, Kinziger, Pence). Technical Fouls: None. Percentages: FG .444, FT .769. 3-Point Goals: 8-20, .400 (Garcia 2-3, Parker 2-5, Richards 2-6, Charles 1-2, Shumate 1-3, Murray 0-1). Team Rebounds: 3. Team Turnovers: 2. Blocked Shots: 3 (Shumate 2, Charles). Turnovers: 5 (Garcia 2, Murray, Selebangue, Shumate). Steals: 5 (Cooper 3, Charles, Parker). Technical Fouls: None. A_1,525 (3,000).HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Houston premiere of a short film titled Mildred 4 a Million is coming up. It was written and directed by Houston native and High School for the Performing and Visual Arts alum Kim Peeler Callaway. Callaway joined Eyewitness News live to talk about the short. The film is about generational gaps, stereotypes, technology, and relationships. Marla Gibbs' character was inspired by Callaway's own grandmother, who is in her mid-90s. In the movie, Gibbs' character, Mildred, is having a hard time connecting with her young granddaughter. She comes up with a plan to get her attention with attempts to go viral on social media. Hilarity ensues. Callaway said she wanted to have a Houston premiere so that her grandmother could attend. Mildred 4 a Million is showing at the Memorial City Cinemark on Monday, Dec. 23 at 6 p.m. Tickets are still available online. For updates on this story, follow Briana Conner on Facebook , X and Instagram .

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