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2025-01-08   

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New England Patriots Head Coach Jerod Mayo leaves the field following Saturday’s 40-7 loss to the Chargers. Michael Dwyer/Associated Press FOXBORO, Mass. — Eleven and a half months after he was introduced as the head coach of the Patriots, the chief reason to believe in Jerod Mayo remains unchanged. It’s nothing you can see, nor hear, nor point to as proof. It’s an idea, an extension of the imagination. Something abstract. Potential. Or, in the words of the pessimist: pure, unfounded faith. Because most of what we’ve seen and heard from Mayo since he was hired paints an increasingly disturbing reality for the NFL’s once premier franchise. The Patriots are a laughing stock. An embarrassment. A doormat the Chargers, of all franchises, just wiped their feet on before waltzing into the playoffs without having to play their starters through to the end. Meanwhile, these Patriots are penalty prone. Selfish. Unaccountable. And now, most damning of all, they’re quitters. “Just to speak for myself, I’ve seen a lot of stuff out there. It feels like a lot of guys start giving up when things get hard,” defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale told me after Saturday’s 40-7 loss. New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is sacked by Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. during the second half of Saturday’s game in Foxborough, Mass. Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press Shaking his head, Ekuale continued: “I feel like towards the end of the fourth quarter, some of the guys just give up, and some guys play to the end of the whistle. I don’t know, man. It’s been a tough year, ups and downs.” Saturday was all downs, an avalanche leading into next weekend’s season finale and an uncertain future beyond that who-cares affair with the Bills. All of the reporting surrounding Mayo’s future has indicated he will return for 2025, provided he avoids a “collapse” or “calamity” down the stretch. Did Saturday’s loss, by far the Patriots’ worst of the season, qualify as either? I don’t know. What I do know is I have seen enough to pass on potential, and pick up the phone for Mike Vrabel. If Vrabel is, indeed, interested in returning to New England, the Krafts ought to bring him home. Say what you will about Vrabel’s Titans — a hard-nosed, boring bunch often hamstrung by bad quarterbacks — they never quit. They didn’t break fundamentally. Instead, they knocked out the dynasty-era Pats in January 2020, Tom Brady’s last game as a Patriot, and made the AFC championship game that same year. Two seasons after that, they clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC, and Vrabel was named Coach of the Year. During his Tennessee tenure, Vrabel was widely regarded as a top-10 NFL coach and compiled a winning record. Mike Vrabel was a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Patriots as a player and he now has eight years of coaching experience. Wade Payne/Associated Press Whatever Mayo might become, he’s light-years away from that, and eight seasons behind Vrabel in coaching experience. All of the years Vrabel has spent outside New England since being traded as a player in 2009 have served him in a way Mayo can never know until he leaves himself; building a network, learning other systems, coaching techniques and philosophies. Vrabel is not a Patriot anymore, and that fact, along with his track record of hiring strong offensive coordinators, makes him the perfect candidate for what Mayo was hired to do in the first place: reboot and modernize the franchise. Because under Mayo, the Patriots coaches are stuck on a hamster wheel of failure; unable to complete the four basic tasks of their profession: motivate, organize, teach and develop. This staff is not reaching its best players. “I’ve never been in this position; as disconnected or not on the same page as I am right now,” Pats defensive lineman Keion White told me. “Like, I know I can play good football. I have the ability to. I’m just not right now, and (I’m) trying to figure it out what it is.” This staff has not developed anyone outside of Drake Maye. Fellow rookie Javon Baker still has fewer career catches than Vederian Lowe, the team’s left tackle, and Ja’Lynn Polk’s caught two passes since Halloween. This staff can’t force opponents to “play left-handed.” The pick that should have been Polk, Ladd McConkey, the Chargers’ leading receiver by more than 400 receiving yards, scored two touchdowns Saturday. Two! And the staff is not inspiring players in a way that suggests the Patriots will be able to next season. “Just need to compete better, fight a little more,” Pats receiver Kendrick Bourne admitted. “Just embarrassing.” Never mind Mayo’s ongoing parade of media mistakes, which continued Saturday when Rhamondre Stevenson started the game after he told the national television and local radio broadcasts the butterfingered Stevenson would sit. Or that veteran players continue to reflect Mayo’s don’t-mind-the-defense attitude after a 33-point beatdown when they allowed 150 rushing yards. “I thought we were playing good run D — just particularly talking about defense — I thought we were playing good run defense,” Pats nose tackle Davon Godchaux said. “You know, I think (Jim) Harbaugh made a statement and said they were going to come in and play bully ball. Particularly when you say that, they typically want to run the ball, stop the run, play your special teams. I thought for the most part, we played good run defense.” Man. Seriously? What matters is the Patriots have one game left against the Bills, who are likely to rest their starters ahead of the playoffs. Several Pats players happily noted Buffalo’s expected lineup decision Saturday’s post-game locker room, perhaps the saddest possible commentary on the state of the franchise. That the Patriots, six-time Super Bowl champions, might win because of whom the Bills choose to sit, not because of who they are as a team. If ownership opts to fire Mayo’s coordinators the following week, the Krafts will face an impossible task of hiring quality coaches willing to work a second-year headman on the hot seat with minimal experience. If they run it back with Mayo, Alex Van Pelt and DeMarcus Covington, ownership will send a message that losing like this can be tolerated; that they again are betting on potential, while the on-field results and locker-room commentary scream otherwise. The thing is, I’m done with potential. The sure thing is out there. His name is Mike Vrabel, and if he’s willing and able to return, that’s all the Krafts need to know. We invite you to add your comments. We encourage a thoughtful exchange of ideas and information on this website. By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use . More information is found on our FAQs . You can modify your screen name here . Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday as well as limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve. Please sign into your Press Herald account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe . Questions? Please see our FAQs . Your commenting screen name has been updated. Send questions/comments to the editors. « Previous

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LAS VEGAS -- The Milwaukee Bucks are making a return trip to the NBA Cup semifinals after falling short in Sin City last season. This time around, they'll have the responsibility of stopping one of the game's great entertainers in Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks. Young rolled a pair of imaginary dice over the New York Knicks' midcourt logo in the closing moments of the Hawks' 108-100 win in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, a nod to the Hawks' trip to Vegas. It was yet another example of Young's showmanship, something the Knicks have seen firsthand over the years. The Bucks also got to experience a bit of Young's big-game prowess in the 2021 Eastern Conference finals, but Young suffered an ankle injury in Game 3 of that series and wasn't the same the rest of the way. If "Ice Trae" has it his way, the Bucks will be the latest victim of his prime-time heroics on Saturday night. Even if he doesn't like to linger on the memories of that series. "I don't let past things make me mad (and I don't) hold a grudge on those things," the 26-year-old Young said. "Yeah, I'm young. I'm not super young anymore, where I like, let those things really affect me. "I remember it like it was yesterday. It definitely hurts, but I mean, this is a new team. I'm part of a new team. They're a different team. So I can't let my past affect my mental and my focus on right now, because it's a totally different team and totally different place." Young is averaging 21 points per game to go along with 12.2 assists, numbers that have only been equaled by Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas over the course of an entire NBA season. He's gotten a fair bit of help too, most notably in the form of 19.8 points and a team-high 10.1 rebounds per game from fourth-year forward Jalen Johnson. The Hawks earned the No. 3 seed in NBA Cup knockout play after going 3-1 in the East Group C stage. Atlanta's among the hottest teams in the league at the moment, having won seven of its last eight games overall. The Bucks, on the other hand, are the only team of the four remaining that made it to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas last season. They had a short trip, falling 128-119 to the Pacers, but the hope is that last year's experience better prepared them for all of the outside hoopla that comes with this stage. At the very least, they have a much better understanding of what winning the NBA Cup would entail. "I think last year, most people didn't even understand what was going on until they got to the final stages," Bucks star Damian Lillard said. "When we got to the game against New York last year, where the winner got to go to Vegas, we started to have a better understanding of what was on the line. "Coming into this season, I think everybody understood better. Everybody cared more, not just because it's an opportunity to win money. Even though it's not the ultimate goal, I think it gives you an edge. We want to be the last team standing in it. We want to win the money. We want to continue going in the right direction as a team." The Bucks entered Tuesday's quarterfinal as the East's top seed in NBA Cup play, going 4-0 in East Group B play despite a turbulent 2-8 start to the season. They've won nine of their last 11 games and eclipsed .500 for the season by beating the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday and the Orlando Magic on Tuesday. Giannis Antetokounmpo sits atop the NBA scoring leaders as of Friday afternoon, averaging 32.7 points and a team-high 11.4 rebounds per game. Lillard has also played at an All-Star level, averaging 25.8 points per game in addition to 7.6 assists. Bobby Portis (13.2 ppg) and Brook Lopez (11 ppg) are the only other Bucks averaging double figures. --Will Despart, Field Level MediaPublished 4:09 pm Sunday, December 29, 2024 By Associated Press By The Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023 , spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the center said in posting about his death on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world — Carter forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation’s highest office. The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s. “My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference,” Carter once said. As reaction poured in Sunday from around the world, former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary were among those praising Carter for a life devoted to helping others. “Hillary and I mourn the passing of President Jimmy Carter and give thanks for his long, good life. Guided by his faith, President Carter lived to serve others — until the very end,” Clinton said, praising Carter for a commitment to civil rights, protecting natural resources, securing peace between Egypt and Israel, and other accomplishments. The son of the late Martin Luther King Jr., meanwhile, called Carter a “fighter who punched above his weight.” In a statement, Martin Luther King III added that “while history may have been hard on President Carter at times, today, he is remembered as a global human rights leader.” A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. His no-frills campaign depended on public financing, and his promise not to deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter repeated before narrowly beating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford, who had lost popularity pardoning Nixon. Carter governed amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over racism, women’s rights and America’s global role. His most acclaimed achievement in office was a Mideast peace deal that he brokered by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the bargaining table for 13 days in 1978. That Camp David experience inspired the post-presidential center where Carter would establish so much of his legacy. Yet Carter’s electoral coalition splintered under double-digit inflation, gasoline lines and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His bleakest hour came when eight Americans died in a failed hostage rescue in April 1980, helping to ensure his landslide defeat to Republican Ronald Reagan. Carter acknowledged in his 2020 “White House Diary” that he could be “micromanaging” and “excessively autocratic,” complicating dealings with Congress and the federal bureaucracy. He also turned a cold shoulder to Washington’s news media and lobbyists, not fully appreciating their influence on his political fortunes. “It didn’t take us long to realize that the underestimation existed, but by that time we were not able to repair the mistake,” Carter told historians in 1982, suggesting that he had “an inherent incompatibility” with Washington insiders. Carter insisted his overall approach was sound and that he achieved his primary objectives — to “protect our nation’s security and interests peacefully” and “enhance human rights here and abroad” — even if he fell spectacularly short of a second term. Ignominious defeat, though, allowed for renewal. The Carters founded The Carter Center in 1982 as a first-of-its-kind base of operations, asserting themselves as international peacemakers and champions of democracy, public health and human rights. “I was not interested in just building a museum or storing my White House records and memorabilia,” Carter wrote in a memoir published after his 90th birthday. “I wanted a place where we could work.” That work included easing nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, helping to avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiating cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, The Carter Center had declared at least 113 elections in Latin America, Asia and Africa to be free or fraudulent. Recently, the center began monitoring U.S. elections as well. Carter’s stubborn self-assuredness and even self-righteousness proved effective once he was unencumbered by the Washington order, sometimes to the point of frustrating his successors . He went “where others are not treading,” he said, to places like Ethiopia, Liberia and North Korea, where he secured the release of an American who had wandered across the border in 2010. “I can say what I like. I can meet whom I want. I can take on projects that please me and reject the ones that don’t,” Carter said. He announced an arms-reduction-for-aid deal with North Korea without clearing the details with Bill Clinton’s White House. He openly criticized President George W. Bush for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He also criticized America’s approach to Israel with his 2006 book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” And he repeatedly countered U.S. administrations by insisting North Korea should be included in international affairs, a position that most aligned Carter with Republican President Donald Trump. Among the center’s many public health initiatives, Carter vowed to eradicate the guinea worm parasite during his lifetime, and nearly achieved it: Cases dropped from millions in the 1980s to nearly a handful. With hardhats and hammers, the Carters also built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The Nobel committee’s 2002 Peace Prize cites his “untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” Carter should have won it alongside Sadat and Begin in 1978, the chairman added. Carter accepted the recognition saying there was more work to be done. “The world is now, in many ways, a more dangerous place,” he said. “The greater ease of travel and communication has not been matched by equal understanding and mutual respect.” Carter’s globetrotting took him to remote villages where he met little “Jimmy Carters,” so named by admiring parents. But he spent most of his days in the same one-story Plains house — expanded and guarded by Secret Service agents — where they lived before he became governor. He regularly taught Sunday School lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church until his mobility declined and the coronavirus pandemic raged. Those sessions drew visitors from around the world to the small sanctuary where Carter will receive his final send-off after a state funeral at Washington’s National Cathedral. The common assessment that he was a better ex-president than president rankled Carter and his allies. His prolific post-presidency gave him a brand above politics, particularly for Americans too young to witness him in office. But Carter also lived long enough to see biographers and historians reassess his White House years more generously. His record includes the deregulation of key industries, reduction of U.S. dependence on foreign oil, cautious management of the national debt and notable legislation on the environment, education and mental health. He focused on human rights in foreign policy, pressuring dictators to release thousands of political prisoners . He acknowledged America’s historical imperialism, pardoned Vietnam War draft evaders and relinquished control of the Panama Canal. He normalized relations with China. “I am not nominating Jimmy Carter for a place on Mount Rushmore,” Stuart Eizenstat, Carter’s domestic policy director, wrote in a 2018 book. “He was not a great president” but also not the “hapless and weak” caricature voters rejected in 1980, Eizenstat said. Rather, Carter was “good and productive” and “delivered results, many of which were realized only after he left office.” Madeleine Albright, a national security staffer for Carter and Clinton’s secretary of state, wrote in Eizenstat’s forward that Carter was “consequential and successful” and expressed hope that “perceptions will continue to evolve” about his presidency. “Our country was lucky to have him as our leader,” said Albright, who died in 2022. Jonathan Alter, who penned a comprehensive Carter biography published in 2020, said in an interview that Carter should be remembered for “an epic American life” spanning from a humble start in a home with no electricity or indoor plumbing through decades on the world stage across two centuries. “He will likely go down as one of the most misunderstood and underestimated figures in American history,” Alter told The Associated Press. James Earl Carter Jr. was born Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains and spent his early years in nearby Archery. His family was a minority in the mostly Black community, decades before the civil rights movement played out at the dawn of Carter’s political career. Carter, who campaigned as a moderate on race relations but governed more progressively, talked often of the influence of his Black caregivers and playmates but also noted his advantages: His land-owning father sat atop Archery’s tenant-farming system and owned a main street grocery. His mother, Lillian , would become a staple of his political campaigns. Seeking to broaden his world beyond Plains and its population of fewer than 1,000 — then and now — Carter won an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1946. That same year he married Rosalynn Smith, another Plains native, a decision he considered more important than any he made as head of state. She shared his desire to see the world, sacrificing college to support his Navy career. Carter climbed in rank to lieutenant, but then his father was diagnosed with cancer, so the submarine officer set aside his ambitions of admiralty and moved the family back to Plains. His decision angered Rosalynn, even as she dived into the peanut business alongside her husband. Carter again failed to talk with his wife before his first run for office — he later called it “inconceivable” not to have consulted her on such major life decisions — but this time, she was on board. “My wife is much more political,” Carter told the AP in 2021. He won a state Senate seat in 1962 but wasn’t long for the General Assembly and its back-slapping, deal-cutting ways. He ran for governor in 1966 — losing to arch-segregationist Lester Maddox — and then immediately focused on the next campaign. Carter had spoken out against church segregation as a Baptist deacon and opposed racist “Dixiecrats” as a state senator. Yet as a local school board leader in the 1950s he had not pushed to end school segregation even after the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, despite his private support for integration. And in 1970, Carter ran for governor again as the more conservative Democrat against Carl Sanders, a wealthy businessman Carter mocked as “Cufflinks Carl.” Sanders never forgave him for anonymous, race-baiting flyers, which Carter disavowed. Ultimately, Carter won his races by attracting both Black voters and culturally conservative whites. Once in office, he was more direct. “I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over,” he declared in his 1971 inaugural address, setting a new standard for Southern governors that landed him on the cover of Time magazine. His statehouse initiatives included environmental protection, boosting rural education and overhauling antiquated executive branch structures. He proclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the slain civil rights leader’s home state. And he decided, as he received presidential candidates in 1972, that they were no more talented than he was. In 1974, he ran Democrats’ national campaign arm. Then he declared his own candidacy for 1976. An Atlanta newspaper responded with the headline: “Jimmy Who?” The Carters and a “Peanut Brigade” of family members and Georgia supporters camped out in Iowa and New Hampshire, establishing both states as presidential proving grounds. His first Senate endorsement: a young first-termer from Delaware named Joe Biden. Yet it was Carter’s ability to navigate America’s complex racial and rural politics that cemented the nomination. He swept the Deep South that November, the last Democrat to do so, as many white Southerners shifted to Republicans in response to civil rights initiatives. A self-declared “born-again Christian,” Carter drew snickers by referring to Scripture in a Playboy magazine interview, saying he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” The remarks gave Ford a new foothold and television comedians pounced — including NBC’s new “Saturday Night Live” show. But voters weary of cynicism in politics found it endearing. Carter chose Minnesota Sen. Walter “Fritz” Mondale as his running mate on a “Grits and Fritz” ticket. In office, he elevated the vice presidency and the first lady’s office. Mondale’s governing partnership was a model for influential successors Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Biden. Rosalynn Carter was one of the most involved presidential spouses in history, welcomed into Cabinet meetings and huddles with lawmakers and top aides. The Carters presided with uncommon informality: He used his nickname “Jimmy” even when taking the oath of office, carried his own luggage and tried to silence the Marine Band’s “Hail to the Chief.” They bought their clothes off the rack. Carter wore a cardigan for a White House address, urging Americans to conserve energy by turning down their thermostats. Amy, the youngest of four children, attended District of Columbia public school. Washington’s social and media elite scorned their style. But the larger concern was that “he hated politics,” according to Eizenstat, leaving him nowhere to turn politically once economic turmoil and foreign policy challenges took their toll. Carter partially deregulated the airline, railroad and trucking industries and established the departments of Education and Energy, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He designated millions of acres of Alaska as national parks or wildlife refuges. He appointed a then-record number of women and nonwhite people to federal posts. He never had a Supreme Court nomination, but he elevated civil rights attorney Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the nation’s second highest court, positioning her for a promotion in 1993. He appointed Paul Volker, the Federal Reserve chairman whose policies would help the economy boom in the 1980s — after Carter left office. He built on Nixon’s opening with China, and though he tolerated autocrats in Asia, pushed Latin America from dictatorships to democracy. But he couldn’t immediately tame inflation or the related energy crisis. And then came Iran. After he admitted the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979 by followers of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Negotiations to free the hostages broke down repeatedly ahead of the failed rescue attempt. The same year, Carter signed SALT II, the new strategic arms treaty with Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, only to pull it back, impose trade sanctions and order a U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Hoping to instill optimism, he delivered what the media dubbed his “malaise” speech, although he didn’t use that word. He declared the nation was suffering “a crisis of confidence.” By then, many Americans had lost confidence in the president, not themselves. Carter campaigned sparingly for reelection because of the hostage crisis, instead sending Rosalynn as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy challenged him for the Democratic nomination. Carter famously said he’d “kick his ass,” but was hobbled by Kennedy as Reagan rallied a broad coalition with “make America great again” appeals and asking voters whether they were “better off than you were four years ago.” Reagan further capitalized on Carter’s lecturing tone, eviscerating him in their lone fall debate with the quip: “There you go again.” Carter lost all but six states and Republicans rolled to a new Senate majority. Carter successfully negotiated the hostages’ freedom after the election, but in one final, bitter turn of events, Tehran waited until hours after Carter left office to let them walk free. At 56, Carter returned to Georgia with “no idea what I would do with the rest of my life.” Four decades after launching The Carter Center, he still talked of unfinished business. “I thought when we got into politics we would have resolved everything,” Carter told the AP in 2021. “But it’s turned out to be much more long-lasting and insidious than I had thought it was. I think in general, the world itself is much more divided than in previous years.” Still, he affirmed what he said when he underwent treatment for a cancer diagnosis in his 10th decade of life. “I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes,” he said in 2015 . “I’ve had a wonderful life. I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.”

( MENAFN - IANS) New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar is set to embark on a three-day official visit to the State of Qatar from December 30, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Sunday. The MEA in an official statement said that during his visit, the EAM would meet with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. The visit also aims to review various aspects of bilateral relations between India and Qatar with discussion on key areas, which include political, trade, investment, energy, security, cultural, and people-to-people relations. "EAM's visit will enable both sides to review various aspects of bilateral relations, including political, trade, investment, energy, security, cultural, and people-to-people, as well as the regional and international issues of mutual interest," the MEA said. EAM Jaishankar will depart from Qatar on January 1. India and Qatar share warm and friendly relations, marked by regular high-level interactions to further strengthen their partnership. Their most recent interaction occurred during EAM Jaishankar's official tour to Qatar and Bahrain from December 6 to 9. During the visit, he met Qatar's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Faisal bin Thani Al Thani, and Minister of State, Ahmed Al Sayed, on the sidelines of the Doha Forum. In late October, the two countries held the fifth round of Foreign Office Consultations. Both sides comprehensively reviewed the entire spectrum of India-Qatar bilateral relations, including high-level exchanges, trade, investment, energy, education, culture, and people-to-people ties. Discussions also explored avenues to deepen the relationship in areas such as renewable energy, fintech, start-ups, and technology. They exchanged perspectives on important regional and global issues of mutual interest, as noted by the MEA in a press statement. Earlier, on September 9, EAM Jaishankar met Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Saudi Arabia to discuss advancing bilateral ties. According to the MEA, cooperation between India and Qatar has been steadily growing within an excellent framework provided by their historically close ties and regular, substantive engagement at the highest levels of government. The large, diverse, and accomplished Indian community in Qatar significantly contributes to the country's progress while nurturing the bonds of deep-rooted friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two nations. MENAFN29122024000231011071ID1109040083 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.

IBM will build new quantum computer in state-backed technology park

Thousands of Syrians gathered in Damascus’ main square and a historic mosque for the first Muslim Friday prayers since former President Bashar Assad was overthrown , a major symbolic moment for the country’s dramatic change of power. The rebels are now working to establish security and start a political transition after seizing the capital on Sunday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Friday, pressing ahead with efforts to unify Middle East nations in support of a peaceful political transition in Syria. It’s part of Blinken’s 12th trip to the Mideast since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year in Gaza but his first after Assad was ousted. The U.S. is also making a renewed push for an ceasefire in Gaza, where the war has plunged more than 2 million Palestinians into a severe humanitarian crisis. Israel’s war against Hamas has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The October 2023 attack by Hamas in southern Israel that sparked the war killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and around 250 others were taken hostage. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Here's the latest: ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus will reopen on Saturday for the first time since 2012, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday. In an interview with Turkey’s NTV television Fidan said a newly appointed interim charge d’affaires had left for Damascus on Friday together with his delegation. “It will be operational as of tomorrow,” he said. The embassy in Damascus had suspended operations in 2012 due to the escalating security conditions during the Syrian civil war. All embassy staff and their families were recalled to Turkey. The Syrian insurgents who overthrew Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sunday did so with vital help from Turkey. WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has transported out of Syria an American who disappeared seven months ago into former President Bashar Assad’s notorious prison system and was among the thousands released this week by rebels, a U.S. official said Friday. Travis Timmerman was flown out of Syria on a U.S. military helicopter, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation. Timmerman, 29, told The Associated Press he had gone to Syria on a Christian pilgrimage and was not ill-treated while in Palestine Branch, a notorious detention facility operated by Syrian intelligence. He said he was freed by “the liberators who came into the prison and knocked the door down (of his cell) with a hammer.” Timmerman said he was released Monday morning alongside a young Syrian man and 70 female prisoners, some of whom had their children with them. He had been held separately from Syrian and other Arab prisoners and said he didn’t know of any other Americans held in the facility. — By Lolita C. Baldor THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A Dutch court on Friday rejected a bid from human rights groups to block weapons exports to Israel and trading with the occupied territories, after finding there were sufficient checks already in place to comply with international law. The ten organizations told The Hague District Court last month that they thought the Netherlands was in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention, drawn up following World War II, by continuing to sell weapons to Israel more than a year into the conflict in Gaza. “The government uses my own tax money, that I pay, to kill my own family. I’ve lost 18 members of my own family,” Ahmed Abofoul, a legal adviser for the pro-Palestinian organization Al-Haq, one of the groups involved in the lawsuit, told the court during a hearing in November . The court ruling said that “it is not up to the interim relief judge to order the state to reconsider government policy. That is primarily a political responsibility.” Lawyers for the government argued it wasn’t up to a judge to decide foreign policy for the Netherlands. The activist groups pointed to several emergency orders from another court, the International Court of Justice, as confirming the obligation to stop weapons sales. In January, the top U.N. court said it was plausible Palestinians were being deprived of some rights protected under the Genocide Convention. The coalition said it will review the court’s ruling and is considering an appeal. CAIRO — Israeli attacks in and around a hospital in northern Gaza wounded three medical staff overnight into Friday and caused damage to the isolated medical facility, according to its director. Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya said Israeli quadcopter drones carrying explosives deliberately targeted the emergency and reception area of Kamal Adwan Hospital, where one doctor was wounded for a third time. Abu Safiya said “relentless” drone and artillery strikes throughout the night exploded “alarmingly close” to the hospital, heavily damaging nearby buildings and destroying most of the water tanks on the hospital’s roof and blowing out doors and windows. Kamal Adwan Hospital in the town of Beit Lahiya has been hit multiple times over the past two months since Israel launched a fierce military operation against Hamas in northern Gaza. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes. “We demand international protection for the hospital and its staff,” Abu Safiya said in a statement released via the U.K.-based aid group Medical Aid for Palestinians, “as well as the entry of delegations with surgical expertise, medical supplies, and essential medications to ensure we can adequately serve the people we are treating.” Abu Safiya said there were 72 wounded patients at the hospital, one of the few medical facilities left in northern Gaza. He said he expected Israeli forces would allow a World Health Organization aid convoy to bring supplies to the hospital on Friday or Saturday, as well as a team of doctors from Indonesia. Israel has allowed almost no humanitarian or medical aid to enter the three besieged communities in northern Gaza — Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and the urban Jabaliya refugee camp — and ordered tens of thousands to flee to nearby Gaza City. Israeli officials have said the three communities are mostly deserted, but the United Nations humanitarian office said Tuesday it believes around 65,000 to 75,000 people are still there, with little access to food, water, electricity or health care. Experts have warned that the north may be experiencing famine . BAGHDAD — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced stop in Iraq on Friday on his latest visit to the Middle East aimed at stabilizing the situation in Syria to prevent further regional turmoil. Blinken met in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani as part of the hastily arranged trip, his 12th to the region since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year but his first since the weekend ouster of Syrian strongman Bashar Assad. Blinken has already been to Jordan and Turkey on his current tour and will return to the Jordanian city of Aqaba for meetings on Saturday with Arab foreign ministers, Turkey’s foreign minister and the United Nations special envoy for Syria, the U.N. said. Blinken will try to unify support for an inclusive post-Assad transition that does not allow the Islamic State group to take advantage of the political vacuum in Syria and secures suspected chemical weapons stocks. In Baghdad, Blinken underscored “U.S. commitment to the U.S.-Iraq strategic partnership and to Iraq’s security, stability, and sovereignty,” the State Department said. “He will also discuss regional security opportunities and challenges, as well as enduring U.S. support for engagement with all communities in Syria to establish an inclusive transition,” it said in a statement. His trip comes as the Biden administration winds down with just over a month left before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump has been highly critical of Biden’s approach to the Middle East and skeptical of the U.S. military presence in both Iraq and Syria. The U.S. and Iraq agreed in September to wrap up U.S.-led military operations against the Islamic State group in Iraq next year, although Assad’s ouster and the potential for the group taking advantage of a political vacuum in Syria could complicate the timing of the withdrawal, according to American officials. DAMASCUS — The kingdom of Bahrain sent a message Friday to Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgency that toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It said Bahrain is “fully prepared to consult with you continuously and to provide support in regional and international organizations to achieve what is in the interest of the brotherly Syrian people.” It added, “We look forward to Syria regaining its authentic role in the Arab League.” Bahrain is the current head of the Arab summit. Syria was readmitted to the Arab League last year after 12 years of ostracization. It is still unclear how the international community will deal officially with the new interim government in Syria. JERUSALEM - Israel’s defense minister told troops to prepare to remain through the winter months on the peak of Mount Hermon, Syria’s highest point, located in a swath of southern Syria that Israeli troops moved into after the fall of Damascus to insurgents. The comments by Defense Minister Israel Katz signaled that the military will extend its occupation of the zone along the border, which Israel says it seized to create a buffer zone. In a statement Friday, Katz said that holding the peak was of major importance for Israel’s security and that it would be necessary to build facilities there to sustain troops through the winter. The summit of Mount Hermon, the highest peak on the eastern Mediterranean coast at 2,814 meters (9,232 feet), gives a commanding view over the plains of southern Syria. It also positions Israeli troops about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the center of Damascus. The mount is divided between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Lebanon and Syria. Only the United States recognizes Israel’s control of the Golan Heights. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israeli troops would remain in the zone until another force across the border in Syria could guarantee security. Israeli troops moved into the zone -– set as a demilitarized area inside Syrian territory under truce deals that ended the 1973 Mideast war -- after the regime of Bashar al-Assad fell last weekend. ANKARA, Turkey -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday there was “broad agreement” between Turkey and the United States on what they would like to see in Syria following the ouster of President Bashar Assad. “There’s broad agreement on what we would like to see going forward, starting with the interim government in Syria, one that is inclusive and non-sectarian and one that protects the rights of minorities and women” and does not “pose any kind of threat to any of Syria’s neighbors,” Blinken said in joint statements with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The insurgent groups that toppled Assad in Syria have not made clear their policy or stance on Israel, whose military in recent days has bombed sites all over the country, saying it is trying to prevent weapons from falling into extremist hands. Blinken also said it was crucial to keep the Islamic State group under control. “We also discussed the imperative of continuing the efforts to keep ISIS down. Our countries worked very hard and gave a lot over many years to ensure the elimination of the territorial caliphate of ISIS to ensure that that threat doesn’t rear its head again,” Blinken said. The Turkish foreign minister said the two discussed ways of establishing prosperity in Syria and ending terrorism in the country. “Our priority is establishing stability in Syria as soon as possible, preventing terrorism from gaining ground, and ensuring that IS and the PKK aren’t dominant,” Fidan said, in a reference to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party. Blinken said: “We’re very focused on Syria, very focused on the opportunity that now is before us and before the Syrian people to move from out from under the shackles of Bashar al-Assad to a different and better future for the Syrian people, one that the Syrian people decide for themselves.” Blinken and Fidan said they had also discussed a ceasefire for Gaza. “We’ve seen in the last couple of weeks more encouraging signs that (a ceasefire) is possible,” Blinken said. Blinken, who is making his 12th trip to the Mideast since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year but first since the weekend ouster of Assad, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan late Thursday. The outgoing Biden administration is particularly concerned that a power vacuum in Syria could exacerbate already heightened tensions in the region, which is already wracked by multiple conflicts, and create conditions for the Islamic State group to regain territory and influence. Later Friday, Blinken is to return to Jordan for meetings on Saturday with Arab foreign ministers and senior officials from the European Union, the Arab League and the United Nations. ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkey has appointed a temporary charge d’affaires to reopen its embassy in Syria, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported. The Turkish Embassy in Damascus had suspended operations in 2012 due to the escalating security problems during the Syrian civil war and embassy staff and their families were recalled to Turkey. The Anadolu Agency said late Thursday that Turkey appointed Burhan Koroglu, its ambassador in Mauritania, to the post. UNITED NATIONS- – Two U.N. aid convoys were violently attacked in Gaza, making it virtually impossible for humanitarian agencies to operate without putting staff and civilians at risk, the U.N. food agency says. On Wednesday, a 70-truck convoy from Kerem Shalom was waiting for personnel to safeguard the food and other aid destined for central Gaza when there were reported attacks by Israeli forces in the nearby humanitarian zone, the U.N. World Food Program said Thursday. More than 50 people are now estimated to have died in the attacks, including civilians and local security personnel who had been expected to ensure the convoy’s safety, WFP said. The Rome-based agency said the convoy was forced to proceed from Kerem Shalom to central Gaza without any security arrangements, using the Philadelphi corridor, an Israeli-controlled route that had been recently approved and successfully utilized twice. On the way, WFP said, conflict and insecurity led to a loss of communication with the convoy for more than 12 hours. ”Eventually, the trucks were found but all food and aid supplies were looted,” the U.N. agency said. In a second incident, Israeli soldiers approached a WFP convoy moving out of the Kissufim crossing into central Gaza, fired warning shots, conducted extensive security checks, and temporarily detained drivers and staff, the agency said. “As the trucks were delayed, four out of the five trucks were lost to violent armed looting,” WFP said. UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations chief has a message for Israel: Stop the attacks on Syria. Secretary-General António Guterres is particularly concerned about several hundred Israeli airstrikes on several Syrian locations and stresses “the urgent need to de-escalate violence on all fronts throughout the country," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday. The Israeli military said Tuesday it carried out more than 350 strikes in Syria over the previous 48 hours, hitting “most of the strategic weapons stockpiles” in the country to stop them from falling into the hands of extremists. Israel also acknowledged pushing into a buffer zone inside Syria following last week’s overthrow of President Bashar Assad. The buffer zone was established after Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1973 war. Dujarric said Guterres condemns all actions violating the 1974 ceasefire agreement between the two countries that remain in force. And the U.N. chief calls on the parties to uphold the agreement and end “all unauthorized presence in the area of separation” and refrain from any action undermining the ceasefire and stability in the Golan Heights, the spokesman said.By James Boyd, Charlotte Carroll and Jelani Scott The New York Giants shook up the 2025 NFL Draft while crushing the Indianapolis Colts’ playoff hopes in the process with a 45-33 win on Sunday. The Colts’ loss eliminated Indianapolis (7-9) from playoff contention. The Giants (3-13) picked up their first win at MetLife Stadium this season in their final home game thanks to career days from quarterback Drew Lock and rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers. Advertisement Lock had a near-perfect passer rating (155.3), 309 passing yards and five total touchdowns — four passing and one rushing. Nabers’ Week 17 effort (seven catches, 171 yards and two TDs) gave the wideout his first 1,000-yard season. The Giants added three defensive takeaways and their first kickoff return TD since 2015. While the win gave the Giants a rare 2024 highlight, the aftermath clouds their chances for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Giants entered Week 17 holding No. 1 pick, but with the win, the Giants brought numerous teams back into contention for it. Indy’s playoff hopes go up in smoke The Colts needed to win Sunday to keep their playoff hopes alive. They couldn’t deliver and will miss the playoffs for the fourth straight year. The Colts fell behind 21-6 with just under six minutes left in the second quarter and were never able to overcome Lock’s hot start. The Giants QB threw three TD passes on the Giants’ first four drives and finished the first half with more TDs (three) than incompletions (one). Colts QB Joe Flacco was hardly as successful. The 39-year-old passer, who filled in for the injured Anthony Richardson (back/foot), finished 26-of-38 passing for 330 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. His 13-yard and 7-yard TD passes to receivers Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman Jr. cut the Giants’ lead to two points twice in the fourth quarter. But Flacco’s interception with 2:57 left proved to be the dagger. Jonathan Taylor tried to put the Colts’ offense on his back midway through the game, but it was to no avail. The running back finished with 32 carries for 125 yards and two TDs, notching his seventh 100-yard rushing game of the season. — James Boyd, Colts beat writer Giants’ shot at top pick in peril The Giants broke a franchise record 10-game losing streak and avoided going winless at home for the first time since 1974, but it’ll come with a hefty cost — potentially losing out on the No. 1 pick. With their third win, they’re no longer in control of the first pick. Their strength of schedule will determine their position fate. Advertisement While players and coaches looked thrilled, fans in the stands and on social media expressed trepidation at the possibility of losing out on the pick for the win. — Charlotte Carroll, Giants beat writer Terrible tackling dooms Indy in defeat Indianapolis’ season-long tackling issues reared their ugly head again at the worst time. Three of the Giants’ touchdowns came after the Colts missed open-field tackles, perhaps most egregiously on Nabers’ 59-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter that gave New York a 35-26 lead. The Giants’ rookie caught the ball near the sideline, and cornerbacks Kenny Moore II and Sam Womack III both whiffed on tackles near the sideline that allowed Nabers to race down the sideline and ultimately to victory. The Giants entered Sunday’s game with the worst scoring offense in the NFL at just 14.3 points per game. However, they exploded for a season-high 35 offensive points against the Colts, plus a 100-yard kickoff return TD by Ihmir Smith-Marsette to open the second half. Smith-Marsette’s long score marked the Giants’ first kickoff return touchdown since 2015. The Colts defense also failed to sack Lock and managed only one QB hit. — Boyd Required reading (Photo: Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images)Why your favorite catalogs are smaller this holiday seasonKatie Price reveals the real reason she no longer shares pictures of Bunny and Jett online

A VAN-lifer has revealed how he bought a used white Citreon van on Facebook Marketplace and moved in. Harry Gilbert, 24, packed in his busy London life in exchange for a home on wheels to save thousands on rent. The Isle of Man native was living in Putney, London, when he started working remotely and decided to take the plunge. . He told The Sun: "I started working remote and thought there's no point me being here." So he packed his bags, moved home, and bought a Citroen Relay 06 on Facebook Marketplace for £1,600. Over the course of a year, Harry built the bed and cupboards from scratch but used flatpack furniture for the rest of his home. He shared the process via YouTube, and TikTok where he's racked up 198,000 followers. Harry also installed a gaming PC in his van, this is an internet satellite known as a Starlink, along with solar panels to enable him to work remotely. The van is also equipped with a stove, fridge and a toilet/seating area. In total, his tiny-home cost £10,000. Harry spends around £1,000 a month - £400 on cash withdrawals, £220 on fuel, £200 on groceries and £180 on internet/subscriptions. He brings in £1,200 from work. The TikTokker says he's now completed nine months of vanlife and visited 12 different countries. He said: "For me, it's just a different way of living. "I know people talk about the rat race - but times are changing and a lot of people work remotely now. "People can get so sucked up in it [London life] they kind of forget it [van life] is possible. Harry believes people should take advantage of working remotely and that freedom is "the best thing". He said: "I get to go where I want, do what I want, work when I want. So, I think that's rich in itself." But the TikToker admitted he does struggle - one downside, he claimed, is loneliness. He explained: "For the first couple of weeks travelling around Europe I didn't really have much contact with people. "I was kind of by myself the whole time and there were times when that was very challenging. "I don't really do many touristy things, or go to any touristy places, I like to distance myself and go to to places that not many tourists go." Harry doesn't really plan his routes but uses an app called Park 4 Night to pick a nice spot for the night. Another downside is "bad weather", he says. The TikToker recalled the night that led him to consider whether van life was for him. During the early hours of the morning, on a stormy night on the Isle of Man, Harry's Starlink flew off the van roof and smashed against the ground. Feeling tired and unwell, Harry got up to retrieve the pieces. He added: "That was probably the only time I have debated van life." On the other hand, there are many pros to van life. He explained: "You can book a holiday and it not be nice but you're stuck there because you booked the holiday. "But with a van, you can go somewhere and if you aren't feeling it or don't really like it, you can just drive somewhere else. "You can also visit more places, it really is the freedom of it." Harry isn't thinking too deeply into the future just yet but hopes to find somewhere off-grid to live in. His plan for now is just to "go with the flow".

FLAGSTAR FINANCIAL, INC. APPOINTS BRIAN CALLANAN TO BOARD OF DIRECTORSNone

Islanders end three-game losing streak as Ilya Sorokin earns shutout, Simon Holmstrom nets pair

The grant is part of the U.S. Department of Labor's YouthBuild program. According to a news release from the agency, the program supports pre-apprenticeships that educate and train individuals from 16- to 24-year-olds who are neither enrolled in school nor employed in construction or other high-demand industries. In total, over $99 million in grants were awarded to 71 organizations across 31 states. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts YouthBuild participants will split their time between classroom instruction — where they can earn a high school diploma or equivalent degree — and workplace training sites where they will learn vocational skills in industries including construction, healthcare, manufacturing, information technology, culinary arts and hospitality, according to the U.S. Department of Labor website. Participants will also build or rehabilitate affordable housing for local low-income and homeless families. The YouthBuild program is supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. The Times reached out to the United Way Northwest Indiana for comment regarding the grant award but did not receive a response as of Friday afternoon.Former US President Jimmy Carter dies at 100

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