Author: LoveWorld UK

A laboured contest morphed into a thriller and, cutting through it all, Cristiano Ronaldo managed to own the story. That was hardly a surprise in the circumstances and it was certainly what the crowd, many dressed in Portugal shirts but a vast swathe clearly present to see one man only, demanded. Their loyalty was rewarded by an emphatically converted penalty that brought a moment in history. Ronaldo became the first male player to score at five different World Cups and, whether you loathe the circus or adore the fanatical drive and egoism that make him such excruciatingly hard work at 37, it…

Nurses across the UK will go on strike for the first time over two days in the fortnight before Christmas after ministers rejected their pleas for formal talks over NHS pay. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said its members would stage national strikes – the first in its 106-year history – on 15 and 20 December. Senior sources said the industrial action was expected to last for 12 hours on both days – most likely between 8am and 8pm. The unprecedented national industrial action will seriously disrupt care and is likely to be the first in a series of strikes over the winter…

Azerbaijan will be opening an embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, after its Parliament approved the decision on Nov. 18 in what officials say will help improve continued economic relations and cooperation between the two nations. The move would make Azerbaijan—which shares borders with Iran, Russia, Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey—the first Shiite majority country to do so. Both Azerbaijan and Israel share joint concerns over Iran, which has been steadily advancing its nuclear program. Israel’s Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, welcomed the move in a statement on Friday, stating that Azerbaijan is an “important partner of Israel and home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the Muslim…

Outgoing Republican Gov. Doug Ducey has congratulated Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, who was named his successor after the midterm elections, which her GOP opponent Kari Lake has not conceded while disputes play out. Ducey met with Hobbs on Wednesday, two weeks after Election Day, amid reports of widespread problems at voting sites in Maricopa County revealed in a memo written by attorney Mark Sonnenklar. Sonnenklar was one of 11 roving attorneys working with the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) Election Integrity program in Maricopa County. “Today I congratulated Governor-elect Katie Hobbs on her victory in a hard-fought race…

Up to 2.5 million students could face disruption as tens of thousands of university staff begin industrial action on Thursday in what has been billed as the biggest strike in the history of UK higher education. More than 70,000 staff, including lecturers, librarians and researchers, are due to take part in the first of three days of strike action over pay, working conditions and pensions, with pickets expected at 150 universities. The University and College Union (UCU) says the strike, which will also take place on Friday and Wednesday next week, will bring the sector to a standstill. University administrators,…

Japan’s shock victory over Germany in Qatar on Wednesday sparked late-night celebrations and calls to mark the Samurai Blue’s momentous feat in their 2022 World Cup opener with a public holiday. The clock was nearing midnight when Takuma Asano rifled Japan’s winner into the roof of the net at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha – a result that had seemed impossible after a poor first half from Japan, playing in their seventh straight World Cup. For fans over a certain age, the comeback 2-1 victory went some way towards banishing painful memories of another decisive match in Doha almost three decades ago. It was there that Japan came…

The Conservative peer Michelle Mone and her children secretly received £29m originating from the profits of a PPE business that was awarded large government contracts after she recommended it to ministers, documents seen by the Guardian indicate. Lady Mone’s support helped the company, PPE Medpro, secure a place in a “VIP lane” the government used during the coronavirus pandemic to prioritise companies that had political connections. It then secured contracts worth more than £200m. Documents seen by the Guardian indicate tens of millions of pounds of PPE Medpro’s profits were later transferred to a secret offshore trust of which Mone and her adult children were…

The Scottish parliament cannot hold a second independence referendum without Westminster approval, the supreme court has ruled, in a judgment likely to anger Scottish nationalists who say the country’s future is for Scottish voters to decide. The decision could lead to Nicola Sturgeon following through on her pledge to “put our case for independence to the people in an election”, turning it into a “de facto referendum”. The ruling, delivered by the supreme court president, Lord Reed, came after an unprecedented hearing at the UK’s highest court into whether Holyrood had the legal authority to legislate for a referendum on Scottish independence without Westminster granting it…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) guidance for people to “stop” taking ivermectin for COVID-19 was informal and just a recommendation, government lawyers argued during a recent hearing. “The cited statements were not directives. They were not mandatory. They were recommendations. They said what parties should do. They said, for example, why you should not take ivermectin to treat COVID-19. They did not say you may not do it, you must not do it. They did not say it’s prohibited or it’s unlawful. They also did not say that doctors may not prescribe ivermectin,” Isaac Belfer, one of the lawyers, said…

Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki must sit for a deposition, a U.S. judge ruled on Nov. 21. Psaki, who now works for MSNBC, isn’t facing an “undue burden,” U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, a Trump appointee, wrote in a seven-page ruling. In October, Doughty ordered Psaki and other former and current Biden administration officials to answer questions under oath because evidence has been put forth indicating they colluded with big tech firms to censor users. Plaintiffs in the case said that Psaki’s public statements about the administration pressuring Facebook and other companies to crack down on supposed disinformation and misinformation and to ban users showed she…