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This week in Asian Football
Discussion points on Asian football this week: RONALDO, FELIX SCORE DOUBLES TO KEEP AL-NASSR PERFECT Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice, while Joao Felix also did so as Al-Nassr won 5-1 over Al-Riyadh to maintain the lead in the Saudi Pro League's early standings. Kingsley Coman also scored as Al-Nassr clinched its third win of the campaign to move up the table and ahead of Al-Ittihad, the defending champions on goal differential. Al-Itthad won 1-0 over Najma thanks to a Ngolo-Kante injury-time goal. Laurent Blanc’s team is now two points ahead of Al-Qadsaiah who beat Al-Khaleej 2-1 on Friday. SUZUKI PUNISHES URAWA FOR TAKE KASHIMA CLEAR JAPAN Kashima Antlers took a three-point lead on top of the J-League after Toru Oniki's team won 1-0 against Urawa Red Diamonds in Saitama Stadium. Yuma Suzuki scored in the 14th minutes when he took advantage of a pass that was not properly hit by Shusaku Nishikawa, and steered the ball into a vacant net. Kashima topped the table, while Kyoto Sanga, second, lost 1-0 to Shimizu S-Pulse, and Kashiwa Reysol in third was held to a draw of 1-1 by Cerezo. RARE LOSS SEES JEONBUK LEAD CUT OFF BY SECOND PLACED GIMCHEON On Saturday, K-League leader Jeonbuk Motors suffered a rare loss as Gus Poyet’s team lost 2-1 to Gimcheon. Gimcheon led by two goals after the first half, thanks to Kim Seung Sub and Park Sang Hyeok. Kim Jin-gyu scored a consolation goal in the 63rd minutes for nine-time champions. Gimcheon, which won 3-2 over Daegu FC, is one point ahead of Daejeon Citizen. CHENGDU LEADERS SHANGHAI POINT CLOSE TO CHENGDU WITH BEIJING WINS Shanghai Port, the Chinese Super League champions, drew level with Chengdu Rongcheng as Kevin Muscat's team handed Beijing Guoan an 3-2 loss while Chengdu was held to a draw of 1-1 by Shanghai Shehua. The Brazilian forward Leonardo, who scored a hattrick in Port's 3-0 win over Chengdu, moved his team to 54 points. This is the same as Chengdu but three points ahead of Shenhua. There are five games left in the season. Chengdu earned a point on their Shenhua trip when Tim Chow equalised the score in the ninth minute stoppage time. This cancelled out Shinichi's Chan's opening goal for the home team, which came in the 68th minute. (Reporting and editing by Michael Church)
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Brazilians protest against attempts to shield Bolsonaro, lawmakers and courts
On Sunday, thousands of Brazilians marched in the streets of Brazil's major cities to protest the efforts of the government to shield the former president Jair Bolsonaro as well as federal legislators from the courts. This was the largest leftist demonstrations the country has seen in many years. The protests were organized by social movements and political parties. They denounced politicians who tried to avoid any legal consequences and Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro was sent to prison after his supporters stormed the government buildings in 2022 following his election loss. The first major demonstration after Bolsonaro was convicted this month had numbers that rivaled recent right-wing protests in major cities against his sentencing, highlighting the sharp divisions within one of the largest democracies in the world. "I hope that today's protest outnumbers that of the right-wing so that we can exert pressure on Congress," said Renato, a 63 year-old advertising professional from Sao Paulo, wearing a Tshirt that read "1964, Never Again", a reference to a coup in 1964 that led to a brutal military dictatorship that lasted for two decades in Brazil, ending in 1985. "We were very close to Bolsonaro staging a coup. "I was young in 1964 but I never thought we would come so close to a new dictatorship," said he. In a country whose history is tainted by violent coups, the Supreme Court's verdict against Bolsonaro marked the first time Brazil had punished military officers who attempted to overthrow the democracy. Bolsonaro, who is currently under house arrest, will not be released until he exhausts all appeals against his 27-year sentence. However, his political allies have already begun to work to support him, from legislative amnesty, to a pardon by the next president. Last week, a conservative majority of the lower house of Congress approved a bill to expedite the passage of a bill which could provide relief to former Bolsonaro's supporters who are currently in prison for their involvement in the storming of the government buildings in 2023. Last week, lawmakers in the lower chamber also took advantage of the opportunity to pass a constitutional amendment giving Congress the ability to block criminal prosecutions against federal legislators. I CAME TO DEFEND THE DEMOCRACY Researchers at the University of Sao Paulo estimate that 40,000 people filled Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo to protest these efforts by Congress and to celebrate Bolsonaro’s sentencing. The largest turnout of protesters organized by Brazil's Left since October 2022 when the same avenue was filled with throngs to celebrate President Luiz inacio Lula da S Silva's election. The organizers unfurled a Brazilian flag of nearly 15 meters with the words, "No Amnesty." This was in contrast to a similar-sized pro-Bolsonaro demonstration a few weeks earlier where demonstrators had rolled out a large U.S. Flag to celebrate President Donald Trump’s efforts to interfere on Bolsonaro’s behalf. "Brazil belongs to Brazilians. "I came to defend democracy and stand against extremism. I said no to amnesty and immunity for coup plotters," Scarlett Angelotti, an educator aged 62, told the Sao Paulo crowd. She was wearing a soccer jersey from Brazil's national football team, which Bolsonaro supporters have worn as a protest uniform. Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach was also filled with protesters shouting "Bolsonaro is in jail" and saying "No amnesty!" Before concerts of popular music legends who were exiled from Brazil by the military dictatorship decades earlier. Caetano Velloso, Gilberto Gial and Chico Buarque have been confirmed by the organizers. Reporting by Isabel Teles, Berdardo Carram, Rodrigo Viga Gaier, and Brad Haynes in Rio de Janeiro.
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Ted Cruz calls on Trump to support a higher retirement age for pilots. Worker groups are against.
The Republican Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee has urged Donald Trump to support the international efforts by a trade group for airlines to raise the mandatory retirement age of pilots to 67. This move is opposed by the Air Line Pilots Association who say it could increase the risk to travel. In a letter, first reported on Sunday, Senator Ted Cruz asked Trump to back efforts during this week's Montreal opening of the United Nations aviation conference. Cruz, the Senate committee leader overseeing aviation, said that the United States should be a leader on the global stage by raising or abolishing the age of retirement for pilots. Cruz added that the current policy "forces thousands of highly-qualified and experienced pilots to retire early every year." Congress has rejected the push for raising the mandatory retirement age of airline pilots to 67 years old from 65. Some lawmakers rejected the proposal to raise the retirement age, citing a Federal Aviation Administration statement that called for an analysis of safety and scientific factors before making a decision. Many countries, including the United States apply the same rule to domestic flights. The White House has not yet commented. When delegates meet for their triennial meeting, which begins on Tuesday, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will examine a proposal by an airline industry group to raise the retirement age of pilots globally to 67. The U.S. delegation includes Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation for the United States and Bryan Bedford, chief of the Federal Aviation Administration. The International Air Transport Association, which represents around 350 airlines, said that raising the limit by 2 years could be done without affecting aviation safety. Canada, Australia Brazil, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have all endorsed the IATA proposal, but the United States is yet to take a stand. In July, Senate majority leader John Thune and Republican Senator Marsha blackburn, as well as Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, called for raising the retirement age from 65 to 67. Willie Walsh of IATA, former CEO at British Airways, said that the age for pilot retirement has changed over time. It was 55 years ago, then 60, and finally 65. Jason Ambrosi is the president of the Air Line Pilots Association. He said that the group opposes any changes to the pilot retirement age. The group cited studies which found increased health risks as well as a decline in cognition skills with increasing age. "The United States are the world leader in aviation safety and we should resist attempts to arbitrarily change the regulatory framework which has helped us achieve our record." The group stated that Congress had rejected a change in the age of pilot retirement just last year. The ICAO, based in Montreal, sets standards for everything from markings on runways to crash investigation. Its 193 members then translate these into regulations. (Reporting and editing by David Shepardson)
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UK Government approves plans for second runway in London Gatwick Airport
The British government announced on Sunday it had approved plans to build a second runway for London Gatwick Airport. The 2.2 million pound project was approved after the government said in February it would be inclined to approve expansion of the second largest airport. The Transport Minister Heidi Alexander stated that she had sent a letter stating her "intent to approve" for Gatwick to use its backup runway to accommodate millions of additional passengers by 2030. According to a spokesperson for the Department of Transport, Alexander issued a letter on Sunday confirming that she had approved the airport’s request for expansion operations through regular use of its northern runway. Gatwick didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Gatwick plans to move its backup runway 12 metres in order to meet safety standards. This could happen by the end decade and will boost trade, tourism, and create 14,000 new jobs. Alexander will ensure that the Gatwick project is legal and watertight, as it may face a challenge from environmental groups and local communities. The government said that a sustainable aviation fuel ensures that airport expansions don't derail net zero targets. It has therefore backed the construction of a new runway for Heathrow, Gatwick’s larger rival.
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Bangladesh has seen the highest single-day increase in dengue cases, deaths and infections this year
Dengue infection is on the rise across Bangladesh. Health officials have reported that this has been the largest single-day increase in hospital admissions and deaths of all time. The Directorate General of Health Services announced on Sunday that 12 people had died and 740 more patients were hospitalised for the mosquito-borne illness. Dengue has infected and killed nearly 42,000 people across the country so far this year. Many children arrive in hospital wards with high fevers, rashes and dehydration. Some develop severe complications. Children are more susceptible to shock and rapid fluid loss, making severe dengue dangerous for them, said ABM Abdullah. He urged parents to not ignore early symptoms such as a persistent fever or bleed gums. Entomologists claim that changing weather patterns have exacerbated the outbreak. Kabirul Bashar is a professor of zoology at Jahangirnagar University. He said that the monsoon has been longer than normal, which creates standing water everywhere. This prolonged wet period gives mosquitoes more space and time to breed. It is intensifying this outbreak. The rapid urbanisation of Bangladesh, coupled with poor waste management and stagnant water on construction sites, has led to an increase in mosquito breeding areas. Doctors fear that the crisis in hospitals will worsen over the next few weeks as infections and hospital strains continue to rise. A rise in cases of chikungunya is adding to the crisis. Chikungunya, unlike dengue, rarely results in death. However, it can cause severe joint pains and weakness. Dengue was the worst disease to hit Bangladesh in 2023. It killed 1,705 and infected over 321,000 people. Experts are concerned that such cycles of death will continue if preventive measures are not strengthened. (Reporting and editing by Christina Fincher; Ruma Paul is the reporter)
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After cyberattack, European airports rush to fix the check-in glitch
Hackers disrupted the automatic check-in system at some of Europe's largest airports on Sunday, including London's Heathrow Airport, which is one of the busiest in Europe. Hackers targeted Collins Aerospace on Saturday, a check-in and boarding system provider owned by RTX. This caused disruptions at Heathrow Airport, Berlin Airport, and Brussels Airport, with long queues and cancellations. Airport officials and data indicate that disruptions had significantly decreased by early Sunday, despite some ongoing delays. Regulators also said they were investigating how the cyberattack originated. Brussels Airport reported that 45 of the 257 flights scheduled to depart on Sunday had been cancelled. However, operational adjustments kept waiting times low. A spokesperson from the airport said that delays ranged between 30 minutes and 90 minutes. It was unclear how long disruptions would continue. One passenger who flew from Brussels reported minimal disruption. "It was just business as usual for me." "Those poor souls that didn't check in online or had bags to check may have a little wait," he said. This is just the latest hack to affect sectors from autos to healthcare. One breach caused production to be halted at Jaguar Land Rover, and another resulted in losses of hundreds of millions of pound for Marks & Spencer. RTX described the incident as a "cyber related disruption" and stated that it affected its MUSE software which is used in several airlines. RTX did not respond to a request for comment immediately on Sunday. Berlin Brandenburg Airport stated on Sunday that problems persist but it is working with the company in order to resolve the problem. The airport added that a manual workaround had been implemented and there are currently no major delays. Heathrow announced early on Sunday that work is continuing to recover the check-in systems. The airport added that the "vast majority" of flights had continued to run. Cirium, a provider of aviation data, found that Heathrow had "low" delays. Berlin had "moderate", and Brussels had "significant", but decreasing, delays. (Reporting and writing by Christoph Steitz, Sabine Siebold and Adam Jourdan. Editing and proofreading by Helen Popper and Ros Russel)
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After hacking disruption, European airports rush to fix the check-in glitch
Hackers disrupted the automatic check-in system at some of Europe's largest airports on Saturday. Heathrow was one of them. Collins Aerospace is owned by RTX and provides check-in and boarding system. The hacking incident disrupted operations at Heathrow Airport in London, Berlin Airport, and Brussels Airport on Saturday, causing long queues, cancellations, and delays. Airport officials and data indicated that disruptions had significantly decreased by early Sunday, despite some ongoing delays. Regional regulators also confirmed they were investigating what caused the hacking incident. This is just the latest hack to affect sectors from autos to healthcare. One breach caused production to be halted at Jaguar Land Rover, and another resulted in losses of hundreds of millions of pounds for Marks & Spencer. RTX described the incident as a "cyber related disruption" and stated that it affected its MUSE software which is used in several airlines. RTX did not respond to a request for comment immediately on Sunday. Berlin Brandenburg Airport stated on Sunday that the problem persists but it is working with the company in order to resolve it. The airport added that a manual workaround was in place, and that there were currently no major delays or cancelations. In an update sent to passengers Sunday, Brussels Airport stated that the cyberattack had a "large effect on the flight schedule", leading to delays and cancellations. Heathrow announced early on Sunday that work is continuing to recover the check-in systems. The airport added that the "vast majority" of flights had continued to run. Cirium, a provider of aviation data, found that Heathrow had "low" delays. Berlin had "moderate", and Brussels had "significant", but decreasing, delays. (Reporting and writing by Christoph Steitz, Sabine Siebold, Adam Jourdan and Helen Popper; editing by Helen Popper).
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Dallas airports are back to normal after FAA explains the problem that caused the outage
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) detailed the telecom failures of a telecommunications provider that caused more than 2,000 flights to be disrupted. American Airlines, Dallas Fort Worth Airport's largest carrier, reported that more than 100,000 passengers had been affected by telecom problems which began around 2 pm CT on Friday and continued until the morning of Saturday. American Airlines said that it had to cancel 530 flights on Friday and 160 flights on Saturday. It also had to divert 65 other flights bound for Dallas. Southwest Airlines, Dallas Love Field's largest carrier, has delayed or cancelled more than 1,100 flights on Friday. Southwest Airlines reported 580 extreme delays Friday. American Airlines, which has also experienced a delay of more than 350 flights in the last week, warned that there may be additional operational impact. The FAA stated that "multiple failures of Frontier Communications' telecommunications data service" caused the outage which affected the FAA Dallas Terminal Radar Approach Control (which handles operations at both Dallas airports). Frontier Communications has agreed to sell itself to Verizon Communications, but this deal is not yet complete. The FAA stated that the oversight by L3Harris contractor failed to ensure the redundancies of the system worked properly. A Frontier spokesperson said that a third party contractor in Argyle (Texas) accidentally cut the fiber lines of their company, affecting communication systems at Dallas airports. She said that her team coordinated with the FAA, the airports, and worked over night to stabilize the system. As a result, the airports were back up and running by today. American Airlines, when describing the events leading to flight disruptions, stated that two fiber optic cables were cut on Friday, affecting data supporting FAA radio frequencies, radars and computer systems. David Seymour (American Airlines' Chief Operating Officer) wrote in an email sent to its employees that the efforts of L3Harris, Frontier and other airlines to restore service were not moving fast enough. He also said the airline would be assessing the financial impact. Seymour, along with the airline's chief executive officer, Robert Isom had difficulty "reaching leaders at Frontier and L3Harris". "We are extremely disappointed that neither of the providers seems to be in a hurry to resolve this issue," Seymour wrote in an email. A spokesperson for L3Harris said that a defect in the switching gear of the local telecommunications carrier and a cut fiber affected flights. The company stated that "L3Harris immediately helped with troubleshooting the impacted circuits, and critical services were returned to the FAA." We will continue to work with the FAA and telecom provider to restore services to full resilience. In recent years, the FAA has been plagued by a series of technical issues that highlight the fragility of the U.S. Air Traffic Control System. Congress awarded $12.5 billion in July to revamp the system. (Reporting by David Shepardson, Lucia Mutikani and Leslie Adler; editing by Leslie Adler).
Tens of thousands march through the capital of Serbia to demand snap elections
On Monday, tens of thousands silently marched through Belgrade to honor the 16 victims killed in a railway station roof collapse. They demanded snap elections that they hoped would force President Aleksandar Vucic out of power and his ruling SNS Party.
Around 7 pm (1700 GMT), the protesters, who were invited by students from high schools, gathered in front of Belgrade's old railway station. Sixteen students from high school walked along the Savski trg square while holding a white rose as the names of victims were read.
In addition to Novi Sad and Kragujevac, protests also took place in Aleksinac.
"Corruption is at the core of all our social problems." "Elections are the only way to solve this problem," said Srdjan a 35-year old scientist who attended the demonstration.
The 16 deaths in Serbia last November triggered months of protests throughout Serbia. This has shaken Vucic's SNS party.
The protests had been mostly peaceful up until the 13th of August, when clashes resulted in the injuries of dozens police officers and civilians.
The protesters are calling for early elections to remove Vucic from power and have accused the corruption of the Novi Sad train station disaster.
Students, anti-corruption groups and opposition groups have accused Vucic of having ties with organized crime, using violent tactics against political opponents, and suppressing freedom of the media - accusations they deny. (Reporting and editing by Andrea Ricci; Ivana Sekularac)
(source: Reuters)