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Twenty-five years ago, as an A-level student with a deep interest in political affairs, I recall attending a Muslim community event where a lawyer was called to the stage to deliver an impromptu presentation on the newly introduced UK Terrorism Act 2000.  He warned of the shift this new law entailed, taking anti-terrorism from the realm of emergency legislation to a primary legal framework, alongside its new focus on defining terrorism in relation to ideology, rather than conflict. This sounded chilling to me at the time, but there was also a sense of bewilderment in the room. I don’t think…

Premier League players taking part in AFCON 2025 departed to join up with their national teams this week ahead of the tournament opener on Sunday, when hosts Morocco face Comoros.The players called up could be absent for over a month, with the final of the tournament scheduled for January 18. So which Premier League clubs will be the most and least impacted? Between the Lines drills into the numbers and looks at the challenge facing some clubs to adapt, including Manchester United. Which clubs have the most players at AFCON?A total of 32 Premier League players are taking part in…

KUWAIT, Dec 18 : 1990 — Having failed to invalidate the Kuwaiti identity, the Iraqi occupiers declared extending grace period for substituting the Kuwaiti identity cards.2000 — State of Kuwait joined the Arab Business Council (ABC), founded in Cairo, Egypt, for boosting investments and trade among Arab countries.2002 — Seaside Marina Mall was opened. Construction of 60,000-sq-m mall cost approximately KD 50 million.2004 — Kuwait Airways celebrated its 50th anniversary, honoring personalities who witnessed its development – namely Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah – who was serving as minister of finance at the time of foundation.2005 — Kuwait Amir Sheikh…

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Signs of a modest economic upswing in Europe will likely let the European Central Bank keep interest rates unchanged Thursday for a fourth straight meeting. President Christine Lagarde has said at recent meetings that monetary policy remains “in a good place” with the benchmark deposit rate at 2%. Analysts expect that language or something similar to be repeated at her news conference after the decision by the bank’s rate-setting council. The bank last cut rates at its June meeting. Surveys of purchasing managers by S&P Global slipped slightly for December but still showed business activity expanding…

Sometime in the next few months, President Donald Trump will appoint a successor to Jerome Powell, whose term as Federal Reserve Board chair expires next May. It’s tempting to think that a Trump-appointed chair will give farmers, ranchers and other business borrowers sharply lower interest rates. Tempting, but very possibly wrong. The president, to be sure, does indeed favor much lower rates. At one point he suggested the Fed’s benchmark federal funds rate should be between 1% and 2%, some two percentage points lower than today. He’s called Powell a “numbskull” and worse for keeping them higher. Yet even if…

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Thursday formally removed the country’s impeached police chief for deploying hundreds of officers to support ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief imposition of martial law in December 2024.The court said Cho Ji-ho “actively disrupted” legislative activities by sending police forces to the National Assembly and trying to block lawmakers from reaching the main chamber to vote to lift Yoon’s decree. Cho also infringed upon the independence of the National Election Commission, the court said, by dispatching police to help the military’s seizure of two NEC offices. Yoon said the…

BRUSSELS (AP) — Farmers in tractors blocked roads, threw potatoes and eggs, and set off fireworks in Brussels on Wednesday outside a European Union leaders’ summit, prompting police to respond with tear gas and water cannons as protesters rallied against a major free-trade deal with South American nations.Farmers fear that the deal will undercut their livelihoods, and there are broader political concerns that it could also help drive support for the far right.Thousands of farmers are also expected at twin rallies planned by farmers’ unions that are set to converge on Place Luxembourg, a stone’s throw from the European Parliament…

Dec 17, 2025, 08:38 PM ETQUITO, Ecuador — Ecuadorian police said on Wednesday that Mario Pineida, a 33-year-old Barcelona de Guayaquil defender, was shot dead in an apparent attack as violence escalates in the Andean nation.Another person who police did not identify was also killed in the incident, and a third was wounded.Ecuador’s Interior Ministry confirmed Pineida’s death without providing details. Barcelona de Guayaquil said in a statement its fans are saddened by Pineida’s death.Pineida started his professional career at Independiente del Valle, where he played from 2010 to 2015. He then moved to the club of the coastal city…

BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mixed on Thursday after declines for AI stocks dragged the U.S. market to its worst day in nearly a month. Traders were waiting for an update later in the day on U.S. inflation, and on a decision Friday by Japan’s central bank on interest rates. The Bank of Japan is expected to raise its key rate by 0.25 percentage point to tamp down price pressures, despite a contraction in the July-September quarter. Germany’s DAX edged 0.2% higher to 24,007.33, while the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.4% to 8,114.30. Britain’s FTSE 100 was up…

Dec 17, 2025, 07:20 PM ETRIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian club Botafogo fired the son of Brazil’s national team coach Carlo Ancelotti on Wednesday just five months after he had signed as its manager in his first full-time coaching job.The 36-year-old Davide Ancelotti was let go after Botafogo failed to defend its Copa Libertadores and Brazilian league titles.The Rio de Janeiro club finished the Brazilian league in sixth place, 16 points behind champions Flamengo, and was knocked out by Ecuador’s Liga de Quito in the round of 16 of the latest Copa Libertadores.Davide Ancelotti leaves Botafogo with a record of…