Author: Steven Sahiounie

France can win the World Cup even if Mbappe is kept quiet. Argentina have no hope of winning if Messi doesn’t turn up.by Shubi ArunThe sound of the final whistle had not even reached the upper tiers of Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday by the time the World Cup final had received its billing.It was not France vs Argentina, but a number 10 versus number 10; Paris Saint-Germain teammates tied for the Golden Boot; one approaching the end of his extended reign over football versus one who already has one hand on his throne; a man desperately vying for World…

Over the past few years, technology played a big role in the innovation of online casinos. Its influence paved the way for the casino to be accessible to gadgets and computers with the aid of the internet connection. The fusion of the casino and technology started in 1994 when iGaming software Microgaming introduced the possibility of betting on personal computers or laptops. Ten years later during the advent of smartphones, Microgaming once again made another innovation. This time the company introduced the possibility of online betting through mobile phones hence mobile casino was born. The Online Casino Betting online is very popular…

Twitter has blocked its users from sharing some links to its social media rival Mastodon.Mastodon is divided into groups, called servers, based on many topics including the UK, snooker, and security.Twitter has blocked links to some of the largest servers which users would join, including the most popular “social” channel.And Twitter is also stopping users from adding links to their Mastodon account in their bios – calling them “malware”.There is absolutely no evidence to support the suggestion that Mastodon contains malware – malicious software that can harm your device.Mastodon said it gained hundreds of thousands of users in November, with…

Amid a shortage of health-care workers, medical students and new doctors in Canada are struggling to find opportunities in their field to help fill the much-needed gap in the country’s health-care system.Dr. Desmond Leddin, a professor of medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax, says more Canadians are looking for opportunities outside of Canada to complete their medical studies or find training programs in their field to land a job.Leddin says Canada needs to widen the process in accepting new students into medical school as the nation continues to struggle with a shortage of nurses and doctors as hospitals become overwhelmed…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces a tough re-election vote in six months. His rival, the Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu, is very popular and far ahead in the polls. Erdogan went back in time to find an obscure statement made by Imamoglu in 2019 which Erdogan used to order the Turkish courts to try Imamoglu on the charge of ‘insulting electoral officials’. On December 14, Imamoglu was sentenced to 2 years, 7 months, and 15 days of prison, and was banned from politics. Following his sentence, Imamoglu told his supporters, “Because this case…

US-China chip war: How the technology dispute is playing outThe US is rapidly ramping up efforts to try to hobble China’s progress in the semiconductor industry – vital for everything from smartphones to weapons of war.In October, Washington announced some of the broadest export controls yet – requiring licences for companies exporting chips to China using US tools or software, no matter where they’re made in the world.Washington’s measures also prevent US citizens and green card holders from working for certain Chinese chip companies. Green card holders are US permanent residents who have the right to work in the country.It…

They say this is good economic news. It might not feel like it Earlier in December, CNN’s Christine Romans wrote about the “yes, but” economy.”Yes, the economy is strong,” she said. “But it comes with a lot of caveats.”Here’s a riff on that for this week: There’s some good news to report, but questions and caveats are looming in the future.Yes, inflation is coolingWell, maybe it’s more accurate to say inflation’s not boiling quite as much. CNN’s Alicia Wallace wrote Tuesday that the Consumer Price Index showed inflation slowing more than many economists expected.”Prices rose 7.1% annually in November, down from 7.7% in…

UK energy suppliers risk going bust – researchDecember 15, 2022Mounting unrecoverable debts could reportedly lead to company failuresThe British energy industry risks seeing more suppliers collapsing on the back of so-called “bad debts” arising from consumer bills, according to a study by energy consultants Cornwall Insight and Complete Strategy.Their joint report showed on Tuesday that household energy suppliers in the UK could be exposed to as much as £1.9 billion ($2.4 billion) of debt, a significant portion of which could be unrecoverable.That debt could lead to more supplier failures, with the costs then added to consumer bills, which would further…

Morgan Stanley analysts have raised their forecast for China’s economic growth in 2023, predicting an earlier and sharper rebound in activity. The country’s gross domestic product is seen growing 5.4% next year, up from a previous projection of 5%.“We had previously expected a rebound in activity to materialize from late 2Q23. Now we are projecting mobility to improve from early March,” analysts said on Tuesday, adding that they expect to see a “faster and sharper rise in mobility” to be reflected in the economy starting in the second quarter.They also noted that Chinese policymakers are “taking concerted action to lift…

The billionaire has cashed out nearly $8 billion worth of shares after buying Twitter, according to regulatory filingsElon Musk has sold another 22 million shares in his electric car company Tesla this week, according to filings published by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday.The stock sale was worth $3.6 billion, bringing Musk’s total Tesla stock off-load this year near $40 billion. The billionaire’s stake in the carmaker now amounts to about 13.4% from around 17% a year ago, according to Refinitiv data.This week’s sale is the second big piece of stock Musk has dumped since his $44-billion…