Venezuela’s state oil giant is parting ways with an old ally who once helped to break a strike

Tony- and Grammy Award-winning lyricist Sheldon Harnick, who with composer Jerry Bock made up the premier musical-theater songwriting duos of the 1950s and 1960s with shows such as “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Fiorello!”

The Washington Commanders and New York Giants came into the season with the goal of closing the gap on the perennial frontrunners in the NFL East, the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys

North Korea has amended its constitution to bolster and expand its nuclear force, with leader Kim Jong Un pointing to the growing cooperation between the United States, South Korea and Japan as "the worst actual threat" facing the isolated nation.

Hong Kong's leader says police will investigate suspicious applications from people seeking to withdraw from the city's organ donation system

The Premier League has been repeatedly advised to establish an independent unit in order to speed up complex financial cases such as those involving Manchester City and Everton, as the planet’s most popular competition could be mired in legal uncertainty for years to come. The Independent has been told a core of clubs have been pressing the argument, but that has so far gone unheeded. The sight of chief executive Richard Masters on Sunday presenting the trophy to City - as the club also became the first champions in that situation to also be facing charges that, if proven, could yet see them expelled from the competition - has again raised questions about the Premier League serving as organiser, regulator, investigator and prosecutor. A number of clubs are understood to be increasingly “furious”, particularly with reports of recent delays to the process. It also leaves open the possibility that all of the Premier League’s key battles - the title, Champions League and relegation - could be settled for this season amid regulatory uncertainty about the future. While City face 115 charges related to Financial Fair Play rules and Everton have been referred to an independent commission for an alleged breach of Profit and Sustainability rules, Masters has previously refused to confirm whether it is investigating Newcastle’s ownership after US court documents from majority owners Public Investment Fund appeared to contradict the Premier League’s “legally binding assurances that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not control” the club. Both City and Everton have strenuously denied any wrongdoing. The key for many others, however, is that it leaves a cloud over everything that happens. A strident view within legal circles is that the nature of cases like those involving City and Everton is so financially complex that it goes beyond general sporting disciplinary issues, and requires specific financial experts involved from the outset rather than just heavyweight legal figures. This is why Uefa and the EFL have two independent bodies, with the continental federation setting up the Investigatory and Adjudicatory Chamber and the English body mirroring that with Club Financial Review Panel and Club Financial Review Unit. Such units both speed up processes but also take discretion away from the boards, ensuring - in the words of the EFL’s own announcement - “consistency and independence”. A number of Premier League club employees have been pointing to this, as the perception grows that City’s strategy is again one of obstruction, just as Uefa figures have spoken about. Several sources describe it as a “mess”, with the competition facing pressure from both sides, but one that was “foreseeable and avoidable”. Some of Everton’s Premier League rivals have meanwhile requested their case be fast-tracked, so that everything can be settled before the end of the season. Should the Goodison Park club go down, the EFL would not be able to pursue the case, although it is understood the commission would continue. An illustration of how this could cause other complications, however, is that if the case did then conclude with Everton being issued with a points deduction, that would not apply in the EFL. It would have to wait until a period when the club returned to the Premier League. As it stands, commissions are appointed to deal with all disciplinary issues in the elite competition. Whereas the panel to form these commissions used to be recommended by the league and approved by the clubs, with the Premier League itself then selecting the individual from that panel for the relevant issue, this was changed in early 2020. A fully independent chair appoints legal and financial experts onto the Judicial Panel, and it will be then up to him to decide who should go on the Commission. It is Murray Rosen KC’s appointment as chair that City are reported to have objected to, due to the fact he is an Arsenal fan. The argument is this process has evolved to become more independent, and a stance within the Premier League has been that the clubs prefer the board to handle various issues. There is increasing debate about that, though, as figures at clubs have become frustrated with proceedings. One counter-argument is that the commissions have always been independent, but what is so important about independent units is that they do investigations and prosecutions. Some Premier League executives have also pointed to how the case of Reading in the EFL was dealt with in a few weeks, whereby the club was issued a second six-point penalty after failing to satisfy a business plan agreed after a historical breach of Profit and Sustainability limits. “You can’t have the same people charging clubs and helping them through processes,” one source said. “It’s obvious.” Beyond that, several sources have spoken of how the Premier League’s legal workload has significantly increased with the case. Some figures in that area have spoken of how it reflects the transformed role of the competition. Whereas it used to almost be a partners’ group whose main business was actually selling media rights, with many historically having boasted of their streamlined team, it has grown into one that has to deal with the most complex legal and financial cases. “It needs specialists and hard-nosed litigators who will scare the hell out of clubs to keep them in line,” was one view. Read More Financial charges cast cloud over Man City's dominance in English soccer Man City’s quest for legitimacy is a battle they may never win Five titles in six years: Are Manchester City destroying the Premier League? Newcastle vs Leicester LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Brighton’s top talents may move on before European challenge – Roberto De Zerbi Bad decisions and poor signings – where has it gone wrong for Leeds?

Ukraine has fired at least 19 “lethal” drones over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula, and three more over other bordering regions of Russia, the Russian defence ministry said on Thursday. The Russian anti-aircraft units intercepted and destroyed over a dozen drones in the region, the ministry said on its Telegram channel. “In the night from 20 to 21 September, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to commit a terrorist attack with lethal drones on sites in the Russian Federation was intercepted,” the ministry said. Russian and Crimea-related Telegram channels reported loud explosions overnight. “In Sevastopol, in the area of ​​​​Kazachya and Kamyshovaya bays, it has been very loud for the last hour,” read a post on Telegram channel Crimean Wind, adding that the explosions set off car alarms. “The Ukrainian Armed Forces are massively trying to attack Crimea using drones. According to military officials, at least seven drones have been shot down in just the last 20 minutes. Residents of Evpatoria, Dzhankoy, Balaklava, Sevastopol, Saki, Novofedorovka and other cities report the sounds of air defence,” said Baza, a prominent Telegram account related to Russia’s security services. It added that the locals have termed the overnight attack as the “largest” drone strike of all time. Three drones were downed over Kursk, Belgorod and Orlov in central and southern Russia. Belgorod, just 40km (25 miles) from Ukraine’s war frontline, has been under continued air assault every day this month. The illegally annexed Crimea is also now heavily targeted in the continuing warfare, with sensitive military infrastructure and sites in the region on Kyiv’s radar. The ministry did not mention if there are any immediate casualties or damage. While Ukraine rarely takes responsibility for these attacks on Russia and Russian-controlled territories, it has recounted the strikes with a sense of achievement as it maintains that targeting these regions aids its military counteroffensive. On Wednesday, Ukraine’s defence ministry made a rare triumphant video and confirmed its forces struck a Russian Black Sea fleet command post near Sevastopol in Crimea, a week after the major naval port was set ablaze in a cruise missile attack. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Zelensky says UN ‘incapable’ of stopping Putin’s ‘criminal aggression’ Two-thirds say nuclear weapons make UK safer as support rises to Cold War levels South Korean leader warns Russia against weapons collaboration with the North UN incapable of stopping aggressors like Putin invading other countries, says Zelensky Zelensky tells UN to not make deals with ‘evil’ Russia: ‘Ask Prigozhin whether Putin can be trusted’

A former US general took to Twitter on Sunday to remind Republicans laying blame on the Biden administration after Hamas militants launched the deadliest attack on Israel in decades that Donald Trump shared classified intelligence from Israel with Iran-allied Russia when he was president. Retired army general Mark Hertling shared a story about allegations the former president told top Russian officials that Israel had successfully hacked Isis computers in order to gain intelligence about bomb plots against the West in a meeting at the White House in 2017. At the time, the former president’s actions reportedly ignited fears by Israel that Russia could have passed the information to its ally Iran, which has long been a supporter of the Palestinian cause. Mr Trump reportedly leaked the information in a meeting in the Oval Office in May 2017 with the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and the then-Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak. Amid uproar over the revelation, Mr Trump insisted he had every right to give Russia the information. He tweeted: “As president, I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled WH meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against Isis and terrorism." General Hertling’s reminder of the incident comes after Republican presidential contenders accused the Biden administration of helping to fund the attacks in Israel, which saw more than 700 killed, after a deal was struck to free up $6bn in previously frozen assets to assist humanitarian causes in Iran. The complex deal was announced by the Biden administration in September as part of the agreement to release five US citizens detained in Iran. As part of the deal, roughly $6bn in frozen Iranian assets that were being held in South Korea were transferred to an account in Doha, Qatar. Administration officials have insisted the money has not yet been spent and is now being held in a restricted account in Doha – but in the wake of the Hamas attacks on Israel over the weekend, Republicans including Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott and JD Vance have claimed the money may have been linked to the attacks. In response to Biden administration claims the money can only be used for humanitarian purposes, conservatives have responded that the money is “fungible”, meaning Iran could take advantage of the $6bn by reallocating or moving around other funds. “For all those focused on ‘fungible’ perhaps this is something to be considered,” General Hertling, the former commander of US troops in Europe and an outspoken critic of Mr Trump, tweeted. Iran provides some $100m a year to Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, according to the US State Department. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis accused Joe Biden of “policies that have gone easy on Iran” and have “helped to fill their coffers.” In a video statement, he said: “Israel is now paying the price for those policies. We’re going to stand with the State of Israel, they need to root out Hamas and we need to stand up to Iran.” Meanwhile, South Carolina Senator and GOP presidential hopeful Tim Scott alleged the attack was “the Biden $6bn ransom payment at work.” “We didn’t just invite this aggression, we paid for it,” he said in a statement. Mr Trump also accused the Biden administration of funding the Hamas attack on Israel, falsely stating American taxpayer dollars helped fund these attacks. Senior Biden administration officials have stressed $6bn is not taxpayer money, and comes from payments made by South Korea to Iran to buy oil in recent years. Mr Trump also argued that, under president Biden, the US is perceived as being “weak and ineffective” on the global stage, thereby opening the door to hostility. “They didn’t have that level of aggression with me. They didn’t have it. This would have never happened with me either,” Mr Trump claimed, adding later in Cedar Rapids that Mr Biden had “betrayed Israel” with the deal. The White House insists the money is ringfenced for humanitarian purposes — such as food and medicine for Iranians — and handled by what the administration described as vetted non-Iranian vendors. Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, said she could not directly address Republican criticism due to federal restrictions. “But I can clarify the facts: Not a single cent from these funds has been spent, and when it is spent, it can only be spent on things like food and medicine for the Iranian people,” she said on Saturday in a statement. “These funds have absolutely nothing to do with the horrific attacks today and this is not the time to spread disinformation.” Over the weekend, Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing hundreds of people and taking dozens captive across the Gaza border. More than 700 people were killed, with at least nine Americans among the dead. Palestinian officials have said that more than 400 have been killed in retaliatory Israeli attacks on Gaza. Thousands more people are believed to be injured while the number of individuals taken hostage by Hamas is currently unclear. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately declared a state of war and promised “mighty vengeance” on Israel’s attackers. On Monday, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant ordered the “complete siege” of Gaza, saying authorities will cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel. Meanwhile, sirens have sounded in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with witnesses in the latter city hearing explosions that may have been from rocket impacts or from mid-air interceptions. Read More Israel-Hamas war live updates: ‘Complete siege’ on Gaza ordered as rocket explosions heard in Jerusalem Donald Trump 'handed Russia classified intelligence on Israel successfully hacking Isis computers' Families of Britons killed or held hostage in Israel-Hamas war share ‘indescribable pain’ The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

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SYDNEY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 13, 2023--