Sporting spat sees cricket club evicted after digging up oval

Two east Brisbane community sports clubs are at odds over the decision to dig up contaminated land at C.P. Bottomley Park.

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UN Warns of Environmental Time Bomb Off Yemen's Coast

NEW YORK - The United Nations warned Wednesday that an old, neglected oil tanker moored off Yemen's Red Sea coast is at risk of causing an environmental "catastrophe" if its experts cannot immediat

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Trump Weakens Major Conservation Law

WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President Donald Trump has unveiled a top-to-bottom overhaul of the review process for infrastructure projects that critics contend causes major cracks in bedrock conservations l

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Gaping loopholes: Apple's $21 billion tax win highlights a big problem

There's clearly something wrong when a government rejects the opportunity to levy $21 billion in corporate taxes and an international court says it is right to do so.

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Headaches top symptom for coronavirus, but only one third have any sign of illness

The study by the Imperial College London also found that loss of taste or smell was a significant warning sign of the illness.

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Sporting spat sees cricket club evicted after digging up oval

Two east Brisbane community sports clubs are at odds over the decision to dig up contaminated land at C.P. Bottomley Park.

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These are Netflix's 10 most popular original movies

The streaming platform has revealed its biggest blockbusters for the first time.

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Backlash as white ‘guerilla’ artist secretly installs black lives matters statue

The art stunt was a meticulously planned dawn operation, but many are questioning the wealthy London artist's motives.

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Magic School Bus author Joanna Cole dies at age 75

Cole's books made science both easy to understand and fun for the hundreds of millions of children around the world.

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Tokyo to lift coronavirus alert to highest level: Asahi

TOKYO  - Tokyo will lift its alert level for coronavirus infections to the highest of four levels on Wednesday, the Asahi newspaper reported, after a recent spike in cases to record levels in the Japanese capital. Daily coronavirus cases exceeded 200 in four of the last six days, touching an all-time high of 243 cases last Friday as testing among workers in the metropolis’s red-light districts turned up infections among young people in their 20s and 30s. The highest alert level suggests that “coronavirus infections are likely spreading”, the Asahi said. ALSO READ: Japan traces new coronavirus outbreak linked to Tokyo theatre For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.

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Philippines to use police in house-to-house searches for Covid-19 cases

MANILA - Philippine authorities and police will carry out house-to-house searches for Covid-19 patients to prevent wider transmission, a minister said on Tuesday (July 14), amid soaring death and infection numbers and some areas returning to a stricter lockdown. Interior Minister Eduardo Ano urged the public to report cases in their neighbourhoods, warning that anyone infected who refused to cooperate faced imprisonment. The tough approach comes during a week when the Philippines recorded South-east Asia biggest daily jump in coronavirus deaths and saw hospital occupancy grow sharply, after a tripling of infections since a tough lockdown was eased on June 1 to allow more movement and commerce. "We don't want positive patients to stay home in (self) quarantine especially if their homes don't have the capacity," Mr Ano told a news conference. "So what we will do... is to go house to house and we will bring the positive cases to our Covid-19 isolation facilities." The strategy is a departure from previous advice for positive cases with mild symptoms to self-isolate.

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Equity bulls believe everything is fine. The bond markets know better.

Wall Street is being held aloft by a handful of tech giants, but debt markets are flashing red alert - and being three times bigger than sharemarkets, they matter far more.

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Africa: Greatest Global Challenge is Cooperation - Not Covid-19

[allAfrica] Kigali -- Pandemics come and go. The tragic effect of plague in the Middle Ages reminds us that Covid-19 wasn't the first, and it is clear that it won't be the last.

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AFL wants to move 'hundreds' of players to Queensland to keep season alive

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has spoken to Queensland's Premier about accommodation for interstate teams to base them in the Sunshine State

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Many parts of Bangladesh underwater, a million people marooned

DHAKA, Bangladesh - Officials and volunteers in Bangladesh say heavy flooding is worsening in parts of the country, with more than one million villagers marooned or leaving their homes for higher g

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Equity bulls believe everything is fine. The bond markets know better.

Wall Street is being held aloft by a handful of tech giants, but debt markets are flashing red alert - and being three times bigger than sharemarkets, they matter far more.

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W-League at risk of becoming fourth-choice competition for Matildas

The growth of women's soccer leagues in Europe is drawing so many Australians away that the W-League now risks becoming a fourth-tier option.

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BBL set for early start with tournament to last more than two months

The upcoming Big Bash League will begin on December 3, the same day the Australia-India Test series is due to start.

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AFL wants to move 'hundreds' of players to Queensland to keep season alive

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has spoken to Queensland's Premier about accommodation for interstate teams to base them in the Sunshine State

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BBC NEWS : Trump says he has ended preferential treatment for Hong Kong

The president says he has also signed a bill to impose sanctions on Chinese officials over Hong Kong.


July 15, 2020 at 04:47AM

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BHP faces first step in record $9 billion claim over Brazil dam failure

More than 200,000 Brazilian people and groups will next week kick off their lawsuit against the mining giant in Britain over the 2015 Samarco dam failure that led to Brazil's worst environmental disaster.

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Bushfire royal commission LIVE updates: Shane Fitzsimmons set to speak on horror Australian summer

Former NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons set to speak on horror Australian summer

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Philippines Welcomes Forceful US Statement on South China Sea

The Philippines on Tuesday backed Washington's tougher stance on the South China Sea while Indonesia described it as "normal," a day after America's top diplomat declared that the world would not a

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'I value diversity and my team is reflective of that': Eddie Jones

England head coach Eddie Jones talks tackling racism, the future of the game and how lockdown has helped galvanise his hunger for more success.

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Bushfire royal commission LIVE updates: Shane Fitzsimmons set to speak on horror Australian summer

Former NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons set to speak on horror Australian summer

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US Supreme Court's Ruth Bader Ginsburg in hospital after possible infection

The health of the liberal justice is closely watched because a Supreme Court vacancy could give Republican President Donald Trump the opportunity to appoint a replacement.

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Trump ends preferential treatment of Hong Kong over 'oppressive' China laws

The bill penalises banks doing business with Chinese officials who implement Beijing’s new national security law on Hong Kong.

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BHP faces first step in record $9 billion claim over Brazil dam failure

More than 200,000 Brazilian people and groups will next week kick off their lawsuit against the mining giant in Britain over the 2015 Samarco dam failure that led to Brazil's worst environmental disaster.

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Gold Coast hands coach Dew a two-year contract extension

Stuart Dew is in his third year with the Suns, who have shown enormous improvement this season, and is now tied to the club until 2022.

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ASX set to follow Wall Street higher

Australian shares are tipped to rebound at Wednesday's open after Wall Street staged a late overnight rally.

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BBC NEWS : Female gamers are on the rise in the 'world capital of gaming'

Female gamers in Asia are growing at a faster rate than their male rivals in online video games.


July 14, 2020 at 05:19AM

from BBC News - Business
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Westpac picks KPMG partner Michael Rowland as new finance chief

Westpac has hired management consultant Michael Rowland as its next chief financial officer, highlighting his experience in restructuring companies and boosting productivity.

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Bad breath offers a rare payoff for investors in Listerine royalty

A rare item has hit the auction block: an investment in a single share that's guaranteed to pay as long as people fret over bad breath.

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FOX NEWS:- AOC doubles down amid GOP criticism over take on NYC crime

AOC doubles down amid GOP criticism over take on NYC crime



The congresswoman said Republicans haven't "experienced or seen" poverty.

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FOX NEWS:- Jeff Sessions on Alabama Senate runoff race with Tommy Tuberville: My opponent is hiding

Jeff Sessions on Alabama Senate runoff race with Tommy Tuberville: My opponent is hiding



Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions joins Martha MacCallum with insight on 'The Story.'

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FOX NEWS:- Trump campaign 'moving forward' with GOP convention in Jacksonville amid surge in COVID cases in Florida

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Hogan Gidley, Trump 2020 national press secretary, joins Martha MacCallum with insight on 'The Story.'

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FOX NEWS:- House Dems release Berman interview transcript, as GOP says Barr ‘acted appropriately’ in ousting prosecutor

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The House Judiciary Committee released Monday the transcript of its interview last week with former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman.

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FOX NEWS:- President Trump looms over Alabama Senate race

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FOX NEWS:- Joe Biden, President Trump trade shots over policy, pastime

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Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden attacks Trump for playing golf, accuses the president of ignoring coronavirus experts; Peter Doocy reports.

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FOX NEWS:- Brit Hume on Washington Redskins name change, President Trump commuting Roger Stone's sentence

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FOX NEWS:- President Trump faces criticism over Roger Stone commutation

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The judge in the Stone case asks the government to clarify the 'scope' of the commutation; Kevin Corke reports.

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FOX NEWS:- Trump continues push to reopen America's schools, praises administration's response to COVID-19 pandemic

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California's two largest school districts announce they will not be open for in-person classes in August; Kristin Fisher reports from the White House.

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New on Sports Illustrated: Zion Williamson's Lawsuit Takes Another Bizarre Turn Involving an Agent With a Controversial Past

Agent Slavko Duric's name came up in Zion Williamson's ongoing lawsuit for loaning the former Duke player's family money, but Duric has a history of being involved in basketball scandals.

Slavko Duric answered the phone, and away we went. Down memory lane, and down dark alleys to where basketball business gets done.

“We should write a book,” Duric said at one point in a long, winding conversation.

If we did write a book, the title would be this: They Never Go Away.

“They” meaning the hustlers and opportunists who populate the basketball player procurement market. The business of hovering around promising young talent and finding ways to cash in has been robust for decades, and there are always new grifters crawling out of the woodwork—but also a remarkably hardy cast of usual suspects.

The money is there. The deterring rules are widely scoffed at—and when they are enforced, it’s often only a temporary setback. A scam artist embroiled in a basketball scandal or controversy rarely seems to leave the game; he just goes underground for a while and re-emerges later.

Which brings us to Duric. Last week, the Canadian’s name (re)surfaced as part of the increasingly bizarre Zion Williamson vs. Gina Ford lawsuit. Ford’s lawyers produced an affidavit from a man who claimed he loaned money to Duric as part of a plan to represent Williamson, who allegedly received $400,000 and signed an agreement with Duric in October 2018—before Zion became a mega-star at Duke. Williamson’s legal team wasted no time firing back, saying that the agreement included in the court filing was a forgery and alleging that Duric had tried a similar scheme two years ago with current NBA star Luka Doncic.

So, my man Slavko very quickly made a sketchy name for himself in the American sporting consciousness. But not for the first time.

“I was involved in some stuff 20 years ago,” Duric acknowledged.

If you’ve been around the black market long enough, you may remember Duric from a different controversy. He had his first (brief) star turn, as a broker of sorts for a group of Nigerian basketball players who wanted to come to the United States.

Among them were Muhammad Lasege, Benjamin Eze, Olumide Oyedeji and Uche Okafor, and their route out of Nigeria and to the United States in the late 1990s was torturous. It involved an involuntary stay in Russia, where the players felt tricked into signing pro contracts that ultimately would imperil (or end) their NCAA eligibility.

Lasege found a way out when he received an invitation to visit the University of Buffalo through a Canadian sister institution, the College of Halifax. He obtained a Canadian visa and flew to Toronto in late 1998—but instead of traveling to Buffalo, he was met by Duric, who had worked with other athletes trying to find their way to the United States.

Lasege never made it to Buffalo. Instead, Duric stepped in as the players’ de facto recruiting middlemen. Duric told me he did his best to help the players land in good situations and never took money to steer them anywhere—but he did accept NCAA Final Four tickets from coaches. In bulk.

“Several coaches furnishing me with a lot Final Four tickets,” Duric said. “Like, a lot. There were more than a dozen coaches who handed me less than a bunch and more than a few [tickets]. And you can imagine what I did with them.”

Duric wouldn’t name the coaches or their schools. He also didn’t say whether the Nigerians wound up at any of the schools that provided him the kickbacks.

Lasege and Eze signed with Louisville; Okafor signed with Miami; and Oyedeji committed to Rutgers but reportedly encountered visa problems that kept him from ever getting to the U.S. Eze and Okafor wound up at the College of Southern Idaho, a junior college—Eze turned pro after his stay there and Okafor matriculated to Missouri but never gained NCAA eligibility. Lasege played 21 games for Louisville in the 2000–01 season, then had his eligibility terminated.

None played a day in the NBA. Lasege, a gifted and diligent student, graduated from Louisville and then earned an MBA from the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. His LinkedIn bio says he is an assistant treasurer at Ecolab in Minneapolis.

Here’s the point: 20 years after that Nigerian drama, Slavko Duric is still out there looking for the next hustle. But the head of Maximum Management insists he was the one being hustled in the Zion situation.

Duric said that in 2018 he was contacted by someone he wouldn’t name, acting as an intermediary between Williamson’s family and their friend, James “Chubby” Wells, who was going to be Zion’s agent until he flunked the NBA certification test. Duric said he was asked if he wanted a piece of the Zion action once he turned pro, in exchange for a $100,000 payment to the family.

“I tried to do something I would characterize as outside the lines,” Duric said. “I allegedly was involved early. I was at the front of the line through a person who said he knew the family. Somebody who said he was [Williamson's stepdad] Lee Anderson spoke with me. Someone who said they were Chubby Wells spoke with me a dozen times.”

Duric said he received a signed agreement from the Williamsons, and a copy of Zion’s driver’s license. He said he sent the money to a family representative without ever having met them face-to-face—a dubious claim for someone with his street savvy.

“I got intoxicated by the opportunity,” Duric explained.

Then, he alleges, everything dried up. Duric said every phone number he had for those around Williamson was disconnected.

“I’ve been the victim of a con job by somebody acting like they were in the inner circle [with Williamson],” Duric said. “I have never spoken to Zion Williamson, and anybody who purported themselves as being a member of Zion’s inner circle was an impostor.

“Honestly, I am in a fog. I do know that I’m out 100 grand.”

Williamson’s attorney asserts that the con job is all Duric’s, saying he is the one who forged the agreement and included a bogus driver’s license photo. (The license lists Williamson’s incorrect hometown, and has his height where his weight is supposed to be, and vice-versa.) He also aimed directly at the Luka Doncic family allegations against Duric.

Take Slavko Duric’s greatest hits and you have an idea of what happens on the periphery of basketball, where players are commoditized early and families can be manipulated from all angles. And the hustlers just hang around, waiting for the next opportunity—because until the feds got into the act in late 2017, what were the deterrents?

T.J. Gassnola, bag man extraordinaire at Kansas and North Carolina State, had his AAU team decertified by the NCAA in 2012 for helping agent Andy Miller pay players. Did that run Gassnola (or Miller, for that matter) out of the picture? Not at all.

AAU coach Pat Barrett, outed in the seminal 1990 book Raw Recruits for trying to cash in on a relationship with a recruit, was labeled “the biggest whore I ever met” by none other than Jerry Tarkanian. Two decades later, he was implicated by Yahoo Sports for receiving $250,000 from a sports agency in exchange for access to Kevin Love while he was at UCLA. And as recently as last year, concerns were raised about Barrett potentially meddling with young college players.

Houston businessman Martin Fox was a basketball gadfly who knew everyone in the sport and got into event promotion, helping put on high-profile college basketball games. He also was affiliated with Houston Hoops, a high-powered AAU team. Then Fox was cited in court by Gassnola as the guy who supplied him with $40,000 to pay the family of North Carolina State recruit Dennis Smith Jr. And then after that, Fox was arrested as a key part of the “Operation Varsity Blues” sting, charged with being the man who helped facilitate fraudulent standardized tests.

Sometimes, the periphery characters become the establishment. William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley, a Hall of Fame hustler who needs no introduction, is a freshly minted executive with the New York Knicks. That speaks volumes about staying power, and the utility of knowing how the system works—and who works it.

Even the Southern District of New York’s attempt at blowing open college basketball is unlikely to send every scammer running for permanent cover. Criminal charges can have a chilling effect—but not for everyone.

The guy at the centerpiece of that sting operation, Christian Dawkins, is a convicted felon who is appealing his conviction and prison sentence. If you think he’s done with hoops, think again.

Multiple sources told Sports Illustrated this summer that Dawkins is plotting a comeback—he would provide the contacts and street savvy to a basketball and music agency he’s building behind the scenes. A close associate of Dawkins acknowledged the plan and said he is working hard to talk the young impresario into staying in the music lane.

“He needs to leave basketball behind,” the associate said.

But here’s the thing: the hustlers never leave it behind, and they never go away.

July 14, 2020 at 04:54AM
Zion Williamson's Lawsuit Takes Another Bizarre Turn Involving an Agent With a Controversial Past

Tickets to historic Geelong v Collingwood game at Optus Stadium on sale today

The historic Geelong versus Collingwood match at Optus Stadium on Thursday night is the first major event to take place at the venue since Queen and Adam Lambert’s Rhapsody Tour in late February.

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Russia's nuclear policy remains "defensive." However, a number of new conditions have been set for when a strike can be delivered.

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