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Supreme Court: Amy Coney Barrett tied to faith group ex-members say subjugates women

United States President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court has close ties to a charismatic Christian religious group that holds men are divinely ordained as the "head" of the family and faith. Former members of the group, called People of Praise, say it teaches that wives must submit to the will of their husbands. Federal appeals judge Amy Coney Barrett has not commented publicly about her own or her family's involvement, and a People of Praise spokesman declined to say whether she and her husband are current members. But Barrett, 48, grew up in New Orleans in a family deeply connected to the organisation and as recently as 2017 she served as a trustee at the People of Praise-affiliated Trinity Schools Inc., according to the nonprofit organisation's tax records and other documents reviewed by AP. Only members of the group serve on the schools' board, according to the system's president. Advertisement Judge Amy Coney Barrett applauds as President Donald Trump announces Barrett as his nominee at the White House. AP also reviewed 15 years of back issues of the organisation's internal magazine, "Vine and Branches," which has published birth announcements, photos and other mentions of Barrett and her husband, Jesse, whose family has been active in the group for four decades. On Saturday NZT, all editions of the magazine were removed from the group's website. People of Praise is an intentional religious community based in charismatic Catholicism, a movement that grew out of the influence of Pentecostalism, which emphasises a personal relationship with Jesus and can include baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. The group organises and meets outside the purview of a church and includes people from several Christian denominations, but its members are mostly Roman Catholic. Barrett's affiliation with a conservative religious group that elevates the role of men has drawn particular scrutiny given that she would be filling the high court seat held by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a feminist icon who spent her legal career fighting for women to have full equality. Barrett, by contrast, is being hailed by religious conservatives as an ideological heir to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, a staunch abortion-rights opponent for whom she clerked as a young lawyer. In this June 11, 2011 photo, then-University of Notre Dame law professor Amy Coney Barrett speaks to Trinity at Greenlawn graduates at the Trinity People of Praise Centre in South Bend, Indiana. In accepting Trump's nomination on Sunday, the Catholic mother-of-seven said she shares Scalia's judicial philosophy. "A judge must apply the law as written," Barrett said. "Judges are not policy makers, and they must be resolute in setting aside any policy views they might hold." Advertisement Barrett's advocates are trying to frame questions about her involvement in People of Praise as anti-Catholic bigotry ahead of her upcoming Senate nomination hearings. Asked about People of Praise in a televised interview last week, Vice-President Mike Pence responded: "The intolerance expressed during her last confirmation about her Catholic faith I really think was a disservice to the process and a disappointment to millions of Americans." But some people familiar with the group and charismatic religious groups like it say Barrett's involvement should be examined before she receives a lifelong appointment to the highest court in the nation. In this page from the May 2006 issue of Vine and Branches produced by People of Praise, Amy Coney Barrett is seen at left at a People of Praise Leaders' Conference for Women in 2006. "It's not about the faith," said Massimo Faggioli, a theology professor at Villanova University, who has studied similar groups. He says a typical feature of charismatic groups is the dynamic of a strong hierarchical leadership, and a strict view of the relationship between women and men. Several people familiar with People of Praise, including some current members, told AP that the group has been misunderstood. They call it a Christian fellowship, focused on building community. One member described it as a "family of families," who commit themselves to each other in mutual support to live together "through thick and thin." But the group has also been portrayed by some former members, and in books, blogs and news reports as hierarchical, authoritarian and controlling, where men dominate their wives, leaders dictate members' life choices and those who leave are shunned. Advertisement AP interviewed seven current and former members of People of Praise, reviewed its tax records, websites, missionary blogs and back issues of its magazine to try to paint a fuller picture of an organisation that Barrett has been deeply involved in since childhood. In this April 2, 2014, photo, then-Indiana Governor Mike Pence, speaks at Trinity School at Greenlawn. People of Praise was founded in South Bend, Indiana, in 1971 as part of the Catholic Pentecostal movement, a devout reaction to the free love, secular permissiveness and counterculture movements of the 1960s and early '70s. Many of the group's early members were drawn from the campus of nearby Notre Dame, a Catholic university. The group has roughly 1800 adult members nationwide, with branches and schools in 22 cities across the US, Canada and the Caribbean. All members are encouraged to continue to attend church at their own parishes. After a period of religious study and instruction that lasts from three to six years, people involved in People of Praise can choose to make a lifelong covenant pledging love and service to fellow community members and to God, which includes tithing at least 5 per cent of their gross income to support the group's activities and charitable initiatives, according to a statement on the group's website. People of Praise's more than 1500 word covenant, a copy of which was reviewed by AP, includes a passage where members promise to follow the teachings and instructions of the group's pastors, teachers and evangelists. Advertisement "We agree to obey the direction of the Holy Spirit manifested in and through these ministries in full harmony with the church," the covenant says. It's unclear whether Barrett took the covenant. But members of the organisation and descriptions of its hierarchy show that members almost invariably join the covenant after three to six years of religious study or they leave, so it would be very unusual for Barrett to continue to be involved for so many years without having done so. A 2006 article in the group's magazine includes a photo of her attending a People of Praise Leaders' Conference for Women. The magazine also includes regular notices when members are "released from the covenant" and leave the group. AP's review found no such notice of Barrett's or her husband's departure. Sen. Kamala Harris is uniquely positioned as a Democratic vice presidential nominee and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which offers recommendations on Supreme Court nominees before the Senate holds a vote. https://t.co/lM689M6ZTT — ABC News (@ABC) September 28, 2020 A request to interview Barrett made through the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, where she currently serves as a judge, was declined. Jesse Barrett did not respond to voicemail or email sent through his law firm in South Bend. People of Praise spokesman Sean Connolly declined to discuss the Barretts or their affiliation with the group. "Like most religious communities, the People of Praise leaves it up to its members to decide whether to publicly disclose their involvement in our community," Connolly said by email. "And like most religious communities, we do not publish a membership list." Advertisement Several people familiar with the group told AP that, unlike some other charismatic movements, People of Praise has a strong commitment to intellectualism, evidenced in part by the schools they have established, which have a reputation for intellectual rigor. On the GOP agenda before Election Day: Confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.Can they do it in 36 days? Well, they’re certainly going to try. pic.twitter.com/4EyiyFNQo6 — The Recount (@therecount) September 28, 2020 Barrett's father, Michael Coney snr, has served as the principal leader of People of Praise's New Orleans branch and was on the group's all-male Board of Governor's as recently as 2017. Her mother, Linda Coney, has served in the branch as a "handmaid," a female leader assigned to help guide other women, according to documents reviewed by AP. "One of the key principles of People of Praise is freedom, the exercise of our own freedom in following the Lord and in following our own – what we believe, what we think is right," Michael Coney, 75, said in an interview with AP. Americans by a nearly 20-point margin say the next Supreme Court justice should be left to the winner of the presidential election and a Senate vote next year, a new @ABC News/WaPo poll found. https://t.co/cv45wUm6O4 — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) September 28, 2020 Joannah Clark, 47, grew up in People of Praise and became a member as an adult. She acknowledged that the board of governors consists of all men, but said that is not a reflection on the "worth or ability of women," but rather the approach the group has chosen for that level of leadership. "In a marriage, we look at the husband as the head of the family. And that's consistent with New Testament teaching," said Clark, who is the head of Trinity Academy in Portland, Oregon. Advertisement "This role of the husband as the head of the family is not a position of power or domination. It's really quite the opposite. It's a position of care and service and responsibility. Men are looking out for the good and well-being of their families." Clark said she had previously served as a "handmaid." The term was a reference to Jesus' mother Mary, who called herself 'the handmaid of the Lord.' The organisation recently changed the terminology to "woman leader" because it had newly negative connotations after Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel A Handmaid's Tale was turned into a popular television show. Republicans in Pennsylvania have asked the Supreme Court to halt a major state court ruling that extended the deadlines for mail-in ballots to several days after the election.https://t.co/BX3PaoyZEd — Axios (@axios) September 28, 2020 Clark said the woman leaders in People of Praise do things like provide pastoral care and organise help for community members, such as when people are sick or need other help. "They're also in a role of advising, so the men will ask the women leaders' advice on issues that affect the patterns of life within the community, certainly issues that affect women and families," Clark said. Advertisement Barrett, in accepting Trump's nomination at the White House, put particular emphasis on the equality of her own marriage, saying she expected from the start the she and her husband would run their household as partners. "As it has turned out, Jesse does far more than his share of the work," she said. "To my chagrin, I learned at dinner recently that my children consider him to be the better cook." Though People of Praise opposes abortion, those familiar with the group said it would be a mistake to pigeonhole their politics as either left or right. While socially conservative in their understanding of family and gender, some members are deeply committed to social justice in matters of race and economics, they said. Barrett's parents are both registered Democrats, according to Louisiana voter registration records. Mitch McConnell has said there's precedent for the speedy Supreme Court confirmation process Republicans are planning for Amy Coney Barrett.But that data skips over 45 years of recent history.https://t.co/7DWNHme9hA — BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) September 28, 2020 Tax records and other documents show that as recently as 2017 Barrett sat on the board of Trinity Schools, a campus of which was recently designated by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos as a National Blue Ribbon School. The schools are coed, but most classes are segregated by gender. Advertisement The school's website says the group sees men and women "created by God equal in dignity but distinct from one another." "We seek to uphold both that equality and appropriate distinction in our culture," it goes on. Similarly, People of Praise meetings are often segregated by gender. And as they become adults, members frequently live together in same-gender communal houses sometimes owned by the group, or they are invited to live with a family within the community. Articles in the People of Praise magazine frequently note when young single members get married to each other. Multiple birth announcements often follow. The group's magazine also offers insights into the group's views on marriage, community and members' finances. A 2007 issue discusses how the 17 single women who live together in a household, called the Sisterhood, had their pay direct deposited into a single bank account. One member said she had "no idea" what the amount of her pay was. Advertisement The pooled money was managed by one woman, who budgeted for everyone's clothing and other expenses, including US$36 weekly per person for food and basics like toilet paper. All women were expected to give 10 per cent of their pay to People of Praise, another 1 per cent to the South Bend branch and additional tithes to their churches. Married couples and their children also often share multi-family homes or cluster in neighbourhoods designated for "city building" by the group's leaders, where they can easily socialise and walk to each other's houses. 36 days until election.How long it took to confirm:RBG 50Gorsuch 66Roberts 72Sotomayor 72Breyer 77Kagan 87Kavanaugh 89Alito 92Thomas 106The average confirmation time for a Supreme Court nominee, from 1975 to present, is 70 days (per CRS). — ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) September 28, 2020 As part of spiritual meetings, members often relay divine prophecies and are encouraged to pray in tongues, where participants make vocal utterances thought to carry direct teachings and instructions from God. Those utterances are then "interpreted" by senior male leaders and relayed back to the wider group. A 1969 book by Kevin Ranaghan, a co-founder of People of Praise, dedicates a chapter to praying in tongues, which he describes as a gift from God. "The gift of tongues is one of the word-gifts, an utterance of the Spirit through man," Ranaghan wrote in Catholic Pentecostals. "Alone, the gift of tongues is used for prayer and praise. Coupled with the gift of interpretation it can edify the unbeliever and strengthen, console, enlighten or move the community of faith." Advertisement In a blog entry on the group's website from March of this year, a mother described taking her children to pray in tongues as the coronavirus pandemic took hold. The GOP strategy is to turn Amy Coney Barrett into a vessel for their base's feelings of victimhood, so they have to invent a fictitious anti-Catholic campaign against her: https://t.co/J6OSnVqOie — Paul Waldman (@paulwaldman1) September 28, 2020 While People of Praise portrays itself as a tightknit family of families, former members paint a darker picture of that closeness. Coral Anika Theill joined People of Praise's branch in Corvallis, Oregon, in 1979, when she was a 24-year-old mother of 6-month-old twins. "My husband at the time was very drawn to it because of the structure of the submission of women," recounted Theill, who is now 65. Theill, who converted to Catholicism after getting married, said in her People of Praise community women were expected to live in "total submission" not only to their husbands, but also the other male "heads" within the group. In a book she wrote about her experience, Theill recounts that in People of Praise every consequential personal decision – whether to take a new job, buy a particular model car or choose where to live – went through the hierarchy of male leadership. Advertisement Members of the group who worked outside the community had to turn over their paystubs to church leaders to confirm they were tithing correctly, she said. Theill says her "handmaid," to whom she was supposed to confide her innermost thoughts and emotions, then repeated what she said to the male heads, who would consult her husband on the proper correction. "There'd be open meetings where you just have to stand for the group and they'd tell you all that was wrong with you," Theill recounted to AP last week. "And I would ask questions. I was a critical thinker." When she told her husband she wanted to wait to have more children, Theill said, he accompanied her to gynecological appointments to ensure she couldn't get birth control. "I was basically treated like a brood mare," she said, using the term for a female horse used for breeding. During her 20-year marriage, Theill had eight children from 11 pregnancies. Theill, who says she declined to take the covenant, described being dominated and eventually shunned because of the doubts she expressed about the group. Advertisement Clark, a current member in Oregon, said she had never heard of members being shunned. "At any point, a community member can decide to leave and is free to do so," Clark said. She said she has friends who have left the community. "These are people I've maintained a good friendship with and people who've maintained friendships with other people in community." But Theill isn't the only former member to describe forced subjugation of women within People of Praise or shunning of former members. Among People of Praise's very first members in South Bend were Adrian Reimers and his wife, Marie. The couple was active for more than a dozen years before he said he became disillusioned and was "dismissed" from the group in the mid-1980s. Reimers, who teaches philosophy at Notre Dame, went on to write detailed academic examinations of the group's inner workings and theological underpinnings. Advertisement In a 1997 book about People of Praise and other covenant communities, Reimers wrote that fundamental principle of the group was St Paul's stipulation from the Bible that the husband is the "head" of his wife and that the wife is to "submit in all things." "A married woman is expected always to reflect the fact that she is under her husband's authority," Reimers wrote. "This goes beyond an acknowledgment that the husband is 'head of the home' or head of the family; he is, in fact, her personal pastoral head. Whatever she does requires at least his tacit approval. He is responsible for her formation and growth in the Christian life." The good news for Trump is that he’s been able to change the conversation from the coronavirus to the Supreme Court (at least before that tax story).The bad news: He's once again on the wrong side of public opinion https://t.co/FgI5n8x7tM — Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) September 28, 2020 Though women are allowed to serve in some administrative roles within the community, Reimers wrote that no woman is allowed to hold a pastoral position of leadership in which she would oversee or instruct men. "People who leave these communities are often shunned by other members and are spoken of as no longer brothers and sisters in Christ or even no longer Christian," he wrote. Reimers declined to expand on his experience with People of Praise, saying he doesn't know Amy Barrett and didn't want to get drawn into a political fight. But he said he stands by his prior account. "To quote Pontius Pilate, 'What I have written, I have written,'" he said last week, referring to the Roman official in the Bible who signed the order condemning Jesus to be crucified. Advertisement Lisa Williams said her parents joined the Minnesota branch of People of Praise in the late 1970s, when she was a fourth grader. She chronicled her experience in a blog called "Exorcism and Pound Cake," a reference to how she knew as a child that it was a meeting night because of the smell of baked goods coming from the kitchen. "I remember my mother saying a wife could never deny sex to her husband, because it was his right and her duty," said Williams, 56. "Sex is not for pleasure. It's for as many babies as God chooses to give you. ... Women had to be obedient. They had to be subservient." Corporal punishment of children was common, Williams told AP. When she was insufficiently obedient to her father, she was beaten with a belt and then required to kneel and ask forgiveness from both him and God, she said. She recalled People of Praise meetings held in her parent's living room where members prayed in tongues to cast out demons from a person writhing on the floor, rituals she described as exorcisms. When her parents, from whom she is now estranged, decided to leave People of Praise when she was a junior in high school, she remembers the leaders said her family would be doomed to hell and they were shunned. "Nobody would talk to you," she recalled. Steven Hassan, a psychologist who counsels people who have left fundamentalist authoritarian religious groups, said the culture within People of Praise as described by Theill and Williams, including the practice of shunning former members, creates fear so that people are dependent and obedient. Advertisement "A person who is in one of these groups has to suppress their own thoughts, feelings, desires that doesn't align with the dogma," Hassan said. He cautioned, however, that Theill's and Williams' experiences were from decades ago and not necessarily illustrative of how the group now operates. And current members of People of Praise interviewed by AP strongly disputed those characterisations. "There's a high value on personal freedom," said Clark, the Trinity School director in Oregon. She said she had never heard of some of the practices the former members detailed to AP, such as micromanaging finances or handing over pay. She grew emotional when she recounted the sacrifices people in the group make for each other as part of their covenant, like the case of a man known for helping his fellow members move, who was in turn cared for by group members as he died. Advertisement "I've never been asked to do anything against my own free will," said Clark, a member of the group for 25 years. "I have never been dominated or controlled by a man." Thomas Csordas, an anthropology professor at University of California San Diego, has studied the religious movement that includes People of Praise. He said such communities are conservative, authoritarian, hierarchical and patriarchal. But, he said in his view, the group's leaders are unlikely to exert influence over Barrett's judicial decisions. Coney, Barrett's father, said the culture of female submission described by some former members was based on misunderstandings of the group's teachings. "I can't comment on why they believe that. But it is certainly not a correct interpretation of our life," he said. "We're people who love each other and support each other in their Christian life, trying to follow the Lord." And, as a lawyer himself, he rejected the notion that his daughter's religious beliefs will unduly influence her opinions if she is confirmed to the high court. Advertisement "I think she's a super lawyer and she will apply the law as opposed to any of her beliefs," he said. "She will follow the law." - AP
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Cyberattack hobbles major US/UK hospital chain

Computer systems across a major hospital chain operating in the US and Britain were down on Monday (US time) due to what the company termed an unspecified technology "security issue". Universal Health Services Inc (UHS), which operates more than 400 hospitals and other clinical care facilities, said in a short statement posted to its website that its network was offline and doctors and nurses were resorting to "back-up processes" including paper records. The Fortune 500 company, with 90,000 employees said "patient care continues to be delivered safely and effectively" and no patient or employee data appeared to have been "accessed, copied or misused". UHS provided no details, but people posting to an online Reddit forum who identified themselves as employees said the chain's network was hit by ransomware overnight on Sunday. The posts echoed the alarm of a clinician at a UHS facility in Washington, DC, who described to The Associated Press a mad scramble, including anxiety over determining which patients might be infected with the virus that causes Covid-19. Advertisement John Riggi, senior cybersecurity adviser to the American Hospital Association, called it a "suspected ransomware attack", adding that criminals have been increasingly targeting the networks of health care institutions during the coronavirus pandemic. Ransomware is a growing scourge in which hackers infect networks with malicious code that scrambles data and then demand payment to restore services. Increasingly, ransomware purveyors are downloading data from networks they infiltrate before encrypting targeted servers, using it for extortion. Earlier this month, the first known fatality related to ransomware occurred in Duesseldorf, Germany, after an attack caused IT systems to fail and a critically ill patient needing urgent admission died after she had to be taken to another city for treatment. UHS itself may not be a household name, but its hospitals are part of communities from Washington, DC, to Fremont, California, and Orlando, Florida, to Anchorage, Alaska. Some of its facilities provide care for people coping with psychiatric conditions and substance abuse problems. The company based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, did not immediately respond to emails seeking more information, such as whether patients had to be diverted to other hospitals. The Washington clinician described a high-anxiety scramble to handle the loss of computers and some phones starting Sunday. The person, involved in direct patient care, was not authorised to speak publicly and described the chaotic situation on condition of anonymity. The loss of computer access meant that medical staff could not easily see lab results, imaging scans, medication lists, and other critical pieces of information doctors rely on to make decisions. Phone problems complicated the situation, making it harder to communicate with nurses. "These things could be life or death," the clinician said. Advertisement The facility has a "downtime protocol" in which everything is supposed to be done with paper and pencil, the staffer added, "but no one was expecting to have to use it". Lab orders had to be hand-delivered. There was a lot of concern about how to determine whether or not patients had been exposed to the coronavirus. The clinician said no harm came to any of the 20 or so patients they attended to. However, anxiety reigned during the entire shift. Handing off a patient to another department, always a delicate task because of the potential for miscommunication, became especially nerve-wracking. "We are most concerned with ransomware attacks which have the potential to disrupt patient care operations and risk patient safety," said Riggi, the cybersecurity adviser to hospitals. "We believe any cyberattack against any hospital or health system is a threat-to-life crime and should be responded to and pursued as such by the government." Ransomware attacks have crippled everything from major cities to school districts, and federal officials are concerned they could be used to disrupt the current presidential election. Last week, a major supplier of software services to state, county and local governments, Tyler Technologies, was hit. In the US alone, 764 healthcare providers were victimised last year by ransomware, according to data compiled by the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft. It estimates the overall cost of ransomware attacks in the US to $9 billion a year in terms of recovery and lost productivity. The only way to effectively recover, for those unwilling to pay ransoms, is through diligent daily system data backups. Advertisement In an apparently unrelated cyberattack affecting a US medical facility, Nebraska Medicine hospital in Omaha suffered an outage last week that led to the postponement of appointments for patients with elective procedures or other non-critical health concerns, The Omaha World-Herald reported. The hospital said emergency rooms remained open, and no patients were diverted to other hospitals. It said no records were deleted or destroyed thanks to the system's back-up and recovery processes. The statement did not include any further information about the attack. - AP
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New Zealand Cricket reveal schedule for Black Caps and White Ferns

The Black Caps have two more months to wait before the return of international cricket with their summer schedule revealed today. Kane Williamson's side haven't played in any format since their ODI series in Australia was cancelled in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. New Zealand Cricket today revealed the Black Caps and White Ferns summer schedule which begins with a Twenty20 series between the Black Caps and the West Indies, starting on November 27. Pakistan, Australia and Bangladesh will also face the Black Caps while the White Ferns can also look forward to a busy summer of international cricket, with the England women's side confirmed to visit in February and March, and discussions ongoing regarding a visit from the Australia women. Advertisement The West Indies open the summer schedule when they play three Twenty20s and two tests. The opening test will be at Seddon Park starting December 3, followed by the second test at the Basin Reserve eight days later. Black Caps paceman Neil Wagner celebrates a wicket. Photosport Pakistan will also play two tests and two ODIs including a Boxing Day test at Mt Maunganui's Bay Oval. Christchurch's Hagley Oval will hold the second test starting January 3. Last summer the Black Caps played in Australia's traditional Boxing Day test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the previous year New Zealand hosted one for the first time since 2014 against Sri Lanka. The Black Caps will host Australia in a five-match Twenty20 series. Their first ODI of the summer won't be until March 21 when Bangladesh visit for three ODIs and three Twenty20s. That means it will be more than a year between ODI internationals for the World Cup finalists. With back-to-back Twenty20 World Cups played in 2021 and 2022 the shorter format has taken precedent. The Black Caps' last test match was on March 2 when they wrapped up a series win over India. A gap in the international schedule between January 7 and February 22 will see international players available for the Super Smash competitions. While the Government has so far granted approval for the first two incoming teams (West Indies and Pakistan), New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White was confident the other inbound tours would receive the green light. Advertisement "I'm thrilled to be making this announcement today, given the uncertainty and difficulties over the past six or seven months," he said. "We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the New Zealand government for helping us navigate this complex process."Hosting these tours is incredibly important to us for two reasons: international cricket brings in revenue that funds the entire game of cricket in New Zealand and, also, it's crucial that we look after the fans of the game and sport in general, especially during these difficult times." White said NZC was aware of the challenging circumstances in which many New Zealanders had found themselves in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and would be cutting the price of a GA adult ticket by almost half, to acknowledge this. "It might sound counter-intuitive to be lowering ticket prices at a time of great additional cost and expense to the game, but we think it's the right thing to do". White said he was extremely grateful to Cricket Australia for seeing fit to send its men's T20 side to New Zealand at a time when its international calendar was so congested. "We've worked very closely with Cricket Australia in what is, really, a unique set of circumstances – and we can't speak highly enough of their commitment to the global game. Advertisement "The same goes for the West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh and England - right across the board in cricket there's been a real spirit of cooperation."
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UFC 253: Kiwi middleweight champion Israel Adesanya labelled 'human trash' by Paulo Costa after X-rated move

Kiwi middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has been labelled 'human trash' by his opponent Paulo Costa following an obscene gesture in his UFC 253 TKO victory on Sunday. Adesanya completely dominated his previously unbeaten opponent before catching him with a left hook to the side of the head to begin the end of proceedings. He mounted a man he'd described as "one of those dogs that barks behind the fence" in the lead-up to their fight and began raining down heavy shots. After referee Jason Herzog intervened to wave off the fight, Adesanya appeared to grab Costa by the back and thrusted his hips forward aggressively. Advertisement Costa reacted to Adesanya's actions in a social media post. "I come here to talk about the actions that the human trash did after our fight," Costa said during a video posted to his Instagram. "I didn't see when I was there [in] the cage but I saw now. I disapprove 100 percent. To me, this is [personal] now. Nobody will stop me. Nobody can stop me." Costa requested a rematch, even suggesting that he was injured prior to the fight. "I want my rematch. You know I am waiting for you. Something happened before the fight, I'm not [making] excuses here to my people, to my fans but I will be 100 percent to fight him and to make him pay. That's my word. Save my words." Adesanya was quick to respond on social media, saying: "I can stop you...again :) Dislike." However, Costa is unlikely to get a rematch because of how one-sided the fight was and the long list of fighters keen to take Adesanya's belt off him. It was a masterclass from the 20-0 Adesanya against a hulk who was supposed to be his biggest challenge in the division. From the outset Adesanya kept the challenger at a distance and picked him apart with constant kicks landing clean on Costa's lead leg. At the end of the opening round the outside of Costa's left leg was bright red. Advertisement As the second round got underway, Adesanya went straight back to work on the leg with Costa simply unable to close the gap and get at the champ. A high left kick landed on the temple of Costa and cut him open before an Adesanya left hook grazed Costa's head and dropped him to the canvas before ground and pound brought the bout to an end. "I still have to watch it again, little bit sloppy, but I'm a dog and I do what I do," Adesanya said. "I still don't like him. I don't know him personally, I don't wish he dies or anything, he's alive, I let him be alive. "This is the game we play, this is violence and I told you guys that it was going to be violent and I said it, it's going to be violent and it's going to end fast and that's what I did." It makes it four UFC title wins for Adesanya, moving him into second all-time, and also second all-time on the longest UFC win streaks with nine. Advertisement "The best, and most sophisticated striker in the sport!! Holy f*** that was amazing!! Congrats to the champ!!" UFC commentator Joe Rogan wrote. Israel Adesanya punches Paulo Costa in their middleweight championship bout during UFC 253. Photo / Getty Adesanya will now await the winner of an October 24 showdown between Aussie Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier. The champ revealed after the fight he had messaged Cannonier telling him to take care of business against the former champ because he wanted to fight him next, not Whittaker. "I already DM'd Jared Cannonier. He's a hell of a dude. I love his energy. He's a beautiful man," Adesanya said. "I said you destroy Robert Whittaker and you're next. "He's the one I want to fight next. He deserves it. If he beats Robert Whittaker handily and dominates him, he's next." - with news.com.a Advertisement Israel Adesanya retains his UFC middleweight belt, wiping the floor with Brazilian Paulo Costa. Video / UFC
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Cricket: Bay Oval gets Boxing Day test

Bay Oval in Tauranga will host a Boxing Day cricket test for the first time this summer, when the Black Caps play Pakistan. Bay Oval in Mt Maunganui. Photo: PHOTOSPORT The summer schedule for the Black Caps has 21 games all up, including four tests two against Pakistan and two against the West Indies. The Bay Oval test will be the eighth Boxing Day Test in New Zealand and the first since 2018. Last summer the Black Caps played Australia in a Boxing Day test in Melbourne - the first time that had happened in over 30 years. The Black Caps begin their home season with a three match T20 series against the West Indies - the first game is in Auckland on November 20th. They then play two tests against the Windies in Hamilton and Wellington. There are also three T20's against Pakistan before two more tests - the Boxing Day one at Mt Maunganui and Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The Black Caps will also play five T20 games against Australia in February and March and then three one dayers and three T20's against Bangladesh subject to getting government approval for the teams to come which New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White is confident will be forthcoming. "I'm thrilled to be making this announcement today, given the uncertainty and difficulties over the past six or seven months....we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the New Zealand government for helping us navigate this complex process," he said. "Hosting these tours is incredibly important to us for two reasons: international cricket brings in revenue that funds the entire game of cricket in New Zealand and, also, it's crucial that we look after the fans of the game and sport in general, especially during these difficult times." White also said ticket prices would be almost halved. "It might sound counter-intuitive to be lowering ticket prices at a time of great additional cost and expense to the game, but we think it's the right thing to do". The White Ferns will host England in February and March and New Zealand Cricket is also negotiating for the Australian women's side to tour here. v West Indies Nov 27th - Eden Park - Black Caps v West Indies T20. Nov 29th - Bay Oval - Black Caps v West Indies T20 Nov 30th - Bay Oval - Black Caps v West Indies T20 Dec 3rd-7th - Seddon Park - Black Caps v West Indies - First Test Dec 11th-15th - Basin Reserve - Black Caps v West Indies - Second Test v Pakistan Dec 18th - Eden Park - Black Caps v Pakistan - T20 Dec 20th - Seddon Park - Black Caps v Pakistan - T20 Dec 22nd - McLean Park - Black Caps v Pakistan - T20 Dec 26th -30th - Bay Oval - Black Caps v Pakistan - First Test Jan 3rd-7th - Hagley Oval - Black Caps v Pakistan - Second Test. v Australia Feb 22nd - Hagley Oval - Black Caps v Australia - T20 Feb 25th - University of Otago Oval - Black Caps v Australia - T20 March 3rd - Sky Stadium, Wellington - Black Caps v Australia - T20 March 7th - Bay Oval - Black Caps v Australia - T20 v Bangladesh March 13th - University of Otago Oval - Black Caps v Bangladesh - One Dayer March 17th - Hagley Oval - Black Caps v Bangladesh - One Dayer March 20th - Basin Reserve - Black Caps v Bangladesh - One Dayer March 23rd - McLean Park - Black Caps v Bangladesh - T20 March 26th - Eden Park - Black Caps v Bangladesh - T20 March 28th - Sedden Park - Black Caps v Bangladesh - T20.
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America's Cup challenger INEOS Team UK offers first glimpse of new boat

The second race boat built by America's Cup challenger INEOS Team UK is bound for New Zealand. The 75-foot race boat (code named RB2) will take four days, with two stopovers, onboard a 1987 Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane to get to Auckland. Once the race boat arrives at the newly constructed INEOS Team UK base in the Viaduct the final fit out will be completed ready for her launch and maiden sail next month. Holders Team New Zealand and challenger American Magic are already testing in Waitemata Harbour but the Italian Luna Rossa Challenger of Record is likely to face two months with no sailing, having wound up its European summer sailing campaign in Sardinia on August 28. Advertisement Four times Olympic Gold medallist, America's Cup winner, INEOS Team UK Team Principal and skipper Sir Ben Ainslie is currently in two-week mandatory quarantine and counting down the days until sailing operations begin. "As a challenger you're always playing catch up on the race boat design from the Defender who gets to define the rules," he said. "That's the game we chose to compete in, so we had to give ourselves maximum design and build time in the UK, which meant the Antonov was the only transport option. It's testament to the huge effort by the whole team to get RB2 built and delivered to New Zealand on schedule. We can't wait to get her out sailing." RB2 leaving the INEOS Team UK base in Portsmouth. Photo / Harry KH INEOS Team UK Project Director Dave Endean has overseen the build and safe transportation of RB2 to New Zealand. "It's been a huge operation to get to this point and a real team effort.", said Dave Endean. "The logistics of moving an entire America's Cup team, including two AC75 boats, to New Zealand are not insignificant and it has taken a lot of time and hard work from the entire team to make it happen. It was an important milestone to get our race boat on the Antonov cargo plane today and I, and the rest of our team left in the UK, can't wait to join the team in New Zealand now and get sailing in the Auckland Harbour." Ainslie is promising a vastly different second generation AC75 to their first boat 'Britannia.' Earlier this month, Ainslie told NZME from his base in Portsmouth that all the team's boats will be significantly different. Advertisement "I was talking to Grant Dalton (Team NZ CEO) the other day and he was saying even with the New Zealand boat and Italian boats, which are similar, they are making some big changes and you would expect that in a new class and development class like this, there will be some really big differences," he said. "There will be some big differences in performance for sure when we first line up against each other and the key will be how quickly the teams develop and keep developing through the competition." Ainslie believes the two months leading up to the Christmas Cup regatta featuring all four teams will be more intense than usual in the America's Cup cycle due to the uncertainty and unknown created by the Covid-19 pandemic. The cancellation of the Cagliari and Portsmouth regattas has added another level of intrigue and Ainslie's excited. "There's so much more intrigue because no one's lined up in a brand new class of boat. It's going to be a really intense period for all the teams and really exciting to see how people line up and how they develop and which teams develop through the competition, so it's going to be a lot to take in in the next six months in the America's Cup world," he said.
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Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - English Premier League champions Liverpool maintained their 100% start to the season with a 3-1 win against Arsenal at Anfield on Monday leaving them level on nine points with pacesetters Everton and Leicester City. Sadio Mane Photo: PHOTOSPORT Arsenal took the lead, totally against the run of play, in the 25th minute with Alexandre Lacazette scoring. However Liverpool responded three minutes later through Sadio Mane and Andy Robertson just before the break. New Liverpool signing Diogo Jota, the Portuguese forward signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers, marked his debut from the bench with the goal in the 88th minute that made sure of the win. The Gunners, who won their first two games, have now gone 28 games without a win away from home against 'Big Six' opposition. Aston Villa moved into the top four after they strolled to a 3-0 win at Fulham thanks to goals from Jack Grealish, Conor Hourihane and Tyrone Mings in a lopsided contest. The result left Villa, who narrowly avoided relegation from the top flight last season, fourth on a maximum six points from two games while promoted Fulham are bottom with no points after a third successive defeat. -Reuters Boks remain in doubt for Rugby Championship The Springboks are "desperate" to play in the Rugby Championship this year, but there remain a number of hurdles before they will commit to the competition, according to director of rugby Rassie Erasmus. Rassie Erasmus Photo: Photosport The Southern Hemisphere competition will be staged in Australia from Nov. 7 to Dec. 12, but the defending champion Springboks face being woefully under-prepared, which Erasmus believes could make participation dangerous for the players. "We desperately want to play, it will be terrible to go a year without the Springboks playing," Erasmus said. "But we have had one of the toughest lockdowns in the world and our players were indoors for months. In other countries players could train or at least go to the park to exercise, we did not have that. "So if you look at the science, we have to get five or six matches into the players for their own welfare and to make it safe for them, and we are working out how to do that. Players probably need 500 minutes (of game-time) to be safe." South Africa's domestic competition will only start on Oct. 10 with players having been largely inactive since March. Erasmus reveals the Boks are also facing resistance from English clubs over the release of players in time for the start of the Rugby Championship. -Reuters Serie A continues to lose money Italy's top flight football league has lost almost $900 million in revenues due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the head of Italy's Serie A said, warning the industry was in dire straits. To contain COVID-19 contagion, Italy's government has rejected a proposal to allow more spectators at sporting events, including lifting the current limit of 1,000 spectators at Serie A football matches to fill a quarter of stadium capacity. Matchday revenues account for around 11% of Serie A clubs' $4.5 billion aggregated yearly revenues, whose bulk is made up by broadcasting right sales. But this source of income is also shrinking because broadcasters around the world respond to lower advertising revenues by cutting spending on media right deals. In an effort to cushion the impact of the pandemic on debt-laden clubs, Serie A is considering selling a minority stake in a newly created company handling the League's broadcasting rights for 10 seasons. -Reuters Montana overcomes potential kidnapping Four-time Super Bowl champion Joe Montana and his wife thwarted a kidnapping attempt over the weekend when a woman entered their house in Malibu, California and grabbed their grandchild. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Montana flagged down a patrol to report that the stranger fled the house without his grandchild when she was confronted. The police said that the 64-year-old and his wife, Jennifer, 62, confronted the woman and pried their grandchild from the woman's arms, at which point she fled, adding that the woman was in custody. No one was injured in the incident. "Thank you to everyone who has reached out," Montana, an NFL Hall of Fame inductee, posted on Twitter. "Scary situation, but thankful that everybody is doing well. We appreciate respect for our privacy at this time." -Reuters Kyrgios takes a crack at Wilander Seven-time grand slam champion Mats Wilander has come under fire from Nick Kyrgios after the Swede suggested Andy Murray should consider whether he has the right to accept wild cards into majors at the expense of emerging young players. Wilander's comments came after three-time grand slam champion Murray's first- round defeat by Stan Wawrinka at the French Open in which he won only six games. It was former world No.1 Murray's joint-worst loss at a grand slam and came on his return to the French Open after a three-year absence, during which he has had two hip surgeries. "I think Murray needs to stop thinking of himself and start thinking about who he was. Does he have a right to be out there taking wild cards from the young players?" Wilander said. Australian Kyrgios, who has skipped the French Open because of the coronavirus pandemic, quickly jumped to the defence of the 33-year-old British player on Twitter. "Just read what Wilander said about andy--murray... shut up Mats, no one cares. Muzz, just know that however long you stay, we all appreciate and enjoy your tennis and banter. -Reuters Saudi Arabia to host womens golf for the first time. Saudi Arabia will host professional golf tournaments for women for the first time ever in November at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Jeddah. The Saudi Ladies International will be the first Ladies European Tour event to take place in the country, with a purse of $1.5. It will be followed by the Saudi Ladies Team International, in which professionals will team up with amateurs and compete for a purse of $750,000. The events will be Saudi Arabia's third and fourth professional tournaments in the past two years, having staged the Saudi International men's event in 2019 and 2020. -Reuters
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UFC 253: Kiwi middleweight champion Israel Adesanya's big payout after beating Paulo Costa

Kiwi UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya walked away with a reported $1.05m after his title defence against Brazilian Paulo Costa. Adesanya made easy work of Costa with a second round TKO victory at UFC 253 at Fight Island in Abu Dabhi on Sunday. Just for showing up, the 31-year-old earned a guaranteed $915,000, which was reportedly a 10 per cent increase from his previous title defence againt Yoel Romero – and it will likely increase as his stocks continue to rise in the UFC. Aside from the base salary, Adesanya also earned $61,000 for promotional work in the lead up to the fight and claimed a 'Fight of the Night' bonus to the tune of another $76,200. Advertisement Adesanya dominated the fight, handing Costa his first loss of his professional career. And it took him just under nine minutes to do so. After the fight, he alluded to his financial windfall on Twitter, joking about buying a new Rolls Royce. *me gets a new Rolls Royce drop top coupe*Police: How much did that set ya back kid?Me: Oh this...it COSTA lot.? — Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) September 28, 2020 According to UFC president Dana White, Adesanya's bout broke several records, with the pre-fight stare-down becoming the most-watched in the organisation's history. The pay-per-view buys for the event, which hasn't been revealed, are also expected to be substantial. Despite the relatively straightforward victory, the latest win will likely be Adesanya's biggest of his career when it comes to earning him more global name-recognition and commercial opportunities. Aside from the UFC payouts, Adesanya also has several sponsorships on the go. He recently signed a deal with Puma and was on the cover of the UFC's latest video game. Adesanya has also been outspoken about the UFC's pay structure when it comes to fighters who don't make weight and called for a harsher penalty to be imposed on those fighters, who he labeled "cheats". Adesanya's City Kickboxing teammate Shane Young was knocked out on the same card over the weekend by Ludovit Klein, who was four pounds (1.81kg) over the 146-pound (66.2kg) featherweight limit. Israel Adesanya celebrates after defeating Paulo Costa. Photo / Getty Young earned 30 per cent of Klein's purse but Adesanya believes it wasn't enough and wants fighters who miss weight to receive a bigger penalty. Advertisement "It's just cheating," Adesanya said after defeating Costa. "I'm telling you, if you fine someone 90 per cent of your purse if you miss weight, I guarantee you no matter how much money you're making, no one is going to go through this whole camp, through this whole s***, and be willing to give 90 per cent of their pay to the other guy. "They will take every second to make the weight. "Even if you're making $5 million, if 90 per cent of that goes to your opponent I guarantee you people will make weight." Adesanya said Klein and Zubaira Tukhugov – who also missed weight by four pounds for his lightweight loss to Hakeem Dawodu – were unprofessional. "We [City Kickboxing] have guys like Carlos Ulberg and Blood Diamond who aren't even in the UFC yet and they were ready, they were already close to their weight, they're professionals," Adesanya said. Advertisement "So if you can't hack it, go home because we have killers who are ready to go." UFC president Dana White said Adesanya was "not wrong" but explained that any rule changes will have to come from the relevant commissions. "That's not our place, that's the commission that handles that," White said. "But he's not wrong, take 80 or 90 per cent of any body's money they're going to show up the right way."
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Covid-19: Poorer countries to get 120 million $5 coronavirus tests, WHO says

Some 120 million rapid diagnostic tests for coronavirus will be made available to low- and middle-income countries at a maximum of $5 per unit, the World Health Organisation says. Photo: 123RF WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the manufacturers Abbott and SD Biosensor had agreed with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to "make 120 million of these new, highly portable and easy-to-use rapid Covid-19 diagnostic tests available over a period of six months". He told a news conference in Geneva the tests were currently priced at a maximum of $5 each but were expected to become cheaper. "This will enable the expansion of testing, particularly in hard-to-reach areas that do not have laboratory facilities or enough trained health workers to carry out tests," Tedros said. "This is a vital addition to the testing capacity and especially important in areas of high transmission." In other international Covid-19 developments: According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, there have been almost one million confirmed deaths from Covid-19 in the world. But the number is likely to be an underestimate as testing rates in many countries remain low, with virus-related deaths not being recorded. The number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States has risen for two weeks in a row in 27 out of 50 states, with North Carolina and New Mexico both reporting increases above 50 percent last week, according to a Reuters analysis. Quebec, the Canadian province hardest hit by the novel coronavirus, reported another sharp increase in daily infections on Monday, amid media reports that Premier Francois Legault would announce new restrictions for Montreal and capital Quebec City The British government tightened restrictions on socialising in parts of northeast England in response to high and increasing Covid-19 infection rates in the region. From Wednesday, residents in seven areas including urban centres such as Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and Durham will be barred from socialising indoors with people from outside their household or strictly defined social bubble. - Reuters, BBC
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Rafa cruises into second round at Roland Garros

Claycourt master Rafael Nadal started his quest for a record-extending 13th French Open title with a straightforward 6-4 6-4 6-2 first-round win against Belarusian Egor Gerasimov. Rafa Nadal Photo: PHOTOSPORT The Spaniard, looking to equal Roger Federer's record of 20 Grand Slam men's singles titles, is used to slow starts at Roland Garros and this year's debut was no different. On the revamped court Philippe Chatrier, whose roof stayed open throughout, Nadal converted all of his five break points to set up a meeting with American Mackenzie McDonald. The second seed, who had complained about the new balls being too heavy, did not appear too bothered in front of some 200 fans, wrapping up the match with a service winner. Austria's Dominic Thiem showed no sign of a hangover from his U.S. Open triumph as he began his campaign with an impressive straight sets win over Marin Cilic. Third seed Thiem, beaten by Rafa Nadal in the last two French Open finals, was handed a tough first round against the Croatian former U.S. Open champion, but was straight into the groove under the roof on Court Phillipe Chatrier. France won one of it's stars with eighth seed Gael Monfils beaten by Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in four sets. In the women's draw sixth seed Serena Williams battled sluggish conditions to defeat fellow American Kristie Ahn 7-6, 6-0 to open her campaign. Playing against an opponent she defeated at the same stage at the U.S. Open less than a month ago, Williams found herself trailing twice in the opening set at the Court Philippe Chatrier but rallied each time to force a tiebreaker. Williams, who has won three of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles at Roland Garros, raised her level in the tiebreaker and did not look back from there, handing the 102nd-ranked Ahn a bagel in the second set. The 39-year-old had to dig deep to find a way to win points in the cold and heavy conditions and needed five match points to seal the victory and set up a second round meeting against Tsvetana Pironkova, who earlier beat Andrea Petkovic 6-3 6-3. 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza of Spain narrowly avoided a first-round exit when she battled for three hours to beat Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek 7-5 4-6 8-6. Other first round winners in the women's draw included Elina Svitolina, Kiki Bertens and Petra Kvitova. -Reuters
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