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Bridge: July 30, 2023

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:01:50 GMT

“I knew I was in trouble when I saw my hand,” Cy the Cynic grumbled to me in the club lounge.In a duplicate game, Cy picked up today’s West hand — and beheld a harem of queens. But North-South bid expeditiously to 6NT, and Cy had to pick an opening lead.“You know how leading from a king is a nervous business,” Cy said. “Well, leading from a queen can be more taxing. I knew my partner had nothing. Whatever I led might give declarer a free finesse and an extra trick.”The situation proved to be even worse. Cy shrugged and led the deuce of diamonds from his longest suit. South, an expert declarer, won with the jack and wondered why Cy had chosen a dangerous lead from a queen against 6NT. There could be only one answer, so South cashed the king of clubs and let the nine ride.South then had 12 tricks — three diamonds, five clubs, two spades and two hearts — but he wasn’t done. Playing Cy for both major-suit queens, South to...

Word Game: July 30, 2023

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:01:50 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — GLORIFIES (GLORIFIES: GLOR-ih-fise: Gives glory, honor or high praise to.)Average mark 47 wordsTime limit 60 minutesCan you find 60 or more words in GLORIFIES?TODAY’S WORD — GLORIFIES girl girlie glories goes golf golfer gore gorse grief lief life liger loge logier lore lose loser ogle ogler ogre oiler oilier oriel rife rifle rile rise roil role rose iris isle file filer filose fire flier flies floe flog fogies foil fore forge fries froe frog egis ergo self serf serif silo sire slier sloe slog soil sole soreTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Prope...

New Zealand out of Women’s World Cup following 0-0 draw with Switzerland; Swiss into knockouts

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:01:50 GMT

DUNEDIN, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand outshot Switzerland and even moved goalkeeper Victoria Esson into an attack position several times, but failed to break a 0-0 tie Sunday in the Women’s World Cup and became the first host nation to be eliminated in group play in tournament history. The Football Ferns are co-hosting the World Cup with Australia, which must win Monday against Canada to avoid its own early elimination.Switzerland advanced to the round of 16. The Swiss also played to a scoreless draw against Norway, but won the group with the draw against New Zealand, coupled with the Norwegians’ simultaneous 6-0 rout of the Philippines.New Zealand controlled the pace for long stretches of the match and had its chances to score, outshooting Switzerland 12-3. Jacqui Hand knocked a shot off the right post in the 24th minute. All 25,947 seats at Forsyth Barr Stadiums were filled — the only one of Dunedin’s six tournament matches to sell out. The raucous crowd stomped and cheere...

Palestinian factions meet in Egypt to try to reconcile as violence surges in the West Bank

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:01:50 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Palestinian factions were meeting Sunday in Egypt to discuss reconciliation efforts as violence in the occupied West Bank surged between Israel and Palestinian militants.The main groups, Hamas and Fatah, have been split since 2007. With repeated reconciliation attempts having failed, expectations for the one-day meeting are low. According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the gathering in the Egyptian city of el-Alamein on the Mediterranean Sea will discuss “ways to restore national unity and end the division.”The meeting comes amid soaring violence in the West Bank, where Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah group are based and exert limited self-rule. Israel has been staging near-nightly raids in Palestinian areas of the territory in what it says is an attempt to stamp out militancy, especially in areas where Abbas’ security forces have less of a foothold.Those raids have led to some of the worst fighting in nearly two decades in t...

Norway moves into the knockout round at Women’s World Cup with 6-0 rout over the Philippines

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:01:50 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Sophie Roman Haug’s hat trick kick-started Norway’s dormant offense and sparked a 6-0 blowout win over the Philippines on Sunday that moved the Norwegians into to the knockout stage of the Women’s World Cup.The Philippines’ debut run in the tournament came to an end as Norway scored early and often, netting three goals in the first 31 minutes. Norway’s spot in the round of 16 was secured when Switzerland and New Zealand simultaneously played to a 0-0 draw and the Norwegians. Norway and New Zealand were tied in Group A but Norway advanced on goal differential. New Zealand became the first host country to be eliminated in the group stage in tournament history. Before the game, Norway had not scored in three consecutive Women’s World Cup matches dating to the quarterfinals of the 2019 tournament.But Roman Haug one-timed a ball into the net in the sixth minute, and scored again 11 minutes later. Caroline Graham Hansen added a long-distance shot in the 31st m...

At Women’s World Cup, Canada’s new sports minister says she fully supports team’s equal pay fight

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:01:50 GMT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Carla Qualtrough, recently named Sports Minister in Canada, voiced her support for the national team’s fight for equal pay and support during a visit to a training camp in Melbourne before its make-or-break Women’s World Cup match Monday against Australia.“You’re never going to hear me say anything but ‘pay equity equals pay for work of equal value,’” Qualtrough said. “Our women deserve equal opportunities as our men, and we’re gonna make sure they have it.”Canada must avoid a loss to co-host Australia in the last group-stage game to guarantee it advances to the Women’s World Cup knockout round.The visit by Qualtrough, who took up her post Wednesday, follows the team releasing a social media statement Friday announcing an interim agreement reached with Canada Soccer. The deal covers the players’ compensation for 2023, including Women’s World Cup prize money. “The women are desperate to have equal treatment,” Qualtrough said. “I’m confident tha...

Atlas Lionesses become latest Morocco team to earn a World Cup upset

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:01:50 GMT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Morocco’s teams are getting used to upsetting higher-ranked opponents on soccer’s biggest stage. With a 1-0 win over South Korea in Adelaide, South Australia on Sunday, the Atlas Lionesses earned their first Women’s World Cup victory in their debut tournament. The No. 72-ranked Morocco upset No. 17 South Korea behind a complete defensive performance and its first World Cup goal: a glancing header from Ibtissam Jraïdi off Hanane Aït El Haj’s cross in the 6th minute.Despite an opening 6-0 loss to Germany, the Atlas Lionesses are in contention for a spot in the knockout stage ahead of their last group game against Colombia on Friday.“We need to savor the win tonight, all together,” Morocco head coach Reynald Pedros said. “From tomorrow, this game is behind us. What’s important is what is going to happen against Colombia.”In the men’s World Cup last year, Morocco strung together its own run of upsets. The team advanced to the round of 16 for...

Norway 6, Philippines 0

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:01:50 GMT

Philippines00—0Norway33—6First Half_1, Norway, Roman Haug, (Bjelde), 6th minute; 2, Norway, Roman Haug, (Boe Risa), 17th; 3, Norway, Hansen, 31st.Second Half_4, Norway, Barker, 48th; 5, Norway, Reiten, (penalty kick), 53rd; 6, Norway, Roman Haug, (Reiten), 90th+5.Goalies_Philippines, Olivia Davies McDaniel, Kaiya Jota, Kiara Fontanilla; Norway, Aurora Mikalsen, Cecilie Haustaker Fiskerstrand, Guro Pettersen.Yellow Cards_Guillou, Philippines, 54th; Boe Risa, Norway, 86th.Red Cards_Harrison, Philippines, 67th.Referee_Marie-Soleil Beaudoin. Assistant Referees_Chantal Boudreau, Stephanie-Dale Yee Sing, Drew Fischer. 4th Official_Anahi Fernandez.___Source

New Zealand 0, Switzerland 0

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:01:50 GMT

New Zealand00—0Switzerland00—0First Half_None.Second Half_None.Goalies_New Zealand, Victoria Esson, Erin Nayler, Anna Leat; Switzerland, Gaelle Thalmann, Livia Peng, Seraina Friedli.Yellow Cards_None.Referee_Tori Penso. Assistant Referees_Brooke Mayo, Mijensa Rosancha Rensch, Armando Villarreal. 4th Official_Iuliana Elena Demetrescu.A_25,947.___Source

A la Antártida le falta una cantidad de hielo marino del tamaño de Argentina, y los científicos se esfuerzan por descubrir por qué

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:01:50 GMT

(CNN) — A medida que el hemisferio norte se sofoca bajo una ola de calor de verano sin precedentes, mucho más al sur, en pleno invierno, se está rompiendo otro récord climático aterrador. El hielo marino antártico ha caído a niveles sin precedentes para esta época del año.Cada año, el hielo marino antártico se reduce a sus niveles más bajos hacia fines de febrero, durante el verano del continente. Luego, el hielo marino vuelve a acumularse durante el invierno.Pero este año los científicos han observado algo diferente.El hielo marino no ha regresado a ningún lugar cercano a los niveles esperados. De hecho, se encuentra en los niveles más bajos para esta época del año desde que comenzaron los registros hace 45 años. El hielo está alrededor de 1,6 millones de kilómetros cuadrados por debajo del récord anterior de invierno establecido en 2022, según datos del Centro Nacional de Datos de Hielo y Nieve (NSIDC, por sus siglas en inglés).A mediados de julio, el hielo marino de la Antá...