U.K News

Tom Watson Is The Latest To Want Answers On The PGA Tour’s 2023 Deal With Saudi Backers

Published

1 year ago

2023-06-19

LA – Tom Watson, an eight-time major winner, wrote PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan on Monday to clarify the new business relationship between the Tour and Saudi investors in LIV Golf. Watson also questioned whether the arrangement was the only approach to address the Tour’s financial difficulties.

In the letter, obtained by The Associated Press and addressed to Monahan, the PGA Tour board, and “my fellow players,” Watson asked several questions, including that one.

He claimed that the hypocrisy in ignoring the moral issue “compounded” the questions.

The day after Wyndham Clark won the U.S. Open and became the sport’s newest major champion, attention returned to a problem that had dominated golf for the previous three years. The PGA Tour announced on June 6 that it had partnered with the European Tour and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to house commercial enterprises under one roof.

During a meeting two weeks ago at the Canadian Open, Monahan, who has referred to it as a “framework agreement,” had few responses for the players. Before the Travellers Championship in Connecticut on Tuesday, a meeting of the Player Advisory Council is scheduled.

Monahan, who left for a “medical situation” on Wednesday, is not anticipated to go. The daily management of the trip is under the direction of two of his senior executives.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Public Investment Fund, was listed as the chairman of the new firm and Monahan as the CEO in the Tour’s release on June 6. Ed Herlihy and Jimmy Dunne, two other PGA Tour board members, would join them on the executive committee.

Tom Watson, an eight-time major winner.

According to a person who has read the agreement, it guarantees that the Tour would maintain a controlling voting interest in the new commercial organization regardless of how much the PIF invests.

According to the source, the arrangement provides for a financial contribution from PIF and the pooling of the three companies’ existing and future golf-related assets. The source spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the contract has not been made public. LIV Golf would be a part of that.

According to the deal, the PGA Tour would nominate most of the new company’s board members. The PGA Tour would still completely control how its competition is managed.

Important information, such as LIV Golf’s future, still needs to be added. Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson have stated that they are preparing for the 2024 season.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, hinted on Sunday that congressional hearings would take place in the coming weeks.

The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations is presided over by Blumenthal. On CBS’s “Face the Nation,” he claimed that the subcommittee wanted specifics on the factors that led to the purchase, the people involved, and the organization’s structure and governance.

Blumenthal remarked, “There are very, very few details. But keep in mind; he added, “What we have here is essentially an oppressive, autocratic foreign government taking control over an iconic, beloved American institution for the clear purpose of cleaning its public image.”

All legal disputes were resolved as part of the agreement. To avoid having to give depositions in the litigation, the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf filed a request on Friday to dismiss with prejudice the antitrust complaint LIV players filed in August, the countersuit the Tour filed in September, and even a PIF appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. They are not resubmittable.

Tom Watson, an eight-time major winner.

Monahan said the lawsuits had caused the Tour a “significant” blow. A trial date was not anticipated until at least the middle of 2024, with plenty of filings in between.

Is the PIF the only practical solution to the Tour’s financial issues, Watson questioned in his letter? Was there or is there a backup strategy? And once more, what transaction exactly?

He made two references to hypocrisy, particularly about criticism of the Tour’s cancellation from organizations like 9/11 Families United.

“My loyalty to golf and this country live in the same place and have held equal and significant weight with me over the course of my lifetime,” stated Watson. “Please educate me and others in a way that allows loyalty to both, in a way that makes it easy to look the families of 9/11 in the eye and ourselves in the mirror.”

Tom Watson, an eight-time major winner.

Among his inquiries, Watson is not by himself. Since last summer, the Justice Department’s antitrust division has scrutinized the golf industry. Now, it is beginning to investigate whether the Tour’s relationship with the Saudis violates federal antitrust laws. Since the deal is still being finalized and is just a few weeks old, the investigation is still in its early stages.

According to Monahan, everything in the framework agreement would require board approval.

According to Blumenthal, a hearing might happen “within weeks.”

“The American people deserve a clear look at the facts here,” he declared. “Again, I’m not going to predict the results. But the Saudis need to hire a single player or seizing control of a single team in this situation. They are effectively running the entire sport, and it’s not just one Saudi player. There is a regime.

SOURCE – (AP)

U.K News

London Hit With Heavy Snow as Temperatures Plummet

Published

5 days ago

2024-11-19

Geoff Brown

London, England, has been gripped by an Arctic freeze, with temperatures dipping well below zero, snow forcing trains to stop, and over 200 schools closing in and across the UK.

Commuters faced traffic mayhem as Braemar in Aberdeenshire recorded the coldest temperature in the UK this early in the season since 1998, at -11.2C (12.2F).

Today, the Met Office issued three yellow weather warnings for snow and ice across the Midlands and North of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The UK Health Security Agency issued the season’s first amber cold weather health advisory, warning that circumstances could be hazardous to vulnerable people.

Poor weather hampered rail travel, with no trains running between Nottingham and Worksop or between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales.

A couple walks on the snow-covered ground at Pavillion Gardens in Buxton, Derbyshire.

Northern services in Yorkshire between Bradford and Huddersfield, Hebden Bridge to Halifax, and Halifax to Hull were all disrupted while flooding at Ulverston in Cumbria caused delays between Barrow-in-Furness and Lancaster.

Around 130 Welsh schools closed in Wrexham, Powys, Denbighshire, and Flintshire, with closures also reported in Birmingham, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire.

Nearly 5 inches (12 cm) of snow fell at Watnall in Nottinghamshire, with 3 inches (8 cm) at Cranwell in Lincolnshire and 2 inches (5 cm) at Lake Vyrnwy in Powys, Wales.

The Met Office issued warnings that vehicles might become trapped, power outages could occur, remote communities could be shut off, and falling on ice could cause injury.

England has a yellow warning until 11 a.m., while Scotland has a warning until 10 a.m. tomorrow. Another warning for Northern Ireland expired at 10 a.m.

The UK Health Security Agency issued an amber cold weather health notice for the East and North of England, the Midlands, Yorkshire, and the Humber.

Yellow health alerts went into effect for the South East, South West, and London at 8 a.m. today and will run until 6 p.m. on Saturday.

National Rail warned that the cold weather would impair several routes on northern rail services until at least 2 p.m. today.

Merseyrail issued a notice informing passengers that due to the possibility of snow and ice covering tracks, the first train on each line in North West England would run without passengers to allow conditions to be examined.

National Highways also issued a strong amber weather advisory for snow, indicating that the M1 in Leeds and Sheffield, the M56 in Manchester, junction 39 of the M6, and junctions 21-23 of the M62 may see interruption.

WEATHER WARNING 1: The Met Office snow warning in Northern Ireland terminated at 10 a.m. today.

WEATHER WARNING 2: A separate snow and ice warning for Northern England until 11 a.m. today.

WEATHER WARNING 3: Scotland’s snow and ice warning is live until 10 a.m. tomorrow.

The Met Office, which characterized the weather as ‘the first taste of winter,’ said heavy snow will cause problems in England, with Derbyshire being the most vulnerable.

According to Dan Suri, the Met Office’s chief meteorologist, a low-pressure system will move eastward on Monday night.

The related frontal system, which marks the border between cold air in the north and milder weather in the south, may deliver disruptive snow to certain locations between Monday evening and Tuesday morning.

Dr. Agostinho Sousa of the UK Health Security Agency stated, “This is the first amber Cold Weather Health Alert of the season, but we can expect more as winter approaches. It is critical to check in on vulnerable friends, family, and neighbors to ensure they are well prepared for the onset of cold weather.”

Brittany Snow Hints She Was “Blindsided” By Tyler Stanaland Divorce

2023: Brittany Snow Hints She Was “Blindsided” By Tyler Stanaland Divorce

U.K News

Windsor Castle Robbed While Royal Family Slept

Published

6 days ago

2024-11-19

Geoff Brown

UK police report two men broke into the Windsor Castle estate, home to Prince William and Catherine and their three children and stole two vehicles.

According to the Sun newspaper, the robbers broke into a farm building on the Windsor estate and stole a black Isuzu pick-up truck and a red quad bike stashed in a barn.

The Prince and Princess of Wales reportedly arrived at their estate home during the nighttime burglary.

Thames Valley Police stated the individuals ran to the Old Windsor/Datchet area, but no arrests have been made.

“Offenders entered a farm building and stole vehicles,” the police added. An investigation is underway regarding the incident.

There have been previous security incidents at Windsor. On Christmas Day in 2021, an intruder was apprehended on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Jaswant Singh Chail, who was equipped with a crossbow, received a nine-year prison sentence.

The Windsor estate, located west of London, spans 15,800 acres and contains functioning farms, conservation areas, Windsor Great Park, and well-known royal attractions, including Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle received 1.4 million visitors last year, making it the UK’s most popular royal tourist site.

Kate Middleton, The Princess of Wales, Gives Update on New Project

Kate Middleton, The Princess of Wales Gives Update on New Project

U.K News

Britain’s Conservative Party Elects Kemi Badenoch as Leader

Published

3 weeks ago

2024-11-02

Ana Wong

Conservatives pick Kemi Badenoch as party leader

U.K. Conservatives pick Kemi Badenoch as their party's new leader

Britain’s Conservative Party elected outspoken MP Kemi Badenoch as its new leader on Saturday, making her the first woman of color to lead a major British political party.

She has promised to give the right-of-center Tories “renewal” by advocating for a smaller state and rejecting identity politics.

The new leader faces a daunting challenge in restoring the party’s reputation after years of division, scandal, and economic turbulence, hammering Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s policies on key issues such as the economy and immigration and returning the Conservatives to power in the 2029 election.

“The task that stands before us is tough but simple,” Kemi Badenoch said in a victory address to a room full of Conservative legislators, staff, and journalists in London. She stated that the party’s role was to hold the Labour administration accountable while developing commitments and a government strategy.

Addressing the party’s electoral defeat, she stated, “We have to be honest — honest about the fact that we made mistakes, honest about the fact that we let standards slip.”

“The time has come to tell the truth, to stand up for our principles, to plan for our future, to reset our politics and our thinking, and to give our party, and our country, the new start that they deserve,” according to Badenoch.

Kemi Badenoch was Born in London

Kemi Badenoch, a business secretary in Sunak’s cabinet, was born in London to Nigerian parents and grew up in West Africa.

The former software engineer positions herself as a disruptor, advocating for a low-tax, free-market economy and promising to “rewire, reboot, and reprogram” the British state. Like her adversary Jenrick, she has opposed multiculturalism and advocated for decreased immigration, but unlike him, she has not asked that Britain abandon the European Convention on Human Rights.

Kemi Badenoch, a self-proclaimed hater of wokeness, opposes identity politics, gender-neutral toilets, and government initiatives to reduce carbon emissions in the United Kingdom. During the leadership race, she was chastised for claiming that “not all cultures are equally valid” and implying that maternity pay was excessive.

Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, predicted that under Badenoch, the Conservative Party would “swing to the right both in terms of its economic and social policies.”

He foretold that Badenoch will follow “what you might call the boats, boilers and bathrooms strategy …. focusing very much on the trans issue, the immigration issue and skepticism about progress towards net zero.”

Conservative Party Becoming More Diverse

While the Conservative Party is unrepresentative of the country as a whole, with a decreasing membership of 132,000 mostly affluent, elderly white men, its higher echelons have become significantly more diverse.

Badenoch is the Tories’ fourth female leader, following Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May, and Liz Truss, who became prime ministers.

She is the second Conservative leader of color, following Sunak, and the first with African heritage. The center-left Labour Party has a more diversified membership, but its leaders have always been white men.

In a more than three-month leadership contest, Conservative MPs narrowed the field from six to two in a series of votes before presenting the last two to a vote of the party’s membership.

Both finalists were from the party’s right-wing and claimed they could reclaim votes from Reform U.K., the hard-right, anti-immigrant group led by populist leader Nigel Farage that has eroded Conservative support.

However, the party lost many votes to the winning party, Labour, and the centrist Liberal Democrats, and some Conservatives are concerned that tacking right may move the party away from popular sentiment.

Kier Starmer’s Labor government has had a difficult first few months in power, plagued by unfavorable headlines, fiscal woes, and a sinking approval rating.

However, Bale stated that the historical record implies Badenoch’s chances of leading the Conservatives back to power in 2029 are slim.

“It’s quite unusual for someone to take over when a party gets very badly beaten and manage to lead it to election victory,” according to him. “However, Keir Starmer did just that after 2019. So there are records to break.”

Source: AP