Latest news with #Hand
Sunday World
22-05-2025
- Sunday World
McGregor brags about breaking ‘eyesockets' as he knocks down footballer during match
The disgraced MMA fighter lined out for Black Forge FC earlier this month Conor McGregor has bragged about breaking 'noses and eyesockets' as he shared a picture of himself knocking over a player during a football match. Taking to Instagram, the 36-year-old MMA fighter shared a series of snaps which show him knocking another player to the ground with his shoulder. 'Get up outta that I've broke noses and eyesockets with this shoulder. #YUPCOOLOCK,' he captioned the post. The images show McGregor in a Black Forge FC kit as he elbows a player from the other team, knocking them to the ground. He donned the number 10 shirt for the team during a surprise match appearance on May 10th against St Columbans SYC. Black Forge Inn won the game 3-0, winning themselves a place in semi-final of the UCFL/AUL Premier Shield. The Notorious' team did not make it to the final, losing 2-1 to Roc Celtic. The disgraced fighter often lines out for the squad, and did so earlier this year just days after a judge ordered him to pay Nikita Hand €100,000 of her €250,000 damages and €200,000 of her expected €1.3m legal costs. Last November a jury found McGregor civilly liable for raping the haircolourist at a hotel in Dublin in 2018. Both McGregor and James Lawrence, who was also named in the suit, denied raping Ms Hand, insisting they both had consensual sex with her. During the trial, Ms Hand testified she had been 'brutally raped and battered' by McGregor and at one point thought she was going to die and never see her young daughter again. The trial heard how Ms Hand and her work colleague Danielle Kealey had been out on December 8, 2018 at a Christmas work party. Ms Hand wanted to continue partying into the next day and, after contact with McGregor via Instagram, the UFC fighter collected them from the salon where they worked. The group picked up Lawrence from his home and arrived at the Beacon Hotel around midday. Ms Hand alleged she was raped by Mr McGregor some time between 12.30pm and 6pm . Conor McGregor News in 90 seconds - 21st May The jury heard she remembered the rape but had gaps in her memory about what happened afterwards. The jury heard evidence that a tampon was wedged so far inside her vagina it needed to be removed with a forceps in the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit of the Rotunda Hospital, where she presented in a terrified state the following day. They were also shown photos taken by gardaí two days after the events in the hotel of Ms Hand's badly bruised body. Ms Hand's lawyers claimed that Lawrence, who came forward to gardaí a day after they had interviewed McGregor in January 2019, was lying and acted as 'a fall guy' or 'patsy' for the sports star. Both men denied this. McGregor denied they had been 'in cahoots' but accepted he paid for Mr Lawrence's lawyers. After the jury found McGregor had assaulted Ms Hand in the Beacon Hotel, the mother-of-one spoke outside court where she said that she felt vindicated, and urged victims to 'keep on fighting for justice'. While the jury found that Lawrence had not assaulted Ms Hand, Justice Alexander Owens later ruled that Ms Hand would not be penalised with having to pay costs for losing her action against Lawrence. 'It would be completely inappropriate to award Mr Lawrence any of his legal costs, even though he succeeded in his case,' the judge said. Although a jury dismissed her case against Lawrence, the judge found that they had not believed his claim that he and Ms Hand had consensual sex. 'Mr Lawrence was entirely successful in defending the claim but not for the reason advanced in his defence,' the judge said. Mr Justice Owens said the verdict of the jury was, in his view, on the basis no sex took place between Mr Lawrence and Ms Hand, rather than his claim that they had consensual sex. He said for this reason he would depart from the normal rule that the losing side pays the costs of the winning side. The judge said he would make no costs order in relation to Lawrence, which means he must pay his own costs. The court has previously heard Lawrence is a man of limited means and McGregor was covering his legal fees. McGregor has since launched an appeal, which is set to be heard by the court in July.
New Straits Times
16-05-2025
- Health
- New Straits Times
Kelantan reports surge in HFMD cases, threefold increase from last year
KOTA BARU: Kelantan is experiencing a significant surge in Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) cases this year, with 8,801 infections reported as of epidemiological week 19. State health director Datuk Dr Zaini Hussin said the figure is more than three times higher than the 2,348 cases recorded during the same period last year. "The number of outbreaks has also risen sharply to 126, compared to just two outbreaks in 2024," he said. Currently, there are 12 active outbreaks, with four each in Pasir Puteh and Kuala Krai, and one each in Pasir Mas, Machang, Gua Musang, and Kota Baru. Zaini said the weekly infection trend remains high, with an average of 895 new cases reported each week, reflecting the spike seen in 2022. "All districts have recorded an increase in cases, with Kota Baru topping the list at 3,060 cases. "Other districts are reporting between 400 and 850 cases," he added. Zaini urged parents, childcare centres, and the public to remain vigilant, practise good hygiene, and avoid exposing children to crowded places if symptoms are detected. He also reminded business operators to adhere to standard operating procedures to curb the spread of the disease. On May 12, the Health Ministry said a total of 99,601 HFMD cases had been reported nationwide as of epidemiological week 17 this year. The figure represents a 266 per cent increase compared to the 27,236 cases recorded during the same period last year. Selangor recorded the highest number of cases at 27,118 (27.2 per cent), followed by Johor with 9,864 cases (9.9 per cent), Perak with 9,347 cases (9.4 per cent), Kelantan with 7,147 cases (7.2 per cent), and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya with 6,850 cases (6.9 per cent).
Borneo Post
15-05-2025
- Health
- Borneo Post
Hand hygiene is daily defence, not just campaign, says Sibu Hospital director
(From left) Molly, Dr Vivek, Dr Nanthakumar, Lau, and Dr Nizam pose for a photo-call, while showing their palms in a symbolic gesture to mark World Hand Hygiene Day. SIBU (May 15): In conjunction with World Hand Hygiene Day, Sibu Hospital launched a comprehensive campaign to emphasise the importance of hand hygiene, not just as an annual initiative but as a daily practice to prevent infectious diseases. Sibu Hospital director Dr Nanthakumar Thirunavukkarasu stressed that proper hand hygiene should become a regular habit, particularly at home, alongside healthcare settings. 'True hand hygiene goes beyond campaigns. Making it a daily routine can significantly reduce illnesses, especially among children and parents,' he said. During the launching of the event yesterday, various awareness activities were held, including a hand hygiene video competition involving over 900 hospital staff, from doctors and nurses to support personnel. These efforts, according to Dr Nanthakumar, are crucial in improving compliance scores, which he noted could rise from 80 per cent to 90 per cent through sustained education and engagement. He also highlighted how the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the effectiveness of hand-washing and mask-wearing in reducing the spread of diseases such as influenza and Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (HFMD). 'Simple actions like washing hands and wearing masks can curb the spread of infections,' he said. Dr Nanthakumar further warned of growing risks within hospitals due to the presence of drug-resistant organisms Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (MDRO). 'In such times, surveillance and response must be heightened. Hand hygiene is a basic, yet powerful defence,' he added. He also advocated for a holistic approach to health, encouraging good hygiene, healthy eating, and lifestyle habits to prevent disease and reduce reliance on strong antibiotics, which are becoming less effective due to rising resistance. Present at the event were Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker and Lanang MP Alice Lau, alongside key officials from the State Health Department (JKNS), including senior principal assistant director Dr Vivek Vijayan, Sibu Hospital deputy director Dr Nizam Ishak, and JKNS infection control coordinator Matron Molly Hafsah Jemat. The World Hand Hygiene Day, spearheaded by the World Health Organisation, promotes the importance of hand hygiene in healthcare and everyday life under this year's campaign themed 'It Might Be Gloves, But It's Always Hand Hygiene'. Dr Nanthakumar Thirunavukkarasu lead Sibu Hospital World Hand Hygiene Day
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists Reveal a Surprising New Theory on Where Echidnas Came From
New analysis of a 100-million-year-old fossil embedded in a rocky cove in Australia suggests echidnas may have evolved from swimming ancestors. That's basically unheard of: While there are many examples of land-dwelling mammals evolving into a more aquatic lifestyle, it seems that at some point, echidnas went in the opposite direction. Since its discovery in the early '90s, paleontologists have been debating what kind of animal left behind the fossilized arm bone. They know it was a member of the monotreme order, mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Based on the bone's outward appearance, some think it belonged to a land-bound ancestor of modern echidnas. Others say it might have been a swimming monotreme that pre-dates both of its living kin, echidnas and platypus. New analysis on the tiny humerus bone, which belonged to the prehistoric species Kryoryctes cadburyi, supports an aquatic origin story. "While the external structure of a bone allows you to directly compare it with similar animals to help work out the animal's relationships, the internal structure tends to reveal clues about its lifestyle and ecology," says paleontologist Suzanne Hand from the University of New South Wales, who led the study. "The internal structure doesn't necessarily give you information about what that animal actually is, but it can tell you about its environment and how it lived." Peeking inside the fossil with microCT scans, Hand and her team discovered the bone has a thick, heavy wall and a tiny medullary cavity (the hollow space inside bones where red and white blood cells are formed). Bones like this are seen in semi or fully aquatic mammals, like sea otters, dugongs, and platypus. Like the weight belt scuba divers use to stay underwater, these traits reduce the animal's buoyancy so it can remain underwater with little effort. "The microstructure of the fossil Kryoryctes humerus is more like the internal bone structure seen in platypuses, in which their heavy bones act like ballast allowing them to easily dive to forage for food," says Hand. On land, such dense and heavy bones are a disadvantage, not only because it takes more effort to lug them around, but also because they are more prone to fractures. This is why such traits are not seen in echidnas, which have very thin bone walls. The team also conducted phylogenetic analysis, piecing together where K. cadburyi sits in the mammalian and monotreme family trees. This revealed the species is indeed a stem monotreme, sharing a common ancestor with platypus and echidnas. It's very strange news in terms of echidna evolution. It suggests their ancestor was a swimming, burrowing monotreme that eventually hung up the towel for a very different life on land. There are a few other clues that this might be the case. "The bill of the platypus is well known to have lots of highly sensitive receptors that detect tiny electrical currents generated by prey," Hand points out. "And while the beak of the echidnas has fewer receptors, people have suggested that these receptors are a leftover of their platypus heritage, as are remnants of the platypus bill that can be found in the beak of echidna embryos." Echidnas also have hind feet turned backwards, which helps them with digging, in the same way platypus use their backwards feet like rudders to propel them through water. Perhaps this is why echidnas have been known to island hop. This foot orientation isn't seen in any other mammals. Perhaps echidnas weren't left on shore by the intrepid, water-faring platypus. Maybe echidnas were the ones that decided to venture out into the unknown. "We're talking about a semiaquatic mammal that gave up the water for a terrestrial existence, and while that would be an extremely rare event, we think that's what happened with echidnas," says Hand. This research was published in PNAS. This Adorable Sea Lion Can Keep a Beat Better Than Some Humans Mysterious Critters Set to Return After 17 Years Underground Plants Really Do 'Scream'. We Just Never Heard Them Until Now.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump promised his tariffs would create jobs. They're already destroying them.
Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley was once synonymous with America's industrial might. The region was known for its booming manufacturing economy anchored by companies like Mack Trucks and Bethlehem Steel, the latter of which employed over 30,000 workers at its peak in the 1950s. But manufacturing began to struggle in the 1970s and collapsed by the turn of the century. Bethlehem Steel went bankrupt in 2001 (the site now houses a casino). All of this made the Lehigh Valley into a symbol of the ills of de-industrialization. There's even a Billy Joel song about it. President Donald Trump has said his ongoing trade war is meant in large part to bring manufacturing jobs back to communities like this. But, in the Lehigh Valley, it's having the opposite effect: Last month, Mack Trucks announced it would be laying off about 10 percent of its unionized workers at its Lehigh Valley plant, and pointed to tariffs and the economic uncertainty they've caused as the reason. 'We were very surprised,' Mack Trucks employee and UAW Local 677 District 1 Committeeperson Dan Hand told me. 'We have people that just started working on the shop floor Monday of last week. … They're scared.' When I saw a local news story about these layoffs, I knew I had to drive up to the valley from my home in Philadelphia to talk to Hand and his coworkers in person. I expected them to be mad. But I found a more complicated story — and more complicated feelings about the tariffs. Last summer, Mack Trucks' parent company, Volvo, announced it was building a massive new truck plant in Mexico. The company said it planned to supplement its American workforce, not replace it, but Hand and his union members were upset and scared that their jobs, like so many others in their industry, would eventually move south of the border. In March, UAW 577 put out a press release blasting Mack's decision and endorsing tariffs as a tool to fight it. Now, even with the impending layoffs, Mack's Lehigh Valley workforce is split on Trump's tariff policy. 'It doesn't seem like there's a good game plan,' said Hand, who voted for Trump in 2016, but then soured on him because of his treatment of organized labor in his first term. John Taniser, on the other hand, told me short-term pain is worth it for long-term change. He voted for Trump in 2024 and remains confident in the president's vision. 'It could be a year. It could be two years. But what we're looking for is a path forward to thrive and not just sustain and exist,' said Taniser, a 27-year veteran of Mack's production line. 'In this economy that we're in currently, there's no going forward.' Nearly all economists agree that it's unlikely manufacturing will ever play as big a role in the American economy as it did in the mid-20th century. My colleague Dylan Matthews wrote an article recently about how, as countries get richer, they all see manufacturing jobs replaced with service industry jobs. That was the case across the US over the last century, and that's true in the Lehigh Valley too: The largest employers in the county now are hospitals and Amazon warehouses. Manufacturing itself has changed over time, too. Even if companies like Mack buck the trend and invest more in the United States, that ultimately won't translate into many new jobs: As manufacturing technology has improved, factories need fewer and fewer human workers. But that's a hard pill to swallow for people in communities that were built around manufacturing and that have suffered from its decline. Many hope tariffs will still, despite what experts say, rewind the clock and reverse that decline. 'Those great jobs — they built the Valley,' Taniser said. 'Those workers are the ones who bought all these homes, who shopped at all these stores. It's not there anymore. And we want to bring it back. I want it back.' This piece originally ran in the Today, Explained newsletter. For more stories like this, sign up here.
