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The Star
3 days ago
- Health
- The Star
Global crises disrupt effort to get millions to quit smoking, report says
FILE PHOTO: A man holds a cigarette in his hands in London, Britain April 11, 2023. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo (Refiles to adjust headline, no changes to text) LONDON (Reuters) -The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and wars have combined to hamper global governments' plans to reduce tobacco use, derailing efforts to get an estimated 95 million people to stop smoking, a report endorsed by 57 campaign groups said on Friday. Governments had planned to reduce smoking rates among people over 15 by 30% between 2010 and 2025 as part of an action plan tied to global sustainable development targets agreed in 2015. But the timeline to achieve the goal was extended an extra five years in 2024 as other priorities pushed countries to divert resources away from implementing a World Health Organization treaty on tobacco control signed by 168 countries. "This ... delay represents an estimated 95 million additional tobacco users, who would otherwise have quit by 2025," said the report, submitted to the U.N. Economic and Social Council, which oversees global sustainable development. While governments have succeeded in reducing the number of smokers, the failure to hit the 30% reduction target means that 1,207,800,000 people are still smoking globally, instead of the target of 1,112,400,000, based on a Reuters calculation using smoking rates and population figures provided in the report. Published by Action on Smoking and Health Canada and endorsed by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Cancer Research UK and others, the report warned the delays could result in millions of additional deaths from tobacco use if sustained. The U.N. has already acknowledged that funding shortfalls, geopolitical tensions and pandemic-linked disruptions have pushed the world off track on most of the 17 wide-ranging sustainable development goals. Those goals aim, among other things, to reduce poverty and hunger and increase access to healthcare and education. The groups that endorsed ASH Canada's report urged governments to redouble their efforts on tobacco control policies such as tax increases and smoking bans. (Reporting by Emma Rumney; Editing by Joe Bavier)
Straits Times
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Bowen on target as West Ham end with win at Ipswich
Soccer Football - Premier League - Ipswich Town v West Ham United - Portman Road, Ipswich, Britain - May 25, 2025 Ipswich Town's George Hirst in action with West Ham United's Jean-Clair Todibo REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska Soccer Football - Premier League - Ipswich Town v West Ham United - Portman Road, Ipswich, Britain - May 25, 2025 West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen in action with Ipswich Town's Sam Morsy REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska Bowen on target as West Ham end with win at Ipswich IPSWICH - West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen scored on his 200th Premier League appearance in a 3-1 victory at Ipswich Town as his club ended a disappointing season on a high note on Sunday. Bowen exchanged passes with James Ward-Prowse and Aaron Wan-Bissaka before slotting in his 13th goal of the season to restore West Ham's lead in 55th minute. Ward-Prowse had given West Ham a first-half lead after a wayward back pass by Ipswich skipper Sam Morsy had put Bowen through on goal and he unselfishly teed up his team mate. Ipswich, who survived only one season in the top flight, equalised after half-time through Nathan Broadhead. Mohammed Kudus wrapped up the points for the Hammers late on as they finished the season in 14th place. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-Champions League would be fitting result for Forest team that punches above weight
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Nottingham Forest v Leicester City - The City Ground, Nottingham, Britain - May 11, 2025 Nottingham Forest fans in the stands REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Many of Matthew Oldroyd's memories as a Nottingham Forest fan involve climbing on to a bus to attend away games in unglamorous football destinations such as Oldham, Gillingham and Huddersfield. Forest began this season tipped for relegation but on Sunday can clinch a place in the Champions League for the first time in more than 40 years, and Oldroyd said his apprenticeship as a Forest fan during some of the team's darkest days had made their current campaign that much sweeter. "I am part of that generation where I got my timings wrong and I ended up watching quite a lot of bad football for 25 years," Oldroyd, author of Trailblazers: The Ground Breaking History of Nottingham Forest Football Club, told Reuters. "It has made these recent successes much more enjoyable because we've been through that period of pain and turmoil, of course, and now we get to enjoy a team that are at the top end of the Premier League." Forest famously won the European Cup in 1979 and 1980, under the management of Brian Clough, but have not played in Europe's elite club competition since the 1980-81 season. They have enjoyed a remarkable renaissance this season under Nuno Espirito Santo -- whose surname translates to English as "holy spirit" and who replaced Steve Cooper in December 2023. They became the first team in Premier League history to double their points tally from one season to the next. The Reds host Chelsea in a dramatic season finale at the City Ground, with both teams among five chasing three remaining Champions League spots, along with Manchester City, Newcastle and Aston Villa. The 40-year-old Oldroyd was born into a family of Forest fans and, while he missed out on the club's glory years under Clough, he has fond memories of singing arm-in-arm in City Ground's Trent End when it was a standing-room area. "I don't think I really cared too much that we weren't that good. I was really happy to be going to watch Forest every week," said Oldroyd, who is also the co-founder of Forest fan group Forza Garibaldi. His book, which he called a labour of love and was released earlier this year, traces the club's historical firsts, including the invention of shin pads. Forest player Samuel Weller Widdowson famously cut down a pair of cricket pads and strapped them over his socks in 1874. His team mates followed suit, thus Forest became the world's first team to wear them. Seventh-placed Forest had been rooted in the top five for most of the season but have lost momentum in recent weeks and now need luck on their side in the jam-packed race for Champions League qualification. They must beat Chelsea and also need Newcastle United or Aston Villa to drop points, while a draw or a loss would only be good enough to get into the Europa League or Conference League. Oldroyd believes Champions League qualification would be "very typical of Forest being that club that punches above their weight". "I will counter that to say, regardless of what happens, we should all remember that it's been a fantastic season and Forest have established themselves again as being one of the better teams in the country, which for so long we just haven't known," he said. "Really a whole generation have known (Forest) as being a second-division club. So to now be challenging for Europe and playing in Europe next season is just really phenomenal. It really is." (Reporting by Lori Ewing; editing by Clare Fallon)
The Star
09-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Soccer- UK parliamentary committee endorses Kogan to chair independent regulator
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Southampton v Everton - St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, Britain - November 2, 2024 General view of the match ball on a plinth before the match REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - A UK parliamentary committee endorsed David Kogan to chair a proposed independent football regulator but said on Friday his past links to the ruling Labour Party meant he would have to "give 110%" to reassure those in the game about his neutrality. Kogan has had a 45-year career as a media executive, business leader and corporate adviser who has negotiated TV rights deals on behalf of sporting bodies such as the Premier League and English Football League. In 2020, he also made donations to the leadership campaign of Keir Starmer, before he became prime minister, and to parliamentarian Lisa Nandy who is currently the culture secretary. He has also declared being a donor to Labour Party candidates over the past three years. The Culture Media and Sport Committee published a report on Friday endorsing Kogan after a pre-appointment hearing this week. The government last month announced Kogan as the preferred candidate for the job, which carries a salary of 130,000 pounds ($172,000) for a three-day week. "While Mr Kogan's background and experience make him well-suited for the role, his past donations to the Labour Party will inevitably leave him open to charges of political bias in a job where independence is paramount," said committee Chair Caroline Dinenage. "We want to see the new Independent Football Regulator succeed, so it's crucial that nothing undermines the regulator as it gets up and running. "Mr Kogan must give 110% when it comes to reassuring everyone in the game that he is his own man. The Committee looks forward to working with him constructively and holding him to account." ($1 = 0.7537 pounds) (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Sharon Singleton)
Straits Times
09-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
UK parliamentary committee endorses Kogan to chair independent regulator
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Southampton v Everton - St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, Britain - November 2, 2024 General view of the match ball on a plinth before the match REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo LONDON - A UK parliamentary committee endorsed David Kogan to chair a proposed independent football regulator but said on Friday his past links to the ruling Labour Party meant he would have to "give 110%" to reassure those in the game about his neutrality. Kogan has had a 45-year career as a media executive, business leader and corporate adviser who has negotiated TV rights deals on behalf of sporting bodies such as the Premier League and English Football League. In 2020, he also made donations to the leadership campaign of Keir Starmer, before he became prime minister, and to parliamentarian Lisa Nandy who is currently the culture secretary. He has also declared being a donor to Labour Party candidates over the past three years. The Culture Media and Sport Committee published a report on Friday endorsing Kogan after a pre-appointment hearing this week. The government last month announced Kogan as the preferred candidate for the job, which carries a salary of 130,000 pounds ($172,000) for a three-day week. "While Mr Kogan's background and experience make him well-suited for the role, his past donations to the Labour Party will inevitably leave him open to charges of political bias in a job where independence is paramount," said committee Chair Caroline Dinenage. "We want to see the new Independent Football Regulator succeed, so it's crucial that nothing undermines the regulator as it gets up and running. "Mr Kogan must give 110% when it comes to reassuring everyone in the game that he is his own man. The Committee looks forward to working with him constructively and holding him to account." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
