Latest news with #2021
Daily Record
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Callum McGregor senses Celtic Champions League history as he reveals key message heading into £40m showdown
The Hoops are just 180 minutes away from qualifying for the Champions League group stages for a fourth year on the spin Celtic stand on the brink of Champions League history. Never before have the club qualified for the group stages in four consecutive years. Now, with only Kairat Almaty standing in their way of a place among Europe's elite, another £40million windfall is on the line. There's absolutely no doubt in Callum McGregor's mind that the Hoops belong on the biggest stage. The skipper has racked up more than a century of European appearances under four different managers. From the highs of going toe-to-toe with Man City and Atletico Madrid, to the lows of losing to CFJ Cluj and Ferencvaros, it's been a rollercoaster. But after reaching the knockouts last season, only to suffer a sucker punch with the final kick of the ball in Munich, McGregor is convinced this group can go further - starting tonight. He said: 'I think so, I think obviously we've proved it. Certainly towards the latter half of last season's campaign. 'But to be considered a good team you have to keep doing it, you can't just do it once, you need to keep doing it, keep proving that you're good at the level. 'Hopefully, the lads will have felt that over the last 12 months and will arrive into thisgame with the belief that we can get through the tie and be in there proper again. 'We need to do a lot right but I believe when we defend properly and we're aggressive in the game, then we're a good side and we can give everybody a game.' Just about everyone of a green and white persuasion would've bitten your hand off for a crack at the Kazakhs. Almaty are novices at this level, with just one group-stage appearance in their history - the 2021/22 Conference League. McGregor knows the Hoops go in as heavy favourites. But there's no way he - or Brendan Rodgers - will allow them to take it lightly. He said: 'That's the message. I think pretty much everyone will have us as their favourites. 'So we have to then go and play like that and show the desire and the hunger to get to the league phase, and if we do that and we do everything right, then we have a good chance. 'But you don't want to leave it to chance, you want to perform well, perform strongly and like I said, ultimately over the two legs, progress and get there.' Alongside Kieran Tierney and James Forrest, McGregor is one of three survivors from the side that survived a chaotic playoff second leg in Kazakhstan in 2017. After blowing away Astana 5-0 at Parkhead, the Hoops were cruising - until the Astana raced into a 4-1 lead. Late goals from Olivier Ntcham and Leigh Griffiths settled the nerves. McGregor is mentally prepared for another crazy 180 minutes. He said: 'I think everyone's reference point is probably the last game that we went to Kazakhstan. 'Obviously we started really strong, you get 5-0 up and then you've got a few scary moments in the second half in the second game. 'So that's probably everyone's thought, that you might blow them away tomorrow and then it's going to be difficult. 'But like I said, it's a different group of players, it's a different team. 'We just have to make sure that we try and minimise the chaos in the game as much as we can, try and edge the game in our favour and then over the two legs, we do enough to get through. 'We don't want to have those scary moments; we want to be in control of the game.' Celtic emerged from last season's league-phase campaign unbeaten at home, with three wins and a draw lifting them to 21st in the rankings. That restored some continental pride after heavy defeats in recent years against Sparta Prague, Bodo/Glimt and Bayer Leverkusen. McGregor, once a ballboy as Gordon Strachan's side stunned Manchester United and AC Milan, is determined to make Celtic Park a fortress again. He said: 'Yeah and that's it, I think we've spoken about this for a while that we have to get Celtic Park back to being a really difficult place for teams to come in Europe. 'We've managed to do that, so tomorrow night we have to bring the same intensity, the same tempo to the game and make it a really uncomfortable night for them as well.' Domestically, Celtic have lifted trophies for fun, but Europe has been less kind. McGregor believes this team are learning how to adapt their game from running the show in the Premiership to facing Europe's top sides. He added: 'I think in that sense it's a step up, you're playing against really top teams that are going deep into the competition. 'So of course that looks like it's the marker. But I think the marker for us being a good team has been able to adapt to all the different competitions. 'Be dominant in the league, play a certain way, when you come to Europe can you adapt slightly? Show a wee bit more tactical understanding in the games. 'Cup games, you have to be aggressive, go and beat people again. 'So it's actually showing the different sides to your team which makes you a good team. 'It's not necessarily can you perform at the highest level, and then you forget about the domestic stuff because that then gives you a problem as well. 'The only reason you get to European football is by being dominant domestically as well. 'I think the biggest thing for me is that we show in all the competitions the right attitude and the right quality and the right understanding for the games.'
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
UGC bans open and distance learning in healthcare, allied courses from current academic year
MUMBAI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed all higher education institutions (HEIs) to stop offering programmes in healthcare and allied disciplines through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) or online mode from the July-August 2025 academic session. The order follows the recommendations of the 24th Distance Education Bureau Working Group meeting that was held on April 22 this year and was approved at the UGC's 592nd meeting on July 23. Representative pic (Getty Images/iStockphoto) The ban applies to courses under the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021. These include Psychology, Microbiology, Food and Nutrition Science, Biotechnology, Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics. According to the circular, institutions that already have the recognition to run these programmes will see it withdrawn by UGC. Colleges and universities have also been instructed not to admit students to such programmes from the 2025-26 academic session onwards. In cases where a programme offers multiple specialisations, such as a bachelor's degree in arts with majors in English, Hindi, History, Political Science, Philosophy, Sociology or Psychology, only the healthcare-related specialisation will be discontinued. Other non-healthcare subjects under the same degree will remain unaffected. The decision comes amid concerns over quality standards in professional training. Former Professor and head of the Psychology Department of the University of Mumbai, Satishchandra, said, 'The demand for psychology has gone up in recent years, leading to many private and public institutions offering it. But in several parts of the country, they have failed to maintain the quality of education. This decision will help check such practices.' Supporting the move, Vivek Belhekar, head of the Psychology Department at the MU, said, 'This is a welcome step that will benefit society at large. Clinical psychology requires rigorous practical training. As per the guidelines of the Rehabilitation Council of India, we need a 2:1 student-teacher ratio. Such training is not possible in the distance learning mode.' However, he also pointed to the challenge of limited seats available across the country. 'Considering the rising demand for clinical psychology, the UGC or the apex body must come up with a solution that allows public universities to expand opportunities, possibly through a structured online model,' he added.
Washington Post
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Washington Post
PGA Tour returns to Maryland course that will be more challenging this time
The PGA Tour returns to Maryland: Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills will host the BMW Championship beginning Thursday. The course has changed extensively since the tournament last came to Caves Valley in 2021, when the winning score was a whopping 27 under par. The changes — part of a renovation done over 100 days in 2023 — are meant to make the course more challenging.
Filipino Times
13-08-2025
- Politics
- Filipino Times
Abu Dhabi establishes labor prosecution to handle worker and domestic cases
Chairman of Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, has issued a resolution creating the Abu Dhabi Labor Prosecution to oversee investigations and claims involving labor and domestic worker cases. The move is part of the judicial department's efforts to expand specialized prosecution units to ensure faster, more efficient proceedings and deliver accurate, fair judgments in key sectors, while safeguarding the rights of all parties in line with transparency and justice standards. The new prosecution office will have jurisdiction over offences under Federal Law No. 33 of 2021 on the regulation of work relations and Federal Law No. 9 of 2022 on domestic workers within Abu Dhabi. It will be led by a public prosecution member with a rank of at least chief prosecutor, supported by additional prosecution members and specialized staff.
Forbes
12-08-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Ether Surpasses $4,300 As ‘Confluence' Of Factors Extends Recent Gains
Ether prices extended their recent gains on Monday, August 11, rising above $4,300 and reaching their highest value since late 2021, as the digital currency benefited from a combination of factors. Greg Magadini, director of derivatives for digital asset data provider Amberdata, spoke to this development, stating via email that 'There isn't one clear catalyst for today's continued rally but instead a confluence of themes.' 'We can see from the YTD perp funding differential between ETH and BTC, that ETH was an under positioned crypto all year as the sentiment for ETH was poor (due to foundation infighting, EIP-1559 being undermined by transactions being isolated away from the main chain and instead executed on L2, and the lack of staking rewards for traditional investors),' he continued. The analyst elaborated on these statements, emphasizing how much ether's position has changed lately. 'Recently everything has shifted. We have liquid staking being recognized as non-securities, ETF applications for staking reward distribution and the largest blockchain dev cohort being found on EVM chains (especially ETH), with the popularity of stablecoin momentum being found on ETH and EVM chains and the regulatory clarity being settled recently the investor community now finds itself under-invested in the crypto/web3 tech-play, ETH,' said Magadini. Doug Colkitt, a founding contributor at Fogo, also spoke to how several variables worked together to fuel ether's recent upside movement. 'ETH's breakout above $4,300 looks like the classic confluence of fundamentals and positioning,' he stated. 'On the fundamentals side, traders are pricing in accelerated ETH demand from the growth of liquid staking, L2 activity, and tokenization pilots going live on mainnet,' Colkitt continued. 'Add to that a wave of ETF optimism after the SEC's recent guidance on crypto ETPs, and you've got real narrative fuel.' 'On the positioning side, perp funding rates have been elevated but stable, suggesting the rally isn't purely a short squeeze—there's real spot buying coming through. That spot bid is being amplified by thinner order books on major venues, so even modest inflows can push price higher," he added. The analyst also offered a bullish prediction for the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by total market value, stating that 'If ETH holds above this $4,200–$4,300 range, momentum traders will likely pile in, setting the stage for a run at the $4,500 resistance." The YouTuber who goes by Wendy O weighed in on this matter, highlighting several bullish variables that could explain ether's recent gains. 'I think there is a lot of interest in crypto, and with the Trump EO allowing trillions 'locked in 401ks,' it could have been a major driver," she stated via emailed commentary. 'Also there are many more Ethereum Treasury companies as opposed to altcoin treasury companies in the USA,' she added. 'This is really big news in the non crypto space and it could be pushing non native crypto enthusiasts to invest in ETH or the ETH spot ETFs.' Have the crypto markets entered a so-called alt season? They apparently have, according to expert Tim Enneking, who defines this period as 'the 'season' (a period of time that historically has run from a couple of months to up to a year) during which 'everything but Bitcoin' moves up.' 'The whole crypto world has been waiting with no patience at all for the 'alt season' to begin,' Enneking, managing partner of Psalion, wrote via emailed commentary. 'The timing of the ETH move appears to be almost wholly due to that: once a bit of an upward move started, everyone jumped on the bandwagon screaming 'Finally, enough is enough' and bought it up. There wasn't really a major catalyst for the move; call it an 'impatience rally'!' he added. Wendy O also commented on this matter, stating that 'It seems that Ethereum is leading the altcoin charge in several key areas.' 'Primarily, it is the only altcoin that has a Spot ETF in the USA,' she noted. 'In the past, we have seen Ethereum lead the charge for altcoins as one of the first runners,' Wendy O emphasized, clarifying that it was one of the 'First of all coins to pump.'
