France’s winning streak continues — but New York City is creepin’. Paris, France, is on a roll, keeping the No. 1 spot as the best city in the world, according to Euromonitor International’s Top 100 City Destinations ranking. And it’s perhaps no surprise that NYC landed in the top spot for American cities in the world but No. 6 overall. The city that never sleeps moved up a few slots compared to 2022 when it landed at No. 10. The London-based market research company cited Paris for its “unmatched global dominance in 2024,” most notably due to tourism from “a wide array of sporting events it hosted throughout the year, including the Summer Olympic Games.” Following Paris’ high rating comes Madrid (2), Tokyo (3), Rome (4) and Milan (5). But the opposite end kicks off with Cairo in 100th place, followed by Chinese city Zhuhai in 99th and Jerusalem in 98th. Only eight other US cities made the list besides NYC, including Los Angeles (18), Las Vegas (23), Orlando (33), Miami (33) and San Francisco (36). Euromonitor International determines a city’s ranking by analyzing economic and business performance, tourism performance, tourism infrastructure, tourism policy and attractiveness, health and safety, and sustainability. The 2024 report also revealed that global international arrivals had increased by 19%, “which was driven by strong tourism demand.” Out of all the continents, Europe is the most popular region for travelers, reaching a whopping 793 million international visitors within the year. However, the city most visited by international arrivals is Bangkok with 32 million. “The city surpassed pre-pandemic level of international tourism flows in 2023 and continued dynamic growth of over 30% in 2024,” Euromonitor International said. Other destinations that experienced high international arrivals include Istanbul (2) with a 14% increase, London (3) with a 7% uptick, Hong Kong (4) with a 19% jump and Mecca (5) with a 20% bump. “Despite positive recovery projections, challenges like labor shortages, geopolitical tensions and a sluggish economy will persist, limiting city growth,” said Nadejda Popova, global head of loyalty at Euromonitor International. She explained how less traveled destinations expect a rise in popularity because travelers seek locations with hidden gems that are not oversaturated with tourism. “Consumers will prioritize culturally enriching, personalized experiences, making them the new travel currency,” Popova added. THE WORLD’S TOP 100 CITIES 2024 1. Paris 2. Madrid 3. Tokyo 4. Rome 5. Milan 6. New York 7. Amsterdam 8. Sydney 9. Singapore 10. Barcelona 11. Taipei 12. Seoul 13. London 14. Dubai 15. Berlin 16. Osaka 17. Bangkok 18. Los Angeles 19. Istanbul 20. Melbourne 21. Hong Kong 22. Munich 23. Las Vegas 24. Florence 25. Prague 26. Dublin 27. Kyoto 28. Vienna 29. Lisbon 30. Venice 31. Kuala Lumpur 32. Athens 33. Orlando 34. Toronto 35. Miami 36. San Francisco 37. Shanghai 38. Frankfurt am Main 39. Copenhagen 40. Zurich 41. Washington 42. Pattaya-Chonburi 43. Vancouver 44. Stockholm 45. Mexico City 46. Oslo 47. São Paulo 48. Phuket 49. Helsinki 50. Brussels 51. Budapest 52. Guangzhou 53. Nice 54. Palma de Mallorca 55. Honolulu 56. Beijing 57. Warsaw 58. Seville 59. Valencia 60. Shenzhen 61. Doha 62. Abu Dhabi 63. Antalya 64. Fukuoka 65. Sapporo 66. Busan 67. Macau 68. Edinburgh 69. Montreal 70. Cancún 71. Bologna 72. Rhodes 73. Verona 74. Delhi 75. Porto 76. Ho Chi Minh City 77. Buenos Aires 78. Marne-La-Vallée 79. Rio de Janeiro 80. Kraków 81. Heraklion 82. Johor Bahru 83. Hanoi 84. Tel Aviv 85. Sharjah 86. Thessaloniki 87. Lima 88. Medina 89. Tbilisi 90. Riyadh 91. Tallinn 92. Marrakech 93. Mecca 94. Denpasar 95. Punta Cana 96. Santiago 97. Vilnius 98. Jerusalem 99. Zhuhai 100. Cairo Originally published as World’s best cities list for 2024 shows Sydney at number eight spot, as Melbourne sits at 20
Budget Blinds Announces Strategic Changes to Executive Leadership Team
BOSTON — Megan Keller scored two goals in the third period, Susanna Tapani added a goal and an assist and the Boston Fleet beat the New York Sirens 4-2 on Sunday night. Keller picked up a loose puck and flicked a wrist-shot into the net to make it 3-2 and give Boston (1-0-0-2) the lead for good 1:07 into the third period. The 28-year-old added a long-range goal to cap the scoring with 2:01 to play. Aerin Frankel made 25 saves for Boston. Tapani scored 7:31 into the game, Paetyn Levis answered with her first career goal with 5:59 left in the first period and Sydney Bard's power-play goal with 43 seconds remaining gave Boston a 2-1 lead going into the second. Abby Roque scored at 4:50 of the second period for New York to tie it at 2. Takeaways Sirens: New York must find some scoring pop behind Alex Carpenter and 2024 No. 1 overall draft pick Sarah Fillier, who were each held in check. Fleet: Boston, which lost to Minnesota in the PWHL Finals, was opportunistic offensively to spark what had been a sputtering unit. Key moment After a scrum in the corner early in the third period, the puck squirted out from a pack of players and slid to a wide-open Keller, who calmly netted the go-ahead goal for the Fleet. Key stat Carpenter and Fillier, who combined to score five goals with four assists in back-to-back wins to open the season for the Sirens, were goalless with an assist apiece. Up next Boston hosts the Ottawa Charge on Dec. 18. New York plays its home opener on Dec. 18 against the Toronto Sceptres.
The 2024 season hasn’t finished. There are still conference championship games to play, an expanded College Football Playoff to look forward to and bowl season in the near future. However, the first important date for the 2025 season is here. “Signing day is the fourth, portal opens on the ninth,” coach Jedd Fisch said on Nov. 25. "I'm sure there's going to be a ton of discussions, and at that point in time we can really visit what it's going to look like in the future, what's the 2025 calendar year going to look like and what's this team going to look like moving forward." Fisch and the Huskies will have their first chance to sign high school recruits for the 2025 season when the three-day early signing period begins on Wednesday. Washington currently holds commitments from 28 high school football players from across the country, and 247Sports composite ratings ranks UW’s 2025 recruiting class No. 19 nationally. UW has 16 offensive recruits, 11 defensive prospects and one specialist committed. California is home to 11 of them, five are from Washington, three from Oregon, two from Arizona, while Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, North Dakota and Texas each have one representative. The Division I Council previously voted to eliminate the 25-player limit on football recruiting classes on Oct. 4, 2023. The limit was initially suspended for two years starting in 2021 because of questions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course, this signing period is almost three weeks earlier than its past iterations. The Collegiate Commissioners Association, which oversees and administers the National Letter of Intent program, announced the change back in March. The early signing period was initially introduced in 2017. Moving the early signing period forward helped reduce the stress of an overcrowded December recruiting calendar. During the past few seasons, the early signing period and the transfer portal overlapped. This year, however, the early signing period will end on Friday, while the portal won’t officially open until Dec. 9. New dates aren’t the only changes to the early signing period. In October, the NCAA Division I Council announced the elimination of the NLI program, which was first established in 1964. Instead, high school recruits will sign aid agreements on Wednesday, which serve a similar purpose. The agreements bind players to their chosen school unless they officially enter the transfer portal, while also prohibiting recruitment communications with other programs. They also may contain contracts for revenue sharing, which the House v. NCAA settlement allows starting next season. Fifth-year linebacker Carson Bruener and junior running back Jonah Coleman earned third-team All-Big Ten honors when the conference announced its end-of-season awards on Tuesday. Bruener was a consensus selection by the coaches and the media. The Woodinville native and UW captain has 93 tackles, two tackles for a loss, a forced fumble, three interceptions, and five pass breakups during his final season in purple and gold. Bruener was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention in 2023. Coleman, who was chosen by the media, has 1,011 yards on 184 carries and 10 touchdowns in his debut season with Washington. He’s averaging 5.5 yards per attempt and 84.3 rushing yards per game. Coleman, who was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention at Arizona in 2023, also has 22 catches for 170 yards. The Big Ten coaches chose Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson instead of Coleman for the third-team running back spot, choosing the Washington running back as an honorable mention instead. Additionally, sophomore wide receiver Denzel Boston was a consensus All-Big Ten honorable mention. The coaches also selected senior tight end Keleki Latu, sixth-year linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala, senior defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez and senior cornerback Thaddeus Dixon as All-Big Ten honorable mentions. Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel was named the conference’s offensive player of the year, while Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter was the defensive player of the year. Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith earned freshman of the year honors while Indiana’s Curt Cignetti was named coach of the year by both the coaches and the media. Washington endured its second transfer portal defection on Tuesday, as junior edge rusher Maurice Heims announced he will depart the team after four years on Montlake. “Thank you for making the last four years here some of the best of my life,” Heims wrote in a post on his social media accounts. Heims, a 6-foot-5, 263-pound pass rusher from Hamburg, Germany, played in 30 games at Washington after arriving before the 2021 season. He registered nine tackles, two tackles for a loss and one sack. Heims was mostly a special-teams player this season. He has one season of eligibility remaining. “As a kid from Hamburg, Germany that was completely new to this beautiful sport and this city, you have made every moment amazing,” Heims wrote. “Whether win or loss, y’all have always had our back and you are what makes this place truly special.”Week 15 of 2024 college football season features nine games, and Athlon Sports is back with predictions and picks for every contest. The 15th full weekend of the '24 season starts on Friday night with three games. Western Kentucky plays at Jacksonville State for the Conference USA Championship, along with UNLV playing at Boise State for the Mountain West title game. Army hosts Tulane for the American Athletic Conference Championship in the final matchup on Friday night. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback.
Belarus seeks to copy neighboring Russia's repressive LGBTQ+ policies, activists say4 easy, comforting bean dishes for fallRaphinha scores 2 and Barcelona ends Spanish league slump with 5-1 rout of Mallorca
HyperRing Releases Payment Ring with International Support"By investing in the right tools, multifamily property owners and managers can help ensure that their residents have access to the best-managed pools and hot tubs possible." - Richard Lindhorn Post this However, 58.29% of respondents remain concerned about chlorine levels and bacteria in the water, demonstrating a lingering worry despite an otherwise positive sentiment. "It's clear that pools and hot tubs are highly valued amenities at apartment and condo complexes," said Richard Lindhorn, vice president of marketing and corporate development for VivoAquatics. "At VivoAquatics, we encourage multifamily property owners and managers to invest in proactive water management to help maintain high-quality pools, hot tubs and other water features year-round. While it's fantastic to see that so many people are satisfied with the cleanliness and maintenance of their property's pools and hot tubs, owners and managers can take this one step further by implementing technological tools that will allow them to conveniently monitor pH levels, chlorine levels and more in real time." This is where VivoAquatics comes in. With its innovative technology, properties... VivoAquatics
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Trump says he can't guarantee tariffs won't raise US prices and won't rule out revenge prosecutions WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump says he can’t guarantee his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won’t raise prices for American consumers. And he's suggesting once more that some political rivals and federal officials who pursued legal cases against him should be imprisoned. The president-elect made the comments in a wide-ranging interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday. He also touched on monetary policy, immigration, abortion and health care, and U.S. involvement in Ukraine, Israel and elsewhere. Trump often mixed declarative statements with caveats, at one point cautioning “things do change.” Europe's economy needs help. Political chaos in France and Germany means it may be slower in coming BRUSSELS (AP) — Europe's economy has enough difficulties, from tepid growth to trade tensions with the U.S. Dealing with those woes is only getting harder due to the political chaos in the two biggest European countries, France and Germany. Neither has a government backed by a functioning majority, and France could take a while yet to sort things out. But some problems aren't going to wait, such as what to do about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's America First stance on trade and how to fund stronger defense against Putin's Russia. ‘Moana 2’ cruises to another record weekend and $600 million globally “Moana 2” remains at the top of the box office in its second weekend in theaters as it pulled in another record haul. According to studio estimates Sunday, the animated Disney film added $52 million, bringing its domestic total to $300 million. That surpasses the take for the original “Moana” and brings the sequel's global tally to a staggering $600 million. It also puts the film in this year's top five at the box office. “Wicked” came in second place for the weekend with $34.9 million and “Gladiator II” was third with $12.5 million. The 10th anniversary re-release of Christopher Nolan's “Interstellar” also earned an impressive $4.4 million even though it played in only 165 theaters. Federal appeals court upholds law requiring sale or ban of TikTok in the US A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok as soon as next month, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the law - which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — is constitutional, rebuffing TikTok’s challenge that the statute ran afoul of the First Amendment and unfairly targeted the platform. TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court. Executive of Tyler Perry Studios dies when plane he was piloting crashes in Florida ATLANTA (AP) — The president of Atlanta-based Tyler Perry Studios has died when the small plane he was piloting crashed on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The studio confirmed on Saturday that Steve Mensch, its 62-year-old president and general manager, had died Friday. The crash happened in Homosassa, about 60 miles north of Tampa. Photos from the scene show the plane having come to rest upside down on a road. Mensch helped advocate for Georgia’s film tax credit of more than $1 billion a year. Perry hired Mensch to run his namesake studio in 2016. Mensch died as Perry released his war drama, “The Six Triple Eight." The film was shot at the Atlanta studio. US added a strong 227,000 jobs in November in bounce-back from October slowdown WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s job market rebounded in November, adding 227,000 workers in a solid recovery from the previous month, when the effects of strikes and hurricanes had sharply diminished employers’ payrolls. Last month’s hiring growth was up considerably from a meager gain of 36,000 jobs in October. The government also revised up its estimate of job growth in September and October by a combined 56,000. Friday’s report also showed that the unemployment rate ticked up from 4.1% in October to a still-low 4.2%. The November data provided the latest evidence that the U.S. job market remains durable even though it has lost significant momentum from the 2021-2023 hiring boom, when the economy was rebounding from the pandemic recession. Stock market today: Wall Street hits more records following a just-right jobs report NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to records after data suggested the job market remains solid enough to keep the economy going, but not so strong that it raises immediate worries about inflation. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, just enough top the all-time high set on Wednesday, as it closed a third straight winning week in what looks to be one of its best years since the 2000 dot-com bust. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.8% to set its own record. Treasury yields eased after the jobs report showed stronger hiring than expected but also an uptick in the unemployment rate. Killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO spotlights complex challenge companies face in protecting top brass NEW YORK (AP) — In an era when online anger and social tensions are increasingly directed at the businesses consumers count on, Meta last year spent $24.4 million to surround CEO Mark Zuckerberg with security. But the fatal shooting this week of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson while walking alone on a New York City sidewalk has put a spotlight on the widely varied approaches companies take to protect their leaders against threats. And experts say the task of evaluating threats against executives and taking action to protect them is getting more difficult. One of the primary worries are loners whose rantings online are fed by others who are like-minded. It’s up to corporate security analysts to decide what represents a real threat. Days after gunman killed UnitedHealthcare's CEO, police push to ID him and FBI offers reward NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly four days after the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, police still do not know the gunman’s name or whereabouts or have a motive for the killing. But they have made some progress in their investigation into Wednesday's killing of the leader of the largest U.S. health insurer, including that the gunman likely left New York City on a bus soon after fleeing the scene. The also found that the gunman left something behind: a backpack that was discovered in Central Park. Police are working with the FBI, which on Friday night announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. USDA orders nationwide testing of milk for bird flu to halt the virus The U.S. government has ordered testing of the nation’s milk supply for bird flu to better monitor the spread of the virus in dairy cows. The Agriculture Department on Friday said raw or unpasteurized milk from dairy farms and processors nationwide must be tested on request starting Dec. 16. Testing will begin in six states — California, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi, Oregon and Pennsylvania. The move is aimed at eliminating the virus, which has infected more than 700 dairy herds in 15 states.
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos remaster has been delayedThe Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) International will hold its next global conference in Sri Lanka next year. Its leadership team consisting of President Chief Tete Owusu Nortey and Secretary General Sharon Kindleysides, were in Sri Lanka recently to look at preparations, as the organisation takes a long-term view to grow the global logistics and transport industry to new heights. Speaking to the Daily FT, CILT International President Chaminda Hulangamuwa said, they are pleased with preparations and the potential Sri Lanka offers to the conference participants, adding it would be an ample opportunity for the island nation to showcase capacities to the global shipping trade. Over 300 foreign delegates from all over the world are expected to participate at the forum. Hulangamuwa underscored the opportunity to showcase Sri Lanka, which has the 22nd busiest port in the world. He noted this is a good image-building exercise for the country, as the world could witness how the country serves as a centre in the logistics business. “The previous convention was held in China, and Sri Lanka won the opportunity to host the next global conference as part of an open bid. This will be a great networking and knowledge sharing session, which is also good for our tourism and economic aspects. The shipping community knows us as a fantastic shipping location, and now the supply chain will have a chance to see us and understand our expertise even better,” Hulangamuwa said. The CILT Sri Lanka President’s comments were supported by the Secretary General of CILT International, who noted Sri Lanka sits in a pivotal part of the world handling 85% transshipment cargo with plenty of experience in the region. She stated that if a land bridge to India were to happen the transport and logistics sector in Sri Lanka would “just explode” to unprecedented proportions, and lay the foundation for other infrastructure expansions. Commenting on the future and expansion of the port, Kindleysides added greater adoption of automation and digital systems will change the nature of the workforce, and turnarounds would become much faster. “One more boat coming in during the week can make a huge difference to things. So, building or expanding the port must be done with that in mind.” She explored possibilities with autonomous cranes, which are already operational in India, and develop people with necessary skills in data analytics to boost the industry over the next five to ten years. “There’s no one size fits all. So, we need to prioritize based on our strengths and vision. With automation you can even get women into the business,” Kindleysides averred. The Secretary General of CILT also pointed to the benefits of getting freight off roads and into trains, whereby they become far more predictable with the added benefit of loading more containers onto a train as opposed to lorries. Commenting on ongoing efforts to decarbonize the shipping industry she pointed to difficulties in the maritime sector and procuring new ships is expensive business. However, Kindleysides enthused at the prospect of new propulsion systems and said this is a global concern that will need addressing. Commenting on Sri Lankan operations, the CILT Sri Lanka President said his agency is working tirelessly to elevate the country’s position on the Logistics Performance Index, where Sri Lanka is ranked 73rd despite being the 22nd busiest port in the world. Hulangamuwa said Sri Lanka has good infrastructure to support its logistics requirements, but the issue lies with Customs. “Even India is ranked higher than us. We have good infrastructure in the port, an airport that is not bad and a transport system that works. Customs present the problem. Our Customs ordinance is very old, and people have been talking of a new ordinance but that is facing challenges. We must have zero tolerance on corruption, not only by the government and its bureaucrats but even users. Prior to 2020, no one wanted to do electronic order processing no matter how much we tried. We were pushing for online transfers and they wouldn’t accept that. Thanks to COVID-19 we were able to do it. Now everyone is using electronic delivery orders, and about 75% of transfers happen online. So, if all of this continues, we could improve our ranking. The challenges for Sri Lanka to grow are minimal as long as we don›t have any unforeseen challenges be it economic, political or otherwise,” he said. Hulangamuwa added Sri Lanka is not cheap when it comes to labour, and despite the push towards automation there is also reluctance due concerns over job loss. However, he points out that automation will also create avenues for new jobs and these changes will come to the Colombo Port as well. He noted the Colombo Port even has women crane drivers, which is a focus area for CILT International. CILT International President Chief Tete said: “As a global organisation, we want more women in the industry. Women can be the software where men act as hardware. At CILT, we focus so much on educating and empowering women to get in through the systems. We want to make sure when we leave, the next generation will be ready to take up the industry and that women are a big part of it. We are purposefully empowering women and making sure everyone is empowered.” His views were echoed by Kindleysides who said: “We are very aware of promoting younger diverse female talent. In Malawi we had very young mothers engaging with us. What we are saying is; have you thought of logistics? Putting women into buses is something I’m involved in the UK. We are looking at the design of the cab, the lorry or the bus to see how we can encourage them to take up jobs. To see how we can create safe and empowering spaces for them. We have developed mentoring schemes. Each country has their own challenges in this area. In the UK we have about 10% of women in logistics but in Malaysia there is a huge number involved in comparison. This is an area we are looking to grow.” Kindleysides added CILT is looking to expand its educational offering with syllabuses to expand awareness and appreciation of the logistics industry, also demonstrating how they could grow public transport. CILT is making case studies of the best examples and “professionalise this profession”. There is special emphasis on data analytics, and the body is sponsoring discussion on what the future will or can be. “There are no boundaries really. I recommend young people to get into it. There are jobs pretty much forever. Up to 13% of the world’s population work in the supply chain and it should be higher. We see a lot more interest in what the supply chain is all about. People realized after the pandemic and the war they had not thought about enough where things come from. Consumers are also becoming impatient, they expect it to be there when they want to. Society is becoming everything just in time. Logisticians need to look at big data and try to second guess what’s going to happen, but things are fairly unpredictable,” Kindleysides added. Speaking on his vision for CILT International and the industry at large, Chief Tete said empowering women is a key task, alongside education and awareness to prepare the next generation of logisticians. CILT is making itself more visible, and is increasingly touching every aspect of its value chain. Commenting on Ghana and the growth of Africa, Tete said Africa is booming and many countries are looking at a free trade control area to reduce bottlenecks for trade. “Sometimes you have to go out of Africa to come back to another African country. We don’t have enough local flights. So, we are looking at changing that to a network and presenting ourselves as one. We are a global village and at CILT we want to make things much easier. We want to do the right things to help the industry grow and ensure seamless movement of goods and people within and between countries. I want to make the industry well known, where youngsters will think about jobs in logistics and transports. I want it to be aspirational.”