This is famously the case in the Meningitis Belt – which stretches across 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal to Ethiopia. Dust, high temperatures and low humidity throughout the dry season are thought to damage the back of the throat and give the bacteria a route into the body. This triggers regular epidemics.
Kasper Schmeichel has admitted his career might be over because of a serious shoulder injury.
The Celtic goalkeeper has been playing through the pain since hurting his left shoulder for Denmark last year and aggravated the problem against Stuttgart last month.
He has sat out the last five matches for Martin O’Neill’s side and was given the “devastating” diagnosis on a visit to a specialist on Monday.
Speaking to CBS Sports Golazo Network, Schmeichel said: “I’m going to need two surgeries now to fix my shoulder.
“It’s a bit of a body blow. I’ve torn the bicep, torn the rotator cuff, dislocated the shoulder, torn the labrum — everything’s kind of gone. It’s looking like 10-12 months of rehab.
“You don’t really know how to react to this. I could have potentially played my last ever football game. I’ve been a footballer since the day I was born. That kind of thought is devastating. It’s very, very hard to wrap my head around at the moment.”
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The 39-year-old followed in the footsteps of his father Peter, who was an integral part of Manchester United’s glory years, and his career has extended over two decades.
Schmeichel was a member of the Leicester side that won the Premier League in 2016 as well as the FA Cup five years later, moving on to Nice and Anderlecht before joining Celtic in the summer of 2024.
He will go under the knife for the first time on Friday, and he vowed to fight for his career through what will be a lengthy rehabilitation process.
“My mind is like, ‘OK, I’m going to give it absolutely everything I can to see if I can get back’,” he said.
“It would be probably one of the greatest feats of my career if I could get back from an injury like this. I’m going to fight, I’m going to try everything I can.”
WASHINGTON — The artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency industries spent big and lost often in this week’s Illinois primaries, an early setback for technology firms that are trying to reshape the midterm elections and establish themselves as power players in American politics.
The companies flooded the state’s Democratic primaries with millions of dollars to promote candidates they believed would have a light touch when it came to regulating technologies that have begun to upend how people do their jobs and manage their finances.
Using super PACs that are allowed to spend unlimited sums of money, they ran television advertising and distributed campaign fliers that only occasionally alluded to their industries. Instead, the messaging focused on promises to combat President Donald Trump’s administration and support liberal policies, a strategy used by other organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
But the coy strategy did not stop the AI and crypto industries’ interventions from becoming a lightning rod in the rowdy primaries in Illinois, where there was a rare glut of open seats that led to competitive races.
The crypto-backed political action committee Fairshake spent more than $10 million against Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who ultimately won the Democratic nomination to succeed Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
Fairshake and Protect Progress, which is also tied to the crypto industry, spent millions more to unsuccessfully support Stratton’s main rivals, U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
Neither Fairshake nor Protect Progress responded to requests for comment.
In Illinois’ U.S. House primaries, the tech-backed groups’ campaign spending had mixed results.
State Rep. La Shawn Ford, who had supported state legislation regulating the AI and crypto industries, won the Democratic primary to succeed U.S. Rep. Danny Davis. Fairshake spent nearly $2.5 million opposing Ford’s candidacy in a race that featured at least four other political groups spending against the progressive lawmaker or for his opponents.
Meanwhile, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller prevailed in the Democratic primary to succeed Kelly after Fairshake spent more than $800,000 against state Rep. Robert Peters, another progressive who supported legislation to regulate the crypto industry.
That race also saw the AI-backed spending at loggerheads.
The AI-backed Think Big PAC invested more than $1 million to boost the candidacy of Jesse Jackson Jr., a former congressman who pleaded guilty in a fraud scandal in 2013. But Jackson also faced about $1 million in negative campaign spending from the Jobs and Democracy PAC, another AI-backed group.
Neither PAC responded to requests for comment.
Think Big is a subsidiary of Leading the Future, a political group that is funded by major Silicon Valley executives, including the venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. Andreessen opposes federal regulations for AI and has been a staunch backer of the Republican president’s AI policies.
Jobs and Democracy PAC, by contrast, is funded by the AI company Anthropic, which favors some safety regulations on AI as the technology develops. Both PACs opposed progressive candidates who called for relatively heavy regulations on the technologies and higher taxes on wealthy Americans.
The late-stage infusions of cash into the Illinois races totaled almost $20 million across races and served as a declaration of both industries’ political ambitions, raising the stakes in primaries that were already hotly contested.
“Corporate money is being used to paint corporate-backed candidates as fearless progressives,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a political group that works to elect anti-corporate progressives.
“The question for the Democratic Party is whether we elect people who actually believe in these positions or will we elect milquetoast candidates who give lip service to these values but don’t back them in actual policy,” Green said.
Campaign finance experts and rank-and-file voters alike are still struggling with what to make of the technology industry’s political influence.
“They’re so new to the game that public opinion isn’t very well formed about them,” said Brian Gaines, a political science professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “You don’t get a clear signal for who is the progressive and who is the moderate on AI and crypto policies.”
“People are wary of the technology,” Gaines said, “but they don’t know what to think yet.”
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Maya Sweedler contributed to this report.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 elections at https://apnews.com/hub/elections.
Lawyers representing Waspi women are preparing to write to the Government challenging its decision not to offer compensation.
In January, women affected by the way changes to the state pension age were communicated were told for a second time they would not receive money.
Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi), which has long campaigned for compensation, said lawyers are set to raise “legal errors” with the Government and will give its lawyers 14 days to respond.
Campaigners suggested that they could take their battle to the High Court.
They argue the Government based its decision on the awareness of state pension age changes on a “narrow set of data”.
A report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has previously suggested compensation ranging between £1,000 and £2,950 could be appropriate for each of those affected by the way state pension changes had been communicated.
Waspi chairwoman Angela Madden said: “Women affected by the Government’s failures have waited long enough.
“If ministers will not listen to the independent ombudsman, their own MPs and millions of people across the country, we will make them listen in court.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said: “The Secretary of State set out the Government’s position in his oral statement to Parliament, including acceptance of maladministration and apology to the women affected.
“Our focus now is on delivering an action plan to implement lessons learned in how DWP communicates state pension matters going forward.”
Greene King, Britain’s second-largest pub group, is planning to sell up to 150 of its managed sites and convert another 150 into tenanted pubs.
This major shake-up of its estate comes amid soaring costs and a tougher trading climate.
The group is hiving off about 300 managed pubs into a new business division, with roughly half earmarked for sale.
Around 20 of its 1,500 managed pubs are also set to close, though the company noted this aligns with typical annual changes. Impacted staff will be offered jobs elsewhere within the business.
Greene King stated the overhaul is a response to a changing consumer and trading environment. The pub sector faces immense cost pressures from rising wage bills, increasing business rates, and a difficult consumer spending backdrop.
While the Government has announced a package of temporary support for pubs to offset business rate hikes, the industry has argued it does not go far enough.
Nick Mackenzie, chief executive of Greene King, said: “We are confident that our new pub estate strategy will set us up to deliver sustainable profitable growth for the long term as consumer habits continue to evolve and the operating environment remains dynamic.”
The firm plans to reinvest a “substantial” amount of cash raised from the sale of managed pubs into its remaining core estate.
It said: “In the meantime, the separate business unit will allow Greene King to run the sites on a simplified model, with a renewed focus on maximising financial returns.”
Greene King has around 2,500 pubs in total, including 1,000 that are leased, tenanted and under franchise.
At the beginning of the year, Rachel Reeves offered pubs a 15 per cent cut in business rate bills.
The support, which the Treasury has said is worth £1,650 for the average pub next year, came after warnings that a decision in the chancellor’s Budget to end the rate relief brought in during the Covid pandemic would lead to mass closures and job losses.
The Channelor has faced a backlash from Labour MPs, pub landlords and business owners over the “wholly inadequate” cut in business rates bills.
We’ve all been there: a bank account opened for a specific goal a decade ago, or a stocks and shares portfolio started on a whim…and then buried under a mountain of life’s more urgent admin.
While these accounts might be “out of sight, out of mind”, they shouldn’t be out of pocket.
In a financial landscape that has shifted dramatically by 2026, leaving your money in an outdated “zombie ISA” isn’t just a minor oversight, it’s a choice that could be costing you thousands in lost interest and unnecessary fees.
Zombie ISAs may sound a bit alarming, but they’re not quite as dramatic as the name suggests. They’re simply a savings or investment account opened a while ago and forgotten about.
The savings rate might have matured, so your money isn’t working as hard as it should be. Or that old stocks and shares ISA might have a much higher admin fee than more modern competitors.
It’s more common than you’d think. Life gets busy, and financial admin can slide down the to-do list.
But leaving an ISA to gather dust could mean you’re missing out on significantly better returns or paying far more in fees than you need to.
Over time, a zombie ISA can have a meaningful impact on your financial position. It’s essentially compounding in the wrong direction; money sitting in a matured cash ISA earning 1 per cent or less, when rates of around 4 per cent and above are available elsewhere, could be costing you hundreds of pounds a year on a modest balance.
Across five or ten years, that lost earnings gap grows into something significant.
The same logic applies to investments. Platform fees that once seemed reasonable may now look steep compared to newer, leaner alternatives and high costs are one of the most reliable drags on long-term investment returns. A difference of even 0.5 per cent in annual charges can add up.
The good news is that the ISA market has never been more competitive. Providers are actively working to win new customers, which means you have real leverage as a saver or investor. The tools to compare your options are freely available, and the switching process itself is designed to be painless.
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There have been a raft of fee cuts this year, and there are a few providers that offer accounts with no fees whatsoever. For example, the average cost of buying or selling a UK share online used to be around £7.50. These days that average cost has fallen to £4.95. And some places let you trade UK shares for free.
If you’ve got an account gathering dust, it’s worth investigating and considering a move. Your first port of call might be doing some research to find out the best rates out there. There are lots of competitive rates for your cash, the best of which are hovering above the 4.5 per cent rate.
Average stocks and shares ISA fees are also falling. The average admin fee for a £20,000 ISA invested in investment funds is 0.31 per cent, down from 0.36 per cent five years ago. A number of new names now offer fee-free ISAs as well. The total cost will vary, but as a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t be paying more than 1 per cent all-in (for both administration and investments). Boring Money reviews and compares over 40 leading providers so you can decide which works best for you.
Zombie ISAs exist largely because people assume switching is complicated, involving a lot of phone calls and paperwork, and want to avoid the faff.
In reality, it’s considerably more straightforward than most would expect. The process itself is mostly handled by your new provider – you will just need to give a few details, like your existing plan number.
But there is one critical rule to be aware of before you do anything: never move the money yourself.
Don’t sell your investments and transfer the cash, because once it leaves your ISA wrapper, you’ll lose its tax-free status permanently. Instead, let your new ISA provider do the hard work for you. They’ll move the whole lot without your money ever leaving the tax-free wrapper and crucially, you get to keep your annual £20,000 ISA allowance intact too.
Start with an audit of your accounts. Locate any ISAs you have open, particularly any ones you haven’t looked at in years. Check the current rate or performance and compare it with what’s available right now.
If you decide to move, the process is typically straightforward: choose your new provider, complete their transfer request form, and let them handle everything else.
Most ISA transfers are completed within 15 working days, and a good provider will keep you informed of how it’s getting on throughout the process. Service levels do vary so check out customer reviews of any providers.
So, if you have an ISA you haven’t thought about in a while, now is a good time to take a look. It doesn’t need to become a big project: a quick check of what you’re earning or paying, a comparison against what’s out there, and, if it makes sense, a simple transfer request is all it takes.
When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.
The Walt Disney Co. named parks chief Josh D’Amaro to succeed Bob Iger as CEO of the entertainment company.
D’Amaro, who currently oversees Disney’s theme parks and dozens of its resort hotels, will take the helm of the company on March 18, 2026, the company said Tuesday. He will lead a company with more than $90 billion in annual revenue and around 185,000 employees worldwide, at a time when it is struggling to attract foreign visitors to its theme parks.
The decision on Disney’s next CEO comes nearly four years after Iger returned to the company following the departure of his previous successor, Bob Chapek, after a period marked by clashes, missteps and weaker financial performance.
When he returned as CEO in 2022, Iger was tasked with cutting costs and restructuring Disney’s business to revive the company’s finances. Part of that effort included slashing 7,000 jobs in 2023, about 3% of the media and entertainment company’s global workforce.
“We won’t have the same drama we had last time, that I can assure you,” Disney Chairman James Gorman said Tuesday in an interview on CNBC.
Disney formed a succession planning committee in 2023 to explore and vet candidates to replace Iger.
In Tuesday’s statement, Iger said that D’Amaro has “an instinctive appreciation of the Disney brand, and a deep understanding of what resonates with our audiences.”
D’Amaro, 54, has held multiple roles at Disney since joining the company in 1998, including in finance, business strategy, marketing, creative development and operations.
D’Amaro served as president of Walt Disney World Resort before stepping in as chairman of Disney Experiences in 2020, spearheading efforts at the company’s theme parks, cruises and resorts division. He is also in charge of Disney’s licensing business, which includes its partnership with Epic Games.
In addition to D’Amaro’s appointment, Disney said Tuesday it is tapping Dana Walden, the co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, to serve as president and chief creative officer of Disney, effective March 18.
It is hoped Charles H Bennett and Gilles Brassard’s work will make digital communications secure for decades ahead.
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US President Donald Trump has temporarily waived the century-old Jones Act for 60 days in a bid to ease rising energy costs in the United States, after the US-Israeli war with Iran sent oil markets sharply higher and pushed up petrol prices.As per news agency AFP, the move allows foreign-flagged ships to transport cargo between US ports during the waiver period, temporarily setting aside a long-standing restriction under the 1920 law.
The White House framed the decision as an emergency step to soften the economic fallout from the conflict.“This is just another step to mitigate the short-term disruptions to the oil market as the US military continues meeting the objectives of Operation Epic Fury,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.Leavitt was referring to the joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran launched on February 28.“This action will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertiliser and coal to flow freely to US ports for sixty days,” she added.She also said the administration “remains committed to continuing to strengthen our critical supply chains.”
The Jones Act was originally designed to protect the US shipping and shipbuilding industry by requiring goods moved between American ports to be carried on US-built and US-flagged vessels.Critics have long argued that the law restricts competition and raises transport costs, especially during supply shocks.By temporarily lifting that rule, the administration hopes to make it easier and cheaper to move key energy and industrial commodities across the country at a time when supply chains are under pressure.The White House announced the 60-day waiver separately as part of a wider effort to contain soaring oil prices, with the law often blamed for making fuel more expensive.
According to AAA motor group data cited by AFP, US gasoline prices have climbed by more than 27 per cent since the war began.The spike comes as global oil markets have been rattled by the conflict.Oil prices surged again on Wednesday after Israeli strikes hit facilities linked to Iran’s South Pars/North Dome gas field, the world’s largest known gas reserve and a site that supplies roughly 70 per cent of Iran’s domestic natural gas.Brent crude rose more than five per cent to $108.60 a barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate gained 1.9 per cent to $98.01.Pressure on prices has intensified after Iran halted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil normally passes.
The Jones Act waiver came alongside another major energy move by the Trump administration.The US treasury on Wednesday also eased sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA, allowing US companies to buy Venezuelan oil under certain restrictions in an effort to increase global supply during the Iran war.That licence does not fully remove sanctions but it reopens access for US firms that existed before January 29, 2025, while ensuring payments go into a US-controlled account rather than directly to sanctioned Venezuelan entities.Taken together, the steps underline how aggressively the White House is trying to counter the war’s impact on fuel prices and energy security.
Elevators are an essential part of high-rise buildings. Most buildings ensure high safety standards while installing lifts; however, we keep hearing about mishaps. While on many occasions the lift company or the builder is held responsible for the mishaps, on many occasions it may be due to human errors as well. Lifts transport you to great heights, and they are machines and can develop a snag any time, and hence it is important that one should exercise extreme caution while using the elevators. Without proper understanding, even minor errors such as rushing in and playing with buttons and doors can result in injury. That’s why it’s vital for parents to teach their kids a few basic safety habits when it comes to elevators. Umang Bansal, Chairman, Polo Elevators, shared some vital safety tips that adults should follow and also teach children while using a lift.Elevators are machines, not toysKids are curious, especially when they see something that moves or has buttons that can be pressed. An elevator can become a fun ride to a kid. However, it is important to teach kids that an elevator is not a place to play. A good starting point in teaching kids about the appropriate use of an elevator is to explain to them that an elevator is a machine that is meant to transport people safely from one floor to another. Even though it is fun to jump and play inside an elevator, it is not good for the proper functioning of the elevator and can even become dangerous to others.Teach basic elevator etiquetteElevator manners are just as important as safety. One of the first things children should learn is to let people exit before entering.When the door opens, kids often run towards the door because of their excitement. This can cause accidents such as bumping or falling or even hitting someone at the door. It is essential for kids to learn how to step back and allow other people to come out before stepping into the lift.Watch your step when entering or exitingParents can encourage their kids to look down briefly before stepping into or out of the elevator. There may be instances where the floor of the elevator does not perfectly match the floor of the building, and kids may trip if they hurry into or out of the elevator without looking. It is also important to ensure that loose laces, loose backpacks, or long clothes do not hang too close to the narrow opening near the floor. It is important to encourage kids to slow down a bit and look around before proceeding to prevent any type of injury.
Press only the buttons you needButtons are often the most exciting part of the elevator ride for kids. But pressing every button on the panel can cause unnecessary stops and confusion for other passengers. Children should learn the simple rule of pressing only the button for their floor. Parents can also point out that some buttons—like alarm or emergency buttons—are meant strictly for real emergencies.Keep hands and feet away from the doorsElevator doors move quickly and automatically. Even though modern elevators have sensors, they may not always detect smaller children. Kids should be taught to stand clear of the doors and never try to stop them from closing with their hands, feet, or bags. Touching or leaning against the doors while they are opening or closing can lead to fingers getting pinched or stuck.No jumping or leaning inside the elevatorThere are times when kids make the elevator a tiny moving playroom, jumping a little, leaning on the door, or even hanging on the handrails. It may look innocent or playful, but it may pose a safety problem. Jumping may affect the balance of the elevator, while leaning on the door or the handrails may cause the kids to slip or fall. It would be best to teach kids to stand properly while the elevator is moving and hold the railing lightly if they need support.What to do in an emergencyAlthough elevator breakdowns are rare, people should still know how to respond calmly if one happens. There are safety features in elevators and that help is available. In case of a sudden stop, one should not push all the buttons and use the help button only when it’s necessary. Elevators are designed to remain secure and that there is always enough air inside while people wait for assistance.Supervise younger childrenYoung children should be accompanied by an adult when taking the elevator. It is important to have a parent or a guardian around kids to ensure they are following the basic safety procedures while in the elevator. In case of any unusual occurrence, the adult can be there to help the kids understand what to do. It also becomes a good opportunity for parents to teach children basic safety lessons while using the elevator.Making elevator safety a daily habitElevators are a part of our everyday lives, whether it’s our apartment building, office, mall, or hotel. Though elevators are very safe, it’s always a good idea to educate kids about some simple safety habits to avoid any unwanted incidents in elevators. With a little supervision, kids can learn the right habits about operating elevators, provided the right example is set by their parents.
