It will be a great time to be a free agent in the NHL again.On Friday, the NHL and NHLPA sent a memo to teams predicting the yearly salary cap will increase significantly over the next three seasons, per The Athletic’s Chris Johnston.The memo detailed an 8.5 percent increase from this year’s $88M cap to $95.5M for the 2025-26 season, followed by a slightly higher bump to $104M in 2026-27. The plan also forecasts a nine percent increase to $113.5M in 2027-28. The NHL salary cap has remained relatively stagnant since the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the 2019-20 season.It remained locked…
Author: THE CONNECTING NEWSPAPER
Bill calling for tougher rules on migration widely criticised for undermining ‘firewall’ against working with the far right.The German parliament has narrowly rejected a bill to restrict immigration proposed by the opposition conservatives with the support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), averting the prospect of a law passing for the first time in modern German history thanks to the backing of the far right. On Friday, after an unusually heated debate delayed by long and unsuccessful negotiations on a compromise between mainstream parties, the bill was rejected by 350 votes to 338, with five abstentions. Germany is set…
Former “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd is leaving NBC News after nearly 18 years at the network. Todd said in a memo to NBC News colleagues that Friday was his last day. He’ll continue doing his podcast and said he’s considering new projects, but offered no details. “The media has a lot of work to do to win back the trust of viewers/listeners/readers and I’m convinced the best place to start is from the bottom up. At my core, I’m an entrepreneur — I spent my first 15 years professionally working for the company that started the political newsletter…
By Reshmi Theckethil, Lead Portfolio, Climate Action, Disaster Risk Reduction, Energy, and Resilience | Sahel Resilience Project Manager, UNDP Sub-Regional Hub for West and Central Africa (www.UNDP.org). Imagine a Sahel region where every household, school, and hospital has access to clean, affordable energy—where renewable power not only serves homes but also drives economic transformation. Given the region’s rich solar, wind, and hydro resources, this vision is achievable. With one of the highest potential for solar energy production globally, at 13.9 billion kWh/year compared to the global consumption of 20 billion kWh/year, the Sahel’s renewable energy capacity remains underutilised. Currently, over…
The UEFA Champions League draw for the Round of 16 play-offs, also known as the knockout phase play-offs, have been concluded with these teams paired against each other in a knockout phase.This new format which was recently introduced will feature the teams that finished between 9th and 24th in the league phase, competing in a two-legged knockout phase play-off to secure their spot in the Round of 16.How does the new Champions League Round of 16 format work?The teams that finished between 9th and 16th will be seeded and face a team that finished between 17th and 24th. The seeded…
They became a potent symbol of Israel’s hostage crisis after video from the Hamas-led 2023 attack showed Palestinian militants leading away a distraught mother clutching her two small red-haired sons. Another video showed the father of the same family being spirited away to Gaza on a motorcycle, his head bloodied.On Friday, Hamas said the 35-year-old father, Yarden Bibas, will be one of three male hostages to be freed on Saturday.Israelis are still anxiously awaiting word of his wife, Shiri, and their two children, Ariel, now 5, and Kfir, who was 9 months old at the time of his capture —…
Prior to Thursday’s NBA games, the 2025 NBA All-Star Game reserves were announced live on the TNT pregame show, “Inside the NBA.”As is the case every season with the All-Star Game, fans and media have their opinions on players whom they believe were snubbed out of an appearance. So here are the four biggest snubs from the 2025 All-Star game:LaMelo Ball In what has been the best season of his career so far, Ball was not an All-Star selection. He averages 28.2 points per game, good for fourth-best in the NBA. That is more points than any reserve selected from the…
Political scientist John Mearsheimer argues that Trump can’t ethnically cleanse Gaza or resolve the Ukraine War.Despite the rhetoric, US President Donald Trump will not be able to ethnically cleanse Gaza nor resolve the Ukraine war, argues University of Chicago political scientist John Mearsheimer. Mearsheimer tells host Steve Clemons that Arab governments fear “the risk of being overthrown by their populations” should they bend to Trump’s desire to “clean out” the Palestinian people in Gaza. On Ukraine, Mearsheimer predicts a “frozen conflict” without a peace treaty, and warns that Trump should stop “slapping around” US allies if he wants their cooperation…
Action by the Trump administration to cancel protected immigration status for people from Venezuela has migrants — and the city workers assigned to help them — grappling for any possible path forward. At the bustling NYC Asylum Seeker Application Help Center in Hell’s Kitchen on Wednesday, three Venezuelans seeking help with renewing Temporary Protected Status under a Biden administration extension issued shortly before President Donald Trump’s inauguration.Each described a dramatically different experience. One was told to wait 15 days and see where the final details of Trump’s rollback land, another was told to come back next week to seek a new…
The seven candidates running to become the next President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are hoping that with their 15-minute presentations at the Olympic House on Thursday, 30 January, they have been able to convince the IOC membership of their capabilities to lead the biggest sports organisation in the world. Although they were unable to read the room during the in-camera meeting, especially as their audience was barred from asking questions, the candidates appeared satisfied with their campaign pitches. BEHIND CLOSED DOORS There will be no other opportunities for presentations before the election scheduled for 20 March in Greece.…