The Los Angeles Lakers centre Andrew Bynum, right, drives against the Atlanta Hawks centre Al Horford.
The Los Angeles Lakers centre Andrew Bynum, right, drives against the Atlanta Hawks centre Al Horford.

Lakers red-hot run continues as Hawks become eighth win



ATLANTA // The red-hot Los Angeles Lakers produced another scintillating performance to beat Atlanta 101-87 and record their eighth successive win.

Kobe Bryant netted 26 points to move into sixth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list, Andrew Bynum had another strong performance inside with 16 points and 16 rebounds as the Lakers again looked like the team that won the last two NBA titles.

Following a three-game losing streak just before the All-Star break, Los Angeles (46-19) have rediscovered top form and had some impressive performances including Sunday's 99-83 rout of the NBA-best San Antonio Spurs.

The Lakers opened up a 22-point lead over Atlanta in the third quarter then put the game away after the home team cut the deficit to eight.

Al Horford finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks (37-27), who lost their third in a row.

Meanwhile, George Karl, the Denver Nuggets head coach, who missed part of last season battling throat and neck cancer, has agreed to a three-year contract extension, the NBA team confirm.

Karl's contract extension had been put on the back burner as the team dealt with the trade of Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks.

But with the Anthony move completed, the Nuggets moved quickly to lock up Karl, who has led Denver to the play-offs each of his six seasons in charge and in December became just the seventh NBA coach to record 1,000 regular season wins.

"I've always said Denver is the place I want to end my career," Karl said on the official NBA website.

"This puts me one step closer to achieving that goal. "The Kroenkes (the Nuggets owners) have been great throughout this entire process. They've been very supportive of me as a coach and during my battle with cancer.

"I'm excited for the remainder of the season and look forward to making another play-off run."

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face

The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.

The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran. 

Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf. 

"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said. 

Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer. 

The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy. 

 

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

The specs
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Biography

Her family: She has four sons, aged 29, 27, 25 and 24 and is a grandmother-of-nine

Favourite book: Flashes of Thought by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid

Favourite drink: Water

Her hobbies: Reading and volunteer work

Favourite music: Classical music

Her motto: I don't wait, I initiate

 

 

 

 

 

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The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5