Hotel review: ‘This is never going to be the coolest hotel in Dublin, but that's not a bad thing'
On the day I visit Buswells, the street outside is cordoned off and filled with protesters and gardaí, alongside passersby frustrated at the blockade. When I step inside, teachers and politicians are gathering for a lobby day, and among them all, a confused looking American tourist stands, suitcase in hand, wondering what they've just walked into.
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Time of India
39 minutes ago
- Time of India
MLC 2025: Faf du Plessis on why cricket's American dream is just getting started
Faf du Plessis slammed a 51-ball century for Texas Super Kings against San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket. (Sportzpics) For Faf du Plessis , captain of the Texas Super Kings, cricket in the United States isn't just another T20 franchise gig — it's a chance to witness and shape the game's evolution in a country with untapped potential. Now in his third season of Major League Cricket (MLC) - all three coming for Texas Super King - the South African star sees clear signs of progress. "I think what we've seen, from year one to year two, the domestic cricketers, the quality has improved a lot. And that's in any league around the world. If you create enough opportunity, people do rise to the top," said the 40-year-old to "So I think, yeah, if you fast forward this league, I think in 10 years time from now, it'll be exciting to see what American cricket can do." Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! "Initially in year one, it was just playing in a different country, new wickets where we haven't played on. The surfaces in year one were a little bit tricky and by the time we got to year two, it was better." Major League Cricket 2025 Explained: Teams, Schedule & Where to Watch "So playing in those conditions, you're just trying to use your experience to problem solve when you get out there and see what's the best way possible to succeed," he added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Novi ortopedski sandali za moške poletje 2025. Fiippy KUPITE ZDAJ Undo And du Plessis has used his experience brilliantly so far. In four matches, he's scored 133 runs including a 51-ball century against the San Francisco Unicorns. He's also left a mark with a one-handed catch . On the leadership front, Texas Super Kings are second in the points table as of June 21 with three wins out of four played. Their only has come against the yet unbeaten Unicorns. Having spent seven years with the Chennai Super Kings - sister concern of the TSK - du Plessis brings a wealth of leadership experience to Texas, working closely with coach Stephen Fleming — a partnership built on trust and friendship. 'There's synergy in our personalities. We've had consistency across franchises, and that carries through in Texas too.' Leading a diverse team of international and American cricketers, du Plessis stresses the importance of relationship-building. "I think wherever you play or captain, it's about understanding the culture of the different guys that are there. So the most important thing is spending time with people and getting to know them better so that you build relationships. And through relationships, you build trust. And trust is really important when it comes to the cricket field," he explained on leading the TSK in MLC. Game On Season 1 kicks off with Sakshi Malik's inspiring story. Watch Episode 1 here
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
California will do anything to protect immigrants — except build them housing
Over the past several weeks, hundreds of thousands of Californians have taken to the streets to protest the Trump administration's increasingly authoritarian efforts to deport the state's undocumented population. There's a moral imperative behind these protests; the vast majority of the people being targeted by federal agents are law-abiding workers with no criminal records. There's a practical one, too: This state cannot function without its migrant workers, particularly our agricultural sector. It isn't just that undocumented workers will accept lower wages than their American counterparts. Farming is hard, skilled labor. Absent changes to federal immigration policy that would allow and incentivize more migrants to come here legally, California doesn't have the trained workforce it needs to feed itself and the nation. (We accounted for 41% of the country's vegetable sales in 2022.) And so, Californians and our politicians have rightly gone to battle with President Donald Trump. Yet as supportive as this editorial board is of these efforts, we'd be remiss if we didn't call something out: This state needs to become as passionate about housing our essential workers as it is about fighting Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It's been just over two and a half years since the deadly shootings in Half Moon Bay put the Dickensian living conditions of California's farmworkers — the vast majority of whom are undocumented — on the national radar. For decades, California had allowed its migrant workers to live in overcrowded, mold-filled housing with bacteria-ridden drinking water. That's if it housed them at all. What's changed? Not nearly enough, according to San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller, whose district includes the site of the 2023 massacre. Building housing on farmland in his district has proven to be a logistical challenge amid drainage issues, sewage concerns and access to drinkable water. Yet trying to build worker housing off-site hits an even more intractable roadblock. 'The coastal community is, by a large majority, supportive of farmworkers,' he said. 'The opposition you run into is around density.' San Mateo County is hardly unique in this regard. In Marin County, for instance, an effort to build housing for the workers, many undocumented, being displaced by the closure of ranches in the Point Reyes National Seashore has been met with a lawsuit by NIMBY groups. This is, of course, unacceptable. And yet, state and local rules still too often empower obstructionism. Mueller said the arduous progress San Mateo County has made in building farmworker housing was mostly achieved using emergency powers that streamlined the usual permitting processes. 'The state was wonderful in getting our project moving,' Mueller said. 'We just need to do that at scale across the state.' We're nowhere close. In 2024, California lawmakers passed a measure to exempt farmworker housing up to 150 units from review under the California Environmental Quality Act. However, this streamlining applied to only two counties: Santa Clara and Santa Cruz. A bill in the state Legislature, AB457 from Assembly Member Esmerelda Soria, D-Merced, would expand those streamlining measures to Fresno, Madera and Merced counties. Over 40% of the state's land is used for agriculture. We're never going to get anywhere with a drip-drop of county-by-county CEQA carve-outs. Assembly Member Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael, told the editorial board he'd be supportive of an effort to expand CEQA streamlining to his district and perhaps even statewide. But even that wouldn't be enough, Mueller said. For many Bay Area farming communities, the California Coastal Commission has its own separate and arduous permitting process. Without streamlining bills to cover this and CEQA, little progress will be made. And now an even greater challenge comes from the Trump administration. Farmworker-specific housing makes easy pickings for federal raids. Mueller says he fears his efforts to build new farmworker housing may have inadvertently 'put a target on the back' of the people he's spent years trying to help. This fear isn't theoretical. Gov. Gavin Newsom's office recently issued a press release saying that federal deportation authorities requested and received the addresses and immigration status of Medi-Cal recipients after the state expanded health insurance benefits to low-income undocumented workers. Tailored government efforts for the undocumented risk creating a paper trail that puts them in danger. 'It is clear that we must reassess our programs to ensure we are doing all we can to protect the personal information of our community,' incoming state Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, told the editorial board. We don't have the answer to this quandary on the health care front. But California can do something for migrant workers as it relates to housing — something Limón and too many other California politicians have been reluctant to do. Make it easier to build. AB457 is an admission from legislators that CEQA creates onerous and unnecessary impediments to development. Yet housing streamlining bills such as SB79 from San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener, which would exempt developments near transit from CEQA review, provided they comply with local affordable housing mandates and other criteria, are receiving immense political pushback. Undocumented renters in California have virtually the same rights as everyone else in the private rental market under the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act. And landlords are prohibited from disclosing, or typically even asking about, immigration status. But without an adequate housing supply, those protections go to waste. Can most undocumented workers afford to buy a shiny new condo? Almost certainly not. But they could potentially move into older units that open up when other renters decide to buy. And they certainly could benefit from the development of new mother-in-law units — such as those that might have been built had cities like San Diego not just rolled back their accessory dwelling unit laws in the face of community opposition. If California is willing to fight the federal government to keep its undocumented residents here, it should also be willing to fight to ensure they don't live in squalor.
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Thunderstruck: After heat, Club World Cup weathers storms and threat of lightning
From stifling heat to thunderstorms, the Club World Cup has been at the mercy of the extremes of the American summer. The threat of lightning has forced players to retreat to the tunnels and fans to seek shelter as matches are suddenly halted. While soaring temperatures and oppressive humidity initially fuelled concerns among players and fans, crackling skies and pouring rain have emerged as the tournament's most disruptive forces. Friday's match in Orlando between Benfica and Auckland City was suspended after half-time for nearly two hours due to a lightning storm in the area. At the same venue on Tuesday, fans had barely settled into their seats when the referee ordered Ulsan HD and Mamelodi Sundowns to return to the dressing rooms. The match was delayed for more than an hour due to the threat of lightning. Cincinnati witnessed an even longer interruption when a severe thunderstorm suspended Red Bull Salzburg's clash with Pachuca for more than 90 minutes. Palmeiras and Al Ahly saw their contest in New Jersey halted for 50 minutes due to lightning near MetLife Stadium. "Your attention, please. For your safety, we are going to have everyone leave the seating bowl area and take shelter inside the stadium because of severe weather in the area," said a safety message flashed on the big screens in the arena. "Event staff are available to guide and assist you. Those on the field, please walk calmly to the nearest tunnel... or to the service corridor." THREAT OF LIGHTNING Heavy rain is often the X-factor for the home side on a cold, wet night in Stoke — which lends itself to the famous English football cliché — but the same cannot be said in the United States. According to the country's National Weather Service (NWS), 75% of lightning-related deaths in the last decade occurred from June to August. Meteorological challenges are nothing new, but with the combination of sweltering humidity followed by electrical storms, the simple yet stark warning from the NWS rings particularly true: "When thunder roars, go indoors!" Tournament organisers FIFA have weather protocols in place to ensure the safety of those on the pitch and in the stands. If there is lightning within 10 miles (16.09km) of the stadium, an automatic match suspension is triggered. The match director is informed, who in turn asks the referee to stop play. The storm is monitored before players are called back out, with the warm-up time before the restart dictated by the time they spent off the pitch. Fans are also asked to leave the stands and find shelter in the concourse. One source said the stadiums had the capacity to keep them inside until the storm passed.
