UiTV Connect

Star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo ended the year by winning the best men's player at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards here. Ronaldo did not win the Ballon d'Or this year, finishing behind Lionel Messi who bagged it for the record sixth time and Liverpool's Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk. But the 34-year-old, widely regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation, got his fourth successive prize at the awards after helping his club Juventus claim the 2018-19 Serie A title in his first season in Italy while also playing a key role in Portugal winning the Nations League. "Honoured to receive one more time Globe Soccer Award! A very emotional moment for me to share this award with my family. Grateful for all the hospitality, see you soon Dubai!" he tweeted. England international Lucy Bronze was awarded the best women's player of the year, while Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was named the best manager. Read More:  https://www.uitvconnect.com/newspaper

Catastrophic bushfires destroyed some 100 houses in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) over the weekend, with one small town described by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian as "all but wiped out". Particularly hard hit was the iconic Blue Mountains west of Sydney, reports Xinhua news agency. Berejiklian toured impacted communities on Monday, taking toll of the damage which followed a weekend of highly adverse firefighting conditions including searing temperatures and strong winds. NSW Rural Fire Service deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers told reporters that while accurate numbers were yet to be established, an estimated 100 homes had been lost to the fires since Friday. Southwest of Sydney, the small town of Balmoral was reported to have lost 18 homes, while roughly 90 per cent of its surrounding bushland was turned to ash. "We've got the devastating news there's not much left in the town of Balmoral," Berejiklian said. She described the experience

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal has been voted the winner of ATP's Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for a second straight year and third time overall. Nadal was honored with the 2019 ATP Tour No. 1 trophy during the ATP Finals. Andy Murray, who underwent hip surgery in January, was selected as the Comeback Player of the Year after successfully returning to win the Fever-Tree Championships doubles title at The Queen's Club and the singles title at the European Open in Antwerp. Swiss master Roger Federer won the Fans' Favourite Award for a record-extending 17th straight year, along with American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, who won for the 14th time. Italy's Matteo Berrettini took home Most Improved Player of the Year after climbing to a career-high No. 8 and qualifying for the ATP Finals. His 18-year-old compatriot Jannik Sinner climbed from outside the top 700 to a career-high No. 78 and took the Next Gen ATP Finals title, earning him the Newcomer of the Year award. Re

  A self-confessed Chinese spy, who has fled to Australia, has stirred Taiwan's presidential election campaign after he claimed that China was directly interfering in the island nations' politics. Wang Liqiang, 26, has claimed that he was assigned to meddle in the election as China's intelligence agencies were trying to disrupt democracy, not only in Taiwan but also in Hong Kong, an allegation dismissed by China's Taiwan Affairs Office as "nonsense", reports Efe news. In a TV interview in Australia aired on November 23, Wang claimed that he worked for China Innovation Investment Limited (CIIL), which acted on behalf of Chinese intelligence. He said he took orders from Xiang Xin, the CIIL CEO, and was asked to influence the campaign of the anti-China Democratic Progressive Party and Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to sabotage her re-election. Read More:  https://www.uitvconnect.com/newspaper/china-directly-interfering-taiwan-presidential-polls-spy

US President Donald Trump warned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that the he would lose "everything" if he acts in a "hostile" manner, a statement that came shortly after Pyongyang announced that it had carried out a test linked to its ballistic missile programme. "Kim Jong-un is too smart and has far too much to lose, everything actually, if he acts in a hostile way," Efe news reported citing Trump as saying in a series of tweets on Sunday. "He signed a strong Denuclearization Agreement with me in Singapore," Trump continued, referring to the joint declaration in which the two leaders promised to work toward the full denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Read More:  https://www.uitvconnect.com/newspaper/donald-trump-warns-kim-jong-un-losing-everything-if-he-takes-hostile-action

A 14-year-old boy has been held for allegedly raping a minor girl aged six in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur district. The incident took place in Gola on Saturday evening when the victim was playing outside her house. The boy offered her chocolates and took her to the roof of his house where he sexually assaulted her. Read More:  https://www.uitvconnect.com/newspaper/14-year-old-boy-held-raping-minor