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Grenoble, France – U.S. national champion Amber Glenn took the honors in the women’s short program at the ISU Grand Prix final in Grenoble on Thursday while German skaters Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin edged ahead in the pairs. Glenn, 25, who won both her Grand Prix events in Angers, France and China this campaign, scored 70.04 points for her routine to Janet Jackson’s “This Time” to take a slender lead over Mone Chiba, who collected 69.33. Chiba is one of five Japanese skaters chasing Glenn, including Kaori Sakamoto, the three-time reigning world champion who is unbeaten this season. Japan’s Mone Chiba performs during the women’s short program. | Reuters Sakamoto posted 63.98 to leave her in fourth with some ground to make up in Saturday’s free program. Hase and Volodin are in an equally tight competition in the pairs, just 0.45 points ahead of Japan’s former world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, returning from injury, after the pairs short program. The German pair, who took bronze behind the Japanese at the worlds last year, scored 76.72, for their performance to Tami Wilson’s “You Were Mine.” Defending champions Miura and Kihara, world champions in 2023, scored 76.27 after their program to the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black.” World champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada withdrew before the competition due to illness. Georgian pair Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava are third with 72.26 on the opening day of the elite six-team competition. Source link

The Paris Olympics were the most followed Games in television and social media history, the International Olympic Committee said Thursday. “The Olympic Games Paris 2024 were the most followed Olympic Games ever,” IOC president Thomas Bach told reporters at the end of an executive board meeting in Lausanne. “84% of the potential audience — that means around 5 billion people around the globe — followed these Olympic Games.” Bach added: “Every viewer watched, on average, nine hours of coverage, a 20% increase on the previous Games.” In the home market of France, 95% of the potential audience watched an average of 24 hours of coverage of the Olympics. “Engagement with the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on social media went, literally, through the roof,” Bach said. “There were 412 billion engagements, an incredible 290% increase on the previous edition of the Games.” Bach said that Paris 2024 had “demonstrated the unprecedented global appeal of the Olympic Games.” “Audiences are following and interacting with the Olympic Games like never before.” “The independent surveys also demonstrate that people believe that the Olympic Movement’s mission to unite the world in peaceful competition is more important than ever in a divided world; and that the Olympic values truly resonate with younger generations. “These were Olympic Games of a new era.” The brand tracker, broadcast research, and consumer and athlete surveys were conducted by Nielsen, Ipsos and Publicis Sport & Entertainment. Across all consumer studies a total of more than 55,000 people in 18 countries were surveyed, with all respondents between the ages of 13 and 65, according to the IOC. Source link

A 43-year-old man who is believed to be one of the members operating the anonymous Z-Ri account on social media platform X, which has over 900,000 followers, was arrested alongside nine others Thursday for allegedly assaulting a male security guard at a club in Tokyo. Tokyo police arrested 43-year-old company executive Masanori Taki — already indicted for a separate home invasion — along with nine other individuals on suspicion of forcibly entering the Tokyo club and assaulting the man in his 20s. Police have not disclosed whether the suspects have confessed to the charges. Z-Ri, a pun on the name of the kung-fu actor Jet Li, is an influential account that posts about the inner workings of Japan’s underworld. It is operated by multiple individuals, and Taki is believed to be one of them, according to investigators. The suspects are accused of entering a club in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward around 2 a.m. on Dec. 17 last year, beating and kicking the security guard over a period of several hours. A hip-hop group performing live at the time was in conflict with a rapper who was also among those arrested, according to police. The rapper and his entourage entered the club’s VIP room under false names and were ordered to leave by the facility staff. After reentering, they were warned off by the security guard. Investigators believe they then assaulted the guard as a group. Taki was previously arrested in November on suspicion of breaking into a man’s home in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo. Z-Ri is known for exposing behind-the-scenes details on celebrities. Police suspect its operators are an example of the criminal groups called tokuryū that work anonymously and fluidly via social media. Source link

Tensions between Formula One champion Max Verstappen and fellow driver George Russell are heating up ahead of Sunday’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Addressing ESPN and a few other media outlets Thursday, Russell alleged that Verstappen threatened to “purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and ‘put me on my (expletive) head in the wall,’” ahead of last week’s race in Qatar. The Mercedes driver was responding to comments made by Red Bull’s Verstappen in the stewards’ room after an incident during last week’s qualifying. Verstappen lost his pole position after receiving a one-place grid penalty for blocking Russell during qualifying. Source link

While in English you tend to add words when you want to be polite — would you mind, possibly, please, thank you — Japanese has a whole other language for hierarchy, 敬語 (keigo). 日本では敬語が大切だと考える人は多いです (Nihon de wa keigo ga taisetsu da to kangaeru hito wa ōi desu, In Japan, there are many people who think honorific language is important). In fact, in a 国語に関する世論調査 (kokugo ni kan suru yoron chōsa, public opinion survey on language) put out by the government last year, to the question 「言葉遣いにどのように気を使っているか」 (Kotoba-zukai ni dono yō ni ki o tsukatte-iru ka, How do you pay attention to language use?), 82.9% of people replied, 「改まった場で、ふさわしい言葉遣いをする」 (Aratamatta ba de, fusawashii kotoba-zukai o suru, In formal settings, [I try to] use appropriate language). That said, there are still many Japanese people who lack confidence in using 敬語 properly. In the 2022 edition of the same government survey, 59.5% of people felt that 「改まった場で、ふさわしい言葉遣いができていないことが多い」 (Aratamatta ba de, fusawashii kotoba-zukai ga dekite-inai koto ga ōi, In formal settings, [I] often cannot use the appropriate language). If you only look at people in their 30s, this number rises to 67.5%. Source link

The largest intergenerational wealth transfer in U.S. history is about to take place — though the vast majority of Americans are unlikely to inherit much money at all. About $105 trillion is projected to be passed down from older generations over the next quarter century, according to research firm Cerulli Associates, an amount roughly equal to global gross domestic product in 2023. Rising stock markets and home prices, as well as inflation, have fattened the estates that members of the baby boom generation, born between 1946 and 1964, are expected to leave their heirs. The latest inheritance projection by Cerulli is 45% higher than the 25-year forecast the firm made only three years ago. U.S. gifts and inheritances are expected to total $2.5 trillion next year alone. Source link

Syria’s army has ceded control of the city of Hama to advancing rebel forces, increasing the threat posed to President Bashar al-Assad’s hold on power. Hama lies about halfway between Aleppo, which opposition fighters captured in a shock attack on government-held territory last week, and Damascus. Next on the road south is Homs, which if captured would potentially cut the Syrian capital off from the main land route to the Mediterranean coast. The Syrian military said it redeployed outside Hama after opposition groups entered the center of the city, “despite suffering heavy losses,” according to a statement cited by the Sana news agency on Thursday. The military “will continue to carry out its national duty in reclaiming the areas entered by terrorist organizations,” it said. Source link

As spring training opened in February, Yu Darvish expressed both disappointment and understanding regarding two big additions to the National League West. It had been two months since the Los Angeles Dodgers landed Shohei Ohtani with a record-shattering commitment. Another Japanese star, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, had followed Ohtani to Los Angeles by agreeing to the largest contract for a pitcher in MLB history. Darvish’s San Diego Padres, meanwhile, had slashed their payroll by close to nine figures. “Frankly speaking, it would have been nice if they came here, if they were my teammates,” Darvish said from the Padres’ complex in Peoria, Arizona. “But I’m happy for them. They’re in a very good organization.” Darvish went on to explain that he had not attempted to persuade Ohtani or Yamamoto to sign with San Diego. He also suggested that if the Padres’ financial situation were different, he would have been happy to try. Source link

The average budget for trips in Japan during the upcoming year-end and New Year holiday period is estimated to hit a record high for the second straight year, a survey by travel agency JTB showed Thursday. The increase reflects soaring accommodation costs and growing demand for travel to distant destinations, the company said. The average budget for domestic trips is estimated at ¥43,000 ($286) per person, up ¥2,000 from a year before. The number of people planning to travel domestically came to 28 million, almost unchanged year on year. Soaring prices are weighing on appetite for trips to some extent, although the coming holiday period makes up to nine consecutive days off, from Dec. 28 through Jan. 5, possible. The number of people planning to travel overseas is projected to jump 13% to 520,000, still only 62.9% of the fiscal 2019 level, before the COVID-19 pandemic, amid overseas inflation and a weak yen. The average travel budget per person stands at ¥273,000. Source link

The leader of South Korea’s ruling party said President Yoon Suk Yeol should be suspended from office quickly, an abrupt shift in stance that makes it more likely an impeachment motion will pass. Han Dong-hoon said at a party meeting Friday that he confirmed from credible evidence that Yoon ordered the arrest of key politicians on the night he declared martial law. Keeping the president in office risks putting the nation’s people in danger, Han said. “I said yesterday that I would try to prevent passage of the impeachment to avoid damage to the people and supporters that would be caused by unprepared chaos,” Han said in remarks in parliament broadcast live. “But considering the newly revealed facts, I believe that a swift suspension of Yoon’s duties is necessary to protect the people of the Republic of Korea.” Source link