George Baldock's family confirm soccer player drowned while swimming

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George Baldock's family confirm soccer player drowned while swimming

2024-10-11 17:51 Last Updated At：18:00

George Baldock, the Greece international soccer player who was found dead at his home in Athens on Wednesday, drowned while swimming in his pool, his family said.

Greek police said this week there was no initial indication the death of the 31-year-old former Premier League player was suspicious.

“We are heartbroken with the sudden passing of our beloved George. We can confirm that a post-mortem examination has found that George tragically drowned whilst swimming in the pool at his home in Glyfada, Athens,” Baldock's family said in a statement issued to The Associated Press.

The family said the Panathinaikos defender, who was born in Britain, had been due to return to the U.K. on Thursday to celebrate his baby son's first birthday.

“George, you were the most special father, fiance, son, brother, uncle, friend, teammate and person. Your enthusiasm and infectious personality brought so much love to those that were fortunate enough to know you and those that adored you from the stands,” the family said. “We will forever cherish the special memories we have of you and you will continue to live on in your beautiful son."

Baldock was of Greek heritage and played 12 matches for the national team.

He joined Sheffield United in 2017 and helped the club earn promotion to the Premier League twice, in 2019 and 2023. He joined Panathinaikos in May, on a three-year contract, after Sheffield United was relegated to England’s second division.

“As a family it has been incredibly touching, but equally so very difficult to read the huge number of tributes written by those that knew George and from those whose life he touched. It was impossible not to love him,” his family said. “We ask that you please continue to respect our privacy at this devastating time as we begin to process our grief.”

There was a period of silence in tribute to the right back ahead of Thursday's game in the Nations League between England and Greece at Wembley Stadium. Greece won 2-1.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Japanese organization of atomic bombing survivors Nihon Hidankyo

2024-10-11 17:58 Last Updated At：18:00

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization of survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for its activism against nuclear weapons.

Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the award was made as the “taboo against the use of nuclear weapon is under pressure.”

He said the Nobel committee “wishes to honor all survivors who, despite physical suffering and painful memories, have chosen to use their costly experience to cultivate hope and engagement for peace.”

Hidankyo chairperson Tomoyuki Mimaki, who was standing by at the Hiroshima City Hall for the announcement, cheered and teared up when he received the news.

“Is it really true? Unbelievable!” Mimaki screamed.

Efforts to eradicate nuclear weapons have been honored in the past by the Nobel committee. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons won the peace prize in 2017, and in 1995 Joseph Rotblat and the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs won for “their efforts to diminish the part played by nuclear arms in international politics and, in the longer run, to eliminate such arms.”

This year's prize was awarded against a backdrop of devastating conflicts raging in the world, notably in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan.

“It is very clear that threats of using nuclear weapons are putting pressure on the important international norm, the taboo of using nuclear weapons,” Watne Frydnes said in response to a question on whether the rhetoric from Russia surrounding nuclear weapons in its invasion of Ukraine had influenced this year's decision.

“And therefore it is alarming to see how threats of use is also damaging this norm. To uphold an international strong taboo against the use is crucial for all of humanity,” he added.

Alfred Nobel stated in his will that the peace prize should be awarded for "the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

Last year’s prize went to jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi for her advocacy of women’s rights and democracy, and against the death penalty. The Nobel committee said it also was a recognition of “the hundreds of thousands of people” who demonstrated against “Iran’s theocratic regime’s policies of discrimination and oppression targeting women.”

In a year of conflict, there had been some speculation before the announcement that the Norwegian Nobel Committee that decides on the winner would opt not to award a prize at all this year.

The Nobel prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million). Unlike the other Nobel prizes that are selected and announced in Stockholm, founder Alfred Nobel decreed the peace prize be decided and awarded in Oslo by the five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee.

The Nobel season ends Monday with the announcement of the winner of the economics prize, formally known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands, and Becatoros from Athens, Greece. Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Lori Hinnant in Paris and Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Poland, contributed.