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Giannis ‘not close to being satisfied’ as Bucks eye repeat

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Giannis Antetokounmpo says he feels fine as he prepares for the Milwaukee Bucks’ title defense, but will be careful with the left knee that he hyperextended during the championship run.

Antetokounmpo missed the final two games of the Eastern Conference finals after hurting his knee before returning to earn MVP honors in the NBA Finals. He scored 50 points in a title-clinching Game 6 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

“I’m good to go,” Antetokounmpo said earlier this week. “But if I feel like I’m in pain again or whatever the case might be, I have to listen to my body. When you feel pain, it’s your body telling you that it’s protecting you, that you can’t go anymore. I’ve played through pain. I don’t think now is the time to risk that. It’s too early in the season.

“But at the end of the day, I feel good physically, mentally. I’ll do whatever I have to do to be 100 percent.”

The two-time MVP says he still has plenty of incentive even after leading the Bucks to their first championship since 1971.

“Are we satisfied?” Antetokounmpo asked. “I’m not satisfied. I’m not even close to being satisfied. That’s the tone we’ve got to set as a team. And as a leader of this team, that’s the tone that I’m going to set. We understand that teams are coming for us, but we’re going to be ready.”

Milwaukee won that title by continually responding to adversity.

The Bucks rallied from 2-0 deficits in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Brooklyn and the NBA Finals against Phoenix. They responded after losing Game 1 at home to Atlanta in the Eastern Conference finals.

Milwaukee wants to maintain that drive this year while returning from a short but eventful offseason in which guard Jrue Holiday and forward Khris Middleton followed up their NBA championships by winning gold medals with the US Olympic team.

Middleton said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer made that point clear in a team meeting. Budenholzer’s message to the team was straightforward: Do it again.

“What we did last year, they can’t take that away from us at all,” Middleton said. “But we still have to be motivated. We have to stay hungry and try to find a way to do it again.”

The Bucks return most of the nucleus from their championship team, with a couple of exceptions. PJ Tucker, a midseason acquisition who started each of the final three playoff series while providing defense and 3-point shooting, left for the Miami Heat. Bryn Forbes, a quality 3-point shooter in the regular season who fell out of the rotation in the latter stages of the playoffs, rejoined the San Antonio Spurs.

Milwaukee brought back guard George Hill, who played for the Bucks from 2018-20. The Bucks also acquired Grayson Allen from Memphis and signed former Celtics forward Semi Ojeleye.

“I believe we’re better in a different way,” general manager Jon Horst said. “We’ll find out. If not, we have options and abilities to adjust and pivot as we always have.”

The Bucks also should get a boost from the comeback of starting guard Donte DiVincenzo, who hasn’t played since tearing a left ankle ligament in the Bucks’ first-round series with Miami. DiVincenzo said he isn’t yet participating in five-on-five workouts.

The Bucks vow complacency won’t be an issue.

“That’s not how this group is,” center Brook Lopez said. “That’s not in this group’s DNA.”

Agencies via Xinhua

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President Solih operated on orders from a foreign diplomat: President Muizzu

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President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu alleges that his predecessor, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, operated on orders from a foreign diplomat.

In an interview with Public Service Media (PSM) which aired on Thursday night, President Muizzu was asked for a response to criticism from the opposition regarding a recent procurement of military drones.

President Muizzu noted that the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), when it held office from 2018-2023, also held a supermajority in the Parliament.

However, the party failed to protect Maldives’ independence, leaving it in the hands of a foreign country, he said.

He said that President Solih had operated on orders from a foreign ambassador, which resulted in extensive damage.

However, he did not specify which foreign country he was referring to.

“We had lost independence in all sense of the word, including economically. After having done all this, they would naturally not accept our efforts to remedy all this and put the country on a track that the Maldivian people want, towards a ‘Dhiveheenge Raajje’,” he said.

Regarding the cost of the drones, President Muizzu said that while he believes in transparency, such military secrets aren’t disclosed by any country.

“In such matters that is crucial to national security, I am heavily reliant on counsel from our chief of defense force and our generals. Therefore, I will follow their counsel, and I will listen to them,” he said.

President Muizzu said that no value can be attached to the independence of Maldives, and that it is in fact “priceless.”

While the People’s National Congress (PNC) administration accuses the former administration of getting overly dependent on India, the MDP accuses the incumbent administration of ruining age-old ties with India and fostering closer ties with China.

President Muizzu had campaigned on the promise of expelling Indian soldiers stationed in Maldives, which he said was a threat to the country’s national security. The soldiers are now being replaced by Indian civilians.

Source(s): sun.mv

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China’s Shandong province donates 10 civil vehicles to Maldives

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The eastern Chinese province of Shandong has donated 10 civil vehicles to the Maldives.

The donation was handed over by Chinese Ambassador Wang Lixin to the Maldives’ Local Government Minister Adam Shareef Umar on Thursday evening.

Wang wrote on X that she is very pleased to handover the donation.

“I believe those vehicles will help a lot in collecting waste and other public works in different cities, and make Maldives a more beautiful place,” she said.

Meanwhile, Adam Shareef expressed profound gratitude for the generous donation.

“This meaningful gesture symbolizes the supportive friendship between our two nations,” he wrote on X.

Source(s): sun.mv

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Government aims to expand Aasandha service to UAE and Thailand this year

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President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu says his administration aims to expand the services of the public health insurance scheme – Aasandha – to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Thailand within this year.

In an interview to Public Service Media (PSM) which aired on Thursday night, President Muizzu said that administrative arrangements to expand the services to the two countries are going ahead at a fast pace.

“We therefore have high expectations it can begin this year,” he said.

He did not provide any details.

In a press briefing on January 13, following a state visit to China, President Muizzu said his administration plans to expand Aasandha services to countries that offer better quality medical care services, including the UAE and Thailand.

“In the future, Aasandha will not be restricted to medical facilities in specific countries in a specific region, but will be expanded to countries that offer better services such as UAE and Thailand,” he said, while speaking to reporters from the Velana International Airport.

He also announced plans to provide Aasandha coverage for accommodation as well.

Aasandha services are currently available overseas in select medical facilities in neighboring Sri Lanka and India.

The decision to expand Aasandha comes amid concern over the growing burden on the state budget for the provision of the service. The cost of Aasandha has been growing yearly. On Wednesday, Social and Family Development Minister Dr. Aishath Shiham said the expenditure on Aasandha had increased by 60 percent over the last five years.

She said the administration is studying different models in an effort to switch to one that minimizes wastage.

MVR 1.9 billion is allocation in this year’s budget for Aasandha services.

Source(s): sun.mv

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