Arsenal had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Fulham, despite scoring from yet another corner, as the Gunners missed the chance to close the gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool to four points. For the second time in the space of four days, Arsenal dealt a set piece blow right after half-time, as William Saliba deflected Kai Havertz's header from Declan Rice's corner to level the game at 1-1 - their Gunners' 23rd goal from a corner since the start of last season. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Saliba's goal survived a lengthy VAR check for offside - but the technology denied Arsenal on the brink of stoppage time as Bukayo Saka's late winner was ruled out for an earlier offside by Gabriel Martinelli. The Gunners were frustrated throughout at Craven Cottage, dominating the game and giving Fulham little - apart from Raul Jimenez's opener after 11 minutes after the Mexican forward broke clear from Jakub Kiwior's marking and slammed home past David Raya. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Arsenal had plenty more chances to score more than one at Craven Cottage - with their best chances coming from, you guessed it, corners. Saliba should have scored from Arsenal's first one of the game but glanced his header wide, while Thomas Partey put a chance wide from another Rice corner. Trending Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The Gunners thought they had won it after Martinelli's cross was headed home by Saka but VAR spotted the former had gone too early in the build-up. The draw - plus yesterday's postponement of the Merseyside derby due to Storm Darragh - means Arsenal have cut Liverpool's game at the top to four points - but Mikel Arteta's side will see this as an opportunity missed. Also See: Live Premier League table Stream the Premier League on NOW Get Sky Sports Premier League fixtures Player ratings Fulham: Leno (7); Tete (6), Diop (7), Bassey (7), Robinson (8); Berge (6), Lukic (6); Adama (5), Smith Rowe (5), Iwobi (6); Jimenez (7) Subs used: Pereira (6), Wilson (6), Muniz (n/a), Cuenca (n/a) Arsenal: Raya (6); Partey (5), Saliba (7), Kiwior (6), Timber (6); Jorginho (6), Rice (8), Odegaard (6); Saka (6), Havertz (6), Trossard (5) Subs used: Martinelli (6), Merino (6), Jesus (5), Nwaneri (6) Player of the match: Declan Rice (Arsenal) More to follow... Story of the match in stats What's coming up in the Premier League? Tom from Southampton became a millionaire for free with Super 6! Could you be the next jackpot winner? Play for free!Chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Friday called upon the teachers, who recently returned from training in Finland, to be the harbingers of revolutionising the education system in the state. Mann, who met them at his official residence, said that these teachers, who were sent to Finland for a social cause and received world-class training, should become role models for students. He said the teachers have been bestowed the responsibility of giving a firm foundation for the country. The first batch of 72 government school teachers from Punjab had left for training in Finland in October. The CM called upon the teachers to groom the students of government schools well, thereby enabling them to be active partners in the socio-economic progress of the state. He expressed hope that the students taught by these teachers will be able to compete well with their convent-educated peers. He envisioned that these teachers would share their expertise with the students and their colleagues to give much-needed impetus to the education sector. He said that education forms the backbone of any society and in Punjab his government has been striving to continuously improve the education system, to ensure that every child, regardless of his or her background, gets access to high-quality learning. “Finland was chosen because it was globally renowned for having one of the most effective education systems. This training will further widen the horizon of the teachers by equipping them with state-of-the-art teaching practices, leadership skills and others,” he added. Education minister Harjot Singh Bains announced that students will soon get to visit the prestigious Indian Institute of Science and Google Head Office. “This unique experience aims to inspire and educate students, providing them with valuable exposure to cutting-edge technology and innovation,” he added. School education department officials were also present.

Gregg Wallace admits ‘I’m f****d’ as he tells pals he fears MasterChef will sack him after ‘grope’ probe

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U.S. stock futures were little changed on Wednesday as traders await the release of the Federal Reserve's favorite inflation gauge. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 6 points, sitting near flat. Meanwhile, S&P 500 futures fell 0.1%, while Nasdaq-100 futures dipped 0.3%. The personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE) is set for release at 10 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a year-over-year increase of 2.8% for the core reading , which excludes food and energy. Investors will look through the data for indications on how the Fed may proceed on its rate policy at its December meeting. Indeed, the Fed issued the meetings from its November meeting on Tuesday. While central bank officials said they anticipate more interest rate cuts coming down the pike, they said the pace of cuts would happen "gradually." "I think they'll cut again [in December]," Stephen Stanley, Santander U.S. Capital Markets chief U.S. economist, told CNBC's " Power Lunch ." "I think they feel like they're still pretty far away from neutral, so they feel like they still have some distance to go and they'd like to get another notch in their belt on that." Other key data out on Wednesday include personal income and consumer spending for October. That's also scheduled to be released at 10 a.m. ET. It's a shortened trading week in the U.S., with the market dark for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and set to close early Friday. Trading volume is anticipated to remain light. Still, stocks finished in the green across the three major averages on Tuesday. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow reached fresh intraday and closing highs. European markets traded lower Wednesday as investors continued to assess the potential impact of President-elect Donald Trump 's plans to hike tariffs. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was 0.2% lower by mid-morning, with most sectors in negative territory. Shares of Easyjet were up 1.5% after the budget airline posted a 25% rise in full-year operating profit but shares of Aston Martin were down 4% after the luxury carmaker issued another profit warning. Shares of Just Eat Takeaway fell 1% after the company announced it would delist from the London Stock Exchange. Global markets have traded mixed since Trump said Monday that one of his first acts in office would be to impose an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese goods entering the U.S., and threatened a 25% tariff on products from Mexico and Canada, ending a regional free trade agreement. — Holly Ellyatt It was a less-than-stellar session for the Russell 2000 , as it clipped a six-day winning run on Tuesday. The small-cap index lagged the three major averages, slumping about 0.7%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to fresh record closes. Nevertheless, the Russell 2000 is enjoying a strong November, as investors have snapped up cyclical stocks since Donald Trump won a second term in the White House earlier this month. The Russell is on track for a 10.4% jump month to date, besting the 5.5% gain the S&P 500 is carrying this month. The small-cap benchmark has also topped the Nasdaq Composite 's nearly 6% advance in November and the Dow's 7.4% jump. — Darla Mercado, Chris Hayes Some stocks are making big moves in extended trading: Read here for the full list. — Sean Conlon Stock futures opened little changed on Tuesday evening. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 20 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures likewise moved 0.04% higher, while Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.03%. — Sean Conlon

BEIRUT — Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the country on Sunday, bringing to a dramatic close his nearly 14-year struggle to hold onto control as his country fragmented in a brutal civil war that became a proxy battlefield for regional and international powers. The exit of the 59-year-old Assad stood in stark contrast to his first months as Syria’s unlikely president in 2000, when many hoped he would be a young reformer after three decades of his father’s iron grip. At age 34, the Western-educated ophthalmologist appeared as a geeky tech-savvy fan of computers with a gentle demeanor. But when faced with protests of his rule that erupted in March 2011, Assad turned to the brutal tactics of his father to crush dissent. As the uprising hemorrhaged into an outright civil war, he unleashed his military to blast opposition-held cities, with support from allies Iran and Russia. International rights groups and prosecutors alleged widespread use of torture and extrajudicial killings in Syria’s government-run detention centers. The war has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. The conflict appeared to be frozen in recent years, with Assad’s government regaining control of most of Syria’s territory while the northwest remained under the control of opposition groups and the northeast under Kurdish control. Although Damascus remained under crippling Western sanctions, neighboring countries had begun to resign themselves to Assad’s continued hold on power. The Arab League reinstated Syria’s membership last year, and Saudi Arabia in May announced the appointment of its first ambassador since severing ties with Damascus 12 years ago. However, the geopolitical tide turned quickly when opposition groups in northwest Syria in late November launched a surprise offensive. Government forces quickly collapsed while Assad’s allies, preoccupied by other conflicts — Russia’s war in Ukraine and the yearlong wars between Israel and the Iran-backed militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas — appeared reluctant to forcefully intervene. An end to decades of family rule Assad came to power in 2000 by a twist of fate. His father had been cultivating Bashar’s oldest brother, Basil, as his successor, but in 1994, Basil was killed in a car crash in Damascus. Bashar was brought home from his ophthalmology practice in London, put through military training and elevated to the rank of colonel to establish his credentials so he could one day rule. When Hafez Assad died in 2000, parliament quickly lowered the presidential age requirement from 40 to 34. Bashar’s elevation was sealed by a nationwide referendum, in which he was the only candidate. Hafez, a lifelong military man, ruled the country for nearly 30 years during which he set up a Soviet-style centralized economy and kept such a stifling hand over dissent that Syrians feared even to joke about politics to their friends. He pursued a secular ideology that sought to bury sectarian differences under Arab nationalism and the image of heroic resistance to Israel. He formed an alliance with the Shiite clerical leadership in Iran, sealed Syrian domination over Lebanon and set up a network of Palestinian and Lebanese militant groups. Bashar initially seemed completely unlike his strongman father. Tall and lanky with a slight lisp, he had a quiet, gentle demeanor. His only official position before becoming president was head of the Syrian Computer Society. His wife, Asma al-Akhras, whom he married several months after taking office, was attractive, stylish and British-born. The young couple, who eventually had three children, seemed to shun trappings of power. They lived in an apartment in the upscale Abu Rummaneh district of Damascus, as opposed to a palatial mansion like other Arab leaders. Who is Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgency that toppled Syria’s Assad? Initially upon coming to office, Assad freed political prisoners and allowed more open discourse. In the “Damascus Spring,” salons for intellectuals emerged where Syrians could discuss art, culture and politics to a degree impossible under his father. But after 1,000 intellectuals signed a public petition calling for multiparty democracy and greater freedoms in 2001, and others tried to form a political party, the salons were snuffed out by the feared secret police, who jailed dozens of activists. Tested by the Arab Spring, Assad relied on old alliances to stay in power Instead of a political opening, Assad turned to economic reforms. He slowly lifted economic restrictions, let in foreign banks, threw the doors open to imports and empowered the private sector. Damascus and other cities long mired in drabness saw a flourishing of shopping malls, new restaurants and consumer goods. Tourism swelled. Abroad, he stuck to the line his father had set, based on the alliance with Iran and a policy of insisting on a full return of the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, although in practice Assad never militarily confronted Israel. In 2005, he suffered a heavy blow with the loss of Syria’s decades-old control over neighboring Lebanon after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. With many Lebanese accusing Damascus of being behind the slaying, Syria was forced to withdraw its troops from the country and a pro-American government came to power. At the same time, the Arab world split into two camps — one of U.S.-allied, Sunni-led countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the other of Syria and Shiite-led Iran with their ties to Hezbollah and Palestinian militants. Throughout, Assad relied largely on the same power base at home as his father: his Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam comprising around 10% of the population. Many of the positions in his government went to younger generations of the same families that had worked for his father. Drawn in as well were members of the new middle class created by his reforms, including prominent Sunni merchant families. Assad also turned to his own family. His younger brother Maher headed the elite Presidential Guard and would lead the crackdown against the uprising. Their sister Bushra was a strong voice in his inner circle, along with her husband, Deputy Defense Minister Assef Shawkat, until he was killed in a 2012 bombing. Bashar’s cousin, Rami Makhlouf, became the country’s biggest businessman, heading a financial empire before the two had a falling-out that led to Makhlouf being pushed aside. Assad also increasingly entrusted key roles to his wife, Asma, before she announced in May that she was undergoing treatment for leukemia and stepped out of the limelight. When 2011 protests erupted in Tunisia and Egypt, eventually toppling their rulers, Assad dismissed the possibility of the same occurring in Syria, insisting his regime was more in tune with its people. After the Arab Spring wave reached Syria, his security forces staged a brutal crackdown while Assad consistently denied he faced a popular revolt. He instead blamed “foreign-backed terrorists” trying to destabilize his regime. His rhetoric struck a chord with many in Syria’s minority groups — including Christians, Druze and Shiites — as well as some Sunnis who feared the prospect of rule by Sunni extremists even more than they disliked Assad’s authoritarian rule. As the uprising spiraled into a civil war, millions of Syrians fled to Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Lebanon and on to Europe. Ironically, on Feb. 26, 2011, two days after the fall of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak to protesters and just days before the wave of Arab Spring protests swept into his country, Assad emailed a joke he had seen mocking the Egyptian leader’s stubborn refusal to step down.Coronation Street fans spot 'missing' character after Daniel's horror crash

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MASTERCHEF star Gregg Wallace has told friends he expects to be sacked following an investigation into his alleged sexual harassment and groping. Several women have come forward about his behaviour , prompting the review . Wallace has stopped using his pricey legal team as he resigns himself to the MasterChef sack. The under-fire presenter has also turned down crisis-publicity teams in the weeks after several women complained he groped or harassed them. The BBC1 show’s production firm Banijay UK launched a probe last month and Wallace, 60, has strongly denied any wrongdoing . But those close to him said he understood his position on MasterChef was no longer tenable . A source said: “Gregg’s conceded he has lost everything. To put it bluntly, he’s told people, ‘I’m f***ed’. “He came out swinging but he has quietly conceded that he knows his time on MasterChef is over and that he will be stepping aside. “He has contested the sexual ­allegations and insisted any jokes he made were just jokes. He said he never meant to cause any offence. “Gregg has been under a huge amount of pressure since the allegations came to light and tried his best to fight his corner. “The BBC and Banijay UK have now spoken to a number of different individuals and they know they must be seen to take action. “Gregg knows the time will come when he has to step aside and as much as that pains him, it seems he has come to terms with it.” The Sun understands co-host John Torode, 59, will keep his role. The Aussie has hosted alongside Wallace since 2005. Insiders say a female star is likely to take Wallace’s place , with the new partnership to be announced in the New Year. Work on the next series of Celebrity MasterChef is under way, with the BBC show’s talent booker already making calls to line up the next run of stars. A second source said: “MasterChef is a juggernaut of a show and the wheels don’t stop turning. “Not long after the probe into Gregg’s conduct, casting started for the celebrity series. “While the probe is ongoing, it has been made clear to production that John is going to be staying and that a female will step into Gregg’s role.” Cooks including Angela Hartnett and Nigella Lawson have been named as possibles. Monica Galetti , 49, who appears on MasterChef: The Professionals, has also been touted. However, those close to Wallace said she would be unlikely to take the position. This week, singer Sir Rod Stewart’s wife Penny Lancaster spoke out about working with Wallace on Celebrity Masterchef in 2021. She claimed on Thursday: “I most definitely was witness — and victim — to some of the bullying and harassment behaviour of Gregg Wallace. “And, unfortunately, a lot of those involved in the production team were also witness to that.” She added: “I really feel that he used his position of power to, I believe, intimidate and cause distress to a lot of people on set. “It’s unfortunate that someone like him is allowed to get away with that, while others sort of stand by and let it happen at the same time.” At the start of this month, The Sun revealed how the BBC received complaints about Wallace’s behaviour from as early as 2014. He was accused of making sexual remarks during his 2014 stint on Strictly Come Dancing when paired with pro Aliona Vilani. The Sun also reported how John Torode repeatedly raised concerns about Wallace’s behaviour on MasterChef but no action was taken. John publicly distanced himself from Gregg in 2017 and said in an interview they were no longer pals. Since the latest allegations came to light, Wallace unfollowed John and his wife Lisa Faulkner on Instagram . At the time, pals told us Gregg was upset John did not publicly back him amid the scandal. The Sun was the first publication to report concerns over Wallace’s conduct on MasterChef. This October we revealed a ­complaint was made about his conduct on BBC gameshow Impossible Celebrities in 2018. They included him “boasting about this sex life” and making “inappropriate sexual comments”. It can be hard to come forward, but we want to assure everyone who does that we will treat anything raised with us with the greatest possible care. Then last month ex-Newsnight host Kirsty Wark and 13 other people came forward to say they had raised concerns. Kirsty, 69, said she spoke to MasterChef after Wallace made “sexualised jokes” when she was on the show in 2011. Other allegations include Wallace talking openly about his sex life , taking off his top in front of a junior staffer and telling another young colleague he was not wearing any pants. One woman told The Sun Wallace was made to apologise after making a “joke” about rape in 2017. Another alleged Wallace groped he r when she appeared on MasterChef. And Emma Kenny, the 2012 MasterChef winner, said she witnessed him touching another contestant and raised a complaint. Banijay UK launched its inquiry and on November 28 confirmed to The Sun that Wallace was stepping away pending the review. GREGG Wallace has stepped down from his MasterChef hosting role after a probe into alleged inappropriate behaviour. But what's the situation? Regular MasterChef host Gregg Wallace is currently the subject of a probe after an investigation was launched into his alleged misconduct over a number of years. Gregg has been accused of making sexual remarks to 13 colleagues including Beeb anchor Kirsty Wark - accusations he denies. The 60-year-old has now stepped away from the BBC show while historical misconduct allegations against him are investigated. Yet the former greengrocer spoke out on social media to blast the "women of a certain age" who he claimed were behind the allegations. The cooking show’s production company, Banijay UK, has said law firm Lewis Silkin would lead the investigation into Wallace’s alleged misconduct. A BBC spokesperson later told The Sun: “In recent days there have been concerning allegations made about the alleged conduct of Gregg Wallace, many of which relate to shows made for the BBC. “These media stories are running alongside an independent investigation , which was instigated after formal complaints were made direct to the BBC and referred to Banijay UK for further investigation. “We’d like to thank those who have had the courage to speak out. “It can be hard to come forward, but we want to assure everyone who does that we will treat anything raised with us with the greatest possible care. "Banijay UK launched the review because they have the direct contractual relationship with Gregg Wallace. He is not employed by the BBC. “When issues have been raised with the BBC we have taken action, referring issues to the ­relevant production company and challenging his behaviour directly as has been widely reported. “We hope Banijay UK’s independent investigation can be concluded rigorously and as swiftly as ­possible. "We want the review to follow due process and ensure fairness to all involved.”