text
string | label
class label |
|---|---|
Story highlightsRichmond, California, has seen a dramatic drop in homicides since a fellowship beganThe fellowship invites hardened teens and young men to change their waysIf they show good behavior, fellows can earn a stipend of up to $1,000 a monthRichmond, California (CNN)The four teens kick back and talk openly with their mentor. They discuss job opportunities, the need for support and the possibility of a trip out of state.They're relaxing in the lobby of a city agency, one outfitted with a couch and wing chairs to make it feel homey. Anything to provide relief from the hard streets of Richmond, California, once known as one of the most violent cities in America."What can I do better?" the mentor, Kevin Yarbrough, asks."Help us get out of Richmond and stuff," one teen mumbles. "Get us far away."The conversation sounds like one any mentor might have with a group of inner-city teens in America. Read MoreCan cities stop the bloodshed?Savannah, Georgia, and Richmond, California: Two cities on opposite sides of the country, each with a history of homicides and different approaches to ending the violence. See what's working and what isn't in this two-part series:Southern charm, deadly streetsPaying kids not to killBut this is no ordinary group. The mentor is an ex-con working for the city. The teens are suspected of the worst types of crimes but haven't faced prosecution, for lack of evidence. The mentor's job: Get them to put down their guns, stop their violent ways and transform their lives beyond the streets."They're babies growing up in a war zone," says DeVone Boggan. "But the police would tell you they're killers. 'Serial killer' is what a police officer might call some of these young men, because of what they're suspected of doing."Boggan helped found the innovative city agency, the Office of Neighborhood Safety or ONS, in the fall of 2007 after gun violence spiraled out of control in Richmond, a city of about 100,000 just north of Berkeley.Fueled by gang violence, neighborhood rivalries and large-scale unemployment among black youth, the violence led to 47 homicides in Richmond in 2007 -- a record for the city and a rate more than eight times the national average. By comparison, Oakland saw 30 killings per 100,000 residents that year; Chicago had nearly 16 per 100,000. A drastic approach was needed to turn the tide. There was so much violence, the city even considered bringing in the National Guard to restore calm.The next year, Boggan saw the killings drop to 27 -- a 40% decline -- as he began his strategy of hiring reformed ex-cons and sending them into the most violent neighborhoods to keep the peace. But those gains were followed in 2009 by another spike of 47 killings. They had put too much emphasis on "hot spots" and not enough on individuals. "We learned that focusing on hot spots [is] important, but they're not more important than hot people," Boggan says. "Why? Because hot people make hot spots."Richmond's approachThe San Francisco Bay Area city of Richmond, population 108,000, saw a record 47 gun homicides in 2007. In response, the city started hiring ex-cons and sending them into the worst neighborhoods. The next year, the killings fell to 27 but then spiked again to 47 in 2009. This time, the city invited some of the most hardened youth into a fellowship, where they would be mentored by ex-cons and offered a cash stipend. Police were left out of the picture. By 2014, gun homicides had fallen to 11, although they were back up to 21 last year after a staffing cut. Of the 68 youths who've been through the program, 94% are alive, and 79% have not been suspected of a new gun crime.And so Operation Peacemaker was born. Loosely based on an academic fellowship, the ONS program invites some of the most hardened youth into the fold: often teenage boys suspected of violent crimes but whom authorities don't have enough evidence to charge criminally. These fellows must pledge to put their guns away for a more peaceful life. They are hooked up with mentors -- the reformed criminals-turned-city workers -- who offer advice, guidance and support to get jobs. If the fellows show good behavior after six months, they can earn a stipend of up to $1,000 a month. Since the fellowship started, the city has seen dramatic results, including a low of 11 gun homicides in 2014 -- the fewest number of people killed in Richmond in four decades. The program has caught the attention of cities hoping to model programs with similar success, from Sacramento, California, to Toledo, Ohio, to Washington.In the media, the fellowship is often dubbed "cash for criminals," which makes Boggan's eyes roll. He laughs because, although it's true, the program is so much more. And it's predicated on the most basic of human elements: "We harass them with love and kindness."To understand the hardships these young men face, he says, you must know that each has had family members, friends and neighbors killed -- that it's not uncommon for a 15-year-old to have known a dozen people killed in his young life. "You grow up with that experience," he says, "and it creates a great deal of hostility, anger, untreated vicarious trauma in your life."Of the four teens discussing job possibilities with their mentor, Yarborough, when CNN visited, one's mother died when he was a young boy; another had a brother killed. Two are already fathers. The way it worksThe ONS relies on Yarborough and five other mentors, known as "neighborhood change agents," to keep the pulse of hot-spot neighborhoods and the fellows within their program. The mentors, along with a few other part-time workers involved with street outreach, monitor police scanners for shootings and have neighborhood contacts who let them know when they sense that something bad is about to happen."Like if something's going down," says Yarborough, "somebody will call me and be like: It ain't cool."He then touches base with his fellows to make sure they're alive and confirm that they haven't returned to their old ways. The mentors, Boggan says, are not naive: They've all served time in local or federal facilities for some type of gun offense. One served 18 years in San Quentin State Prison for second-degree murder. Neighborhood change agent James Houston served 18 years in San Quentin State Prison. He says it's important to help the youth not make the same bad choices he did."It's been cool knowing that I got some back-up help," says T.K. Sykes, one of the fellows being mentored by Yarborough. "There's a lot of stuff they've been through that I don't want to go through. I'm glad they get to share those kinds of situations with me."A graduate of UC Berkeley, Boggan began his career in Oakland with Safe Passages, which works to break the cycle of violence through an array of programs. When he moved his work to nearby Richmond, he says, he "decided to dedicate my life to reducing gun violence." The Office of Neighborhood Safety, he says, was formed solely "to reduce violent assaults and associated deaths." Boggan studied and borrowed from other programs, most notably one created by David Kennedy, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. Kennedy's model, which has been implemented in dozens of cities, targets those individuals believed to be the most violent and brings them together for "Call Ins."Those sessions are headed up by law enforcement, who issue stern warnings and threaten harsh punishment. Often, the people invited are on parole, and their attendance is mandatory. Boggan focused his program not on parolees but on teens and young men known to be active in gun violence who've escaped doing serious time. And Boggan took law enforcement out of the equation. He wanted to shower these youth with positivity, not threats of prison. "So many approaches to these young men are uninformed and don't take into account who these young men are and where they come from," he says. With the distrust between the black community and police, Boggan adds, having police try to persuade young men to stop their ways is not a long-term solution. Scaring people might stop violence for a short period, he says, but it won't last. His approach, Boggan admits, has led to "healthy tensions" between the ONS and local police."Our relationship with law enforcement is not perfect, but it gets better each day," he says. "It's important that we not have an adversarial relationship but clear separation and respect of those necessary lines."Richmond Police Chief Allwyn Brown says his department welcomes all efforts to reduce gun violence. "The police, the justice system can't do this whole thing," he said. "There has to be multiple interventions. We get it."Since the program began, he said, more residents have come forward with information about shootings. That's led gang rivals to take their grievances -- and shootings -- out of neighborhoods and onto the city's interstates.Still, Brown credits the agency with helping young men who are involved in "potential criminal activity" and "living outside the law" with choosing an "honest approach" instead. A decado ago, Richmond, California, was one of the nation's most violent cities. Boggan believes the vast majority of youth in rough inner-city neighborhoods are inherently good and need to be exposed to new opportunities. With ex-felons as his change agents, he says, the teens are more likely to respond. "That translates into trust on the street," Boggan says. "And trust is a major commodity with what we do." At one point, he employed seven full-time mentors, but cutbacks reduced his staff to four full-time and two part-time mentors. 2015 saw gun homicides nearly double to 21, from the low of 11 in 2014. Boggan says staffing cuts may have played a role. "Less people touched, and the people touched are not being touched as often," he says. "That's certainly an impact."How it startedThe most controversial part of the program -- fellowships offering monthly stipends -- began after gun violence jumped in 2009. Boggan says he was sitting in a room with local, state and federal law enforcement discussing the root cause of the violence. They believed that 17 suspects were responsible for 70% of the 47 homicides that year. "I began to see just how simple the problem was, albeit tough work," Boggan says. "If we could find our way towards those 17 people in a more focused, intentional, deliberate way, then change could happen."It turned out the number was actually 28. He and his team of change agents put all of their efforts into reaching out to them within three months. He rolled out the red carpet, inviting them to meetings like he would anyone else he wanted to do business with. His premise: "This city will not be healthy unless these young men are healthy."Three of the 28 young men were killed before the ONS could even get to them. That left 25. Of those, 21 -- ranging in age from 16 to 26 -- showed up. Each was receptive to change.Unlike the "Call Ins" from the Kennedy model, the agency simply asks the youths to hear them out. It's part of showing them a form of respect. "We have no authority to 'call in' anyone," Boggan says. "We ask these young men to join us. We ask them to partner with us. We ask them into the family."Thus, the fellowship began. Boggan describes the 18-month program as similar to most any post-graduate work, but this one is "designed specifically for active firearm offenders who've avoided sustained criminal consequences." Each fellow commits to promoting peace in his community and to a life without guns. They get hooked up with jobs and anger-management experts. A life map is provided, detailing the barriers they face and what they must do to overcome them.Six months into the fellowships, the young men can apply for the monthly stipend, which can go up to $1,000 depending on their participation and achievements. Most earn about $300 to $750 a month. They can make money for up to nine months. He bristles when asked whether it's a good idea to use tax dollars to pay people to stop committing violence. "That's nothing compared to the cost of gun violence in this city," Boggan says.During the fellowships, the young men meet with mothers whose children were killed by gun violence. They visit colleges and meet business leaders. With the help of private donations, they've traveled to places like the nation's capital and Chicago, as well as outside the country to spots in Mexico and South Africa. Gang rivals get paired on trips so they can talk with one another and see each other as human beings. "To share their stories," Boggan says, "is part of the healing process for these young men."Mentor Houston talks with Richmond residents; the city has seen a dramatic reduction in homicides since the program began. A total of 68 fellows -- "the most lethal young men most likely to be killed in our city" -- have been through the program since June 2010. Ninety-four percent are still alive, and 79% have not been suspected of a new gun crime, Boggan says. Of the other 21%, one has been convicted of a gun homicide, 12 have been convicted of firearm possession, and eight have been suspects in shootings.Some fellows who successfully complete the program are allowed to reapply for another 18 months. Most move on into the world. "They are no longer the person we met on Day 1 of the fellowship." Even after they leave, the ONS stays in contact with them, if for no other reason than to lend support when they might struggle. The city has experienced a 76% reduction in gun homicides since the fellowship began in 2009, the agency says. The program can't take all of the credit for the reduced crime, Boggan says; police work and an improved economy also play a part. But he adds, "I would give the credit to the young men. When you actually focus on the very people involved in gun violence, I think you can't argue that they're not contributing to the safer environment happening in this city."Boggan recently stepped down as ONS director to form a nonprofit organization called Advance Peace. He remains contracted with the city of Richmond to help advise the office but will also work with other cities to build pilot programs similar to the one started here. His life mission is to provide hope to troubled youth to "change the reality ... of this epidemic facing our nation.""America's gun violence," he says, "is a national disgrace. We should be ashamed of ourselves."He will keep pushing for change. | 2health
|
Atlanta (CNN)Old habits die hard. Old rivalries run deep. For Tim Howard, the former Manchester United and Everton goalkeeper, this season's Premier League title race has proven to be something of a Sophie's choice.Manchester City or Liverpool. Local rival or arch enemy. The team once described by Sir Alex Ferguson as a "noisy neighbor" or the club that Ferguson made it his life's goal to usurp."My greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their f***ing perch," Ferguson once famously declared.Howard is unequivocal. "I hope Liverpool never win a title while I'm still breathing," he told CNN after his Colorado Rapids side was beaten by Atlanta United, speaking with a twinkle in his eye."We have two teams in the form that they're both in. It'll come down to the wire. If no one has a slip up, then City wins."Read MoreIndeed, with two games to go, City hold a one-point lead over Liverpool, and with games at home to Leicester and away at Brighton almost certain to decide the trophy's destination. Liverpool must play away at Newcastle and then is at home to Wolves on the final day of the season.Tim Howard now captains the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer.'Football's funny'This year has represented a curious quandary for a man whose heart bleeds both Merseyside blue and Manchester red. Even a decade ago, it would have seemed an implausible notion -- an outlandish nightmare, light-years away from reality.In 2009, Howard's Everton finished fifth, while Manchester United pipped Liverpool to the title in an ill-tempered race that was framed by a war of words between Ferguson and then Reds manager Rafa Benitez.Manchester City, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. Under the management of Mark Hughes, City finished 10th. Brazilian star Robinho was the only bona fide big-money star, with City's Abu Dhabi-based owners only taking control of the club on the final day of the 2008 summer transfer window.JUST WATCHEDWayne Rooney's move to DC UnitedReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHWayne Rooney's move to DC United 03:07It was a squad that featured names as varied as Valeri Bojinov, Michael Ball and Felipe Caicedo -- the forgotten beginnings of an unrecognizable transformation.Fast-forward to a weekend that saw United held to a painstaking 1-1 draw with Chelsea, and it is the city's red half now in danger of sliding into relative obscurity.In Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, however, United's fortunes have begun to gradually improve -- or, they had done -- until a wretched recent run since the Norwegian was appointed on a permanent basis.READ: Van Dijk, Miedema pull off Dutch double in PFA awardsREAD: Manchester City returns to top of EPL after narrow win against BurnleyHoward spent four years at Manchester United, before joining Everton, where he spent nine years of his career.Howard, who played alongside Solskjaer for four years before both men left the club at the end of the 2006/07 season, is in no doubt as to his former colleague's credentials."So football's funny," Howard said. "Pundits and fans are funny. He's the right man for the job. Hopefully they will spend some money and they'll get his players in and it's no problem."It's funny, right? Football: He comes in and wins every game for three months and he's the second coming of Jesus Christ and everyone loves him and then they tear him down and are ready to throw him off the ledge."
What Howard is describing is the manic world of football management, complete with its ever-increasing short-termism -- a business where results are everything.Looking forward, he is confident that Solskjaer will return his former club to its past glories. "I think for any of those teams in that pack of six or eight teams, I think the idea is to finish in the top four," he explained."And if you catch good form and lightning in a bottle, and you're in a title race then it's all to play for. But right now, I think the idea is for them to get back in the Champions League for sure."READ: How Ajax upset $1.5 billion Champions LeagueIn January, the 39-year-old Howard, who played 121 games for the US men's national team, announced that he would retire at end of the 2019 MLS season. "There will be plenty of time for sentiment later," Howard wrote on Twitter. "For now, I am going to enjoy every minute. And as I've always done, compete hard and help lead the Rapids with the sole purpose of winning." | 5sport
|
Story highlightsThe US Air Force B-52 was flying a routine mission in international airspaceA Russian MiG-31 fighter jet also intercepted a Norwegian P-3C Orion aircraftWashington (CNN)A Russian fighter jet intercepted a US bomber over the Baltic Sea in international waters on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry that was published on state news agency TASS. "On June 6 Russia's airspace monitoring ... identified an air target flying along Russia's state border over the international waters of the Baltic Sea. A Sukhoi-27 fighter jet of the Baltic Sea Fleet's air defense force was dispatched to intercept the target," according to the statement, quoted by TASS.A Russian Air Force flight demonstration team perform with their SU-27 jet fighters over St. Petersburg, Russia."The crew of Russia's Sukhoi-27 jet approached the aircraft staying at a safe distance, identified it as a US strategic bomber B-52 and escorted it for some time," the report said.The Pentagon also confirmed that the intercept occurred.Russian jet flies within 20 feet of US Navy plane "A US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress flying a routine mission in support of multiple planned exercises in international airspace over the Baltic Sea was intercepted by a Russian SU-27," according to a statement from Lt. Col. Michelle L. Baldanza, a US Army Defense Department spokeswoman.Read More"The crew involved is still supporting the exercise. There are a number of intercepts that take place on a regular basis. The vast majority are conducted in a safe manner," the statement said.Against backdrop of uncertainty, US B-52 bombers deploy to EuropeEarlier this month, the US Air Force deployed B-52 bombers and 800 airmen to the United Kingdom in support of joint exercises with NATO allies and partners that are taking place across Europe. Those scheduled training drills were expected to primarily take place on Russia's doorstep -- specifically in the Baltic Sea, the Arctic and along Russia's border with several NATO partners.A Russian Ministry of Defense statement in a TASS report also said that a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet intercepted a Norwegian P-3C Orion aircraft on Tuesday in international waters over the Barents Sea."The interceptor plane's crew approached the target at a safe distance and visually identified it as a P-3C Orion anti-submarine warfare patrol aircraft of the Norwegian Air Force. After the Norwegian plane changed its flight route and flew away from the border of the Russian Federation, the MiG-31 fighter jet returned to its home aerodrome," according to TASS.Norway has downplayed the significance of the incident, saying the maritime patrol plane identified by Russian aircraft was operating in international airspace.Lt. Col. Ivar Moen, senior spokesman for Norwegian Join Headquarters (NJHQ) told CNN that Russia did not "intercept" the Norwegian Air Force plane in the Barents Sea Tuesday.Moen stressed that the interaction between the Norwegian and Russian aircraft was considered "normal."Along with the US, Norway is one of the 12 original members of NATO. CNN's Joseph Netto and Jennifer Hauser contributed to this report. | 4politics
|
Athens (CNN)A 27-year-old man has confessed to killing US scientist Suzanne Eaton on the Greek island of Crete, a police spokesperson told CNN Monday.The local man had been detained by police for questioning, after the 59-year-old molecular biologist went missing July 2 while attending a conference. More details are expected to be announced Tuesday, Crete police said.Eaton was attending a conference at the Orthodox Academy when she disappeared, apparently during a run.Last Monday, her body was discovered by two locals deep inside a cave, according to Crete's Chief of Police Konstantinos Lagoudakis.Read MoreShe was found around 60 meters (nearly 200 feet) inside the cave, beneath an air shaft that had been covered by a large wooden pallet. The underground caverns had been turned into a bunker by Nazi soldiers during the Second World War.Eaton's family have described her as an "accomplished woman" who possessed "deep sensitive and compassion." The police said that Eaton had been asphyxiated. Minor stab wounds were also found on her body, but police said they were not believed to be the cause of her death. The police believe the body was dumped inside the cave, because it was found face down.Lagoudakis told CNN on Thursday that he had never seen a case like this in his four years as police chief.'A truly wonderful person'Tributes from Eaton's relatives -- including her mother, son and siblings -- were released by Eaton's employer, the Max Planck Institute at Dresden University in Germany. Eaton was the wife of British scientist Tony Hyman and mother of two sons, according to the institute.Eaton's sister described her as an "accomplished woman" of "insatiable curiosity," and praised her achievements. "She took great pleasure in preparing exquisite meals and had an exotic fashion sense. She loved perfume. She taught and practiced Tae Kwon Do as a second-degree black belt. She finished crossword puzzles way too quickly, played concertos, and read extensively. She fit Jane Austen's strictest description of an 'accomplished woman' while maintaining a natural humility and 'insatiable curiosity'," her sister wrote.Her sister added that Eaton would often worry about not giving her family enough time as well as devoting herself to science.She continued, "But anyone who read of her accomplishments in the field of molecular and developmental biology, or who witnessed her joy in tutoring, comforting, and inspiring her children, or sharing with, and loving her husband, would not have suspected. With a deep sensitivity and compassion, she somehow made us all a priority."In a statement, the Max Planck Institute said Eaton was "an outstanding and inspiring scientist, a loving spouse and mother, an athlete as well as a truly wonderful person beloved to us all."The details surrounding Eaton's death have shocked locals, some of whom first thought she could have died in a hiking accident. CNN's Ivana Kottosova and Kara Fox contributed to this report. | 3news
|
(CNN)Lawyer Robert Abela will become Malta's new Prime Minister after securing a surprising victory in his party's leadership contest, which was triggered by a political scandal over the assassination of an investigative journalist that brought down the country's previous leader and several of his allies.Abela was seen as an outsider in the race to succeed Joseph Muscat, who announced his resignation in December, but defeated his rival Chris Fearne to take control of the country's governing Labour Party. He is expected to be sworn in on Monday.Muscat announced his plans to step down in December, as the investigation into the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia -- killed by a car bomb in October 2017 -- began to engulf his premiership.Caruana Galizia had been investigating alleged corruption within the government, and her family and protesters have accused Muscat of trying to shield members of his inner circle from the ongoing investigation into her death.Muscat has denied all allegations of wrongdoing. His chief of staff and tourism minister also left their posts shortly before the prime minister announced his resignation late last year.Read MoreAbela, a 42-year-old lawyer, stressed continuity during his campaign and steered clear of addressing the probe into Galizia's death, according to local media. His rival Fearne was backed by most of the country's Cabinet. But Abela strode to what the Times of Malta described as "one of the biggest upsets in contemporary political history." It was expected that 17,500 Labour voters would decide the party's election, according to Agence France-Presse.Muscat said on Twitter he was "proud" to be handing power to the lawyer, who could hold his post for over two years before Malta's next election must take place.But the initial months of his premiership are likely to be dominated by the same scandal that defeated his predecessor.Investigation stretches into new yearGalizia's case will remain prominent in the EU nation during Abela's time in power, with three men awaiting trial on charges connected to the incident. All three suspects pleaded not guilty during pre-trial proceedings. The journalist was killed while driving near her home. Her family says she was "assassinated" because of her work uncovering alleged corruption in the Maltese government. Her work -- including research into Maltese citizens implicated in the Panama Papers -- had made powerful enemies. The Panama Papers are the name for the leak of millions of files from the database of a Panama law firm called Mossack Fonseca in 2016.Why murdered Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia is back in the newsMuscat was a frequent target of Galizia's investigations into corruption, especially due to his wife's alleged involvement in the Panama companies. Galizia's family had said they believe the then-Prime Minister wanted her dead. The couple both deny the allegations.The journalist had suffered intimidation over the years. Her dog's throat was cut, and in 2006 her house was set on fire as the family slept, tires piled against the back door to prevent escape.Shortly before her death, in what was to be the final entry on her blog Running Commentary, she wrote: "There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate.""Robert Abela certainly has his work cut out for him," Rebecca Vincent, the UK bureau director of the nonprofit Reporters Without Borders, told CNN. "Joseph Muscat leaves behind a legacy of a tarnished administration and deeply flawed institutions," she added. "During his tenure, not only was the country's most prominent journalist assassinated in broad daylight -- so far, with impunity -- but Malta's broader press freedom climate experienced one of the world's sharpest declines."Malta has slid to 77th on the group's annual rankings of global press freedom, one of the worst scores in Europe.CNN's Vasco Cotovio, Susanna Capelouto and Simon Cullen contributed reporting. | 3news
|
(CNN)The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, late Wednesday denied a request from Texas abortion providers to block a new state law that bans most abortions after six weeks.Read the order and dissents below: | 4politics
|
(CNN)It's Latin America's golden ticket and the hunt is on to watch the Copa America final at the Estadio Nacional in Chile's capital Santiago.Not since Chile reached the semifinals of their own World Cup in 1962 has there been such a clamour to gain entry to a sporting event.So much so that tickets are going for as much as $25,000 on website ticketbis.net -- 625 times the original price -- though on Viagogo.com the most expensive ticket was $6,000.Chile is looking to win its first ever international trophy in 99 years, while Argentina wants to put an end to its own 23-year Copa America drought and draw level with Uruguay as the most successful team in the tournament's history.Chile has only beaten Argentina once in a competitive match in its history -- during qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in Santiago -- and it has lost the two matches they have played since.Read MoreAmid the scramble for tickets, Chile defender Gary Medel has offered one of his 794,000 Twitter followers the chance to win two of them to Saturday's final.He has asked them to upload a message of support with the hashtag #ChileTeQuieroVer (Chile I want to watch you) and the most original will be chosen as the winner.Entre los q suban 1 mensaje d apoyo con #ChileTeQuieroVer voy a regalar 2 galeras para la final. El más original gana pic.twitter.com/PExWbHLNNv— Gary Medel (@MedelPitbull) July 2, 2015 There is a huge sense of anticipation in Chile and a genuine belief this outstandingly talented crop of players can finally lead the country to success.However, amidst the excitement, there is plenty of nervousness, notably over the defense's fragility, and in particular Pepe Rojas' form.The man chosen to replace the suspended Gonzalo Jara -- banned after putting his fingers into Uruguay striker Edison Cavan's backside -- Rojas has been the butt of many jokes after his semifinal performance against Peru.Newspaper Las Ultimas Noticias mocked Rojas on its front cover with the headline: "Pepe Rojas... arriving late to his own memes," while a separate image of an astronaut on a moon was captioned: "I run faster than Pepe Rojas."La portada con la que se enojan, la nota que defiende a Pepe Rojas. pic.twitter.com/LLOkQTPnbc— Las Últimas Noticias (@lun) July 1, 2015 In turn, the newspaper's Twitter account was bombarded with a barrage of criticism from angry members of the Chilean public and Las Ultimas Noticia was forced to defend itself, claiming they hadn't created the memes.Several of Chile's highest profile footballers also rebuked the publication."All front pages like Las Ultimas Noticias do is make children scared of making mistakes," tweeted captain and Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo and Chile captain. "Jokes are one thing and it's another thing for newspapers to mock. Typically Chilean."Con portadas como @lun solo hacen q los niños tengan miedo a equivocarse, una cosa son las bromas y otra q un diario se burle. TípicoChileno— Claudio Bravo Muñoz (@C1audioBravo) July 1, 2015 "You need to only move forward, without looking behind at the mediocre people that criticize from a desk. Stay strong Pepe!!!" said Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal.Hay que darle para adelante nomas, sin mirar atras al mediocre que critica desde un escritorio. Aguante Pepe!!! pic.twitter.com/q0n72FLmHE— Arturo Vidal (@kingarturo23) July 1, 2015 "Incredible that some media are dedicated to making fun. Vamos Pepe Rojas come on Chile. Today united more than ever," wrote Medel in support of Rojas. Increíble que algunos medios se dedican a chaquetear. Mas respeto con un ídolo de uno de los principales equipos de Chile. Vamos Pepe y vamos Chile. Hoy mas unidos que nunca!! A photo posted by Gary Medel (@gary_medel17) on Jul 1, 2015 at 8:03am PDT
"Unfortunately we live in a country full of hatred, envy and malice, let's open our hearts and be better people please," pleaded Hamburg midfielder Marcelo Diaz.Lamentablemente vivimos en un país lleno de odio, envidia y malas intenciones, abramos nuestros corazónes y seamos mejores personas X favor.— Marcelo Diaz (@CHELODIAZ_21) July 1, 2015 Chile's population has been agog at the national's team progression to the final, both on and off the pitch, most notably when Vidal drunkenly crashed his Ferrari during the group stage.Argentina, on the other hand, has had no real controversy leading into the final, with the main talking point being Lionel Messi's solitary goal in the tournament.However, Messi's mesmerizing semifinal performance in the 6-1 thrashing of Paraguay was the perfect riposte to his critics."To win the Copa would round of something spectacular," Messi said after the demolition of Paraguay.Chile and Argentina go head-to-head for South America's most coveted prize"I have a desire to win something with the national team so much. We are very excited about the possibility of being champions."We completed the first objective which was to be in another final. It will be a very even game."The media has been keen to build the final as a battle, given the historical political tensions between the two countries, but Javier Mascherano was quick to downplay the hype."We are going to play a final, not a war," he said after the Paraguay match. "Our countries are brothers."I don't see a clear favorite for the final. Argentina is amongst the top places in the FIFA rankings and we want to crown it by winning something."Read: Copa America 2015: Can Chile end '100-year evil?'Read: Copa America 2015: 'Happy' Lionel Messi leads Argentina to final | 5sport
|
London (CNN)UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Friday it was "overwhelmingly likely" that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally gave the order to use a nerve agent to attack a former double spy in what's the most direct accusation yet against Russia's leader.Prime Minister Theresa May announced this week that 23 Russian diplomats would be expelled from Britain after concluding it was highly probable that Moscow was behind the poisoning, but she stopped short of pointing the finger directly at Putin.The ex-spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter Yulia remain in a critical condition after the March 4 attack in the English city of Salisbury. UK officials believe they were exposed to a nerve agent known as Novichok that was developed in Russia.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov slammed Johnson's remark in a comment to CNN.The UK's weak actions are unlikely to hurt Putin -- or his cronies"We have said on different levels and occasions that Russia has nothing to do with this story," he said. "Any reference or mentioning of our President is nothing else but shocking and unpardonable diplomatic misconduct." Read MoreRussia has repeatedly dismissed the UK's accusations as "unfounded" and warned it would retaliate over the expulsion of its diplomats.Speaking alongside his Polish counterpart at the Battle of Britain Bunker in outer London, Johnson said the UK and its allies were waiting for a serious response from Russia about the nerve agent attack."The quarrel of the UK government is not with Russian people -- it is not with Russians living here in this country. We have nothing against the Russians themselves. There is to be no Russophobia as a result of what has happened," he said. "Our quarrel is with Putin's Kremlin and with his decision -- and we think it is overwhelmingly likely that it was his decision -- to direct the use of a nerve agent on the streets of the UK, on the streets of Europe, for the first time since the Second World War."Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz expressed his "full solidarity" with the UK, adding he was prepared to work with other European Union and NATO countries to protest against Russia's behavior."We condemn this unprecedented attack by Russia on the territory of the United Kingdom. This use of chemical weapons is a clear violation of the international law," he said.Police official Kier Pritchard and British Prime Minister Theresa May view the crime scene in Salisbury.Russia launches proceedings Russia has insisted it is ready to cooperate in investigating the attack in Salisbury if Britain reciprocates by sharing the evidence it holds -- and has dismissed accusations against it as "propaganda" by the UK government.Vassily Nebenzia, Moscow's ambassador to the United Nations, even suggested at an emergency session of the UN Security Council that the UK might have been responsible for the attack in an attempt to smear Russia.Former Soviet chemist shares details of the nerve agent Novichok On Friday, Russia's Investigative Committee said it had launched its own criminal proceedings in connection with the "attempted murder of a Russian citizen, Yulia Skripal" in Salisbury and what it called the "murder" of Nikolai Glushkov in London.Glushkov, a Russian exile who had links to compatriots who died in mysterious circumstances in the UK, was found dead in his London home this week.London's Metropolitan Police said Friday it had launched a murder investigation into Glushkov's death following the results of a post-mortem exam, which gave the cause of death as "compression to the neck."Counterterrorism police are leading the investigation "because of the associations Mr. Glushkov is believed to have had," a police statement said. "At this stage there is nothing to suggest any link to the attempted murders in Salisbury, nor any evidence that he was poisoned."In an online post, the Russian committee said the attempt on Yulia Skripal's life was "committed in a dangerous manner endangering other people, in Salisbury."The investigation will be carried out in accordance with "Russian and international law," it said, adding that "investigators are ready to work together with competent authorities in Great Britain." The statement made no mention of Sergei Skripal.'An assault on UK sovereignty'On Thursday, the United States issued a joint statement with France, Germany and the UK condemning the nerve agent attack as "an assault on UK sovereignty" and saying there was "no plausible alternative explanation" than that Russia was responsible.Nerve gas attack unsettles residents in English cathedral cityMeanwhile, British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson said Moscow had made a "deliberate political decision" to poison Skripal. He accused Russia of "ripping up the international rulebook" and "attempting to "subvert, undermine and influence" countries around the world."Russia should shut up and go away," Williamson said. "It's often described as a cool war that we are entering -- I would say it is feeling exceptionally chilly at the moment."UK-Russia relations have been fractious ever since the assassination of another former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko, in 2006.A UK inquiry found that two Russian agents poisoned Litvinenko at a London hotel bar in 2006 by spiking his tea with highly radioactive polonium-210, and that Putin "probably approved" Litvinenko's killing. The Kremlin has always denied the accusation.Sergei Skripal was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2006 for spying for Britain, according to Russian state media accounts of the closed hearing.Russian court officials at the time said he'd received at least $100,000 for his work for MI6, the British intelligence service. He was granted refuge in the UK after a high-profile spy exchange between the United States and Russia in 2010.CNN's Frederik Pleitgen, Darya Tarasova and Sebastian Shukla contributed to this report. | 3news
|
Barcelona, Spain (CNN)In an apartment off Barcelona's Passeig de Gracia shopping avenue, Rosario Caceres debated with her grandson over Catalonia's bid for independence from Spain.The 95-year-old lived through the Spanish Civil War, and then the dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco, who oppressed her people with an iron fist."We weren't allowed to speak Catalan in school. I had to teach it to my children again after Franco died," she said. "Naturally, I was very angry." Rosario Caceres, 95, center, with her grandson, David Rosello, left, and her daughter, Maria Victoria Cutrona.After all the turbulence she has seen in Spain, Caceres doesn't care for the current standoff between Madrid and Barcelona over independence."It feels just like the Civil War but without the bombs," she said with a laugh.Read More"In Franco's time we had no freedom of expression, but now this is all too much. I think we need to find something in the middle."The Catalan people will go to the polls next week to choose a new regional government, but voters will be casting their ballots as it if it were an official referendum on independence.There are few options for that "something in the middle."Caceres usually votes for the Socialists' Party of Catalonia, which is anti-independence but has been largely sidelined this election. But she isn't sure she will bother casting a ballot this time. She is old and doesn't always find it easy to leave the house. "But also there is only one issue — independence. No one is running a real campaign," she said.Support for the two sides is split right down the middle. One major change, however, is that the pro-independence side is fractured and is sending mixed messages on what to do next, after its unilateral declaration of independence in October went nowhere....there is only one issue — independence. No one is running a real campaign.Rosario CaceresThe central government called the December 21 vote in the hope of finding a more moderate government to deal with, following an illegally held independence referendum that triggered Spain's worst political crisis in decades. But Madrid may be disappointed to find that little has changed since. As the vote approaches, the two main pro-independence leaders are campaigning from prison and abroad. Oriol Junqueras -- whose pro-independence party, the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), is narrowly leading most polls -- is in a Madrid prison awaiting trail on charges of sedition and rebellion over his role in the referendum.The deposed Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, is in Brussels to avoid facing the same fate as Junqueras: a possible jail term of up to 30 years.Inés Arrimadas from the Ciutadans party is leading the anti-independence side, campaigning to put an end to the independence movement altogether.An electronic campaign poster of Inés Arrimadas, lead candidate for the anti-independence Ciutadans party, at the Barcelona Sants train station.For Rosario Caceres, there isn't much choice. She told her grandson, 35-year-old David Rosello, that she was not necessarily against independence, but that it just didn't seem financially viable. Rosello told her he wasn't so worried about the economic implications."Madrid's treatment of us couldn't get any worse," he said. "I'm ready to try something new."How did Catalonia get here?JUST WATCHEDHundreds injured in Spain after referendumReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHHundreds injured in Spain after referendum 01:05Rosello was referring in part to violent scenes of Spanish police firing rubber bullets at relatively calm protesters and pulling elderly voters by the hair from polling booths.The police crackdown on the October 1 referendum prompted outrage that such violence was going on in modern-day Europe. It also fueled the independence movement's narrative that Catalonia is oppressed by Madrid.The Catalans' frustrations are not completely unfounded. In 2010, the Popular Party (PP) — which now rules the country — challenged Catalonia's status as a nation within Spain in the Constitutional Court. The party won that case and when the PP came into power, it began rolling back the autonomous region's powers.It has overturned several laws passed by the Catalan Parliament, including a ban on bullfighting, arguing that the Parliament was overstepping its authority and putting Spanish culture at risk.Read more: A political crisis is scaring tourists away from BarcelonaCatalans now mock Madrid as a strict parent that always says "No." Madrid has said it is open to dialogue with Barcelona, but only if independence is off the table.The independence movement picked up steam after that 2010 case, which came amid the economic woes of the global financial crisis.Before that turning point, only around 20% of people supported independence, when given four options with varying degrees of autonomy, according to Catalonia's Center for Opinion Studies. Support for independence peaked at 49% in 2013 but has now come down to below 40% with the four-way option.But when given a simple binary choice on independence, 48.7% say they want Catalonia to break away from Spain, while 43.6% do not. The rest are undecided. Many people argue that Madrid would have been smarter to simply allow the referendum. It would almost certainly have won if it ensured that there were more than two options on the ballot.Has the independence movement blown it? Carles Puigdemont, center, addresses Catalan mayors in Barcelona after Parliament declared unilateral independence on October 27. Oriol Bartomeus, a professor in politics at the Barcelona Autonomous University, suggests the movement has lost steam since the Catalan Parliament unilaterally declared independence in late October.Madrid responded by firing the entire government, dissolving the Catalan Parliament and imposing direct rule over the region."It is clear that support for the independist camp is not going up but that they are just maintaining the vote. That means they don't have 50% of the vote, and without 50% of the vote, they cannot push their agenda of independence, no matter what the Spanish state says," he said.Current polling numbers are almost identical to those just before the last election in 2015, in which pro-independence parties won just under half the seats and were forced into a coalition to take power.But in such divisive elections, polls can get it wrong. One notable trend is the steady rise of the anti-independence Ciutadans party. Led by 36-year-old Arrimadas, the party threatens to knock one of the two pro-independence groups from the top two spots. If Ciutadans continues its rise, the party could even gain the most seats. In Catalan politics, no single party is ever really expected to win an outright majority and elections are generally followed by weeks, if not months, of negotiations. And regardless of who wins the most seats on December 21, the question of who will be the next President is another matter entirely. After the 2015 election, Puigdemont was propelled to the presidency in a last-minute coalition deal.A crackdown on all things yellow?Firefighters place their helmets to form the shape of a giant yellow ribbon in Barcelona on November 20 to call for the release of jailed separatist activists.The bickering between Madrid and Barcelona has taken odd turns in this campaign, the latest one over the color yellow.Independence supporters are using the color to call for the release of jailed politicians and activists, but Madrid has complained that yellow has become politicized and is being used by public bodies that should be neutral. The country's electoral board — which goes by the name of the Junta Electoral in Spanish, but is called simply the Junta by its critics — has banned Barcelona from bathing its fountains in yellow light after Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's Popular Party complained about it.The city began illuminating the fountains with yellow after the president of the pro-independence Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Jordi Sanchez, was imprisoned, along with Òmnium Cultural's leader Jordi Cuixart, for helping organize the referendum. The two civil-society groups work closely with the pro-independence parties.The board has also banned election officials from wearing yellow ties on election day, and yellow is prohibited on all public buildings, as are any symbols showing support for those in prison.Read more: These banks and businesses are leaving CataloniaTensions are high and anger is easily roused. On Monday, scuffles broke out between the people of Lleida, west of Barcelona, and police who began seizing disputed artifacts from a museum there.The neighboring region of Aragón also claims the medieval artifacts as theirs, and Madrid used its special temporary powers over Catalonia to order the removal. In Girona, at the epicenter of the independence movement, the electoral board has also picked a fight with the City Hall.The Girona City Hall bears a banner reading "Freedom of Expression" in Catalan.The Junta Electoral forced the building to remove a banner reading: "Free Our Political Prisoners." In response, City Hall has replaced it with another, reading: "Freedom of Expression.""Because who can argue with that?" an official wearing a yellow ribbon said to CNN.What happens next?Carles Puigdemont addresses supporters at a campaign event on December 4.Meanwhile, Puigdemont has been speaking at his campaign events by teleconference, beamed in from Brussels onto giant screens.He has vowed to return to Catalonia if he wins on December 21, but speculation is beginning to swirl that he may return sooner.Junqueras is writing regular impassioned letters and notes from jail as his team portrays him to voters as Madrid's political prisoner.Elsa Artadi, who is running for a seat and is a spokeswoman for Puigdemont's Together for Catalonia campaign, said it had been incredibly difficult to promote the former president and his slate of candidates."We can't compete with these unequal conditions," she told CNN at the campaign headquarters in Barcelona.In the Catalan parliamentary system, a leader fields a list of candidates who are given a number in order of priority. Puigdemont's list has him at number one and at number two is Sanchez, who was imprisoned as leader of the ANC civil-society group."Our number one is in Brussels, our number two is in prison, our number three is in Brussels, our number four was in jail until a week ago. So that makes it very difficult logistically," Artadi said.Ernest Maragall, who is running for a seat with Junqueras' ERC party, also complains of an uneven playing field."We are playing a lot of basketball, but only with one arm," he said. Our number one is in Brussels, our number two is in prison... So that makes it very difficult logistically.Elsa ArtadiBartomeus, from the Barcelona Autonomous University, said that playing up the fact that crucial leaders in prison or abroad is an attempt to create a martyr effect."That's because the independist campaign is based on the idea that Spain is not a democratic state but an authoritarian one," he said. "You don't even have to say it, you just have to remind your voters that your leaders are in prison. And that is a very clear message."While there is anger about the imprisonments, it isn't necessarily translating to more votes.With less than a week left to go and polls refusing to budge, someone will have to have something extraordinary up their sleeve to swing the balance. Otherwise both the people of Catalonia and the rest of Spain may find themselves where this all began, their wounds unhealed. | 3news
|
London (CNN)The divisive atmosphere surrounding Brexit could be exploited by right-wing groups, the UK's most senior counter-terrorism police chief has warned.Neil Basu, the head of the Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism operations, said his biggest concern about Brexit was its "potential to divide communities and set communities against each other."Amid this "febrile" atmosphere there was the possibility of a "far-right drift into extreme right-wing terrorism," added Basu, speaking at the launch of a campaign on raising awareness of suspicious activity, the BBC reported.Basu told reporters that after the 2016 referendum there was a rise in "hate crime," "far-right rhetoric" and "growth of (far-right) organizations like National Action."JUST WATCHEDAs Brexit deadline looms, protests turn nastyReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHAs Brexit deadline looms, protests turn nasty 02:12He added that police were "concentrating very heavily" to ensure this "creeping" threat didn't get a "foothold" in the country.Read MoreThat said, far-right terror was still a "relatively small threat" compared to that posed by Islamist groups like al Qaeda and ISIS in recent years, he said.Paul Jackson, a historian at the University of Northampton specializing in extreme-right ideologies, told CNN that while it is positive that the "threat from the far-right is being talked about more seriously," tying that threat to just Brexit alone is "simplifying the issue."Jackson continued, the threat from the far-right had been "downplayed" compared to the threat of Islamic terror, but there is currently an instinct to "up-play" this threat in the context of Brexit, ignoring other factors. "The far-right is opportunistic. In the 80s and 90s, groups like Combat 18 tried to infiltrate football hooliganism. The truth is, if it wasn't Brexit it would have been something else. In the last few years groups like National Action and Britain First have latched onto subjects like Asian grooming gangs and mass-migration. Brexit is just the latest thing that makes their ideology relevant." Rise in hate crimeFour far-right extremist plots and 14 Islamist terror plots were foiled in the last two years, according to Basu. While Basu said there was no intelligence indicating a rise in terror attacks in the wake of Brexit, he was nonetheless concerned about a rise in hate crime. As Brexit deadline looms, protests turn nasty outside UK ParliamentIndeed earlier this month, dozens of lawmakers wrote to London's Met Police chief Cressida Dick about a growing "ugly element of individuals with strong far-right and extreme right connections," verbally attacking MPs and journalists outside Westminster.It followed widely shared footage of Conservative MP Anna Soubry being called a "Nazi" and "fascist" by a group of thugs as she walked into parliament. During the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign, Labour MP Jo Cox was fatally shot and stabbed by a man with extreme right-wing views.As for the prospect of a no-deal Brexit, Basu warned it would leave the UK in a "very bad place.""For counter-terrorism we have a lot of bilateral relationships, it is a devolved power for countries, it is not an EU power, so we are confident that my counterparts in those 27 countries want to exchange information with us and we are working very hard to make sure we put that in place," he said."But nevertheless, to leave without... being able to exchange data or biometrics on people who might be criminals or terrorists would be a very bad place for this country, and for Europe, to be," he said. | 3news
|
(CNN)Anna Nordqvist held her nerve on the final hole to win this year's Women's Open at Carnoustie, Scotland, on Sunday. The Swedish golfer was all smiles as she was crowned champion after a nerve-wracking end to competition.Nordqvist was tied on 12 under with playing partner Nanna Koerstz Madsen coming into the 18th hole but kept her nerve to finish with a par, as she watched the Dane suffer a double bogey. Nordqvist had not won a major for nearly four years, winning her first back at the 2009 LPGA Championship before adding her second at the 2017 Evian Championship."I've been waiting for this one for a while, I haven't won in a couple of years," Nordqvist said after the win. Read More"There have been a lot of downs, a lot of hard times so I think it makes this a little sweeter." READ: Ball hit by 2021 Masters champion lands in spectator's shirtNordqvist celebrates on the 18th green with her caddie.'I could only dream about winning'Nordqvist had soared to the top of the leaderboard going into the final day after a faultless seven-under-par 65. Her incredible round featured seven birdies as she finished Saturday tied on nine under with Koerstz Madsen. The pair then found themselves locked in battle throughout the last day, with the result being decided on the final hole. The art of caddying: What makes a good golfing companion?Whilst Nordqvist kept her calm, Koerstz Madsen suffered a nightmare with two mistakes on her approach to the green. It gave Nordqvist two putts to win the title and the 34-year-old made no mistake in winning her third major trophy on the second attempt.The beaming champion, who now wins $870,000, was embraced by her husband and she let out a sigh of relief. "I could only dream about winning the British Open," she added."I was supposed to get married 20 minutes away from here so this place is just truly special. I've never seen Carnoustie in this great a shape."Georgia Hall, Madelene Sagstrom and Lizette Salas shared the clubhouse lead going into the final hole but finished joint second, a shot behind the winner. A disappointed Koerstz Madsen finished tied in third with Minjee Lee. | 5sport
|
Story highlightsFootage shows a man in combat fatigues emptying a backpack on the groundNews Corp Australia reports Russian-backed rebels filmed the video"It is disgusting to watch that video footage," Australian foreign affairs minister says (CNN)A year after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over Ukraine, Australian leaders have slammed harrowing video footage that appears to show Russian-speaking fighters rifling through the belongings of victims at the crash site.News Corp Australia published the video Friday as relatives of the 298 people killed aboard the commercial airliner still wait for those responsible to be brought to justice.The footage shows smoldering wreckage strewn across a grassy field. At one point, a man dressed in combat fatigues dumps clothes and other belongings out of a backpack. In the background, voices can be heard speaking Russian, telling "civilians" to leave the area.People talking off camera remark that the aircraft was a passenger plane carrying foreigners. One of them asks how it was allowed to fly through the area.Read MoreNews Corp Australia reported that Russian-backed rebels filmed the footage using a camcorder.CNN couldn't immediately verify whether the video is authentic or who the people in it are. But top government officials in Australia, 38 of whose citizens and residents were on the aircraft, spoke out about it.News Corp Australia flagged the footage as new in its reports Friday, but it appears at least some may already have been in the public domain.Minister: 'It is disgusting'"It is disgusting to watch that video footage," Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop told CNN affiliate Sky News. "I can't verify the authenticity of it, but it is certainly consistent with all that we were told, the advice that we received 12 months ago, that Flight MH17 had been shot down by a missile in eastern Ukraine and that the pro-Russian separatists were involved."JUST WATCHEDMH17 tragedy: One year laterReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHMH17 tragedy: One year later 03:08Multiple Western nations, as well as the Ukrainian government, have said they believe pro-Russian rebels operating in the region shot down the plane. Rebel leaders and the Russian government have repeatedly disputed the accusations.The crash site was in an area of war-torn eastern Ukraine largely controlled by rebel groups.Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the video "highlights the fact that this was an atrocity, it was in no way an accident. They may not have known that they were shooting down a civilian passenger plane, but they were deliberately shooting out of the sky what they knew was a large aircraft.""We are confident that it was weaponry that came across the border from Russia, fired and then shortly thereafter -- once it was realized what had happened -- it went back into Russia," Abbott said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp.MH17: What they left behindChaos at crash siteReports of people going through victims' belongings at the chaotic, unsecured MH17 crash site aren't new. Western and Ukrainian leaders criticized such acts last year. Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in Ukraine Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineDebris from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 sits in a field at the crash site in Hrabove, Ukraine, on September 9, 2014. The Boeing 777 was shot down July 17, 2014, over Ukrainian territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists. All 298 people on board were killed. In an October 2015 report, Dutch investigators found the flight was shot down by a warhead that fit a Buk rocket, referring to Russian technology, Dutch Safety Board Chairman Tjibbe Joustra said.Hide Caption 1 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineAustralian and Dutch experts examine the area of the crash on August 3, 2014.Hide Caption 2 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA woman walks with her bicycle near the crash site on August 2, 2014.Hide Caption 3 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkrainePolice secure a refrigerated train loaded with bodies of passengers from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 as it arrives in a Kharkiv, Ukraine, factory on July 22, 2014. Hide Caption 4 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA pro-Russian rebel passes wreckage from the crashed jet near Hrabove on Monday, July 21, 2014.Hide Caption 5 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in Ukraine – Wreckage from the jet lies in grass near Hrabove on July 21, 2014.Hide Caption 6 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA man covers his face with a rag as members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Dutch National Forensic Investigations Team inspect bodies in a refrigerated train near the crash site in eastern Ukraine on July 21, 2014.Hide Caption 7 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineEmergency workers carry a victim's body in a bag at the crash site on July 21, 2014.Hide Caption 8 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA piece of the plane lies in the grass in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region on July 21, 2014.Hide Caption 9 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineAn armed pro-Russian rebel stands guard next to a refrigerated train loaded with bodies in Torez, Ukraine, on Sunday, July 20, 2014.Hide Caption 10 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineUkrainian State Emergency Service employees sort through debris on July 20, 2014, as they work to locate the deceased.Hide Caption 11 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA woman covers her mouth with a piece of fabric July 20, 2014, to ward off smells from railway cars that reportedly contained passengers' bodies.Hide Caption 12 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineToys and flowers sit on the charred fuselage of the jet as a memorial on July 20, 2014.Hide Caption 13 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkrainePeople search a wheat field for remains in the area of the crash site on July 20, 2014. Hide Caption 14 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA woman walks among charred debris at the crash site on July 20, 2014.Hide Caption 15 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineEmergency workers load the body of a victim onto a truck at the crash site on Saturday, July 19, 2014. Hide Caption 16 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineEmergency workers carry the body of a victim at the crash site on July 19, 2014. Hide Caption 17 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA large piece of the main cabin is under guard at the crash site on July 19, 2014. Hide Caption 18 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineVictims' bodies are placed by the side of the road on July 19, 2014, as recovery efforts continue at the crash site. International officials lament the lack of a secured perimeter.Hide Caption 19 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA man looks through the debris at the crash site on July 19, 2014. Hide Caption 20 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineAn envelope bearing the Malaysia Airlines logo is seen at the crash site on July 19, 2014. Hide Caption 21 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineArmed rebels walk past large pieces of the Boeing 777 on July 19, 2014. Hide Caption 22 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineUkrainian rescue workers walk through a wheat field with a stretcher as they collect the bodies of victims on July 19, 2014.Hide Caption 23 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA woman looks at wreckage on July 19, 2014.Hide Caption 24 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkrainePro-Russian rebels stand guard as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe delegation arrives at the crash site on Friday, July 18, 2014. Hide Caption 25 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA woman walks through the debris field on July 18, 2014. Hide Caption 26 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkrainePro-Russian rebels stand guard at the crash site.Hide Caption 27 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineWreckage from Flight 17 lies in a field in Shaktarsk, Ukraine, on July 18, 2014.Hide Caption 28 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA man covers a body with a plastic sheet near the crash site on July 18, 2014. The passengers and crew hailed from all over the world, including Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Germany and Canada. Hide Caption 29 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA diver searches for the jet's flight data recorders on July 18, 2014.Hide Caption 30 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineCoal miners search the crash site.Hide Caption 31 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineWreckage from the Boeing 777 lies on the ground July 18, 2014.Hide Caption 32 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkrainePeople search for bodies of passengers on July 18, 2014. Hide Caption 33 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA woman walks past a body covered with a plastic sheet near the crash site July 18, 2014.Hide Caption 34 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineBelongings of passengers lie in the grass on July 18, 2014.Hide Caption 35 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkrainePeople inspect the crash site on Thursday, July 17, 2014.Hide Caption 36 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkrainePeople walk amid the debris at the site of the crash.Hide Caption 37 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in Ukraine Debris smoulders in a field near the Russian border. Hide Caption 38 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineFire engines arrive at the crash site.Hide Caption 39 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA man stands next to wreckage.Hide Caption 40 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineDebris from the crashed jet lies in a field in Ukraine.Hide Caption 41 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineFamily members of those aboard Flight 17 leave Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam, Netherlands.Hide Caption 42 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA large piece of the plane lies on the ground.Hide Caption 43 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineLuggage from the flight sits in a field at the crash site.Hide Caption 44 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA couple walks to the location at Schiphol Airport where more information would be given regarding the flight.Hide Caption 45 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineFlight arrivals are listed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia.Hide Caption 46 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineDebris from the Boeing 777, pictured on July 17, 2014.Hide Caption 47 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA man inspects debris from the plane.Hide Caption 48 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineWreckage from the plane is seen on July 17, 2014.Hide Caption 49 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA man talks with security at Schiphol Airport on July 17, 2014.Hide Caption 50 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineWreckage burns in Ukraine.Hide Caption 51 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA man stands next to the wreckage of the airliner.Hide Caption 52 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkrainePeople inspect a piece of wreckage believed to be from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. This image was posted to Twitter.Hide Caption 53 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkrainePeople inspect a piece of wreckage believed to be from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. This image was posted to Twitter.Hide Caption 54 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA piece of wreckage believed to be from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. This image was posted to Twitter.Hide Caption 55 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA piece of wreckage believed to be from MH17. This image was posted to Twitter.Hide Caption 56 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineAn airsickness bag believed to be from MH17. This image was posted to Twitter.Hide Caption 57 of 58 Photos: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashes in UkraineA piece of wreckage believed to be from MH17. This image was posted to Twitter.Hide Caption 58 of 58"The facts of looting, how the terrorists are dealing with the bodies, are beyond the moral boundaries," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, whose government is locked in a bitter conflict with the rebels, said at the time.The reported interference with the wreckage and difficulties gaining access to the crash site have complicated the task of investigators seeking to establish what happened.In one case highlighting the free-for-all at the site, a television reporter caused an uproar by rummaging through the contents of an open suitcase during a broadcast.Video of the immediate aftermath of the disaster has also emerged previously, and unverified material has circulated online.News Corp Australia said it had turned the video it published Friday over to international investigators this week. The Dutch Safety Board, which has been leading the investigation into the crash, declined to comment on the video when CNN contacted it.Victims honored in Australia, the NetherlandsThe coverage comes on a day when the victims, who came from all around the world, are being honored.JUST WATCHEDUkraine President: MH17 culprits must take 'responsibility'ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHUkraine President: MH17 culprits must take 'responsibility' 01:52In Australia, a ceremony was held in the Great Hall at Parliament House.Commemorations also are taking place in the Netherlands, home to the majority of the people on board Flight 17. The plane, a Boeing 777, was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when it was shot down.Poroshenko also paid respects to the victims and their relatives in a video message Friday."Today, our people recall this tragedy and share the grief and sorrow of the families who lost their loved ones," he said.CNN's Elizabeth Joseph and Alla Eshchenko contributed to this report. | 3news
|
The publisher of a French tabloid has to pay a French actress 15,000 euros ($20,645) for photographs of her and President Francois Hollande that it said proved the two were having an affair.The decision Thursday by the Nanterre court, near Paris, found that the photographs in Closer magazine violated Julie Gayet's right to privacy, a court official told CNN.Closer, owned by Mondadori publishing company, caused a political firestorm in France January 10 when it published images purporting to show Hollande and Gayet arriving at a Paris apartment and alleged they were having an affair.JUST WATCHEDHollande threatens action against tabloidReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHHollande threatens action against tabloid 04:17JUST WATCHEDHollande goes stag at State DinnerReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHHollande goes stag at State Dinner 05:13Gayet's lawyer had asked the court to order Mondadori to pay 50,000 euros in damages. Hollande, who did not confirm or deny the reports of an affair, announced soon after the photos were published that he and first lady Valerie Trierweiler were separating.Actress Julie Gayet suing over Hollande affair allegations, Closer magazine saysTrierweiler: Learning about Hollande affair was 'like falling from skyscraper'Actress Julie Gayet suing over Hollande affair allegations, Closer magazine says | 3news
|
(CNN)A former police officer is facing a federal charge of using unreasonable force against an individual in the moments leading up to the fatal police shooting of Black restaurant owner David McAtee during the 2020 summer police brutality protests in Louisville.The indictment, filed Wednesday, alleges that former Louisville officer Katie Crews violated the constitutional rights of an individual -- identified only by the initials "M.M" -- when she fired a pepper ball, striking the person, who was "standing on private property and not posing a threat" to other people. An attorney representing the officer declined to comment. McAtee's popular restaurant, YaYa's BBQ, was near a parking lot where officers -- including Crews -- fired pepper balls in attempts to clear a crowd on June 1, 2020. McAtee was shot as police and Kentucky National Guard members tried to disperse the crowd, according to police, who have said officers were returning fire after being fired upon. One video showed McAtee, 53, at the restaurant door with his right arm extended. Moments later, he is seen clutching his chest, and falling to the ground. No one has been charged in McAtee's killing. Family of Louisville shooting victim David McAtee sues police officers, National Guard membersIn a wrongful death lawsuit filed later that year, McAtee's family alleged police and Kentucky National Guard members chased protesters who were out past the city's dusk-to-dawn curfew to the area where McAtee's business was located and began firing pepper balls in front of the restaurant. Some people attempted to escape by entering the kitchen door while McAtee was inside, unaware of what was happening, the lawsuit alleged. Read MoreMcAtee's niece, Machelle, was hit with pepper balls "multiple times," according to the suit. "David McAtee stepped out of the kitchen door to try and defend his restaurant, home, family, and customers. Immediately, the police shot and killed him," the lawsuit alleged. David McAtee's nephew had also previously told CNN affiliate WAVE that the chef was shot while reaching out to grab his niece. Steve Romines, an attorney representing the McAtee family, confirmed to CNN the individual identified by initials in the indictment is Machelle."We agree with the Grand Jury's decision today that criminal activity by LMPD in the unwarranted shooting at innocent bystanders outside of YaYa's BBQ is what directly (led) to the death of David McAtee," the attorney told CNN in a statement Thursday.If convicted, Crews could face up to ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release, according to the indictment.Dozens came out to remember David McAtee on June 1, 2021, one year since the Louisville barbecue owner was shot and killed.The aftermath of the shootingThe fatal shooting happened amid widespread protests against police brutality and racial injustice that erupted across the city -- and the country -- following the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville. No charges will be brought against law enforcement over the fatal shooting of a Louisville restaurant owner last yearCrews is the second former Louisville officer to face federal charges of using excessive force during those protests. Former officer Cory Evans pleaded guilty last year to hitting a kneeling person in the head who was surrendering during an arrest in May 2020. He was sentenced last month to two years in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Louisville's police chief was fired hours after McAtee's killing after officials discovered that two officers at the scene -- Crews and Austin Allen -- had either not worn or activated their body cameras, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer had said. Both Crews and Allen were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the shooting. National Guard members involved in the incident were not identified, CNN previously reported. Crews was fired on February 7, 2022, according to Louisville police. The department declined to comment further on the matter. CNN has also reached out to the police department for an update on Allen's status.The lawsuit filed by McAtee's family in 2020 named Crews and Allen individually because they were seen in surveillance video shooting pepper balls into the crowd where McAtee was last seen alive, Romines previously told CNN. The suit also accused 10 unnamed Louisville officers and 10 unnamed state National Guard members with using excessive force, among other charges. Louisville officer charged with allegedly hitting a person in the head who was surrendering for arrestKentucky authorities determined that bullets fired from the Kentucky National Guard were responsible for McAtee's death, J. Michael Brown, the secretary for the governor's executive cabinet, said in a statement on June 9, 2020.Nearly a year later, in May 2021, Kentucky Commonwealth Attorney Thomas B. Wine announced the investigation into McAtee's killing would not go to a grand jury for further review, or for potential charges against any Louisville police officers or National Guard soldiers who fired their weapons. Louisville officers and National Guard members "were authorized to discharge their firearms in defense of human life, including their own, when they reasonably believed, based on the facts and circumstances, that Mr. McAtee posed an immediate threat of death or serious injury to them or to another person," Wine concluded. McAtee used to feed officers for freeMcAtee's mother, Odessa Riley, previously said that local officers knew her son well. "He fed all the policemen," Riley said in June 2020. "Police would go in there and talk with him and be with him. He fed the police. He fed them (for) free."Louisville BBQ man who was fatally shot when police dispersed crowd used to feed officers for freeFischer, the mayor, called McAtee a "wonderful citizen" in a statement following the killing. "David was a friend to many, a well-known barbecue man," the mayor said. "They've nurtured so many people in their bellies and in their hearts before, and for him to be caught up in this, not to be with us today, is a tragedy."In an interview that had appeared in the West of Ninth photo blog several months before the shooting, McAtee said he had been cooking and selling BBQ for roughly 30 years, and had been at his West Louisville location for about two years. He'd always wanted to be at that location and was hoping to buy the lot and build a more permanent restaurant, he told the blog. "I gotta start somewhere, and this is where I'm going to start," he had said. "It might take another year or two to get to where I'm going, but I'm going to get there." | 3news
|
(CNN)Russia's strategy in its war on Ukraine is shifting toward a "slow annihilation" of the Ukrainian military, US and other Western officials tell CNN, warning that Russia could focus on a bloody and deadly bombardment of cities and civilian targets as the conflict becomes a grinding war of attrition.Ukrainian forces have so far been able to stave off Russia's initial push, maintaining control of Kyiv and other major cities. But they remain massively outgunned and outmanned. And Russia is now bringing in heavier, more destructive weaponry and increasingly striking civilian infrastructure, after an initial focus on military targets, the officials said. The shift in strategy likely reflects a recognition by Russian President Vladimir Putin that his initial plan to quickly topple Kyiv has failed, said one senior Western intelligence official -- in part because the Ukrainians have put up a stiffer than anticipated fight and in part because logistics and supply missteps have slowed the Russian advance.But Western officials now expect that Russia will ramp up heavy weapons bombardment of Ukraine's cities and potentially march in "tens of thousands" of troops, one US official said. Eventually, officials caution, Ukraine's military will likely run short of supplies needed to keep up the fight.The US has delivered hundreds of Stinger missiles to Ukraine over the last few days, including more than 200 on Monday, according to a US official and a congressional source briefed on the matter. But the US and NATO have made it clear they will not commit troops to defending Ukraine.Read More'Cruel military math'Ukraine's will to fight "is extending this," said the senior Western intelligence official. "But the cruel military math of this will eventually come to bear, absent some intervention, absent some fundamental change in the dynamic."For Ukraine, whose military forces and civilian population have shown no signs of capitulating, the war appears poised to become a grim struggle for survival over a protracted, uncertain future. The numbers are already bleak: Russia has lost roughly 3% to 5% of its tanks, aircraft, artillery and other military assets inside Ukraine — compared with Ukrainian losses of roughly 10% of its capabilities, according to two US officials familiar with the latest intelligence.Brutal onslaught rages in Ukraine as Russia expands assaults on key cities Moscow has leaned heavily on its more modern precision cruise missiles, according to a source familiar with the intelligence, heavily degrading Ukraine's military infrastructure. Meanwhile, Ukraine has continued to burn through its supply of shoulder-fired Javelin missiles.Western security assistance has flowed across the border into Ukraine in recent days, defense and intelligence officials say, although they have declined to provide details on how much, precisely what kind or how it is getting to the embattled Ukrainian forces.Public statements from Ukrainian officials suggest it's not enough.Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a call Wednesday that Ukraine needs additional deliveries of weapons "now," Kuleba tweeted. "They need bullets. They need bandages. They're going to need fuel. They're going to need ammunition, in addition to the humanitarian support to help with medical assistance, sustaining hospitals, both for combat wounded and for civilians that are being hurt," the senior intelligence official said of Ukrainian supplies. "And they're going to need a lot again in ammunition and the weapons resupply, because the Russian force is both numerically and qualitatively superior," this person said. Fears of civilian casualtiesIn addition to grinding down Ukraine's military, US and other Western officials fear Russia's siege tactics will cause heavy civilian casualties as Moscow aims to ultimately take Ukraine's capital of Kyiv.While the first few nights of Russia's campaign were aimed at military sites, during the last three there have been missile, artillery and rocket attacks against many civilian areas, where there may be administrative buildings but no security installations.CNN has been able to confirm attacks in Irpin, near Kyiv, as well as Mariupol, Borodjanka, Kharkiv and Kherson. The shifting map of Ukraine makes Russia's intentions clearerUS Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia of bringing weapons banned under the Geneva Conventions into Ukraine on Wednesday."We have seen videos of Russian forces moving exceptionally lethal weaponry into Ukraine, which has no place on the battlefield. That includes cluster munitions and vacuum bombs -- which are banned under the Geneva Convention," she said.A senior defense official said Tuesday that the US could not prove that cluster munitions or vacuum bombs had been used by the Russian military."We're likely to see an expansion of what we've seen in the last 48 hours, which is already a great degree of civilian infrastructure damage -- whether intentional or unintentional," said the senior intelligence official. "The violence level will go up. The numbers of refugees will go up. The numbers of civilian casualties and civilian dead will go up." Russians turning to heavier forcesTo be sure, the Russian military's offensive has faced numerous problems -- some of its own making, officials say. A 40-mile-long convoy of tanks, armored vehicles and towed artillery positioned north of Kyiv is "stalled," the senior defense official said Wednesday. The official said the US assesses there are multiple factors that appear to have slowed Russia's move on Kyiv, including fuel and food problems, an effective, "stiff resistance" from Ukrainians and potential morale problems within Russia's ranks.But the official cautioned that the Russians would learn from their mistakes and adapt.The Western intelligence official said that a week into the war, the Russian military appears to have realized its initial approach to Ukraine was problematic, which relied on the use of lighter units that were more mobile but less able to support themselves. Europe is making once-unimaginable decisions to counter Putin's aggression"I think part of what you're seeing is them now catching up, seeing now it's time to introduce heavier troops," the official said. "I think the concern we have is that they seem to be now bringing in heavier forces, with more armor, more long-range artillery, heavier weapons, that are not just more destructive in their nature but, frankly, are also less precise."Social media posts and open-source intelligence, as well as videos and other information released by Ukraine, have suggested that many Russian troops were unprepared for or even uninformed of the true nature of the mission they were being sent to accomplish. Based on that open-source reporting, Western officials believe that troop morale, at least among some ground units, is very low, officials told CNN.That could also slow Russian progress, officials said. Perhaps equally significant are Ukrainian efforts to publicize Russian casualties and allow captured Russian soldiers to call their loved ones at home -- efforts that could inform the Russian population of the war being waged in their name abroad. "They [Russia] have to prevent knowledge of Russian combat losses in their own domestic audience in a way they have in every other conflict that they had not supposedly participated in," the Western intelligence official said. "And they'll go to great lengths domestically to prevent that word from getting out." Estimates of Russian casualties vary; Ukraine on Wednesday said 6,000 Russians have been killed or wounded, while US sources familiar with the intelligence say the assessment is closer to 2,000 or 3,000.CNN's Natasha Bertrand, Kylie Atwood and Zachary Cohen contributed to this report. | 4politics
|
(CNN)Major League Baseball will begin testing players for opioids and remove marijuana from its list of "drugs of abuse," as part of its updated drug program, the league and the players union said Thursday in a news release. Going forward, players will be tested for opioids, fentanyl, cocaine and synthetic THC, along with the other substances listed under "drugs of abuse," which includes banned substances and drugs classified as Schedule I or Schedule II under federal law. Those who test positive will be referred to a treatment board of medical professionals who will prescribe a treatment plan, the league and the MLB Players Association said. Players who refuse an evaluation or don't cooperate with the prescribed treatment will be subject to discipline. Natural cannabinoids like THC, CBD and marijuana will be removed from the list of "drugs of abuse," under the new program, the MLB and the players' association said. In the future, marijuana-related conduct will be treated like alcohol-related conduct and subject to a treatment program that includes mandatory evaluation and voluntary treatment. There's still the potential of discipline for "certain conduct" involving marijuana, the league and the association said. Today, @MLB and the @MLB_PLAYERS jointly announced significant changes to the Drug of Abuse provisions of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. pic.twitter.com/jIie1JDVAg— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) December 12, 2019
Read MoreOpioids change comes after pitcher's deathThe change on opioid testing comes after the death of 27-year-old Los Angeles Angels' pitcher Tyler Skaggs on July 1. An autopsy released in August found Skaggs died from choking on vomit after using drugs and alcohol. High levels of opioids were found in his system, including fentanyl, oxycodone and oxymorphone. The death was an accident, the autopsy found. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday he believed Skaggs' death was a "motivating factor" to address a "societal problem" within the context of the MLB. Angels official provided Tyler Skaggs with oxycodone for years, lawyer says"I think they made an agreement that is realistic in terms of how you handle people with opioid problems, and I think it will be an improvement for the industry going forward," he said. The opioid crisis was one of "significant concern" to the league, said Dan Halem, MLB's deputy commissioner and chief legal officer."It is our hope that this agreement — which is based on principles of prevention, treatment, awareness and education — will help protect the health and safety of our Players," Halem said in a statement announcing the change.The players are "overwhelmingly in favor" of expanding drug-testing to include opioids "and want to take a leadership role in helping to resolve this national epidemic," said Tony Clark, executive director of the MLB Players Association.CNN's Jill Martin and David Close contributed to this report. | 5sport
|
(CNN)Only two NBA teams have played four games so far this season: the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets. Both are talked up as potential championship contenders. Both have started the season a vanilla 2-2. Glimpses of championship quality alongside the growing pains of a team filled with new faces.For the Lakers, LeBron James' 29-point performance was not enough to overcome the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, losing 115-107. It is the first time the two sides have met since the Lakers knocked out Portland in the opening round of the 2020 playoffs, and the Trail Blazers sought revenge.READ: Los Angeles Lakers receive Championship rings -- and then lose season opener29 points for LeBron James wasn't enough for the Lakers to overcome the Trail Blazers on Monday.Damian Lillard had his second consecutive 30+ point game, while CJ McCollum's tally of 20 is his lowest of the season thus far -- his 11 assists made up for that though. Gary Trent Jr. also starred, the 21-year-old coming off the bench to score 28 points.Read MoreRecent Lakers acquisition Dennis Schröder put in a strong 24-point performance, but the Blazers were too strong. "Hopefully we can build on it, we realize that we can be a good team," said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. "We just beat the defending champs and they're a great team."The teams were relatively evenly matched statistically, except for 3-point attempts. These riskier plays paid off for the Blazers, who scored 16 of their 46 attempts, to the Lakers 10 of 27. Gary Trent Jr. (left) scored 28 points off the bench for the Blazers -- 21 of which came from 3-point shots alone.Trent Jr. had particular success from beyond the arc, scoring seven of his 11 attempts. Lillard praised Trent Jr. for his performance afterwards."(Trent Jr.) was on fire. I think everybody saw just a small sample of what he can do before the season was put on pause. Then when we got to the [NBA coronavirus secure] bubble, I think everybody saw his ability to defend and have a positive impact on the game offensively."He's a shot-maker, he has super, super, super confidence in himself. I think tonight, without his effort, we don't win this game."InjuriesThe Memphis Grizzlies win over the Brooklyn Nets yesterday came at a cost: star player and reigning Rookie of the Year Ja Morant hurting his left ankle." every setback is a setup for a comeback. God wants to bring you out better than you were before."heard you 🙏🏽🖤— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) December 29, 2020 Morant came into the game as the NBA's third best scorer this season, and 10th in assists. Without his contributions, the Grizzlies may have suffered bigger losses in their opening games.His 44 points against the San Antonio Spurs in the season opener was a career-high for him, and is also the second best solo performance in Grizzlies franchise history. He is the second-youngest Memphis player ever to score a 40-point game, and the second-youngest player in NBA history -- after Shaquille O'Neal -- to debut a season with a 40-point game. For the second overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, it seems like two is Morant's lucky number.He started the game in characteristic energetic and fluent play, but landed awkwardly on his ankle at the back end of the second quarter blocking a Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot shot. Morant hopped about in pain, before leaving the court in the wheelchair. He returned but only to the bench, wearing a protective boot.Ja Morant returned to watch the remainder of the game wearing a protective boot.Thankfully for Morant, his team say it is just a sprained ankle. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, there is no fracture, but the team is awaiting the results of an MRI today to assess the severity of the sprain.The Grizzlies team were able to come together during Morant's absence to clinch an overtime victory against a Nets team that was without stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.Forwards Kyle Anderson and Dillon Brooks stood up to cover for the loss of Morant, scoring 28 and 24 respectively.Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said Morant's injury was "a moment like that can really test you, but our guys just kept on fighting."He also described his team's performance as an "unbelievable display of resiliency by our group." | 5sport
|
London (CNN)Every family has their own traditions at Christmas -- and the British royal family is no different. Four generations of the family came together to prepare traditional seasonal treats ahead of the holidays, in photos that were made public on Saturday. Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Prince William, and six-year-old Prince George made the Christmas puddings at Buckingham Palace earlier in December as part of The Royal British Legion's "Together at Christmas" initiative, which is designed to provide support to armed forces and veteran communities during the holidays. Prince George joins his father, Prince William, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles to bake Christmas puddings to support to armed forces and veteran communities during the holidays. The festive desserts, prepared in the palace's music room, will be distributed along with other puddings next year across the charity's network as part of the initiative, which aims to provide support to armed forces communities at yearly festive get-togethers. Harry and Meghan spending 'private family time' in CanadaThe royal family usually spends the holiday period at Sandringham, the Queen's country estate in rural Norfolk, around 100 miles north of London.Read MoreThe family arrives on Christmas Eve for afternoon tea and a black-tie dinner, along with the opening of presents. After breakfast on Christmas morning, they attend a church service followed by lunch, a country walk and games. Prince Harry, his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and baby Archie won't be joining the royal contingent at Sandringham this year. In November, a spokesperson for the royal couple has confirmed to CNN that the new family will be spending the festive period with Meghan's mother Doria Ragland.On Friday, Prince Philip was admitted to hospital over a "pre-existing" condition, Buckingham Palace confirmed. The 98-year-old royal patriarch spent the night in hospital, PA Media reported. CNN's Jack Guy contributed to this report. | 3news
|
(CNN)Ten of the 12 founding members might have officially pulled out of the European Super League, but Barcelona has reiterated its commitment to the idea.On Tuesday, the new project collapsed spectacularly -- less than 48 hours after it was announced -- following the withdrawal of the six Premier League teams from the competition. Italian clubs Inter Milan, Juventus and AC Milan followed suit, as did Atletico Madrid.However, despite the ongoing backlash from fans, governing bodies and lawmakers, Barca announced its intention to plough on with the ill-fated Super League, citing the "need for structural reforms" in European football."In this context, the FC Barcelona Board of Directors accepted, as a matter of immediate urgency, the offer to form part, as the founding member, of the Super League, a competition designed to improve the quality and attractiveness of the product offered to the football fans and, at the same time, and as one of FC Barcelona's most inalienable principles, seek new formulas for solidarity with the football family as a whole," Thursday's statement read"The decision was made in the conviction that it would have been a historical error to turn down the opportunity to be part of this project as one of its founding members. Read More"As one of the world's top sports club, our intention shall always be to be at the forefront, this being an indispensable part of the club's identity and its sporting, social and institutional spirit."Barca's great La Liga rival Real Madrid also remains committed to the Super League plan and in a radio interview on Wednesday the club's President Florentino Perez said the exclusive competition is on "standby."READ: European Super League crumbles after majority of teams announce withdrawalREAD: Real Madrid president Florentino Perez insists Super League isn't canceled, only on 'standby'JUST WATCHEDFootball executive apologizes for European Super League planReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHFootball executive apologizes for European Super League plan 01:56Nonetheless Barca acknowledged the overwhelming public backlash to the formation of the Super League, saying there is "no question ... that a much more in-depth analysis is required into the reasons that have caused this reaction."The La Liga club added that it would "reconsider, if necessary, and to the required extent, the proposal as originally formulated and resolve all those issues, always for the good of the general interest of the football world. Such in-depth analysis needs time and the necessary composure to avoid taking any rash action."On Thursday, La Liga met with the 39 clubs from its first and second divisions that were not invited to join the Super League and put out a joint statement condemning the proposal."The present clubs at the meeting unanimously and strongly rejected the plans for this competition," it read. "All clubs firmly believe in sporting merit as the sole criteria to qualify to international club competitions through domestic leagues.JUST WATCHEDAndrea Agnelli: European Super League can not go aheadReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHAndrea Agnelli: European Super League can not go ahead 01:24"Today football fans across Europe can dream that their club, no matter the size, may excel, climb to the top and compete at the pinnacle of European football. This European tradition of football for all is paramount and should not be threatened or changed."Global resistance over the past few days has proven that a closed, elitist league is unviable and unwanted. The reaction proves just how much the open ecosystem and football community means to people." | 5sport
|
Story highlights Argentine president wants pope to use influence to help deal with Falklands disputeRobert Mugabe is among many leaders to be on hand for Francis' inaugurationThe pope, who plans to deliver his homily in Italian, isn't expected to stay within a scriptThousands of Catholics packed St. Peter's Square on Sunday to hear his first AngelusThe Vatican geared up for the inauguration of the pope on Tuesday, a ceremony ushering in a new era for the Roman Catholic Church.Anticipation mounted among the faithful across the globe awaiting a joyous and solemn chapter of Christian history. St. Peter's Square will bustle with tourists, locals and pilgrims during the official Mass to install Francis as the bishop of Rome.The choice of day to anoint him as the holy father of the Roman Catholic Church carries a rich symbolism: It is the day that Catholics celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph to honor Jesus' father on Earth, the carpenter Joseph. It also happens to be Father's Day in Italy.Foreign dignitaries, royalty, heads of state, and representatives of other religions will attend. Security will be on the alert as hymns, chants and prayers fill the square. The pope, who plans to deliver his homily in Italian, isn't expected to religiously stay within a script. He will have prepared comments but, his spokesmen say, he might diverge because he likes to be spontaneous. That trait will endear him to the flock but keep security on its toes.The world's largest Catholic populationsJUST WATCHEDFirst Sunday Mass for new pope ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHFirst Sunday Mass for new pope 01:59JUST WATCHEDArgentina's dirty warReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHArgentina's dirty war 02:48JUST WATCHEDSecret vote for Pope was in the cardsReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHSecret vote for Pope was in the cards 02:05"The very competent security forces with the pope are there with him. They've been watching him. They'll adapt to his own movements and they will do their best to adapt to new situations," Vatican deputy spokesman the Rev. Thomas Rosica told reporters."They're concerned about the protection of the pope, but also the protection of the people that are there as well. And this is something brand new, and they will adapt to that because they're extremely competent and very well prepared," he said. All this comes during one of the busiest times of the year on the Christian calendar. Less than a week away is Palm Sunday, the holiday that kicks off Holy Week, which culminates in Easter celebrations.Dignitaries stream inVatican spokesmen briefing reporters Monday stress that dignitaries are welcome to attend the inauguration but, by tradition, they don't receive a specific invitation. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is to lead the U.S. presidential delegation for the Mass, the White House said Friday, with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi also among the party. On Friday, House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, said he will send a separate bipartisan congressional delegation.Those delegations are among scores from nations and international organizations traveling to the Vatican, led by heads of states and governments. Delegations will be on hand from Italy and the pope's native Argentina. There will be other groups from the Americas, including Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Canada, and European nations such as Holland, Belgium and Germany.Representatives from across Christianity -- Eastern and Western -- are expected to be present. Members of other religions, including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism, are to be at the inauguration.One bit of controversy has emerged: Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, reviled for his human rights abuses, has arrived. He is under a European Union travel ban, but he can skirt that because he entered Italy on religious grounds. In power for decades, Mugabe visited the Vatican in 2011 for the beatification of the late Pope John Paul II. He attended that pope's funeral in 2005.Argentine president visitsPope Francis met at the Vatican on Monday with the leader of his native Argentina, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, a figure with whom Francis has clashed publicly over social issues.When he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis disagreed with the Argentine government's position on same-sex marriage and free distribution of contraceptives. But Fernandez sent a letter congratulating him as he assumed his new role.The pope's meeting with Fernandez, which also included lunch, is a sign he's trying to put the past behind him. The pope will bring his Argentine heritage with him to the Vatican, adopting the same motto and the coat of arms he used in Buenos Aires.JUST WATCHEDNew Pope dazzles the mediaReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHNew Pope dazzles the media 07:21JUST WATCHEDPope Francis delivers first AngelusReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHPope Francis delivers first Angelus 03:22After the meeting, Fernandez said she asked the pope to intervene in the dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands and help the nations spark a dialogue. The two countries went to war over the territory in 1982 after the then-military government in Argentina landed troops on the islands. For more than a year, renewed rhetoric between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the islands has escalated to a fever pitch, with both sides accusing each other of colonialism. Last week, residents of the South Atlantic islands overwhelmingly voted to remain under British rule.Fernandez said she and Francis also discussed human trafficking and slavery.Vatican: Argentine claims defamatoryThe Vatican has sought to quell controversy over Pope Francis' conduct during Argentina's so-called Dirty War from 1976 to 1983, amid accusations that he could have done more to protect two Jesuit priests who were kidnapped. The accusations resurfaced after the Argentine cardinal's unexpected election to the papacy last week.A book by investigative reporter Horacio Verbitsky accuses Francis, who was then Jorge Mario Bergoglio and was head of the country's Jesuit order, of deliberately failing to protect the two priests, Orlando Yorio and Francisco Jalics, when they were seized by the navy. They were found alive five months later.But the Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican's lead spokesman, dismissed the claims as false and defamatory."The campaign against Bergoglio is well-known and goes back to many years ago. It was promoted by a defamatory publication," he said at a Vatican news conference Friday."This was never a concrete or credible accusation in his regard. He was questioned by an Argentinian court as someone aware of the situation but never as a defendant. He has, in documented form, denied any accusations," Lombardi said."Instead, there have been many declarations demonstrating how much Bergoglio did to protect many persons at the time of the military dictatorship," he said.His role after he became bishop of Buenos Aires in asking for forgiveness for the church for not having done enough at the time of the dictatorship "is also well-known," Lombardi said.Bergoglio's journey to top of the churchFirst Sunday as popeThousands of Catholics waving flags from around the world packed St. Peter's Square on Sunday to hear Pope Francis deliver his inaugural Angelus.The new pontiff gave the noon blessing from the papal apartment window, speaking to more than 200,000 worshippers in the square four days after his election as pope."Dear brothers and sisters, good morning," he said in Italian, drawing cheers from the crowd. During the 15-minute address, he focused on forgiveness."Never forget this: The Lord never tires of forgiving us," he said. "Have you thought about the patience that God has with each of us?"He made the historic address after celebrating Mass at Sant'Anna parish in Vatican City earlier Sunday.Catholics: 5 ways for Francis to move forwardReforms to come?In his first week as pontiff, Francis has enjoyed global fanfare as the first Latin American pope and the first Jesuit pope in modern times. In just his first few days, he has prompted speculation that he may bring in wider changes.While he decided the heads of the various Vatican offices will keep their jobs for now, he's not making any definitive appointments, the Vatican said Saturday. CNN Vatican analyst John Allen, who's also a correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, said this is the first clear signal that he may be serious about reform."It's customary for new popes to swiftly reconfirm the department heads who lose their positions when the previous pontificate ends, and then take his time about bringing in his team," Allen said. "The fact that Francis has not followed that path may suggest that significant personnel moves will come sooner rather than later."Francis wants "a certain period for reflection, prayer and dialogue before (making) any definitive nomination or confirmation," a Vatican statement said.Pope Francis breaks with tradition | 3news
|
Story highlightsManchester United on course for Champions League group stage returnUnited beat Belgium's Club Brugge 3-1 at Old Trafford in first legMemphis Depay scores two goals in victory (CNN)Manchester United star Memphis Depay's match-winning performance against Club Brugge Tuesday prompted quite the reaction from manager Louis van Gaal.Follow @cnnsport
"I want to kiss him tonight," said the Dutchman, after two goals and an assist from Memphis turned United's Champions League playoff against Club Brugge on its head, following a Michael Carrick own goal that gifted the Belgian visitors an early lead. "I'm very happy for him because a player needs that," added United's manager as he reflected on Memphis' first goals for United."Hopefully he shall continue to score. I have confidence in him. He showed what he can do tonight. He scored two goals and got the assist for the other."Van Gaal was even happier that Memphis believed he could have done more in the game.Read More"When you score two goals and the assist also, normally in the world you are the hero," said Van Gaal. "For a trainer-coach, it's different. He's never satisfied. I like that. "You have to know what you are doing and also what you can do and then your desire to improve is higher. And that's Memphis."Two fine individual efforts -- the first including a flick of the ball over a defender's head -- were rounded off when the 21-year-old turned provider in the final seconds, sending a ball into the box that Marouane Fellaini headed home to give United a two-goal cushion for next Wednesday's second leg.Louis van Gaal hails the performance of @Memphis: "I want to kiss him tonight!" #mufc pic.twitter.com/etKHwa6Dkb— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 18, 2015
Memphis might have netted a hat-trick, but in the opening 45 minutes he selflessly chose to pass instead of shoot, and in the second half he blazed a shot over the crossbar after being set up by Wayne Rooney's deft back-heel. "I'm happy that I scored -- and of course I'm happy that we won," said the $34 million signing. "But I must admit I'm a bit disappointed because I could have scored the last two chances and got a hat-trick."I will think about that tonight and forget about it tomorrow."Van Gaal had appeared uncharacteristically tense in the run-up to his side's playoff with their Belgian opponents.The outspoken Dutchman, a Champions League winning coach with Ajax in 1995 and runner-up with Bayern Munich in 2010, bristled at questions regarding tactics, team selection and the form of his players when speaking with reporters Monday."The pressure is high," he said, revealingly, when asked about his pre-match emotions. After watching his side battle to a hard-fought 3-1 victory at Old Trafford Tuesday, however, the 64-year-old coach can breathe easier for the time being. Memphis Depay equalizes for Manchester United against Club Brugges in the Champions League playoffs.Van Gaal had even gone as far as to suggest the two-legged tie would constitute the biggest games since he replaced David Moyes at the helm of the Old Trafford club last year.Speaking at the end of Tuesday's entertaining first-leg, he seemed content with the win, yet was keen to stress that the tie was nowhere near over. "Because of that last goal (we can be) more confident," said United's Dutch manager."(Fellaini's goal) makes a difference because 2-1 is a very difficult result. We deserved much more because we created a lot of chances." Brugge strike firstAlthough on paper one of the easier teams United could have faced when the playoff draw was made two weeks ago -- the others being CSKA Moscow, Lazio, Monaco and Rapid Vienna -- the Blaue-Zwart proved stubborn opposition throughout. It even had the temerity to strike first.Victor Vazquez's eighth-minute free-kick from the angle deflected off the shin of United midfielder Michael Carrick, deceiving goalkeeper Sergio Romero to trickle into the home side's net.The home crowd was stunned while Brugge's voluble traveling support could hardly believe its luck. Yet it was a lead that would last only four minutes. Depay controlled Carrick's cross field pass with his chest deep in Brugge territory before dancing past three defenders and placing the ball beyond Sebastien Bruzzese. At this stage it looked like a goal-fest could be on the cards. But there were to be few more goalmouth incidents until just before half-time when Depay picked up Daley Blind's pass on the right hand corner of the Brugge box. The 21-year-old summer signing from Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven took a touch, shifted it on to his right foot and curled a precise strike around the despairing Bruzzese for his second goal of the night.Great win and a very important goal by @Fellaini! We put ourselves into a good position for the second leg! #UCL #mufc— Basti Schweinsteiger (@BSchweinsteiger) August 18, 2015
Brugge was pipped to the Belgian title by Gent last season, but it's players would seldom have encountered a customer as tricky Depay on domestic duty.The Dutchman was repeatedly allowed to cut inside from the left onto his stronger right foot with the Belgian club's defenders seemingly at a loss at how to stop him.Depay again tested Bruzzese at the beginning of the second half then missed a golden opportunity to notch his hat-trick on the hour, blazing over after being set up by Wayne Rooney's exquisite touch.Important @ManUtd win over Brugge. Still have the return leg to qualify for the group phase of the @ChampionsLeague. pic.twitter.com/18aqPoGX6i— Andreas Pereira (@andrinhopereira) August 18, 2015
The game was to tilt towards United yet further when Brugge was reduced to 10 men on 79 minutes. Brandon Mechele hauled down substitute Javier Hernandez with referee Deniz Aytekin swiftly waving a second yellow card at the defender.And United made its numerical advantage in the third minute of injury time. Depay, again allowed time on the ball, swung over a cross that Marouane Fellaini was able to nod beyond Bruzzese.It was a goal that could prove crucial in deciding the tie, and relaxing one Louis Van Gaal.Champions League roundupIn the evenings other playoff ties, Lazio claimed a vital home victory over Bayer Leverkusen after Keita Baldé Diao's goal ensured a slender 1-0 victory.A late Islam Slimani strike gave Sporting Club de Portugal a 2-1 home victory over CSKA Moscow in Lisbon while BATE Borisov overcame 10-man Partizan Belgrade in Minsk thanks to a solitary Mikhail Gordeychuk goal.FC Astana of Kazakhstan triumphed 1-0 at home to APOEL Nicosia of Cyprus courtesy of a Baurzhan Dzholchiyev strike.Read: Was Chelsea 3-0 defeat fake?Read: The billionaire who wants to fix FIFA | 5sport
|
Story highlightsWeld likens his job to football managementFerguson wrote foreword to autobiographyIrishman hoping to win the prestigious ArcRace takes place at Chantilly on October 2 (CNN)In sporting terms they are poles apart, but when it comes to winning horse races and football matches the ingredients for success are remarkably similar, according to Dermot Weld. The Irish champion trainer can lay claim to at least a modicum of insight, given his close friendship with ex-Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson. "I've known Sir Alex for a long time," Weld tells CNN from Rosewell House near the Curragh, Ireland's historic home of flat racing. Dermot Weld is bidding to add Harzand to his 4,000-plus winners, and a first Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe win."We've had many discussions about the similarities of training racehorses and managing football teams, and no one's better at knowing their players than Sir Alex Ferguson."The Scot might be famous for giving underperforming stars the "hairdryer treatment" on occasions, but he was also a master tactician routinely orchestrating match-winning performances during his 26-year reign at Old Trafford. Read MoreMORE: Ferguson takes up Harvard teaching post Ferguson, an avid horse racing fan, penned the foreword to Weld's 2009 autobiography "Vintage Crop: Against All Odds," offering some sage advice that could be equally be applied to his own footballing philosophy. "For me, he wrote about knowing your horses and knowing their weaknesses so that can become a strength," Weld explains. "So it's not always the best horse that might win a race but the right horse for that race."Former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson has always been a keen student of horse racing.On Sunday, Weld hopes his Fergie-esque Midas touch strikes once again with the Aga Khan-owned Harzand in the 95th running of the prestigious Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. It would be the latest twist in a colorful life that has even seen him played by the Irish actor Brendan Gleeson in The Cup, Gleeson better known for playing Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody in the Harry Potter franchise among others.Much like Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League crowns and 38 trophies in total at United, Weld is no stranger to silverware having trained more than 4,000 horses already during an illustrious career that shows few signs of diminishing.JUST WATCHEDWinning the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHWinning the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe 02:54Trailblazing trainerThe 68-year-old has won virtually every Irish race of repute -- some many times over, including the Irish Derby (three wins) and the Irish St Leger (seven). But it is arguably his victories on foreign shores that make him stand out.Weld is a liker of firsts, a trainer keen on being a trailblazer for his sport. He raced in Asia long before such a move was fashionable, winning the inaugural Hong Kong Mile with Additional Risk in 1991. He did the same with the Melbourne Cup, becoming the first foreign trainer to win the "race that stops a nation" in 1993 with Vintage Crop when critics said it was impossible.Ireland's Curragh racecourse is home to a statue of 1993 Melbourne Cup winner Vintage Crop, trained by Weld.He is also the first and still only European trainer to win the Belmont Stakes, part one of the Triple Crown in the United States, a feat he achieved with Go and Go in 1990.Weld has won with every horse imaginable from sprinters to stayers, and unlike many of his peers in flat racing has also enjoyed a myriad of winners over the fences too. There can be few, if any, more versatile trainers currently in the business across the globe.The Arc is one of the few major racing scalps to have eluded him yet but, in Harzand, he has a golden opportunity to break his duck."You always dream to have a horse good enough to win the Arc," he says of Europe's richest horse race, with a purse of $5.6 million.Already a groundbreaking first has been ticked off this season with a maiden victory at the UK's Epsom Derby with the Pat Smullen-ridden Harzand, which is bidding to emulate the feat of Golden Horn in sealing the Derby-Arc double in one season just 12 months ago.Read: Harzand wins Epsom DerbyBut the build-up has not been without its issues, the horse suffering a V-shaped cut during the Irish Champion Stakes earlier this month but Weld is confident he has recovered in time to race well at Chantilly racecourse -- the Arc's traditional home at Longchamp, Paris is currently undergoing refurbishment.JUST WATCHEDThe paintballing jockeyReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHThe paintballing jockey 02:55"He should be right," Weld says, "and he's certainly capable of winning the Arc but it's a very tough race."Vet-eran performer Of Harzand's well being, Weld should be well versed. Long before he was training horses he qualified as a vet, remarkably combining his studies with being crowned the leading amateur jockey in Ireland on three occasions."I was always interested in equine surgery," he explains. "That's what I would have gone into. Doing the riding and the course wasn't easy. I had a great friend who'd go to the lectures, pass on the notes and then often drive me to the race meetings. Then I'd study until midnight that night."He had brief stints working in the US and Australia, where his conjoined interests in the Triple Crown races and the Melbourne Cup were born before working under his father Charlie, himself an established trainer.JUST WATCHEDAustralia's golden horse racing heritageReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHAustralia's golden horse racing heritage 02:27What followed was Weld becoming arguably the most global trainer in the business starting with Hong Kong."There was Hong Kong and then the Belmont," he says, "which is funny as I'm looking at a picture of Go and Go [the Belmont winner he trained] right now. I trained grade 1 winners across the States, and then I looked to Australia."People told me I was mad and it was impossible," and so it proved on his first time of asking, quarantine and travel rules making the trip too complex in 1992 before he made it work the following year and traveled to Melbourne with Vintage Crop."I wanted to bring a horse 12,000 miles across the world and prove the world wrong," he recalls of the decision. "We went and won, and everything's changed since then. Nine years later I went back to prove it wasn't a fluke and won again."Dermot Weld and jockey Damien Oliver celebrate their 2002 Melbourne Cup victory.The story of Media Puzzle, the 2002 winner, is the one that got the movie treatment, telling the story of Damien Oliver's win on board and the previous tragic deaths of his jockey father and brother Jason, who lost his life just two weeks before the Melbourne Cup.Read: Weld guides Fascinating Rock to Champion Stakes winFor Weld, it was an emotive race while the movie-making process some years later proved a fun experience."I had Brendan Gleeson follow me around for a couple of days which was fun," he says. "And obviously he's a fabulous actor. Like any film, there was a bit of poetic license but overall I think they did very well."August 2016: Weld with the victorious Sharliyna after the Irish Stallion Farms European Breeders Fund Fillies Maiden at Dublin's Leopardstown Racecourse.Despite the drama of the win, he cannot pick it as a favorite. In fact, he finds it impossible to select a favorite win or favorite horse from over the years simply insisting that "I never got bored of winning and I'm always hungry for the next win."In football, there was Fergie time. Weld time has yet to become part of horse racing's lexicon but the Irishman would dearly like it to finally be his time in Paris on Sunday. | 5sport
|
Story highlightsTop seed Caroline Wozniacki loses to Kim Clijsters at the Australian OpenWozniacki will lose world No. 1 spot and is still searching for a first grand slam titleDefending champion Clijsters to face third seed Victoria Azarenka in the semifinalsBelarus' Azarenka came from one set down to beat eighth seed Agnieszka RadwanskaCaroline Wozniacki's quest for a first grand slam title and her reign as world No. 1 both ended on Tuesday after a quarterfinal defeat by defending champion Kim Clijsters at the Australian Open.Four-time grand slam winner Clijsters showed little sign of being hampered by the ankle injury she sustained during her fourth-round win against last year's runner-up Li Na as she won 6-3 7-6 (7-4) in one hour and 45 minutes.Wozniacki finished the last two seasons top of the world rankings and has been No. 1 seed for the last six majors. However, the 21-year-old Dane is now certain to fall below No. 2 Petra Kvitova and No. 3 Victoria Azarenka -- who is Clijsters' semifinal opponent on Thursday.Fourth seed Maria Sharapova, who plays fellow Russian Ekatarina Makarova in the last eight on Wednesday, could also take top spot -- a position she, like Clijsters, has held before."Kim is very experienced," Wozniacki, who was beaten by Clijsters in her only grand slam final at the 2009 U.S. Open, told reporters. "I mean, she's a great player. Of course I really don't like losing. I try to go in and try to win every time I play, but today Kim was just that little bit better than me."JUST WATCHEDBecker on Australian OpenReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHBecker on Australian Open 04:47Wozniacki, who could slip to No. 4 in the world depending on Sharapova's results, insisted she is not concerned about losing her top ranking."I start laughing every time because the media talks to me like I'm finishing my career and I only have one year left and time is running out," she said. "I still have a number of Australian Opens and a number of U.S. Opens and Wimbledons and French Opens left."In the end of the day, you can just do your best. You can't do anything more than that. If your best is good enough, that's great. If not, then it's just too good from the other person. I will come back not only once but more times."Clijsters saved four match points in her victory over 2011 French Open champion Li and the Belgian looked as if she might be set for another struggle after letting a 5-2 lead slip in the second set.But the three-time U.S. Open winner rallied to take control of the tie break and advance to her seventh Australian Open semifinal as she beat a No. 1 for the first time in a grand slam.Having taken more than two years to win her first major title after first reaching the top of the world rankings, the current world No. 14 can sympathize with Wozniacki's plight."She's worked very hard to get to where she is, and she's one of the most consistent players. People are almost in a way almost blaming her for it. I think that's something that is really absurd," Clijsters said."I think it's all a matter of experience and improving, definitely improving and trying to learn from losses and become better every slam. Then she will definitely get there."Eleventh seed Clijsters said she had gone to great lengths to ensure her ankle was ready."Instead of really focusing on the match you're focusing on trying to get the ankle as good as possible," the 28-year-old said. "Laying on the couch, every 20 minutes ice, 20 minutes off, 20 minutes ice, 20 minutes off. Leg elevated. Lymphatic drainage, all that stuff. "I had a light hit yesterday without really sidewards movement, just trying to get a feel for the ball, and then back to the icing and all that same routine all over again."Azarenka earlier came from behind against Polish eighth seed Agnieszka Radwanska before winning 6-7 (0-7) 6-0 6-2.It was the 22-year-old's 18th victory in her last 21 matches."It was very important to see how I could adjust after not playing really well in the first set," said the Belorussian, whose only previous grand slam semifinal came at Wimbledon last year. "I completely turned it around, so I'm really, really happy about that. Maybe two years ago I would be like, 'Okay it's not working today.' "But today I really tried to forget about the first set and start from zero and really fight hard, take it one at a time and keep going."Wednesday's quarterfinals pit the Czech Republic's Kvitova against Italian world No. 48 Sara Errani and 2008 champion Sharapova against 56th-ranked Makarova -- who beat five-time Australian Open winner Serena Williams in the fourth round. | 5sport
|
(CNN)A rescue on the high seas. One judge was SMH IRL. And this 5-year-old has a wild encounter. These are the must-see videos for the week:Wipe outJUST WATCHEDPhotographer captures ocean rescue in real timeReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHPhotographer captures ocean rescue in real time 01:57A local photographer was catching all the action at a surfing competition when she spotted a man in distress. Her incredible images show the journey of an ocean rescue in real-time off the shores of North Carolina.Gaga over gag orderJUST WATCHEDJudge in disbelief after DA breaks rule in Amber Guyger trialReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHJudge in disbelief after DA breaks rule in Amber Guyger trial 00:56The judge presiding over the Amber Guyger murder trial had a strong reaction to the violation of a gag order. Judge Tammy Kemp doubled over in disappointment after learning Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot gave a TV interview the previous night.Read More'This is NOT OK'JUST WATCHEDReporter calls out the man who kissed her on live TVReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHReporter calls out the man who kissed her on live TV 02:12A CNN affiliate reporter was kissed on the cheek by a stranger during a live broadcast, and she had a powerful message for him. WAVE reporter Sara Rivest called him out when she returned to the safety of the news studio. The man has now been charged with harassment with physical contact, according to police.The phrase that paysJUST WATCHEDLate-night hosts take on Trump impeachment inquiry ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHLate-night hosts take on Trump impeachment inquiry 01:00Late-night hosts Seth Meyers, Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert had fun at President Donald Trump's expense. They wasted no time reacting to the formal impeachment inquiry launched by the House after transcripts of Trump's phone call with Ukraine were released.Too close for comfortJUST WATCHEDVideo captures girl's very close call with a wild coyoteReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHVideo captures girl's very close call with a wild coyote 01:08A 5-year-old Illinois girl told her mother there was a coyote in their front yard. Mom wasn't too sure about her daughter's wild story, but the security camera shows she wasn't crying "wolf." | 3news
|
Paris (CNN)He was once the subject of mockery in French political circles. Now Emmanuel Macron has had the last laugh.The independent centrist, who had never held elected office, has become the Fifth Republic's youngest ever president after defeating far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.The 39-year-old former investment banker, who entered the race without the backing of an established political party, had been branded by his opponents as inexperienced.But part of Macron's allure is his atypical rise -- a civil servant who became a millionaire and eventually a government minister.Marriage a focusRead MoreHis private life has attracted attention, too.As a 17-year-old, he told his high school teacher that he would one day marry her. He fulfilled that promise in 2007 when Brigitte Trogneux, 24 years his senior, became his wife.French journalist Anne Fulda reveals more details about their relationship in her recent book, "Emmanuel Macron: A Perfect Young Man." According to Reuters, the book tells how the teenage Macron defied his father's orders to end the romance with Trogneux, who was married with three children at the time. Macron's wife Brigitte -- once his high school teacher -- has been highly visible during his campaign.
Since 2015, the previously very private couple have been spending more time with the media, appearing in several French glossy magazines. The marriage took center stage earlier this year when Macron was accused of having an affair with a man. He dismissed the allegations and criticized the rumormongers, saying: "For those who want to spread the rumor that I am deceitful... not only is it unpleasant for Brigitte, but I promise that from morning until night, she shares my whole life with me. She's wondering how I could physically do it."From minister to candidateBorn in the northern French city of Amiens where he went to school and first met Trogneux, Macron studied at Paris's prestigious Lycée Henry IV before entering the Ecole National d'Administration, long a training ground for France's political elite.Appointed to President Francois Hollande's staff in 2012 after a successful career in the banking sector, Macron moved into the role of economy minister two years later, replacing the more left-wing Arnaud Montebourg.The beginner's guide to the French electionsBut his time in office was not without controversy. His determination to push through business-friendly, liberal reforms made him unpopular on the government's own benches.With a backbench rebellion and government defeat looming, the so-called "Macron Law," which aimed to shake up the economy through labor reform, had to be forced through the National Assembly with the help of a controversial parliamentary measure.It led to several days of protest, but also to Macron's realization that it was not just the economy that needed to change, but the system itself.Announcing his resignation in August, he explained that he had "touched with his own finger, the limits of the system," before catapulting himself into the presidential race by launching his own party, En Marche!What he's pledgedMacron's election manifesto promised to reform France's welfare and pensions systems.He has been vocal about the fight against terror and law and order, announcing proposals to increase defense spending, hire 10,000 more police officers and create a task force that would work around the clock to fight ISIS.Macron's policies had been aimed at wooing conservative voters, but he has also unveiled proposals to please the left too, such as his call for better pay for teachers working in poor, socially diverse areas.He is staunchly pro-European and has promised to put France back at the heart of the EU and defend the bloc's single market.He has also struck a diplomatic tone seeking constructive dialogue with US President Donald Trump, while expressing interest in working with Russia, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia towards lasting political solutions in Syria and elsewhere.The frightening similarities between the US and French electionsAnd he's managed to pull in support from across the political spectrum in France. In March, former Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced he would be voting for Macron rather than his own party's candidate, and after the results of the first round were announced, defeated Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon and Republicans Francois Fillon and Alain Juppe pledged their support and asked their voters to do the same.Crucially, Macron managed to attract a number of first-time voters of all ages.En Marche!, which was only created in September, now has more than 200,000 members and his meetings have attracted vast crowds.With his strong support base boosted by Republicans and Socialists, Macron was propelled into the Élysée Palace.The campaign may be over, but the real work is only just beginning. As Macron himself said: "A new page of our history" has been turned. | 3news
|
Story highlightsOfficers probing 12 potentially linked crimes at resorts near where Madeleine vanishedMan is suspected of breaking into vacation homes where British families were stayingMadeleine was 3 when she disappeared in a Portuguese resort town in 2007Her disappearance prompted headlines worldwide.Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are looking for a man who assaulted five other young British girls on vacation in Portugal, London's Metropolitan Police said Wednesday. Madeleine was 3 when she disappeared while she was on vacation in the Portuguese resort town of Praia da Luz with her family in June 2007. Her disappearance prompted headlines worldwide.Officers are investigating 12 potentially linked crimes at resorts near where the toddler vanished.The man, whom witnesses describe as being tanned with short, dark, unkempt hair, is suspected of breaking in to 12 vacation homes where British families were staying in the Algarve between 2004 and 2010. In four of the incidents, girls between 7 and 10 years of age were sexually assaulted in their beds. On one of these occasions, he assaulted two girls in the same villa, police said. These attacks happened between 2004 and 2006. JUST WATCHEDEd Smart on coping with a missing childReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHEd Smart on coping with a missing child 03:36"Whilst not identical, there are many similar aspects to each of the incidents in that in most cases there were no signs of forced entry to the property, nothing was taken, and the intruder appeared in the early hours of the morning," between 2 and 5 a.m., police said in a statement"The suspect may have been in the villa or looking round the villa for some time before committing the offenses or being disturbed either by a parent coming in, or the child waking up. He remained calm, even when disturbed."On two occasions the suspect was wearing a burgundy long sleeve top. On one of those occasions it was described as having a white circle on the back, Metropolitan Police said.
MysteryOf the 12 offenses, there were four in Carvoeiro, six in the Vale da Parra, Praia da Gale district, and two in Praia da Luz. On two occasions, the noise of a bin collection lorry could be heard nearby.The man is said to have spoken in English with a foreign accent, and his voice was described as slow, or possibly slurred."These matters are very serious. It's very important primarily for us to understand and identify who this offender is," Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said. "Firstly, because clearly nobody has been prosecuted for these horrible offenses against these young people. And secondly, once we have identified this offender, we need to be able to prove or disprove whether these offenses and that offender is connected to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann."Last October, new police sketches were released of potential suspects in the case, and UK police appeared in a television appeal for information.The program prompted a flurry of tips, and police in Portugal announced they would reopen the case. Since then, the Portuguese investigation has run in parallel with the British one.Detectives have previously said they were investigating a spike in break-ins in the area in the weeks before Madeleine disappeared, two of them in the same block where her family was staying.Mystery has surrounded Madeleine's disappearance for the past six years. Neither her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, nor the detectives investigating her case have given up on one day finding the little girl from Leicestershire, England.READ: Madeleine McCann case: TimelineREAD: January: Madeleine McCann case: British investigators request Portugal interviews READ: January: UK authorities looking into 3 people in Madeleine McCann disappearance | 3news
|
(CNN)Three recent ads from Republican Senate candidates explicitly echo the false claim that the 2020 election was rigged or stolen, illustrating how lies from former President Donald Trump and his allies continue to drive GOP messaging ahead of the 2022 midterms. In a new ad from Rep. Billy Long, running in Missouri, the Republican says Trump "made America great, but the democrats rigged the election." In another ad launched this week by Jim Lamon, running in Arizona, a narrator says politicians "lie, waste our money, rig our elections," over an image of President Joe Biden. And in an ad from Bernie Moreno, running in Ohio, the candidate says straight to camera, "President Trump says the election was stolen, and he's right." There's no evidence to support the false claims that the 2020 election was rigged or stolen, and none of the candidates have substantiated such claims in ads or otherwise. Nevertheless, the slew of content coming from Republican candidates echoing those lies is a key trend to watch as the midterms heat up, particularly in these competitive Republican primaries where candidates are seeking Trump's favor. Read MoreAccording to AdImpact data, including future reservations, Lamon has spent about $2.3 million on advertising; Moreno has spent about $2.6 million on advertising; and Long has just started his TV advertising, so data is not yet available. | 4politics
|
London (CNN)People in the United Kingdom think that climate change, pollution and the environment are together the most important issues they face, well ahead of the pandemic, the impacts of Brexit and the country's troubled National Health Service, according to a poll from Ipsos MORI published on Wednesday.The poll showed the highest level of concern about the climate crisis since the agency began polling in 1988. Ipsos MORI publishes its poll monthly, and November's was carried out over a week during the COP26 climate conference. The event was held in Glasgow, Scotland, and received extensive national media coverage. Around 40% of people surveyed said climate change, pollution and the environment were among their top three concerns. The pandemic came second at 27% and Brexit was third, with 22%. Ipsos MORI interviewed more than 1,000 adults, who answered spontaneously and were not prompted with options as answers. Climate concern was 16 percentage points higher in November than October, when people expressed greater concern about Brexit, the pandemic and the economy. Read MoreWas COP26 successful? Here's how climate summits make a differenceWhile there was a clear bump in interest during the COP26 conference, there has been longterm growth in concern about climate over the past decade, which has been confirmed by other polls, including from YouGov. The Ipsos MORI poll showed was a fairly even distribution of climate concern across age groups, genders and political affiliation."[It's] very encouraging that climate change is no longer a preoccupation reserved to the young and the liberal," Gabriela Jiga-Boy, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Swansea, told CNN. "It means that British society may not be very divided regarding climate change. This is very important in these times, when we discuss a lot about real or false polarization on issues, and we often exaggerate how polarized people actually are."Climate a top concern for older people, tooMen and women considered the climate crisis a top issue almost equally, at 40% and 41%, respectively, the poll showed. And supporters of the center-right Conservative Party and center-left Labour Party were equal in their concern for climate issues.In the age group of 55 and over, 47% of people said it was a top issue. For the 35 to 54 age group, it was 43%. Among those 18 to 34 years old, just 27% said the same, though that age group was less likely to say they were worried about any particular issue.While countries wrangle over who should pay for the climate crisis, a community on Lagos Island is being swallowed by the sea Ralitsa Hiteva, a senior research fellow in the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex Business School, said that climate change is now a top priority among a majority of groups because the topic is "becoming personal." That's also true for how policies like net-zero emissions targets may affect them.Dozens of countries have set a net-zero emissions goal for mid-century, for which they plan to drastically reduce greenhouse emissions and "capture" excess, through actions like planing trees or using technology to remove carbon from fossil fuels. Such technology isn't fully developed and remains controversial. "We are seeing that people are personally affected by things related to both the target for net zero, and are seeing and experiencing the impact of climate change -- from large wildfires to the rapid increases of the price of energy," Hiteva told CNN in an email.While concern about the climate crisis is fairly even among age groups, support for different types of climate action is more divisive."Older people are more inclined to pay for investment in infrastructure to improve the experience of future generations," she said, adding that younger adults were less likely to do so."The only way for this to translate into action is to use the momentum of the moment and engage people with re-imagining how infrastructure investment can be designed and used in an innovative way which is not only kinder to the environment but is also more inclusive and fairer." | 3news
|
(CNN)A former Denmark football international recently traveled to Amsterdam and there in the Dutch city he contracted coronavirus. Thomas Kahlenberg, who has represented his country at the 2010 World Cup, then returned to Denmark and went to watch his old club Brøndby play against Lyngby at Brøndby Stadium last weekend.It's series of events that has Danish health authorities now scrambling to find out who the 36-year-old has been in contact with. It's also as case that demonstrates the myriad challenges that are being posed to health authorities as they try to a grip on the outbreak."The authorities are now calling on the individual fans who, during Thomas Kahlenberg's visit to Brøndby Stadium, have been in direct physical contact with Thomas Kahlenberg, including his visit to the Fan Zone, Michael Laudrup-Lounge and reception at Brøndby Stadium," said a statement on the Brøndby website."The Danish Patient Safety Board (DPSB) must map everyone who has been in direct physical contact with Thomas Kahlenberg to prevent more people from getting the disease."Read MoreSpecifically the DPSB wants to know who either exchanged a handshake with Kahlenberg, hugged him or sat with the former Danish international for over "15 minutes, less than two meters away" at the Brøndby Stadium.Meanwhile the Brøndby club is also grappling with the fallout of last Sunday's game."In Brøndby IF's organization, there are currently 13 people who have been placed in home quarantine, which is distributed to nine people in the administration, including CEO Ole Palmå, and four people in the sports sector; defender Joel Kabongo, assistant coach Martin Retov, analyst Jimmy Brinksby and sports psychologist Christian Engell," said a statement on the Danish club's website.Kahlenberg, who is now in isolation, played 47 times for Denmark and is "doing well", according to his former club. READ: 'Phenomenon' Kylian Mbappe lives up to billing as the new PeleREAD: Juventus donates leftover food to charity after coronavirus postpones gameThomas Kahlenberg is believed to have contracted coronavirus in Amsterdam. Coronavirus impactOpposition side Lyngby also confirmed that three members of its first-team squad had been in contact with Kahlenberg and have been asked to self-isolate for the next two weeks. None of its players -- Martin Ornskov, Kasper Jorgensen and Patrick da Silva -- are believed to have shown any symptoms of the virus but the club is following health officials' advice.As coronavirus continues to spread around the world, a number of sporting events have been compromised as a result. Italy's top flight soccer league Serie A has postponed a number of games in recent weeks and fears remain over whether Tokyo 2020 will go ahead as planned. The Danish top flight became the latest domestic league to be affected by the virus with clubs having to play games behind closed doors for the rest of March.It comes as the country has banned all public events of over 1,000 people. The English Premier League announced Thursday that the traditional pre-match handshakes between players and officials will be scrapped until further notice as the number of confirmed cases in the UK increases. The novel coronavirus has killed more than 3,300 people, the vast majority in mainland China, according to CNN's tally. The World Health Organization reported the world is nearing 100,000 cases, while John Hopkins University says that number has already been surpassed. | 5sport
|
(CNN)The US Embassy in Turkey told American citizens it is closed to the public Monday because of a "security threat," and advised them to "keep a low profile," the embassy said in a security alert.The embassy, located in the Kavaklidere district of Ankara, said it "will announce the reopening once it resumes services." The alert was issued Sunday.The nature of the threat was not disclosed. Turks have been the victims of terror over recent years, and the government suspects ISIS, Kurdish militants and far-left groups.The DHKP-C, or Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front, a far-left group, claimed responsibility for a 2013 suicide bombing at the US Embassy in Ankara.Tensions over SyriaRead MoreThere have been tensions between the United States and Turkey lately over the Trump administration's decision to provide weapons and equipment to Kurdish elements of the opposition Syrian Democratic Forces.Turkish operation in Syria undercuts US gains in ISIS fightAnkara, which criticized the move, sees such Kurdish groups as linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK -- a separatist group that has waged a decade's long insurgency against the Turkish government.Turkey launched an operation targeting Kurdish groups in Afrin in January, shortly after the US coalition announced plans to work with SDF elements to help stabilize areas of Syria that had been captured from ISIS.Another source of tension between the United States and Turkey involves a Muslim cleric named Fethullah Gulen, who has been living in exile in the United States. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan believes Gulen orchestrated the failed 2016 coup attempt and has urged the United States to extradite him. But the United States has refused to do so."Only emergency services"The embassy advised Americans to steer clear of the embassy, stay away from large crowds, let friends and family members know about safety status and monitor the local media outlets."Heighten your personal security posture and awareness if you choose to visit popular tourist sites, shopping malls, shopping districts, and sports and entertainment venues," the security alert said.During the closing, the embassy said it will provide "only emergency services."Why Turkey-US tensions have come to a boil"Routine services, such as passport renewals including lost or stolen passports, reports of birth abroad, and notarial services, are not considered emergencies," the alert said. "Requests for these services will be processed through our online appointment system once the Embassy reopens. Visa interviews and other routine services are canceled; applicants will be informed directly of steps to take."CNN's Ryan Browne, Barbara Starr, Angela Dewan and Gul Tuysuz contributed to this report | 3news
|
(CNN)A Nebraska man pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Monday in the 2020 shooting deaths of two employees at a Sonic Drive-In, prosecutors said. Roberto Silva Jr. also pleaded guilty to arson, the Sarpy County Attorney's Office said in a news release Tuesday. Police had said Silva set a rental truck on fire in the parking lot of the Sonic in Bellevue, Nebraska, in November 2020 as a distraction to draw people out before opening fire.Nathan Pastrana, 22, and Ryan Helbert, 28, were killed and two other workers were injured, officials said. "Roberto Silva knowingly walked into a restaurant that day and killed two people and injured two others," County Attorney Lee Polikov said in a written statement. He noted prosecutors will still seek the death penalty, despite the plea.Silva's plea was not part of a deal and it surprised prosecutors, CNN affiliate WOWT reported.Read More"Cases can sometimes be unpredictable and that's what unfolded in court (Monday)," County Attorney Chief Deputy Bonnie Moore said.Under Nebraska law, the state Supreme Court will appoint a three-judge panel to determine whether the death penalty is warranted in the case.CNN has been unable to reach Silva's legal representatives. CNN's Jennifer Feldman, Rebekah Riess and Jenn Selva contributed to this report. | 3news
|
Story highlightsVincent Kompany joined Manchester City from Hamburg in 2008The defender is captain for both City and the Belgium national teamKompany combined a football career with his studies as a teenagerHe hopes to see authorities take a hard stance when tackling racismWhile those about him have lost their heads, Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has been a model of consistency.Whether it is players falling foul of the law, refusing to play, or simply getting swept up by the revolving door at the club's Etihad Stadium, Kompany has seen a number of teammates and managers come and go during his five years in Manchester.But the Belgian has led the line for City both on and off the pitch.The 27-year-old is captain of both club and country and his leadership helped City clinch a first English championship in 44 years in 2012.Read: Marta seeks fair deal for women Photos: Movers and shakers in transfer window Photos: Movers and shakers in transfer windowReal deal? – The transfer window means football is rarely off the newspaper back pages in the off season. Much ink has been already been devoted to the question of whether Spurs' Welsh international Gareth Bale will join Real Madrid.Hide Caption 1 of 10 Photos: Movers and shakers in transfer windowReal muscle – Despite their interest in Bale, Real have already flexed their muscles in the transfer window by signing young Spanish stars Isco (pictured playing for Malaga last season) for $40m and Asier Illarramendi from Real Sociedad for $51m.Hide Caption 2 of 10 Photos: Movers and shakers in transfer windowRooney to Chelsea? – Wayne Rooney's future as a Manchester United player continues to be in doubt after Chelsea declared an interest in signing the England forward.Hide Caption 3 of 10 Photos: Movers and shakers in transfer windowFab return to England? – Meanwhile United have made several unsuccessful bids to sign Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who before rejoining the Catalan club had played for Arsenal.Hide Caption 4 of 10 Photos: Movers and shakers in transfer windowManchester City revamp – United's rivals Manchester City have been active in the transfer market signing Fernandinho for $45m, Stevan Jovetic ($33.5m), Alvaro Negredo ($25m) and Jesus Navas ($23m).Hide Caption 5 of 10 Photos: Movers and shakers in transfer windowSuarez wants out – Liverpool are facing a fight to keep hold of striker Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan forward has openly talked of wanting to join Real Madrid, while Arsenal have made a number of bids for Suarez.Hide Caption 6 of 10 Photos: Movers and shakers in transfer windowCavani choses PSG – Another Uruguayan international Edinson Cavani has changed clubs during the transfer window. Cavani signed a five-year deal with French champions Paris Saint-Germain for a reported French record fee of euro 64 million ($84 million).Hide Caption 7 of 10 Photos: Movers and shakers in transfer windowHiguain makes Serie A switch – After Cavani joined PSG, Napoli used some of the money to sign Argentine international Gonzalo Higuain from Real Madrid. Higuain, who is reported to have cost Napoli in the region of $50 million, spent six-and-a-half seasons at the Bernabeu and scored a total of 107 goals in 187 appearances.Hide Caption 8 of 10 Photos: Movers and shakers in transfer windowMonaco intent – PSG are not the only French club spending big. Monaco served notice of their intent to challenge at the top of world football by completing the signing of Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao. The transfer fee wasn't disclosed by Monaco, but it was reported to be almost $80 million.Hide Caption 9 of 10 Photos: Movers and shakers in transfer windowMonaco swoop for Porto pair – Prior to signing Falcao, Monaco's owner Dmitry Rybolovlev -- worth $9.1 billion, according to Forbes -- funded the transfers of Porto pair Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez for $90 million.Hide Caption 10 of 10 Photos: Germany win Euro 2013 title Photos: Germany win Euro 2013 titleGermany win Euro 2013 title – Nadine Angerer reacts after saving a second penalty kick during the women's European Championship final in Solna.Hide Caption 1 of 3 Photos: Germany win Euro 2013 titleGermany win Euro 2013 title – German players react to the only goal of the Euro 2013 final from Amja Mittag.Hide Caption 2 of 3 Photos: Germany win Euro 2013 titleGermany win Euro 2013 title – Germany's women lift the Euro 2013 title after a 1-0 victory over Norway in the final in Sweden.Hide Caption 3 of 3His stellar performances and articulate interviews have made Kompany an idol among fans and a respected figure within the media.Kompany's level head is something he credits to his education and his parents, who kept him grounded even when it became clear he was destined for sporting stardom."I couldn't go anywhere without finishing my studies," Kompany told CNN reflecting on the years he spent combining football and his education."I always remember playing in big games, millions of people watching, and the next day coming back at two o'clock in the morning."At eight o'clock I was just sitting on the bench with all my classmates and I was just a normal guy, but it's always given me the right balance. "I thank my mother every day and my father every day for pushing me in that direction. They've never ever said to me, 'You're a great footballer. You've made it now just focus on your football.' Photos: The rebirth of the New York Cosmos Photos: The rebirth of the New York CosmosSuperstars stateside – Pele (right) joined the New York Cosmos in 1975 and led a troop of superstars who flocked to the North American Soccer League (NASL). George Best, pictured here with the Brazilian, was a Manchester United legend who enjoyed three separate spells in the NASL.Hide Caption 1 of 9 Photos: The rebirth of the New York CosmosBrilliant Beckenbauer – Franz Beckenbauer was captain of the West Germany team which lifted the 1974 World Cup. The Bayern Munich icon won three NASL Soccer Bowls with the Cosmos between 1977 and 1980.Hide Caption 2 of 9 Photos: The rebirth of the New York CosmosBoys from Brazil – Pele and his compatriot Carlos Alberto spent one season together in the "Big Apple" which culminated with the Cosmos winning the 1977 Soccer Bowl. Carlos Alberto, who captained Brazil to World Cup glory in 1970, played 100 times for the Cosmos in two separate spells.Hide Caption 3 of 9 Photos: The rebirth of the New York CosmosPast and present – Pele meets Giovanni Savarese, the Venezuelan coach of the modern day Cosmos. Saverese has pedigree in U.S. football and enjoyed a prolific spell with the New York/New Jersey Metrostars.Hide Caption 4 of 9 Photos: The rebirth of the New York CosmosReturn to action – The teamsheet for the Cosmos friendly with English third-tier team Leyton Orient. The fixture was vital for the Cosmos as part of their preparations for the new NASL season.Hide Caption 5 of 9 Photos: The rebirth of the New York CosmosHumble beginnings – The match program at Leyton Orient's Matchroom Stadium celebrates the arrival of its prestigious opponents.Hide Caption 6 of 9 Photos: The rebirth of the New York CosmosThe future is green – Ahead of Saturday's match against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, the Cosmos' first competitive fixture in 30 years, the top of the Empire State Building is turned green.Hide Caption 7 of 9 Photos: The rebirth of the New York CosmosLeading light – Marcos Senna is the most high-profile player in the current squad. The Brazil-born midfielder was a key part of the Spain team which won Euro 2008.Hide Caption 8 of 9 Photos: The rebirth of the New York CosmosSoccer in the Big Apple – Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls have shown that soccer in the city can be a success. Cosmos COO Erik Stover spent three years with the team, helping the Red Bulls move to a new purpose-built stadium. Hide Caption 9 of 9JUST WATCHEDNew York Cosmos' grand plansReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHNew York Cosmos' grand plans 02:12"They've always said keep other things at hand and I guess I still have this in my life now."Blog: Is Gareth Bale worth $120m?Kompany's present is a far cry from his parents' past. His parents fled Zaire, now known as Democratic Republic of Congo, during the regime of president Mobuto Sese Seko, heading to Belgium where Kompany was born and raised. "They've given us so much love when we were younger, but I guess like any modern family as well, we've had our problems in the fight," said Kompany of his parents. "We've had financial difficulties like any normal family would have, but I think that the biggest lesson for me is that we've always come back to that education, the strength to do our own thing ... knowing that we would be okay even if we didn't have any money because we knew exactly how to handle situations."Despite the success he has enjoyed since signing for City in 2008, Kompany continues to have numerous extracurricular interests.British newspaper the Daily Mail reported in January 2012 that Kompany had signed up for a three-year Business Administration course, while he also purchased a football club in his hometown and renamed it BX Brussels. Photos: New man at Camp Nou Photos: New man at Camp NouNew man at Camp Nou – Gerardo Martino has signed a two-year deal at Barcelona after agreeing to replace former coach Tito Vilanova. Hide Caption 1 of 5 Photos: New man at Camp NouMessi's man – Barcelona's star player Lionel Messi is a huge admirer of fellow Argentine Martino. Both men hail from Rosario and Messi's father is a close friend of the new Barcelona manager.Hide Caption 2 of 5 Photos: New man at Camp NouVilanova fights on – Vilanova took over from Josep Guardiola as Barcelona coach in June 2012 but was forced to leave his post to continue his fight against throat cancer. Vilanova missed nearly three months of last season undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Hide Caption 3 of 5 Photos: New man at Camp NouFrom Barca to Bayern – Guardiola won 14 trophies with Barcelona between 2008 and 2012 before taking a sabbatical. Now in charge of Champions League winner Bayern Munich, Guardiola will face his former side in a friendly game at the Allianz Arena.Hide Caption 4 of 5 Photos: New man at Camp NouNew man at Camp Nou – As well as Messi, Martino will be able to deploy the considerable talents of Brazilian star Neymar next season.Hide Caption 5 of 5JUST WATCHEDOzil: Real Madrid needs RonaldoReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHOzil: Real Madrid needs Ronaldo 02:55The team, which plays at the bottom level of the Belgian football pyramid, is Kompany's attempt to ensure up and coming players are given the best possible start to their careers."I played football for Anderlecht from the age of 6 to the age of 20 so that has had a big impact on my life, at the same time as my parents and the schools I went to," he explained."I really believe that the interactions between all of those different assets led me to be better."I want to make a very strong link into the schools, maybe sometimes even the life at home for the kids."I think a part of the reason why a lot of young kids fail is because they don't have the support from home that they need to."One obstacle faced by some modern footballers is racism. The key to tackling discrimination, according to Kompany, is also education.While Kompany pays little heed to the abusers, he still says it is important for the game's governing bodies to clamp down on the vocal minority."It's a very sad life, it's a very sad way of behaving so I wouldn't give them too much attention," he added. "But at the same time, as much as I wouldn't teach my kids to give them too much attention, I hope the governing bodies will be extremely hard and extremely exemplary in the way that they deal with those situations." | 5sport
|
Story highlightsHoman said he recently asked HSI to audit how much of their time is spent on work site enforcementHe asked his agency to increase that effort "four or five times"Washington (CNN)The administration's top immigration enforcement official on Tuesday said his agency will vastly step up crackdowns on employers who hire undocumented immigrants -- a new front in President Donald Trump's hardline immigration agenda.Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan spoke at the conservative Heritage Foundation and was asked whether his agency would do more to target not just undocumented workers, but their places of work. Homan said he has instructed Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative unit of ICE, to potentially quintuple worksite enforcement actions next year.He said he recently asked HSI to audit how much of their time is spent on work site enforcement, and said he has ordered that to increase "by four to five times.""We've already increased the number of inspections in work site operations, you will see that significantly increase this next fiscal year," Homan promised, saying the goal is to remove the "magnet" drawing people to enter the US illegally.Read MoreDHS explores ways to transform immigration system without CongressAnd he said his agency would approach the task in a way that's "a little different" than in the past, by going just as aggressively after employees."Not only are we going to prosecute the employers that hire illegal workers, we're going to detain and remove the illegal alien workers," Homan said. "When we find you at a work site, we're no longer going to turn our heads," Homan elaborated after the event. "We'll go after the employer who knowingly hires an illegal alien ... but we're always going to arrest a person who is here illegally. That is our job."ICE still has posted the previous administration's policy on work site enforcement, which prioritizes targeting employers that use undocumented labor as a business model, engage in human smuggling, mistreat employees, commit identity fraud, launder money or are otherwise involved in criminal activity.ICE spokeswoman Liz Johnson said the strategy "continues to address both" employers and employees. White House lays out DACA deal asks"While we focus on the criminal prosecution of employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, under the current administration's enforcement priorities, workers encountered during these investigations who are unauthorized to remain in the United States are also subject to administrative arrest and removal from the country," Johnson said.According to a 2015 Congressional Research Service report, ICE arrested 541 individuals on immigration charges and 362 individuals on criminal charges in work site actions in 2014, continuing a downward trend in actions from a peak in 2011. | 4politics
|
Story highlightsInvestigators say they're looking for a motorcyclist seen in the areaA police sketch shows a bearded man wearing a dark helmetPolice say the man was seen near the spot where four people were slainMore than a year after the mysterious execution-style slaying of four people in the French Alps, investigators say they're looking for a motorcyclist in connection with the case. A French police sketch released Monday shows a bearded man wearing a dark motorcycle helmet.Police said the man was seen between 3:15 and 3:40 p.m. September 5, 2012, near the parking lot in a mountainous and wealthy area of eastern France where the four victims were found dead last year.The case made headlines across Europe as speculation surged over the brutal killings.A prosecutor said all four victims -- a husband and wife, her mother and a French cyclist -- were shot at least three times, including in the head. Two children -- the couple's 7-year-old and 4-year-old daughters -- survived the attack.JUST WATCHEDPolice seek clues in French shooting ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHPolice seek clues in French shooting 03:32JUST WATCHEDGirl found alive among bodies in FranceReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHGirl found alive among bodies in France 02:43The 7-year-old was beaten and shot in the attack and rescued by a British cyclist who came upon the scene.At the time, the French prosecutor leading the investigation said she could be a key witness in the case.Authorities didn't reveal what led them to release the sketch Monday but said they wanted to make contact with the motorcyclist "or any person who may have information about him.""Attention should be paid to the helmet described by witnesses as black or dark with a lateral opening around the chin," police said. "The only helmet on the market that fits this description is a GPA HELMET ISR."Police in England arrested a 54-year-old man in connection with the case in July. | 3news
|
Story highlightsA long-time friend of Vaclav Havel's remembers him as fearless against the regimeHavel loved wine and company and could bring people together, Paul Wilson recallsHe believed that if you have ideas for change, you must help bring that change aboutHe continues to inspire activists in China, Cuba and now the Arab worldThe news of Vaclav Havel's death Sunday morning caught me by surprise, but it was hardly surprising. When I last talked to the Czech playwright, politician and statesman was in March, at a party to celebrate the Prague premiere of a movie he'd directed of his final play, "Leaving." He was already very frail. Ever since 1996, when he lost half a lung to cancer after a lifetime of heavy smoking, he had seemed to be living on borrowed time. He'd been in the hospital several times since then, and had one or two near-death experiences, but he always managed to bounce back, and I wasn't alone in thinking he might be practically invincible. In March, I was on my way to Egypt to take a closer look at the Arab Awakening, and I wanted Havel's permission to try to find someone in Cairo to translate his most influential essay -- 1978's "The Power of the Powerless," about non-violent opposition to tyranny -- into Arabic.That essay had inspired the creation of the anti-Communist Solidarity trade union in Poland, and continues to give strength to dissidents in Cuba, China, and Burma who are longing for peaceful change. I thought some Arab readers might find it useful as well.Before the premiere, Havel had been in the hospital yet again, but here he was now, sitting on a couch, a plaid scarf around his neck, sipping a glass of wine and working his way through what seemed like an endless line of people wanting to wish him well. He seemed small, a shadow of the man who, in his prime, could talk to kings and presidents and rock stars and command a world stage.When my turn came, I sat down beside him, congratulated him on the movie -- his first (and now only) foray into that medium -- and then put the question to him. His voice was so low I had to lean in close to hear him. He gave me his blessing, and then said, "But do you think the Arabs are ready for democracy?" His question caught me off guard, but I finally managed a reply: "I have no idea, but Vasek, were you guys ready for democracy back in 1989?" He smiled, and said, "I see your point."The most amazing thing about those 1989 revolutions was not just how quickly they unfolded, but how much sheer improvisation went on. Havel led an ad-hoc group called the Civic Forum that, within ten short days, managed to negotiate the Communist party out of power. They had no real idea what they were doing, and there were no guarantees about the outcome. On the other hand, you could argue that Havel's entire life -- and the life of his peers -- had been one long preparation for that moment. Havel, who died peacefully Sunday morning in his country home in north-east Bohemia, leaves behind so many legacies it's hard to know where to begin. In the 1950s, he was an experimental poet; in the 1960s, a master essayist, radical playwright and feisty magazine editor; in the 1970s, an underground publisher, human rights activist, and ultimately a prisoner. And -- perhaps holding it all together -- he was a bon-viveur who loved wine and company and could bring people together in an atmosphere of camaraderie and good cheer. JUST WATCHEDContrasting revolutions decades apartReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHContrasting revolutions decades apart 03:06JUST WATCHEDWhy Vaclav Havel matteredReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHWhy Vaclav Havel mattered 03:07He brought all these qualities into the Prague Castle as president, first of Czechoslovakia and then, after the country broke up in 1993, of the Czech Republic. He also remained, paradoxically, a very shy and gentle man with a will of steel, who was fearless when confronting a regime that tried, relentlessly, to crush his spirit, and who, to the very end of his tenure in office, suffered from stage-fright each time he had to entertain a head of state, or speak in public.Above all, he was an intellectual who believed that words were not enough. A favorite saying of his was, "Having posited A, I must therefore posit B." By that he meant that if you have ideas about how to change the status quo, you have an obligation to muck in and help bring that change about.One of the most important turning points in his long career came back in the mid-1970s when he joined forces with Ivan Jirous, the leading figure in a musical underground that challenged the regime's cultural totalitarianism at its very core. When the Plastic People of the Universe, the rock band Jirous was managing (and for whom I played for a while) were arrested in 1976, Havel and his companions sprang to their defense. I believe it was at this point that Havel became a true "dissident," as the late Christopher Hitchens defined the term: someone who is willing to put his own comfort and safety at serious risk for the sake of his ideas. Havel's defense of the musical underground morphed into the human rights movement called Charter 77, and a related organization, The Committee to Defend the Unjustly Prosecuted. The regime shucked its kid gloves, and Havel spent over four years in prison, and suffered many more years of intrusive police surveillance. He was not alone, of course, but his example made it easier for others to follow. His treatment by the regime permanently undermined his health, but his resistance also provided inspiration for a new generation of dissenters that came to fore in 1989.During the Velvet Revolution, on December 7, 1989, in the fabled Magic Lantern Theatre where Havel and the Civic Forum had their headquarters, he was asked by a journalist what political lessons he had learned in his years as a dissident. "I'd have to think about it," Havel replied, "but there's one lesson I could mention right now. When you try to act in accordance with your conscience, when you try to speak the truth, when you try to behave like a citizen, even in conditions where citizenship is degraded, it won't necessarily lead anywhere, but it might. There's one thing, however, that will never lead anywhere, and that is speculating that your behavior will have a specific outcome."I did eventually find an Arabic translator for Havel's essay, and it will be coming out in an anthology of his work to be published in Cairo sometime next year. It won't necessarily lead anywhere, but then again, you never know. | 3news
|
Moscow (CNN)An openly gay journalist for a Russian investigative newspaper has appealed to a court to grant him refugee status in a bid to avoid deportation to Uzbekistan for migration violations.Ali Feruz has worked in Moscow since 2011 for the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, where he has reported on hate crimes, the rights of migrant workers and discrimination against LGBT people.Feruz, whose real name is Khudoberdi Nurmatov, is an Uzbek national and fled Uzbekistan in 2008 after he was arrested and tortured by security forces, who tried to force him to become an informant, according to Human Rights Watch.Russian 'gay propaganda law' discriminatory, European court rulesHomosexuality is illegal in Uzbekistan and the country has been widely criticized for its abysmal human rights record. Novaya Gazeta has condemned the decision by a Russian court to deport Feruz. "We think that there is a threat to his health and life in Uzbekistan. He has been tortured and threatened there already. We know, sadly, of a few cases when people who have been extradited to Uzbekistan just went missing. No one knows whether they are alive or what has happened to them," Nadezhda Prusenkova, a spokesperson for the newspaper, told CNN.Read MoreIn August, Feruz was picked up by Russian police on his way to work at the paper. He was then taken to Basmanny court in Moscow where a judge ruled he had broken Russian migration legislation and ordered him to be deported to Uzbekistan. Feruz said he was abused after he was taken from court, according to an administrative memo published on the Novaya Gazeta website. In a statement, he said he was handcuffed with his hands behind his back, beaten and shocked with electricity by a prison officer.Journalist Ali Feruz says he was beaten and given electric shocks by a Russian prison officer.The Russian state news agency TASS reported that when Feruz arrived at a temporary detention center, he filled out a form saying he had no injuries to his body.Appealing the order in court on Monday, Feruz said he had twice applied for temporary protection in Russia as well as asylum, according to Human Rights Watch. HRW also said his applications for protection were rejected but the rejections were then overturned for additional review.His case has been the subject of international condemnation.America, don't abandon gay ChechensDenis Krivosheev, deputy director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International, said, "Ali Feruz is openly gay, a human rights activist and a correspondent for the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper. This is a near-lethal combination for someone who is about to be handed over to Uzbekistan, where 'sodomy' is a crime and torture is endemic."But the Kremlin has said the case is about immigration violations.President Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said a number of factors prevent Russia from "turning a blind eye to the [migration] violations that have occurred."The Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, a body designed to assist Putin with protecting human rights in Russia, said Feruz's expulsion would contradict Russian law, because members of Feruz's family are Russian citizens.JUST WATCHEDGay men tell of brutality in ChechnyaReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHGay men tell of brutality in Chechnya 02:50Svetlana Gannushkina, a leading Russian human rights campaigner and founder of a Moscow-based migrant support group, also said the deportation order is illegal, citing Feruz's application for asylum."This contradicts the law," Gannushkina said. "He filed a request for refugee status. As long as the review of his application continues, he is legal here in Russia."According to Gannushkina, "There are just 595 refugees in Russia.""People generally get rejected. He was rejected, too," she said.On Friday, the European Court of Human Rights issued a preliminary injunction halting Feruz's deportation while the case is being processed at the court in Strasbourg, France. | 3news
|
Moscow (CNN)A 10-year-old girl survived a night in a heavy snowstorm in Russia by hugging a dog, according to Russian state TV and local media reports.The girl, who is not named in the report, left her school in the town of Uglegorsk last week but failed to return home. The town sits on the west Russian island of Sakhalin, which had been slammed with heavy snow and winds reaching 38 to 50 miles per hour.Authorities and local residents searched overnight for the girl after it was determined she was missing. Search parties focused on houses with pets, because locals reported seeing the girl playing with a dog the evening before her disappearance. The girl's parents also told police how much she loved to play with pets. A volunteer found the girl the next morning, sitting with the dog in its outdoor kennel and hugging it to keep warm, according to Russian state TV.The girl was taken to hospital and found to be healthy, the report noted. | 3news
|
Story highlightsDriverless electric racer completes successful track test in Marrakech, MoroccoPlanned Roborace series will see autonomous cars compete at Formula E ePrix weekends (CNN)It is a car kitted out with technology its developers boldly predict will transform our cities and change the way we live.The autonomous "DevBot #1" took a giant leap forward in Morocco recently, making its debut on a street track at the Formula E Marrakech ePrix. The battery-powered prototype is being tested for Roborace -- a proposed race series where driverless cars will compete on temporary city circuits. "It's the first time we've run the Devbot in driverless mode on a Formula E track in the middle of a city street," Roborace's Justin Cooke told CNN. "It's so exciting for the team who put hours and hours of work in. These guys were up to 1-2 a.m. in the morning developing a technology that no one else in the world is able to do at this speed and in these complicated environments."Read MoreRead: Electric race car showcases driverless future#FormulaE next stop: #Morocco 🇲🇦 #MarrakeshePrix #CNNSupercharged pic.twitter.com/YkLRRiCGig— CNN Sport (@cnnsport) November 11, 2016 Using a variety of sensors -- including GPS, radar and ultrasonics -- allied to sophisticated computer programs, the car learns how to navigate a track at speed avoiding all obstacles. "What we are doing is at the forefront of technology right now," says Cooke, who is also CMO of Kinetik -- an investment company founded by Russian businessman Denis Sverdlov which is providing financial backing for the project."There are two or three kinds of space races, if you will -- some people are going to Mars, we're developing robotic cars and I think it's probably one of the most, if not the most exciting space in the world right now." After the successful 30-minute test in Marrakech -- this year's host city for the United Nations climate change conference (COP22) -- Cooke say the company will next try racing two cars together on track with the eventual aim of having up to 10 cars competing at every Formula E ePrix weekend. Photos: Autonomous car revolution A new robot race car series is set to get underway in 2017.Hide Caption 1 of 13 Photos: Autonomous car revolution The planned "Roborace" series is scheduled to be contested during Formula E championship weekends. Organizers have commissioned Daniel Simon -- famous for his work on movies like "Tron: Legacy" -- to design the race car. Hide Caption 2 of 13 Photos: Autonomous car revolution For now, this prototype, called the DevBot #1, is trialing the autonomous technology. Watch a video of it in action hereHide Caption 3 of 13 Photos: Autonomous car revolution The battery-powered prototype can reach speeds of 215 mph (350 kph), according to Roborace.Hide Caption 4 of 13 Photos: Autonomous car revolution The "Roborace" series is scheduled to start in 2017 and will see 10 autonomous cars all competing on the same track.Hide Caption 5 of 13 Photos: Autonomous car revolution The car successfully navigated the track at Formula E's Marrakech ePrix in November. The all-electric race series will host robot races during ePrix weekends. Hide Caption 6 of 13 Photos: Autonomous car revolution The car has been developed by a small team of engineers and computer scientists. "With this car we have several kinds of sensors," Sergey Malygin, Roborace's Artificial Intelligence developer, told CNN. "First of all there are lasers measurements -- light-based, so we have information about the 3D objects around us." Hide Caption 7 of 13 Photos: Autonomous car revolution "Also we have cameras, radars, ultrasonics to get the information about other vehicles and base stations," Malygin continues. "We also have precise positioning systems and optical speed sensors."Hide Caption 8 of 13 Photos: Autonomous car revolution "To get this information inside (the car), process it and get a valuable understanding of what is happening around us that's something that needs a lot of computing power," Malygin explains. The raw data is then deciphered by algorithms which tells the car where the walls are and where other cars are on the road. Hide Caption 9 of 13 Photos: Autonomous car revolution Roborace engineer, Matas Simonavicius, says each wheel is individually powered, providing more stability and safety. "One motor drives one wheel," Simonavicius told CNN. "This way you can do torque vectoring -- you can control the power to wheels much better, how it drives and the performance it gives out. It's more advanced than the conventional stability control ABS." Hide Caption 10 of 13 Photos: Autonomous car revolution But are driverless cars a good idea? "I think, yes," Simonavicius says. "What's the biggest cause of accidents at the moment? It's human error." Hide Caption 11 of 13 Photos: Autonomous car revolution "That's why we want to bring this car into a controlled environment where you cannot hurt any people and you can prove that it works," Simonavicius argues.Hide Caption 12 of 13 Photos: Autonomous car revolution "We're trying to change people's perspective of it. So they will see it at races and see it's safe and does all these cool things."Hide Caption 13 of 13"To be here at COP22 when we are celebrating an electric future, a driverless future -- it's the perfect time for Roborace," Cooke enthuses. Visit cnn.com/motorsport for more Formula E news and features "More than anything we want people to be excited about the technology because it's going to change our lives, it's going to transform our cities." | 5sport
|
Story highlightsAmerican Phil Mickelson has waited 22 years to win the British OpenThe 43-year-old described it as the "most elusive" of all majorsMickelson rates conquering Muirfield's links course as a great accomplishmentThe only major eluding Mickelson is the U.S. OpenThey were tears of pride, of relief, but most of all, tears that marked the end of Phil Mickelson's 22-year battle to conquer the greatest test in the game of golf.The wind, the weather, the firm ground, the prohibitive rough -- all components of nature that make links golf one of the biggest challenges to any player.Until the final Sunday of the 142nd British Open at Muirfield, Mickelson didn't know if he had in his locker all the elements to suppress Scotland's elements.But the emphatic answer came in a frenzied final few hours of the championship, a blizzard of birdies propelling 'Lefty' towards his fifth major title, and the sweetest of his career to date.Read: Mickelson wins British Open with late chargeSurging through the field with four birdies in the final six holes he cast aside the likes of 14-time major winner Tiger Woods and Masters champion Adam Scott to conclude a journey that began on the links of Lancashire in England back in 1991.At the 20th time of asking, the British Open crown was his. "Winning this Open Championship -- the tournament that has been the most elusive and the most difficult for me to play my best in -- is probably the greatest accomplishment of my career," he told CNN World Sport.JUST WATCHEDHistoric venue welcomes top golfersReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHHistoric venue welcomes top golfers 05:26JUST WATCHED'Lefty' to enter golf's Hall of Fame ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCH'Lefty' to enter golf's Hall of Fame 04:06JUST WATCHEDPhil Mickelson takes a tax mulliganReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHPhil Mickelson takes a tax mulligan 02:48JUST WATCHEDMickelson helps kids succeed in schoolReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHMickelson helps kids succeed in school 01:40"It's special to be part of the Championship, to be on the Claret Jug, to have won this tournament. Muirfield is a special golf course, a very demanding test, but all Open courses are demanding."Any win here is special because the links style of golf is so unique and to finally break through and conquer links golf is a great accomplishment for me and my career."Resilience has been a steadfast theme in Mickelson's make up throughout his time as a professional.Just five Sundays ago Mickelson suffered the heartbreak of yet another second-placed finish in the only major championship that continues to elude him -- the U.S. Open.Read: Mickelson ends European droughtIt was the sixth time he'd finished runner-up in the tournament and he left the viciously difficult Merion course distraught that England's Justin Rose had beaten him by one shot.But after stewing on yet another near miss for a few days, he resolved to work even harder on his game, the fruits of which poured forth on the course beside the Firth of Forth."Part of golf is dealing with failure, dealing with losing," he explained moments after conducting his first press conference as British Open champion."The U.S. Open was a very difficult loss for me because it was a tournament that I've wanted to win so badly throughout my career. I've come so close and to let it slide at Merion was a huge disappointment."But after a few days of sulking I was able to reassess and see that I was playing some of the best golf of my career and that I didn't want to let a tournament that got away affect these future events."I used it as a motivating factor to work a little harder and get ready for these upcoming majors."Mickelson's dozenIt was a sensational final half dozen holes that catapulted Mickelson into the lead, a run that none of the other contenders could match.By the time he reached the 17th the 43-year-old knew the championship was in his sights and two shots he described as "screaming bullets" helped him land a fatal blow on his rivals.Playing at 575 yards, and into the wind, Mickelson struck two perfect three woods, to roll his second onto the green, take two putts for a regulation birdie putt and clasp one hand on the Claret Jug. "I've been playing some of my best golf these last few months, striking the ball better than I ever have," he added."But there are two areas of my game that have really changed. One is putting -- you saw today -- I'm putting the best I've ever putted in my career, I'm making everything."The second is driving the ball off the tee. I have a club now -- a three wood -- I hit long and I hit it straight."On 17 I hit two three woods where not many people are getting there in two -- these screaming bullets down the middle of the fairway when I had to hit the fairway -- then onto the green for an easy two-putt birdie."It's what won me this British Open and it's what's giving me a chance to compete and contend in these big events now because I'm able to get the ball on the fairway without any of the problems I've had in the past."Team MickelsonAfter another birdie on the final hole, the emotion that Mickelson had been wrestling with in the closing stages poured out, as he embraced long-time caddy Jim 'Bones' Mackay.And he paid tribute to the team around him, and his family, after a triumph that enshrines his name amidst 142 years of Open history."I'm really lucky to have such special people in my life," he said."Bones is Bones, he's the best at what he does and to have him my entire career, I'm so lucky."And then to have a life partner like Amy and to have three healthy children, to have those people in my life makes moments like this even more fulfilling to be able to share it with them." | 5sport
|
Story highlightsTotal's Elgin platform in the North Sea began leaking gas on SundayCurrently, about 200,000 cubic meters of gas a day are leaking into the waterTwo methods are being tried to stop it: drilling relief wells and plugging it upA Scottish official says the environmental risk appears to be minimalLarge volumes of gas continued Friday to gush into the North Sea from an offshore oil platform, with energy giant Total trying two divergent methods in hopes of stopping the leak.Scottish Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said Friday that authorities are prepared for the worst, but he added that it is believed that the "gas condensate" now flowing into the water "will evaporate naturally into the atmosphere.""As such, the current environmental risk continues to be minimal," Lochhead said.The Elgin platform sprang a leak Sunday, prompting the evacuation of 238 people from the platform and the adjacent Rowan Viking drilling rig, according to Total executive Philippe Guys. The leak seems to have started as workers were sealing the well in the North Sea, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) east of the Scottish city of Aberdeen.Since then, energy company and government officials have weighed what to do about it, with one option being waiting for the gas to stop leaking on its own.On Friday, one day after announcing it had pinpointed the source of the leak, Total detailed its dueling approaches to stop it: blocking the outflow with "heavy mud" (consisting of a mixture that contains mineral compounds) and drilling a pair of relief wells.JUST WATCHEDA waiting game over Elgin gas leak ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHA waiting game over Elgin gas leak 02:15JUST WATCHEDMajor gas leak in the North SeaReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHMajor gas leak in the North Sea 03:07Until then, "the leak remains ongoing," according to Guys. Gas is now gushing into the North Sea at an estimated rate of 2 kilograms per second, which translates to about 200,000 cubic meters per day.The North Sea was the scene of the world's worst offshore rig disaster, the Piper Alpha explosion, which killed 167 people in 1988.The Elgin leak has echoes of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 -- including the fact that both emerged as workers were closing off wells -- but there are differences.The Elgin is in shallower water than the BP spill, which could make problems easier to fix. And instead of oil, it is leaking gas, which can disperse faster but ignites more easily."This is nothing on the scale of the Gulf spill two years ago," oceanographer Simon Boxall said. "This is a relatively light spill. The gas itself is dispersing quite rapidly."After Total's share price fell sharply earlier in the week, it rebounded slightly on Friday with a 0.9% gain.Guys, the executive from the energy giant, said Friday that "all other" Total wells in the vicinity are in "safe condition," signaling that there is no expectation of further problems. Shell has also partially evacuated two of its nearby platforms, Shearwater and Hans Deul, as a "purely precautionary" measure, it said Wednesday.Satellites and spotter planes are being used to assess the latest spill, while several vessels are on standby nearby ready to help, Guys said.Lochhead, Scotland's environmental minister, said he was "pleased" that "more information" on the incident had been released by Total and the British government.While expressing faith that the long-term impact on the environment shouldn't be major, Lochhead said that the hard work is far from over."We cannot be complacent, and Marine Scotland is continually assessing the situation and scenario planning for all eventualities," Lochhead said. "Additional scientific resources, manpower and vessels can be utilized at short notice, should the situation change." | 3news
|
Story highlightsLi retired September 2014.State-sponsored system funds tennis boom$225m Wuhan Open facility aims to improve Chinese tennis Zhang reached Australian Open quarterfinalWuhan, China (CNN)Zhang Shuai may be the world No. 38, but as China's top-ranked tennis player she commands more media attention than some grand slam champions. Half an hour after losing her first-round match to Britain's Jo Konta at last week's Wuhan Open in the hometown of Asia's first major singles winner, Li Na, about 50 Chinese journalists rushed to the huge main press conference room to grill Zhang about her performance.With Li now retired, the hunt is very much on for China's next tennis superstar. Follow @cnnsport
"Not everyone can be like Li Na," Zhang said in an interview at the Wuhan Open in Hubei province, central China. "If you ask a Swiss, who is the next Roger Federer? No one can tell you who the next Federer is."Zhang Shuai in action at the Wuhan Open, where she lost to Britain's Jo Konta.Although Chinese authorities have been expanding the game since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988, Li's victories at the 2011 French Open and 2014 Australian Open not only turned her into a global multi-million dollar brand but also proved to be a game changer for the sport.Read MoreChina now has nine women ranked inside the top 200 while 17-year-old Xu Shilin became the country's first junior world No. 1 last year. China hosts 12 events on the women's and men's Tours and 40 second-tier tournaments compared to only a handful before Li's breakthrough.Cities such as Wuhan, Beijing and Shanghai are fueling the Chinese tennis boom by building state-of-the-art facilities worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The Wuhan Open has spent $225 million on its facilities since its inception in 2014. The main stadium court has a retractable roof and is big as Wimbledon's Centre Court with space for 15,000 tennis fans.Read: China's $225 million Wuhan OpenMillion dollar question"The ambition to find the next Li Na is very big," Jorge Salkeld, senior vice president of the tennis division of Octagon which owns the Wuhan Open, said in an interview at the event. Although absent from the Wuhan Open because she is about to give birth to her second child, Li's presence looms large in the city of Wuhan, which has invested $225 million in a 33-acre tennis facility. Large advertising billboards promoting the Wuhan Open with Li, a tennis racket flung over her shoulder, are plastered all over this booming city of 10 million. Inside the tennis stadium, large photographs of Li adorn the walls. "The next grand slam winner from China, that's the million dollar question," said Salkeld, who spends about five months of the year in China. "But they're coming. My prediction is that in five, six, seven years you are going to have 10 girls in the top 100. They are working hard, there is the volume and there is the funds behind it."Li Na collapses in delight after winning the French Open in 2011.Aspirational sportTennis is so popular in central Hubei province, the Wuhan Open received 5,000 applications from university students for 800 volunteering jobs during the event. Meanwhile on the court 15 million people now play tennis in China, according to the International Tennis Federation, up from one million in 1988. Although that may sound like a lot, the national sport of table tennis is played by 300 million people, including 10 million who play competitively, according to Business Insider.While table tennis is easily accessible to the masses because it's cheap, tennis is very much an aspirational sport for China's emerging middle class with disposable income. For example, it will cost $3 an hour to rent a table tennis court for an hour in Beijing, compared to $15 for a tennis court. The Wuhan Open aims to promote Chinese tennis to the same level as table tennis and badminton -- sports at which China has traditionally dominated.However, with a population of 1.3 billion, competition in China is strong and playing sports "is a way for many families to have their kids do something important," said Salkeld. Li joined the state-sponsored sports system in Wuhan when she was aged five. It was so rigid, she would occasionally cry herself to sleep at night."From the age of 11, I'd be hearing a coach behind me yelling, 'Stupid,' or 'Are you a pig?'" Li wrote in her autobiography "Playing Myself." Read: The forgotten home of American tennisAfter the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese Tennis Association (CTA) relaxed some of its strict rules and allowed a few older players -- including Li and former US Open semifinalist Peng Shuai -- to set their own tournament schedules and choose their own coaches.Instead of handing over 65% of all earnings, they were allowed to keep about 90% of it but would have to pay for their travel and coach. It is perhaps no surprise all three Chinese women ranked inside the top 100 -- Zhang, 70th-ranked Wang Qiang and 79th-ranked Zheng Saisai - all hail from the municipality of Tianjin in northeastern China. Saisai Zheng lost in the first round of the Wuhan Open.'Good environment'The Tianjin system gives players more flexibility than in other areas in China in the way they train and which coaches they can use."Everybody is really positive, we cheer for each other," said Zheng, China's third-highest ranked player who is coached by former Italian pro Roberto Antonini. "Whoever has a good result, we support. This is a really good environment."Zheng, 22, was one of five Chinese players handed a wild card by Wuhan Open organizers. The 27-year-old Zhang, the daughter of a soccer player father and basketball player mother, is having a breakthrough year. Having never won a grand slam singles match before, she reached the Australian Open quarterfinals as a qualifier a few months after contemplating retirement.Read: Teen ends Wawrinka's run Photos: China's tennis ambition Photos: China's tennis ambitionThe Wuhan Open in Hubei province, central China, has spent 1.5 billion yuan ($225 million) on its facilities since its inception in 2014. Hide Caption 1 of 7 Photos: China's tennis ambitionLast year, the city's most famous resident, two-time grand slam winner Li Na, opened the tournament's new 1 billion yuan center court. Here the Chinese tennis star is pictured with Martina Hingis during a promotional event in Wuhan in 2015.Hide Caption 2 of 7 Photos: China's tennis ambitionNight sessions at the 2016 Wuhan Open will start an hour later to give fans more opportunity to attend in the evening. Hide Caption 3 of 7 Photos: China's tennis ambitionModeled on the Australian Open venue, Wuhan's main stadium court has a retractable roof and is big as Wimbledon's Centre Court with space for 15,000 tennis fans. Li and two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova attended last year's opening ceremony of the Optics Valley International Tennis Center. Hide Caption 4 of 7 Photos: China's tennis ambitionA superstar in China, Li became a global ambassador for her hometown event in May of this year. Here she takes a selfie with fans during a tennis masterclass last year. Hide Caption 5 of 7 Photos: China's tennis ambitionLi's success in becoming Asia's first grand slam singles champion has helped boost the profile of tennis in China. Hide Caption 6 of 7 Photos: China's tennis ambitionVenus Williams posing with the Wuhan Open trophy, the 47th singles title of her career, in front of the stadium after she beat Spain's Garbine Muguruza in last year's final. Hide Caption 7 of 7Dozens of Chinese fans in Wuhan watched Zhang's practice session before her match against Konta, snapping pictures on their phones. Zhang said she doesn't mind the extra attention and comparisons with Li Na."I don't feel so much pressure," she said. "I like to play in China very much. A few years ago, we didn't have the chance to play big tournaments at home. "Now we are very lucky to get some wild cards. The young players have a chance to play big tournaments, they can watch how the top players play." | 5sport
|
Story highlightsRonaldo and Gonzalo Higuain score twice as Real maintain grip on La Liga leadBarcelona defeat Athletic Bilbao to 2-0 to stay six points behind in second place AC Milan held to a 1-1 draw at Catania in Serie A; Second-place Juventus play Napoli on SundayReal Madrid took another decisive step towards their first La Liga title in four seasons with a thumping 5-1 win at Osasuna on Saturday. Karim Benzema got Jose Mourinho's side off the mark with a sweetly struck volley in the seventh minute before Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first of the night in the 37th minute. Three minutes later the game was effectively over as Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain made it 3-0. Osasuna briefly rallied after the break as Juan Francisco 'Nino' headed home to give the home fans some hope.But any chances of a comeback were snuffed out 20 minutes later when Ronaldo added a fourth (his 37th of the league campaign) with Higuain claimed his second in the 77th minute to complete the rout. Osasuna substitute Roland Lamah was sent off for a second bookable offence late in the game to compound the misery for the home supporters. Barcelona remain six points behind in second place after a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao at the Nou Camp.Andres Iniesta put Barca in front five minutes before halftime blasting the ball into the roof of the net after receiving a pass from Lionel Messi.And the Argentine was on hand to score from the penalty spot in the 58th minute after Cristian Tello was brought down by Javi Martinez. Real Zaragoza and Sporting Gijon swap places at the foot of the table after Zaragoza edged to a 2-1 win at the Estadio El Molinon. Granada earned a vital 1-0 win against fellow strugglers Racing Santander to stave off relegation worries. Meanwhile in Serie A, leaders AC Milan dropped points on the road as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Catania on Saturday.Brazilian Robinho gave the reigning champions the lead in the 34th minute but had to settle for a point after Nicolas Spolli equalized in the 57th minute of the second half. Second-placed Juventus can move to within two points of Milan if they beat Napoli on Sunday. In Saturday's other fixture, third-place Lazio suffered a 3-1 defeat to Parma at the Ennio Tardini Stadium. | 5sport
|
London (CNN)A British police officer has been found guilty of the manslaughter of former professional soccer player Dalian Atkinson, but he was cleared of his murder, a spokesperson for Birmingham Crown Court told CNN on Wednesday.Atkinson, a former forward for English Premier League football team Aston Villa, went into cardiac arrest after officers used a Taser on him in Telford, central England, in August 2016.The court heard that Police Constable Benjamin Monk used a Taser on Atkinson for 33 seconds -- more than six times the recommended time -- and kicked him twice while he lay on the ground.Paramedics were unable to save Atkinson and he died around 90 minutes later.Police Constable Benjamin Monk was found guilty of manslaughter. Monk denied any wrongdoing and said he believed there was a danger to life for him and his colleague, the court spokesperson confirmed to CNN.Read MoreMonk was cleared of the charge of murder but found guilty of manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.Monk's conviction is the first time in 35 years that a police officer has been found guilty of murder or manslaughter following a death involving police contact or in custody.He told the court that Atkinson, 48, appeared to be having a mental health crisis, made death threats and smashed a glass door pane at his childhood home in Telford, the PA Media news agency reported.Monk claimed Atkinson was trying to get up when he aimed kicks at his shoulder in self-defense after he had run out of Taser cartridges, according to PA. But prosecutors said the officer lied about the number of kicks he had delivered to Atkinson's head, claiming he could remember only one aimed at his shoulder, PA reported.Monk also claimed to have no recollection of putting his foot on Atkinson's head as authorities arrived at the scene, the outlet reported.UK policeman charged with murder after Tasered ex-footballer diesDuring his 16-year career, Atkinson also played for Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday in England as well as teams in the Spanish, Turkish and South Korean leagues.A notably talented player, Atkinson scored a spectacular goal against Wimbledon in December 1992, which the BBC's "Match of the Day" program voted goal of the 1992-1993 season."Dalian Atkinson is much missed by all his family and friends and the footballing communities of the clubs he played for in his long and successful career as a professional footballer, especially Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Aston Villa," Atkinson's family said in a statement following the verdict."Dalian's footballing talent led him to achieve great things in his life. Our sincere hope is that now that the truth about his death is known, and justice has been done, we can start to remember him not for the manner in which he died, but for the way in which he lived," the statement continued.Sentencing will take place on Monday, PA reported. The court is still deliberating an assault charge against relating to another police officer.CNN's Lianne Kolirin contributed reporting. | 5sport
|
Story highlightsNicholson, 54, one of eventing's most successful ridersHe suffered injuries at cross-country eventSurgeons at Oxford operated on him for eight hours (CNN)New Zealander Andrew Nicholson says he is "incredibly lucky" not to have been paralyzed after suffering neck injuries in a fall at the Festival of British Eventing.Follow @cnnsport
Nicholson, 54, was rushed to hospital after the accident, which happened at the final fence of a cross-country event in Gloucestershire 11 days ago.His horse, Cillnabradden Evo, was unhurt. Nicholson, one of eventing's most successful ever riders, underwent an eight-hour operation at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.The New Zealander told reporters on Thursday: "My surgeon, Mr Jeremy Reynolds, told me the injury I sustained to my neck would have caused paralysis at the time of injury in 98% of cases.Read More"I realize I have been incredibly lucky. I underwent an eight-hour operation where they repaired the fractures and stabilized my cervical spine."This procedure in itself was not without risk, and I cannot thank the team of spinal surgeons enough for what they have done."He said he did not know when he would be able to make a return to competition, and added: "While I have to take things easy, I am up and about and fully mobile and I look forward to getting back to full fitness in due course."I want to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their kind messages and support, which have meant a lot to me and my family."Nicholson has won three Olympic team medals with New Zealand, including bronze at London 2012, has three World Championship medals and is a five-time winner at the Burghley Horse Trials. | 5sport
|
(CNN)The Vatican says it has extended its controversial agreement with China over the appointment of bishops for another two years.Details of the agreement, which was struck in 2018, have never been made public. It has been criticized by some Catholic officials as well as by US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.But the Vatican said on Thursday that the deal "is of great ecclesial and pastoral value" and said it "intends to pursue an open and constructive dialogue for the benefit of the life of the Catholic Church and the good of Chinese people." Officially, there are about 6 million Catholics in China.Prior to 2018, Beijing had long insisted on having the final say on all bishop appointments in mainland China, while the Holy See maintained that only the Pope has such authority.The eventual agreement brought to an end decades of tension between the Vatican and China, which severed diplomatic ties with the Holy See in 1951 after an alleged, and often discredited, assassination plot against Chinese leaders involving a Catholic priest.Read MoreCardinal proclaims innocence after resigning in Vatican financial scandal The ruling and officially atheist Communist Party had long portrayed foreign religious institutions such as the Catholic Church as hostile forces responsible for the country's suffering and humiliation during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.The deal, which is part of Pope Francis's vision to expand the Catholic Church's following across the world, would help the Vatican gain access to potentially millions of converts across China, the world's most populous nation.But critics have questioned why the church, historically a defender of human rights and Christian values, would willingly join forces the increasingly authoritarian Chinese government, which is officially atheist.In October, Secretary Pompeo said in an article in a conservative Catholic magazine that the agreement with China compromised the moral authority of the Vatican.The Vatican's statement said there had been "good communication and cooperation" with China and that they intended "to pursue an open and constructive dialogue for the benefit of the life of the Catholic Church and the good of the Chinese people."The future of the deal had appeared murky earlier this year, when a report said China was suspected of hacking the Vatican.CNN's Daniel Burke contributed reporting | 3news
|
(CNN)A man who claims a picture of his amputated leg stump is being used on cigarette packets without his permission is wrong, the European Commission says.The unnamed Albanian man says the picture, which appears as a warning of the dangers of smoking, features distinctive scars and was taken when he visited an orthopedic center last year -- but the Commission, which oversees the images used on cigarette packets, says the featured stump isn't his.The man's lawyer, Antoine Fittante, told CNN that his client's amputation was not related to smoking but was caused by an armed assault in Albania in 1997. "He considers it an injury to his dignity because it is a picture of his body that was used publicly," Fittante said.Adults who vape are more likely to quit cigarettes, study finds"He is not asking for a financial request, he just wants to see the photo removed. He and his family want to understand how this photo got from point A to point B because they were devastated when they saw it. They really didn't take it well," Fittante said.Read More"The client claims that this is his body because he has specific scars on both legs, that appear similar to the ones in the photo. The resemblance is striking and not a mere coincidence."The lawyer told CNN that his client is considering a legal challenge. The European Commission, however, disputes the man's timeline and says the photo could not have been taken after 2014."The man said he sent the photo to his doctor in 2018, so it's not possible, we have not updated our database since 2014," Anca Paduraru, the EU Commission's spokesperson on public health, told CNN."It happens regularly that there are issues. Someone tells us (a photo) is his brother, his father... but it's not possible. We have a very good reason for that, that I can not give you," Paduraru said, adding that the Commission meets face-to-face with people whose bodies are used in the warning pictures."I assure you (the man) will not press charges, he will understand very quickly that it is in fact not him," Paduraru said.Fittante told CNN that his client was prepared to undergo a medical examination if the case went to court. | 3news
|
(CNN)Teenager Leon Gissing would wait among the crowds of fans outside Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium in the hope of meeting one of the team's players.But he wasn't looking for a selfie or an autograph. Instead, the then 13-year-old was there to give out his business cards.Now 16, the London-based entrepreneur is a self-confessed sneaker obsessive and decided from an early age that he wanted to combine his two passions: trainers and football.And he's made quite a business of his passion.In the last three years, he has become one of the most foremost suppliers of rare sneakers and clothing to football stars all across Europe, sourcing exclusive items and then selling them on for profit.Read MoreWhile most kids' biggest concern is perhaps which video game they want to buy, Gissing was busy starting his business."I was obsessed," Gissing tells CNN Sport. "I wanted to have all of the latest shoes and all of the latest designer or Hyped or new models, and it was a case of obviously my parents weren't going to spoil me and buy me whatever I wanted, so I just needed to get a bit of extra capital, a bit of extra cash to be able to afford my own pairs of shoes. "I realized I could do that by reselling trainers. So what I started doing was queuing up outside sneaker stores in London and buying shoes and flipping them for £20, £50 pounds on top. "I'd queue up for hours outside, waiting for Yeezys, Jordans, whatever the new high release would be, and I flip it on eBay and Depop, one of these small interfaces where reseller meets reseller."The teenager isn't the only one making a name for himself by trading on the desire for exclusivity. There are a number of other personal shoppers, including the likes of Sam Morgan and Joe Franklin, whose expertise are employed by high-profile footballers and musicians.Leon Gissing says Mason Greenwood is one of the biggest sneakerheads in football.'Nice sneakers, kid'Those hours Gissing spent waiting in line for new releases and making new contacts paid off thanks to a chance encounter with US tennis star Jack Sock at Queen's Club, which stages a Wimbledon warm-up event in west London.After asking Sock for a photo, the former world No. 8 noticed that Gissing was sporting a pair of rare shoes. "Nice sneakers, kid," he told the teenager."I just said: 'I can get you a pair,'" he recalls. "I knew I could get him the pairs that I was wearing."At the time, Gissing hadn't yet created his official business Instagram page 'Plug Leon' -- a "plug" is somebody who is able to source rare and exclusive items -- so Sock put in his shopping request via Gissing's personal account."He placed the order for I think it was three or four pairs of really rare off-white Nike trainers," he says. "I went to his house where he was staying before Wimbledon -- he actually won the Wimbledon doubles that year -- and I delivered him the shoes." Now, Gissing's business was up and running."He was very happy and that's when I started the 'Plug Leon' Instagram because he wanted to shout me out on Instagram," says the 16-year-old.Leon Gissing supplies some of the biggest names in football.'Some sort of joke'Despite handing out numerous business cards to different players, the football industry initially proved a tougher nut to crack.In the end, "the spark that lit the fire," as Gissing describes it, was a post on Snapchat from another of his clients which caught the eye of Arsenal player Reiss Nelson, who was on loan at Bundesliga club Hoffenheim at the time."He added me on Snapchat and I thought it was some sort of joke," Gissing laughs. "I was like: 'Okay, it's a fake account that's added me. What the hell?' Reiss Nelson, a super good, young player, there's no way."I send him a message regardless -- you've got to try -- and I said: 'Look, if you're ever in London and you need a couple of pairs of trainers or some some new clothes, hit me up and I can sort you out. At this point, I'm kind of thinking: 'Okay, maybe it is Reiss Nelson.'"Around two months later, Nelson was back in London and wanted two pairs of rare trainers delivered on his return.Gissing sourced the sneakers and was waiting with them at Nelson's house on his arrival from the airport.England and Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is also one of Gissing's clients."He was very happy and that was essentially what I needed to kick start the business and to really get things going, in the football world at least, because from Reiss, I got Joe [Willock], Bukayo [Saka] and Emile [Smith Rowe]," Gissing explains. "All of these young kids at a time who are playing academy, fringe first team, potentially getting on in cup games or getting sent on loan, to now being the superstars that they are today. "So through word of mouth from Reiss, essentially, I started to develop a client base in the football world and then one thing led to another and things really snowballed from there."The entrepreneur now counts the likes of Chelsea's Reece James, Manchester United's Mason Greenwood -- who Gissing says might be the biggest "sneakerhead" of the lot -- and Arsenal striker Gabriel Martinelli among his clients in the UK, as well as stars like Barcelona forward Ansu Fati, Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie and Paris Saint-Germain defender Thilo Kehrer across Europe.While growing his business, Gissing also had to balance his school studies.Completing an education was always something he has been determined to do well, and earlier this month, he found out he'd passed his GCSEs with flying colors."I'm ensuring that I spend adequate time on school and also focus on my business and keep it growing," he says. "It's obviously slightly difficult, but having the employees helps and, you know, I've learned to be able to multitask and manage the two things and keep the two things going and putting maximum effort into both." | 5sport
|
Story highlightsBayern Munich president Uli Hoeness charged with tax evasion by a court in Munich Former West German international's defense team has four weeks to answer chargesIssues relates to unspecified Swiss bank account in Hoeness' name He's been a principal figure in German football for decades, winning the 1974 World Cup as a player before becoming Bayern Munich's club president, but Uli Hoeness' world could come crashing down after being charged with tax evasion on Tuesday. The former Bayern star, who won three European Cups as well as a European Championship title with West Germany in 1972, could end up in jail for his transgressions. After a months-long probe which has attracted considerable interest in Germany, the 61-year-old has been charged following an investigation into unpaid taxes on a Swiss account in his name. Read: Cup win clinches historic trebleThe news comes just two months after Hoeness presided over an unprecedented feat as Bayern became the first German team to win a league, cup and Champions League treble. In a statement, the superior regional court in Munich said it must now decide whether the case brought by the local prosecutor's office will go to trial. German law states that Hoeness' defense lawyers now have four weeks to respond to the charges, whereupon a judge will decide whether he can dismiss the charges or allow the case to proceed. JUST WATCHEDCNN FC: Champions League finalReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHCNN FC: Champions League final 22:57JUST WATCHEDBoris Becker: A champion's London tourReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHBoris Becker: A champion's London tour 02:19JUST WATCHEDWembley Stadium: Home of world footballReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHWembley Stadium: Home of world football 03:11JUST WATCHEDCNN Football Club: Bayern dominate BarcaReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHCNN Football Club: Bayern dominate Barca 23:03JUST WATCHEDDo Bayern Munich need Pep Guardiola?ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHDo Bayern Munich need Pep Guardiola? 01:28"Due to the volume of the investigation files as well as the fact that a defense request to delay answering to the charges for one month was granted, a decision of the court on starting a trial is not expected before the end of September 2013," court spokeswoman Andrea Titz said in the statement. Tax evasion over and above one million euros ($1.33m) carries the threat of both prison and a financial penalty. After his arrest in March, the former Bayern forward had offered to temporarily stand down as club president only for the team's board to decide that he should stay in office as they monitored the case. Hoeness had been released on bail for $6.6 million. Read: Guardiola's secret weapon revealedAfter joining Bayern as an 18-year-old in 1970, Hoeness -- who could play either in midfield or attack -- became a key player for the club, winning three league titles and three straight European Cups between 1974-1976. His playing career was cut short by a knee injury at the age of 27, whereupon he joined the club's staff at a time when Bayern were heavily in debt. After nearly three decades working as the club manager, he replaced former international and club colleague Franz Beckenbauer as Bayern president in 2009. Nowadays, Bayern are one of the most successful clubs in Europe, with a turnover in its millions, but it is unclear how the tax probe will affect the standing of the powerful club president. The revelations sparked huge controversy in Germany in an election year, with opponents of Chancellor Angela Merkel accusing her of being weak on the issue of tax evasion by wealthy individuals. The Chancellor has previously expressed her disappointment in Hoeness' conduct. Read: Dortmund sink Bayern in Super CupAs former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola took charge for the first time in a competitive game, Bayern started their season in disappointing fashion on Saturday when losing the German Super Cup to Borussia Dortmund, the team they beat at Wembley in May. They begin the defense of their Bundesliga title when taking on Borussia Monchengladbach at the Allianz Arena on August 9. | 5sport
|
London (CNN)The UK Prime Minister's father has sparked anger with his comments about female fighter pilots and burqas during an appearance on an election night TV show. Speaking on Channel 4's Alternative Election Night show, Stanley Johnson said, "If I was a female fighter jet pilot, I would expect someone to say 'don't wear a burqa.'"Johnson was defending his son, Boris, who faced accusations of Islamophobia after he compared Muslim women in veils to "letter boxes" and "bank robbers" in a newspaper column. The comment caused immediate outrage from both the studio panel and the audience. Panelist and comedian Nish Kumar cried out "What are you talking about man?" as the crowd heckled Johnson. Live: Full results from UK electionBoris Johnson bet the farm on an election and it paid off bigRead MoreAs Kumar placed his head in hands, TV judge Robert Rinder, another panelist on the broadcast, labeled the comment as "disgraceful." "You would expect them to be qualified and that's all that matters," Rinder said. "That is disgraceful."The remark came as Johnson's Conservative party appeared to be on course to secure a strong majority in the House of Commons, according to exit polls from UK broadcasters. On the same show, the Canadian comedian Katherine Ryan confronted Johnson's father on the issue of single motherhood.This comes shortly after his son was criticized for a 1995 newspaper column in which he called the children of single mothers "ill-raised, ignorant, aggressive and illegitimate." | 3news
|
Washington (CNN)Two hours after emailing a real estate newsletter of luxury homes to thousands of ultra-wealthy clients Friday morning, Shawn Elliott, president of the ultra luxury division at Nest Seekers International, said he received three inquiries. They were not from potential buyers, but sellers.The calls came from New York and Miami, two hot spots popular with wealthy Russians, a possible sign of what may become the rapid sale of luxury homes, beachfront properties and apartments in the cities' skylines as Russians scramble to get ahead of international sanctions."People like that have their handlers call," Elliott said of the Russian owners. They asked, "'If I was to sell, how fast could you sell this and how fast could you sell that?'""It's interesting how the feelers are going out," he noted. "Maybe that's the beginning of the scramble."The impact of coordinated sanctions from the US, United Kingdom and European Union has sent shockwaves through the Russian elite as oligarchs, some targeted and others taking steps in anticipation of what could come, look to move yachts, shed assets and adapt to a wave of sanctions that have come swifter than usual, and are more expansive than before. Read MoreRussian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who has not been sanctioned, announced Wednesday that he will sell the Chelsea Football Club as it is "in the best interest of the Club, the fans, the employees, as well as the Club's sponsors and partners." He said net proceeds from the sale would go to a foundation established to help "victims of the war in Ukraine."Roman Abramovich, Russian owner of Chelsea FC, to sell club after Ukraine invasionRussian billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska have broken ranks with the Kremlin and called for an end to Russia's war in Ukraine. The EU announced sanctions against Fridman this past week and Deripaska has been on the US sanction list since 2018."This is a very worrying moment if you're a Russian billionaire," said former State Department official Max Bergmann. "Lawyers are busy right now, trying to figure out how to expunge oligarchs from various company boards and how to divest assets in the United States." "We're getting a new inquiry every hour," said Erich Ferrari, a lawyer who represents foreign companies and individuals in navigating sanctions. "The phone has been ringing off the hook with people all around the world who have been sanctioned or their parent company has been sanctioned."Financial institutions in jurisdictions where there are no sanctions, such as United Arab Emirates, are following the lead of the US and European Union and freezing accounts held by Russians, Ferrari said. Some Caribbean countries -- where Russian-controlled entities have domiciled offshore businesses for secrecy -- will no longer serve as corporate secretaries for such entities, leaving many of them unable to operate, Ferrari added."I don't recall a program" of international sanctions, Ferrari said, that "has sent everybody scrambling."The scramble comes as the White House announced full blocking sanctions Thursday on eight Russian elites, plus their family members and associates. They will all be blocked off from the US financial system, meaning their assets in the United States will be frozen and their property will be blocked from use. "This caused a sudden panic," Bergmann noted, "because the old guard class, I think, interestingly enough, didn't know that this [invasion] was coming, and I think they were surprised that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin ultimately decided to invade."Bergmann explained that an oligarch can ultimately sue to try to stop the sanctions, but in the short term, these Russian billionaires are selling off and shipping out."What you're seeing already are oligarchs freaking out about this and moving their yachts to places where they can't be extradited," Bergmann said. "We've seen yachts start to sail for Montenegro, where there's no extradition treaty."The Amore Vero yacht at a shipyard in La Ciotat, in southern France, on March 3, 2022.On Wednesday, French officials seized a yacht that they said was linked to Igor Sechin, a sanctioned Russian oil executive and close associate of Putin, as it was preparing to flee a port. But the company that manages the ship denied Sechin was the owner.In New York, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine is calling for more sanctions on Russians and the seizure of their properties, tweeting Thursday, "We're still waiting for the U.S. gov't to place the broad circle of oligarchs connected to Putin on the sanctions list. This is the prerequisite to seizing the ultra luxury homes many hold in Manhattan. We need action on this NOW."The Biden administration isn't just levying sanctions. On Wednesday, the Justice Department unveiled a new task force: KleptoCapture. The task force will team up prosecutors with experts in sanctions, money laundering and national security to investigate possible criminal activity from the ultra-rich Russians who the U.S. government believes are propping up Putin."We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to investigate, arrest and prosecute those whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue this unjust war," Attorney General Merrick Garland said when announcing the new task force.Experts watching the effort unfold across multiple government agencies -- the Treasury and Justice departments at the forefront -- believe the amount of coordination is unprecedented and signals a determination to go after these oligarchs and any illegal activities with renewed force.Inside the months of work that allowed the US and its allies to turn Russia into a financial pariah overnight"It can take quite a bit of prosecutorial and regulatory heft to enforce sanctions on extraordinarily wealthy individuals who have a lot of resources," said Edward Fishman, a former State Department Russia sanctions lead. "By putting together this high-level task force that clearly has oversight by some of the most senior officials in the Biden administration, I think it signals they are going to enforce these sanctions quite aggressively."Many oligarchs use shell companies that shield their ownership, leaving authorities to untangle a layer of companies before discovering the true owner. "Part of the reason why we haven't seen a lot of legal action is because these oligarchs are extremely rich and even though many are committing white-collar crime, they hire really high-priced lawyers to do things correctly," said Bergmann, the former State Department official. "What oligarchs have done is just make it not worth law enforcement's time to pursue them," Bergmann said. "And what Biden has said is no, no, no, we're going to make time and we're going to devote the assets, and we're going to devote the people to really start opening up the books, knocking on doors, and seeing what we find."This crackdown could ultimately cause upheaval within Russia, experts warn. "One problem for Putin is that he has a very angry class of people who are very rich and powerful that are all returning to Moscow and St. Petersburg, and they don't want to be there," Bergmann said. One possible area of vulnerability for Russians in the US is the millions of dollars Russian oligarchs have poured into property in New York, Miami, and elsewhere.Elliott, of Nest Seekers International, said wealthy Russians are savvy and he predicted, "There's going to be liquidation from these guys because they're smart. They'll put it at least 20% below market price because at the end of the day 80% of something is better than ... nothing."Time is of the essence for some Russians who are not currently sanctioned but may be worried that they're next. "As of today, there's nothing illegal about liquidating your assets," Elliott said. | 4politics
|
(CNN)College football coach Dabo Swinney has agreed to a new 10-year, $93-million contract to stay on at Clemson University.The 49-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks and has guided Clemson to two national titles in the past three years. The university said the deal is the largest total contract in college football history, although Swinney is thought to be making a similar average salary to Alabama coach Nick Saban. "I am grateful and humbled by the incredible commitment Clemson has made to me, my family and our football program," Swinney said in a statement."With this contract, we make a collective statement that we intend to continue pursuing championships and developing total student-athletes for years to come."Read MoreSwinney, right, celebrates winning Clemson's second national championship in three years. READ: NFL draft 2019 -- Will the Cardinals unite Kyler Murray with Kliff Kingsbury?READ: Mike Trout agrees to richest deal in sports with $430-million dealThe bumper new deal, which runs until 2028, is reward for the job Swinney has done since taking over. The former interim coach has led an overhaul of the Clemson football program and his latest side was the first major college football team in the modern era to go 15-0 -- after it beat the Alabama Crimson Tide 44-16 for the national title in January.He has guided his team to 116 wins and is one of only two football coaches in school history to reach the century mark.JUST WATCHEDHLN's own reflect on NFL draft dreams (2017)ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHHLN's own reflect on NFL draft dreams (2017) 03:48Over his 10 full seasons as head coach, Swinney's influence has transcended the field of play and moved into the classroom, with 26 players on the 2018 roster having already earned a degree."Dabo's leadership of our football program has brought value, exposure and unprecedented levels of success not only to our athletics program but to the entire university," the university's director of athletics, Dan Radakovich, said in a statement. "He has demonstrated the ability to consistently achieve at the highest level on and off the field, and he has done so with a commitment to integrity and core principles." | 5sport
|
Paris (CNN)Five people are dead after two French army helicopters collided in the south of the country Friday, authorities said.The crash happened between the towns of Cabasse and Carcès, northwest of the coastal resort of Saint-Tropez."The helicopters collided. There were three army personnel in one and two in the other. All are dead," police said, according to Agence France-Presse.Florence Parly, minister for France's armed forces, described the incident as "tragic" in a tweet on Friday, adding that she will visit the military facility where the helicopters were based later in the day. "I pay tribute to the soldiers killed and I want to tell their families and brothers in arms my solidarity and my full support," Parly tweeted.CNN's Antoine Crouin reported from Paris, with Hilary McGann contributing from London. | 3news
|
Story highlightsDenmark has a long history of jihadist activismDenmark has a large immigrant population from the Muslim worldAs many as 70 Danish nationals may have returned from Syria to Denmark Paul Cruickshank and Tim Lister are co-authors, with Morten Storm, of "Agent Storm: My Life Inside Al Qaeda and the CIA." (CNN)The combination is lethal and becoming all too familiar: a long criminal record, easy access to weapons, a loathing of the countries where they were born and deep-seated anti-Semitism.So it was with the perpetrators of the Paris attacks. Now, it appears to fit the description of the man who killed two people in Denmark at the weekend. Danish police describe him as 22 years of age, born in Denmark, with a violent past, connections with gangs and weapons offenses.Jens Madsen, head of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET), said investigators were "operating under a theory" the attack could have been inspired by last month's attacks in Paris, which were also aimed at cartoonists.Carsten Ellegaard Christensen, national security reporter at the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten, told CNN the gunman was on the radar of Danish police and PET for gang-related activity but not extremism, according to his security sources. The gunman had recently spent time in jail for a knife attack.JUST WATCHEDLars Vilk describes cafe attackReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHLars Vilk describes cafe attack 02:47"There is a closer nexus between immigrant criminal gangs and violent extremists in Denmark than anywhere else," says Magnus Ranstorp of the Swedish National Defence College. "This interface makes violent extremists more dangerous as they are able to switch between roles and skill-sets and have easier access to illicit weapons on the underground market."Read MoreThe so-called "Nordic biker war" of the 1990s saw gang members in Denmark and Sweden attack each other with automatic weapons, grenades, and explosive devices. Morten Storm, a former Danish jihadist, moved from being part of a biker gang to Islamist extremism to spying for Western intelligence. He says that belonging to gangs and extremist groups had made him feel he belonged to a "band of brothers."In 2012, a convicted drug trafficker and gang leader -- known as Big A -- traveled to Syria to take up arms against the Assad regime. His real name was Abderozzak Benarabe. The subject of a TV documentary last year by Nagieb Khaja, Benarabe returned to Copenhagen where he allegedly raised some $75,000 for the cause. He is now in prison after conviction on aggravated assault charges unrelated to terrorism.There is a long history of jihadist activism in Denmark, and intelligence officials believe at least 110 Danes, both converts to Islam and Muslims since birth, have traveled to Syria and Iraq. Some estimates put the number as high as 200. At least 16 Danes have been killed in Syria and Iraq, according to PET, including 2 women. Last year, ISIS claimed several Danish suicide bombers had carried out attacks in Iraq, including Abu Khattab al Denmarki, said to have carried out an attack in Diyala province, and Abu Sa'ad al Denmarki, who detonated a car bomb close to an Iraqi military convoy near Mosul.It is believed as many as 70 Danish nationals have returned from Syria to Denmark.Within Denmark, according to PET's latest assessment, there are "people who sympathize with militant Islamism, but have not been in the conflict zone." They may be "inspired by individuals or groups in the conflict zone or elsewhere abroad," a danger heightened by Denmark's participation in the international coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).JUST WATCHEDDanish PM speaks to CNNReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHDanish PM speaks to CNN 01:33Recent postings on jihadist forums have singled out Denmark as a target. One entitled "O Lone Wolves, You who Reside Among the Infidels, Your Turn has Come," and posted last month, urged "sons of Islam, in Europe, America, Australia, France, and Denmark" to "light fires beneath their feet." "Developments in the Middle East in general, including in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, increase the threat of attack in the West against Israeli or Jewish targets," PET warned.A number of jihadist conspiracies in Denmark have been foiled in recent years, but early in 2013 a man tried to shoot the writer Lars Hedegaard, a prominent critic of Islam, at his home in Copenhagen. Hedegaard was not injured, but his assailant escaped on foot. Among scores of Danish jihadists to have traveled overseas in recent years was Mustapha Darwich Ramadan, who had spent time in prison for armed robbery in the 1990s. He eventually traveled to Iraq where he joined al Qaeda. Ramadan took part in the beheading of the American Nick Berg in 2004 before being killed fighting U.S. forces in Fallujah.Much more recently, according to Flashpoint Partners, a group that tracks jihadist activity, a Danish national called Abu Ikramah Al-Pakistani was killed in Anbar Province, Iraq. He was not the first to make the journey. In August 2013, a group of Danes in Syria released a video in which they fired at pictures of six Danish "kuffar attacking Islam" -- among them Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Secretary-General of NATO, Morten Storm, and the cartoonist Kurt Westergaard.Denmark has been the focus of militants' anger since the newspaper Jyllands Posten published Westergaard's cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed in 2005. In an edition of its online magazine, Inspire, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula called for the murder of Westergaard -- as well as Carsten Luste, the editor of the paper when the cartoons were published, and Lars Vilks, the Swedish cartoonist who was attending the free speech forum in Copenhagen that was attacked at the weekend.Westergaard is under police protection in Denmark after a conspiracy to murder him was uncovered in 2008, and a 28-year old Somali believed to have ties to Al-Shabaab tried to kill him in 2010.In 2012, three Swedish nationals and a Tunisian resident of Sweden were found guilty of targeting Jyllands Posten in an al Qaeda plot. Prosecutors accused the four suspects of planning a gun attack on the newspaper, to be followed by "the execution" of hostages. They had been tracked from Sweden and arrested in Copenhagen in a joint operation between Swedish and Danish intelligence.Denmark has a large immigrant population from the Muslim world -- including Palestinians, Turks, Somalis, Bosnians, Moroccans and Tunisians. While the vast majority have integrated peacefully, a small fraction of "second generation" immigrants -- as in France -- have adopted militant Salafism, especially in Odense, Aaarhus and parts of the capital.In 2010, one counterterrorism expert, Michael Taarnby, told CNN that out of Denmark's population of some 18,000 Somalis, there were at least 300 sympathizers of Al-Shabaab, the jihadist group in Somalia that is now an affiliate of al Qaeda."Those attracted are usually quite young -- there's the usual issue of a clash of cultures, of being stuck between east Africa and Scandinavia and not knowing where they belong," Taarnby told CNN.That clash of cultures threatens to shed more blood on the streets of Europe's major cities. | 3news
|
(CNN)Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr was left fuming after an on-court collision between superstar Steph Curry and Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart left the Warriors without Curry for the remainder of the game, which ended in a 110-88 win for the Celtics.Curry injured his foot after Smart dived for the ball in the second half, crashing into the two-time MVP's leg and leading him to limp out of the game. Warriors coach Kerr, who was visibly upset after the incident, called it "dangerous play.""I thought Marcus dove into Steph, and that's what I was upset about. A lot of respect for Marcus," he said."He's a hell of a player, a gamer, a competitor. I coached him in the World Cup a few summers ago. We talked after the game and we're good. But I thought it was a dangerous play," he added.Read MoreCurry underwent an MRI after the game. Meanwhile, Smart said he was just going for the ball and hadn't seen Curry."Me and Steve have a relationship from USA basketball, so he knows I'm never trying to hurt anybody. I hate to see any injury. I hope Steph's alright."I didn't even see him, I just dove on the ball and tried to make a play. I'm really down right now about it."Unfortunately, sometimes, injuries happen. I'm sure I'm going to get called dirty. That's their opinion," he added.Kerr talks with Smart after Curry suffered his foot injury.Meanwhile, Warriors forward Moses Moody saw only nine minutes of play before leaving the first half with a shoulder injury. Jayson Tatum had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Jaylen Brown added 26 points -- with over half of those in the first half -- to help lead Boston.After enduring five separate, multi-game losing streaks in the first two months of the season, the Celtics now haven't lost back-to-back games since January 19-21."All night, we were physical, from 1 to 15," said Brown."We were into guys, trying to ride them out, not letting them get space, not letting them feel comfortable, and that's what we want to do. We want to be the aggressor, and I think we did that tonight."Celtics' head coach Ime Udoka said: "You obviously look at the results, 17, 15, 19 in the first, second, and fourth quarter, so other than that third quarter, I felt our physicality was great."Any time we can impose that on guys from the start, we wanted to do that and start the road trip off right."The Warriors will host San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, while Celtics will take on the Sacramento Kings on Friday. | 5sport
|
(CNN)It has been a busy fortnight for Conor McGregor.Having announced his retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) and then subsequently teased fans about a possible return, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White has had his say.Speaking to CNN, he confirmed what many had suspected when one of UFC's most controversial figures stunned fans on March 25."Conor McGregor will fight again," White said, adding that he was due to sit down with the Irishman for face-to-face talks to discuss the future in a matter of days, following McGregor's will-he-won't-he speculation."Me and Conor communicate every day. We've been talking all this week. Things are good with Conor and I and we'll get something figured out soon.Read More"Conor likes to be in a position where he holds the cards and he does what he wants to do. And, you know, he and I figure out how to work together and how to make it all happen."According to White, he and McGregor communicate "every day".READ: Conor McGregor: The fighter 'born with his fists clenched'It was a stance that was visible in the pair of cryptic Twitter posts, which both confirmed and denounced his retirement plans.McGregor's initial announcement saw the fighter declare on the social media platform: "Hey guys quick announcement, I've decided to retire from the sport formally known as 'Mixed Martial Art' today."I wish all my old colleagues well going forward in competition. I now join my former partners on this venture, already in retirement. Proper Pina Coladas on me fellas!"I want to move forward, with my fans of all faiths and all backgrounds. All faiths challenge us to be our best selves.It is one world and one for all ❤️ Now see you in the Octagon.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 4, 2019
READ: British boxer disqualified after biting opponent during heavyweight boutHowever, the statement came just hours after an interview had aired on "The Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon in which the fighter claimed he was in negotiations for an upcoming fight.He said: "My next fight, we're in talks for July. We'll see what happens. A lot of politics going on. The fight game is a mad game but as I said again, to my fans I am in shape and I am ready."Indeed, little over a week later, he appeared to backtrack, tweeting: "I want to move forward, with my fans of all faiths and all backgrounds.""All faiths challenge us to be our best selves. It is one world and one for all. Now see you in the Octagon."McGregor has not won in the Octagon since 2016.READ: Manny Pacquiao challenges Floyd Mayweather to a rematchThe message marked the latest twist in the future of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star. Ranked eighth on the competition's pound-for-pound list at the time of his retirement, he has a 21-4-0 record, with UFC belts in two divisions.He has lost his last two fights -- being defeated in an ugly contest with Russia's Khabib Nurmagomedov, as well as losing a one-off boxing fight with former world champion Floyd Mayweather.Hey guys quick announcement, I've decided to retire from the sport formally known as "Mixed Martial Art" today.I wish all my old colleagues well going forward in competition.I now join my former partners on this venture, already in retirement.Proper Pina Coladas on me fellas!— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 26, 2019
Yet, despite being without a victory since 2016, White is unconcerned by McGregor's pulling power as an athlete."He lost to the greatest boxer, arguably of all time, in a boxing match," he explained. "Conor, was [in] his first boxing match and he did really really well. [He] earned a lot of respect from people from that fight."Then, the next fight that he lost was [against] Khabib, who is the champion, undefeated and the best guy in the world right now. So, it's not like he lost to some guys that were eight-nine-ten. He lost to two of the best in the world in their sports. So, yes, Conor McGregor is still very much relevant and very much in the game."Visit CNN.com/sport for more news, features and videosWhite remained optimistic on the prospect of a rematch with either Mayweather or Nurmagomedov."I'll do that fight this Saturday if they want to do that one," he said of a possible UFC fight between McGregor and the American boxer. "Yeah, if Floyd wants to fight in the octagon, we'll do it 100 percent."I think that that fight is a possibility some day in the octagon. Listen, after making the first fight, I never say never anymore."And, obviously I think everybody would like to see the fight with him and Khabib again." | 5sport
|
Story highlightsWoman behind court battle is philanthropist and bankerMiller says decision was "right for our country" (CNN)When David Cameron resigned as British Prime Minister in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, a woman stepped up to shape the country's future.But, after a momentous court ruling delivered Thursday, Prime Minister Theresa May has lost some of the control she enjoyed. Instead, a London-based businesswoman and philanthropist has seized the momentum.Gina Miller is the lead claimant in a historic action that thwarted the UK government's plans to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty -- starting the formal process of Britain leaving the European Union -- without a vote in Parliament. Miller's victory means that the Brexit process can't begin until UK lawmakers have had their say -- likely adding yet more frustration and delay to a government that has yet to lay out its clear plan for Brexit.But who is Miller? Why is she taking on May and the Brexiteers -- and has she won?Read MoreRead: Brexit is going to happen, but the 48% now have a voiceMiller timeGina Miller is co-founder of investment fund SCM Private and was the lead claimant in the case.Miller, an investment banker, revealed she was "physically sick" on the night of EU referendum as 17.4 million voted leave.But by the next morning she was already planning to take on the government to ensure that the Prime minister could not invoke Article 50 without a vote in Parliament.Read: Court ruling throws Brexit process into doubtMiller, who was born in Guyana but lived in the UK for the past 41 years since the age of 10, runs an investment company with her husband, Alan.In 2012, she set up the True and Fair campaign, which attempts to "limit the possibility of future mis-selling or financial scandals through greater transparency."As well as helping consumers and businesses, she and her husband have both given thousands of pounds to charities in the UK, including the Lady Thatcher infirmary at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.What she saidMiller, who brought the case with hairdresser Deir Dos Santos, said she was delighted after the court ruled that members of parliament must be given a say in the process of leaving the EU.Phil Jones, 'People's Challenge' member waves an EU flag outside the Royal Courts of Justice."This result today is about all of us: our United Kingdom and our futures," Miller said in a statement."It is not about how any of us voted -- each of us voted to do what we believed was the right thing for our country."This case is about process, not politics. My dedicated legal team -- Mishcon de Reya and counsel -- are, alongside myself and my supporters, pleased to have played our part in helping form a debate on whether the rights conferred on UK citizens through Parliament legislation 44 years ago could be casually snuffed out by the Executive without Parliament or our elected representatives and without proper prior consultation about the Government's intentions for Brexit."However you voted on 23 June, we all owe it to our country to uphold the highest standards of transparency and democratic accountability that we are admired and respected for around the world."While Miller has won plaudits for taking her case to court, she has also been the subject of vicious online trolling.The racist abuse Gina Miller is getting today is quite something to behold— Afua Hirsch (@afuahirsch) November 3, 2016
Who else is involved? While Miller was the lead claimant, she was not alone in challenging the government.The People's Challenge, which was financed through a crowd funding campaign, raised £175,550 ($218,551) to help finance the case.JUST WATCHEDWhat is the impact of Brexit on British businesses?ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHWhat is the impact of Brexit on British businesses? 02:54Grahame Pigney, who was part of the campaign, "welcomed the decision as "the alternative would have meant a horrifying executive power grab that has no place in a modern democracy."He added: "We started this challenge in order to protect parliamentary sovereignty and the rights of millions of UK Citizens; the Court's decision has justified our action. Hopefully the debate on and passing of primary legislation by Parliament will result in a more positive and less divisive way forward for the UK." Another crowd funding campaign, led by Marcus J. Ball, raised £145,270 ($180,956), is being aimed at "prosecuting dishonest Brexit politicians and bring integrity back to British politics."What happens now?JUST WATCHEDNigel Farage: Donald Trump should focus on issuesReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHNigel Farage: Donald Trump should focus on issues 00:54The UK government has already said it will appeal the decision at the UK Supreme Court and added that it remains committed to invoking Article 50 by the end of March."The country voted to leave the European Union in a referendum approved by Act of Parliament. And the government is determined to respect the result of the referendum," a government spokesperson said.Read: 'I feel cheated -- Leave voters react to Brexit rulingExperts say parliament is unlikely to block the triggering of Article 50 outright. But the ruling could mean it is delayed, particularly by opposition in the upper chamber -- the House of Lords. It may give lawmakers the opportunity to influence what kind of deal the government negotiates with the EU.Britain's Supreme Court is likely to hear the appeal in early December. | 3news
|
Story highlightsPrime Minister says Norway is looking into proposal to move the border Move would give Halti Mountain to Finland to mark its 100th year of independence (CNN)Thinking of giving a little summit to your neighbor for a 100th birthday present? What about a mountain?Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said this week her government was considering a proposal to move the country's border 40 meters (about 130 feet) -- gifting Finland a mountain for its 100 years of independence in 2017."So far I have not made any decisions, but we are looking into this matter," Solberg told state broadcaster NRK.The proposal follows a public campaign on Facebook to give Finland the Halditcohkka peak of Halti Mountain. The mountain sits on the border between the two countries -- with its peak on the Norwegian side.CNN MapBy shifting the border slightly, the summit, measuring 1,331 meters (4,366 feet), would instead reside in Finland.Read MoreWhile Norway has many high mountains, its neighbor is a little more vertically challenged. Should the proposal go ahead, the Halditcohkka peak would become Finland's highest point.How Norway is changing the way we drink coffee"We have a lot of mountains, and this is just a small mountaintop," said Sondre Lund, a Norwegian student who set up the initial Facebook campaign."It's such a small thing, but such a big thing also. All the Nordic countries have great relations; this is just a part of that."Norway boasts many mountains, including these spectacular ridges in Longyearbyen.Lund was inspired by Bjørn Geirr Harsson, a retired employee of the Norwegian Mapping Authority who suggested the idea while taking border measurements in 1972.Where the pros go for snow: Skiing in Scandinavia"I was taken aback by why on earth (Finland) had not received this peak," Harsson told The Local, a Norwegian English-language newspaper."It would barely be noticeable (for Norway). And I'm sure the Finns would greatly appreciate getting it."Journalist Will Heilpern contributed to this report. | 3news
|
New York (CNN Business)Ukraine's official Twitter account wants @Russia to be removed from the platform. YouTube is facing scrutiny for allowing a Russian broadcaster who is widely viewed as part of the country's propaganda machine to continue making money from ads on the video site. And TikTok, a service that didn't even exist during the 2014 crisis in Ukraine over Russia's annexation of Crimea, is now offering an unprecedented close-up of the front lines through videos — some authentic, others not.Social media companies have in recent years grappled with how to handle misinformation and conspiracy theories about a pandemic, a fraught US presidential election and an insurrection, often while facing intense criticism from lawmakers for doing too little or too much. Now, the platforms are scrambling to confront a growing list of challenges, some of which appear to be almost unheard of in their histories, as war unfolds in Europe. On Thursday, Twitter faced a new kind of moderation decision when the verified account for the country of Ukraine posted: "hey people, let's demand @Twitter to remove @Russia from here ... they should not be allowed to use these platforms to promote their image while brutally killing the Ukrainian people @TwitterSupport." Twitter spokesperson Trenton Kennedy declined to comment on whether Twitter might remove the official Russian account referenced in the tweet, or the Kremlin's verified account, from the platform. "That question of should we let state actors that prevent their own citizens from seeing the free expression on these [Western social media] platforms have the right to use those platforms as mouthpieces for their own propaganda is a really nuanced and complex topic," Renee DiResta, technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, told CNN BusinessTips for navigating social media 'fog of war' as Russia invades Ukraine Other challenges from the conflict are familiar to the major platforms, such as how to prevent the rapid spread of misinformation. But given the life-or-death circumstances and Russia's history of deploying propaganda and covert online manipulation, the stakes are heightened.Read MoreAfter Russia's invasion of Ukraine officially began, social media was flooded with photos of bombed out buildings, first-person accounts from Ukrainian civilians fleeing their homes, and even videos purporting to be from soldiers engaged in the fighting. Users were left to sort through what might be real or old, fake or manipulated content meant to sow confusion and discord in a conflict that is being waged in part through the use of propaganda. In one instance, a video appearing to show a soldier parachuting into the conflict went viral on TikTok Thursday morning, racking up millions of views. But the video had originally been posted to Instagram about seven years ago, NBC disinformation reporter Ben Collins noted on Twitter. In some other cases, clips from video games or videos from old conflicts recirculated on the platform, purporting to show what was happening in Ukraine. The social media companies should be "making sure there's no overt manipulation on their platforms, and then trying to surface accurate information, particularly within trends, to help the public understand what's going on," DiResta said. "In these moments, there is always going to be something that gets through unfortunately, so I think ... the platforms being as transparent as they can be is very important."Twitter (TWTR) and Facebook parent company Meta (FB) both told CNN Business that they have teams monitoring for misinformation, coordinated inauthentic behavior and other potential issues related to the conflict. TikTok did not respond to requests for comment about its response to the war on their platforms. Even with those preparations, there have already been some missteps. Twitter faced backlash in the days leading up to the invasion for having briefly removed the accounts of open source researchers who had been sharing information on the platform about the movement of Russian troops and equipment. Twitter's head of site integrity, Yoel Roth, said on Twitter Wednesday that the removals were due to a "small number of human errors" made as part of an effort to enforce the company's policies against manipulated media. Twitter said the accounts were quickly restored. "Twitter's top priority is keeping people safe," Twitter spokesperson Trenton Kennedy said in a statement. "As we do around major global events, our safety and integrity teams are monitoring for potential risks associated with the conflict to protect the health of the service, including identifying and disrupting attempts to amplify false and misleading information and to advance the speed and scale of our enforcement." Twitter on Thursday and Friday had its executives promoting live audio discussions on Twitter Spaces about the conflict being held by reporters at major news outlets. The company also shared a series of safety tips for users on the ground in Ukraine or Russia, and curated a Twitter "moment" where it is compiling the latest updates from reliable sources. Twitter also launched a feature allowing users to affix a sensitive content warning to photos and videos they tweet, and on Friday paused advertisements in Russia and Ukraine "to ensure critical public safety information is elevated." Russia moves to 'partially restrict' Facebook access over censorship allegationsOn Facebook, the war in Ukraine has yet to be added to the platform's "crisis response" page as an event where users can mark themselves safe. But the company did spin up a new feature that allows users in Ukraine to lock their profiles for "an extra layer of privacy and security protection." On Instagram, the platform is showing users in the country alerts on how to protect their accounts. "We have established a Special Operations Center to respond to activity across our platform in real time," Meta spokesperson Dani Lever told CNN Business Thursday. "It is staffed by experts from across the company, including native speakers, to allow us to closely monitor the situation so we can remove content that violates our Community Standards faster," Lever said. On YouTube, videos from Russian state-funded television network RT continued to run advertisements as of Friday morning. That means the media company whose American arm was forced by the US Justice Department in 2017 to register as a "foreign agent" and that intelligence researchers have said "conducts strategic messaging for [the] Russian government" continues to be able to monetize its presence on the video-sharing platform. YouTube labels RT's videos with a disclaimer that it is funded by the Russian government.YouTube spokesperson Ivy Choi declined to comment about RT directly, but said Google is evaluating what new US sanctions and export controls may mean for YouTube and its other platforms. Google Europe said on Twitter it was enhancing security controls for users in Ukraine, and that its intel teams were working to address disinformation campaigns, hacking and "financially motivated abuse." "On YouTube, we're prominently surfacing videos from trusted news sources and working hard to remove content that violates our policies," Google said. "Over the last few days, we've removed hundreds of channels & thousands of videos."Taking action on Russian accounts carries its own risks for the platforms, however.On Friday, the Russian government moved to "partially restrict" Facebook access in the country after accusing the platform of unlawful censorship. Russia's ministry of communications claimed Facebook had "violated the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens" when the social network on Thursday allegedly clamped down on several Russian media outlets on its platform.In response to the allegations, Meta global affairs president Nick Clegg said Russia had ordered the company to "stop the independent fact-checking and labelling" of four Russian outlets."We refused," Clegg said in a statement. "Ordinary Russians are using our apps to express themselves and organize for action. We want them to continue to make their voices heard, share what's happening, and organize." | 0business
|
Story highlightsDefending champion Maria Sharapova eases into quarters against Sloane StephensRussian to meet Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in last eightFormer doubles partners Azarenka and Kirilenko set for quarterfinal clashDefending champion Maria Sharapova predicted a bright future for Sloane Stephens despite beating the American in straight sets on Monday to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open. The world No. 2 overcame windy conditions to beat the 17th seed 6-4 6-3 and earn a last eight clash with Serbia's Jelena Jankovic. "I think Sloane has a tremendous amount of potential and she has a lot of things in her game in which there is a lot of room for even more improvement," the Russian told reporters after the match. Read: The secrets of French Open champions"There are some players you play against and you're not quite sure if they will be able to develop something to a different level, but I think she will. "She has a big game already - big strokes, pretty good serve. She has a lot of time to develop. If she's in the right hands at the right time, I'm sure she's going to have a great career." Stephens, who turned 20 in March, was in the second week of a grand slam for only the third time, having eclipsed her fourth round appearance in Paris last year when reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open in January. JUST WATCHEDCan Sharapova retain French Open title?ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHCan Sharapova retain French Open title? 01:51JUST WATCHEDSharapova prepares for Roland GarrosReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHSharapova prepares for Roland Garros 01:52JUST WATCHEDSloane Stephens hoping for patienceReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHSloane Stephens hoping for patience 03:06JUST WATCHEDWomen's tennis top stars talk personalReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHWomen's tennis top stars talk personal 01:14JUST WATCHEDKuznetsova's 2009 French Open winReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHKuznetsova's 2009 French Open win 01:14JUST WATCHEDThe first diva of women's tennisReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHThe first diva of women's tennis 02:34"There's always room for improvement," the American said on Monday. "Maria's obviously a really great competitor if she's No.2 in the world, so it's tough. You've just got to keep improving. "I wouldn't say there's a drastic difference - you just have to keep getting better. Some things I can improve on, so I'll do that. Overall I've done pretty well, though.""I enjoyed myself here at Roland Garros this year." Next up for Sharapova is Jankovic, with the 18th seed defeating Jamie Hampton 6-0 6-2, and although the Russian leads their meetings 7-1 the pair have yet to meet on clay."We know each other quite well," Sharapova said. "We played against each other quite a bit in the juniors all the time. We spent a lot of time together." "I think the clay really suits her game. She's a great retriever and gets a lot of balls back. She's playing much more consistent I believe than she's done in the last couple of years, which is nice to see, because she was at that level and maintained that level for quite a bit of time. "She's a really tough opponent. I look forward to it."Earlier in the day, third seed Victoria Azarenka enjoyed a similarly routine victory as the double Australian Open champion beat Francesca Schiavone 6-3 6-0. The Belarus star next faces former doubles partner Maria Kirilenko after the Russian 12th seed reached the quarterfinals for the first time with a 7-5 6-4 win over world number 66 Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States. "I've played Maria a lot of times. I think the last time was the Olympics," said Azarenka, who took a bronze medal from their London 2012 encounter. "She's definitely improved a lot over the last couple years since she's a very motivated player (and a) good friend of mine, also." The most notable result for Azarenka and Kirilenko as doubles partners was at the 2011 Australian Open, where they finished runners-up. Read: Serena's date with destinyKirilenko, who trails her friend 3-2 from their previous meetings, has never reached the semifinals of a grand slam. In the opening quarterfinals on Tuesday, Serena Williams takes on 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova while fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska continues her bid for a first grand slam when facing last year's Roland Garros runner-up, Sara Errani. | 5sport
|
(CNN)Officials in Georgia will be required to release accused criminals from jail while they're awaiting indictment because of a backlog of cases that grew during the pandemic, according to the Fulton County District Attorney.Suspects who've been charged with crimes in Georgia are entitled to bond if they're not indicted within 90 days, and though that law was suspended during the pandemic, it was reinstated over the summer. Murders rose sharply in 2020 but data is lacking across much of the countryThat means hundreds of defendants accused of crimes, many of them violent, are now eligible or soon will be eligible for release. "We walked into an office with an excess of 11,000 unindicted cases," said Fani Willis, the District Attorney of Fulton County, which includes Atlanta. "In addition to that, we already had another 12,000 that were indicted and were working their way through the court system." Willis said her office is prioritizing sexual predator and other serious cases. But the reality, she said, is that "there's gonna be four or five-hundred defendants that we don't make the clock on and they, without having the proper evaluation by law, a judge will be mandated to give them a bond." Read MoreFulton County District Attorney Fani Willis says her office is dealing with "an excess of 11,000 unindicted cases." Willis said her office worked "around the clock" to make sure murder cases were indicted before the September 28 deadline. Of the 224 murder defendants who've been charged but not indicted, more than 50 had to be indicted by this week to remain in custody. "Today I am happy to announce not one individual in Fulton County will be released charged with the crime of homicide because a lawyer or an investigator failed to work up the case and failed to get it indicted timely," Willis said Wednesday at a news conference. "Nor will one get released for a sexual offense, nor will our defendants with the most violent criminal histories."Portland, Oregon, police challenged in 'really tough environment' as violence spikesWillis said the county is running two grand juries for the first time in its history -- the panels seated four times instead of twice a week. She said the office hopes to begin indicting no fewer than 200 cases a week in the coming months. "That is the only way we can catch up," she said. Willis told reporters Wednesday that the "crisis is by no means over" but that $5.7 million in county funding this year and next will bring an additional 55 employees to her office, including 15 investigators and 15 attorneys.Some victims of violent crime and their loved ones say they no longer have closure. "This is a serious problem," said Brenda Muhammad, director of Atlanta Victim Assistance Inc. "The people that we represent, the victims of crime, they will find out that the folks who committed the crimes against loved ones or against them, they will be out on the street. Dealing with a gang banger in their neighborhood, yes that is very disturbing." Critics of the District Attorney say that no matter what a person is charged with, they still have a right to be proven guilty without languishing behind bars. "These people have been in jail for months if not years," said Manny Arora, a criminal defense lawyer. "The DA's office had plenty of time to investigate the cases, because they've arrested these people, Covid or not. Indicting them isn't that big of a deal." CNN senior law enforcement analyst Charles Ramsey said that clearing the backlog should be a priority. Murders in Fulton County increased by 48 percent since 2020. "We cannot afford to let violent criminals out," Ramsey said. "People with gun offenses, people with aggravated assault, robbery, things of that nature." CNN's Maria Cartaya, Jade Gordon and Peter Nickeas contributed to this report. | 3news
|
Story highlightsInvestigators believe Albakr was planning an attack on Berlin airportTwo Syrians tied Albakr to a sofa and alerted police to his whereabouts Berlin (CNN)A Syrian refugee suspected of planning a bomb attack "with Islamist motives" on a Berlin airport has strangled himself to death with his shirt in detention, Saxony state justice officials said Thursday.Investigators believe that 22-year-old Albakr, who arrived in Germany last year, was close to staging a terrorist attack. German police have said that Albakr's "approach and behavior" suggest an ISIS link.Albakr was arrested overnight Sunday after a manhunt that went for almost two days."On the evening of October the 12th, 2016, Jaber Albakr, the prime suspect in planning a serious attack against the state, took his life in the prison hospital of the Leipzig correctional facility," the ministry said in a statement on its website, also confirming the news to CNN.The Saxony Justice Minister Sebastian Gemkow told reporters that Albakr had strangled himself with his shirt but it was not immediately clear if he had hanged himself in his cell. Gemkow said Albakr had been seen by a psychologist earlier in the day, but it was assessed that suicide was unlikely.Read MoreAuthorities then decided to reduce its checks on him from every 30 minutes to every 15.Albakr was on a hunger strike and refused to drink, Gemkow said, adding that authorities tried to resuscitate him for about half an hour after they found his body.Police found around 1.5kg of explosive materials in a Chemnitz apartment. There was no video surveillance of his cell in accordance with local law, Gemkow explained.Germany's Spiegel Online had earlier reported that Albakr had been under round-the-clock surveillance in police custody and was considered at risk of suicide. Arrest attempt questionedAlbakr was arrested overnight Sunday after two Syrians tied the suspect to a sofa in their flat in Leipzig and alerted police. Crime office officials said that Albakr had befriended them at a train station in Leipzig and had asked to stay with them.His hosts learned from social media that Albakr was wanted by authorities and contacted police to come to their apartment and detain him.Albakr's capture ended a manhunt that lasted almost two days, and the manner of his arrest has raised questions about whether police botched an attempt on Saturday to detain him. CNN was not able to immediately contact the police Thursday. The Saxony justice ministry is expected to give a press conference later Thursday. In a raid on an apartment in the city of Chemnitz on Saturday , which appeared to be Albakr's home, police discovered a mix of explosives weighing 1.5 kg that they described as more dangerous than TNT. The German prosecutor's office said the mix could cause significant damage in small amounts.
CNN Map
Police carried out a controlled explosion to gain access to the apartment.Among the materials found was what police suspected to be TATP, or acetone peroxide, which was used in recent terror attacks in Brussels and Paris, Saxony's crime office said.JUST WATCHEDAn earlier report on the police hunt for Albakr. ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHAn earlier report on the police hunt for Albakr. 01:20Markus Ulbig, Saxony state's interior minister, said that Albakr had come to Germany as an asylum-seeker in February 2015. A year later, he formally asked for asylum, which was granted in June this year.German Chancellor Merkel has come under intense political pressure for her open-door policy on refugees. German officials said the country welcomed more than 1 million refugees in 2015 alone, many of them Syrians fleeing the war in their country.There have been several low-impact attacks in Germany this year carried out by refugees, prompting Merkel's administration to tighten security measures.CNN's Nadine Schmidt, Claudia Otto and Atika Schubert reported from Berlin. CNN's Angela Dewan wrote from London and journalist Simon Cullen reported from London. | 3news
|
Story highlightsA U.S. commander has told Congress ISIS may have 3,000 fighters in AfghanistanVladimir Putin has long worried about jihadists from Russia's Caucasus region going to SyriaWashington (CNN)Russian President Vladimir Putin is turning to an old enemy -- the Taliban -- to share intelligence as the number of ISIS fighters grow in regional neighbor Afghanistan. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the contact between Moscow and the Afghan Taliban only involves intelligence-sharing and information exchange regarding the fight against ISIS.Why would Putin put himself in a risky spot by working with the Taliban? He's aligning himself with the enemy of his enemy.A U.S. commander last month told Congress that ISIS has gained strength in Afghanistan in recent months, with as many as 3,000 fighters there.Putin has long worried about thousands of jihadists from Russia's Caucasus region and the former Soviet republics going to fight with ISIS in Syria.Read MoreAfghan forces on offensive against Taliban in SanginHe may be trying to cut off the pipeline of fighters closer to home, in Afghanistan, one expert told CNN.JUST WATCHEDAnalyst: Afghan forces can't match Taliban tacticsReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHAnalyst: Afghan forces can't match Taliban tactics 03:40"The ties between ISIS and the insurgency in the north Caucasus, the fact that there are people from the north Caucasus fighting in Syria -- maybe not as many as the Russian government says, but certainly a good number, including in leadership roles -- means that Russia does see ISIS and a lot of the other Islamist groups as a particular threat, in a way that maybe the Taliban isn't," said Olga Oliker of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "So the Russians may think they (the Taliban) are the lesser of the available evils."Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, a CNN military analyst, said a map shows the situation, with Afghanistan bordered on the north by former Soviet republics Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and Kazakhstan between those nations and Russia.Blair: We live with the 'pain' of Iraq, Afghanistan wars"Russia and Mr. Putin are very concerned about the passage of terrorists, insurgents, Islamists between those borders," Hertling said.Working with the Taliban presents some risk for Putin, who has been boldly extending his reach with aggressive moves in Syria, Ukraine and with North Korea.For their part, the Taliban issued a statement Friday denying any contact with the Russian government. The Taliban denied needing any help in the fight against ISIS but maintained they had the right to request assistance from other nations.Analysts said Putin's moves are all about projecting relevance and strength.JUST WATCHEDThe state of the Taliban in AfghanistanReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHThe state of the Taliban in Afghanistan 01:31"He wants to go back to the 1970s, when the Soviet Union and the United States were equals as geopolitical leaders, as Cold War rivals, but they still sat down and they did deals," said Matthew Rojansky of the Woodrow Wilson Center. Former CIA counterterrorism official Philip Mudd concurs, calling Putin's a "pretty serious power grab." Putin is seeking to enhance his relationships with those former Soviet republics. "What Putin is doing now is telling those states, 'I will work with the Taliban to ensure that we have an agreement to collect intelligence about ISIS before they come across the border,' " Mudd said. " 'When I collect that intelligence, I will pass it back to you.' This is as much about restoring those relationships and trust with the central Asian republics and competing with the United States as it is about countering ISIS in Afghanistan."The emergence of ISIS in Afghanistan is another major worry -- not only to Russia but also to the United States. Much of the violence in the country wracked by war and an insurgency has involved the Taliban. But al Qaeda -- which, led by the late Osama bin Laden, called Afghanistan home before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- continues to be a threat.JUST WATCHED Our World in 2015: The role of RussiaReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCH Our World in 2015: The role of Russia 02:53A U.S. State Department official told CNN when asked for comment on the Russian-Taliban agreement: "Russia and other regional actors all have a shared interest in supporting the continued security and increased stability of Afghanistan. We hope that we can continue to find ways to work with Russia to promote Afghanistan's security and stability."Another U.S. official told CNN that Washington doesn't see this action as undermining the stability it is working with the Afghan government to achieve. But what would be destabilizing, the official said, is any contact with the Taliban that would legitimize the group with international recognition.Moscow addressed Russian media reports about Russia supplying weapons to fighters in Afghanistan. The only weapons that would be transferred on a commercial basis would go directly to the Afghan government and would not involve the Taliban because of sanctions against the group, said Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. Russia "strictly follows the sanctions regime against the Taliban," she said.CNN's Matthew Chance in Moscow, Masoud Popalzai in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Laura Koran contributed to this report. | 3news
|
London (CNN)Standing at the feet of the early 20th century feminist Millicent Fawcett -- the only woman to be honored with a statue in the UK's Parliament Square -- I held the microphone up as high as I could to capture the impassioned words of her present-day successors. "Did women get the vote by waiting for it to be granted to them?" activist Steph Pike bellowed into a loudspeaker. "No! they fought for it," she said."We'll come back time and time again to fight for our rights. And," she roared towards lawmakers across the road, "you can't stop us!"As the crowd cheered, I thought of how lonely Fawcett's statue seems on calmer days in Westminster, facing down the UK's still largely male-dominated seat of democracy across the road. The monument to the leading women's suffragist carries a banner emblazoned with one of her most famous quotes: "Courage calls to courage everywhere."The organizers of the "Women Will Not Be Silenced" group (from left, Alia Butt, Helen O'Connor and Steph Pike) march at one of London's "Kill the Bill" protests.Read MoreUntil Fawcett's statue was unveiled here three years ago by, among others, Britain's second female Prime Minister Theresa May, the green patch outside Parliament had only commemorated men.Yet on a windswept Monday in March, despite Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, this traditional protest site was filled with hundreds of women clutching signs and slogans under Fawcett's protective gaze. "We demand the proper funding of services that women need and women rely upon every day," shouted Helen O'Connor, a representative of the UK's GMB union."The government has spent billions on this pandemic. My members are health workers and mostly women. Where is the pay rise they deserve -- and need -- during this pandemic?" she asked.The statue of women's rights campaigner Millicent Fawcett is unveiled in April 2018. It is the only statue of a woman, among 11 men, in London's Parliament Square.Expectations vs. realityReaders outside Great Britain may wonder where this upswell of resentment has come from in a nation normally known for its mild manners and modern values.The UK is facing a reckoning on gender-based violence. Boris Johnson's government has botched its responseAs a major world economy, the UK often makes interventions with other countries on human rights, including for women.Women here have had the right to vote for a century, while equal pay legislation has been around for half of that time.Even the UK's head of state -- the Queen -- is herself a woman.However, what many British women -- of which I am one -- will privately concede is that there remains a big difference between the liberties they are awarded in principle and what they can expect in practice in many aspects of their lives -- from the right to feel safe on the UK's streets to the right to expect equal treatment in the workplace.Igniting a national debateThis issue came to a head last month after the disappearance of 33-year-old Sarah Everard while walking home from a friend's house in the peaceful south London suburb of Clapham. The suspect charged with her killing is a serving officer of the UK's largest police force -- London's Metropolitan Police.Everard's death prompted an outpouring of grief, culminating in a vigil around a local park bandstand -- which the same police force then aggressively broke up, ostensibly because it posed a danger to public health. A review ordered by the Home Secretary vindicated the Met's handling of the vigil.But to those of us who were there that night, the response, given the occasion, felt decidedly uncomfortable.A mourner at the Clapham Common bandstand holds a sign as part of a vigil for Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman, whose killing has reignited a national debate on women's safety and sexual assault.When scuffles broke out as women were handcuffed a few meters away, my all-female film crew was asked to show credentials five times and urged to move on, almost disrupting our ability to document the events unfolding. It was amid these scenes that Pike and O'Connor met at the vigil. Also there was Alia Butt, a psychotherapist for the UK's National Health Service. What they all saw prompted them to form a pressure group called "Women Will Not Be Silenced," under whose banner they spoke at the protest days later next to Fawcett's statue.Women's groups lose legal battle over UK's falling rape prosecutions as nation grapples with gender-based violence"It just ignited a deep-seated anger, which I think we all recognized," said Pike, speaking in an interview with CNN in April."This violent culture against women in the UK isn't new to women, but it's come on top of years of austerity that has disproportionally affected women," she said. "I see it in my job as a welfare rights adviser: women who are single mothers may need access to services more, yet those services they need are often the ones being cut."Butt told CNN she witnesses the effect of this trend every day as well. She's seeing more and more patients who are younger and younger suffering from the effects of psychological or sexual violence, perpetrated either in person or online. She has even had to change her job to focus solely on minors due to the increased caseload of teenage girls presenting with mental health problems caused by violence against women."There are so many different forms of violence," Butt says. "It can also be institutional and economic. The threat of that can have a huge effect on people's mental health."For O'Connor, who suffered abuse while growing up in her native Ireland, this is about standing in solidarity with other women who have shared similar experiences, advocating for what they are entitled to.The Metropolitan Police's approach at a vigil for Sarah Everard has been widely criticized.'Rape culture'Since Everard's death, women across the country have come forward with their stories of daily sexual harassment and mishandled cases of serious sexual assault.There has even been a debate about a pervasive 'rape culture' in some of the most elite schools and universities.UK's elite schools face a reckoning on rape cultureWomen took to the streets again over the Easter weekend to protest police brutality and the need to "police themselves" by avoiding the streets and public transport after dark.At those marches I met Daphne Burt, wearing the pinkest outfit she could find in her wardrobe. Burt claimed she had survived rape, reported it, and never seen the case pursued.Another woman, who did not wish to be named, carried a sign saying she could get more years in jail for protesting during the pandemic than her rapist got for what he did to her.Also among the crowd, thousands strong, was photographer Lily-Rose Butterfield, who said her sexual assault experience had prompted her to tattoo parts of her body to demarcate her "physical boundaries."She showed me some of them, including a Venus de Milo on her leg.Protester Daphne Burt told CNN she chose the pinkest outfit she could find to march for women's safety.Crime billWhat had brought these women together was not the hope of being able to secure more of a say in their country, as Fawcett and her fellow suffragists had done, but a fear they were losing their voice.Everard's death occurred just as a controversial policing and crime bill began to pass through Parliament -- legislation which critics say would curb Britons' ability to protest and hand more powers to police at a time when they should be facing tougher scrutiny.Covid restrictions mean fines of up to around $14,000 for those found to be organizing or participating in large gatherings, even if the UK courts have ruled that people's right to protest should be protected.With UK police under fire, Boris Johnson pushes new bill that could end peaceful protestsThat risk has pushed some of Britain's more radical feminists underground."D" would only go by her first initial when we met via video call. An activist for the group called "Sisters Uncut," which campaigns for the rights of women and non-binary people to live in safety, she is among some of its organizers who now feel compelled to hide their identity. Wearing a mask, hood and glasses, she also sat so far away from the camera it was impossible to tell who she was."We've had to go online to keep our movement going," she said. "There are real risks to our members for being identified. The fine is a lot of money and we are conscious of the risks of being documented as organizing a protest one maybe two years down the line."Sisters Uncut have drafted a 10-point "feministo" demanding an overhaul of the UK's domestic violence services, of its immigration and family courts systems and campaign for more welfare funding to be made available to women and the LGBTQ community.From left, Hannah Alack, Lily-Rose Butterfield and Ramona Wolf attend a "Kill the Bill" protest in London. Statues vs. sex offensesThe UK's new crime legislation also contains a clause introducing a maximum 10-year sentence for those who deface a statue. Critics note that, in comparison, the average sentence for rape is just under 10 years."What message does this send to victims?" Bell Ribeiro-Addy, a Labour Member of Parliament for the South London suburb of Streatham, told CNN in an interview in Clapham after coming to pay her respects to a makeshift floral tribute in memory of Everard. "What example does it set of us as a country?" It was while contemplating the irony of Fawcett's stone likeness being potentially awarded better protections than her flesh and blood sisters, that I noticed something all too familiar.She has been interrupted.Her quote -- "Courage calls to courage everywhere" -- should also read, "and its voice cannot be denied."CNN's Lauren Kent and Li-Lian Ahlskog Hou contributed to this report. | 3news
|
Jerusalem (CNN)Israel's army chief has appeared to hint at possible Israeli involvement in an incident at the Natanz nuclear site in Iran, which was described as "terrorist action" by the head of Iran's atomic energy agency. Iranian officials on Sunday confirmed an "incident" at Natanz, an underground facility where uranium enrichment takes place. "Fortunately, the incident did not cause any human injuries or leaks," said Behrouz Kamalvand, a spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI). "The causes of the accident are under investigation and further information will be announced later." AEOI condemned the incident, calling it a "terrorist action," according to the Iranian telegram channel of the Revolution Guard Corps, or IRGC, a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. "The blackout in Natanz on the anniversary of National Nuclear Day is suspicious and may be due to sabotage while Iran is trying to convince the Western countries to lift the sanctions," said Malek Shariati Niaser, a member of Iran's parliament, the semi-official news website Entekhab.ir reported.Just hours after Iranian officials reported the incident, Israel's army chief Aviv Kochavi said the country's "operations throughout the Middle East are not hidden from the eyes of the enemies."Read More"They are watching us, seeing the capabilities and carefully considering their steps," he said, speaking Sunday at a remembrance event in Jerusalem to mark fallen soldiers.Reports in several Israeli media outlets Sunday quoted intelligence officials saying Israel's national intelligence agency, Mossad, was responsible for the incident. While few details of the unnamed officials are offered, some outlets described them as "Western intelligence sources," though it is not immediately clear whether "Western" includes the possibility the sources are from Israel or not. The window of opportunity is closing fast on an Iran nuclear dealIsrael's Prime Minister's office offered no comment on the reports, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Iran Sunday at a toast to mark the anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel. "The struggle against Iran and its proxies and the Iranian armament efforts is a huge mission," he said, appearing alongside Israel Defense Forces chief Kochavi and his senior commanders, as well as Defense Minister Benny Gantz. "The situation that exists today will not necessarily be the situation that will exist tomorrow." Netanyahu is due to meet Monday with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who is on a visit to the country. It is the highest-level visit to Israel by a member of the Biden administration and comes days after talks in Vienna aimed at restarting negotiations on a possible new nuclear deal between Iran and a US-led group of world powers. US officials were also in Vienna and met with representatives from global powers who are still party to the deal. They did not meet with Iranian officials directly. Former US President Donald Trump began imposing new sanctions on Iran as he withdrew the United States from the deal. Iranian officials have maintained the US must lift all Trump-era sanctions and return to the nuclear deal before it again complies with the agreement.Israel's leader repeated his strong opposition this week to the prospect of a restored Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)-type deal, saying Israel "would not be bound by any agreement that paves the way for Iran to develop nuclear weapons."Iran condemns 'terrorist action'Leaders in Iran condemned the incident.Akbar Salehi, chief of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said: "Iran reserves the right to respond against the perpetrators, and those who committed the terrorist action," IRGC reported."Today's attack demonstrates that the enemies of Iran's progress and advancement in nuclear science, as well as nuclear negotiations, are in desperation committing terrorist actions against the nuclear technology at Natanz [nuclear facility]."In Iranian news agency reports, other Iranian officials suggested the facility may have come under attack, speculating the plant may have been targeted as the country discusses a revival of the Iran nuclear deal with its Western signatories. A spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency told CNN by email on Sunday the agency was aware of the media reports."We have no comment at this stage," he said.During the 15th anniversary of Iran's National Nuclear Technology Day Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced new uranium enrichment centrifuges at the plant, stating that while Iran's nuclear activities are for "peaceful and civil purposes," the country's nuclear capability was also stronger than at any time before. "Today, a chain of 164 IR-6 centrifuges was launched," Rouhani said Saturday, according to state-run Press TV. "It can provide us with products 10 times more than the former chain."The Natanz nuclear plant lost a building when a fire broke out last July. The Iranian government said at the time that it was an attack on its nuclear program. It was also the target of the Stuxnet cyberattack in 2010, which security experts believe was carried out by Israel and the US. CNN's Andrew Carey and Amir Tal reported from Jerusalem, Ramin Mostaghim reported from Tehran, Sarah Dean reported from London. | 3news
|
(CNN)Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is poised to sign into a law a bill that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, allowing only for exceptions involving "serious risk" to the pregnant person and fatal fetal abnormality but with no exceptions for rape or incest.The Republican-sponsored bill was passed by the state Senate on Thursday night, and was swiftly condemned by President Joe Biden. DeSantis said Friday that he will sign the ban "in short order.""These are protections for babies that have heartbeats, that can feel pain, and this is very, very late," DeSantis said at an event in Jacksonville Friday morning. "And so, I think when you're talking about late term, you know, that's one thing. And so, you know, I think the protections are warranted."The bill makes Florida the latest Republican-led state, along with West Virginia and Arizona, to advance a 15-week abortion ban bill this session. Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court appears poised to uphold a similar Mississippi law that bars abortion after 15 weeks. The fate of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide, also hangs in the balance, and anti-abortion activists are hopeful that the court's conservative majority will strike it down. Florida's abortion bill also adds to the list of recent measures endorsed by DeSantis that strike at sensitive cultural issues, particularly ones involving LGBTQ rights and education, as he continues to solidify his standing as one of the most prominent Republican leaders in the country. Senate Republicans block bill that would preserve the right to abortionRead MoreFlorida law currently bans abortions in the third trimester. It allows exceptions if the procedure is necessary to save the pregnant woman's life or avert "serious risk of imminent substantial and irreversible physical impairment" to a pregnant woman. The bill passed by both chambers would keep those exemptions and add another: if the fetus has a fatal abnormality.The more than a dozen amendments proposed by Democrats, including one that would provide an exception for rape and incest, failed.Senators voted along party lines 23-15 in favor of the legislation, which, if signed into law by DeSantis, would go into effect July 1."We have a duty to protect life. This bill safeguards innocent, unborn children with beating hearts, who can move, taste, see, and feel pain," Republican state Sen. Kelli Stargel, who was the bill's main sponsor in the Senate, said in a statement.Democrats were quick to voice their opposition, with Biden calling the bill "dangerous" in a tweet Friday morning."My Administration will not stand for the continued erosion of women's constitutional rights," Biden said. Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, called the legislation "extreme by any standard."Florida Democratic House members called it "a direct assault on the people of Florida and our constitutional rights," and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, a Democrat, said that the measure would roll back a basic dignity for women. "More troubling is rejecting exceptions for rape and incest, even for young girls. Abortion is a deeply personal decision, and silencing that decision is outrageous and wrong," she said on social media.If enacted, the bill would be the strictest law on abortion in the state's history, according to Planned Parenthood. Florida now joins West Virginia and Arizona as conservative-led states advancing a 15-week abortion ban bill this session, one of several controversial bills the Republican-led legislature is pushing.State GOP lawmakers have advanced a bill, dubbed by opponents as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, that would prohibit schools from "encouraging" talk of sexual orientation and gender identity in some classrooms. Another bill that DeSantis backs would shield people from feeling "discomfort" or "guilt" based on their race, sex or national origin.This story has been updated to add additional reaction and background information.CNN's Sean Federico-OMurchu, Steve Contorno and Betsy Klein contributed to this report. | 4politics
|
(CNN)The NBA fined Miami Heat's Meyers Leonard $50,000 on Thursday after the center used an anti-Semitic slur while livestreaming a video game.The league also suspended Leonard from team facilities and activities for one week.Leonard was playing "Call of Duty: Warzone" on Monday when he said: "F**king cowards. Don't f**king snipe at me. You k*** b*tch."The Miami Heat center apologized for his actions on Tuesday, though he did not allude to the sexist part of his remark in the apology."Meyers Leonard's comment was inexcusable and hurtful and such an offensive term has no place in the NBA or in our society," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement on Thursday.Read More"Yesterday, he spoke to representatives of the Anti-Defamation League to better understand the impact of his words and we accept that he is genuinely remorseful."We have further communicated to Meyers that derogatory comments like this will not be tolerated and that he will be expected to uphold the core values of our league -- equality, tolerance, inclusion and respect -- at all times moving forward." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Meyers Leonard (@meyersleonard)
The league has also mandated Leonard to participate in a cultural diversity program. The Heat has yet to comment on Meyers' fine and suspension but earlier in the week had released a statement saying the organization "vehemently condemns the use of any form of hate speech." "The words used by Meyers Leonard were wrong and we will not tolerate hateful language from anyone associated with our franchise," the team's statement read. "Meyers Leonard will be away from the team indefinitely. The Miami HEAT will cooperate with the NBA while it conducts its investigation."Leonard has played in three games for the Heat this season. He underwent left shoulder stabilization surgery on February 2 and is expected to miss the rest of the season.CNN Sport has reached out to Leonard's agent, but has not heard back.Jill Martin, Amir Vera and Kevin Dotson contributed to this report | 5sport
|
Story highlightsFrenchman Stephane Peterhansel wins the Dakar Rally, his 10th success in the racePeterhansel finishes nearly 42 minutes ahead of fellow-Mini driver Nani RomaCyril Despres makes it a French double by claiming his fourth victory in bike sectionStephane Peterhansel has clinched a remarkable 10th Dakar Rally victory after safely finishing Sunday's 29km special stage to the Peruvian capital Lima.The Frenchman only had to avoid mechanical trouble to seal his fourth car triumph, having also won the race six times in the motorcycle category.And the Mini driver achieved that aim, coming home 10th on the day, three minutes and 12 seconds behind stage winner Robby Gordon in his Hummer.Does Dakar Rally damage a delicate environment?That result ensured Peterhansel covered the 8,400km-long race from Mar Del Plata in Argentina in a combined time of 38 hours, 54 minutes and 46 seconds.Team-mate Nani Roma was 41:56 back in second place with South African Toyota driver Ginel De Villiers third at 1.13:25.Peterhansel told the official Dakar website: "When you think how hard it is to win a Dakar Rally, it's incredible that I have been able to win 10 of them."It's been a long time, I've been waiting for five years to win again! To take the victory in South America is a huge relief, it ranks among my best triumphs."He added: "My finest victory will always be my first win in the motorcycle category, but this one has something special to it."I was starting to doubt myself, to think I was growing too old for this, that I'd lost it or that I wasn't made for South America -- and in the end everything turned out fine!"Meanwhile, it proved a French double delight with Cyril Despres claiming the motorcycle category after also completing the final stage unscathed.Despres was presented victory on Saturday when rival Marc Coma took a wrong turn and he cemented his fourth title after the final stage was won by Dutchman Pal Ullevalseter.The KTM rider came home 53:20 ahead of Coma, with Yamaha rider Helder Rodrigues of Portugal in third place at 1.11:17.Despres said: "I always pay attention to detail. I like doing my homework and, in my job, when things go OK you end up winning."This is without doubt the toughest Dakar I've ever raced in. All victories are beautiful, but this one is special because it came down to the wire and was decided at the last minute."He continued: "I've done 85 or 90 rallies throughout my life, and this one was the one where I had to fight the hardest. Today will leave its mark on me." | 5sport
|
Story highlightsGermany defeats Slovakia 3-0 to reach last eight at Euro 2016Jerome Boateng, Mario Gomez and Julain Draxler on targetMesut Ozil missed first half penaltyGermany will face either Spain or Italy next (CNN)Germany flexed its muscles Sunday as it cruised into the quarterfinals of Euro 2016 with a comfortable 3-0 win over Slovakia.The world champion, which also missed a penalty, eased home courtesy of goals from Jerome Boateng, Mario Gomez and Julian Draxler.It will now face either Italy or Spain in the last eight in Bordeaux on Saturday.Follow @cnnsport
"I think we have shown a great game," Gomez told reporters. "We dominated and it was exciting, we were very flexible. We deserved the win and can build on it."In the next game, we will play Italy or Spain, they will demand a lot more from us, they are better than the opposition we have had, it has not been easy against the defensive sides. Read More"We will try to impose our game and try to play with the same emotions as today."This was a pretty routine victory for Germany which was beaten 3-1 at home by Slovakia in a friendly game just three weeks ago.That result cast doubts over Jogi Low's side ahead of the tournament -- doubts which have been made to look rather foolish on this evidence.Three wins in four games and yet to concede a goal, it would take a brave person to bet against Germany adding the European crown to its world title.Jerome Boateng scored the first international goal of his career.Germany needed just eight minutes to make the breakthrough in Lille. Boateng, who had failed to score in his previous 62 games for his country, opened his account in spectacular fashion by firing home a volley from 25-yards after Toni Kroos' corner had only been partially cleared.Slovakia, one of the best third-place teams, was struggling to deal with the pace and movement of its opponents and was soon in trouble once again when Gomez was sent tumbling in the penalty area by Martin Skrtel.Ozil, the Arsenal midfielder, stood up to take the kick but his effort was well saved by Slovakian goalkeeper Matus Kozacik.Mesuit Ozil had his first half penalty saved.Germany, so dominant during the opening period, continued to boss the contest but were indebted to goalkeeper Manuel Neuer who produced a fine save to tip Juraj Kucka's over the crossbar.That save was to prove crucial as Germany doubled its advantage just moments later.1 - Julian Draxler is the first #GER player to score & assist in a EUROs match since Philipp Lahm in 2008 (v #TUR). Dynamo. #Euro2016— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 26, 2016
Draxler, a constant menace, danced down the left before beating his man and picking out Gomez to score his second of the tournament.Slovakia, two goals down at the break, rallied briefly in the second half but rarely appeared capable of forcing its way back into the contest.And those hopes were finally extinguished for good when Draxler was afforded time and space inside the penalty area to volley home from close range.Julian Draxler fired home Germany's third goal of the game. Germany had not won a game at the European Championship finals by more than two goals since its 3-0 win over Russia in 1996.Kroos almost grabbed a fourth late on only for Kozacik to produce a fine block but by then the game was up.Italy and Spain -- you have been warned. Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Belgian forward Eden Hazard, center, celebrates with supporters after Belgium's 4-0 victory over Hungary, at the Stadium Municipal in Toulouse, France on Sunday, June 26. Hide Caption 1 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Belgium's forward Yannick Ferreira-Carrascoa, right, shoots and scores his team's fourth goal.Hide Caption 2 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Belgian forward Eden Hazard, right, celebrates after scoring his team's third goal.Hide Caption 3 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Belgian forward Eden Hazard shoots and scores.Hide Caption 4 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi celebrates after scoring his team's second goal.Hide Caption 5 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi, left, scores past Hungarian goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly.Hide Caption 6 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois reacts as he dives for the ball.Hide Caption 7 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku, second right, vies for the header.Hide Caption 8 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Hungarian defender Tamas Kadar, left, fouls Belgian forward Dries Mertens.Hide Caption 9 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, center, heads the ball in an attempt to score. Hide Caption 10 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Hungarian goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly saves a shot.Hide Caption 11 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Toby Alderweireld, center, of Belgium heads the ball to score the opening goal past Gabor Kiraly, left, of Hungary.Hide Caption 12 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Hungary supporters chant ahead of the match. Hide Caption 13 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Germany players applaud their supporters after their 3-0 win over Slovakia at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Sunday in Lille, France. Hide Caption 14 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Germany's players celebrate their win. Next they play Italy or Spain.Hide Caption 15 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Slovakia midfielder Marek Hamsik shakes hands with his son after the game. Hide Caption 16 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15German supporters celebrate. Hide Caption 17 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Julian Draxler, right, of Germany scores his team's third goal.Hide Caption 18 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Germany's forward Mario Gomez, center, celebrates with midfielder Julian Draxler and midfielder Thomas Mueller, right, after scoring.Hide Caption 19 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Germany's forward Mario Gomez, center, scores against Slovakia's goalkeeper Matus Kozacik.Hide Caption 20 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer of Germany tips the ball over the bar after a shot by Juraj Kucka of Slovakia. Hide Caption 21 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Germany's midfielder Thomas Mueller, right, challenges Slovakia's midfielder Juraj Kucka.Hide Caption 22 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Mario Gomez of Germany is fouled by Martin Skrtel of Slovakia, resuting in a penalty kick.Hide Caption 23 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Matus Kozacik of Slovakia dives to stop the penalty kick by Mesut Oezil of Germany.Hide Caption 24 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Jerome Boateng of Germany scores the opening goal.Hide Caption 25 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Paul Pogba of France celebrates his team's 2-1 win over Republic of Ireland with supporters at Stade des Lumieres on Sunday, June 26, in Lyon, France. Hide Caption 26 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Ireland's goalkeeper Darren Randolph throws away his glove after the game. Hide Caption 27 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Shane Duffy of Ireland fouls Antoine Griezmann of France, resulting in a red card.Hide Caption 28 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Darren Randolph of Ireland dives in vain as Antoine Griezmann, center, of France scores his team's second goal.Hide Caption 29 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15France's goalkeeper Hugo Lloris jumps for the ball.Hide Caption 30 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15 A France fan cheers his team. Hide Caption 31 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15France forward Antoine Griezmann heads the ball to score.Hide Caption 32 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15France's Antoine Griezmann and teammates celebrate scoring a goal.Hide Caption 33 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Adil Rami of France fouls Shane Long of Ireland, resulting in a yellow card.Hide Caption 34 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15 Ireland supporters cheer their team.Hide Caption 35 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15N'Golo Kante of France is shown a yellow card by referee Nicola Rizzoli after fouling James McClean of Ireland.Hide Caption 36 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Stephen Ward of Ireland is tackled by Antoine Griezmann of France.Hide Caption 37 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Ireland fans show their support.Hide Caption 38 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Robbie Brady of Ireland converts a penalty to score the opening goal past Hugo Lloris of France.Hide Caption 39 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15Shane Long of Ireland is challenged by Paul Pogba of France.Hide Caption 40 of 41 Photos: Euro 2016: Day 15France fans show their support prior to the match. Hide Caption 41 of 41Keep up to date with all the latest from Euro 2016Who will win Euro 2016? Have your say on our Facebook page
Build your Ultimate XI. Choose from the best players in Europe and challenge your friends.
Choose your team
Lets get started...
Tap team shirts left or right
Tap a player to add them to your team
Tap to view player stats
Your formation will update as you add players
Tap on the trash can to clear your selections
Tap done to show and share your team results
Got it
Your Ultimate XI
Goalie
Defence
Midfield
Forward
Done
Edit Your Team
Build Your Team
| 5sport
|
A version of this article originally appeared in the weekly weather newsletter, which releases every Monday. You can sign up here to receive these every week and during significant storms. (CNN)With 61% of the contiguous US in drought, wouldn't it be nice if we could just "make it rain" or just "make more snow?"Well, certain parts of the country are doing just that, sort of. It's called cloud seeding, and it's nothing new.It's been around since the 1940s and countries all over the world have been doing it for various reasons (most notably China), but it's a growing practice in the US, especially in the drought-stricken West.It's also surrounded with controversy.We spoke with Julie Gondzar who is the program manager for Wyoming's Weather Modification Program, who admits she gets lots of calls about what they are doing.Read MoreGondzar said some people say "you're playing God," others say "you are stealing moisture from the storm," making other areas drier than they normally would be, kind of like robbing Peter to pay Paul.There are also environmental factors to consider, as well as the cost-effectiveness versus the reward, which in the West these days water is liquid gold."Think about it like water storage, but in the winter on mountaintops," is how Gondzar described what cloud seeding is trying to achieve in her state, "in a nutshell."Wyoming started cloud seeding in 2003 as part of a study. Then eight seasons ago, they started doing it in an official capacity after their 10-year study proved it works.This season, they have gone on 28 flight missions for cloud seeding in Wyoming. King Air's twin engine plane that is used for cloud seeding.She pointed out there are four weeks left in the season, so she is hoping for more opportunities before it winds down. When you compare Wyoming to other states such as Utah and North Dakota, who have been cloud seeding since the '70s and '80s, the state is fairly new to the game.Cloud seeding uses an already existing cloud, and injects silver iodide into the cloud, which adds tiny particles called ice nuclei (which water needs to freeze).Clouds, in basic terms, are a collection of water droplets and/or ice crystals floating in the sky. The nuclei help the cloud produce precipitation, and artificial ice nuclei help create more precipitation than the cloud would produce otherwise. It's done in two ways: One way is from the ground and the other is from the air, using silver iodide as the seeding agent."The ground-based generators kind of look like small weather stations, are like 20 feet tall, and they aerosolize into the atmosphere," Gondzar explained. "But you have to wait for the right atmospheric conditions so that the plume goes over the mountain range." It makes seeding a little more tricky, because if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction, you'll completely miss your target.The most popular way is by plane, using flares. "There are flares on the wing of the planes with silver iodide inside of cardboard casings and there are flares on the belly of the plane," Gondzar pointed out.This photo shows flares fixed on the aircraft's wing that house the silver iodide used for cloud seeding.Once the pilot flies into the storm, they ignite the cardboard casings full of silver iodide and "seed" the clouds. The result is more moisture in the cloud, resulting in more precipitation.The silver iodide "is a natural salt compound," Gondzar emphasized. "The reason it's used is because the geometric shape down to a molecular level is very similar to that of an ice crystal. And if you don't have that, you're not going to create additional ice crystals, which will then accumulate into snowflakes."But if you think you can bust the drought by using planes to modify the weather, Gondzar said think again. Is it working?"Cloud seeding does not fix the drought," Gondzar said. "You can't break a drought with cloud seeding. It's a tool in the toolbox."Gondzar admitted while they know the method makes more snow than they would otherwise receive, it's difficult to know exactly how much more they are getting."There's evidence of it in radar and all kinds of papers written," Gondzar noted. "The question that they're trying to answer now is how well does it work? And that's a difficult question to answer. Because there's an abstract piece of this. There's really no way to know how much snow a particular system would have produced."She knows cloud seeding doesn't generate a lot of additional snowfall, but every little bit helps these days.According to Wyoming's Water Systems Data Map, some areas in the state are only at 60% of average for snowpack this season, and the window for additional snow is slowly closing as the season winds down.Since most of the West gets the majority of its water from snowmelt, she hopes what they are doing helps a tiny bit in the long term.
"It's a small incremental change over a long period of time. That's why consistency is important," Gondzar urged.She added at $28-$34 per acre foot, cloud seeding is relatively cheap. "Those numbers tell us that this is an inexpensive way to help add water to the system. Essentially, we are creating a little bit of additional snowpack, that becomes additional streamflow in the spring and summer."But you need a cloud, to cloud seed. You can't just go out to the Mojave Desert and make it rain."This is not something that we can do out of thin air," Gondzar cautioned. "The criteria is very specific for this to actually work."It can only be done within already existing clouds that were going to produce snow anyway and there has to be a certain temperature range."The silver iodide in the cloud is initiating that snow," Gondzar said. "But you can't just make snow out of nothing. You have to have the supercooled liquid water in the cloud."She explained part of what made this year difficult was the much drier weather during the last month. There were fewer opportunities to cloud seed."A lot of people think it's manipulating the weather pattern," Gondzar remarked. "We are essentially just playing with cloud dynamics and cloud physics, on a super, super-small scale."She is a meteorologist as well and points out the moisture from the weather systems come from much bigger areas like the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific."There's always a huge stream of moisture that our systems are tapping into, and cloud seeding probably brings an additional one to 2% down to the surface."Playing God While Gondzar is confident cloud seeding doesn't steal snow from another area, some scientists disagree. Daniel Swain is a climate scientist at UCLA and spoke with my colleague and climate writer Rachel Ramirez. He told her "It is possible that you're actually stealing water from someone else when you do this, because it may be, at least on a regional basis, a zero-sum game where if water falls out of the cloud in one spot, it's even drier by the time it makes it downwind to the next watershed."
He went on to ask, "To what extent are you just shifting around the spatial distribution of precipitation during a scarcity period rather than actually causing it to rain or snow more overall?"He believes water equity issues need to be researched more.Another note of controversy has been the safety of the chemicals used in cloud seeding. Gondzar stressed it is not made of harmful chemicals like some people claim.She pointed out they did lots of testing for before they started officially cloud seeding and could not find any traces of harmful amounts of silver."There's silver in natural background levels in the water in the soil everywhere, on the surface of the earth," Gondzar noted. "So you already have a natural background level of silver, it's been really difficult to find anything beyond background levels."She said the amount of silver iodide used is only a few grams at a time. What she's hoping is a small price to pay for bigger rewards down the road.There have been climate concerns surrounding cloud seeding. Here's more from Ramirez, who reached out to a few scientists, to get their take on cloud seeding's climate angle. Climate scientists remain skeptical this is the silver bullet Although cloud seeding has been around for decades and is currently being operated in roughly 50 countries, many climate scientists remain skeptical of the technology's efficacy as well as the time and effort put into trying to manipulate weather.Swain pointed out it has been historically difficult to design scientific experiments to test the effectiveness of cloud seeding, leaving behind a trail of unclear, intangible evidence on what the benefits are."How do you know how much precipitation that might actually end up falling from that cloud occurred due to the seeding? Or how much would have fallen without the seeding?" Swain told CNN. "This isn't a setting where you can do a truly controlled experiment."Cloud seeding experiments typically deal with a narrow set of parameters, according to Swain, taking into account weather conditions including cloud cover, time of the day, and location. Additionally, the rapidly changing climate adds another layer to the list of variables. As the planet warms, weather patterns and clouds will constantly evolve, often in unexpected ways.That's what Sarah Tessendorf, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and other researchers from universities and an Idaho power company, set out to examine in 2017. Their results, published in 2020 in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, managed to quantify how effective cloud seeding is. Yet uncertainties still linger.During the cold winter months in 2017, the researchers flew aircraft to inject silver iodine, the seeding chemical used, into clouds over the Payette Basin in Idaho, while simultaneously using radars and models to measure its impact on snowfall.In three cloud-seeding events, the scientists identified "unambiguous seeding patterns," in cold cloud decks not producing ice at all; but once seeded, ice crystals formed inside mirroring the same pattern the aircraft had flown. They were then able to track the formed ice and snow to the ground and measure how much additional snow fell from the seeded clouds.Despite the results, Tessendorf said more experiments need to be done to improve the technology for it to become a sweeping solution to the climate crisis. The amount of precipitation produced by cloud seeding — up to 10% — isn't enough at all to quench the drought-stricken West.
"It could help over the years augment the storage levels in reservoirs, so that when you get into that extract, you might just go into that drought with a little bit more than you would have otherwise," she said. "That to me is the way that cloud seeding should be viewed. It's not going to be the silver bullet, but it could be a helpful tool in a water manager's toolbox."When it comes to tackling climate change as a whole, many also question the methods such as the deployment of fossil fuel-powered aircraft to inject silver iodide into clouds, arguing it is counterintuitive to the overall climate goals of slashing fossil fuel emissions. But Tessendorf argued it is a small price to pay in order to improve the technology."I will say that the number of aircraft and the duration of these flights to do cloud seeding and the programs that are currently having it done pales in comparison to the number of commercial flights and aircraft we have in the skies all over the world right now," she contended. "So it's to me a drop in the bucket of extra fossil fuels being burned.""But that does not mean that there isn't room for improvement there in order to have more of a clean process," Tessendorf added.With the climate crisis accelerating, climate scientists like Swain say resources are much better invested in climate solutions already guaranteed to make significant and equitable impacts."There needs to be controlled studies that actually shows it was the seeding that increased the precipitation in a meaningful way," Swain asserted. "The best case scenario is it's a small incremental adjunct to other water-saving or conservation measures during scarce periods, but even that's not clear if it would really work in that capacity in any systematic way."CNN meteorologist Judson Jones contributed to this article | 3news
|
Story highlightsArsene Wenger will leave Arsenal at the end of the seasonThe Frenchman has been with Arsenal for 22 yearsFans have displayed "Wenger Out" banners all over the world (CNN)From Wrestlemania to the White House, plastered on toilet walls in Australia and cardboard signs in Zimbabwe."Wenger Out." Many Arsenal fans across the world have clamored for the club's long-term manager Arsene Wenger to step down in recent years, taking to the streets, stadiums, Twitter and, in one extreme case, even to the sky.On Friday, they got their wish.The Frenchman announced he will call time on his 22-year association with the club when the current season ends early next month, also signaling the end of a social media campaign that has drawn support in weird and wonderful places.#WengerOut #WengerOutSign At the Whitehouse. (Via @benjokneeled) pic.twitter.com/J92QnzIPpe— Wenger Out Signs (@WengerOutSign) October 14, 2017
It began as response to a downturn in Arsenal's fortunes on the pitch. After three English Premier League titles and four FA Cups between 1998 and 2005, Wenger oversaw a nine-year run without a trophy.Read MoreFans grew restless for a change of leadership and began to demand it in unexpected locations.JUST WATCHEDPatrick Vieira on the Invincibles and Man CityReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHPatrick Vieira on the Invincibles and Man City 00:48READ: Who will replace Wenger at Arsenal?A placard with "Wenger Out" splashed across it appeared at a protest against Robert Mugabe in Harare, Zimbabwe early last year, while a couple of months later one Arsenal fan made his views clear at the WWE's annual Wrestlemania extravaganza.#WengerOut #WengerOutSign At a Mugabe protest in Zimbabwe. Via @khima88 pic.twitter.com/cUlMbgCWDC— Wenger Out Signs (@WengerOutSign) January 7, 2018
#WengerOut Sign at the Wrestlemania Pre Show pic.twitter.com/cFGded0voy— Wenger Out Signs (@WengerOutSign) May 30, 2017
Leader of the British Labour Party and an Arsenal fan, Jeremy Corbyn is an MP in the club's Islington neighborhood in North London.Some supporters of Corbyn, however, didn't afford Wenger the same backing in the run up to the 2017 British election, with "Wenger Out" messages appearing at a public appearance by the Labour Party leader in Leamington Spa.#WengerOut #WengerOutSignAt A Jeremy Corbyn rally. pic.twitter.com/X6jYFnPlVT— Wenger Out Signs (@WengerOutSign) December 2, 2017
The campaign reached a bizarre pinnacle during a 3-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion in March 2017. One anti-Wenger fan arranged for a plane to fly over the stadium trailing a banner emblazoned with the message "No Contract #Wenger Out," only for a second plane with a pro-Wenger message to appear moments later.The banner condemning Wenger reappeared in the skies above a match at Stoke City the following May. Incidentally Arsenal won that match 4-1.And while "Wenger Out" campaigners will no doubt feel vindicated, they should be careful what they wish for.JUST WATCHEDCOPA90: How Wenger's Arsenal changed the PLReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHCOPA90: How Wenger's Arsenal changed the PL 05:19When Wenger's old nemesis Alex Ferguson ended his 26-year reign as Manchester United manager in 2013, his replacement David Moyes was sacked before the end of the following season. United slumped to a seventh-place finish.Arsenal's old rivals have only just began to rebuild themselves as a force in the Premier League after the failed appointed of Louis van Gaal and initial struggles under current incumbent Jose Mourinho. Will Arsenal's change in leadership restore the Gunners to former glories?Whatever happens, at least Arsenal fans will always have the @WengerOutSigns Twitter account to remind them of a man they revered and ultimately removed. | 5sport
|
(CNN)It would have hardly seemed likely back in April that a little-known Ukrainian gas company would be propelled to the center of a massive US political scandal.But these are not ordinary times.On April 21, US President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Ukrainian president-elect Volodymyr Zelensky, who had just won a resounding victory at the polls. Kurt Volker, the US Special Representative for Ukraine negotiations, described it as a routine congratulatory call.Nancy Pelosi announces formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald TrumpBut within days of Zelensky's win, the New York Times published a story that resurfaced questions about Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, in Ukraine. At the center of the story -- pushed in good part by Rudy Giuliani, Trump's lawyer and political attack dog -- was the role of Hunter Biden on the board of Burisma, a natural gas company.The Bidens and Burisma were the focus of a July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky, a conversation that spurred a whistleblower complaint.Read More"There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great," Trump said, according to notes prepared by staff in the White House situation room.Justice Department ignored additional allegations when considering if complaint could be shared with CongressTrump was referring to investigations into Burisma, following on the insinuation -- an unproven one -- that Joe Biden tried to have Ukraine's top prosecutor ousted in 2016 to stop investigations of Burisma, to benefit his son.That version of events has not held up: Burisma had indeed been investigated, but at least one former official in the Ukraine prosecutor's office said the investigation into Burisma had already been shelved by the time Joe Biden lobbied for the replacement of Ukraine's prosecutor.Still, in the July 25 call, Zelensky appeared to promise to have a new prosecutor look into the case. "Since we have won the absolute majority in our Parliament, the next prosecutor general will be 100% my person, my candidate, who will be approved by the parliament and will start as a new prosecutor in September," he said, according to the transcript.Whether the Ukrainian government will deliver what Trump wants -- an investigation of the Bidens -- remains to be seen.Whistleblower's complaint is a devastating report from a savvy officialA prominent Ukrainian lawmaker told CNN Thursday that a new investigation of a Ukrainian firm at the heart of a growing US political scandal would not involve Joe or Hunter Biden.Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, a leading parliamentarian and a former head of Ukraine's domestic intelligence agency, told CNN prosecutors were looking to open an investigation into Burisma. Nalyvaichenko added, however, that the role of Hunter Biden would not be examined, as far as he was aware, and that Joe Biden's efforts during his tenure as vice president to dismiss a former Ukrainian prosecutor general will not form part of the restarted investigation. "This investigation is about Ukraine's corruption at the top," Nalyvaichenko said. "It is about getting to the truth for Ukrainians." The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's office has not said whether a probe of Burisma had been reopened, and declined comment to CNN. Previous probes into Burisma by Ukrainian prosecutors over the years have been dropped or gone dormant. Hunter Biden no longer works for Burisma.The Ukrainian government, it appears, will be walking a fine line in reopening a probe of Burisma.CNN's Matthew Chance, Zahra Ullah and Philip Ittner in Kiev contributed to this report. | 3news
|
(CNN)Nikolas Cruz, the gunman who carried out the massacre of students and faculty members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018, pleaded guilty in a Florida courtroom Wednesday to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.Cruz, 23, faces a minimum of life in prison and maximum of the death penalty, which will be decided by a jury in the upcoming sentencing phase of the trial. The prosecution has said they plan to seek the death penalty.In court, Cruz wore a collared shirt, black vest, face mask and large, thick-framed glasses. He stood at the court lectern and answered Judge Elizabeth Scherer's series of questions with a "yes ma'am" or "no ma'am," and assured her, "I know what's going on." He said he had depression and anxiety, and that he was experiencing anxiety in court, but he said he was able to proceed.Nikolas Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty to murder on Wednesday for the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.Cruz then responded "guilty" when each of the 34 charges were read to him. Afterward, he apologized to the victims in a short speech."I am very sorry for what I did, and I have to live with it every day. If I were to get a second chance, I would do everything in my power to try to help others," he said. "I am doing this for you, and I do not care if you do not believe me. And I love you, and I know you don't believe me, but I have to live with this every day, and it brings me nightmares and I can't live with myself sometimes, but I try to push through because I know that's what you guys would want me to do.Read More"I hate drugs, and I believe this country would do better if everyone would stop smoking marijuana and doing all these drugs and causing racism and violence out in the streets," he continued. "I'm sorry, and I can't even watch TV anymore. And I'm trying my best to maintain my composure, and I just want you to know I'm really sorry, and I hope you give me a chance to try to help others. I believe it's your decision to decide where I go, and whether I live or die. Not the jury's. I believe it's your decision. I'm sorry."The judge then asked Cruz if he understood that a jury, and not the victims' families, would have the legal power to decide his sentence, and he confirmed that he understood.Social media paints picture of racist 'professional school shooter'"What I meant was I believe they should have the right to choose, the victims themselves, on whether I should take life or death," Cruz said.He was then placed in handcuffs, fingerprinted and escorted from the courtroom.Jury selection in the penalty phase is scheduled for January 4.The plea comes more than three and a half years after the Valentine's Day shooting in Parkland, Florida, in which he killed 17 students and faculty members and injured 17 others in what is the deadliest high school shooting in US history.A dozen law enforcement officers filled the courtroom Wednesday while media, victims, and the family of victims watched the proceedings, some of whom were seen wiping their eyes as the judge detailed the counts and penalties to Cruz.Tony Montalto, the father one of the slain students, Gina Montalto, called Cruz's apology "ridiculous.""If he wanted to apologize, he shouldn't have murdered Gina and 16 other people that day," Tony Montalto told CNN. Asked about the prospect of the death penalty for Cruz, Montalto said, "We need to deprive these mass murderers of the notoriety they seek. . . . We need to remember the victims for the wonderful and vibrant people that they were."I think he deserves as much of a chance as he gave my daughter and everyone else on February 14 of 2018."In court the prosecution laid out the harrowing timeline of the shooting, which began when Cruz, then 19, grabbed his AR-15-style rifle and magazines and rode in an Uber to his former high school. There, he took out his rifle and loaded it, and when a student walked near, Cruz offered a warning. "You better get out of here," he told the student. "Something bad is about to happen."Cruz then wandered through the halls of the school and fired indiscriminately at various students and staff in hallways and classrooms, prosecutors said. He eventually left the school and was taken into custody several miles away.Change of plea was previewed last weekJUST WATCHEDParkland survivors unpack trauma through artReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHParkland survivors unpack trauma through art 02:43The plea begins to wrap up a legal chapter in a massacre that scarred a community and spawned a massive national protest movement against gun violence in American schools.Cruz had previously pleaded not guilty to 17 counts of premeditated murder in the first degree and 17 counts of attempted murder in the first degree, though he had confessed to police, according to a probable cause affidavit.The change of plea to guilty was previewed on Friday when Cruz appeared briefly in Broward County court to plead guilty to charges related to a November 2018 jail assault. At the hearing, defense attorney David Wheeler said in court that Cruz intends to plead guilty in the school shooting, which could avert part of a lengthy trial.Cruz's defense team had long ago offered a guilty plea in exchange for life in prison without the possibility of parole -- but only if prosecutors took the death penalty off the table. Prosecutors had rejected that, saying they were seeking the death penalty.Biden calls on Congress to 'enact commonsense gun law reforms' on third anniversary of Parkland shootingThe impact of the February 2018 shooting was felt far beyond South Florida, as survivors and victims' relatives quickly spoke out and confronted lawmakers to plead for gun control reform. Other students in the US joined the cause, staging their own protests and school walkouts in the months after the massacre.As for the jail assault case, Cruz appeared in Scherer's courtroom Friday to plead guilty, cutting off a trial for which jury selection began earlier this month. Cruz was accused of attacking a jail guard in November 2018, authorities said. He pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, battery on a law enforcement officer, depriving an officer of means of protection; and use of a self-defense weapon against a law enforcement officer.Scherer on Wednesday sentenced Cruz in that case to 25 years in Florida state prison also 364 days in county jail. Cruz will be credited for the 1,345 days he has already served, the judge said.According to the arrest report, the incident began when a jail officer asked that Cruz not drag his sandals on the ground while walking around a dayroom area. Cruz tackled and repeatedly punched the guard, then took his stun gun in a fight, according to the arrest report. As they wrestled over the device, the weapon discharged, the report states. Cruz struck the sergeant several more times until the guard regained control of the weapon, struck at Cruz's face and took him into custody, the report states. Cruz's guilty plea comes just after a $25 million settlement was reached between the Broward County School Board and 52 victims of the massacre, according to an attorney for some of the victims.Attorney David Brill said the settlement of the lawsuit includes all of the families of the 17 who died, 16 of 17 victims who were shot but survived, and 19 victims who suffer from PTSD or other ailments.CNN's Dakin Andone, Jason Hanna and Amanda Watts contributed to this report. | 3news
|
(CNN)During the height of lockdown, while most of us sought comfort in movies, Netflix and video games, Bryson DeChambeau found purpose in the gym.When golf resumed in early June, DeChambeau emerged with an additional 40 pounds of muscle and hit the ground running with his new powerful physique.In the five tournaments he has played since resumption, he has placed tied-third, tied-eighth, tied-sixth, and first before falling back down to earth when he failed to make the cut at the Memorial Tournament.Nonetheless DeChambeau has caused quite a stir in that time due to the sheer distance he is now driving the ball off the tee. According to PGA statistics, the 26-year-old American golfer is hitting the ball two yards further than second-ranked Cameron Champ and 12 yards further than Sam Burns, who is ranked 10th.For his win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, DeChambeau averaged 350.6 yards per drive. This is the longest average measured driving distance for a winning player in PGA Tour history. Longest average measured driving distance in a win, recorded PGA Tour history:2020 @b_dechambeau, Rocket Mortgage, 350.6 yards2005 Tiger Woods, The Open, 341.52016 Dustin Johnson, WGC Invitational, 341.3— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) July 5, 2020 Read MoreEarlier this month, former world No. 1 Lee Westwood described DeChambeau as "incredible" to CNN's Amanda Davies in an Instagram Live."What Bryson's done has been incredible," he said. "He should be applauded for it. He's obviously seen where he can improve and distance is obviously a massive strength and he's maximied that for sure. "His body transformation is incredible and it's paid off very quickly. Over the last few weeks, him and Webb Simpson have been the two most consistent players -- Bryson obviously won last week [in Detroit] -- and to retain the feel in his short game and his putting when you've piled on all the pounds and obviously bulked up is a phenomenal effort." View this post on Instagram "What Bryson's done has been incredible" :man-golfing: @westwood_lee didn't hold back in his praise of @brysondechambeau's new physique after the American bulked up 40 pounds of muscle during golf's coronavirus-enforced break. Thanks to everyone who tuned in for our latest Instagram Live Interview. Keep your eyes peeled for our next one :eyes: . . . #golf #leewestwood #brysondechambeau #dechambeau #pga #pgatour #europeantour A post shared by CNNSport (@cnnsport) on Jul 8, 2020 at 10:35am PDT These days at golf media conferences golfers are invariably asked about DeChambeau. "He's hitting it further, but let's look at the fact that he's hitting it as straight as he is," said Tiger Woods."That's the most difficult thing to do. The further you hit it, the more the tangent goes more crooked, more along this line."Charley Hoffman recently told GOLF's Subpar podcast that DeChambeau's development shows that "the best athletes in the world are starting to play golf now. That's why it's going further."Meanwhile fellow Tour pro Tony Finau says he was "inspired" by DeChambeau and that it had "got [him] thinking."DeChambeau himself had this to say about his swing and how straight he hits the ball: "I've found some methods in the golf swing that allowed me to hit it a little bit straighter than I thought I was going to be able to. Consequently, I just feel like the harder I swing, sometimes the straighter it goes, and that's been a tremendous benefit."Whenever I get a little uncomfortable I just swing it harder, and luckily the way my golf swing is, the forces lined up a lot better for me. But no, I didn't think it was going to come this quick." Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happenedThe seven-year-wait: Michael Thompson poses with the trophy after winning the 3M Open on July 26, 2020 at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota. The win was the 35-year-old's second PGA Tour event victory, 2,702 days after his first. Hide Caption 1 of 16 Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happenedWorld No. 1: Jon Rahm of Spain plays his shot from the first tee during the final round of The Memorial Tournament on July 19, 2020 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. Rahm's victory at the competition ensured the Spaniard replaced Rory McIlroy at the top of the world rankings. Seve Ballesteros and Rahm are the only Spaniards to hold the top ranking.Hide Caption 2 of 16 Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happenedPecking order: Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, who was world No. 1 before Rahm took top spot, looks on during a practice round prior to the Players Championship on The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 10, 2020 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Tiger Woods holds the record for the most consecutive weeks at No. 1 (281), as well as the most total weeks in the position with 683. McIlroy is in third place on 106 weeks.Hide Caption 3 of 16 Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happenedMuscle man: Bryson DeChambeau celebrates after winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic on July 05, 2020 at the Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan. DeChambeau's victory comes off the back of a productive period with golf on pause during the coronavirus outbreak, which has seen him pile on muscle and reshape his entire game. He's now powered by 40 pounds of additional muscle.Hide Caption 4 of 16 Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happenedPandemic: A sign telling players about social distancing and other advice against Covid-19 is seen during practice prior to the Austrian Open at Diamond Country Club on July 08, 2020 in Atzenbrugg, Austria. Golf's European Tour had been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, before its resumption at the British Masters on July 22.Hide Caption 5 of 16 Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happenedBehind closed doors: Tiger Woods walks past fans looking on from a nearby house on the 17th hole during the second round of the Memorial tournament on July 17, 2020 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. Since the PGA Tour returned to action in June, there have been spectator-free tournaments in Texas, South Carolina, Connecticut and Michigan. The Memorial event was also closed to the general public.Hide Caption 6 of 16 Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happened'Very fortunate': Jon Rahm of Spain celebrates with Jack Nicklaus, Barbara Nicklaus and son Jack Nicklaus II after winning in the final round of The Memorial Tournament on July 19, 2020 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. Golf legend Nicklaus announced at the tournament that he and his wife, Barbara, both tested positive for the Covid-19 virus in March. The 80-year-old, who hosted the competition, told Jim Nantz during a CBS telecast that he had dealt with a sore throat and a cough and that his wife was asymptomatic. The 18-time major champion said: "It didn't last very long, and we were very, very fortunate, very lucky. Barbara and I are both of the age that is an at-risk age."Hide Caption 7 of 16 Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happened'The Match': In May at the Medalist Golf Club in Florida, Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning faced off against Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in "The Match: Champions for Charity." The goal was to raise more than $10 million for Covid-19-related causes which provide relief for frontline workers, small businesses, and those in desperate need of food as a result of the pandemic. Woods and Manning stopped a late comeback effort by Mickelson and Brady to win by one shot.Hide Caption 8 of 16 Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happenedBlack Lives Matter: Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka take part in a moment of silence held in place of the 8:46 tee time to remember George Floyd during the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge on June 12, 2020 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.Hide Caption 9 of 16 Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happenedCompetitive return: Fast forward to July and after struggling to make the cut and troubled by persistent back problems at the Memorial tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, Tiger Woods showed promise of better things to come with a battling one-under-par 71 in the third round, though he then hit a 76 in the tournament's final round.Hide Caption 10 of 16 Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happenedAutumnal Augusta: The famed Masters golf tournament has earmarked November 12-15 to hold its 2020 championship. The Masters was originally slated to tee off in early April but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.Hide Caption 11 of 16 Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happenedMajors: In April, the R&A canceled the British Open at Royal St George's due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Open will next be played at Royal St George's in 2021. A general view of play on the sixth green during day 6 of The Amateur Championship at Royal St. George on June 24, 2017 in Sandwich, England. Hide Caption 12 of 16 Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happenedSurviving majors: TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, will host the PGA Championship August 6-9, while the the US Open will be held at the Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, New York, September 17-20. Phil Mickelson stands on the 18th green after his last putt in the final round of the 2006 US Open Championship at Winged Foot Golf Club on June 18, 2006 in Mamaroneck, New York. Geoff Ogilvy won the championship by one stroke.Hide Caption 13 of 16 Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happenedLPGA: The LPGA Tour's last event was the Women's Australian Open in February, but it plans to resume its schedule July 31 at the Drive On Championship in Toledo, Ohio. However, the LPGA of Korea Tour did get going in May. World No. 1 Jin-young Ko of South Korea is pictured looking over a green on the 18th hole during the final round of the KIA Motors Korea Women's Open at the Bears Best CheongNa on June 21, 2020 in Incheon, South Korea.Hide Caption 14 of 16 Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happenedRoyal Troon: The first women's major golf championship of 2020 is the Women's British Open, which will be held -- without spectators -- at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland between August 20-23. The 123 yards par 3 eighth hole on the Old Course at Royal Troon is pictured.Hide Caption 15 of 16 Photos: Golf in 2020: What's happenedWomen's majors: Usually the first women's major of the year, the ANA Inspiration, was postponed until September 10-13 in Rancho Mirage, California. Jin-young Ko won the tournament in 2019. The Women's PGA Championship has been rescheduled for October 8-11 in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, while the US Women's Open will be held December 10-13 in Houston.Hide Caption 16 of 16BifurcationWhile Westwood commended DeChambeau for "improving himself physically," the British golfer indicated that he thought equipment played a significant role: "Drivers and golf balls have been going further and straighter over the last few years; this hasn't just happened over the last few months. "We've been having this conversation for years now. I don't know what the answer is. As long as you hit it a long way, you should get the benefit of it if you hit it straight. If you hit it a long way and it goes off-line and you don't get penalized, that's when golf has got a problem."Others are not so happy with how DeChambeau and massive drives are potentially changing golf.After the Charles Schwab Challenge in early June, former Tour pro Colin Montgomerie told the BBC that the "time has come" for officials to introduce a "tournament ball for professionals" to curb DeChambeau and others from long hitting off the tee."Bryson had 10 holes on which he was within 100 yards of the green for his approach. And if you include the four par threes that means there were only four holes on which Bryson was more than 100 yards away for his approach."The game has changed dramatically. It's now brute force and a sand wedge."Colin Montgomerie says changes need to be made to reduce the drive distance that players like DeChambeau are able to achieve.The USGA and R&A released a report in February that said the increased distances players were hitting was "detrimental to the game's long-term future."Montgomerie said he also backed Jack Nicklaus' idea for a tournament ball that goes only "80-85% as far."People may not like it, but DeChambeau isn't breaking any rules, and it certainly is not the first time a sportsperson has done something others don't agree with in order to gain an advantage. That is simply the nature of competitive sport. DeChambeau said he feels, "the harder I swing, sometimes the straighter it goes."Not bulletproof yetFebruary's report also said that "increased hitting distance can begin to undermine the core principle that the challenge of golf is about needing to demonstrate a broad range of skills to be successful."But DeChambeau has also shown that the long-hitting approach is not foolproof.Two weeks after that win in Detroit, the 26-year-old missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament after recording a 10-stroke quintuple bogey on his second round.The incident also raised questions about DeChambeau's temperament.An errant drive forced a drop. The California native then opted for a 3-wood from the rough and skewed the shot to the right out of bounds. The next stroke produced a similar result, but even further to the right.@NoLayingUp Bryson says "they're giving me a garbage ruling like usual" and then something about "can't let everything get f$&!'d?? pic.twitter.com/0s1bKGK3U0— Ryan Miles 🧢 (@rymiles12) July 17, 2020 The ball was found to be resting against a metal boundary fence and before he could take his eighth stroke, the ball was, according to two officials, also ruled to be out of bounds. The second official was required after DeChambeau dismissed the first ruling as "garbage."He added: "From my perspective, that would be technically still in."Bryson patting down the rough before dropping in the exact spot he just patted down. Is..... is that legal? (via @BenSwantonGolf)pic.twitter.com/EY1G5A9ehq— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) July 17, 2020 Dismissing the officials and favoring his own opinion are a couple of reasons why some call the eight-time tournament winner arrogant.During his win in Detroit, DeChambeau also berated a cameraman for following him too closely which he deemed was "hurting [his] image."Two weeks later at the Memorial Tournament, DeChambeau's caddie Tim Tucker rushed to block a cameraman from filming his boss's meltdown on the 15th hole. He later declined two interview requests from the media following his failure to make the cut.JUST WATCHEDCoronavirus continues to impact the PGA Tour ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHCoronavirus continues to impact the PGA Tour 04:24It remains to be seen whether the new power game of Dechambeau, who will next compete at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational this week, will force golf to fundamentally change or force his fellow competitors to fundamentally change their games too.The WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational reigning champion Brooks Koepka heads into the weekend with his own simple answer: "I don't need to keep up with anybody. I'm good." | 5sport
|
A version of this story appeared in the December 3 edition of CNN's Royal News, a weekly dispatch bringing you the inside track on Britain's royal family. Sign up here. London (CNN)Earlier this week, we wrote to you from Barbados during Prince Charles' whirlwind tour as the Caribbean island took its first steps as a republic. We were one of several media outlets invited to join the heir to the throne's flight to Bridgetown to cover the celebrations marking the Queen's removal as head of state.For the journey, the Prince of Wales flew on RAF Voyager -- an Airbus A330 owned by the UK for use on official overseas visits by members of the royal family and government ministers. Charles most recently hopped on board with wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall for their four-day trip to Jordan and Egypt. The UK owns several Voyager planes, which are normally used for air-to-air refueling and strategic air transport. However, one plane in the fleet was converted in 2016 for VIP transportation -- and this was our ride. Sometimes jokingly referred to as "Heir Force One," last year it received a £900,000 (nearly $1.2 million) makeover -- to repaint the plane from military gray to the colors of the Union flag (red, white and blue livery). The Airbus A330 was converted for VIP transportation in 2016. Read MoreInside it looks, well, pretty much like any other passenger aircraft. The refueling plane has been refitted with business class-type seats in the front and middle sections, and regular coach seats in the rear. Any traveling press sit in the back with military personnel who might also be on the flight. In line with pandemic protocols, face coverings are currently used onboard and social distancing was taken into consideration when assigning seats to passengers. And in case you're wondering what movies were on offer, you may be surprised to learn there aren't any in-flight entertainment options or screens in the back of headrests. The most frequent questions we're asked when people hear we've taken a ride on the plane tend to revolve around what the food is like. Sadly, the answer there is pretty boring: It's fairly similar to commercial flights, with a meat, fish or vegetarian option (though perhaps a little tastier than normal). Passengers can choose between meat, fish or vegetarian meals.Traveling within the royal bubble is always an interesting experience, though much of it is spent waiting for a security escort in and out of secure areas. For example, Voyager is home-based at RAF Brize Norton, an air force station in Oxfordshire. For security reasons, non-military personnel can't be left to wander the base freely, so journalists must gather and wait to be escorted in groups. The highlights of any trip with members of the royal family are those unscheduled, off-the-cuff moments in between the many engagements each day. The trip to Barbados was such a short visit that there was little downtime to catch Prince Charles, whose focus was firmly on joining officials for the republic celebrations and reaffirming the close relationship between the two countries. Charles was busy with engagements during the short visit.However, shortly after landing back in the UK on Wednesday morning, he did make a point of coming to chat with us for a few minutes. With little fanfare or forewarning, he strolled back as we were gathering our belongings to deplane, making sure to say hello to new members of the traveling press and thank the group for joining the tour. A simple gesture and one he doesn't have to make, but which goes a long way in maintaining a relationship with the media.Analysis: Meghan's latest victory in privacy battle matters.The Duchess of Sussex claimed another win Thursday in her protracted legal battle with Associated Newspapers Limited, publisher of the Mail on Sunday, over a letter she sent to her estranged father in 2018.Britain's Court of Appeal dismissed the publisher's challenge of a previous judgment that the duchess had a reasonable expectation of privacy when penning the letter.Moments after the judgment was delivered, Meghan released a strongly worded statement. She called the latest result "precedent setting" before outlining her hopes that it would help to change the UK newspaper industry.It was a bold endeavor by Meghan as, had the case gone to trial, it could have led to more revelations about how the royal household operates or set up a showdown in court against her dad. Instead, her case has once again shown that when newspapers go too far, there are legal avenues to pursue. And the rulings make it clear that while the members of the royal family are public figures, they don't have to live every aspect of their lives in the public domain.But don't expect this to be the last word on the matter. Following the judgment, ANL said it was considering an appeal to the UK's Supreme Court.Meghan's statement in full"This is a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what's right. While this win is precedent setting, what matters most is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel, and profits from the lies and pain that they create."From day one, I have treated this lawsuit as an important measure of right versus wrong. The defendant has treated it as a game with no rules. The longer they dragged it out, the more they could twist facts and manipulate the public (even during the appeal itself), making a straightforward case extraordinarily convoluted in order to generate more headlines and sell more newspapers -- a model that rewards chaos above truth. In the nearly three years since this began, I have been patient in the face of deception, intimidation, and calculated attacks."Today, the courts ruled in my favor -- again -- cementing that The Mail on Sunday, owned by Lord Jonathan Rothermere, has broken the law. The courts have held the defendant to account, and my hope is that we all begin to do the same. Because as far removed as it may seem from your personal life, it's not. Tomorrow it could be you. These harmful practices don't happen once in a blue moon -- they are a daily fail that divide us, and we all deserve better."WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING?Prince Charles's former aide liaised with 'fixers' over honors.An investigation into the cash-for-honors scandal at the Prince's Foundation has found that the Prince of Wales' former closest aide did coordinate with so-called fixers over honors for a donor, according to the PA Media news agency. Michael Fawcett, who resigned as the charity's CEO last month, was also involved in directing money from a Saudi businessman's charity to an organization of which Charles was previously patron, PA reported. Sue Bruce, chair of Charles' charity, called the recent turmoil a "difficult chapter" and said "lessons will be learned." The findings were the result of an independent investigation into fundraising practices and ordered by the foundation. They were carried out by auditing firm Ernst & Young, PA said. CNN has reached out to Fawcett for comment.PHOTO OF THE WEEKSophie, Countess of Wessex visits The Lighthouse, where she works with volunteers making snacks and drinks for service users, and Christmas care packages for children, on December 2. The Lighthouse is a hub in Woking, southwest of London, that hosts a range of creative projects to support, encourage and empower those who find themselves on the margins.IN THE ROYAL DIARYCatherine, Duchess of Cambridge arrives for a visit to Nower Hill High School in north London on November 24, 2021.Kate gets into the Christmas spirit.Deck the halls! The Duchess of Cambridge will host a special community carol service at Westminster Abbey next Wednesday. The festive event, supported by the Royal Foundation, is set to be a celebration of all the hard work that individuals and organizations have done throughout the pandemic to support their communities. The service will also "bring together inspirational individuals from across the UK who have gone above and beyond to care for and protect those in need." Prepare for carols sung by the abbey choir as well as readings and musical performances from other guests. Kensington Palace said the service would blend "traditional elements with a modern and inclusive feel to encompass people of all faiths and none." It'll be broadcast by ITV later in December.
"From the darkest days of our past, and the appalling atrocity of slavery, which forever stains our history, the people of this island forged their path with extraordinary fortitude."
Prince Charles acknowledged Britain's historical role in the slave trade as Barbados cut its ties with the monarchy on Tuesday.
| 3news
|
London (CNN)A relative of Queen Elizabeth II has been jailed for 10 months for sexual assault, after forcing his way into a woman's bedroom and attacking her at his Scottish castle last year.Simon Bowes-Lyon, the Earl of Strathmore, had pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to sexually assaulting the woman during an event being held at Glamis Castle in February 2020.The 34-year-old is the Queen's first cousin, twice removed, and a member of the Queen Mother's Bowes-Lyon family.He was sentenced at Dundee Sheriff Court in Scotland on Tuesday. Glamis Castle, where he lives and where the attack took place, was the Queen Mother's childhood home.Opinion: The Queen is making her most serious misstep hereThe court heard that the woman was attending a three-day public relations event at the castle and had gone to bed when a drunk Bowes-Lyon went to her room at around 1:20 a.m. He persuaded her to open the door, and then pushed her onto the bed, assaulted her and refused to leave over the course of 20 minutes.Read MoreSheriff Alastair Carmichael laid out the details of the assault in court, describing how Bowes-Lyon had grabbed the woman by her breast and genitals, pushed her against a wall, attempted to lift her nightdress and "repeatedly shut the bedroom door when she tried to open it," according to the court sentencing."Throughout all of this she made it clear that she wanted you to stop. She told you repeatedly that she had a boyfriend, repeatedly told you to leave and repeatedly had to keep pushing you away from her. All of which you ignored. "Once she'd finally managed to eject you from her bedroom, you returned to the door and pleaded with her to let you back in," Carmichael said in his sentencing remarks."Even now -- one year on -- she still, occasionally, has nightmares and feels panicked because of being sexually assaulted by you," he added.Bowes-Lyon was also placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years. The judge said his castle would meet the criteria for house arrest, but concluded that such a sentence would not fit the severity of the crime.In a statement sent to CNN by a spokesperson, Bowes-Lyon said: "I am greatly ashamed of my actions which have caused such distress to a guest in my home. When I realised what I had done I apologised quickly to the woman concerned. I apologise wholeheartedly again today. I am deeply sorry for my behaviour and the anguish it has caused. "Clearly, I had drunk to excess on the night of the incident. As someone who is only too well aware of the damage that alcohol can cause, I should have known better. I recognise, in any event, that alcohol is no excuse for my behaviour," he said.Under British law, victims of sexual assault are automatically guaranteed anonymity. | 3news
|
Sign up to get this weekly column as a newsletter. We're looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. (CNN)Weeks after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Leonard Bernstein led a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony near the center of the no-longer divided city. The American composer and conductor tweaked the German text of "Ode to Joy" in the final movement, replacing the original word "freude," or joy, with "freiheit," which means freedom. "Freedom, bright spark of divinity," the chorus sang. "Thy magic power reunites all that custom has divided. All men become brothers, under the sway of thy gentle wings."When Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the US Congress from Kyiv Wednesday, wearing a green t-shirt and sitting next to the blue-and-yellow flag of his country, the speech was also an ode to freedom -- and a plea for help to preserve it. "Right now the destiny of our country is being decided," Zelensky said. "The destiny of our people, whether Ukrainians will be free, whether they will be able to preserve their democracy. Russia has attacked not just us, not just our land, not just our cities; it went on a brutal offensive against our values, basic human values. It threw tanks and planes against our freedom, against our right to live freely in our own country choosing our own future."Read MoreAs Frida Ghitis wrote, "When America's top Democrats and Republicans rose side by side to give Zelensky a standing ovation, we knew the Ukrainian President had made his mark. Zelensky, reminding Americans what freedom really means after the country has spent years devaluing it in petty political battles, proves there is a new seriousness in the nation.""As he has with other audiences, Zelensky tailored his message. Imagine being struck from the sky, as on 9/11, but every day, he told Americans. He spoke about Pearl Harbor, and he cited Martin Luther King. 'I have a dream ...,' he intoned, I can say, I have a need. I need to protect our sky," Ghitis noted.Teach the children"This is a world-shaking moment in history," SE Cupp observed, "one that will define a generation, one that could change our maps, and one that is already seeing horrific loss and devastation." She is making sure to show her 7-year-old son some of the news coverage of the Ukraine war. "Concepts like democracy and sovereignty, freedom and war, can be vague and abstract, but as we watch a tyrant march into a sovereign nation, threatening democracy there and everywhere else, we must show our children what is happening -- what can happen to a free people, and what it looks like when the world unites to defend democratic ideals." As Jill Filipovic pointed out, "No images have captured the hellishness of war quite as starkly as those taken in the aftermath of Russian troops bombing a maternity hospital in Mariupol. In one photo, a pregnant woman with a bloodied face is staggering out of a bombed building; in another, an ashen-faced woman lays on a stretcher, her left hand cradling her full belly. The woman in the second photo and her baby have now both died of their injuries." War takes a huge toll on everyone but can be especially cruel for women, Filipovic added. "Pregnant women in war zones are also, like everyone else, under tremendous stress -- but that level of stress can have deadly results for mother or baby. And pregnant women, and particularly those who are having complications, simply may not be able to escape when violence strikes." For more:Michael A. Newton: Russian invaders are crossing a lineJulian Zelizer: Trump's 'America First' policy is deadDean Obeidallah: Whose side is Tucker Carlson on? Roman Badanin: As a Russian journalist, this is the knock I dreadRussia's invasionWhen Vladimir Putin's forces invaded Ukraine on February 24, many people expected that Russia's military, considered the second strongest in the world, would roll over Ukraine in a matter of days. That hasn't happened. In a conversation with CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen, retired US Gen. David Petraeus assessed the war so far. "There are many reasons for the Russians' abysmal performance," Petraeus said. "They're fighting against a very determined, quite capable Ukrainian force that is composed of special ops, conventional forces, territorial forces and even private citizens, all of whom are determined not to allow Russia to achieve its objectives. They are fighting for their national survival, their homeland and their way of life, and they have the home-field advantage, knowing the terrain and communities."But beyond that, the Russians are just surprisingly unprofessional. They clearly have very poor standards when it comes to performing basic tactical tasks such as achieving combined arms operations, involving armor, infantry, engineers, artillery and mortars. They are very poor at maintaining their vehicles and weapon systems and have abandoned many of them. They are also poor at resupply and logistical tasks."Looking ahead, Petraeus observed, "Clearly, they do not have enough forces to take, much less to control, Kyiv and some of the other major cities, but they do have missiles, rockets, artillery, and bombs and an apparent willingness to use them in a very indiscriminate fashion.""And so, they continue the approach they used in Chechnya, particularly with Grozny, and in Syria, particularly with Aleppo, where they depopulated the cities by indiscriminate use of bombs. And it is going to be an endurance contest between the Russians' willingness to destroy cities and the Ukrainians' ability to survive such destruction."For more:Naureen Chowdhury Fink: Putin is calling in favors from Syria and Africa. It's a dangerous moveNuclear nightmareFor decades, some of the most eloquent and informed voices warning of the dangers of nuclear weapons have been physicians, among them Dr. Ira Helfand, past president of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985. This week, he and colleagues Barry Levy and Matt Bivens, wrote, "The world is shocked by the violence in Ukrainian cities besieged by Russian forces, as they suffer under indiscriminate mortar, bomb and missile attacks. But these horrors could lead to something far worse -- escalation to nuclear war. If we are going to avoid this ultimate catastrophe, we need to work urgently for the elimination of all nuclear weapons."There are about 13,000 nuclear warheads around the world. "Experts were decrying these thousands of nuclear weapons as an ongoing existential threat to humanity even before Russian President Vladimir's Putin's recent warnings that he may use Russia's nuclear weapons ... A nuclear war between Russia and NATO allies would be an unimaginable tragedy." In a nightmare scenario where 300 bombs are deployed, 75 to 100 million people would die the first day, with the vast majority of survivors dying "over the coming months from radiation sickness, infectious diseases, famine and exposure," the physicians wrote.A helping handIn April 1999, then Vice President Al Gore announced on Ellis Island that the US would take in up to 20,000 refugees from Kosovo, who were fleeing Serbian attacks, recalled Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, which was founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. More than 3 million people have fled Ukraine "but this time, there has been no Ellis Island announcement." He noted that Vice President Kamala Harris talked of helping Poland with the wave of refugees entering the country while President Joe Biden only spoke of taking refugees on a conditional basis: "If, in fact, they come all the way here." "Words matter, actions matter," wrote Hetfield. "When it comes to refugees and leadership, the United States is falling short on both fronts. It is getting late, but the Biden-Harris administration still has an opportunity to demonstrate American leadership by welcoming refugees -- instead of relying on Eastern Europe to shoulder that responsibility alone." Fallen journalistsBrent Renaud, a filmmaker working on a project about refugees for Time magazine's studio unit, was shot and killed by Russian soldiers outside Kyiv on Sunday, said the deputy chief of police in Irpin. Photojournalist Juan Arredondo also was injured in the shooting.Renaud became the first journalist on assignment from an American news organization to die during the conflict, according to The New York Times. The next day, Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski was killed along with Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova when the vehicle they were traveling in came under fire. Benjamin Hall, a Fox News correspondent, was injured in the shooting.In Time, Sebastian Junger remembered Renaud as "a highly-regarded freelancer who worked all over the world documenting some of the most violent and inhuman circumstances civilians are subjected to, including desperately poor areas of Chicago." "Without the work of these brave people there could be no such thing as democracy or freedom in the world -- elections would be stolen, war crimes would be denied, injustices would be hidden," Junger observed. "In a world without journalists, leaders like Vladimir Putin could claim whatever self-serving reality they wanted and remain utterly unaccountable for their crimes."Oily politicsThe cruelest irony of the Ukraine war, wrote Aaron David Miller, is that "even as President Joe Biden's administration stands up for Ukraine in the face of Russia's aggression and preaches the values of democracy and freedom, it is under increasing pressure to make nice and cut deals with authoritarians."With oil prices increasing, the war has deepened concern about supplies from "three authoritarian petro-states (Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) and increased the urgency of getting to a nuclear agreement with a fourth, Iran." Biden chose to "make the fight for democracy the central element of his foreign policy -- a grand struggle with authoritarians for control in the 21st century." But even as he opposes Putin's war, Miller wrote, he has to reckon with "hard, cold interests" as he decides how to deal with autocrats who can control the flow of oil. "America's interests will continue to take precedence over values."Spring forward no more?With many Americans still adjusting to last weekend's time shift, the Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act Tuesday to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. Before the vote, Sens. Edward J. Markey and Marco Rubio wrote, "The effects of darker afternoons on our mental and physical health can be serious. The biannual transition of 'spring forward' and 'fall back' disrupts circadian sleeping patterns, causing confusion, sleep disturbances and even an elevated risk to heart health.""The rate of heart attacks spikes by 24% in the days following 'spring forward' in March, according to a 2014 study from the University of Michigan." They argued that there are also economic and mental health benefits from a permanent shift to DST. In the Washington Post, Dana Milbank described the Senate's passage of the bill as an accident. "There were no hearings, no discussion, no debate, and no vote," he wrote. "It just happened, because nobody objected — in large part because many senators didn't even know it was happening."Get our free weekly newsletterSign up for CNN Opinion's newsletter.Join us on Twitter and Facebook"Reporting by The Post's Paul Kane and BuzzFeed's Paul McLeod indicates Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), top Republican on the commerce committee, had planned to object to the 'unanimous consent' request to pass what he calls 'bad legislation,' but decided not to at the last minute because he's focused on more pressing matters, such as the war in Ukraine.""In other words, it's Vladimir Putin's fault that our clocks may change."Now it's up to the House and President Biden to decide if the bill will become law.'Turning Red'In the Pixar film "Turning Red," anytime the lead character "gets riled up, she transforms into a cuddly, gigantic red panda." As Vanessa Hua wrote, "'Turning Red' makes the struggles of this particular 13-year-old universal as she learns who she is and wants to be -- ultimately embracing her red panda exuberance.""The film is among the many movies and novels released in recent years that portray characters of Asian descent as fully human -- flawed, eccentric and dreaming of a bigger life..." Such depictions resonate at a time when hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have spiked. It has been a year since the Atlanta spa shootings, in which a White gunman killed eight people, six of whom were women of Asian descent. Prosecutors are treating the case as a hate crime."We cannot let up on protesting, organizing and voting. We must continue to support victims and improve mental health services, and address systemic racism and sexism," wrote Hua. "'Turning Red' gives me hope, though, in its captivating challenge to stereotypes that can often lead people to view Asian Americans as 'other' -- the first step toward targeting them."For more: Govs. J.B. Pritzker and Phil Murphy: We can't address anti-AAPI hate without improving K-12 educationMarch madnessChristmas morning can't compare with Michael Croley's favorite time of year, the first weekend of March Madness. "Before the internet, Dad brought brackets home from his office for us to fill out -- always Xeroxed copies from the Monday edition of Lexington Herald-Leader," Croley wrote. "When I was ten, I won, and Dad brought home all the cash and handed it to me.""I love the tournament for all the reasons any sports fan loves the tournament, but as I've gotten older, I know that I love the tournament because of these memories and how it kept me close to my brother and our father. And we were already very close."Croley's older brother Tim often shared the ritual of watching the NCAA tournament with him, as they munched on wings and rooted for the University of Kentucky's Wildcats as long as they were still in it. A year ago, Croley added, "As Tim's health worsened, neither of us filled out a bracket. We watched the games and we texted. I didn't know then that I'd never fill out a bracket again. I didn't know then that I'd never spend another long day with him, watching games deep into the night, barely able to keep our eyes open but still at it because it was March, a game was in overtime and a 13-seed had a 4-seed on the ropes."I hoped against what common sense and medical science told us since he was first diagnosed with lung cancer because hope was all we had left by then."Don't missGunisha Kaur: The country where 30 farmers die each day Claire McCully: Florida and Texas can't outlaw my familyKristen Rowe-Finkbeiner: This Equal Pay Day, let's smash the maternal wallJeffrey Toobin: Iowa and New Hampshire's preposterous reign over the Democratic primaries may soon endDavid Daley: Good news from state judges on gerrymanderingAND...Bad businessName your streaming service, pick your tale of fakery and business gone wrong:Hulu: "The Dropout"Apple TV+: "WeCrashed"Showtime: "Super Pumped"Netflix: "Inventing Anna"HBOMax: "Succession"The latest episode of "The Dropout" featured actor Amanda Seyfried, who plays Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, proclaiming that her company was "a religion." The fictional Apple+ series "Severance" made it clearer than ever last week that the mysterious Lumon company is a cult while a trailer for "WeCrashed" showed its protagonist Adam Neumann of WeWork, played by Jared Leto, comparing himself to God. Looking at a few of these shows through the lens of history, Nicole Hemmer wrote that the themes they explore aren't entirely new, finding antecedents in Herman Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener," the 1955 novel "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" and films and shows including "The Office" and "Office Space."But there is a difference. Shows like "The Dropout" and "WeCrashed," Hemmer observed, "represent a damning examination of the Silicon-Valley-centered, venture-capital-funded economy. The stories are ready-made for dramatization, stories of hubris and excess that hurtle toward an inevitable crash. But they also reveal a deep anxiety about the new economy, a sense that, at the end of the day, it creates overnight billionaires but little of lasting value." Investors seem "to have no way of discerning the difference between visionary and fantastical, and ... the least scrupulous walk away with the most money, even after their ventures fail. Of course, venture capital also fuels the companies that succeed." | 3news
|
Story highlights"Dream come true," says Henrik Stenson of first major winSwede clinched first major title at 42nd attemptPhil Mickelson three shots behindPair finish 11 shots clear of fieldat TroonTroon, Scotland (CNN)He has just achieved his childhood dream, but Henrik Stenson is already dreaming of new triumphs.The 40-year-old Swede wore down Phil Mickelson in an epic battle to clinch the Claret Jug at Royal Troon, and is looking to add to his fledgling major haul and perhaps throw in an Olympic gold medal and the Ryder Cup in the next few weeks.Follow @cnnsport
Stenson shot a blistering 63 for a major record-equalling total of 20 under par as he edged the 46-year-old Mickelson by three shots on a scintillating final day of the British Open in Scotland.But now the first Scandinavian man to win a major hopes the "floodgates" can open so he can bring home more silverware for his three young kids -- six-year-old Karl, apparently, is fed up with dad coming home empty handed after another close call."It's a dream come true," Stenson, now the world No. 5, told CNN Sport's Alex Thomas in an interview at Royal Troon's clubhouse Sunday. Read More"I started the playing game when I was 11. Footage from the Open Championship and the Ryder Cup are the first memories I had as a kid. I dreamed about standing there with the Claret Jug and now it's finally come true. I'm extremely happy.Proudest moment of my career, huge thanks to everyone for your support. A dream come true! H pic.twitter.com/jyVNh2Wmf2— Henrik Stenson (@henrikstenson) July 18, 2016
"When you're coming off a fresh win you're always eager to get back out there and do it again. I've got another opportunity in two weeks in the last major of the year in the U.S. and then we've got the Olympics and the Ryder Cup. There's a lot of golf to be played and I going to try to get another one as soon as I can."READ MORE: Stenson edges Mickelson in Claret Jug classicStenson dedicated his win to close friend Mike Gerbich who died of cancer this week, and said he had an inkling it was his time to win a major after a number of near misses. "I really felt like I played for him this week," added the former world No.2 who was second behind Mickelson at the Open at Muirfield in 2013. "He was with me out there and it just felt like it was going to be my week."I've had a fantastic career. This game has given me so much over the years -- all the memories, seen the world, playing with some of the best players in the world, competing against them. With or without a major I would have been very proud with what I've accomplished. This is the icing on the cake." Photos: Henrik Stenson wins British OpenHenrik Stenson gets his hands on the Claret Jug after a stunning performance at Royal Troon to beat Phil Mickelson by three shots.Hide Caption 1 of 12 Photos: Henrik Stenson wins British OpenStenson triumphed after holing a birdie putt on the final hole to set a new British Open scoring record of 20-under-par, beating the previous record set by Tiger Woods in 2000. Hide Caption 2 of 12 Photos: Henrik Stenson wins British OpenStenson and Mickelson embrace after their incredible final round showing with the Swede equaling the major championship record round with an eight-under 63. Mickelson shot a 65. Hide Caption 3 of 12 Photos: Henrik Stenson wins British OpenSweden's Stenson reacts after making his birdie putt on the 14th green during his triumphant final round at the British Open.Hide Caption 4 of 12 Photos: Henrik Stenson wins British OpenMickelson and Stenson fought their own lonely duel to battle it out for the 145th British Open. Hide Caption 5 of 12 Photos: Henrik Stenson wins British OpenMickelson had to use all his famed short game to stay in touch with the rampant Stenson at Royal Troon. Hide Caption 6 of 12 Photos: Henrik Stenson wins British OpenMickelson made a brave attempt to win his sixth major and second British Open title. Hide Caption 7 of 12 Photos: Henrik Stenson wins British OpenEngland's Andrew 'Beef' Johnston enhanced his reputation at the 145th British Open with superb play to match his crowd pleasing demeanor.Hide Caption 8 of 12 Photos: Henrik Stenson wins British Open2014 champion Rory McIlroy proved popular with the fans on the last day and had his best round of the week to finish on four-under for the championship. Hide Caption 9 of 12 Photos: Henrik Stenson wins British OpenStenson held a one-shot lead over Mickelson as he went into the final round on the Ayrshire links. Hide Caption 10 of 12 Photos: Henrik Stenson wins British OpenJB Holmes of the United States finished a distant third behind the two runaway leaders. Hide Caption 11 of 12 Photos: Henrik Stenson wins British OpenStenson kisses his wife Emma on the 18th green after sealing his victory and first major.Hide Caption 12 of 12Stenson, who also won in Germany recently, will play in the U.S. PGA at Baltusrol in New Jersey from July 27-31 before heading to Rio for the Olympic golf event in August.He is not concerned about the threat of the zika virus, and joked this week how being almost middle-aged had its benefits, given he is not planning more children. A number of top players who have pulled out of the Games have cited the virus, which is linked to microcephaly -- small heads -- in babies, as their reason for not going."For once being 40 gives me a competitive advantage," said Stenson, in the wake of withdrawals by the world's top four -- Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy.READ: The Open 2016 -- as it happenedIn September, he will compete in a fourth Ryder Cup for against the U.S.A at Hazeltine -- with Mickelson likely opposition.A Sunday singles match-up would be mouth-watering after the titanic Troon tussle, although Stenson is not so sure. "It's always fun to be play against Phil but it's very tiring at the same time," said Stenson. "He's such a good player he's got the short game only matched by a few -- Seve Ballesteros comes to mind. "It's a tiring game to play because he never gives up and always comes back at you and he did so this week. I managed to beat him once so I'm willing to give it a try. Or maybe I can rest and let someone else have a go."What did you make of the 2016 British Open? Have your say on our Facebook pageA disappointed Mickelson said he was "happy for Henrik", a long-time friend who he describes as having a great sense of humor and being a "good prankster."When asked which pranks rank among his best, Stenson told CNN: "There's been so many. I'll explain some of them in the book."I was fortunate to watch every second of today's final round of the Open Championship, and I thought it was... https://t.co/LKPVADKaXH— Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) July 18, 2016
Meanwhile, golf great Jack Nicklaus has tweeted that the final round contest between Stenson and Nicklaus was one of "the best rounds I've ever seen played in the Open."Nicklaus, who was beaten by Tom Watson in the famous "Duel in the Sun" Open in an epic battle at Turnberry in 1977, added: "I thought we played great and had a wonderful match. "On that day, Tom got me 65-66. Our final round was really good, but theirs was even better. What a great match." | 5sport
|
(CNN)Prince Harry has said he was caught in a cycle of "pain and suffering" in the British royal family and hinted that he is heavily critical of the way his father, Prince Charles, raised him, in a lengthy and personal new interview.The Duke of Sussex was talking to actor Dax Shepard, host of the "Armchair Expert" podcast, in an episode released Thursday. Discussing his upbringing as a royal, he said: "When it comes to parenting, if I've experienced some form of pain or suffering because of the pain or suffering that perhaps my father or my parents had suffered, I'm going to make sure I break that cycle so that I don't pass it on.""It's a lot of genetic pain and suffering that gets passed on anyway so we as parents should be doing the most we can to try and say 'you know what, that happened to me, I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen to you'," he added.And Harry said that as he grew older, he realized that Charles raised him in the way that he had previously been raised.Read More"I never saw it, I never knew about it, and then suddenly I started to piece it together and go 'OK, so this is where he went to school, this is what happened, I know this about his life, I also know that is connected to his parents so that means he's treated me the way he was treated, so how can I change that for my own kids?," Harry said.The Prince previously said that Charles stopped taking his calls after he and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex quit as working members of the family.During the new interview, he was referenced an infamous trip he took to Las Vegas during which a nude photo of him was leaked to British press. "At least I wasn't running down the Strip," he joked. Apple TV+ announces Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry series debut dateHarry also described "going wild" in his early twenties and partying, and outlined his inner monologue as he struggled with the responsibilities of being a member of the royal family. "I don't want this job, I don't want to be here, I don't want to be doing this, look what it did to my mum," Harry recalled thinking.He also talked about the media in the UK. "It's a mix between 'the Truman Show' and being in a zoo," he said, referencing the 1998 Jim Carrey film in which the main character has no idea he is living on a giant TV set where his every move is recorded.The Prince also discussed the extent to which he and Meghan tried to keep their burgeoning relationship under wraps, how it felt to grow up in the media spotlight and his new life in the US.Harry recalled how the attention affected the early stages of his relationship with Meghan."The first time that Meghan and I met up for her to come and stay with me we met up in a supermarket in London pretending as though we didn't know each other," he said, recounting how he wore a baseball cap pulled down over his eyes to avoid being recognized.While criticizing the behavior of some media outlets in the US, Harry did say the situation has improved for him and his family since they moved to California.It was announced in February that Harry and Meghan would not be returning as working members of the royal family, after stepping back from royal duties last year.Harry and Meghan set their first series at Netflix"Living here now I can actually lift my head and actually I feel different... you can walk around feeling a little bit more free," he said. "I get to take Archie on the back of my bicycle... I would never have had the chance to do that."During the podcast, Harry went on to discuss changing attitudes towards mental health in society."Speaking out, especially now in today's world, is a sign of strength rather than a sign of weakness," he said, before making a case that mental health is in fact public health."Two of the biggest issues that we're facing in today's world, I think, is the climate crisis and mental health, and they're both intrinsically linked," he said. Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanBritain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, are pictured during an interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired in the United States in March 2021. It was their first sit-down appearance since leaving Britain last year.Hide Caption 1 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanHarry and Meghan shared this image in February 2021 to accompany the announcement that they were expecting their second child. Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born on June 4, 2021.Hide Caption 2 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanMeghan celebrates her son's first birthday with a reading of the children's book "Duck! Rabbit!" in May 2020. In a video posted online -- and filmed by her husband -- Meghan read to Archie from the popular book and encouraged fans to donate to a number of causes aimed at helping young people.Hide Caption 3 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanHarry and Meghan attend the annual Commonwealth Day service at London's Westminster Abbey in March 2020. This marked the couple's final engagement as senior members of the royal family.Hide Caption 4 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanHarry and Meghan attend the Endeavour Fund Awards in London in March 2020.Hide Caption 5 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanMeghan and Harry visit the Canada House in London in January 2020. The couple announced the next day that they would be stepping back from their roles as senior members of the British royal family.Hide Caption 6 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanMeghan and Harry visit a community center in Windsor, England, in November 2019.Hide Caption 7 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanThe couple attends the annual Festival of Remembrance in November 2019.Hide Caption 8 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanHarry and Meghan attend a pre-ceremony reception for the WellChild Awards in October 2019.Hide Caption 9 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanMeghan is photographed during a royal tour of South Africa in October 2019.Hide Caption 10 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanArchbishop Desmond Tutu kisses Archie, Meghan and Harry's son, in September 2019.Hide Caption 11 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanHarry and Meghan dance during their royal tour of South Africa in September 2019.Hide Caption 12 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanMeghan holds Archie during the South African tour.Hide Caption 13 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanHarry and Meghan greet singer Beyoncé and her husband, rapper Jay-Z, as they attend the European premiere of the film "The Lion King" in July 2019.Hide Caption 14 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanNew York Yankees manager Aaron Boone presents the couple with a jersey for Archie before a Major League Baseball game in London in June 2019.Hide Caption 15 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanQueen Elizabeth II looks at her new great-grandchild, Archie, in May 2019. Prince Philip is on the far left. Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, is next to her at right.Hide Caption 16 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanMeghan and Harry present their newborn son at Windsor Castle in May 2019.Hide Caption 17 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanMeghan and Harry walk past tapestries during a visit to Rabat, Morocco, in February 2019.Hide Caption 18 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanMeghan and Harry attend a Christmas Day church service in December 2018. With them, from left, are Prince Charles; Prince William; and William's wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge. Harry and William are the two sons of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana.Hide Caption 19 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanMeghan and Harry cheer on sailors during the Invictus Games in Australia in October 2018.Hide Caption 20 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanThe couple talks to members of OneWave, an awareness group for mental health and well-being, in Sydney in October 2018.Hide Caption 21 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanMeghan and Harry pose with the cast and crew of the musical "Hamilton" after a performance in London in August 2018. Harry gave those in the theater something to remember after breaking into mock-song at the end of the show. The show was held to raise money for his HIV charity, Sentebale.Hide Caption 22 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanMembers of the royal family watch a flyover during a July 2018 event marking the centenary of the Royal Air Force. From left are Prince Charles; Prince Andrew; Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; Queen Elizabeth II; Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex; Prince Harry; Prince William; and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.Hide Caption 23 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanMeghan and Harry attend the Royal Ascot horse races in June 2018.Hide Caption 24 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanThe couple poses with family members after getting married in May 2018.Hide Caption 25 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanJust after getting married, the newlyweds wave during their carriage procession in Windsor, England. Zoom in for a closer lookHide Caption 26 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanThe couple watches Coach Core apprentices take part in a training exercise in Birmingham, England, in March 2018. The Coach Core apprenticeship scheme was designed by the Royal Foundation to train young people to become sports coaches and mentors within their communities.Hide Caption 27 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanHarry and Meghan join Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, during a Royal Foundation Forum in February 2018.Hide Caption 28 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanThe couple watches a dance class during a visit to Cardiff, Wales, in January 2018.Hide Caption 29 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanThe couple meets well-wishers during an appearance in London in January 2018.Hide Caption 30 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanA shop worker in Windsor, England, adjusts memorabilia celebrating the engagement of Harry and Meghan. Their engagement was announced in November 2017.Hide Caption 31 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanMeghan flashed her engagement ring to reporters during a November 2017 photo call. The ring, designed by Harry, featured a large diamond from Botswana and two smaller outer diamonds from the personal collection of Harry's late mother.Hide Caption 32 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanThis engagement photo was released by Kensington Palace.Hide Caption 33 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanMeghan and Harry made their first public appearance as a couple at the Invictus Games in Toronto in September 2017. The pair were introduced in July 2016 by mutual friends in London.Hide Caption 34 of 35 Photos: Royal romance: Harry and MeghanHarry and Meghan embrace at a polo match in May 2017.Hide Caption 35 of 35"If we neglect our collective well-being, then we're screwed, basically, because if we can't look after ourselves, we can't look after each other. If we can't look after each other then we can't look after this home that we all inhabit, so it's all part of the same thing."Harry has been working on a multi-part documentary series called "The Me You Can't See" with Oprah Winfrey, which aims to help lift the veil on the current state of mental health and emotional well-being.The series, which will feature high-profile guests, will premiere May 21 on Apple TV+. | 3news
|
Story highlightsDavid De Gea pens four-year deal with Manchester UnitedThe Spain international's previous contract was due to expire next summerDe Gea had been set to join Real Madrid, only for the deal to collapseThe goalkeeper could make his first appearance of the season against Liverpool (CNN)For a moment, David De Gea was all set for Real Madrid -- now he's on course for four more years at Manchester United.Follow @cnnsport
Just last week De Gea looked to be on his way to the Spanish capital, only for his move to collapse dramatically in the closing moments of the transfer window.The goalkeeper's contract was set to expire next summer -- meaning Real could have potentially snapped him up then on a free transfer -- but the Spain international has now committed himself to United until 2019, with the option of extending for a further year.According to reports, his salary has been raised by £160,000 a week to £200,000 a week, having previously been on £40,000 a week.De Gea's agent Jorge Mendes was pictured at United's Carrington training ground Thursday as the final details of the goalkeeper's deal were finalized.Read MoreDavid De Gea has signed a new four-year contract at #mufc with an option to extend for a further year. pic.twitter.com/Z3JuQOaNEi— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 11, 2015
"I am delighted to be starting this new chapter in my United career," De Gea told the club's official website. "I have always enjoyed playing with these great players in front of our fantastic fans. Manchester United is a special club and Old Trafford is an ideal place for me to continue to develop my career."With De Gea having been linked with a move to Real for the entire summer, United boss Louis van Gaal opted to drop the Spain international from the club's opening games of the season, believing the saga had distracted him.New signing Sergio Romero has instead started for the Red Devils up to now, but De Gea is hopeful of turning things around at United following a tough few months."I'm looking forward to putting a difficult summer behind me and concentrating on working hard to improve and help my teammates to be successful," De Gea added.I feel proud to announce that I'll continue with you and @manutd. Thanks for your unconditional support! pic.twitter.com/I6J7XGHKe2— David De Gea (@D_DeGea) September 11, 2015
Van Gaal, who had said throughout the summer that he wanted to keep hold of the player, is pleased that everyone at the club can now put this chapter behind them."I am absolutely delighted David has signed a new contract," he said. "He is one of the best goalkeepers in world football. I am very pleased that he will be part of the team for many years to come. "David made a very important contribution to our performance last season and he has been the club's Player of the Year for the last two seasons. "He is a popular player who is keen to learn and enhance his game. At such a young age for a goalkeeper, he has many years ahead of him."De Gea, who played for Spain in Tuesday's 1-0 win over Macedonia, could now his make his first United appearance of the season when it welcomes Liverpool to Old Trafford Saturday.The goalkeeper has so far made 175 appearances for United since joining the club from Atletico Madrid in 2011 in a $29.2 million deal.Read: Real blames United in De Gea transfer | 5sport
|
London (CNN)Family, friends and survivors on Thursday joined others remembering the victims of the Grenfell fire at a memorial service at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.Seventy-one people were killed when a blaze engulfed a residential tower block in North Kensington, west London, on June 14.Attendees hold a banner during the service at the London cathedral.The ceremony, six months on from the fire, was attended by Prime Minister Theresa May, the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. It lasted just over an hour. Members of the Kensington and Chelsea council, which was responsible for the management of the building, did not attend after mourners requested they stay away. At the end of the service, a Grenfell banner was held aloft and carried out of the cathedral, followed by mourners, who held white roses and photographs of their loved ones.Read MoreMourners leave St. Paul's Cathedral in London following the service Thursday."It was uplifting, but it was very sad as well," Nelissa Mendy, who lost her cousin at Grenfell, told CNN."There are still no words. I'm struggling for words but I'm really glad there's an acknowledgment. There's still a lot of pain and a lot of unanswered questions but the service itself was comforting if that's the right word."With those who were here today -- national leaders and people like that it was just, I guess, a recognition of national support for Grenfell, families, victims all the support workers. "For those that still don't have closure -- this may have gone some way to try and help but ... I can't find the words."A government-ordered inquiry into the fire is still underway and many of those who lost their homes remain in temporary accommodation.According to a report published by the government, of the 395 households affected by the fire, 300 were living in hotels, 75 were in apartments, nine were living with friends and family on a temporary basis, and 11 had found new permanent accommodation by the end of September.Mourners arrive at St Paul's cathedral for a Grenfell Tower national memorial service.Speaking at the memorial, Bishop of Kensington, the Right Reverend Graham Tomlin, told the survivors and families of the victims that they had not been forgotten."As we come to the end of this difficult year, as we celebrate Christmas, as we move into a new year, nothing can remove the memory of that night, nor do we want to forget those dearly loved people who were lost," he said'It's very, very hard'About 1,500 people gathered inside the cathedral for the multi-faith ceremony that included performances from a number of groups close to Grenfell.A prerecorded montage of voices from the local community was also played during the service."We were lost for words, we did not know what to do, how to react. I have never known anything like it in my life," one voice said.Maria Jafari, whose father Ali Yawar Jafari, died at Grenfell, read a poem by 13th century poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi."It's very, very hard," Jafari told the UK Press Association. "Still she (my mother) cries, every day, every second when we are talking about our father, all the memories come out again."It's six months and it's still very hard for us. I wish nobody could have this in the whole life, in the whole world, I wish nobody would have to go through all these things." 'Criminal investigation'Earlier on Thursday, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said it would be unlikely that the criminal investigation into the deadly blaze would be concluded until 2019.Speaking to CNN's affiliate ITN, Dick said the investigation had gathered 30 million documents, identified thousands of physical exhibits, and had conducted thousands of interviews."We will move as quickly as we possibly can whilst doing a very, very thorough investigation -- using all the expertise that is available to us. We are working closely now with the Crown Prosecution Service and we will move as fast as we possibly can," she said."But I would be very surprised if our criminal investigation was finished, for example, by the end of the next calendar year." | 3news
|
Emily Parker is managing director at CoinDesk and a former policy advisor at the US State Department and writer/editor at The Wall Street Journal. She is author of "Now I Know Who My Comrades Are: Voices From the Internet Underground." The opinions expressed in this commentary are her own.
Cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin and dogecoin, have dominated the news cycle in recent months. Meanwhile, the rise of another type of digital currency has gotten far less attention: central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Unlike bitcoin, CBDCs are issued by governments and are basically digital versions of an existing national currency. But instead of holding it in your wallet, you store it on your phone.CBDCs could become more commonplace sooner than you'd think. According to the think tank Atlantic Council, 81 countries, which account for over 90% of the world's gross domestic product, are exploring a digital currency, and five countries have already launched one. And there will be more to come. According to a survey by the Bank for International Settlements, countries representing one-fifth of the world's population may well issue a digital currency in the next few years. Leading the race is China's digital yuan, which has already been trialed in over $5 billion worth of transactions. The US, by contrast, is still in the research phase. The House Committee on Financial Services recently had a hearing on the promises and perils of CBDC, in which several witnesses called on the US to be more proactive. Julia Coronado of MacroPolicy Perspectives called on the US to take a "leadership role" on CBDCs. "Failing to act now will leave the US on the outside looking in," added the Atlantic Council's Julia Friedlander. In other words, if America waits too long, it could miss a chance to shape the future of digital money. Read MoreWhy should Americans care? Well, partly because they have gotten used to a world in which the US dollar reigns supreme. But the rise of CBDCs could challenge that order, potentially threatening the status of the US dollar as the global reserve currency. Different countries will have a much easier time transacting with each other directly, removing the need for the US dollar or SWIFT, a global financial messaging system.In a CBDC world, "people would use the dollar less," predicted Michael Sung, a professor at Shanghai's Fudan University who researches digital currencies, in an interview with me. "The dollar is dominant because it is the reserve currency. Everyone needs to use it for convenience. You don't need a reserve currency if you can do direct settlement between trade pairs." The dollar is also a tool for US foreign policy, in that the US can essentially bar sanctioned countries from the dollar-based system. If the US doesn't develop its own CBDC and other countries move ahead, it might have less information about cross-border transactions since countries could transact with each other without using the SWIFT network, which the US can monitor. Tying CEO pay to carbon emissions works. More companies should try itCBDCs could bring a domestic advantage for the US as well. In his Senate testimony on a digital dollar, Stanford University professor Darrell Duffie noted that part of the appeal of CBDCs lie in finding an alternative to our current costly and inefficient bank-railed system. "Banks have also underinvested in payment technologies that would improve the speed, interoperability and programmability of payments," Duffie said.Digital currencies can be programmed to be spent in a certain way — say for food and medical supplies, but not for cigarettes or alcohol. Of course, many Americans would understandably be uncomfortable with the idea of the government knowing how your digital money is spent. And there is reason to fear that CBDCs will become a convenient way for authoritarian governments to monitor individual citizen transactions. But that doesn't have to become the dominant model. The US could help set the standard by developing a digital currency that has privacy at its core. "If this is going to be the tech of the future, we want to make sure the US brings democratic values to bear," Chris Giancarlo, co-founder of the Digital Dollar Project, said in an interview with me.A digital dollar should also be a tool for certain use cases, such as delivering government aid in the case of a pandemic, not an end all be all. It should not eliminate cash, which is still the most private form of money. Nor should it intend to replace non-government digital currencies like Bitcoin, dollar-pegged stablecoins or other cryptocurrencies that allow for more private transactions. We may soon be living in a CBDC world. And if America stays on the sidelines, it could miss its chance to influence what that world looks like. | 0business
|
Story highlights Suspected shooter dies in hospitalMoscow calls claims Russia is behind the killing "absurd"Voronenkov sharply criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin after leaving Russia for UkraineKiev, Ukraine (CNN)A former Russian lawmaker and Kremlin critic who fled to Ukraine last year was shot dead Thursday in Kiev -- a killing that Ukraine's President called a "Russian state terrorist act."Denis Voronenkov, who'd been a Communist member of Russia's lower legislative house before he left, was fatally shot outside a hotel in broad daylight, officials said.Voronenkov becomes the latest in a string of Russian critics of President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government who were killed or injured in mysterious circumstances. The suspect in his death died in the hospital after a shootout with Voronenkov's bodyguard. Denis Voronenkov, a former Communist legislator in Russia's lower legislative house, was shot dead in Kiev on Thursday, Ukrainian authorities say. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called Thursday's killing a "Russian state terrorist act" on Twitter, and described Voronenkov as "one of the key witnesses of the Russian aggression against Ukraine" -- referring to Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and a subsequent war with pro-Russian rebels.Read MorePoroshenko's accusation drew a sharp rebuke from Moscow. Any claims that Russia is connected to the killing are "absurd," Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian state-run TASS news agency.Voronenkov had denounced Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and said he was cooperating with Ukrainian prosecutors' treason case against former President Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian politician who fled Ukraine after deadly 2014 protests.Body lies outside hotelDetails about the shooting weren't immediately released. CNN video shows investigators standing over the bloodied body of Voronenkov, lying face-up on a Kiev sidewalk near the Premier Palace hotel.A Ukrainian police officer seizes a gun at the scene where Voronenkov was shot dead on Thursday.The suspect was wounded and taken to a hospital where he later died, Kiev police Chief Andriy Krischenko said.Details about the suspect's identity and who injured him weren't available. No motive for the attack was immediately known.Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko said Voronenkov had given "extremely important testimony" to Ukraine's military prosecutors.Voronenkov's killing was "a demonstrative execution of a witness," Lutsenko said. Called annexation of Crimea 'a mistake'Voronenkov and his wife, former Russian lawmaker Maria Maksakova, sharply criticized Putin after they left Russia for Ukraine in October. In a February interview with Radio Free Europe, Voronenkov called Russia's seizure of Crimea from the Ukraine a "mistake" and "illegal," and said the couple left the country because of pressure from Russian security services.Voronenkov also alleged that although he was recorded as having voted for the annexation in Russia's Duma, the vote was cast against his will. He was not at parliament that day, and another legislator used Voronenkov's card to vote for him, he told Radio Free Europe.Getting away with murder in RussiaThe day after that interview, Peskov, Putin's spokesman, denied Voronenkov's claim."I was present at almost every voting and it wasn't like they (Voronenkov and Maksakova) said," Peskov said, according to Russia's state-run Sputnik news service.Kremlin encouraging attacks on Vladimir Putin's critics, activists sayVoronenkov said he thought his criticisms led Russian authorities to charge him in absentia with fraud in February, Radio Free Europe reported. He called the charges "fake" and "political," the report said.Sputnik news service cast Voronenkov's departure from the country as an attempt to flee from investigation, citing the Russian Investigative Committee.Voronenkov said he'd become a Ukrainian citizen. While he was a Communist Party member, his wife had belonged to the ruling United Russia party.Witness against YanukovychVoronenkov also told Radio Free Europe that he was helping Ukrainian prosecutors prepare their case against Yanukovych, who is accused of treason, in part for allegedly facilitating Russia's annexation of Crimea after he fled Ukraine.Ukraine: Everything you need to know about how we got hereYanukovych was Ukraine's President when, in 2013, he suspended talks on what was to be a landmark political and trade deal with the European Union. Russia had opposed Ukraine forming closer ties with the European Union.Tens of thousands of pro-Western protesters rallied in Kiev against Yanukovych's decision, and in February 2014, a gunfight between protesters and police left dozens dead. Yanukovych soon fled, eventually for Russia, as his guards abandoned the presidential compound.Russia's parliament signed off on Putin's request to send military forces into Crimea the next month. An uprising by pro-Russian rebels in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk ensued, a conflict that has left thousands of people dead and injured."I told (prosecutors) some details of what was going on. And I will give testimony in open court in the course of judicial inquiry held in Ukraine," Voronenkov told Radio Free Europe.Other deaths, injuries of Kremlin criticsVoronenkov is one of several Kremlin critics to die or be injured in mysterious circumstances. • In 2015, Putin critic Boris Nemtsov, a deputy prime minister in the late 1990s under President Boris Yeltsin, was shot in the back while walking in central Moscow. Russian protesters mark anniversary of Boris Nemtsov's death Five suspects have been on trial in Moscow since October, with one accused of accepting cash to kill him. All have pleaded not guilty. Putin blamed extremists and protesters who he said were trying to stir internal strife in Russia. But people close to Nemtsov have expressed concern that he was killed because of his opposition to the government. • Last month, Nemtsov's friend, Vladimir Kara-Murza, was in a coma after a suspected poisoning. Kara-Murza is part of Open Russia, an organization of anti-Putin activists who are calling for open elections, a free press and civil rights reforms.Putin critic leaves Russia for treatment after alleged poisoningIt was the second time in two years Kara-Murza fell into a coma after a suspected poisoning. • In 2013, Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky was found dead inside his house in Britain with a noose around his neck. His falling-out with the Russian government had left him self-exiled in the United Kingdom.JUST WATCHEDRussian exile's death spurs conspiracies ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHRussian exile's death spurs conspiracies 03:11A coroner's officer said it couldn't say whether Berezovsky killed himself. That year, Putin said he could not rule out that foreign secret services had a role in Berezovsky's death, but he added that there was no evidence of this. • In July 2009, human rights activist Natalya Estemirova was kidnapped outside her home in the Russian republic of Chechnya and found shot to death in a neighboring republic the same day. She had spent years investigating human rights abuses in Chechnya.Litvinenko: Not first Putin critic to end up dead -- or lastThe head of the group Estemirova worked for, Memorial, accused the Kremlin-backed Chechen leadership of ordering her killing. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov denied involvement in her death, calling it a "monstrous crime" that was carried out to discredit his government. • In 2006, Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist critical of Russia's war in Chechnya, was gunned down at the entrance to her Moscow apartment.Why Anna Politkovskaya still inspiresThe Kremlin has staunchly denied accusations that it or its agents are targeting political opponents or had anything to do with the deaths.• Also in 2006, former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko died a slow death from poisoning in Britain. In a deathbed statement, he blamed Putin for ordering his poisoning by means of the rare radioactive substance polonium-210, saying it was slipped into his tea at a London hotel.The Kremlin has always strongly denied the accusation, as have the two chief suspects, Andrei Lugovoy and Dmitri Kovtun. But a British inquiry into his death concluded that Putin and the FSB, the KGB's successor, likely ordered the poisoning.Journalist Victoria Butenko reported from Ukraine, and CNN's Jason Hanna wrote in Atlanta. CNN's Antonia Mortensen, Nick Thompson, Alanne Orjoux, Holly Yan and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report. | 3news
|
(CNN)Ex-Formula One driver and Paralympic champion Alex Zanardi has been transferred from hospital to a specialist neuro-rehabilitation center, after suffering a horrific cycling crash in June.The 53-year-old Zanardi, who had both his legs amputated after a motor racing accident almost 20 years ago, had lost control of his handbike while competing in a relay race in Tuscany, Italy.Pope Francis writes a letter of support to Alex Zanardi after horror crash Zanardi was subsequently airlifted to the Santa Maria alle Scotte hospital in Siena, where he underwent three hours of emergency neurological surgery and was placed in an artificial coma. The hospital released a statement on Tuesday confirming Zanardi had been transferred after his sedation had ended."The stability of the general clinical conditions and the neurological picture allowed the transfer ... to a specialized recovery and functional rehabilitation center," it read.Read More"Alex Zanardi was therefore transferred today [Tuesday] to another facility.""Today a new path begins for Alex Zanardi," added hospital general manager, Valtere Giovannini.The Italian is an incredibly popular figure. He had been in training for this year's Tokyo Paralympics, hoping to add to his impressive tally of gold medals.Among the many messages of support, Pope Francis wrote him a letter whilst he continued his recovery in hospital. He praised Zanardi for living life to the fullest and for providing a "lesson in humanity." | 5sport
|
Story highlightsFormer England star Paul Gascoigne in rehab facility in Arizona Gascoigne admitted after latest alcohol fueled incident The troubled 45-year-old has "complex issues" say his management company A number of leading showbiz and sports stars show public supportFeted as the most talented English player of his generation, whose tears after their semifinal exit of the 1990 World Cup touched a global audience, Paul "Gazza" Gascoigne had it all.His working class background and precocious talent drew comparisons with George Best, but like the former Manchester United legend, who died in 2005, the demons of alcohol addiction have taken an ominous toll. "Alcoholic Paul Gascoigne has been experiencing a tough time of late," said his management agency GamePlan Solutions in a statement released to CNN on Tuesday. "He has been asking for help and has willingly been admitted to a treatment center in America. He has complex issues that are currently being dealt with by professionals."Paul has been extremely touched and overwhelmed by the generous offers of help and support over the past few days. He is motivated to fully understand and control his addiction problem under guidance."JUST WATCHED380 football matches deemed suspiciousReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCH380 football matches deemed suspicious 03:28JUST WATCHEDMatch-fixing scandal engulfs EuropeReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHMatch-fixing scandal engulfs Europe 03:05Since his playing career ended in 2004, Gascoigne's life has been on a downward spiral as he has battled both the bottle and compulsive disorders. The 45-year-old has been sectioned three times under Britain's Mental Health Act and made regular trips to rehabilitation clinics. Barely coherentEach time has come promises of a new start, but the grip of addiction manifested itself again last week at a charity event in the Midlands town of Northampton.Barely coherent as he answered questions on stage, he broke down in tears in an appearance lasting less than 10 minutes.Not for the first time, fears for Gascoigne's well being were raised by friends and supporters, including Gary Lineker, a teammate for both England and Tottenham Hotspur.It was Lineker, who famously signaled to the England bench in the semifinal against Germany at Italia 90 after Gascoigne had been yellow carded, meaning the heartbreak of missing the final should the team have made it. Gascoigne's tears of frustration that day formed the basis of Lineker's concern -- now nearly 23 years later, his fears are over a more serious matter. Reacting to the latest sorry incident, Lineker, a respected television presenter, tweeted: "Lots of you asking for my thoughts on Gazza's plight. I can only hope he finds peace somehow, but fear those hopes may be forlorn."JUST WATCHEDJerome Valcke: Match-fixing a 'disease'ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHJerome Valcke: Match-fixing a 'disease' 02:35JUST WATCHED'El Tigre' Falcao on the hunt for goalsReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCH'El Tigre' Falcao on the hunt for goals 04:12From outside the game, CNN's Piers Morgan was quick to lend his support to the fallen star.Great support"Anyone who knows Paul Gascoigne knows how desperate he is, and has been, to sort himself out. He deserves our sympathy, not ridicule. #Gazza," he wrote on his Twitter feed.Lineker and Morgan were reported to have assisted to get Gascoigne admitted to the specialist clinic in Phoenix, Arizona to deal with his alcohol and related problems.Another close friend, former England Test cricketer Ronnie Irani, helped to get Gascoigne on a plane to the United States, as he confirmed in an interview on national radio."I had a chat with (BBC radio DJ) Chris Evans and he just asked how we could help him," Irani told TalkSport."We knew we just had to get him on this flight, out to Phoenix, we just had to get him on the plane."I called British Airways and explained the situation, that we had to get him out to Phoenix to get him some help. He needs it, and if not, who knows what's going to happen?"Irani added: "It's tough. Mental health issues are a serious, serious subject."But sadly he's not been able to help himself."So many people rang up yesterday to help Paul Gascoigne, like you could never believe, but the truth is he hasn't been able to help himself."Gascoigne's precocious talent was first recognized by his local club Newcastle, though his troubled upbringing in an area of the north-east city noted for social deprivation, may well have been the basis for his troubled life.JUST WATCHEDTiny island makes football historyReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHTiny island makes football history 03:42JUST WATCHEDEgypt verdict causes deadly clashesReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHEgypt verdict causes deadly clashes 02:24Top talentBut the midfielder's talent on the pitch was undoubted, once taunting opponents by sitting on the ball in the middle of a hotly contested English top division match.Turning down an offer from Alex Ferguson's Manchester United, Gascoigne signed for Tottenham and made his first of his 57 appearances for England shortly afterwards.Then national manager Bobby Robson famously labeled him as "daft as as brush" because of his unpredictable and compulsive behavior, but had no complaints as Gascoigne proved central to England's 1990 World Cup success.Read: Depression in the Premier LeagueRobson's predecessor Graham Taylor first flagged up a wider problem, referring to Gascoigne's "refuelling" problems -- a clear reference to his liking for alcohol.When Terry Venables, Gascoigne's club manager at Tottenham, took over the England team, he had to cope with the infamous "Dentist's Chair" incident in Hong Kong.Supposedly preparing there for Euro 96, Gascoigne and teammates were pictured in a bar sitting in a chair and having alcoholic drinks poured down their throats.After scoring a brilliant individual goal against Scotland in the tournament, Gascoigne lay prone on the Wembley turf and allowed teammates to spray water in his mouth, mimicking the controversy.But eventually the jokes turned sour and off field problems and lack of fitness were cited when Glenn Hoddle left him out of England's squad for the 1998 World Cup.Gascoigne reportedly smashed up his hotel room in response and at the same time was going through a very public divorce from his wife of two years Sheryl. In two subsequent "bare it all" autobiographies, Gascoigne admitted to once striking his wife during an argument, asking for forgiveness.Fading careerAfter spells at Lazio in Serie A and Scotland's Glasgow Rangers, Gascoigne saw out his career with Middlesbrough, Everton, Burnley, a Chinese club Gansu Tianma and lowly Boston United.JUST WATCHEDLionel Messi breaks goal scoring recordReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHLionel Messi breaks goal scoring record 01:51JUST WATCHEDA day in the life of Cristiano Ronaldo ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHA day in the life of Cristiano Ronaldo 00:58Since retiring, Gascoigne has tried a career as a TV pundit, briefly coached a non-league side and played in a number of charity matches, still displaying his formidable skills.Interspersed have been appearances in British courts for drunken driving and a drugs offense, but he has narrowly avoided serving a custodial sentence.Read: Football's addiction to gamblingHis fall from grace mirrors that of Best, who battled alcohol problems after his glittering career came to an early end.Northern Ireland's Best died of complications arising from an earlier liver transplant eight years ago and Gordon Taylor, the chief of the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), is worried the same fate could befall Gascoigne."We just don't want this to be another George Best tragedy," Taylor told BBC national radio."He does need a big support system, and he's got it from lots of friends. But there is a frustration that when things look to be improving, it all goes off wire." Taylor also refuted suggestions that the PFA had not done enough to help Gascoigne. | 5sport
|
(CNN)Russia's Vladimir Putin took his vows in the Kremlin Monday to become President for another six years after winning an election in March with no meaningful opposition. If the former spy chief completes his full term he will have dominated Russian politics for almost a quarter of a century. Cameras rolled as Putin, 65, walked from his office, down seemingly endless red carpets into a new Russian-made Cortege limousine that took him to the Spassky Gate and on to the lofty and gold-plated Alexander Hall -- the former throne room of imperial Russia, arriving just after the clocks struck midday. Honour Guards carry the Russian Presidential Standard and Russian National Flag during the ceremony in the Kremlin."My whole life will be dedicated to serving our people and our homeland," Putin said in a short address to hundreds of dignitaries, vowing to "restore strength, prosperity and glory" to the Russian state, and talking of his role as a "sacred duty."Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who holds positions in Russian energy companies Gazprom and Rosneft, sat in the front. Hollywood actor and Russian citizen Steven Seagal, a personal friend of Putin, also attended the ceremony. Vladimir Putin is sworn in as the new Russian President during a ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 7, 2018. Amid concern about widespread protests, the event was more low-key than the last time Putin was sworn in as President in 2012.Read MoreOpposition leader Alexei Navalny was released from police custody early Sunday, a day after hundreds of people were detained following an anti-government protest in Moscow.Navalny, a fierce critic of Putin, organized in several cities across Russia on Saturday. He was detained by police shortly after arriving in Moscow's Pushkinskaya Square, with dramatic images showing the protest leader being carried through the crowds by police.Navalny said in a tweet that he was released shortly after midnight, after police "registered two protocols against me: organization of a rally and resistance of the police."CNN's Zahra Ullah contributed to this report. | 3news
|
Story highlightsBarcelona coach Tito Vilanova returning to CataloniaVilanova has been in New York for two months undergoing cancer treatmentAssistant coach Jordi Roura has been in temporary charge of the teamVilanova took over from Josep Guardiola in June 2012Barcelona have been handed a boost ahead of next week's European Champions League quarterfinal tie against Paris Saint-Germain after the club confirmed coach Tito Vilanova is to return to Catalonia following cancer treatment.Vilanova has been in New York for two months undergoing treatment, with assistant coach Jordi Roura assuming first team duties on a temporary basis.A statement released by the four-time European champions said Vilanova, who was assistant to Josep Guardiola between 2008 and 2012, is heading home to Spain this week.Read: Messi eyes milestone after Argentina success"Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova will be returning home this week after being in New York for the last two months," read a statement on the Spanish league leader's official website.JUST WATCHEDBoateng: Racism in football must endReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHBoateng: Racism in football must end 04:09JUST WATCHEDBecker: Ronaldo the tennis ace?ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHBecker: Ronaldo the tennis ace? 02:34JUST WATCHEDKeepy up challenge: Becker vs. MendietaReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHKeepy up challenge: Becker vs. Mendieta 00:57However the statement did not specify when Vilanova would return to the dugout for the four-time European champions."Tito traveled to New York on January 21 for treatment and this week he will be returning home to the Catalan capital."Jordi Roura has been in charge of the team over the last couple of months and has been in permanent contact with Vilanova to agree on important decisions."But Vilanova's place on the bench has always been kept for him and this week the team will welcome their boss back. Welcome home Tito."Read: Draw dents Spain's qualification chancesVilanova, who was assistant to former Barca coach Josep Guardiola between 2008 and 2012, has been undergoing treatment following a recurrence of cancer of his parotid gland, which is located in the mouth.Bounced backThe 44-year-old Vilanova initially underwent surgery to remove a tumor in November 2011.For the first time since Guardiola took over Barca in 2008, recently the Catalan team have faced questions over their performances in the time Vilanova has been away.Barca were beaten over two legs by Real Madrid in a Copa del Rey semifinal, including a crushing 3-1 home defeat at the Nou Camp stadium, while Jose Mourinho's side also beat the Catalans in the Spanish leagueBetween the two cup ties with Real, Barca were also beaten 2-0 by AC Milan in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.But Barca bounced back emphatically, steamrollering Milan in the second leg with a 4-0 triumph.The first leg of Barca's last eight tie with PSG takes place in Paris on April 2, before the return fixture on April 10. | 5sport
|
Story highlightsManchester United beat Dutch side Ajax 2-0 in first leg of last 32 Europa League tieAshley Young and Javier Hernandez score the goals for the English championsManchester City also taste victory with a 2-1 over Portuguese champions PortoFalcao scores twice for Atletico Madrid as Spanish side beat Lazio in ItalyRivals Manchester City and Manchester United prospered in the unfamiliar territory of the Europa League as both recorded away victories in the first leg of their last-32 ties.English Premier League leaders Manchester City had to rely on an Alvaro Pereira own goal and a late strike from Argentina striker Sergio Aguero to seal a 2-1 win at Portuguese champions Porto.United, the current English champions, won 2-0 over Ajax in the Netherlands thanks to goals from England winger Ashley Young and Mexico striker Javier Hernandez.Both sides were making their first appearance in Europe's second tier competition after being knocked out of the European Champions League before the turn of the year.United, two points behind City in the EPL, are now firmly in the driving seat ahead of next week's second leg at Old Trafford.Manager Alex Ferguson, who has led his side to two Champions League titles during his 25-year tenure at the club, told reporters: "I'm delighted with the scoreline.JUST WATCHEDBrazil's talent staying at home ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHBrazil's talent staying at home 05:23Can Liverpool salvage the Suarez saga?"It was a very ordinary performance by us. We didn't reach any great heights in the game but we did improve in the second half and we deserved to win."It gives us a good opportunity. We're not taking anything for granted but at home, at Old Trafford -- we've now got a good opportunity to get through."Young, playing only his second game after a six-week injury layoff, grabbed the first when he collected Nani's cross and cut inside his man to drill the ball into the net.And late in the game, a United counter attack saw Hernandez swap passes with England striker Wayne Rooney, before finishing past Ajax goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer.In Portugal, City went behind in the 26th minute when Varela tapped home Hulk's cross. But after the break Pereira turned the ball into his own net under pressure from Italian striker Mario Balotelli, before Aguero converted Yaya Toure's cross late on.Elsewhere, two goals from former Porto striker Falcao handed Spanish club Atletico Madrid a 3-1 win at Lazio, who are third in Italy's Serie A.Ex-World Cup ref known as 'golden whistle' jailed for match fixingAtletico's compatriots Athletic Bilbao didn't fare so well on the road however, losing 2-1 to Lokomotiv Moscow in the Russian capital -- goals from Dennis Glushakov and Felipe Caicedo canceling out Iker Munain's opener.A late goal from Filipe Andre Santos rescued a 2-2 draw for Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon against Legia Warsaw in Poland. Jakub Wawrzyniak and Janusz Gol scored for Legia either side of Daniel Carrico's strike.Adam Maher's goal gave Dutch side AZ Alkmaar a slender advantage to take to Belgium next week after defeating Anderlecht 1-0.Ukrainian club FC Metalist Kharkiv all but sealed a place in the last 16 with a 4-0 win at SV Salzburg in Austria, Jonathan Cristaldo grabbing two goals.A goal from Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar secured a 1-1 draw for German side Schalke against Viktoria Plzen in the Czech Republic.A stunning strike from Turkey international Mehmet Topal handed Spanish club Valencia a 1-0 win at English Premier League side Stoke.Jan Schlaudraff's penalty completed a comeback victory for Germany's Hannover 96 over Club Brugge. Maxime Lestienne handed the Belgian side the lead before Artur Sobiech equalised.Ola John's 52nd-minute goal gave Dutch club FC Twente victory over Steaua Bucuresti in the Romanian capital, while Italy's Udinese drew 0-0 with PAOK Salonika of Greece.Polish side Wisla Krakow drew 1-1 with Standard Liege despite playing for 65 minutes with 10 men. Gohi Bi Zorro Cyriac put the Belgian visitors ahead before Tsvetan Genkov's 87th-minute leveler. | 5sport
|
(CNN)As the world comes to terms with Russia launching a military attack on Ukraine, attention turns to how the international community will respond and how far it will go in punishing Vladimir Putin. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the attack a "reckless act by President Putin" and a "terrible day for Ukraine and a dark day for Europe." He added that the EU, G7 and NATO would coordinate closely on Thursday.European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called Russia's actions a "barbaric attack" and said she will present EU member states with "massive and strategic" sanctions against Russia for approval later today. "These sanctions are designed to take a heavy toll on the Kremlin's interests and their ability to finance war. And we know that millions of Russians do not want war," she added. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also expected to announce a fresh package of sanctions. He tweeted on Thursday morning that Russia's actions were "a catastrophe for our continent." Black smoke rises from a military airport in Chuguyev near Kharkiv on February 24, 2022. French President Emmanuel Macron, who has led many of the diplomatic efforts to deescalate, reacted by saying "France stands in solidarity with Ukraine. It stands with Ukrainians and is working with its partners and allies to end the war."Read MoreWhile Europe has largely stood united, there has been a notable silence from Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, who has a close relationship with Putin and has behind the scenes been accused of disrupting Europe's unity in response to the crisis. Outside of Europe, US President Joe Biden warned of incoming "consequences the United States and our Allies and partners will impose on Russia for this needless act of aggression against Ukraine and global peace and security."NATO and European security sources have previously told CNN that the US has been coordinating the unified response to the crisis and will likely take the lead today as the International community is expected to dramatically increase sanctions on Russia. Western allies around the world have also committed to work with their partners in response to Russia. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said the "situation is tense. We will continue to work in collaboration with the international community, including the G7 nations."European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a press statement on Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Brussels on February 24, 2022, ahead of a EU special summit called to respond to the attacks. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said Ukraine has his country's "unwavering support."In Africa, the response was muted with only a handful of governments on the continent speaking out in the aftermath of the attacks."The Nigerian position is that dialogue should be prioritized over force," a spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari told CNN Thursday. South Africa said the ongoing crisis "could have regional and global ramifications" if allowed to deteriorate."All parties have much to gain from a negotiated outcome and much to lose from unnecessary and violent conflict," the country's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, said in a statement. Uncomfortably for Putin, China has not expressed particular support for Russia. China is Putin's only major ally and has in recent years developed a close relationship with Russia, supporting it at the UN. However, China has thus far refused to criticize Russia and said it would begin importing Russian wheat, a move that could ease the impact of Western sanctions on Russia. China's ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, only went so far as saying all parties needed "stay cool headed and rational," he added that it was "especially important at the moment to avoid fueling tensions."Biden condemns 'Russia's unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine'Governments all over the world are currently holding meetings to discuss how far sanctions should go against Russia in response to this huge escalation. A first wave of sanctions came from the US, EU and UK on Tuesday, though they were limited in scope and criticized for not going very far. It is very likely that fresh sanctions will go further and will target Russia's broad economy in a less compromising manner, possibly going so far as hitting Putin's personal wealth directly. | 3news
|
(CNN)When asked about his relationship with Rafael Nadal, Australian Nick Kyrgios referred to a watering hole about a 15-minute walk from Wimbledon's grounds. "Not sure that me and Rafa could go down to the Dog & Fox and have a beer together," the ever controversial Kyrgios told reporters Tuesday. "I get along with people, some people I don't get along with. "We have a mutual respect but that's about it I think." READ: Coco Gauff's mom on starlet's meteoric riseRead MoreKyrgios's appraisal of the 18-time grand slam winner was actually a toned down version, two months after labeling him "super salty" in a podcast with tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg and taking aim at his famous uncle, Toni. But for tennis fans craving a little animosity in an era where the Big Four have — mostly — gotten along, they'll be pleased Nadal and Kyrgios square off in the second round at the All England Club. READ: Will Nadal surpass great rival Federer?READ: Roger Federer: The power and presence of the $120 million manNick Kyrgios will take on Rafael Nadal in the second round Thursday.'Very dangerous player'Kyrgios will attempt to upend Nadal five years after he stunned the left-hander as a teen at Wimbledon and only four months after saving three match points in their eventful clash in Acapulco. The crowd jeered Kyrgios in Mexico and afterward Nadal claimed the Canberra native needed to show more respect to opponents, the crowd — and himself. A Kyrgios underarm serve that evening has now become a mainstay in his game, with another one on show Tuesday on set point against compatriot Jordan Thompson in what turned out to be a five-set victory.Kyrgios countered by criticizing Nadal's sometimes slow play between points before that no-holds-barred podcast which aired a day before the 24-year-old was given a game penalty, threw a chair on court and defaulted at the Rome Masters. READ: Kyrgios in fan altercation at Miami OpenRafael Nadal is chasing a third Wimbledon title and first since 2010. If it makes Nadal feel better, Kyrgios slammed world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, too, saying the Serb had a "sick obsession with wanting to be liked."Publicly, Nadal made it sound like Thursday was simply another match for him. "My thoughts are very clear," Nadal began after beating Japanese baseliner Yuichi Sugita in straight sets. "I play against a top talented player, very dangerous player when he wants to play tennis. Normally against the best players, he wants to play tennis. When that happens, he's a very dangerous opponent."READ: Osaka on setbacks, role models and inspiring othersREAD: Naomi Osaka: An icon of the new JapanJUST WATCHEDWimbledon: The original grand slamReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHWimbledon: The original grand slam 01:40'Self belief'Indeed 43rd-ranked Kyrgios admitted he was "super happy" when spotting Nadal in his section of the draw. Motivation never seems to be lacking when confronting Djokovic and Nadal, evidenced by a 5-3 record against the pair combined. Meanwhile, against his pals Andy Murray and Roger Federer— and thus where motivation might be harder to muster — he is a combined 2-10. He also appears to lack motivation for playing at the French Open, citing illness as the reason for his withdrawal in May after saying Nadal's most successful grand slam "sucks." "It's going to be a very interesting match," 2003 Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis succinctly told CNN. "Both want to win. It's the biggest tournament in the world. Rafa is going to look to go out and compete and do what he does. Nothing is going to change. "Nick is someone who has self belief and a belief that he can beat Rafa, and that's what it takes, you need to believe you can beat these top guys." READ: Why Wimbledon represents Britain's two-week tennis love-inREAD: 15-year-old Coco Gauff stuns Venus WilliamsREAD: Coco Gauff: 'I want to be the greatest'JUST WATCHEDRoger Revealed: Time with tennis great FedererReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHRoger Revealed: Time with tennis great Federer 22:09'Unbelievable underdog'Besides the belief and motivation, Kyrgios is getting a grass-rusty Nadal. The first-round match was his first official outing on the surface in 2019. The early-round affair would seem to benefit Kyrgios, given he probably lacks the fitness to go deep at majors even if the motivation is there. No, fitness is not his forte. JUST WATCHEDRoger Federer muses on retirement planningReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHRoger Federer muses on retirement planning 03:18Further, Nadal has a history of struggling against big servers at Wimbledon, losing to Kyrgios, Lukas Rosol, Dustin Brown and Gilles Muller. All of those matches came prior to the quarterfinals. "He's one of the greatest tennis players of all time," Kyrgios said, paying Nadal that respect he says he has for him. "I go into that match as an unbelievable underdog."But he added: "I know if I play the right type of tennis, I can have success against him." If, as some players are saying, the grass is playing a little slower this year — and keep in mind one player will often have a different view from the next — Nadal certainly wouldn't mind. The last of his two Wimbledon titles came in 2010 and he fell in the defining men's match of 2018 in the semifinals against Djokovic in a thrilling five-setter. "Last year I created the chance," Nadal said. "I have been very close. I am here to fight again to produce the chance. I need to find my best tennis."Whatever happens, you probably still won't find Nadal and Kyrgios at a pub together anytime soon. | 5sport
|
(CNN)Tiger Woods will be the author of a new book.The 15-time major champion is working on a memoir titled "Back," which he calls the "definitive story" of his life.HarperCollins Publishers has acquired the rights to the book, it was announced Tuesday. Described as a "candid and intimate narrative," Woods' memoir will cover his rise to fame, battling injuries and personal issues as well as his comeback at age 43, winning the Masters in April. It was not announced when the book would be released."I've been in the spotlight for a long time, and because of that, there have been books and articles and TV shows about me, most filled with errors, speculative and wrong," Woods said. "This book is my definitive story. It's in my words and expresses my thoughts. It describes how I feel and what's happened in my life. I've been working at it steadily, and I'm looking forward to continuing the process and creating a book that people will want to read."After two months off, coinciding with knee surgery, Woods is returning to competitive golf on October 21 to be part of a skins game with Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama in Chiba, Japan. He's also planning to play in the PGA Tour's new event, the Zozo Championship, that starts October 24. Both of those events are at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club. It will be Woods' first time in Japan in 13 years. | 5sport
|
Story highlightsMelissa Golden photographed the last stop of Donald Trump's post-election victory tourThe event was in Mobile, Alabama, where she covered a significant Trump rally last year (CNN)Before her trip to Mobile, Alabama, on Saturday, photographer Melissa Golden wondered whether she would experience a sort of déjà vu once she arrived. She covered a Donald Trump rally there in August of last year. And now she was returning to Ladd-Peebles Stadium for the conclusion of the President-elect's "Thank You" tour.Mobile marked a turning point for Trump's campaign. Prior to that Friday night in August, it wasn't clear how much support the real estate developer and reality TV personality would garner in his quest to become the 45th President of the United States. But one glance at the crowd of some 30,000 supporters solidified that there was something significant happening.Photographer Melissa Golden"I remember up to that point, the Trump campaign was a bit farcical and nobody was taking it seriously in the media or really anywhere," Golden said. "There was this kind of jovial, almost carnival-like atmosphere. People were there to see the show and it was before the rhetoric that we've come to know today had really ratcheted up."It has been about 16 months since that jam-packed rally, and Trump's decision to return to Mobile was symbolic. As Golden put it: Mobile represents the warm-up and the cool-down for Trump. Read More"This is where it all began," the President-elect told the crowd on Saturday, having just walked on stage to "Sweet Home Alabama."Before the rally started, Trump's supporters were tailgating as if they were attending a football game. They were happy, relaxed, excited, optimistic. The inherent tension of the campaign season seemed to have disappeared, Golden said, and instead a palpable sense of relief filled the air. "Everybody I spoke with, their words were so hopeful," the photographer said. "They really seemed to believe wholeheartedly that Donald Trump has their best interest at heart, and they're very glad to see him as President-elect."During the 2016 campaign, public trust in the media hit an all-time low, partly fueled by Trump's anti-media rhetoric. But Golden says when she identified herself as a photographer on assignment for CNN, most people laughed it off and some even offered her food and drinks. She felt constantly on the verge of being invited to Sunday dinner. Photos: 30,000 rally for Trump in Alabama Photos: 30,000 rally for Trump in AlabamaA young supporter of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump cheers at a pep rally in Mobile, Alabama, on August 21, 2015. Trump brought 30,000 supporters -- according to the City of Mobile -- from deep red Alabama to a pep rally in a football stadium, the latest sign that the Republican front-runner has broad, nationwide strength.Hide Caption 1 of 12 Photos: 30,000 rally for Trump in AlabamaTrump's 757 plane circles the venue as he arrives. Trump flew by the stadium in his private jet shortly before 6 p.m., doing a loop around the arena before landing. The fly-by was announced over the stadium's loudspeaker to cheers.Hide Caption 2 of 12 Photos: 30,000 rally for Trump in AlabamaPeople queue in line to wait for the doors to open. The event was previously planned to be held at the nearby Civic Center but was moved to the 43,000-seat Ladd-Peebles Stadium, a venue normally home to high school football games, to accommodate the crowd. The city of Mobile confirmed late Friday that 30,000 people attended.Hide Caption 3 of 12 Photos: 30,000 rally for Trump in AlabamaThe venue was changed from a 4,000-person venue to the football stadium, and attendees gathered as early as 6 a.m. local time.Hide Caption 4 of 12 Photos: 30,000 rally for Trump in AlabamaA Trump supporter wears a hairpiece similar to Trump's signature style.Hide Caption 5 of 12 Photos: 30,000 rally for Trump in AlabamaThose in the crowd also heard the new Republican front-runner train his eyes once again on the old one, needling Jeb Bush as having low energy and saying he would do the bidding of special interests.Hide Caption 6 of 12 Photos: 30,000 rally for Trump in AlabamaTrump, clad in a navy blue jacket and his own cherry-red "Make America Great Again" red baseball cap, won the admiration of hometown hero US Sen. Jeff Sessions. The Alabama Republican did not endorse Trump, but came onstage to endorse Trump's immigration positions while wearing his own off-white, Trump-branded hat.Hide Caption 7 of 12 Photos: 30,000 rally for Trump in AlabamaTrump, whose victory in national and early-state polls is no longer a surprise, has in recent weeks taken steps to quickly professionalize his political operation.Hide Caption 8 of 12 Photos: 30,000 rally for Trump in Alabama"Here's a simple question: Who would you rather have negotiating with China, Japan, Mexico, any of them? Trump or Bush?" he asked, as the raucous crowd chanted his name back to him. "Ah, what a group."Hide Caption 9 of 12 Photos: 30,000 rally for Trump in AlabamaA pro-Jeb Bush plane flies by the stadium with banner "Trump 4 higher taxes. Jeb 4 Prez." Bush's official campaign said it emailed supporters in Alabama pointing out Trump's previous liberal positions on abortion, gun rights and tax issues.Hide Caption 10 of 12 Photos: 30,000 rally for Trump in AlabamaAt times appearing more prepared than usual -- referencing what seemed to be notes on his podium and relaying new statistics about illegal immigration to his crowd -- a joyful Trump offered to sign copies of his book, waved his arms to encourage applause at some of his one-liners and made an effort to his Southern crowd by calling the Bible his favorite book and lamenting the decline of the Alabama steel industry. "I'd like to have the election tomorrow," he said at one point. "I don't want to wait."Hide Caption 11 of 12 Photos: 30,000 rally for Trump in AlabamaSome attendees traveled from as far away as California to attend. "It was one of the greatest events Mobile ever put on aside from Mardi Gras," said Colby Cooper, Mayor Sandy Stimpson's chief of staff.Hide Caption 12 of 12"I think it was apparent that I was not some sort of media monster, and of course they were as friendly as Southerners get, as friendly as Americans get," she said.But Golden said there was a moment when the energy changed once Trump began speaking. He mentioned the media during his talk, calling its coverage of him dishonest."It was surprising to feel the energy of the crowd shift and as heads turned to look back at us in the media area -- even though the campaign is over -- that darkness seems to have carried over," Golden said.After the event there were more signs of Southern hospitality."People went back to being people," Golden said. "And even when I was trying to get out of the parking lot, the mad dash and the jam of cars, you know, a gentleman in a Trump hat honked and made sure that my car got in front of his to get out. There were still acts of courtesy and kindness throughout the day. And so that was certainly heartening to see."One of the biggest differences Golden noticed between last year's Mobile rally and the one on Saturday was that access was much more restricted this time around. Security was ramped up now that the Secret Service is running the show."Despite my efforts, they were not letting me in the area in front of the stage and I was pretty far away from the podium," Golden said. "There was this pretty big distance between me and the President-elect this time. I really had to cover him from afar and I had to cover him and the story through the crowd and through the people who were attending the rally."Join the conversationFollow @CNNPhotos on Twitter to keep up with our latest work and share your comments.Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, a Mobile native and the first senator to praise Trump at his rally last year, appeared on Saturday as well -- this time, as Trump's pick for attorney general.There were fewer people at this year's rally, perhaps because of the weather. "I didn't know it rained in Alabama," Trump said. "But you know, rain is good luck, right? Rain is good luck."It has been an exhausting and ruthless campaign season, no matter which presidential nominee people supported. "One side was going to be relieved and the other side was going to be horrified -- didn't matter who won," Golden said.After covering Trump's election night party in New York last month, she thought she would take a break from covering politics."I find myself continuing to be pulled back into the game, perhaps because as much as I would like to retire from covering politics, it's too important to ignore," she said. "Now more than ever -- and I think this is true regardless of who won -- we need great journalists on the ground performing journalism. You cannot have a functioning democracy without a healthy Fourth Estate."Melissa Golden is a photographer based in Atlanta and represented by Redux Pictures. She contributed to "Unprecedented: The Election that Changed Everything," CNN's book on the 2016 presidential race. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. | 4politics
|
Story highlightsSanta Teresa invited Suarez to matchSuarez claimed "football is for men" (CNN)It's safe to say that women don't agree with Barcelona star Luis Suarez's comment that "football is for men."The Uruguayan made the ill-advised remark in the aftermath of Barca's draw against Atletico Madrid Wednesday, words that have drawn widespread criticism.Follow @cnnsport
His jibe was prompted by Atletico defender Filipe Luis publishing a photo of a gnarly injury caused by Suarez's studs, after he initially protested he didn't make contact with his opponent. Menos mal que no me toca! 🙈 A photo posted by Filipe Luís Kasmirski (@filipeluis) on Sep 21, 2016 at 3:10pm PDT
But in an attempt to show the 29-year-old that football isn't just for men, women's football club Santa Teresa has invited Suarez to one of its matches."We invite Luis Suarez to Saturday's game against Betis," the club tweeted via its official account.Read MoreSituated in the city of Badajoz near the Portuguese border, Santa Teresa's Nuevo Vivero stadium is a little over 630 miles from the Nou Camp -- or a nine-hour drive.Invitamos a @LuisSuarez9 al partido del sábado ante el Betis ¡A las 16:00 en El Vivero!#AúpaSanta #LigaIberdrola pic.twitter.com/N2tWJopD83— Santa Teresa C.D. (@SantaTeresaCD) September 22, 2016
Although a flight to Badajoz airport would take just an hour and forty minutes.However, with Barcelona set to play Sporting Gijon at the same time as Santa Teresa's mid-table first division match with Betis, Suarez looks as though he'll be otherwise engaged -- especially with talisman Lionel Messi sidelined through injury.Barcelona wasn't immediately available for comment, after CNN asked whether Suarez planned to accept the invitation and attend a future match.Suarez is no stranger to controversy and has become one of football's most divisive figures over the course of his career.He has bitten three different players on separate occasions, the latest coming during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, resulting in a four-month suspension from any football activity and a nine-match international ban.In 2011, he was found guilty of racially abusing then Manchester United player Patrice Evra and was suspended for eight matches and received a $63,000 fine. | 5sport
|
(CNN) | 5sport
|
Ariake Tennis Park's Centre Court, Tokyo (CNN)These are early days for the Tokyo Olympics, but Naomi Osaka is quickly emerging as the headline act.Two days after lighting the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony -- a moment she called "the greatest athletic achievement and honor" of her life -- Osaka took to the tennis court for her first game in almost two months on Sunday, defeating China's Saisai Zheng 6-1 6-4 on Ariake Tennis Park's Centre Court. Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty's surprise loss against Sara Sorribes Tormo earlier on Sunday means Osaka is now the top-ranked player in the women's draw in her bid to become the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic tennis medal. The four-time grand slam champion hadn't played since withdrawing from the French Open at the end of May, which followed her decision not to undertake media duties for mental health reasons. She chose not to play in Wimbledon, too, but has arrived in Tokyo rejuvenated and ready to make her mark.Read More"This, playing the Olympics, has been a dream of mine since I was a kid, so I feel like the break I took was very needed," the 23-year-old Osaka told reporters. "I feel definitely a little bit refreshed and happy again."Osaka hits a forehand as she makes a winning start to the Tokyo Olympics. Baking heatExtreme heat and humidity has proved a challenge for tennis players in Tokyo and Osaka's match took place in baking, midday heat, broken occasionally when a light breeze swept across the court.Her entrance was greeted by an enthusiastic stadium announcer and a smattering of applause from the near-empty stands, which mainly comprised teammates, officials and members of the media. Despite her absence from the tour, Osaka showed few signs of rustiness as she opened her Olympic campaign, cruising through the first game with three aces, before twice breaking Zheng to race into a 4-0 lead in the first set. World No. 52 Zheng, who is appearing in her second Olympics, had opportunities to break back in the fifth game, only for Osaka to hold on and wrap up the first set in just 32 minutes. That dominance continued into the second set as Osaka secured another early break of serve, but this time Zheng was able to build more of a foothold and had two break points to level the set at 4-3. It proved to be only a glimmer of hope, however, as Osaka bounced back to take the game and, shortly afterwards, the match. "I felt really nervous being in Japan and playing here for the first time in maybe two years, and for it to be my first Olympics," said Osaka. "It was definitely really nerve-wracking. But I am glad I was able to win, she is a very tough opponent."Osaka put in an impressive serving performance againt Zheng.History makerThe game, originally scheduled for Saturday, was moved to Sunday ahead of the opening ceremony, fueling speculation that Osaka, who was born in Japan and moved to the US when she was three years old, might have been selected to light the cauldron.She duly did, joining the likes of boxer Muhammad Ali -- at the Atlanta Games in 1996 -- and Cathy Freeman four years later in Sydney to take part in a historic moment that will live long in the memory.Osaka is also the first tennis player to have the honor of lighting the cauldron."Naomi Osaka is a home favorite and a lot of eyes are on her," men's world No. 1 Novak Djokovic said after his victory on Saturday. "Being at home playing is a lot of pressure, but it's great for our sport just in general to see that there's a lot of attention towards it."JUST WATCHED2018 photos of Naomi Osaka take on new meaningReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCH2018 photos of Naomi Osaka take on new meaning 02:36Osaka is one of Japan's star athletes, her face displayed on billboards all around Tokyo and local media celebrated the decision to make her the final torch bearer of these Olympics. Newspaper Nikkei called it a moment of "diversity and harmony," while Mainichi Shimbun described how top athletes with overseas roots "symbolized diversity, one of the visions of the Olympic Games."In spite of her nerves on her Olympic debut, Osaka looked composed on the court. She next faces Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic for a place in the third round of a women's draw that is without a number of big names, including Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep and Bianca Andreescu.That, however, is unlikely to stop home fans, who are being kept away from venues in Tokyo amid the pandemic, from keeping a close eye on the tournament and Osaka's progress. | 5sport
|
(CNN)"Unbelievable," was how Neeraj Chopra described his victory in the men's javelin on Saturday as he became the first Indian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in track and field.Chopra's throw of 87.58m secured the top spot on the podium, as India also won its first gold medal at Tokyo 2020."In athletics it is the first time we have gold, so it's a proud moment for me and my country," the 23-year-old Chopra told reporters."In the qualification round I threw very well so I knew I could do better in the final. I didn't know it would be gold but I am very happy," he added. His gold medal success completes a remarkable journey for Chopra that began when he decided to lose some weight.Read More"I come from a farming background," explained Chopra. "I was overweight and wanted to do some fitness training."Somehow I ended up in an academy, and picked up javelin throw. The love affair started and now I'm here with this medal standing in front of you."The Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch and Vitezslav Vesely won silver and bronze respectively. India has now taken home seven medals in total at Tokyo 2020 -- one gold, two silver and four bronze. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, general secretary of India's opposition Indian National Congress party in charge of Uttar Pradesh, congratulated Chopra on Twitter: "What an outstanding performance. History has been made. India is so proud of you." | 5sport
|
Story highlightsRace has roots that go back to 1950sCurrent course mapped out in 1960sRace is 606 nautical miles long (CNN)It's one of the most spectacular races in the yachting calendar, fought out against a stunning backdrop of dramatic, ever-changing Mediterranean landscapes. And this year's Rolex Middle Sea Race saw a course record tumble as more than 100 yachts sailed in pursuit of supremacy beneath bright blue skies.The race was born in 1968, when the Royal Malta Yacht Club and the Royal Ocean Racing Club co-founded an event that has now notched up 37 editions.But the roots of racing here can be traced back to the aftermath of the Second World War, when British servicemen stationed on Malta began racing competitively.Follow @cnnsport
The boats they used back then were adapted German military craft that had been captured during the conflict -- but although the racing was rudimentary, it caught people's imaginations.Read MoreAnd things soon took a giant leap forward when sailing brothers Paul and John Ripard were among the mappers of a course intended to attract and challenge the best.JUST WATCHEDBehind the lens with the legendary Carlo BorlenghiReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHBehind the lens with the legendary Carlo Borlenghi 08:07Their chosen route, 606 nautical miles long, began amid the splendor of Valletta Grand Harbor. From there, crews sailed north towards the Straits of Messina, with landmarks including the Aeolian Islands, the active volcano of Stromboli and the Egadi Islands, before the finishing line at Marsamxett Harbor moved into view. Read: Classic yachts shine in CannesIt was so good that it remains exactly the same today -- and, having begun with a small field of between 25 and 30 yachts, now attracts more than 120 sailors who attempt to master its unpredictable conditions.Images from spectacular start of #RolexMiddleSeaRace under the bastions of Valletta https://t.co/8jYHXXVJIm #sailing @VisitMalta pic.twitter.com/rXoZPqWE5h— RolexMiddleSeaRace (@RolexMiddleSea) 22 October 2016
Their ranks have included Sir Francis Chichester and Herbert von Karajan -- the great conductor who indulged his passion for competitive sailing here -- while the event also boasts craft at the cutting edge of design and technology.Read: America's Cup: Will mind or machine win the day?This year's event saw Maserati, skippered by Giovanni Soldini, take multihull line honors in a record two days, one hour and 25 minutes -- a little over 10 hours better than the previous best.JUST WATCHEDHow to be a sports photography iconReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHHow to be a sports photography icon 07:51Its victory had appeared unlikely as Phaedo3 -- the previous record holder -- forged what seemed to be a comfortable lead.But a late navigation error opened the door for Maserati and a delighted Soldini told the official race website: "A race is never over until you finish. Anything can happen."Meanwhile, monohull line honors went to American Maxi yacht Rambler 88 in two days, 14 hours and three minutes.It was the second year in a row that owner George David's craft had taken the crown, with the win coming after a close battle with Danish rival Trifork.JUST WATCHEDFlying in the sky to photograph the sea ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHFlying in the sky to photograph the sea 06:01Speaking afterward, David said he and his crew took almost as much pleasure from where they were as from what they had achieved."We keep coming back because of the beauty of Malta, the hospitality of the people and the scenic views on the racecourse," he said."This is the most beautiful racecourse in the world -- and that's a fact."This, in other words, is anything but plain sailing. | 5sport
|
Story highlightsPrincess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill met through mutual friends in New York"I immediately felt something special with Madeleine," says O'NeillMadeleine is the third child of Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen SilviaThe wedding is planned for next summer but no date has yet been announcedSweden's royals will soon be welcoming an American into the family, after the royal court announced Thursday the engagement of Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill, a wealthy New York financier.The brown-haired, blue-eyed princess described O'Neill as her "soulmate" and said he had opened her heart -- perhaps reflecting her heartbreak after a previous engagement was called off in 2010 amid reports of infidelity by her then fiance.Princess Madeleine Therese Amelie Josephine, to give her full name, is the youngest child of Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia and fourth in line to the Scandanavian nation's throne.The couple, who live in New York, met through mutual friends, Madeleine said, in an interview released by the royal court along with the engagement announcement.Madeleine, 30, said they had been great friends at first before romance blossomed, sharing the same humor and having "a lot of fun together."JUST WATCHEDSweden's new princess is bornReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHSweden's new princess is born 01:12Read more: When UK's William and Kate got married"I appreciate Chris for his warmth and his humor. He has a very big heart and he manages to make everyone in his presence feel good. Christopher is a very thoughtful and generous person," she said.Love struck quicker for O'Neill, who said that "from the very outset, I immediately felt something special with Madeleine."Princess Madeleine said the proposal, earlier this month, had been "very romantic and intimate" but that they wanted to keep the details to themselves.O'Neill, who has dual British-American citizenship, confirmed he had taken the traditional route and asked her father, the king, for her hand in marriage.The king gave his consent and "requested the approval by the Swedish Government, in accordance with the procedures set out in the Swedish Constitution," the court announcement said.Queen Silvia is quoted by Swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladet as saying: "The princess is very happy and so are we. He is a real dream-son-in-law."The wedding will take place in summer 2013 but a date has not yet been announced.O'Neill may have been reassured by the fact he's not the first commoner to marry into Sweden's royal family in recent years.Madeleine's elder sister, Crown Princess Victoria, wed her former personal trainer in June 2010. Gym owner Daniel Westling was given the title Prince Daniel, Duke of Vaestergoetland, on their marriage. The couple had a daughter in February who became second in line to the throne of Sweden, as the first grandchild of the king and queen. O'Neill, 38, says he is still working on learning Swedish but has been given a warm welcome by the royal family.Brides no longer wedded to white"I felt part of the family right from the very beginning. Madeleine's family is very warm and we have a very good time when we all see each other," he said.Born in London, where his late father Paul O'Neill was posted from his native New York, Christopher was educated at a Swiss boarding school before gaining an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York, according to an official biography provided by the Swedish court.A 16-year career within the field of finance followed. He is currently a partner and head of research at Noster Capital, which has offices in New York and London -- as well as being a keen sportsman and Chelsea Football Club fan.His mother, Eva Maria O'Neill, is quoted by the court as saying: "As the mother of Christopher O'Neill I am delighted at the happy news. I look forward to welcoming Princess Madeleine, who I am very fond of, into our family. I wish them both all possible happiness."The couple will remain in New York for the time being but have not ruled out a move to Sweden in future.Madeleine reportedly moved to New York in 2010 to get over her split from ex-fiance Jonas Bergstrom, which came just two months before her sister's wedding.The broken tryst followed reports that Bergstrom was "intimate" with a Norwegian college student and handball star while they were engaged. | 3news
|
(CNN)A stash of illegal drugs was found last week in the headquarters of the UK's Home Office, the government department tasked with cracking down on illicit drug use.The small quantity of suspected Class A drugs was discovered May 3 in a communal area of the building in central London, a Home Office spokesman said Saturday in a statement. Class A drugs are deemed the most harmful and addictive in Britain and include crack cocaine, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, LSD, magic mushrooms, methadone and methamphetamine -- more commonly known as crystal meth.The drugs were found by security staff and no suspects have been identified, a London Metropolitan Police spokeswoman told CNN.JUST WATCHEDCaribbean immigrants in UK face deportationReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHCaribbean immigrants in UK face deportation 02:27The Home Office is the lead government agency overseeing national security, immigration and passports, drug policy, crime and counterterrorism.Read MoreIn recent weeks it has come under fire for its handling of the so-called Windrush generation, men and women from the Caribbean who arrived legally in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s but who have struggled to prove their citizenship status amid a recent crackdown on illegal immigration. The department revealed last month that it had destroyed landing card slips that documented arrival dates for many of the immigrants, creating confusion for descendants who now must prove a citizenship status they previously took for granted.Home Secretary Amber Rudd quit the top Cabinet post after admitting she "inadvertently misled" a parliamentary committee over targets for the deportation of illegal immigrants.She was replaced by Sajid Javid, a second-generation immigrant whose parents came to Britain from Pakistan and who is the first member of an ethnic minority to hold the position.On the same day the drug find was revealed, Javid tweeted a photo of himself with a sniffer dog at London's Heathrow Airport.As well as our committed and professional staff, we also have impressive four-legged friends in Border Force like Trigger - helping sniff out drugs, cash and illicit goods. Go Trigger! pic.twitter.com/QIi4feVGVd— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) May 12, 2018
"As well as our committed and professional staff, we also have impressive four-legged friends in Border Force like Trigger -- helping sniff out drugs, cash and illicit goods," he tweeted.A Twitter user, Mat Hudson, replied: "I'd keep him out of the Home Office, Sajid."CNN's Duarte Mendonca contributed to this report | 3news
|
London (CNN)UK opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has set out his plan to stop Boris Johnson from leading the country into what many fear could be a catastrophic 'no-deal' Brexit.The Labour Party leader has announced he will begin consideration of a vote of no confidence in Johnson's government "at the earliest opportunity" and seek to form a "strictly time-limited" caretaker government, in a letter sent Wednesday to leaders of other UK parties and senior backbenchers in Parliament in the hope of rallying their support.Corbyn did not specify a date for a no confidence vote, however it would have to be after parliament returns from summer recess on September 3 and before the current Brexit deadline of October 31. No-deal Brexit is now effectively the default, senior UK minister saysPrime Minister Boris Johnson has a parliamentary majority of one. This makes him vulnerable to losing a vote of no confidence. And while bringing down his government wouldn't automatically stop a no-deal Brexit, it could trigger a series of events that leads to him requesting a Brexit extension.If the vote of no confidence is successful, Corbyn says in the letter that he would then ask permission from the House of Commons to form a "strictly time-limited" caretaker government with the aim of calling a general election "and securing the necessary extension of Article 50 to do so".Read MoreCorbyn promises that -- in the case of a general election -- Labour would offer the public a second chance of voting on whether to leave the European Union at all. He says one of the options on the ballot would be to remain in the EU.This is in stark contrast to Johnson's "do or die" policy of leaving the EU by October 31."This government has no mandate for No Deal, and the 2016 EU referendum provided no mandate for No Deal," Corbyn writes.Brexit is becoming the nightmare business has long fearedThe letter -- seen by CNN - is addressed to Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson, Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts, SNP Westminster Group leader Ian Blackford, and Green Party leader Caroline Lucas.Swinson has signaled the Liberal Democrats would consider backing Labour to stop Brexit. "Working with other parties is the only way to stop Boris, and stop Brexit," Swinson tweeted Tuesday, in response to a call from Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson for his party to work with the Lib Dems to stop a no-deal Brexit.Swinson and Watson also appeared together at an event Tuesday, where they discussed stopping a no-deal Brexit with young people. "We should work together to solve Brexit, to stop Boris Johnson and his anti-democratic attempts to crash out and maybe give us a general election during the middle of that," Watson said. "I think we've got the good will and those relationships to make that work positively because our country is facing a crisis," Swinson added.The letter also addresses Conservative pro-Remainers Dominic Grieve and Oliver Letwin, plus Independent Nick Boles -- who quit the Conservative party after his plan for a softer Brexit was defeated in parliament. Former Conservative cabinet minister Caroline Spelman, who has campaigned against a no-deal Brexit, was also sent the letter. Boris Johnson could be the last prime minister of the United KingdomCorbyn says he would welcome the chance to discuss his proposals with them, which he hopes "can halt the serious threat of No Deal, end the uncertainty and disarray, and allow the public to decide the best way ahead for our country.""Jeremy Corbyn wants to cancel the referendum and argue about Brexit for years. I am committed to leading our country forward and getting Britain out of the EU by October 31st," Johnson tweeted Wednesday.He also spoke about no-deal Brexit in a Facebook live video from Downing Street Wednesday, saying: "Our European friends are not moving in their willingness to compromise, they're not compromising at all on the Withdrawal Agreement even though it's been thrown out three times, they're sticking to every letter, every comma of the withdrawal agreement -- including the backstop -- because they still think Brexit can be blocked in Parliament."And so the awful thing is, the longer that goes on the more likely we will be forced to leave with a no-deal Brexit, that's not what I want," he warned.Since taking office, Johnson has brought many hardline Brexiteers into his cabinet and onto his team of advisors, and in the past few weeks, no deal has gone from something barely anyone believed could happen to arguably the most likely outcome.Should Parliament topple the government, it becomes very likely that Johnson would have to call a general election. When that election would be has become one of the most talked-about issues in Britain and in Brussels. Some think that Johnson would call for an election after the Brexit date, meaning in theory that he can run the clock down to a no-deal Brexit with nothing in his way.If no-deal really is as catastrophic as some have predicted, then it's hard to see how that would help Johnson during an election campaign. At that point, he would own no-deal.If he loses a confidence vote, however, Johnson could theoretically play another card. He could request an extension, then immediately unleash hell on the people who made him do it -- the majority of Parliament who do not want to leave without a deal. That could turn a general election into a fight between the people who "stole" Brexit and the man who, with a bigger majority in Parliament, would finally get the job done.Should that happen and should Johnson win a parliamentary majority, then expect to see the language harden. Johnson will have a mandate to deliver a no-deal Brexit and he will have the majority to do it. He will probably revert to his plan of trying to scare Brussels into making concessions. | 3news
|
Story highlightsRory McIlroy endured a difficult first day in Abu Dhabi following round of three-over-parWorld No.1 used his Nike clubs for first time since signing bumper pay dealTiger Woods finishes level for the day after carding a 72Justin Rose and Jamie Donaldson lead the way on five-under after first roundRory McIlroy says he is desperate to get back on track in Abu Dhabi after a disappointing first round of the new season.Fresh from signing his new bumper multi-year deal with Nike, McIlroy struggled to adapt to his new clubs and hit two double bogeys on his way to a three-over-par 75.Playing alongside stablemate Tiger Woods, who finished level for the day, McIlroy failed to impress on his return to the course where he came second behind Robert Rock last year.Nike unveils Rory McIlroy: Tiger's heir apparentBut the World No.1 says he will improve when he steps out for his second round Friday.JUST WATCHEDGolfer Rory McIlroy signs with NikeReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHGolfer Rory McIlroy signs with Nike 05:29JUST WATCHED2012: A game changer for McIlroy?ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCH2012: A game changer for McIlroy? 04:44JUST WATCHEDExclusive: Tiger and Rory's 'bromance'ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHExclusive: Tiger and Rory's 'bromance' 09:34"Yeah, a bit of rust for sure," he told reporters, after being asked why he started so poorly."Not playing any competitive golf for eight weeks. I guess when you're going out with new stuff, you're always going to be a little bit anxious about hitting it close like you've done on the range and today that wasn't quite the case. Hopefully I can do that tomorrow."I was really happy with the way the ball is in the wind. I was really happy with the irons and the wedge play."I wasn't very comfortable off the tee, but just because I didn't feel like I was swinging it that well."How player power tipped Ryder Cup captaincyMcIlroy's European Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose leads the way on five-under-par alongside Irish Open champion Jamie Donaldson.Rose shot a bogey-free round of 67 but is expecting both Woods and McIlroy to threaten as the competition progresses."It's the first round of the year. There are a lot of factors involved, certainly a lot of factors for Rory involved this week," he said.Tiger-Rory 'bromance': Can sports rivals really be friends?"That's not his normal preparation with what he has had to obviously encounter the last couple of weeks, I'm sure."Tiger shot level and that's well within the golf tournament. So for me there's really no surprises there."Defending champion Rock finished on 76, while Ernie Els, playing alongside Rock and Rose, had a 71, the same as Martin Kaymer. | 5sport
|