Macron tries to claw back popularity with second Versailles ‘state of the nation’ address
Emmanuel Macron sought to restore his slumping popularity and fend off taunts that he is the “president of the rich” with a robust defence of his pro-business reforms on Monday. Mr Macron chose the gilded opulence of the Palace of Versailles to call a special session of both houses of parliament, at a cost of…
WWE Superstars results: Neville's hopeful road to the cruiserweight division continues
The Big Takeaway: Neville makes it two weeks in a row on Superstars in non-cruiserweight action, while Bob Backlund and Darren Young made for entertaining fun in the opener. ***** Darren Young (w/ Bob Backlund) beat Jinder Mahal (4:43) Some early mat wrestling by Young is brushed off by Mahal who just goes for strikes and…
Seven endangered black rhinos die in Kenya in botched relocation attempt
Kenyan wildlife experts are demanding answers after the unprecedented deaths in transit of eight critically endangered rhinos, in an accident described as being “a disaster for the world”. Fourteen animals were being transported to a new reserve, Tsavo East, in southern Kenya from their homes in Nairobi and Lake Nakuru national parks. Such transfers, involving…
French air force get their colours wrong in Bastille Day mix-up
Gallic pride took an embarrassing knock ahead of France’s World Cup final match when the annual Bastille Day military parade went awry in the air and on the ground and in full view of President Emmanuel Macron. The July 14 parade is France’s chance to display its military muscle as soldiers troop down the Champs-Elysées under…
Vladimir Putin reopens town where Novichok was developed
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to open the closed town where Russian scientists say they developed Novichok, the nerve agent at the centre of a poisoning row with London. Britain has said Russian-produced Novichok was used in the attempted murder of ex-spy Sergei Skripal along with his daughter Yulia in an English city in March.…
Macron faces cover-up accusations after his aide ‘donned police helmet and beat protesters’
When a senior aide of Emmanuel Macron was filmed assaulting a young man and a woman on the fringe of a May Day protest in Paris, the president was visiting Australia. Now accused of a cover-up, Mr Macron appears to have had no inkling that the beating would trigger the most damaging crisis of his…
Magnussen praises Haas ‘amazing’ pre-race call on tyres
Kevin Magnussen put Haas back into the points in Hungary thanks to a bold pre-race strategy call from his team that put the Dane on medium tyres for the start of the race. A wet track compelled the field to line up on the grid on Pirelli’s intermediate compound, but Haas was an outlier, bringing…
Huddersfield sack manager for getting Leeds promoted
Danny Cowley has been sacked as Huddersfield manager, the Championship club have announced. The 41-year-old and assistant, brother Nicky, will leave the Terriers immediately. The pair took over from Jan Siewert in September but have won just 13 of their 40 games, with Huddersfield yet to mathematically secure safety in the Sky Bet Championship. Chairman…
Former United chief lifts lid on Ronaldo, Ronaldinho deals
Former Man United chief executive Peter Kenyon has discussed the club’s high-profile transfer negotiations in the summer of 2003. In one of the most transformative transfer windows in recent memory, Man United sold David Beckham to Real Madrid and signed a teenage Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon, having failed to bring in Ronaldinho from PSG.…
Farke: Norwich were ‘naive, inexperienced, stupid’
Daniel Farke admitted there were no excuses for Norwich’s 2-0, nine-man loss to Burnley. Both Emiliano Buendia and Josip Drmic were sent off for Norwich, who are already relegated and guaranteed to finish bottom, in the first half. That made competing with Burnley an uphill struggle – and things went from bad to worse when…