Top seed and world number one Swiatek will take on a qualifier in her opener with Osaka facing Lucia Bronzetti of Italy in her first round tie. Swiatek is bidding to win a fifth major and fourth French Open title. "It feels like home here," said Swiatek who arrives at the tournament with clay-court titles in Madrid and Rome under her belt. "I have been working hard to play at a high level." Former world number one Osaka, now ranked 134, has never got past the third round in Paris. Bronzetti... Читать дальше...
Nearly 16,000 kilometres (9,950 miles) from the French capital, the French Pacific island of Tahiti was chosen to host the surfing events. This week's event, which finally got underway on Thursday, is officially a World Surf League event but it is really a chance to whet the appetite at one of the world's top surfing venues. "It's one of the best surfs in the world," the American John John Florence told AFP. "The way the reef is, it's as deep as you can imagine and you've got the open ocean swell. Читать дальше...
The war raging in Gaza has given added prominence to director Mahdi Fleifel’s drama “To a Land Unknown”, the only Palestinian film to be screened in Cannes this year. While festival organisers have reined in protests, filmmakers, actors and activists have sought to shed light on the plight of Gaza’s population and the hostages still held in the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave.
Spain, Ireland and Norway said Wednesday that they would recognize a Palestinian state on May 28, a step toward a long-held Palestinian aspiration that came amid international outrage over the civilian death toll and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip following Israel’s offensive. Currently, seven members of the 27-nation European Union officially recognize a Palestinian state. Five of them are former east bloc countries who announced recognition in 1988, as did Cyprus, before joining the bloc. Читать дальше...
More than two metres (seven feet) tall, the titan arum is the star attraction of the Meise Botanic Garden just outside Brussels. The plant, resembling a lusty triffid, is popularly known as "Titan's penis" for its phallic shape, reflected in its scientific name, Amorphophallus titanum. To further add to its appeal, it also stinks like rotting meat, which gives rise to another name it is known by, the "corpse flower". That odour -- "a bit like garbage that's been left out in the sun for too long" -- is to lure insects to help it pollinate... Читать дальше...
FRANCE 24’s broadcasts and digital platforms are disrupted Thursday by a strike called by unions at France Médias Monde, which includes FRANCE 24, Radio France Internationale and Arabic-language radio station Monte Carlo Doualiya.
"Unfortunately pulling out of @rolandgarros this year," the American posted on Instagram. "I'm just about back to practicing normal (haven't had any issues for weeks) but played it super safe with recovery & return to play. "If I had another 5-7 days I would have been there 100%." Pegula, 30, has not played an official match since the Billie Jean King Cup in mid-April. She then withdrew from the Madrid Open after "hurting herself", without giving any further details on the nature of her injury. Читать дальше...
Israeli troops withdrew from the city early Thursday, the correspondent said, after carrying out raids in the city's refugee camp and exchanging fire with masked gunmen in a nearby neighbourhood in the city centre. The Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah said Israeli forces had killed 12 people including four children, and wounded 25 during the fighting which began on Tuesday morning. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa and medical charity Doctors Without Borders reported that surgeon Usaeed Jabareen... Читать дальше...
Climbers usually take days to reach the top of the 8,849-metre (29,000-foot) mountain, spending nights on its different camps to rest and acclimatise. But Lama, who is in her thirties, shaved more than 11 hours off the previous best that had stood since 2021. It means she has reclaimed her own world record. "She started (from the base camp) at 15:52 on May 22, summited 6:23 am May 23," Khim Lal Gautam, chief of the tourism's department field office at the base camp, told AFP. Earlier this month... Читать дальше...
Israeli forces carried out raids in the West Bank city of Jenin for a second day Wednesday, an AFP correspondent reported, with at least 10 Palestinians killed in the fighting. Smoke billowed over the city's refugee camp in the afternoon, with explosions and gunfire heard from inside, while soldiers in Israeli armoured vehicles fired at masked youths in the city centre, the correspondent said.
Norway, Ireland and Spain said Wednesday they would recognize a Palestinian state, a historic but largely symbolic move that further deepens Israel’s isolation more than seven months into its grinding war against Hamas in Gaza. Israel denounced the decisions and recalled its ambassadors to the three countries. Palestinian officials welcomed the announcements as an affirmation of their decades-long quest for statehood in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip — territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war and still controls.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday set July 4 as the date for a national election that will determine who governs the UK, as his divided and demoralized Conservative Party looks likely to lose power after 14 years.
Estimated at between 12,000 and 15,000 euros ($13,000-$16,240), the angular axe from a band better remembered for smashing instruments will be on offer in the afternoon at the De Baecque auction house. The guitar was a "prototype" built by German guitar-maker Warwick "at John Entwistle's request after he sketched it," auctioneer Etienne de Baecque said, before a limited run were offered for sale. Entwistle, whose signature in gold felt-tip pen adorns the rear of the bass, gave the model away after... Читать дальше...
Nepal said they were keen to select Lamichhane, who had his eight-year sentence for rape quashed on appeal last week. Cricket Association of Nepal president Chatur Bahadur Chand told AFP on Thursday that they were "trying to see if we can still make it possible for him to join". Former captain Lamichhane said late on Wednesday that the US Embassy in Nepal had "denied my visa for the T20 World Cup", calling the decision "unfortunate". "I am sorry to all the well-wishers of Nepal Cricket," Lamichhane posted on social media platform X. Читать дальше...
In anyone's book this is a final to savour. In one corner Toulouse, the most successful team in the history of the competition in its several incarnations, having won five times since it began in 1996, when they beat Cardiff in the final. In the other corner Leinster, the next most successful side with their fourth title coming in 2018, since when they have been runners-up three times. "Playing a final against Leinster, who are the second most successful team in Europe after us, has got everyone... Читать дальше...
Ponting, 49, is head coach of Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League and has television commitments in Australia. He is also the head of strategy at Hobart Hurricanes for Australia's Big Bash League and head coach of Washington Freedom in the US Major League Cricket tournament. "I've seen a lot of reports about it," Ponting was quoted as saying Thursday by the International Cricket Council website. "There were a few little one-on-one conversations during the IPL, just to get a level of interest... Читать дальше...
"They are the story" of Masharawi's project, which he presented at the Cannes Film Festival in France, more than seven months after the conflict erupted. "They were fighting to protect their lives, their families, to search for food, for wood to make a fire," said Masharawi The result is a collection of short films called "Ground Zero" recounting the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and ensuing humanitarian disaster from the perspective of civilians on the ground. In one, a mother displaced by the... Читать дальше...
Bengaluru were knocked out of the Indian Premier League playoffs by Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday in Ahmedabad with a distraught Kohli tipping the bails after the four-wicket loss. Kohli, 35, has led the Twenty20 tournament's batting charts with 741 runs, including a century and five fifties, but failed to inspire his team to the finish in a roller-coaster season. Flower said he was looking forward to watching the India cricket hero bat in the T20 World Cup starting June 1 in the West Indies and the United States. Читать дальше...
Doncic delivered his best when it mattered in the fourth quarter where he made 15 of his 33 points while Irving had set the tone early with 24 of his 30 points coming in the first half. Karly-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, the main points threat for the Timberwolves, were limited by the Dallas defense. Edwards had 19 points and Towns had 16 and together they shot 12 for 36 from the field. Minnesota took a 102-98 lead with 3:37 left in the fourth after a 24-foot three-pointer from Edwards. Dallas responded with eight unanswered points, P.
South Korea is home to the world's top memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix and last year pledged to build the world's largest chip centre using $456 billion of private investment as it seeks an edge in the global industry. "We have created a comprehensive support programme for the semiconductor industry worth 26 trillion Korean won, which encompasses financial, infrastructure, research and development, as well as support for small and medium-sized companies," he said, according to a statement from his office. Читать дальше...
Israeli tanks advanced to the edge of a crowded district in the heart of Rafah. On Gaza's northern edge in Jabalia, Israeli forces pressed on with a ground offensive that has carried on in parallel with the Rafah assault for two weeks. Health officials and residents say entire residential districts have been destroyed and dozens of people killed in the operation. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments in the war on Gaza.
Raisi, 63, died on Sunday alongside his foreign minister and six others when their helicopter crashed in the country's mountainous northwest while returning from a dam inauguration. Thousands of people, holding placards of Raisi and waving flags, marched in the eastern city of Birjand on Thursday morning to bid the president farewell. His final resting place will be at the holy shrine of Imam Reza, a key Shiite mausoleum in the northeastern city of Mashhad, where the ultra-conservative president was born. Читать дальше...
Taiwan's military mobilized its forces and said it was confident it could protect the island, after China started two days of "punishment" drills around Taiwan on Thursday in what it said was a response to "separatist acts".
Led by skipper and Spurs ace Son Heung-min, South Korea are on course to reach the next stage of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. But all is not well in South Korean football. Despite boasting the likes of Son and Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae, the Koreans were beaten 2-0 by underdogs Jordan in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup in Qatar. It then emerged there had been a bust-up on the eve of the game between Son and Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain, leaving the captain with a dislocated finger. Читать дальше...
