RENNES, June 26 -- With victorious Dutch rivals passing her on the way out of the stadium, Japan’s captain seemed to find solace in speaking about the penalty long after it cost her team a place in the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup. Tears were still flowing from Saki Kumagai’s eyes more than 30 minutes later. With Tuesday night’s game entering the 90th minute locked at 1-1, Kumagai’s outstretched left arm blocked the shot Vivianne Miedema had aimed into the right side of the net. “It hit my hand for sure,” Kumagai said. “It’s difficult to accept but it’s also sad. I know that is football.” Referee Melissa Borjas pointed to the penalty spot and Lieke Martens netted her second goal of the game in the 90th minute to seal a 2-1 victory that sent the Netherlands into the quarterfinals for the first time. “We have made history,” Martens said. “I’m not usually taking the penalties but I felt really good this game. I asked Sherida Spitse if I could take it and she gave it directly to me and I felt quite relaxed about it.” The reigning European champions will need to maintain that composure as they prepare for a meeting with Italy on Saturday after going one stage further than their Women’s World Cup debut four years ago. “We were standing in the circle after the match and we were so happy, yelling at each other,” Netherlands coach Sarina Wiegman said. “We were saying, ‘Let’s continue writing history.'” It is journey’s end for Japan, which won the 2011 tournament and was the runner-up four years later. As befitting a meeting of the Asian and European champions, the game produced some of the slickest action of the World Cup. A backheel flick set up Martens to send the Dutch in front in the 17th minute and Yui Hasegawa equalized in the 43rd to complete a slick passing move. But the post, crossbar and goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal thwarted Japan’s pursuit of a winning goal. “I think we lacked the clinical edge,” Japan coach Asako Takakura said. “We have to accept the result, we’re defeated, we’re very disappointed and for all the players I feel very sorry for them and frustrated.” A frustrated Takakura said she hoped her team, which included 17 players at their first World Cup, would learn from the experience as they shifted their focus to winning Olympic gold on home soil at the 2020 Tokyo Games. “We weren’t strong enough to win. It’s really disappointing. I hope the players will continue to grow as we aim toward the Olympics a year from now,” Takakura said. The 51-year-old manager, who took the reins in 2016, blamed her own “lack of ability” for Japan’s tournament exit. “We certainly weren’t the worse team in every aspect. “VAR exists. Sometimes cruel decisions have been taken in other matches. Today it went against us. We need to look forward and accept the decision.” With the last Asian team eliminated, the Women’s World Cup will have a record seven European teams in the quarterfinals. Norway and England meet in Le Havre on Thursday and France takes on the United States the following night. After the Netherlands plays Italy on Saturday, Germany and Sweden will meet. “It’s really tough to be here,” Netherlands forward Miedema said. “Sometimes it kind of feels like a Euros.” That is a title already won by this team, thanks to Miedema’s goals in the final two years ago on home soil. The fans won’t have far to travel for the World Cup quarterfinal, with Valenciennes around two hours’ drive from the Netherlands. It will be another chance for the orange-clad fans who danced and sang their way in a convoy to the stadium on Tuesday to stamp their mark on this tournament. They were certainly given a game to savor, and an audacious opening goal. Martens flicked in the opener after evading her marker to meet a corner and send the ball through the legs of Yuika Sugasawa into the net. Sugasawa had a quick chance to tie, only to hit the post. But Japan did equalize by completing an intricate move. Hina Sugita squared across the penalty area to Yuika Sugasawa, who passed back to Mana Iwabuchi on the edge of the penalty area. After holding off Jackie Groenen on the turn, Iwabuchi slipped the ball through to Hasegawa, who was free to delicately dink a shot over Van Veenendaal into the corner of the net. It was some way to make the most of a first shot on target for a team that failed to score in two of its three group stage games. But parity nearly didn’t last long. Miedema received the ball from Shanice van de Sanden but with only Ayaka Yamashita to beat struck straight at the Japan goalkeeper. Van Veenendaal came to the rescue of the Dutch in the second half by denying Emi Nakajima as Japan chased the winner, later preventing substitute Yuka Momiki scoring with another excellent stop in the 80th minute. “Japan is a world class team and you saw that today,” Miedema said. “In the second half you can see they have loads of quality on the pitch.” The strength of Japan’s second-half display counted for nothing, despite Wiegman’s praise of her defeated opponents. “We were really struggling in the second half. A lot of that had to with Japan’s qualities,” Wiegman said. “I can start seeing things we did badly, but it was definitely Japan playing well too.” Momiki, part of the new generation who hoped to emulate the 2011 World Cup-winning Japan team, said much work was needed to reach the heights of their predecessors. “The rest of the world is improving quickly, and we’re not keeping up,” the 23-year-old Nippon TV Beleza midfielder said. Her thoughts were echoed by her captain Kumagai, who has been a key part of Nadeshiko’s squad since 2010 and participated in all of its glories since, including a silver-medal finish at the 2012 London Olympics and last year’s Asian Cup. “Our team is not the same as in 2011 or in 2015. Now we have a lot of young players but we need to progress more,” said Kumagai.
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LE CASTELLET, June 21 -- Daniel Ricciardo has been handed two five-second time penalties for overtaking off the track in the frantic final lap of the French Grand Prix, which drops the Renault driver out of the points from seventh to 11th place. With Lando Norris suffering a hydraulics issue in his McLaren in the closing laps, Ricciardo looked to charge past on the final lap at the chicane on the Mistral straight. But after running wide, Ricciardo re-joined in seventh place ahead of Norris, who also went off track, which enabled Kimi Raikkonen to pass them both in the Alfa Romeo as he had better momentum on the exit of the chicane. Ricciardo duly fought back and overtook the Finn, with all four of his tyres going over track limits, to retake seventh place where he finished the race. Ricciardo, along with Norris and Raikkonen, were all summoned to an FIA race stewards investigation over the incidents. The Renault driver has been found the guilty party in both incidents and given separate five-second penalties for each, totalling 10 seconds, which drops him from seventh place to 11th in the final French GP classification. The penalties see Raikkonen promoted to seventh place, Nico Hulkenberg up to eighth place in the second Renault, Norris up to ninth for McLaren while Pierre Gasly also profits to take the final point in 10th place for Red Bull. Ricciardo has also picked up a total of three penalty points on his race licence for the two incidents, raising his total to five over the last 12 months.
LE CASTELLET, June 21 -- Starting grid for the French Grand Prix at the Circuit Paul Ricard, round eight of the 2019 Formula 1 season.
2019 Formula 1 French Grand Prix - Race Results
Note: *Sebastian Vettel: Fastest Race Lap
LE CASTELLET, June 21 -- Starting grid for the French Grand Prix at the Circuit Paul Ricard, round eight of the 2019 Formula 1 season.
2019 Formula 1 French Grand Prix - Starting Grid
Note: *Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) and **George Russell (Williams):
Required to start from the back of the starting grid for taking on additional power unit elements. PARIS, June 22 -- Yellow Vests rallies continue in the French capital and other cities across the country to express ' opposition to the Macron government's policies. Some protestors have also gathered at toll roads to prevent them from accepting payments, making them open for everyone for free. Yellow Vests are holding protests for the 32nd consecutive weekend in parts of France. The movement emerged in France in mid-November over planned fuel tax hikes. While the French government abandoned its plans and even introduced measures to improve the economic and social situation in the country, protesters continue to take to the streets across France every weekend to express their discontent with the government's policies.
2019 Formula 1 French Grand Prix - Qualifying Results
Note: * -
LE CASTELLET, June 21 -- Full results from third practice for the French Grand Prix at the Circuit Paul Ricard, round eight of the 2019 Formula 1 season.
2019 Formula 1 French Grand Prix - Free Practice 3 Results
Note: * -
LE CASTELLET, June 21 -- Full results from second practice for the French Grand Prix at the Circuit Paul Ricard, round eight of the 2019 Formula 1 season.
2019 Formula 1 French Grand Prix - Free Practice 2 Results
Note: * Faces investigation for Max Verstappen FP2 incident
LE CASTELLET, June 21 -- Full results from first practice for the French Grand Prix at the Circuit Paul Ricard, round eight of the 2019 Formula 1 season.
2019 Formula 1 French Grand Prix - Free Practice 1 Results
Note:
LE MANS, June 16 -- Full race results of the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe, round eight of the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship season. Late heartbreak for the #7 Toyota crew hands victory to Alonso, Buemi and Nakajima in the final hour of the race, while there is GTE success for Ferrari. Fernando Alonso claimed back-to-back victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, overtaking the rival Toyota on the final hour before holding on to win the famous sportscar race.The #8 Toyota of Alonso, Kazuki Nakajima and Sebastien Buemi also became 2018-2019 World Endurance Champions after the sister car, the #7 Toyota, was beset by problems in the final hour, including a puncture that denied them what had seemed like a certain victory. Former F1 world champion Alonso was part of Toyota's winning team a year ago on his first outing at the event. LE MANS, June 15 -- Lights are out and racing is underway at the Circuit de La Sarthe for the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race, with an all-Toyota front row led by the #7 car of trio of Mike Conway, Kamui Koboyashi and Jose Maria Lopez. Second after Thursday’s qualifying is the #8 car of last year’s winners Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and former Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso. The 37-year-old Spaniard is hoping to add back-to-back Le Mans 24 Hour titles to his two F1 trophies in his last appearance at the classic race. Alonso is one of the main drawcards at the 2019 event – despite an almost certain win for the Toyota hybrids, barring an accident. The Japanese team was unchallenged last year after Porsche and Audi pulled out, leaving Toyota Gazoo Racing as the only manufacturer in the top LMP1 category. But it’s far from just the elite prototype class that brings the 250,000 spectators to the Le Mans 24 Hours, with professional race drivers mixing it with amateurs in the other LMP2, GTE Pro and GTE Am categories. The top LMP2 starter is the #28 TDS Racing Oreca of François Perrodo, Loïc Duval and Mattheiu Vaxiviere, who inherited the category pole after the Graff squad was stripped of it, following Vincent Capillaire’s failing to come in for a random weight check by the stewards. Aston Martin took top spot in the GTE Pro class thanks to Marco Sorensen who put the #95 Vantage ahead of Ford, Corvette and Porsche. Porsche also locked out the top three places in GTE Am, with Matteo Cairoli taking pole in the #88 Dempsey-Proton car with a best time of 3m51.439s. PARIS, June 15 -- The mass demonstrations in France are continuing for the 31st week in a row, as people take to the streets of Paris and other cities to show their indignation at French President Emmanuel Macron's economic reforms. The wave of yellow vests rallies started in France in mid-November over a planned hike in fuel taxes. While the French government has abandoned its plans to raise fuel taxes and introduced other measures aimed at improving the country's socioeconomic situation, protesters have continued to take to the streets across the country every weekend to express their discontent with government policies. The rallies frequently lead to damage and clashes between the police and activists. PARIS, June 11 -– A man died in Paris after his electric scooter collided with a lorry, sources said on Tuesday (June 11), the first such fatality involving the increasingly-popular devices in the French capital as concern grows over their safety. The 25-year-old was riding the scooter in the bustling Goutte d’Or neighbourhood in the north of the city when the accident happened late Monday. He was rushed to hospital where he died of his injuries, the Paris emergency services said. The lorry driver has been detained with prosecutors opening an investigation into “involuntary homicide”. A source close to the case, who asked not to be named, said the lorry driver had priority on the road at the time. It was the first deadly accident involving an electric scooter within the city limits, police and the mayor’s office confirmed. According to press reports, an 81-year-old man died in April in Levallois-Perret outside Paris, days after being knocked over by an electric scooter. TOTALLY ANARCHIC Just a year after they first appeared on the Paris streets, mushrooming electric scooters have become a gigantic headache for the Paris authorities who are now rushing to implement some kind of framework for their use. Monday’s deadly accident has “underlined the need to emphasise the elementary rules that users must respect,” deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said. “The police need to act to penalise users who, for example, cross a red light,” he said. Mayor Anne Hidalgo had on Thursday announced a ban on parking electric scooters on the pavement and said their speed on roads should be limited to 20kmh. Paris has already introduced fines of €135 (S$209) for riding electric scooters on the pavement. Fans have embraced scooters as a quick and cheap way to get around, since the "dockless" devices are unlocked with a phone app and can be left anywhere when a ride is finished. DAMASCUS, June 10 -- Authorities in northeast Syria have been urging Western countries to take back citizens who joined Islamic State. France and the Netherlands have taken custody of 14 French and Dutch orphans of Islamic State (IS) fighters in northeast Syria, an official in the Kurdish-led administration there said on Monday. Authorities in northeast Syria have been urging Western countries to take back citizens who joined IS and their relatives after the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured the group's last enclave earlier this year. Abdulkarim Omar, co-chair of the foreign relations committee of the administration that runs the northeastern quarter of Syria held by the SDF, said it had handed over the children to foreign ministry delegations from France and the Netherlands. France took back 12 orphaned French children from IS families and the Netherlands took back two Dutch orphans, he said in Tweets. Last week, the Kurdish-led authorities said they had repatriated two US women along with six children. Few countries have yet seemed willing to take back their citizens, who may be hard to prosecute. The Kurdish-led administration and the SDF have said they cannot indefinitely hold thousands of foreigners, but no clear international policy has emerged over how to handle the issue. Many of the relatives of captured IS fighters are located in al-Hol, a camp for displaced people where aid agencies have warned of dire humanitarian conditions.
Under British and international law, it is illegal to make an individual stateless. Britain, however, can make its citizens stateless if they have dual nationality. Critics of the move claim that Javid made the decision to revoke Begum's citizenship because she would be eligible for Bangladeshi citizenship because of her parents' heritage. The Bangladesh government has rejected the UK claim that she is a Bangladesh citizen.
Frankly surprised On Sunday, one of Britain's most senior judges questioned Javid's decision to revoke Begum of her British citizenship. Jonathan Sumption, who retired as a justice of the Supreme Court in December, indicated that the Home Secretary may have broken international law with his actions. Speaking on the BBC's Reith Lecture, Lord Sumption said: "I am frankly surprised at the suggestion that she can be regarded as the citizen of a country with which she has never had anything to do [with], but that is the government's position and I have no doubt it will be tested in the courts in due course." Asked if the removal of citizenship also meant a person lost their standing under human rights, Lord Sumption said: "What they lose is their citizenship. That doesn't necessarily deprive them of their standing when it comes to human rights. "I have no problem with the notion of depriving people of their citizenship who have gone abroad to fight in foreign wars save this. "It's an established principle of international law that you cannot deprive somebody of his or her citizenship if the result would be to render them stateless. "And whatever they may have done in Syria or anywhere else, that rule has always been applied and will no doubt be applied in this case." Two independent legal challenges have been launched in response to Javid's decision to revoke Begum of her citizenship. PARIS, June 9 -- The number of demonstrators who gathered in the French capital last Saturday for a rally marking the 30th week of protests saw the lowest turnout since the movement began. According to the Midi Libre paper, French police have resorted to using water cannons and tear gas against yellow vests protesters in the southern city of Montpellier, as the demonstrations swept across the nation for the 30th Saturday in a row. Yellow vests protesters took to the streets of Paris and other cities on Saturday to show their indignation at police violence as well as French President Emmanuel Macron's economic reforms. In addition, about 2,000 yellow vest protesters marched in France's southern city of Montpellier on Saturday, police used tear gas and water cannons against the demonstrators, local media reported. The activists gathered in the centre of Montpellier at around 10 a.m. (08:00 GMT). Police used tear gas and water cannons against the protesters at noon, the French Midi Libre newspaper specified. According to French media, more than 10,000 protesters took part in the demonstrations across France. Two people received injuries as a result of the clashes and two people were arrested, according to the daily. |
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