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Gold medallist Scotland’s Reuben Ward celebrates on the podium after winning the Men’s All-Around Final along with silver medallist Canada’s Felix Dolci and bronze medallist Australia’s…
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel issued a sharp condemnation of Washington’s oil embargo and hardened sanctions in a speech Sunday, calling the policy of US President Donald Trump’s administration “political genocide.” Diaz-Canel criticised a recent US State Department report, which accused Cuba of infiltrating the US government and of backing an “unprecedented wave of leftwing terrorism on American soil.” The Trump administration has escalated its attacks on left-leaning groups inside the US. “By accusing Cuba, they are not only looking for a scapegoat, an external agent. They are looking for someone to blame for the protests of the sectors hardest hit by an economy that makes the rich richer and the poor poorer,” said Diaz-Canel. “They are looking for a new excuse to sustain their political genocide against Cuba.” The speech underscored growing tensions between Havana and Washington as the Trump administration’s oil embargo and expanded sanctions have deepened Cuba’s worst economic crisis in decades, triggering rolling blackouts and fuel shortages across the island. Diaz-Canel’s speech at dawn was part of government celebrations to mark the 73rd anniversary of the first offensive by Fidel Castro’s guerrillas against the army of US-backed leader Fulgencio Batista in 1953, starting a rebellion that brought down Batista more than five years later. The most important holiday on Cuba’s revolutionary calendar, Sunday’s event also featured artistic performances before thousands of government supporters. The island’s unprecedented economic crisis has driven various international companies, particularly in the tourism and financial sectors, to end operations in Cuba. In addition to the rolling blackouts, the depleted fuel supply has triggered multiple national-level grid collapses. The country’s public transportation has also been crippled and the school year was cut short for lack of fuel. Washington blames the Cuban government for economic mismanagement and a lack of investment in its aging infrastructure. In his speech, Diaz-Canel pleaded for an end to the sanctions and oil blockade and thanked international groups that have sent humanitarian aid and supplies to the island. “Let Cuba live in peace, and also let the noblest of the American people, who have historically fought for the human rights of other peoples, without expecting recognition and often facing persecution, imprisonment, and risks to their lives, live in peace,” he said. “Cuba is not a threat to the US or to any other country on earth.” Related Story Source link
World champion Lando Norris claimed his first win of the season and 12th of his career with a resounding triumph for McLaren ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen in Sunday's helter-skelter Hungarian Grand Prix.The 26-year-old Briton, who started from pole position but had to recover after a poor opening lap, came home 15 seconds clear of four-time world champion Verstappen with world championship leader Kimi Antonelli finishing third for Mercedes.The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton ended up fourth and fifth ahead of Isack Hadjar in the second Red Bull, George Russell in the second Mercedes and Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson.Nico Huelkenberg scored his first points of the season in ninth place for Audi ahead of rookie Arvid Lindblad in the second Racing Bulls. Norris repeated his success last season at the Hungaroring where McLaren have won for the last three years.Antonelli's determined drive, in a frantic race of divergent tyre strategies, lifted him 50 points clear of Hamilton in the championship.’Beautiful,’ said Norris on team radio. ‘The car was unbelievable today! Flying!’It's probably the best pace I've ever had,’ he said ‘This track is good for us.’Verstappen was critical of his car, but happy to claim another podium finish. ‘I didn't expect it today – we had to work very hard for this,’ he said.Antonelli said it had been a hard race. ‘It was so tough to overtake, but it is the best result for me to go into the break and now we can keep pushing.’The race began in scorching heat with the highest temperatures of the weekend – 31 Celsius (air) and 51 (track).Ferrari gambling on soft tyres for the start while all the started on mediums.Oscar Piastri made a fast start to pass Leclerc. When Norris went wide at Turn Two and Piastri took the lead while Hamilton passed Leclerc for fourth behind Verstappen.Behind them, the luckless Russell's Mercedes went into anti-stall on the grid. He fell from from sixth to 20th while team-mate Antonelli advanced to sixth.Hamilton attacked Verstappen without success and by lap 10 was losing grip.’Max is slow,’ reported Hamilton, who pitted to 'undercut' Verstappen on lap 14, rejoined 10th and stormed past Lindblad before Red Bull brought the Dutchman in on lap 15.Verstappen came out behind Hamilton, but regained his place with a lunge down the inside at Turn One.Piastri pitted from the lead, followed by Leclerc. It was frantic stuff and when Norris came in, Antonelli took over as leader.When the the Italian pitted, he returned in sixth. Piastri led folowed by team-mate Norris. The Briton requested a stop but McLaren brought in Paistri first.At halfway, Norris led Verstappen by five seconds.The Briton then pitted from the lead on lap 40 and returned in third, ahead of Piastri, the Australian having narrowly avoided a heavy collision with Carlos Sainz's Williams at Turn Two where they clashed. Sainz was given a five-seconds penalty.After Verstappen pitted again, Antonelli led with Norris in pursuit.Norris, on fresher tyres, regained the lead on lap 46 with a dive inside the young Italian at Turn One and built his advantage before Antonelli stopped again.Hopes of a McLaren 1-2 ended when Piastri slowed and retired with gearbox problems and a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed. Norris, Hamilton and Leclerc pitted for softs immediately.In a final flurry, Norris led Verstappen with Antonelli third, fending off Hamilton – penalised five seconds for speeding in the pit lane. Source link
French troops disembark from a US landing craft during a joint US and French amphibious landing operation showcase at Omaha beach in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, northwestern France, ahead…
India’s Vaibhav Sooryavanshi plays a shot during the third Twenty20 against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club in Harare on July 26, 2026. (AFP) Teenage cricket sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored his second half century in four days for India, who beat Zimbabwe by 35 runs on Sunday for a 3-0 Twenty20 international series sweep.India won the toss and posted 192-5 at Harare Sports Club, led by a quickfire 81 from Sooryavanshi. He faced 49 balls and his innings included four sixes and eight fours.Zimbabwe, 10 places below second-placed India in the world T20I rankings, reached 157-7 in reply thanks mainly to an unbeaten 54 from lower-order batter Ryan Burl.Victory marked an Indian turnaround after a 2-0 T20I series loss in Ireland, then a 4-0 drubbing in England. It was the second straight series loss for Zimbabwe after going down 2-1 to Bangladesh.At 15, Sooryavanshi is the youngest cricketer to represent India. He has sparkled in southern Africa after debuting in the England series and amassing 42 runs over three innings.Sooryavanshi has had a memorable tour of Zimbabwe. He scored his maiden T20I half-century off just 18 balls in the first match and followed it up with 20 off nine deliveries in the second.He made his intentions clear from the first ball of final tour match. He launched the Indian innings with a four off Zimbabwe captain and all-rounder Sikandar Raza and reached 50 from 31 balls.The teen fell off the final ball of the 14th over. Sooryavanshi was out off a Wessly Madhevere delivery when Brad Evans dashed from the ropes to long off and caught the ball.Wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan (29), a half centurion on Saturday, did best among the other Indian batters, slamming four fours before being bowled by Raza.Zimbabwe slumped to 65-4 in reply with opener Brian Bennett and Raza both dismissed for golden ducks. The highlight of the innings was a 60-run fifth-wicket stand between Burl and Madhevere (28). Brief scoresIndia 192-5 in 20 overs (V. Sooryavanshi 81, I. Kishan 29; B.Evans 2-41) v Zimbabwe 157-7 in 20 overs (R. Burl 54 not out; M. Yadav 3-28)Result: India won by 35 runsSeries: India won 3-0Toss: India Related Story…
Children receive meals from a charity kitchen at the Maghazi camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip. (AFP) Israel will allow a multinational security force to enter Gaza as proposed under US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan for the enclave, an Israeli official said on Sunday, a day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Washington. Netanyahu’s security cabinet Sunday approved the legal framework that would allow the force’s entry to Gaza, the official said. Netanyahu is scheduled to depart for Washington Monday and is expected to meet Trump Tuesday. The official said that the mission, called the International Stabilization Force, will include 200 members from “friendly countries such as Uganda and Morocco” deploying in areas that are not under Israeli control. Each contingent requires individual Israeli approval to enter Gaza. It was unclear when the forces would deploy. Much of Gaza remains in ruins from two years of full-scale war. After a ceasefire deal was struck in October, Trump set out a peace plan for Gaza that provided for a surge in humanitarian aid, civilian administration by Palestinian technocrats, Hamas laying down its arms and Israeli forces withdrawing. But the plan has stalled and the group of technocrats — known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza — has remained outside Gaza. Israel effectively controls an estimated 64% of Gaza while nearly all of its 2 million people live on a sliver of land on the coast under Hamas control, mainly in makeshift tents or damaged buildings. Trump’s plan included a Board of Peace as an overarching international authority responsible for implementing the peace framework. It would oversee the security force, among other functions. The board is planning a pilot humanitarian zone for Gazans as a way to kickstart the US president’s stalled plan, a board official said this month. Nickolay Mladenov, Trump’s Board of Peace envoy for Gaza, welcomed the Israeli decision. “It is a critical part of the agreed framework for stabilizing Gaza, supporting demilitarization, and enabling the transition to effective Palestinian transitional administration under the @NCAG,” he said on X., referring to the Palestinian civilian administration body. Related Story Source link
Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen overpowered his opponent in the China Open men’s singles final on Sunday, becoming the oldest tournament champion in the category at age 36.World number six Chou vanquished 27-year-old Toma Junior Popov of France in three games, 21-15, 7-21, 21-13, to claim his first Super 1000 title since winning the Indonesia Open in 2019.The veteran needed just over an hour to seal the outcome in the championship matchup in Changzhou, eastern China.When an official video review showed that a final return from Popov had dropped out of bounds, an exhausted and emotional Chou kneeled face-down on the court, hands outstretched in victory.Popov, ranked 16th worldwide, had been chasing his first victory at a Super 1000 tournament.His younger brother Christo, ranked fifth, was eliminated in the round of 16 at this year’s China Open.Earlier on Sunday, Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi defeated host-country hope Chen Yufei to win the top prize in the women’s singles final with an efficient 21-18, 21-16 performance.The final pairing represented a rematch of last year’s World Championship in Paris, which was also won by Yamaguchi.26-year-old Yamaguchi is a three-time world champion and current world number three.In women’s doubles, hosts Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning of China defeated Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto of Japan in two games, 21-14, 21-19.The men’s doubles competition saw reigning champions Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri of Indonesia defend their title, beating South Korea’s Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae in come-from-behind fashion 16-21, 21-19, 21-19.In the mixed doubles final, an all-China matchup saw Guo Xinwa and Chen Fanghui take down compatriots Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping in a closely contested 25-23, 20-22, 21-15 marathon lasting 88 minutes. Related Story Source link
Max Verstappen continued to complain about his car and put pressure on his Red Bull team on Sunday despite securing his second consecutive podium finish and a third in four races.The four-time champion came in second behind McLaren’s world champion Lando Norris in the Hungarian Grand Prix while grumbling about his car’s gearbox and aerodynamic performance.He had earlier described the car as “undriveable” a comment repeated by team-mate Isack Hadjar who finished sixth.”I didn’t expect to be on the podium today, but we worked hard for it,” said Verstappen. “The start was decent, you know, to get through turns one and two, and then after the first stop to get back ahead of Lewis, under braking into Turn One.”Then, I was just trying to survive on the compounds, trying to make the right calls with the strategy as well. So, yes, I’ve very happy, considering everything, to be second here.” MOVE OF THE RACEHe added that his lunge to pass Lewis Hamilton – the move of the race – was his chance to regain the position he had lost when Ferrari pitted the Briton to create an undercut.”I saw that opportunity as my only one and so I just went for it. We were good on the brakes so that helped! But, it was all under control.”He was enigmatic about the quality of his car on Sunday after criticising it severely on Saturday when, after spinning in qualifying, he said it was “a big problem.””The weekend in general has been difficult, but when instead of the tyres degrading your car is degrading, then you have a big problem.””The car just kept getting worse and worse, lap after lap. So the more laps I did, it was just more and more difficult. We have to fix it because the car is undriveable like this.”The team had abandoned an experimental ‘Macarena’ rear wing at the Belgian Grand Prix a week earlier when Verstappen described it as “super-dangerous” after crashes in Austria and Britain.His descriptions of the car during Sunday’s race were laced with profanities. Related Story Source link
Lewis Hamilton said he remained optimistic about his hopes of winning a record eighth drivers world championship this year despite collecting another penalty in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.The seven-time champion Ferrari driver, who finished classified fifth having finished fourth on the road before taking a five-second penalty, said he had to ‘work hard not to give the stewards any more opportunities to give me penalties’.He was adjudged to have exceeded the pit lane speed limit by 0.1 kph during a stop that he said, after the race, was unnecessary and a mistake by the team.’I definitely don't think we should have taken the last stop,’ he said, referring to Ferrari's decision to call him in during a late Virtual Safety Car intervention to swap from hard tyres to softs for the final laps.’The call came just before the pit entry and I didn't have time to debate it. You've got to trust the decision that's been taken, but in hindsight my tyres were totally fine.’I probably would have lost out to Max (Verstappen, who finished second), but I think I could have kept third at least. It just opened the door to getting that penalty at the end.’Asked if he was upbeat for the second half of the season, as he seeks to close a 50-point deficit behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes, Hamilton was positive.’I definitely am,’ he said. ‘I'm massively grateful to the team because they've done a really great job in the first half.’I think the last three races from me have not been great, with lots of mistakes. I've had a lot of penalties… I've got to work hard hard not to give them any more opportunities for penalties.’ Source link
Tadej Pogacar's main rivals Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel have both described the five-time Tour de France winner as the greatest cyclist of all time.The 27-year-old Slovenian made history on Sunday by joining an elite band of four other riders to have won the Grande Boucle five times.So how does Pogacar compare to Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain?Until Pogacar came along, there were few people involved in cycling who did not proclaim Merckx as the best ever.Anquetil, Hinault and Indurain are much admired, but few would have claimed any of them were as great as Merckx.When it comes to Pogacar, that is not the case — the debate is feisty.Evenepoel was even forced to nuance his previous claim when Belgian journalists grilled him for rating Pogacar above his idolised compatriot.’I'm only racing against Tadej and I've never raced against Eddy Merckx,’ Evenepoel said during the Tour. ‘From what I've felt and seen is that Tadej is one of the best ever, together with Eddy.’ 'POGACAR AS THE GREATEST'Two days later he again described Pogacar as the greatest!It is a similar debate to the one in football between the nostalgic traditionalists pushing the case for the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona, and a new breed insisting that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's talent and achievements outstrip those of their predecessors.A starting point for any such debate is to look at an athlete's achievements.Of the five-time Tour winners, Pogacar has won the fewest Grand Tours in total — six.But he is the only one still competing.The seven and eight Grand Tours of Indurain and Anquetil are comfortably within reach — the 10 and 11 of Hinault and Merckx would take more time to match.MORE TO COMEWhere Pogacar outstrips all four is that he won his first at a younger age — and his fifth, too, for that matter.He has not completed the grand slam of Grand Tours having finished third in his only appearance at the Vuelta a Espana — but that was as a 20-year-old.Merckx, Anquetil and Hinault completed tha grand slam, but Indurain did not.Such is Pogacar's dominance, that it is hard to imagine him not winning the Vuelta if he were to return to the Spanish Grand Tour in the next few years.When it comes to levels of dominance, Pogacar and Indurain would seem to be behind the other three.Merckx won one Tour by almost 18 minutes, Anquetil by almost 15 minutes and Hinault by more than 14 minutes.Pogacar's 2026 margin of 6min 26sec was his largest yet, but apart from his first victory in 2020, there is no doubt that he has imposed total domination over his rivals in each of his other four successes — as did Indurain in his five victories including one by just 3min 36sec. MARGIN OF VICTORYThe margin of victory does not always accurately reflect the manner.One area in which Pogacar stands out more than everyone except Merckx is his all-terrain game — able to win one-day cobbled classics as dominantly as he does Grand Tours or week-long mountainous stage races.With 13 Monument victories, Pogacar is second only to Merckx on 19.Hinault, who was a fine all-terrain rider, won five Monuments and several other major one-day races, but Anquetil won only one Monument and Indurain none at all.Indurain, though, was both Olympic and world time-trial champion — something none of the others achieved.Merckx won the road race world title three times — a feat Pogacar will attempt to match later this year — while Hinault did so once.One cobbled Monument that Pogacar is yet to tame, though, is Paris-Roubaix — both Merckx and Hinault won there.Comparisons can also be made in riding style.While Anquetil and Indurain were known for their pure power, Pogacar is more similar to 'the Cannibal' Merckx and 'the Badger' Hinault in his attacking panache.Analysing who was the best across vastly different generations is an impossible task.But Pogacar deserves to be mentioned amongst cycling's greats — and there is surely more to come.Most cyclists do not reach their peak until their late 20s or even early 30s.Pogacar may yet outstrip them all. Source link