Storms cause heavy flooding in Birmingham
West Midlands Police is warning people to avoid driving in the city.
Italy’s efforts to form government fail as president defends euro
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's efforts to form a government broke down on Sunday after the president rejected a eurosceptic pick for the key economy ministry, triggering a potential constitutional crisis and opening the prospect of fresh elections.
Monaco GP most boring ever, say Alonso and Hamilton
MONACO (Reuters) - Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix was Formula One's most boring ever, according to world champions Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
Biggest Weekend: Taylor Swift plays the hits then runs in Swansea
The US pop star plays a brief, but hit-packed, show at the BBC Music Biggest Weekend festival.
Moonwalkers
Read the experiences of the four surviving astronauts to have set foot on the lunar surface.
Leaders of Spain’s Podemos win confidence vote after house purchase queried
BARCELONA (Reuters) - Two leaders of Spain's left-wing Podemos party, which was born out of opposition to austerity during the financial crisis, won on Sunday a confidence vote called after they bought a house for over 600,000 euros (525,287.44 pounds) near Madrid.
Storms cause flash flooding across Birmingham
Homes have been flooded and cars were left under water in parts of the city after heavy rain.
Ricciardo won Monaco like an Apollo 13 astronaut
MONACO (Reuters) - Daniel Ricciardo lived his own Apollo 13 moment to emerge triumphant on Sunday from what could have been a Monaco Grand Prix nightmare.
Froome joins elite club with historic Giro triumph
(Reuters) - Chris Froome wrote his name into the history books as he became the first Briton to win the Giro d'Italia title after coming through unscathed in Sunday's final processional stage in Rome.
Fulham facing decisions over crucial loanees ahead of Premier League return
LONDON (Reuters) - After sealing their Premier League return with a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa in the Championship playoff final on Saturday, Fulham's attention will already be turning to next season, with the future of several loanees uncertain.
Real toast Champions League win with mass celebration in Madrid
MADRID (Reuters) - Real Madrid celebrated their third consecutive Champions League title with an open-top bus parade through the Spanish capital on Sunday as thousands of supporters turned out to greet Zinedine Zidane's history-making side.
Flustered Champion Ostapenko falls at first French Open hurdle
PARIS (Reuters) - A flustered Jelena Ostapenko became only the sixth female Grand Slam champion to fall at the first hurdle of her title defence on Sunday when she lost to Kateryna Kozlova at the French Open.
U.S., North Korean officials meet for talks on summit
SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American and North Korean officials met at the border between North and South Korea on Sunday in preparation for a possible North Korea-U.S. summit, as North Korea's Kim Jong Un was cited as reaffirming his commitment to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Italy’s PM-designate Giuseppe Conte fails to form populist government
Conte ‘gives back mandate’ to form government after president rejects ministerial candidate
Italy’s premier-designate has told the president he has been unable to form what would have been western Europe’s first populist government, potentially paving the way for fresh elections.
A presidential palace official told reporters on Sunday night that Giuseppe Conte “has given back the mandate” to try to form a government that President Sergio Mattarella gave him four days earlier.
Continue reading...Former president George HW Bush admitted to hospital in Maine
- 93-year-old experiences low blood pressure and fatigue
- Spokesman says Bush ‘not in any discomfort’
Former president George HW Bush was taken to a hospital in Maine on Sunday after experiencing low blood pressure and fatigue, a family spokesman said.
Bush, 93 and the oldest living former US president, will likely remain at Southern Maine Health Care for a few days for observation, said the spokesman.
Continue reading...Italy’s PM-designate gives up on forming government, may mean new election
MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte gave up on efforts to form a government on Sunday after the president apparently rejected his pick for the economy ministry, increasing the likelihood of another election this year.
Nishikori feeling great and has hopes for Paris
PARIS (Reuters) - Japan's Kei Nishikori knows what he needs to go deep in the French Open -- but it may be easier said than done.
Conte fails to form Italian government
Giuseppe Conte, who was due to become Italy's new prime minister, has given up his candidacy after failing to form a government.
Zverev in the pink as he leaves Berankis floundering
PARIS (Reuters) - Alexander Zverev rocked up at the French Open on Sunday looking like one of the ballboys with his salmon pink shirt but once he started wielding his racket, it was clear he was not there to follow orders as he thrashed Ricardas Berankis 6-1 6-1 6-2.
Pouille and Cornet lead French quest for unlikely Roland Garros glory
PARIS (Reuters) - French number one Lucas Pouille won his opening match at Roland Garros in straight sets on Sunday as the host country's players enjoyed decent fortunes on the first day of the clay-court Grand Slam.
Anatomy of a police shooting: the final hours of Elijah Holcombe
In this extract from her book, Kate Wild reconstructs the lead-up to the alleyway shooting of a mentally ill man
“Mr Holcombe? We have some news for you regarding Elijah, but we’d like to tell you in person. Can we come over and see you?”
Jeremy’s ears began to ring.
Related: Almost half of people shot dead by Australian police were mentally ill
The young man looked as if he had been crying
Related: Victoria police's body cameras attacked as ‘pretend accountability’
The mental health nurse was upset. She hadn’t had time to assess Elijah properly
Related: Second Victoria police suicide in a week puts spotlight on officers' mental health
He … found Rich standing on the footpath ashen-faced, his right hand bright with blood
Davis described bystanders as 'innocent' twice in five sentences. 'Large bladed knife' appeared three times in four lines
Related: Victoria police who beat Melbourne pensioner 'should be taken off their job'
Continue reading...Richest taxpayers get $12.7bn windfall from Coalition plan, thinktank says
Australia Institute modelling shows top 20% of taxpayers get 80% of benefit of final two stages
The final stages of the Turnbull government’s plan to dramatically flatten Australia’s income tax scales will provide a multibillion-dollar boon to the top 20% of income earners, and they deserve further scrutiny by parliament, a progressive thinktank says.
The Australia Institute has produced new modelling of the most expensive elements of the government’s income tax plan, saying the Senate needs to understand how skewed they are towards richer households.
Continue reading...Ben Jennings on the Trump-Kim nuclear summit – cartoon
Trump’s ‘Spygate’ is a ‘diversion tactic’ – U.S. Senator Flake
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Senator Jeff Flake, who has not ruled out running against Donald Trump for the White House, on Sunday criticized as a "diversion tactic" the president's unsubstantiated allegation last week of an FBI "spy" being planted in his election campaign.
Mutiny Festival death: Mum’s grief at losing ‘little girl’
Janine Milburn hopes the death of her "little girl" at a festival will deter others from taking drugs.
Italy president has rejected eurosceptic Savona as economy minister – source
MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's President Sergio Mattarella has rejected Paolo Savona, the eurosceptic candidate put forward by the far-right League and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, to head the economy ministry, a source said on Sunday.
Salah ‘confident’ of being fit for World Cup
LONDON (Reuters) - Egypt forward Mohamed Salah said he is "confident" of being fit to play at the World Cup despite sustaining a shoulder injury in Liverpool's Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.
Champion Ostapenko dumped in round one of French Open
PARIS (Reuters) - Jelena Ostapenko became only the sixth female Grand Slam champion to lose in the opening round of their title defence on Sunday when she lost to Kateryna Kozlova at the French Open.
Nadal begins title defence against Bolelli on second day
(Reuters) - World number one Rafa Nadal begins his French Open title defence on Monday with a clash against Italy's Simone Bolelli on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Froome claims historic Giro victory
(Reuters) - Chris Froome became the first Briton to win the Giro d'Italia title after coming through unscathed in Sunday's final processional stage in Rome.
Guatemala raids first coca field as drug traffickers expand
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemalan anti-narcotics police have seized the first coca field and cocaine lab in the country's history, officials said on Sunday, adding to a string of discoveries showing traffickers have expanded production into Central America.
Italy’s president summons PM-designate, but doubts remain on key minister
MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's president summoned Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte to his office on Sunday in a move that could break a long-running political deadlock and open the way for the formation of a coalition government.
Chris Froome wins Giro d’Italia to claim historic Grand Tour treble
Chris Froome becomes the first Briton to win the Giro d'Italia and only the seventh man to claim all three Grand Tour titles.
Canova bust of peace on sale in first public outing in 200 years
Representation of peace with estimate of over £1m was gradually forgotten by the family in Wales who owned it
Peace was never exactly lost, but over 150 years and five generations the sculpture, an original work by Antonio Canova that is now to be auctioned with an estimate of well over £1m, was gradually forgotten by the family in Wales who owned it.
Canova (1757-1822), whose patrons included the then pope, Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington, was one of the most celebrated and expensive sculptors of the early 19th century.
Continue reading...The Gove-Davidson axis is a Tory dream ticket. But does it have legs? | Matthew d’Ancona
A scheme may be afoot to get the Scottish Tory leader into Westminster. But show me a leadership pact that has ever been a success
It is close to an iron rule of politics that leadership pacts and succession plans never succeed. Anthony Eden grew so frustrated waiting for Churchill to make way that his health suffered grievously. The briefly fashionable idea that Michael Heseltine would replace John Major, paving the way for Michael Portillo to take over, never came to pass. And as for the supposed “Granita deal” between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, enough said. So I approach with caution this weekend’s reports that Michael Gove could succeed Theresa May as a “caretaker prime minister” next year and then yield place, in smooth transition, to Ruth Davidson before the next general election.
First of all, there are at least five other contenders for the top job who would not be sanguine about such a cosy arrangement. Second, politics rarely respects the lessons of game theory, in which wise participants seek “the action of greatest mutual benefit”. The default setting of the trade is Darwinian in its ruthlessness and chaotic in its patterns. Self-interest trumps collaboration; blueprints curl up in the flames of unpredictability.
Continue reading...Chris Froome wins his first Giro d’Italia title
Chris Froome has won the Giro d'Italia for the first time, becoming only the third man to hold all three Grand Tour titles at once.
‘Mind-reading’ headset can change film’s plot
A new brain-controlled film has been produced which picks up the reactions of the viewer and changes the story based on their response.
Rupert Everett gears up for the next chapter: moving in with his mum
Speaking at Hay festival about his latest film The Happy Prince, the star also explained how being openly gay got him typecast
He has lived the wild life in Hollywood and New York, partied with Madonna, hung out with Andy Warhol, and sniffed poppers with Hardy Amies but Rupert Everett’s next chapter promises to be more sedate: he’s moving in with his mum.
“It’s done, I’m there,” the actor told Hay literary festival in Wales. “It’s very peculiar, I’m not sure if it’s a wonderful thing, or a tragic thing yet.
Continue reading...Stephens off to a flyer after ‘heart and body’ connect
PARIS (Reuters) - Sloane Stephens showed on Sunday how phenomenal her game can be when her "heart and body" are "connected", as unlucky Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus discovered in the first round of the French Open.
England suffer heavy loss to inspired Barbarians
LONDON (Reuters) - England's preparations for their tour of South Africa suffered a setback as they lost 63-45 to the Barbarians in a non-cap match at Twickenham on Sunday, their fourth defeat in a row.
