Euro 2016: French Riot Squad Charges Against England, Russia Fans

June 16, 2016

Lille, Jun 16: French police repeatedly fired tear gas and baton charged England and Russia fans in Lille as Euro 2016's hooligan protagonists took their rivalry to a new city.

Euro 2016

Tens of thousands of English, Welsh, Russian and Slovakian supporters took over the city and brawling erupted between rival groups as a day of heavy beer-drinking took its toll.

Anxious to avoid the 35 injuries caused by unrest in Marseille on Saturday, each time serious trouble loomed, a legion of riot squad gathered behind shields, fired tear gas and flash bombs and charged.

The scene was repeated across central Lille into the night. One group of 200 chanting supporters was broken up just before midnight.

French fans coming out of the Lille fan zone after France's 2-0 win over Albania then threw bottles and stones at police.

Trouble also boiled over on a French train heading to Lille from Calais. England and Wales fans fought each other and five were arrested when the train arrived, authorities said.

Police said 36 arrests were made in total and 16 people were injured. Three Russians and a Ukrainian were to be expelled from the country.

Russia lost to Slovakia 2-1 in Lille on Wednesday, ahead of England's important clash with Wales in nearby Lens on Thursday.

The convergence of the army of fans led to French authorities putting 4,000 police and gendarmes on the streets.

Beery English supporters belted out anti-Russian and anti-European songs and kicked footballs over the heads of watching riot police through the day.

Outside some cafes lines of police made fans trying to carry their plastic goblets of beer onto the streets pour the liquid down the drain.

Banner causes fear

A "God Save The Queen" banner hung from the balcony of the Hotel Continental near the Lille-Flandres train station until it was removed at the demand of the manager, who feared it would trigger fisticuffs between England and Russia fans.

"I'm afraid of what happens if the Russians lose," he said.

"They are a proud people. I'm afraid it will be the same as Marseille."

Russian fans occasionally squared up to rivals but there was none of the mass fighting that darkened football's reputation again in Marseille.

UEFA, Europe's football governing body, has said Russia will be expelled from the European Championship if their fans are involved in more stadium trouble.

A flare was briefly set off in the stadium, but UEFA made no immediate announcement of an inquiry.

Michael Donelian, a 28-year-old estate agent from Reading, told AFP he and his friend who had tickets to the Russia-Slovakia game had considered at one point giving them away.

"We thought if the Russians see us and know we're English they might beat us up," he said outside a pub.

"But I haven't seen any trouble," said Donelian.

"If the Russians attack you've got to defend yourself," Gary Hill, a 42-year English builder mocked up as Frenchmen with a black beret and string of fake onions around his neck, told AFP.

In the Russian camp, most supporters who spoke to AFP assured they had no truck with hooliganism.

Yuril Shabanov, 14, from the Russian city of Perm, was en route to the game with his father and two friends, all with Russian flags around their shoulders.

According to French prosecutors, about 150 well-organised Russian "ultras" were the cause of much of the unrest in Marseille.

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Agencies
January 25,2020

Headingley, Jan 25: England have become the first team in the world to score 500,000 runs in Test cricket. They achieved the feat during the ongoing fourth and final Test against South Africa being played at The Wanderers.

On Friday - the opening day of the Test match -- England captain Joe Root's single through the covers took the Three Lions to a landmark 500,000 run-mark in the longest format of the game. They achieved the feat in their 1022nd Test match.

Australia comes second in the list, with 432,706 runs in 830 Tests. India, meanwhile, are third, with 273,518 runs in 540 Tests, followed by West Indies (270,441 runs in 545 Tests).

In the third Test played at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth, England had become the first team to play 500 Test matches on foreign soil. Australia are the second team to play the most away Test with 404 matches they have played so far.

India have played 268 Tests on foreign soil in which they have won 51, lost 113 and 104 have ended in a draw.

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News Network
March 12,2020

Miami, Mar 12: The NBA has suspended its season "until further notice" after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league's owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas.

Now there will be no games at all, at least for the time being. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Jazz player who tested positive was center Rudy Gobert. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the team confirmed the test.

"The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight's schedule of games until further notice,'' the league said in a statement sent shortly after 9:30 p.m. EDT. "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.''

The test result, the NBA said, was reported shortly before the scheduled tip-off time for the Utah at Oklahoma City game on Wednesday night was called off. Players were on the floor for warmups and tip-off was moments away when they were told to return to their locker rooms. About 30 minutes later, fans were told the game was postponed ``due to unforeseen circumstances."

Shutdown for two weeks?

Those circumstances were the league's worst-case scenario for now -- a player testing positive. A second person who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity said the league expects the shutdown to last a minimum of two weeks, but cautioned that time-frame is very fluid.

"It's a very serious time right now," Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I think the league moved appropriately and prudently and we'll all just have to monitor the situation and see where it goes from here."

The Jazz released a statement saying a player -- they did not identify Gobert -- tested negative earlier Wednesday for flu, strep throat and an upper respiratory infection. That player's symptoms diminished as the day went along, but the decision was made to test for COVID-19 anyway. That test came back with a preliminary positive result.

"The individual is currently in the care of health officials in Oklahoma City," the Jazz said, adding that updates would come as appropriate.

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News Network
January 23,2020

Jan 23: Quinton de Kock has been named as the new captain of the South Africa One-Day International side, taking over from Faf du Plessis, who is dropped altogether from the three-match series against England next month.

Du Plessis led South Africa in their disastrous 2019 World Cup campaign and has hinted at international retirement from all formats following the Twenty20 global finals in Australia later this year.

"We all know the quality of the player that Quinton de Kock has grown to become," CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Over the years we have watched him grow in confidence and become one of the top ODI wicket-keeper batsmen in the world. He has a unique outlook and manner in which he goes about his business and is tactically very street smart."

De Kock leads a 15-man squad with five uncapped players in seamers Lutho Sipamla and Sisanda Magala, left-arm orthodox spinner all-rounder Bjorn Fortuin, opening batsman Janneman Malan and wicketkeeper-batsman Kyle Verreynne.

Magala, leg-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, seamer Lungi Ngidi and hard-hitting opening batsman Jon Jon Smuts must pass fitness tests before they can join the squad.

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will be rested for the series, while allrounders Chris Morris and Dwaine Pretorius have also not been able to force their way in.

"The road towards the 2023 Cricket World Cup starts now and we want players doing well in our domestic structures to see the rewards of the hard work that they have put in," CSA Independent Selector Linda Zondi added.

The first ODI will be staged in Cape Town on Feb.4th, with the second in Durban three days later and the final match of the series to be held in Johannesburg on Feb.9th.

Squad: Quinton de Kock (captain), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Jon Jon Smuts, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Sisanda Magala, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Janneman Malan, Kyle Verreynne.

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