Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
Possible changes for Games next year being discussed
Mandatory testing and limited movement among options
Tokyo’s governor Yuriko Koike has said it may be necessary to a stage a “simplified” Olympics next year due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and that organisers were already discussing possible changes.
Koike’s comments come after the Yomiuri newspaper reported that various options, such as mandatory coronavirus testing and having fewer spectators, were being considered by organisers.
Fox Sports issues apology for ‘poor taste’ TV sketch
What started out as a fun and inclusive initiative has turned sour after the NRL’s scheme to put cardboard cut-outs of fans in stadiums was hijacked.
Over the weekend a photograph of mass murderer Harold Shipman made an appearance in the stands, then a TV sketch featured an image of Adolf Hitler, prompting furious criticism from Australia’s Jewish community.
Gui Khury lands holy grail of skating while in lockdown
Brazilian surpasses previous record first set by Tony Hawk
The closure of schools in Brazil due to the coronavirus pandemic gave 11-year-old prodigy Gui Khury plenty of time to perfect his skateboarding skills as he became the first person to land a 1080-degree turn on a vertical ramp.
More than two decades after Tony Hawk completed the first 900-degree turn, Khury shattered a long-standing record by flying off the top of a ramp and completing three full spins in the air before landing cleanly and skating off. The manoeuvre has long been one of the holy grails of skateboarding.
Lawyers and civil liberties groups condemn police after images from inside station appear on newspaper front pages
Victoria police has launched an internal investigation into how photos of former AFL player and coach Dean Laidley inside a police station following his arrest appeared on the front page of two major newspapers on Monday.
Lawyers and civil liberties groups have slammed the state’s police force after photos of the 53-year-old former premiership-winning player wearing a blonde wig and dress were leaked over the weekend.
Under-19 team members use ‘inappropriate language’
Cricket Australia investigate players’ social media posts
Some members of Australia’s Under-19 World Cup squad face sanctions for comments on social media that have been branded as casual racism. Cricket Australia’s head of integrity and security Sean Carroll has spoken with those players who recently posted broken-English responses to an Instagram post.
“We are extremely disappointed that some of the Australian Under-19 squad members have used inappropriate language in posts on social media, which we reported to the ICC as soon as it came to our attention,” Carroll said in a statement. “Some of that language could be interpreted as ridiculing non-native English language speakers.”
Second set: Pliskova* 6-1 3-3 Mladenovic (*denotes server): Pliskova holds to love in the time it took me post a tweet and confirm who Sinner faces in the second round.
Shame to see Max Purcell bow out so early, but Jannik Sinner is a kid going places. The Next Gen Finals champ has Márton Fucsovics next.
Credit Suisse closely linked with fossil fuel industry
#RogerWakeUpNow has been trending on Twitter
Roger Federer has issued a cautiously worded response to mounting criticism, including from climate activist Greta Thunberg, over his sponsorship deal with Credit Suisse.
A dozen Swiss activists appeared in court on Tuesday after refusing to pay a fine for playing tennis inside branches of Credit Suisse bank in November 2018, in a stunt intended to underscore Federer’s relationship with the Swiss financial giant, which is closely linked with the fossil fuel industry.
Williams risks backlash from China with his political tweet
‘Sad time when we choose economic benefits over humanity’
Sonny Bill Williams has tweeted his support of the minority Uighur ethnic group, mirroring the stance of football star Mesut Özil which drew an angry response from China. Cross-code star Williams may further provoke Chinese officialdom with his social media post, which denounces the treatment of Uighurs.
In his tweet on Monday, Williams echoed the belief of Arsenal playmaker Özil, who is also a practising Muslim, that more countries should speak out against China’s reported actions of detaining Uighur people in “re-education camps”.
Former Wallabies star had sought $14m in compensation saying he was wrongfully dismissed over anti-gay Instagram post
The long-running legal dispute between Rugby Australia and Israel Folau has ended with a settlement reached over the former Wallaby’s sacking in the wake of an anti-gay social media post in April.
RA apologised to Folau in a joint statement issued on Wednesday that draws a line under the bitter affair, although the exact terms of the settlement will remain confidential.
Beauden to start at fullback in second Pool B outing
Jordie and Scott also selected to play Canada
Beauden, Jordie and Scott Barrett will become the first trio of brothers to appear for the All Blacks in a World Cup match after they were named to start for the three-times world champions against Canada in their Pool B clash in Oita on Wednesday.
They will also be the first trio of brothers to start in the same World Cup match since Elisi, Manu and Fe’ao Vunipola represented Tonga against Scotland in 1995. The three Pisi brothers – Ken, Tusi and George – all played for Samoa against South Africa in 2015 but only Ken started that game.
Wales never take the easy route at Rugby World Cups and this breathless triumph was no exception. Having built an 18-point advantage early in the second-half they had to withstand a spectacular Australian comeback before sealing one of their most significant victories of the modern era.
England have beaten Australia by eight wickets to go into the Cricket World Cup final where they will play New Zealand on Sunday at Lord’s.
The defending champions had teetered to 14 for three after deciding to bat first, with England exploiting the early seam movement on offer at Edgbaston, before Jofra Archer bloodied Alex Carey’s jaw with a vicious bumper.
ACL steps in after GoFundMe pulls plug on former Wallabies star’s online appeal
The Australian Christian Lobby is hosting a fundraising effort on its website for the former Wallabies star Israel Folau after his GoFundMe page was shut down.
As at 7am Tuesday, almost $50,000 had been donated via the link on the ACL site, with the group also committing to tip in $100,000 to Folau’s legal challenge. By 8.30am, $250,000 had been raised.
5th over: India 19-0 (Rohit 7, Dhawan 10) Dhawan survives the first jaffa of the day and it’s again from that length on the very outer margin of good from Pat Cummins. Pitching on middle it seams and bounces towards the cordon just skimming beyond the outside edge. If anything Clive, it was too good. Is Dhawan phased? No chance. He responds by stroking the first boundary of the day with the minimum of fuss through the covers. No need to move his feet, just swing the bat and get the hands through the ball. There are plenty of runs on offer for any batsman who gets his eye in today.
4th over: India 11-0 (Rohit 7, Dhawan 3) Starc looks to be nearing his rhythm, sending down a classic one-two combination to Dhawan, first the bumper then the yorker, but the Indian left-hander navigates both well. The sucker punch is a length delivery outside off that Dhawan attacks on the up and drives unconvincingly but safely into the ring. No fireworks from either side to report yet.
John Starbuck has joined the conversation about the physical danger we put ourselves in when we take the field - or a net session. “Another nets danger is when you’re on a large practice ground and, while your nets are taking place at one end, an actual match can be happening elsewhere. This means that over-enthusiastic net batters can disturb the match by hitting high and long, with a possibly dangerous result for fielders. I’ve been ticked off for this sometimes, but curiously did not feel especially apologetic.”
• Australian dominates in straight-sets cruise, 6-1, 6-3 • Impressive display secures first grand slam title
Ashleigh Barty celebrated her breakthrough French Open victory with an expletive used often enough by most people not named Margaret Court, the last Australian to win the title, 46 years ago, and a Christian fundamentalist whom the new champion respects but disagrees strongly with for her strident views on gay marriage.
Instructions not to sell tickets were reportedly received before last year’s Naidoc Week AFL game
Box office staff at the Adelaide Oval were reportedly directed to stop selling tickets to Aboriginal people while fans gathered before last year’s Naidoc Week AFL match celebrating Indigenous culture.
The box office and Oval management said a supervisor “misinterpreted” an instruction from the police and security not to sell tickets to a specific group of people who were intoxicated and had been refused entry.
“I am sure that all in our global football family are delighted that Fifa have committed to the protection of basic human rights across its global football activities,” he wrote.
• Al-Araibi has been detained in Thailand since November • ‘We are clearly facing a human rights emergency’
Activists campaigning for the release of the Bahraini refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi, who has been detained in Thailand since November after an Interpol red notice was wrongly issued against him, say his plight has become an emergency.
The warnings came from Brendan Schwab of the World Players Association and the former Australia captain Craig Foster after news that Bahrain has formally submitted an extradition request for Al-Araibi’s return.
This time the tears were of joy. Tennis already had a star in Naomi Osaka; now it has a superstar. After squandering three match points at 5-3 in the second set, the 21-year-old Japanese regrouped brilliantly to beat the Czech Petra Kvitova 7-6 (2) 5-7 6-4 to win a dramatic Australian Open final. Her second consecutive grand slam title ensures she will be the new world No 1 and on this evidence, she might stay there for some time.
First set: Kvitova 6-6 Collins* (*denotes server): The game opens with a 17-hit rally, and it’s Kvitova who seems to expend the most energy during it. Collins races to 40-0 as Kvitova punches a wild forehand well wide. Another love hold, and we have a tie-break.
First set: Kvitova* 6-5 Collins (*denotes server): Why all this temperature chat matters is of course that with the roof closed, serving conditions are now a little more comfortable. In theory that aids Kvitova, but there are plenty of permutations such as racquet tension, ball speed etc that are affected, and require adjustment.
Kvitova doesn’t make light work of her second service game in the new conditions, being dragged to deuce with an unforced error. She holds on the first advantage point though, and pumps the fist.