The Voice Reveal

Czech 10th seed clinches a 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10) victory Muchova faces compatriot Noskova in Saturday’s final She finds a first serve on match point and the contact is perfect : 117mph, punched hard down the centre line, and from the moment her hand receives the message from her strings, she must know this is it. Of course the ball may come back, and indeed the ball does come back, but only barely. And in those few seconds as it arcs over the net, springs back up off the grass and hangs there like a beautiful sweet fruit, Coco Gauff has a Wimbledon final in her grasp. The afternoon has been hot: viciously hot, sadistically hot, the sort of heat that seems to take years from you. In the crowd, paper fans wave and flutter like butterflies, and this has been a match full of natural beauty, of clean swings and satisfying timing and brilliant shapes set against pale green. And still the return from Karolina Muchova hangs there, high and slow, a sentence demanding a punctuation mark, a piece of...

Ministers also considering licence requirement and regulator to try to cut bills and increase choice UK vets may have to have a licence and cap prescriptions for pet medicine at £21 under plans being considered by the government. Ministers are also considering establishing a regulator for the veterinary sector, including inspections, a mandatory licensing system and published compliance reports to improve accountability and choice. Every vet practice could need an official operating licence – similar to GP surgeries and care homes – under proposals in a white paper. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/NSxF4KU via IFTTT

Researchers testing a cheap, homegrown oil in Uganda found what cats knew all along – it worked as well as the artificial chemical used globally A homegrown catnip lotion has proven “just as effective as Deet” as a mosquito repellant in trials carried out in Uganda. Catnip, or Nepeta cataria , is a common herb from the mint family. The chemical in the plant that causes feline euphoria – nepetalactone – also has insect-repelling properties but this has not previously been commercialised. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/UNxd3KF via IFTTT

The Australian government says there was ‘insufficient notice’ as details of missile path are released by Taiwan government China’s missile test in the Pacific did not comply with international law and was conducted with “insufficient notice” to nearby countries, according to the US and Australia as international condemnation grows. But a Chinese government spokesperson claimed the test was “safe” and part of “routine” military training, telling critics to “not over-interpret it.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/nMtePiT via IFTTT

Analysis finds services cheaper but country ranks 57th in network performance and 70th for download speeds British holidaymakers watching online videos while they sit on a European beach this summer are likely to be pleasantly surprised: the signal should be better than at home. Mobile coverage in the UK is worse than in any of the 27 EU member countries, and every other member of the G7 group of large economies, according to analysis by consumer group Which? of data from Opensignal. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Odxe5T4 via IFTTT

Paraguay 0-1 France: Kylian Mbappe’s second-half penalty was enough to break the resistance of a niggly Paraguay and reach another quarter-final from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/nctbl85 via IFTTT

Canada coach says his side ‘totally controlled the match’ Ouahbi: ‘It takes some nerve to say when you lose 3-0’ Jesse Marsch spoke of his pride in his Canada side after their last-16 exit to Morocco , claiming they were the better team and challenging his players to keep producing the levels they have reached in this tournament. “We totally controlled the match,” he said. “We were the ones more likely to win the game, but goals change games so they could sit back. But overall in the match we were better than them. Before we came here if you’d said we’d be last 16 we’d have been satisfied. And if you’d said we were going to play like that … you’d think we were going to win the match.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Y7fweUR via IFTTT

A Dallas police officer pushed their director Ibrahim Hassan and player Trezeguet in an altercation on Friday from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/zTprYCl via IFTTT

Weekend’s high temperatures and humidity ‘virtually impossible’ without climate crisis, researchers say The scorching heat blanketing much of the US this week would have been “virtually impossible” if not for the climate crisis, researchers have found, warning that the high temperatures could threaten Independence Day celebrations and World Cup matches this weekend. “The climate the country has today is fundamentally different to the one it had when the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence,” said Theodore Keeping, extreme weather and wildfire researcher at Imperial College London, in a press release. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/tR5u8Va via IFTTT

A picture of Jota appeared on the BMO Field big screen at the end of the Portuguese national anthem from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/A8Sl90m via IFTTT

Coach Hossam Hassan unsure whether veteran will start ‘Messi isn’t that tall’: Pharaohs not worried by physical Australia The Socceroos are set to face Mo Salah in their last 32 match, though uncertainty hangs over whether the Egypt great will start the World Cup knockout in Dallas or come off the bench. Salah was seen training with his teammates on Thursday and Egypt coach Hossam Hassan confirmed his “passionate” forward was fit enough to play. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/IzEw2ia via IFTTT

Language commission hails normalisation of te reo Māori after years of work in identifying frequently mispronounced words For years, Māori placenames have been distorted into nearly unrecognisable sounds by Google Maps in New Zealand. For those with attuned ears, it can be grating or offensive. Now the Māori language commission – Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – has collaborated with Google to fix it, launching a New Zealand-accented voice for its navigation tool that can correctly pronounce Māori words. It is the culmination of a project that has been years in the making. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/w4xWnGe via IFTTT

‘That’s one way to spend a layover,’ says gambling company after lucky traveler wins big on $10 stake Generally people want whatever happens in Vegas to stay there – but this might be an exception! A lucky traveler transiting through Las Vegas’s Harry Reid international airport on Sunday won more than $3.3m from a slot machine there, prompting facility officials to write on X on Tuesday: “Now that’s one way to spend a layover. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/RH0Fk3u via IFTTT

Julian Nagelsmann faces an uncertain future after a dismal tournament, with Paraguay surviving a controversial VAR call in extra-time to prevail in spot kicks from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/MRu4170 via IFTTT

City regulator will require booming industry to prove its resilience to risk from October next year Crypto firms operating in the UK will be forced to prove they can weather market shocks and hold capital against risky assets as part of sweeping new rules announced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The regulations will increase supervision of the crypto industry, which has so far has faced minimal oversight despite a boom in popularity linked to social media influencers and a legitimisation drive under the US president, Donald Trump. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/mfjLJou via IFTTT

Exclusive: Sadiq Khan plans to use new powers after local council opposes city scheme for seasonal pedestrianisation The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, plans to override opposition to al fresco dining in Soho after the local council failed to apply to a scheme for seasonal pedestrianisation that is being introduced across the capital this summer. From 2027, restaurants in London’s entertainment district will be allowed to put chairs outside in the warmer months despite a longstanding local row on the issue. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/s3RBOyh via IFTTT

It had been another rainy day in Philadelphia but that didn’t spoil the party. Sixty-eight thousand people in ponchos were still able to enjoy an intriguing contest defined by cracking goals, and one where both teams left the field happy. For Croatia, there was second place in Group L and a reminder that they remain a serious team. For Ghana, there was progress to the knockout rounds for the first time since 2010 and even some full-throttle attacking, for a few minutes at least. There were questions over what incentive either team would have to give their all. A goalless draw appeared to give each a good chance of progression through Fifa’s intricate qualification matrix. Croatia would have finished third, but with a potentially preferable route, Ghana would have finished in second place behind England. It would have been a nice and cosy settlement; but Croatia weren’t up for it. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/lQiN76j via IFTTT

England are without the Chelsea star to conclude the group against Panama, leaving the Three Lions exposed from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/cZKVW4u via IFTTT

Travelling England fans are going under the radar in the Big Apple, but many have attended the US Darts Masters Times Square has been the setting for viral fan activity during this World Cup, from the Norwegian mass elliptical rowing session to Germans jumping up and down while wearing culturally insensitive headgear. On Friday, the day before the Three Lions face Panama in their decisive Group L fixture, it was surely England’s turn to seize centre stage. As various news crews waited at the junction of Broadway and 42nd Street to capture the moment, however, the only visible presence was two blokes holding up a flag of St George with “Seaham Harbour” written on it. “We don’t usually do dances or anything like that,” explained Joe, one of the flag bearers, who hails from Florida via Sunderland and says he works for Nasa in crowd control. “We just like to do arm curls, as we call it, and have a good time.” He mimes the specific curl, it is the kind that moves a glass from bar to mouth. ...

The Argentina boss will hold back Messi to preserve his sharpness, despite a battle to win the golden boot and preserve his all-time record as the tournament’s top scorer from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/0xvNquD via IFTTT

Fireworks prohibition comes alongside state of emergency as wildfires prompt evacuations and red-flag warnings Utah governor Spencer Cox has announced a state of emergency and accompanying temporary prohibition on the use of personal fireworks until 5 July. The announcement comes as the state experiences an unprecedented wildfire season with blazes that have prompted evacuations in Eureka, a small town about 80 miles south of Salt Lake City. Under the governor’s executive order, the state forester is allowed to ban the use of fireworks anywhere in the state. The order temporarily suspends a 2024 law that disallowed the forester from banning fireworks in cities across the state. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Z2W35yi via IFTTT

⚽️ Kick-off time: 7pm local/12pm AEST/3am BST/10pm EDT ⚽️ Third-place table | Player guide | Tables | Mail Jonathan ⚽️ Follow live coverage of Turkey v USA as it happens Jonathan Liew considers the impact of this World Cup being the most individual > collective in tournament history. … something does feel qualitatively different this summer: a tectonic shift driven partly by events on the pitch and partly at the behest of the industry itself. This is a World Cup swimming in star names, and never have those star names been so unapologetically, unquestioningly invoked. France do not beat Iraq ; instead Kylian Mbappé throws down the gauntlet to Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and the rest. According to Google, Miroslav Klose’s goals record has been searched more at this tournament than in the year he set it. At times the group phase has felt like an inconvenient distraction from the real business of the Golden Boot race. ( Can Lionel Messi lift the one trophy he hasn’t won yet? ) Conti...

The surreal comedian struggles to sell a middling and mostly conventional film about an uptight realtor whose life is upturned by an unpredictable figure from his past The specific, unforced strangeness of Eric André’s comedy hasn’t been an easy fit for Hollywood. His surreal and frequently hilarious late-night series The Eric André Show was an unpredictably odd and often violently catastrophic mix of awkward celebrity interviews and daring, dangerous on-the-street pranks and his manic, anything-for-the-bit energy marked him as someone execs would be unwise to entirely ignore. But André didn’t really feel like someone who desperately needed industry approval and broader acceptance or the inevitable comedy vehicle that would come with it (those projects are also admittedly far less common than they once were). There was an attempt in 2020, a hidden camera hybrid comedy called Bad Trip that saw André lead a fictional narrative playing out in real locations with real people unwittingly c...

Aldwych theatre, London Frank swings into the West End with a swaggering turn from Joel Harper-Jackson and plenty of style yet the script is flat Ol’ Blue Eyes is back: first staged in Birmingham three years ago and workshopped since, this Frank Sinatra bio-musical has now hit the West End with big band energy. Its intriguing premise is the star’s nadir, those messy years in the late 40s and early 50s when it seemed like an extraordinary talent might come to a wasteful, tragic end. We begin at the Paramount theatre, when our heart-throb has everything going for him: screaming fans, a devoted spaghetti-cooking spouse, a movie about sailors with Gene Kelly that’s going to deal with the pesky accusations of draft-dodging. In the lead, Joel Harper-Jackson marries smooth vocal power to Sinatra’s signature swagger – the head wobble, the corner-of-the-mouth smirk. Our hero’s weakness for women is played as a comically charming character quirk, with a bed-hopping rendition of Come Fly With Me ...