New Zealand Rugby and Gallagher Insurance announce multi-year global partnership
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) have announced a new sponsorship with American company Gallagher Insurance with the company logo to appear on both the training and match day shorts of all NZR's national teams including the All Blacks.
It comes two months after NZR and previous sponsor Ineos settled after the
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The Inevitable Souring: Elon Musk Falls Out With Donald Trump
Trumps response to Musks latest gobbet of accusation proved almost melancholic. I dont mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. He went on to praise one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress. Sandpit politics is rarely edifying and grown toddlers taking their fists to each other is unlikely to interest. But when they feature US President Donald Trump and the world's wealthiest man, the picture alters. Disputes are bound to be on scale, rippling in their consequences. No crystal ball was required regarding the eventual sundering of the relationship between Trump and Elon Musk. Here were noisy, brash egos who had formed a rancid union in American politics, with Musk lending his resources and public machinery to The Donald knowing he could also have sway in the Trump administration as a 'special government employee'. That sway took the form of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), a crude attempt to right the wrongs of misspending in government while politicising the public service. Awaking from a narcotised daze, Musk decided to focus on his floundering companies, notably Tesla, and step back from the inferno. In doing so, he expected 'to remain a friend and adviser, and if there's anything the president wants me to do, I'm at this service.' Gazing at the raging inferno that is Trumpian policy, that convivial attitude has all but evaporated. For one thing, Trump's proposed tax breaks and increases in defence spending, espoused in his One Big Beautiful Bill Act, seemed to undermine the very premise of DOGE and its zealous mission of reducing government spending. The legislation promises to slash $1.5 trillion in government spending but increase the debt limit by $4 trillion. 'I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly,' Musk said in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning last month. Such a plan merely inflated, not reduced, the budget deficit. 'I think a bill can be big or beautiful. I don't know if it can be both.' This month, Musk got even tetchier. His temper had frayed. 'I'm sorry, I just can't stand it anymore,' he barked on his X platform on June 3. 'This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.' He continued to heap shame on members of Congress 'who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' On June 5, Trump expressed his disappointment 'because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill', leaving open the possibility that the billionaire might be suffering from 'Trump derangement syndrome.' Musk had 'only developed the problem when he found out that we're going to have to cut the [electric vehicle] mandate.' A blow was in the offing, coming in the form of a post on Truth Social: 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised Biden didn't do it!' Musk's embittered retort: 'Such an obvious lie. So sad.' He also proposed, in light of the President's announcement, the decommissioning of Space X's Dragon spacecraft, vehicles used by NASA to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The ripples were finally getting violent. Musk then decided to do what he called dropping 'the really big bomb'. Trump, he revealed, 'is in the Epstein files. This is the real reason they have not been made public.' Given Musk's estranged relationship with reality and its facets, this can only be taken at face value. It's a matter of record that Trump, along with a fat who's who of power, knew the late Jeffrey Epstein, financier and convicted sex offender, for many years. The trove of government documents known as The Epstein Files has offered the easily titillated some manna but, thus far, few bombs. On February 27, US Attorney General Pamela Bondi released what were described as the 'first phase' of files relating to the financier and 'his exploitation of over 250 underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida, among other locations.' In an interview with Fox News on February 21, Bondi revealed that Epstein's client list lay 'on my desk right now.' Trump's response to Musk's latest gobbet of accusation proved almost melancholic. 'I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago.' He went on to praise 'one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress.' In characteristically bratty fashion, Musk went on to share a post agreeing with the proposition that Trump be impeached and replaced by the Vice President, J.D. Vance, advocate 'a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle' (a touching billionaire's wish), and predict 'a recession in the second half of this year' caused by Trump's global tariff regime. In the scheme of things, Trump has survived impeachments, prosecutions, litigation, crowned by a divided US electorate that gave him a majority in both the Electoral College and the popular vote. Like a Teflon coated mafia don, he has made compromising people a minor art. Musk, compromised in his support and having second thoughts, can only go noisily into the confused night.
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Coco Gauff ends Loïs Boisson's miracle French Open run
As popular as Coco Gauff is, she knew full well that nearly all of the 15,000 fans at Court Philippe-Chatrier would be against her during the French Open semifinals overnight. That's because Gauff, an American, was taking on a French opponent — and one who came from nowhere, 361st-ranked Loïs Boisson. So the No. 2-seeded Gauff turned to a trick that 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic has talked about using: When the partisan crowd was loudly singing Boisson's first name, Gauff pretended they were chanting "Coco!" Not that it mattered much, truly, because Gauff was by far the superior player throughout a 6-1, 6-2 victory that earned her a second trip to the final at Roland-Garros. Parliament punishment, free money?, getting wicked again (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT Three years ago, Gauff missed out on a chance to leave with the trophy when Iga Swiatek beat her. This time, Swiatek won't be around for the championship match on Saturday, because her 26-match unbeaten run at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament ended earlier Thursday with a 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-0 loss to No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka vs. Gauff will be the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 final in Paris since 2013, when Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova, and just the second in the last 30 years. Coco Gauff of the US reacts as she plays against France's Lois Boisson during their semifinal match of the French Tennis Open. (Source: Associated Press) Gauff figures to hear at least the occasional "Allez, Coco!" while meeting Sabalenka. But that wasn't really in the offing against Boisson, who beat No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 6 Mirra Andreeva while becoming the first woman since 1989 to get all the way to the semifinals in her first Grand Slam tournament. It's been a quarter-century since a woman representing France won the singles title at Roland-Garros — Mary Pierce in 2000 — so Boisson became front-page news. The flags flapping in the stands, and the raucous applause and yells accompanying each point Boisson won, were hard to miss. "I was mentally prepared before the match that it was going to be 99% for her. But I just tried to block it out," Gauff told the spectators during her on-court interview, laughing as she explained her thought process. "And actually, when you guys were chanting her name, I was saying to myself my name. Just to kind of psych myself out. You have to do that." ADVERTISEMENT Then she added: "I know you guys would usually root for me if I'm not playing a French [foe]." Gauff never really allowed the atmosphere to become much of a factor, because she took Boisson out of the match from the get-go, grabbing 20 of the first 30 points to lead 4-0. As much as Boisson's game is fit for clay, Gauff is rather adept on the slower surface, too. Her speed and reflexes allow her to track down shot after shot, elongating points and making the player across the net come up with the goods over and over. Boisson finished with just seven winners. And Gauff made only 15 unforced errors, fewer than half of Boisson's total of 33. When the exchanges grew longer, Gauff got better. She won 34 of 51 points that lasted five strokes or more. "Congratulations to her on an incredible tournament," Gauff said, "but today just happened to be my day".
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The Inevitable Souring: Elon Musk Falls Out With Donald Trump
Sandpit politics is rarely edifying and grown toddlers taking their fists to each other is unlikely to interest. But when they feature US President Donald Trump and the world's wealthiest man, the picture alters. Disputes are bound to be on scale, rippling in their consequences. No crystal ball was required regarding the eventual sundering of the relationship between Trump and Elon Musk. Here were noisy, brash egos who had formed a rancid union in American politics, with Musk lending his resources and public machinery to The Donald knowing he could also have sway in the Trump administration as a 'special government employee'. That sway took the form of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), a crude attempt to right the wrongs of misspending in government while politicising the public service. Awaking from a narcotised daze, Musk decided to focus on his floundering companies, notably Tesla, and step back from the inferno. In doing so, he expected 'to remain a friend and adviser, and if there's anything the president wants me to do, I'm at this service.' Gazing at the raging inferno that is Trumpian policy, that convivial attitude has all but evaporated. For one thing, Trump's proposed tax breaks and increases in defence spending, espoused in his One Big Beautiful Bill Act, seemed to undermine the very premise of DOGE and its zealous mission of reducing government spending. The legislation promises to slash $1.5 trillion in government spending but increase the debt limit by $4 trillion. 'I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly,' Musk said in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning last month. Such a plan merely inflated, not reduced, the budget deficit. 'I think a bill can be big or beautiful. I don't know if it can be both.' This month, Musk got even tetchier. His temper had frayed. 'I'm sorry, I just can't stand it anymore,' he barked on his X platform on June 3. 'This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.' He continued to heap shame on members of Congress 'who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' On June 5, Trump expressed his disappointment 'because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill', leaving open the possibility that the billionaire might be suffering from 'Trump derangement syndrome.' Musk had 'only developed the problem when he found out that we're going to have to cut the [electric vehicle] mandate.' A blow was in the offing, coming in the form of a post on Truth Social: 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised Biden didn't do it!' Musk's embittered retort: 'Such an obvious lie. So sad.' He also proposed, in light of the President's announcement, the decommissioning of Space X's Dragon spacecraft, vehicles used by NASA to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The ripples were finally getting violent. Musk then decided to do what he called dropping 'the really big bomb'. Trump, he revealed, 'is in the Epstein files. This is the real reason they have not been made public.' Given Musk's estranged relationship with reality and its facets, this can only be taken at face value. It's a matter of record that Trump, along with a fat who's who of power, knew the late Jeffrey Epstein, financier and convicted sex offender, for many years. The trove of government documents known as The Epstein Files has offered the easily titillated some manna but, thus far, few bombs. On February 27, US Attorney General Pamela Bondi released what were described as the 'first phase' of files relating to the financier and 'his exploitation of over 250 underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida, among other locations.' In an interview with Fox News on February 21, Bondi revealed that Epstein's client list lay 'on my desk right now.' Trump's response to Musk's latest gobbet of accusation proved almost melancholic. 'I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago.' He went on to praise 'one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress.' In characteristically bratty fashion, Musk went on to share a post agreeing with the proposition that Trump be impeached and replaced by the Vice President, J.D. Vance, advocate 'a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle' (a touching billionaire's wish), and predict 'a recession in the second half of this year' caused by Trump's global tariff regime. In the scheme of things, Trump has survived impeachments, prosecutions, litigation, crowned by a divided US electorate that gave him a majority in both the Electoral College and the popular vote. Like a Teflon coated mafia don, he has made compromising people a minor art. Musk, compromised in his support and having second thoughts, can only go noisily into the confused night.
