Michel Platini scares off burglar at his French villa
Platini, 70, heard a noise in the garden of the property in Cassis early in the morning and came face to face with a man in a black mask, who fled with several trophies and medals, the source said.
Platini played 72 times for France and won the Ballon d'Or award for the world's top player three years in a row from 1983 to 1985.
He led France to the semi-finals of the 1982 and 1986 World Cup.
He was UEFA president from 2007 to 2016 and later became embroiled in a financial scandal involving then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter, but was acquitted in March this year. - AFP
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The Star
5 minutes ago
- The Star
Aloha, Bavaria! Munich surfers riding wild river wave again
The Eisbach, Munich's famous river surf spot, reopened end of June after it was closed for two months. — Photos by Christof STACHE / AFP Surfing enthusiasts have cheered the reopening of a beloved whitewater site in downtown Munich, the German city better known for partying at Oktoberfest than splashing in the waves. The Eisbach ("ice brook") standing wave in the city's Englischer Garten park was closed after tragedy struck in April when a 33-year-old woman drowned during a nighttime winter surf. After a safety review and a petition to keep it open, the site -- just a stone's throw from an art museum and shopping streets -- was reopened by authorities in recent weeks. Putting on a wetsuit and taking a board out of its bag after a day's work, Moritz, 43, said he's a regular at the surf spot on an arm of the Isar river. "It's amazing. A wave right in the city centre is something very special," he said. "I missed it during the closure." Nearby, surfers performed tricks with virtuosity on the powerful wave, formed by the presence of rocks on the riverbed near a bridge. A surfer riding on an artificial wave in the canal of the Eisbach river at the English Garden park in Munich, southern Germany. "It's completely different from the ocean," said Moritz. "Even if you know how to surf very well in the sea, you don't necessarily know how to do it here where the water comes from the front and not from behind." Another surfer, Irina, 34, said she tries to come three times a week, "before work, because it gives you energy". She finds "the power of the wave is good" and said she feels safe at this unique spot, even if "there are rocks at the bottom and you have to be a little careful when you fall". A surfer riding on an artificial wave in the canal of the Eisbach river. 'Surfer's paradise' A German surfer lost her life during a night session in April after being trapped underwater for nearly 30 minutes, her leash caught on an unidentified object. Friends and emergency services rushed to help her, but she died a week after her accident. An investigation found no safety breaches on the part of the city or state, which had always warned surfers to attempt the challenge "at their own risk". New guidelines have, however, been issued: night surfing is banned between 10:00 pm and 5:30 am, and the minimum age for braving the wave is 14. Surfers must also use a system that allows their leash to be detached in case of emergency. A sign 'Surfing and swimming prohibited' at a fence at the Eisbach river in Munich, southern Germany, more than a month after a 33-year-old woman had an accident while surfing on the so-called Eisbach wave. — Photo: Tobias Schwarz / AFP These rules are "largely reasonable", said Franz Fasel, head of the local surfers' association IGSM, who said between 3,000 and 5,000 local surfers use the Eisbach site. "Surfing is simply part of the lifestyle in Munich," he said. "Not just for the surfers themselves, but also for the city's image." It was not always this way. In the past, the Eisbach wave was entirely natural and surfable only occasionally, for example, when gravel accumulated in the riverbed. Surfers took matters into their own hands in the 1980s, installing a river crossing and adding objects to improve the wave, not all well received by the authorities. The site is now promoted by the tourist office as one of Munich's top attractions. Bavaria's state premier Markus Soeder proudly declared during a recent visit that "Munich is a surfer's paradise" and Bavaria "a bit like the California of Germany". – AFP
Sinar Daily
35 minutes ago
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Trump and Epstein: What was their relationship?
Trump, then a property mogul and self-styled playboy, appears to have known Epstein, a wealthy money manager, since the 1990s. 21 Jul 2025 09:15am US President Donald Trump arrives to sign the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act), which codifies the use of stablecoins -- cryptocurrencies pegged to stable assets like the US dollar or US bonds -- in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 18, 2025. - (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP) WASHINGTON - Donald Trump's past ties with Jeffrey Epstein are under scrutiny after the US president slammed a Wall Street Journal report that he sent a lewd letter to the infamous sex offender as "fake news." AFP looks at the pair's relationship as the Trump administration also faces demands to release all government files on Epstein's alleged crimes and his death. - Parties and private jets - Trump, then a property mogul and self-styled playboy, appears to have known Epstein, a wealthy money manager, since the 1990s. They partied together in 1992 with NFL cheerleaders at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, according to footage from NBC News, which shows the pair talking and laughing. The same year, Epstein was Trump's only guest at a "calendar girl" competition he hosted involving more than two dozen young women, The New York Times reported. In a display of their close ties, Trump flew on Epstein's private jet at least seven times during the 1990s, according to flight logs presented in court and cited by US media. He has denied this, and in 2024 said he was "never on Epstein's plane." In 1993, according to The New York Times, Trump allegedly groped swimsuit model Stacey Williams after Epstein introduced them at Trump Tower -- a claim the president has refuted. Separate from his links to Epstein, Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by around 20 women. In 2023, he was found liable of sexually abusing and defaming American journalist E. Jean Carroll in a civil trial. - 'Terrific guy' - Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's main accusers who died by suicide this year, said she was recruited into his alleged sex-trafficking network aged 17 while working at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in 2000. Giuffre claimed she was approached there by Ghislaine Maxwell, who was jailed in 2022 for helping Epstein sexually abuse girls. US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein while announcing charges against Epstein during a news conference on July 8, 2019 in New York City. - (Photo by STEPHANIE KEITH / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP) Trump seemed to be on good terms with Epstein during this time, praising him as a "terrific guy" in a 2002 New York Magazine profile. "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side," Trump said. In 2003, according to a Wall Street Journal report, Trump penned a letter for Epstein's 50th birthday featuring a drawing of a naked woman, with his signature "Donald" mimicking pubic hair. His apparent message -- Trump dismissed the letter as a "fake thing" -- read: "Happy Birthday -- and may every day be another wonderful secret." - 'I wasn't a fan' - The pair reportedly had a rupture in 2004 as they competed to buy a waterfront property in Florida, which Trump eventually snagged. The two men were hardly seen together in public from that point. Trump would later say in 2019 that they had a "falling out" and hadn't spoken in 15 years. Shortly after the property auction, police launched a probe that saw Epstein jailed in 2008 for 13 months for soliciting an underage prostitute. He was arrested again in 2019 after he was accused of trafficking girls as young as 14 and engaging in sexual acts with them. Trump, then serving his first term as president, sought to distance himself from his old friend. "I wasn't a fan," he told reporters when the charges were revealed. In 2019, Epstein was found hanging dead in his prison cell awaiting trial. Authorities said he died by suicide. Since then, Trump has latched onto and fueled conspiracy theories that global elites including former president Bill Clinton were involved in Epstein's crimes or death. Those same theories now threaten to destabilise Trump's administration, despite his attempts to dismiss the saga as a "hoax" created by political adversaries.- Ben Turner / AFP
The Star
39 minutes ago
- The Star
No home comfort
AFTER facing hostile crowds at home in the Concacaf Gold Cup, Tyler Adams says US players hope to be better prepared in case American supporters are outnumbered at World Cup matches next year. Sellout crowds of 22,423 at St Louis' Energizer Park and 70,925 at Houston's NRG Stadium overwhelmingly and loudly supported the visiting team during the US' 1-0 win over Guatemala in the semi-finals and 2-1 loss to Mexico in the final. 'That's an experience that they're going to have because who knows what the World Cup landscape is going to look like in terms of fans and the turnout?' Adams said. Mexico midfielder Edson Alvarez (on ground) scoring his team's second goal in their 2-1 win over the US. — AFP Mexico fans outnumbered the Americans during the final at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on July 6. — AP 'To play in a home tournament and have – feel like it's an away game in a hostile environment, that's such a good experience for every single player.' First-round World Cup matches for the Americans are scheduled for Inglewood, California and Seattle. Adams, the US captain at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, spoke from Wappinger, New York, where he worked with the lawn-care products firm Scotts to dedicate the Tyler Adams Soccer Pitch at Martz Field Recreation Facility. Six of the American starters in the three Gold Cup knockout matches didn't play in World Cup qualifiers, where opponents often find difficult field conditions and loud fans. Mexico fans cheer before a CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Mexico and Saudi Arabia, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Samantha Chow) 'Giving ourselves an opportunity to play in a final is progress in and of itself,' Adams said. 'So many guys gained experiences throughout the tournament: first time in crazy atmospheres, first time against Mexico in the final, so many firsts for so many players. 'That is going to be hugely valuable to the group in general.' Adams said the five-week training camp was integral in getting to know coach Mauricio Pochettino, hired last year to replace Gregg Berhalter after the team's first-round exit at the Copa America. Mauricio Pochettino was hired last year to replace Gregg Berhalter after the team's first-round exit at the Copa America. — AFP Adams introduced the coach to his family members. 'It creates a bond and a sense of the culture that he's trying to build within our team,' Adams said. 'He sat down after the game and he kind of spoke to us and it really sparked a lot of emotions for him in that final because he knows how hard we worked over the past five weeks and how much more we were hoping to accomplish with winning the trophy. 'But he couldn't have been more proud and I felt exactly the same way of the whole group.' Many regulars missed the tournament and some young players emerged. The first sign of how Pochettino re-evaluates his player pool will be when he selects his roster for friendlies against South Korea on Sept 6 at Harrison, New Jersey, and Japan three days later at Columbus, Ohio. 'Their job just got a whole lot harder,' Adams said of Pochettino and his assistants. 'I think he saw a lot of guys grow and grow into big roles and guys that can play future big roles. And, of course, the next year obviously proves a lot, as well. 'You know, guys have to go back and perform and show that they're at the level to be there.' Adams will report to Bournemouth on July 26 or 27 during the club's US pre-season tour ahead of their Premier League opener at defending champions Liverpool on Aug 15. In the meantime, he gets a few weeks off. Scotts approached him about restoring a field, and on he and the company launched a 'Keep It Real' sweepstakes open through July 24 in which five youth sports organisations will be picked to have Scotts refurbish grass fields with the company's products. 'I mentioned doing something in my hometown where I grew up. They jumped at the idea,' he said. 'I'm having the opportunity to sit on a field where I grew up, came to camp to.' Adams would like to restore more fields. 'I would do 100 if I could,' he said. — AP
