UK: Macron meets the King
A new report by the Office for Budget Responsibility finds the outlook dire for British finances, forecasting national debt to grow to 270 percent of GDP by the 2070s if nothing is changed.
And Wimbledon is drawing to an end, but not before temperatures are set to hit the 30s again.
Hugo Gye is Political Editor of The i Paper
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RNZ News
5 hours ago
- RNZ News
Tennis: Evolving Swiatek meets resilient Anisimova as Wimbledon set for new champion
Iga Swiatek of Poland in action during the women's singles at Wimbledon. Photo: AFP The Wimbledon women's singles championship will culminate with a new name set to be etched onto the gilded Venus Rosewater Dish for the eighth successive year. Eighth seed Iga Swiatek of Poland will look to win her sixth Grand Slam title and first on the grass courts of London when she faces 13th-seeded American Amanda Anisimova, who is targeting her maiden major crown. Swiatek stamped her authority as the queen of clay when she lifted her fourth French Open title in five years in 2024. Her vast trophy cabinet also contains the 2022 US Open trophy. It has been a barren 13-month run for the 24-year-old, who has had to deal with off-court distractions after a short doping ban late last year following her positive test for trimetazidine due to contaminated sleep medication. While the 24-year-old has never previously had too much love for grass, with the slick surface posing a litany of challenges for the Pole, Wimbledon has offered her a golden opportunity to return to winning ways and confirm herself as an all-court ace. "I never thought it was going to be possible," said Swiatek, who will attempt to become the youngest woman since 20-year-old Serena Williams in 2002 to win Grand Slam singles titles on all three surfaces. "I'm not this kind of person that sets these kinds of goals. I live tournament-by-tournament. It's not like I wake up and I'm like, 'Ok, I'm going to win three Grand Slams this year' because that's not how I work. "I have more down-to-earth goals, practising day-by-day. This is what has always been working." Swiatek's approach has helped her fly under the radar over the past fortnight, with only one set dropped in the tournament, and she romped into the final by thrashing 2020 Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-0. Amanda Anisimova while playing at the 2020 ASB Classic in Auckland. Photo: PHOTOSPORT She could become only the third woman since tennis turned professional in 1968 to win all of her first six major finals, joining Margaret Court and Monica Seles, but Swiatek is not taking the big-hitting Anisimova lightly. "I haven't followed her previous matches... she must be playing great," said Swiatek, who until last month had never even reached the final of a grass court event. "She had a great tournament before Wimbledon. She knows how to play on grass. With her game style, the surface fits her, so it's going to be a challenge." Drawing inspiration from Williams, Anisimova will look to become the first American woman to claim the Wimbledon title since her compatriot in 2016 and keep her country's flag flying at the majors. After Madison Keys won the Australian Open at the start of the year and Coco Gauff triumphed at Roland Garros, victory for Anisimova will keep alive hopes of US women completing an "American Slam" of the four majors. Having dabbled in art while taking a mental health break from the sport in 2023 over burnout fears, the 23-year-old Anisimova will look to pick up her racket and paint a masterpiece on Centre Court with the world watching. There have been strokes of brilliance during her run this year, highlighted by her semi-final win over top seed Aryna Sabalenka, but Anisimova said reaching the level she has after her eight-month sabbatical felt even more special. "It goes to show that it's possible," Anisimova said. "That's a really special message I've been able to show because when I took my break, a lot of people told me I'd never make it to the top again if I take so much time away from the game. That was a little hard to digest. "I did want to come back and still achieve a lot and win a Grand Slam one day. Just me being able to prove that you can get back to the top if you prioritise yourself... that's incredibly special to me. It means a lot." Although the pair met as juniors, this will be their first clash at the elite level and Anisimova is up for the challenge as she pits her powerful, aggressive style against the court craft of Swiatek. "Iga's such an unbelievable player," Anisimova said. "She's also been an inspiration to me. Her work ethic and all of her achievements have been really inspiring. I'm sure it will be an amazing match. "I'm going to go out and enjoy every moment and try to not think about what's on the line there." - Reuters
1News
5 hours ago
- 1News
Sinner beats Djokovic, will face Alcaraz in Wimbledon final
Jannik Sinner overwhelmed a not-fully-fit Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the Wimbledon semifinals overnight to set up a showdown for the championship against Carlos Alcaraz. The No. 1-ranked Sinner's victory at Centre Court put him in his first final at the All England Club. No. 2 Alcaraz defeated Taylor Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6) earlier Friday to move within one victory of a third consecutive Wimbledon title. Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after beating Taylor Fritz of the U.S. in a men's singles semifinal at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London (Source: Associated Press) Sinner, a 23-year-old Italian, and Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard, now head into a rematch of their epic final at the French Open four weeks ago. Alcaraz won that one after fending off a trio of match points. ADVERTISEMENT "Hopefully it's going to be a good match, like the last one," Sinner said. "I don't know if it'll get better, because I don't think it's possible." Alcaraz is 5-0 so far in Grand Slam title matches. Sinner owns three major trophies. They are far and away the leaders of men's tennis — and are at the height of their games right now. This will be the seventh straight major tournament won by one or the other. "The things we are doing right now are great for tennis," Alcaraz said. Alcaraz takes a career-best 24-match winning streak into Sunday. Sinner will be participating in his fourth consecutive Grand Slam final, after winning the US Open last September and the Australian Open in January, before his heart-breaking defeat in Paris after wasting a two-set lead. For the 38-year-old Djokovic, his lopsided loss brought an end to his latest bid for an eighth Wimbledon title — which would tie the men's mark held by Roger Federer — and for an unprecedented 25th major trophy in all. Novak Djorkovic of Serbia reacts during the men's semifinal singles match against Jannik Sinner of Italy at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London. (Source: Associated Press) ADVERTISEMENT Djokovic was diminished two days after slipping and doing the splits on what he called a "nasty" and 'awkward' fall in the last game of his quarterfinal victory. He cancelled a practice session Thursday, had his upper left leg checked by a trainer during a medical timeout after the second set against Sinner and was simply unable to move the way the world is so used to seeing. Right after that treatment, Djokovic grabbed a 3-0 lead in the third set and was a point from going up 4-0. But Sinner took six of the remaining seven games. "We all saw, especially in the third set, that he was a bit injured," Sinner said. "He's been in a very difficult situation." When it ended, Djokovic picked up his equipment bags and was given a standing ovation as he headed toward the locker room. He paused to smile, wave and give a thumbs-up to the crowd. Djokovic exited in the semifinals at all three Slams this season, including quitting after a set against Alexander Zverev because of an injured hamstring at the Australian Open, then losing to Sinner at Roland-Garros. There was more intrigue in Friday's first semifinal, particularly when Fritz led 6-4 in the fourth-set tiebreaker, meaning he had two chances to force things to a fifth. But Alcaraz collected the next four points by forcing mistakes by Fritz to finish off the win, then rocked back on his heels, spread his arms wide and screamed. "I'm just really proud about the way that I stayed calm," Alcaraz said, "and [was] thinking clearly." ADVERTISEMENT Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, right, greets Taylor Fritz of the U.S. after beating him in a men's singles semifinal at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London. (Source: Associated Press) With five-time Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg and celebrities such as Anna Wintour and Leonardo DiCaprio looking on, Alcaraz marked some of his best shots with a shout of "Vamos!" or a raised index finger. "A lot of the things that I would have changed, I think would have only helped me for a point or two, and then I think Carlos would have just made an adjustment,' said the fifth-seeded Fritz, the runner-up to Sinner at the US Open, "and I don't think it would have been a long-term answer". The temperature topped 30C, with no clouds interrupting the blue sky overhead to offer protection from the sun. For the second consecutive day, spectators had trouble in the heat; there were two brief delays in one second-set game while fans needed to be helped. The pop of a Champagne cork could be heard in the stands just before the start, and the Spaniard burst out of the gate, taking 10 of the initial 12 points, including a break for a 1-0 lead. That game featured glimpses of why Alcaraz is so great already. Indeed, the very first point was illustrative: He returned a 135 mph serve, then capped a 10-stroke exchange with a delicate drop shot. To be clear, Fritz played exceedingly well, conjuring a quality with his neon-orange racket frame that would have been good enough to overcome most any foe on grass. As everyone paying attention — including Sinner — knows by now, Alcaraz is not just any foe. "He has so many different ways to win,' Fritz said, 'and he's very good at making adjustments.
RNZ News
7 hours ago
- RNZ News
Stock markets retreat as Trump ramps up trade-offensive
US President Donald Trump holds a chart titled 'Reciprocal Tariffs' during an event at the White House in April. Photo: AFP / Brendan Smialowski European and US stock markets retreated Friday as US President Donald Trump ramped up his trade offensive, threatening a 35-percent levy on Canada . Trump dampened earlier optimism by firing off more than 20 letters to governments outlining new tariffs if agreements are not reached by 1 August. Bitcoin meanwhile pushed on with its climb, reaching an all-time high above US$118,000. The dollar was higher against its main rivals, and oil prices gained. Wall Street's three main indices fell, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq retreating from records. But the pullback was relatively modest, implying that many investors are taking a wait-and-see approach to Trump's latest tariff broadsides. "We have yet to see new substantial tariffs actually be enforced," said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments, describing investors as skeptical the biggest levies will actually be enacted. A note from Oxford Economics characterised Trump's moves as "more tariff theatrics", while allowing that the levy on Canada produced "jitters". In Europe, where investors were awaiting news of Trump's new tariff level targeting the European Union, the Paris stock market dropped 0.9 percent and Frankfurt 0.8 percent. "The fallout hasn't been more pronounced because the market still continues to view all of this as a point of negotiating leverage," said analyst Patrick O'Hare of Trump dialled up his trade war rhetoric Thursday, warning that Canada faced a 35-percent tax, while other countries would be handed blanket tariffs of up to 20 percent, from the current 10 percent. That came after he outlined plans to impose 50-percent tariffs on copper imports, while threatening 200-percent levies on pharmaceuticals, and hit Brazil with a new 50-percent charge. The moves are the latest by the White House in a campaign it said was aimed at ending decades of the United States being "ripped off". Trump's initial bombshell tariffs announcement in April sent markets into turmoil until he paused them for three months, and the latest measures have had less impact. London's FTSE 100 and the pound retreated after data showed the UK economy unexpectedly shrank in May - its second consecutive monthly decline. That followed a mixed session in Asia, where Hong Kong rose, Tokyo fell and Shanghai flattened by the close. Shares in BP jumped 3.4 percent in London after the energy giant said it expected to report higher oil and gas production for its second quarter. Levi Strauss & Co. shot up 11.3 percent after reporting higher profits on a 6.4 percent rise in revenues. The denim company scored especially solid growth in the Americas and Europe. - AFP
