JAN MOIR: The supercilious denials about THAT smack from the Macrons are just so Gallic - and so galling!
Suddenly, French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte are madly in love!
Oh, look everyone. Toast yourself in the furnace of their new-found ardour. They kiss in public, they hug like bugs in a rug, they suddenly seem keen on presenting a united front to the world.
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Reuters
26 minutes ago
- Reuters
Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe rose 10% m/m in May, data shows
MOSCOW, June 2 (Reuters) - Russian energy giant Gazprom's ( opens new tab average daily natural gas supplies to Europe via the TurkStream undersea pipeline increased by 10.3% in May from a month earlier, Reuters calculations showed on Monday. Turkey is the only transit route left for Russian gas to Europe after Ukraine chose not to extend a five-year transit deal with Moscow when it expired on January 1. Calculations based on data from European gas transmission group Entsog showed that Russian gas exports via the TurkStream pipeline rose to 46.0 million cubic metres (mcm) per day in May from 41.7 mcm per day in April. That was down from 47.2 mcm in May 2024. Total Russian gas supplies to Europe via TurkStream stood at around 7.2 billion cubic metres (bcm) in the first five months of this year, compared to 6.6 bcm during the same period a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations. The company, which has not published its own monthly statistics since the start of 2023, did not respond to a request for comment. Russia supplied about 63.8 bcm of gas to Europe by various routes in 2022, Gazprom data and Reuters calculations show. That plummeted by 55.6% to 28.3 bcm in 2024, but increased to around 32 bcm in 2024. At their peak in 2018-2019, annual gas flows to Europe reached between 175 bcm and 180 bcm.
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
The Simon Yates lesson that Isaac del Toro must learn from unforgettable Giro d'Italia
One year on from Tadej Pogacar 's demolition job of the competition at his maiden Giro d'Italia, another young climber was having his moment in the sun. The comparisons were inevitable as soon as Isaac Del Toro appeared on the scene: lean, explosive, with a natural gift for spotting his moment, an obvious thrill for racing. But as the Mexican progressed through this Giro d'Italia it felt like the Tadej Pogacar comparisons weighed lightly on his shoulders. The 21-year-old seemed a changed figure from the wide-eyed figure who pulled on the maglia rosa in disbelief on stage nine, at the end of an audacious attack on one of the race's toughest stages, the gravel-dotted run into Siena. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider grew into the race, seeming to grow in confidence and stature with each day in head-to-toe pink. It proved difficult for the likes of Richard Carapaz to dislodge him as he marked every one of his rivals' moves, never missing a beat. He outlasted both Juan Ayuso and Adam Yates, in theory the squad's official co-leaders going into the race. There were echoes of another prodigious talent's youthful enthusiasm in his attacking racing style, and like with Pogacar's Tour de France in 2022, it proved insufficient to win the Giro d'Italia. Jumbo-Visma isolated Pogacar in the French Alps, wearing the Slovenian down through an all-out assault, as his tremendous efforts over the course of the race told and he finally buckled. A similar situation happened the following year. In Italy, Del Toro appeared at ease closing gaps when other GC contenders attacked, but there were raised eyebrows at his decision to do it all himself, rather than letting his teammates do the dirty work. Question marks remain over UAE Team Emirates' tactics at this race, from their unwillingness to throw the full weight of the squad behind one or the other of del Toro and Ayuso when the Mexican was in the ascendancy, to the failure to work to bring back Yates on the Colle delle Finestre, instead letting the race win ride away into the clouds. Ironically, it was partially a reversion to conservative tactics that cost Del Toro the win – but his exhaustion on the penultimate stage will only have been compounded by the unnecessary energy he spent earlier in the race. Inevitably, Del Toro will be back; his class and ability were apparent as a youngster and have only been emphasised by his near two-week stint in the pink jersey. He is the youngest podium finisher at the Giro since Fausto Coppi 85 years ago, and second on his Giro debut. Grand Tour wins are in his future. But rather than youthful enthusiasm and star power, this Giro was won on patience and experience. Simon Yates raced his 2018 Giro in the aggressive way Del Toro began his stint in pink, before cracking spectacularly with the finish line in sight, losing 38 minutes on the Finestre as he watched Chris Froome ride away to glory. This time Yates, 21st on stage one, kept a low profile until the last possible moment. It was a win seven years in the making. While Del Toro stole the show for much of this race, and the complex politics among UAE's young cohort of starlets made for drama, this race was one for a generation of old-timers. Comparatively, at least. For Primoz Roglic, the overwhelming pre-race favourite, it was a disappointment. In his last twelve Grand Tours, going back to his maiden Vuelta victory in 2019, he has either finished on the podium (seven times) or abandoned the race (five). But this was the redemption tour for the 32-year-old Simon Yates; the exhilarating comeback of 28-year-old Egan Bernal, seventh on GC in Rome and back to attacking ways, three years on from the crash that nearly killed him; the unexpected renaissance of one of cycling's canniest racers, 32-year-old Richard Carapaz. Last year's Giro was a story of untempered dominance, of one of the most brilliant riders to ever grace the sport. This year's was a story of romance, of incredible perseverance, of a rider returning triumphant to the scene of one of his lowest moments. On the other side, it was a story of a young man with the hopes of an entire nation on his shoulders, making history for Mexico and breaking new ground. Lit up by the attacks of the 2019 and 2021 winners, won by a rider who may have thought his chances of another victory at the corsa rosa had passed him by, and the scene of Del Toro's coming of age, this Giro was the sport's past, present and future, all in one.
Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
French tennis star Harriet Dart told to 'wear DEODORANT' finally breaks her silence after 'disrespectful' comments
French tennis player Lois Boisson has broken her silence on British star Harriet Dart's eyebrow-raising on-court comments that suggested that she 'needed deodorant' during their meeting earlier this year. The bizarre encounter took place in France at the Rouen Open in April when Dart was 6-0 down in the first set and part of the way through the second against the home favourite. Rather than focus on her game, Dart made a surprising request to the umpire which was picked up by the courtside microphones, calling for the official to intervene and 'tell her to wear deodorant' because 'she's smelling really bad'. The game continued without further incident, with Dart losing straight sets to the 22-year-old. The British No4 later apologised for the outburst, saying that she was full of regret for the 'heat-of-the-moment' comment. Boisson has largely kept silent on events in the weeks since, only poking fun as the controversy quickly went viral on social media by calling upon cosmetics brand Dove to offer her a sponsorship. The British No4 made the comment to the umpire during a change of ends in their meeting at the Rouen Open Commenters on social media had been quick to call for Dart to receive some kind of sanction for the statements, with one dubbing her 'so disrespectful' and others saying she should be 'suspended'. But gearing up to make her debut in the fourth round of the French Open, Boisson shared her true feelings about the encounter on Sunday. 'It was not difficult to deal with,' Boisson insisted. 'It was okay. It was nothing for me. 'She maybe made a mistake, then I joked about it, that's it.' Boisson admitted that she 'didn't hear' the comments during the match, and only learned about the dig 'two hours later'. The Frenchwoman remained adamant that the name-calling did not affect her, adding: 'It was nothing. Something is cool, you know? 'I take it with the coolest.' Boisson will hope that she maintains a similar froideur when she steps onto Roland-Garros' Court Philippe-Chatrier on Monday to face off with number-three seed Jessica Pegula. The Frenchwoman was handed a wild card at her home tournament, and has before made such a deep run at a Grand Slam. Boisson returns to the tour in 2025 after she was forcibly sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament tear a week before last year's French Open. The 22-year-old is gearing up for a historic fourth-round French Open tie with Jessica Pegula By contrast, Dart was knocked out of the singles tournament in the first round of qualifiers Then, she was ranked 152nd in the world, but after an extended spell out of the game, Boisson is now ranked in the high 300s. Regardless of her result against Pegula, however, Boisson is tracking to reach 170th at the world after her strong form in Paris saw her beat Elise Mertins, Anhelina Kalinina, and her compatriot Elsa Jacquemot. Dart meanwhile was unable to feature as a singles player on the red clay of Roland-Garros after her defeat in qualifiers in straight sets to Anastasiya Soboleva. The 28-year-old was later despatched in main draw doubles when she and Kimberly Birrell lost to Irina-Camelia Begu and Yanina Wickmayer in the first round.
