Latest news with #Basile
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tennis fans left saddened over disappointing development around Cruz Hewitt
Tennis fans were left in awe of Cruz Hewitt's display at the French Open on Sunday, but saddened that he couldn't progress past the first round of the junior boys event. The 16-year-old showed the same trademark fight that was common in father Lleyton's matches, taking his older and higher-ranked opponent to the brink. Cruz went through qualifying to make the junior event at Roland Garros, and proved a handful on Sunday for Pierluigi Basile. The Italian player is two years older and higher-placed in the world junior standings at No.24, compared to Hewitt at 41. The 16-year-old Aussie managed to win the second set against his 18-year-old opponent, before succumbing 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-3. Hewitt lost a very tight opening set in a tie-breaker, and looked headed for a straight-sets exit when Basile served for the match at 5-3 in the second. Basile also had a match point at 5-4, but Hewitt managed to reel off four consecutive games to send the match to a decider. The Aussie youngster was revving up the crowd and willing them to keep him in the contest, showing the same grit and determination that his father showed. But in the end Hewitt ran out of steam and it was Basile advancing to the second round. The Aussie lost in two hours and 10 minutes, unable to reach the second round as he had done at the junior event in January at the Australian Open. Hewitt had also lost in the first round in the senior qualifying event in Melbourne after being granted a wildcard. The 16-year-old is trying to emulate his famous father and make a career of his own, but has so far failed to make it past the second round of a junior grand slam event. Fans were left impressed by his performance on Sunday, but disappointed he couldn't go any further. He wasn't the only son of a famous player to feature on Sunday, with fifth seed Jagger Leach beating Kazakh player Zangar Nurlanuly 6-1 1-6 6-0. Leach is the son of American former triple grand slam winner Lindsay Davenport. Hewitt's fellow Aussie 16-year-old Emerson Jones - the world's No.2 female junior - will kick off her campaign as top seed in the girls' event against US qualifier Capucine Jauffret on Monday (local time), The other Australian in the boys' tournament (Ty Host) will face US sixth seed Benjamin Willwerth. The only Australian remaining in the senior singles tournament is Daria Kasatkina, after Alexei Popyrin proved no match for Tommy Paul on Sunday night. Popyrin's encouraging week in Paris ended in anti-climatic fashion after a crushing 6-3 6-3 6-3 loss to 12th seed Paul in the fourth round. "I'm definitely happy with my week's work, just disappointed with the way it ended," the 25-year-old said. "Look, if I lost this match and I played good tennis then, then I would have been sufficed and happy, but I lost and didn't play my best, really didn't do what I wanted to do, what I've been what I've been banging on about all week, consistency. "There was no consistency today, it was a very, very up-and-down match. And it was just not the way I planned for it." RELATED: Alex de Minaur and fiancee captured in behind-the-scenes moment Tennis world saddened after brutal development for Kyrgios and Osaka Kasatkina will face 18-year-old wizz-kid Mirra Andreeva on Monday after a 6-1 7-5 defeat of former World No.2 Paula Badosa in the third round. Kasatkina is playing her first tournament under the Australian flag after switching allegiances from Russia. with AAP
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘National disgrace': US lawmakers decry student detentions on visit to Ice jails
Congressional lawmakers denounced as a 'national disgrace' the treatment of Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk, the students being detained by US immigration authorities for their pro-Palestinian activism, during a visit to the two facilities in Louisiana where each is being held. Related: Why a holiday in the US is out of the question | Zoe Williams 'We stand firm with them in support of free speech,' the Louisiana congressman Troy Carter, who led the delegation, said during a press conference after the visits on Tuesday. 'They are frightened, they're concerned, they want to go home.' Öztürk, a Tufts University PhD student, and Khalil, a graduate of Columbia, have been detained for more than a month since US immigration authorities took them into custody. Neither have been accused of criminal conduct and are being held in violation of their constitutional rights, members of the delegation said. The delegation included representatives Carter, Bennie Thompson, Ayanna Pressley, Jim McGovern, Senator Ed Markey and Alanah Odoms, the executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana. They visited the South Louisiana Ice processing center in Basile, where Öztürk is being held, and traveled to the Central Louisiana Ice processing center in Jena to see Khalil. They met with Öztürk and Khalil and others in Ice custody to conduct 'real-time oversight' of a 'rogue and lawless' administration, Pressley said. Their detention comes as the Trump administration has staged an extraordinary crackdown on immigrants, illegally removing people from the country and seeking to detain and deport people for constitutionally protected free speech that it considers adverse to US foreign policy. 'It's a national disgrace what is taking place,' Markey said. 'We stand right now at a turning point in American history. The constitution is being eroded by the Trump administration. We saw today here in these detention centers in Louisiana examples of how far [it] is willing to go.' McGovern described those being held as political prisoners. He said: 'This is not about enforcing the law. This is moving us toward an authoritarian state.' Late last month, officials detained Öztürk, who co-wrote a piece in a Tufts student newspaper that was critical of the university's response to Israel's attacks on Palestinians. The 30-year old has said she has been held in 'unsanitary, unsafe, and inhumane' conditions in a Louisiana facility and has had difficulty receiving medical treatment. Öztürk was disappeared when she was detained, Pressley said, adding that the student was denied food, water and the opportunity to seek legal counsel. Khalil missed the birth of his first child, Pressley said. She described Donald Trump as a dictator with a draconian vision for the US. 'They are setting the foundational floor to violate the due process and free speech of every person who calls this country home, whatever your status is,' she said. 'It could be you tomorrow for suffering a miscarriage. It could be you tomorrow for reading a banned book.' Those in custody are shaken and were visibly upset and afraid, the delegation said. They have said they are not receiving necessary healthcare and that the facilities are kept extremely cold. 'We have to resist, we have to push back. We're a much better country than this,' McGovern said. Earlier this month a judge ruled that Khalil, who helped lead demonstrations at Columbia last year and has been imprisoned for more than a month, is eligible to be deported from the US. The Trump administration has argued that Khalil, a lawful permanent resident of the US and child of Palestinian refugees, holds beliefs that are counter to the country's foreign policy interests. On Monday, Senator Peter Welch of Vermont met with Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian green-card holder and Columbia student who was detained while at a naturalization interview.
