Latest news with #Parisians
Euronews
an hour ago
- Sport
- Euronews
Kurash kombat: An ancient sport lands a blow in the heart of France
There's no place to hide once you step forward to fight on the gilam, so fittingly the International Kurash Tournament took place in the open air at the Emile Anthoine Stadium, right beneath one of the Eiffel Tower, one of world's most famous landmarks. For those who gathered athletes, diplomats, sports leaders and curious Parisians, it soon became clear - this was not just about medals. The opening ceremony began with athletes parading under their national flags as the anthem of Uzbekistan played across the square. Among the dignitaries, Uzbekistan's Ambassador to France, Nodir Ganiev, was the first to address the audience describing the competition as 'a vivid example of friendly relations, cultural exchange and sports diplomacy between the two nations'. Moments later, Mohammad Reza Nassiri, Secretary General of the International Kurash Association, spoke of a turning point for the sport: 'A positive move forward for the development of Kurash worldwide'. The night Paris discovered Kurash As the evening progressed, the crowd around the mat grew thicker, bathed in the glow of the Eiffel Tower's lights. For many in attendance, it was their first time seeing Kurash. 'I expected to see Greco‑Roman wrestling,' admitted Maxime Boyer, a representative of Toulouse's city hall, still surprised after watching several bouts. 'Instead, I discovered a discipline closer to judo but with its own soul. It's a beautiful image, a thousand‑year‑old Uzbek tradition showcased in one of France's most symbolic places'. British coach Paul Sawyer was equally taken in: 'I've travelled the world, but I've never been to an event under such a historic background. Europe was a little behind Asia in embracing Kurash, but now the ball is rolling', he said. The matches themselves were electric. Four weight categories: men's -90 kg and +90 kg, women's -70 kg and +70 kg, each brought its own stories. France, as host nation fielded four athletes in every class, ready to challenge Uzbekistan's champions. In the heavyweight division, Sherali Juraev from Uzbekistan battled Dutch contender Ansah Ferdinand in a semi-final that was decided in the dying seconds. Juraev won, and then went on to face French athlete Cédric Benjamin in the final. Juraev's clean victory sealed his reputation and the gold medal. In the -90 kg class, Alikhon Nodirov of Uzbekistan fought his way through every bout to claim the title. On the women's side, the contests showed Kurash's reach beyond Central Asia. Britain's Nun Chloe Jessica was unstoppable in +70 kg, while in -70 kg, the Netherlands' Nayome rose to the top. Each winner left the mat with a diploma, a cash prize and crucial ranking points for the WSP International Tournament, but perhaps more importantly, with the respect of a new audience. Dreams that stretch beyond Paris Kurash has been practiced for more than 3,500 years, yet its ambitions are firmly in the future. 'This tournament, in front of the Eiffel Tower where the 2024 Olympics were held, shows we're ready for the next step', said Bakhtiyor Kadirov, First Deputy Chairman of the Kurash Federation of Uzbekistan. 'Our goal is to see Kurash in the Olympic Games'. Winner Sherali Juraev, holding his medal shared the same view: 'Today we demonstrated the strengths of our national wrestling. We hope to see Kurash on the Olympic stage in the future, and we are grateful to France for the warm reception'. More than medals Even after the final whistle and as the crowd began to leave, the atmosphere endured. The notes of Uzbek music from the opening night hung in the air, while athletes and fans lingered, discussing moves, tactics and the unexpected grace of a sport many were seeing for the first time. For three days, on a mat laid out beneath the Eiffel Tower, that bridge was alive. And for many watching, it was only the beginning of Kurash's journey into the global spotlight.
The Star
14 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Berlin banned river swimming a century ago, but now locals want to dive back in
People swim in the river Spree to demand the lift of the hundred years old swimming ban at the river in front of the Stadtschloss or City Place in Berlin. — MARKUS SCHREIBER/AP A century after the city of Berlin banned swimming in the Spree River because it was so polluted that locals were at risk of falling ill, there's a push by swimmers to get back into the water. Around 200 people jumped into the river's slow-moving, greenish water last month to show that it's not only clean enough, but also lots of fun to splash and swim in the city's historic Mitte neighborhood along the world-famous Museum Island. A group calling itself Fluss Bad Berlin, or River Pool Berlin, has been lobbying for several years to open up the city's meandering river for swimmers again. "For 100 years now, people have not been allowed to swim in the inner-city Spree and we no longer think this is justified, because we can show that the water quality is usually good enough to go swimming during the season," said Jan Edler, who is on the board of Fluss Bad Berlin and helped organize Tuesday's swim-in. To circumvent the ban, the group registered their collective swim event as an official protest. Swimmers in the Spree canal. The protesters have been lobbying for several years to open up the city's river for swimmers again. — Photos: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP Standing on a little staircase that leads down to the Spree canal, which flows around the southern side of the island, Edler stressed that "we want the people to use the Spree for recreation again.' He pointed to the fact that the river has been cleaned up thoroughly, and that the water quality has improved in the last decade and is constantly being monitored. Even city officials in the central Mitte district of Berlin say they'd be interested in introducing river swimming again in 2026. "There are still many things that need to be clarified, but I am optimistic that it can succeed,' district city councilor Ephraim Gothe told German news agency dpa recently. Rivers for swimming Supporters of lifting the swimming ban also point at Paris, where the Seine River was opened up for swimmers for the Olympic Games last year and will be opened this summer for Parisians. Swimming there had been banned since 1923. In Vienna, too, water lovers can splash into the Danube River canal, in the Swiss city of Basel they can bathe in the Rhine, and in Amsterdam there are some designated areas where people can plunge into the canals. Only in Berlin, swimming has been continuously prohibited in the Spree since May 1925, when the German capital closed all traditional river pools because the water was deemed too toxic. Some of those pools weren't only used for recreational swimming, but were a place for poor people to wash themselves if they didn't have bathrooms at home. A swimmer bathes in the Spree canal during a demonstration to mark the 100th anniversary of a ban on swimming in the Spree river, Berlin. These days, the water is clean on most days, except when there's heavy rain, which leads to some water pollution. Allowing swimmers to dive into the river would also mean loosening the historical monument protection on some parts of the riverbanks to install easy access ways to the water and places for lifeguards. Another problem is the busy boat traffic on the Spree that could endanger swimmers. However, for the time being, the Fluss Bad Berlin group only wants to open up nearly 2km long canal where there's no boat traffic. For what it's worth, the German capital, a city of 3.9 million, could definitely need more places where people can cool off in the summer as regular outdoor pools tend to be hopelessly overcrowded on hot summer days. "The cities are getting hotter,' Edler said. "It's also a question of environmental justice to create offers for people who just can't make it out of the city when it's so hot and can enjoy themselves in the countryside.' – By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER/ AP
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
PSG depart Atlanta en route to New York for Real Madrid clash
The Parisians wrap up their Atlanta stay with one final training session before heading to New York for a FIFA Club World Cup semifinal clash with Real Madrid.
Telegraph
16-07-2025
- Telegraph
How to make London great again, according to 10 of our writers
London has lost its mojo. This is evident in the sorry state of its streets, the creaking infrastructure, the shuttered nightclubs, the dodgy candy shops, and the rise of phone-snatching moped gangs. And the world has started to take notice, with the city struggling to attract tourists since the pandemic compared with its European rivals. So how can the city plot a path back to prosperity? What might boost visitor numbers? Which way lie the sunlit uplands? Here are 10 suggestions that could help shatter the malaise. 1. Pedestrianise the West End Isn't the answer staring us in the face? It's time London stopped dilly-dallying and fully pedestrianised not just Oxford Street, but the whole of the West End. From a visitor point of view, pedestrianisation makes for a safer, more relaxed environment in otherwise hectic city centres. From an economic point of view, it would boost footfall and reduce store vacancies at a time when high-street shops are in combat with online retailers. We wouldn't be alone. Parisians have recently voted to pedestrianise 500 streets in the capital, while campaigners in Berlin are planning to ban cars in an area equal to 34 square miles. Bruges, Prague, Madrid, Copenhagen and Vienna have already pedestrianised their city centres to excellent effect. It's a complex subject. Traffic flow would have to be thought through carefully, as would accessibility for specific groups. And then there's the cost. But in the long term, for public health, for liveability, for the economic resilience of our capital, this is imperative. And look! The precedent has already been set. In December 2022, the pedestrianisation of Aldwych, on the Strand, was completed. Noise and air particulate matter are down, and businesses have reported a boost in trade. And, guess what? The city continues to operate just fine. Greg Dickinson 2. Improve the phone signal If you've tried to use your phone in central London recently only to end up staring at the 'wheel of death', you're not alone: London's mobile signal is abysmal, even by the UK's already poor standards. A lack of phone masts across the city and Glastonbury-level concentration of revellers in the West End mean that mobile data ends up being rationed like bread in a workhouse lunch hall. Having to wait for messages to load isn't just annoying; it also causes real-life problems: West End theatres struggle to get the audiences seated on time as it takes so long to check tickets (which, of course, have been digital-only since the pandemic). Meanwhile, all those unfortunate tourists who resort to waving their phone like a divining rod in an attempt to connect become sitting ducks for the phone thieves who plague much of Zone 1. Do us all a favour and fix it pronto. Robert Jackman 3. Learn to deal with any type of weather I'm not talking about just installing air conditioning in every building (though that would be nice too); rather, I am advocating for a city in which everything – the trains, the roads, the sewers – does not break, stop or disintegrate as soon as we get some heavy rain or a reasonably warm day. During heatwaves, the bending (and sometimes buckling) of tracks makes for Tube chaos – and when the trains do run, commuters find themselves wilting in the sort of temperatures in which it is illegal to transport cattle. Likewise, when the heavens open, floods abound (often due to blocked road drains), shoddily mended potholes shrug off their inferior fillings, and emergency sandbags appear at every subterranean station. London's infrastructure is ancient, I understand. Nevertheless, far larger cities – Shanghai, Tokyo, Los Angeles – deal with weather equally (and, in some cases, far more) extreme, but manage not to grind to a halt (they also have ice-cold, air-conditioned metros, storm drains and, evidently, higher pothole-fixing standards). It's possible; we, clearly, just haven't mastered it yet. Gemma Knight-Gilani 4. Make visitors sign a pledge to follow the rules The answer to London's woes lies in the tiny nation of Palau, a clutch of islands in the Pacific Ocean's remote Micronesia archipelago. On arrival, Palau asks – nay, demands – that all tourists sign a pledge in their passports, promising to 'tread lightly' and 'act kindly' during their visit. That's what we need for London, to ensure that everyone sticks to our own fundamental rules – such as escalator etiquette, no dawdling, and respect the holy sanctity of the queue. Talk quietly (or on the Tube, not at all), avoid eye contact, and for heaven's sake use headphones. Tip, but not too much (it makes the rest of us look bad); never complain (unless weather-related); and always apologise (even if it's not your fault). How nice it would be if we all knew the commandments – and stuck to them. Of course, if you didn't, there would be consequences. 'Capital punishment', if you will. If caught transgressing, the penalty would be suitably harsh: a trip to Madame Tussauds at peak time, or a ride on the Central Line at rush hour. For repeat offenders: jellied eels. 5. Plant more trees London in the summertime feels more like downtown Dubai these days. And if you're feeling hot under the collar in this latest heatwave, don't expect things to improve soon. Report after report has warned that London – along with most of the UK – is woefully unprepared for rising temperatures. It's time we took a literal leaf out of Medellín's book. Planners in the Colombian city have gone on a tree-planting frenzy in recent years, criss-crossing the concrete jungle with dozens of 'green corridors'. This urban tree canopy has been attributed with cooling neighbourhoods by an average of 2C. It looks pretty, too. The good news for the English capital is that the eponymous London plane – which already lines many of the city's streets – showed remarkable resilience to extreme heat in a recent study. Planting more of them is an idea that should land on fertile ground, given London is one of only four national park cities globally. Gavin Haines 6. Stay open past 11pm I've had some magical evenings on holiday – clattering over the cobbles of Rome in high heels for a midnight gelato in the summer heat; post-theatre chats in Edinburgh coffee shops; lingering meals in Málaga restaurants that come alive only after 11pm. At home in London? Not so much. There are clubs, of course, but those require youth and commitment, of which I have neither. Beyond those, it seems we are a city of Cinderellas. 'Why Did London Start Going to Bed so Early?' bemoans one Reddit thread. Last week, having tried in vain to find a bite to eat after a concert in Hyde Park, I was forced to admit defeat and get the train home for a slice of toast. Obviously that was before midnight, when most rail and underground services shut (the night Tube operates on certain lines on Fridays and Saturdays). Otherwise, I would have been on the night bus, an experience tourists would do well to avoid. But with so many people now working from home combined with pricier utility bills, the snoozefest seems set to continue. It's a real shame for tourists hoping to make the most of those long – and latterly sizzling – summer evenings. Amanda Hyde 7. Charge foreign tourists to visit our museums This summer, the British Museum is teeming with large tour groups, and even on a cloudy day, the place feels like a sauna. Time your visit poorly, and you'll find a crowd 10-deep trying to glimpse the Rosetta Stone. Would it really be so unreasonable to charge non-Britons during peak season to distribute the spread of visits more evenly throughout the year and ease the strain caused by oversized groups? (Technically, there's no cap on tour sizes, although some rooms in the museum are off-limits to groups to avoid clogging passageways.) In Cairo, an Egyptian pays the equivalent of just 45 pence to enter the Egyptian Museum, while I'd be charged £8.25. The Met in New York charges £22, but nothing if you live in New York state. Imagine if the British Museum charged non-British residents £20 per visit between, say, June and September. It could fund much-needed ventilation for a start, and support other projects across London. A modest seasonal fee could make a real difference, while keeping the museum experience more enjoyable for everyone. Will Hide 8. Banish surly service I get it. I really do. Long days, low pay and hot, cross guests who can, no doubt, sometimes be rude. But I've lost count of the times I've walked into pubs/cafés/restaurants with a cheery 'hello!' to be met by a dead fish stare, or a head bowed over a screen, studiously refusing to acknowledge my arrival. It's easy to remedy, with some very simple training and a few simple rules: 1) Make eye contact. 2) Smile. 3) Say something such as: 'Your table will be ready in five minutes, may I get you a seat/drink/menu?', 'Sorry, we're short-staffed, but here's your table and I'll bring menus/water,' or, 'If you're really rushing, perhaps try elsewhere?' It means happier clients and possible tips. Sophie Campbell 9. Give us more medium-sized music venues The Elizabeth Line may have vastly quickened the process of travelling across the city, but it chalked up a notable casualty when the construction work carved a great hole at the point where Oxford Street and Charing Cross Road meet. The compulsory purchase and demolition of the Astoria – the former cinema which, between 1985 and 2009, was a dingy but much-loved gig venue – erased one of London's most vital spaces for live music. While the opening of the @sohoplace theatre (almost) on the same footprint in 2022 ensured the site is still devoted to the arts, it is no substitute for what was a crucial stepping stone for acts clambering the ladder to the biggest stages. The Astoria held 1,600-2,000 souls. It was a halfway house en route to Brixton Academy (4,921 people) or Hammersmith Apollo (up to 5,000). Its removal from the live-music ecosystem has been another blow to young bands struggling with the loss of record sales in the streaming era, and the practical difficulties of touring in Europe post-Brexit. A replacement would be a gift to the city, but is unlikely to happen. The closing of adjacent venue the Borderline in 2019 (a victim of soaring Soho rents) only added insult to injury. Chris Leadbeater 10. Embark on a campaign of beautification It's certainly not an original observation, but we seem to have collectively – both the governors and the governed – abandoned the notion of civic pride. Living amid wall-to-wall ugliness cannot be good for the soul. Yet Londoners are forced to spend much of their lives staring at garish blue wheelie bins, eyesore shopfronts, a surfeit of largely unnecessary road signs, scruffy and litter-strewn front gardens, and pavements patched up without care for aesthetics. It shouldn't be too much to expect local councils to force retailers to swap sore-thumb colour schemes (we're looking at you, The Works) for something easier on the eye (like, say, Gail's). Nor to spend some of their ample income via record levels of taxation on things such as public topiary, smart wooden benches and more than one litter collection per fortnight. But each of us also needs to take personal responsibility – by putting up a geranium-filled window box, by promptly weeding our driveways, and by picking up that selfish person's discarded beer can, rather than simply tutting at the sight of it. Begin your own campaign of beautification, and set an example for others to follow. Oliver Smith
The National
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
FIFA have finally done it - I'm getting tired of football
Homer, having died and gone to hell, is sent to the 'Ironic Punishment Division', where he is force-fed an endless supply of his favourite sweet treat – donuts – from a conveyer belt. Here I was, someone who loves football and even depends upon it to make a living, feeling more than a little nauseous from having it crammed endlessly into my cakehole. Unlike Homer, though, it turns out I didn't possess the insatiable appetite to much stomach being force-fed Gianni Infantino's gross, overblown spectacle. I know, I know, no one was actually forcing me to watch it. I could have ignored it completely, as I actually did for most for the tournament. Whether it was morbid curiosity, the fact I hadn't seen a game in a couple of weeks or the 'FOMO' on another exhibition of PSG's slick football after their demolition of Real Madrid, I eventually decided to tune into the final, where the Qatar-backed Parisians were in fact blown off the park in the first half by those plucky underdogs, Chelsea, whose squad was assembled for the measly sum of £1.4bn. (Image: Getty Images) Even the £110m that the Londoners banked from winning the thing only accounts for about a quarter of their spend in the last 12 months. Despite the gawdy glitz and glamour though – the half-time show, the thrones perched on high from where Infantino, Donald Trump and their wives surveyed the scene like vultures greedily eyeing the carcass of a once great sport – the overriding feeling was one of apathy. Read more: Chelsea had won an invitational tournament in the USA, played out during the close season in baking heat. They were crowned 'World Champions', even though some of the world's best clubs were not taking part, while amateur sides like Auckland City (beaten 10-0 by Bayern Munich) were, as a token gesture to the global nature of the tournament. Did anyone really care? For all the billion-dollar bluster, the tournament remains something of a curiosity rather than a must-see event. At best, it seems to occupy a status no greater than the UEFA Conference League. If that. It is the SPFL Trust Trophy of 'elite' competitions. But over and above the whole dodgy premise and overblown extravagance of this manufactured mishmash of a tournament, there was more to my indifference. It was just too much football. And too much club football, specifically. The novelty of summer tournaments is, firstly, that they only take place once every two years, and secondly, that they feature national teams. By the end, despite one South American team, Fluminense, lasting until the semi-final stage, this was little more than a diluted version of the same teams we watch year-on-year slugging it out for real in the Champions League. A tournament which itself has grown a little tired, despite the introduction of the expanded league phase (more games, again) last season. More important than spectator fatigue though is the issue of player welfare. I am certainly no fan of Infantino and the direction in which he is dragging world football, but Sergio Marchi, president of FIFPRO (a worldwide representative organisation with around 65,000 footballers in their membership) really let him have it this week. Comparing Infantino to 'Nero' and describing the Club World Cup as a 'fiction', Marchi let rip. 'FIFPRO cannot fail to point out, with absolute clarity, that this competition hides a dangerous disconnect with the true reality experienced by most footballers around the world,' he said. 'What was presented as a global celebration of football was nothing more than a fiction created by FIFA, promoted by its president, without dialogue, sensitivity and respect for those who sustain the game with their daily efforts. 'A grandiloquent staging inevitably reminiscent of the 'bread and circuses' of Nero's Rome, entertainment for the masses while behind the scenes inequality, precariousness and the lack of protection for the true protagonists deepen.' Ouch. FIFPRO and other bodies such as the English Premier League are taking legal action against FIFA for the lack of communication before staging this tournament, and in an effort to protect those protagonists - the players - have now struck an agreement with the governing body that 'there must be at least 72 hours of rest between matches, and that players should have a rest period/holiday of at least 21 days at the end of each season'. A study conducted on FIFPRO's behalf suggested players should have at least eight weeks of rest between seasons, but I guess it's a start. For many reasons, it is essential for the future of the game that there is an acceptance within FIFA that it might sometimes actually be ok if there is no top-level football to relentlessly feast upon. For the players, endless seasons not only increase the risk of injury, but fatigue also dilutes the quality of the product for spectators. (Image: Getty Images) Players are reluctant at times to speak out over such issues, wary of being criticised for complaining when they are so abundantly remunerated, but the likes of Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois have broken cover over their experiences in the US this summer, and the persistence with afternoon kick off times when temperatures are at their peak. "It is warm and it is not easy to play," Courtois said. "If the games were played in the evening, it would be better for the spectacle." All of this raises concerns about the staging of the World Cup in the Americas next summer. In true Infantino style, such piffling details such as the players weren't factored in when deciding to plough ahead with his plan to expand the tournament to 48 teams, and with 104 games to pack into 39 days, you can probably take a decent guess as to whether commercial broadcasting interests will win out or concerns over player welfare. Also, the only way for the top clubs to cope with the modern schedule is to hoard players, and so the gap between the rich and the rest increases further. 'World Champions' Chelsea, for instance, currently have a first-team squad of 43 players. Almost as much as Motherwell last season. And speaking of the humbler teams who make up the earthlier delights presented to us here in Scotland, most of them are already back in action in the League Cup group stage. It might just be me as I advance into middle age and grow ever more wistful for those long summers without football - stretches that may have seemed interminable at the time, but made the start of each season an eagerly anticipated event after many weeks, if not months, of being starved of action - but this year, it barely feels like there's been a close season at all. I don't know if I'll ever reach a point where I truly lose my appetite for football. But increasingly, I'm starting to come round to the notion, unlike our old pals Homer and Gianni, that you can have too much of a good thing.
