Nigeria’s 4x100m men’s team have crashed out of qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics which qualifying window closes on Tuesday.
At the sports ground of Yaba College of Technology on Sunday (27 June), the Nigerian quartet of Enoch Adegoke, Usheoritse Itsekiri, Jerry Jakpa and Godson Brume missed Olympic qualifying by 0.1 seconds.
However, the mixed 4x400m this Sunday qualified to join women’s 4x400m and 4x100m who both qualified in the last week
Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani unveiled an ambitious push into clean energy involving 750 billion rupees ($10.1 billion) of investment over three years, marking a new pivot for one of the world’s biggest fossil-fuel billionaires.
Reliance Industries Ltd., which gets 60% of its revenue from oil refining and petrochemicals, plans to spend 600 billion rupees on four “giga factories” to produce solar modules, hydrogen, fuel cells and to build a battery grid to store electricity.
An additional 150 billion rupees will be invested in value chain and other partnerships, Asia’s richest man told shareholders on Thursday.
The move toward green by the Mumbai-based giant, which reported an annual revenue of $63 billion, offers a glimpse of the new order awaiting some of the world’s major fossil-fuel producers.
Global giants such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and TotalEnergies SE have been under pressure to pare their carbon footprint, as governments, investors and consumers join to fight climate change and global warming.
Speaking at the company’s virtual annual meeting, Ambani gave scant details of how he would execute the plan.
He was ranked No. 4 among global fossil-fuel billionaires by Bloomberg Green last year.
The $10 billion in green investment over three years compares with Fitch Ratings’ estimate — published Wednesday — of $7.4 billion in annual average capital expenditure by the Reliance group through March 2025.
Shares of the company fell 2.4% on Thursday in Mumbai, the most in more than two months.
“There is an apprehension that the new initiatives, especially green energy projects, will require high gestation period and may also result in fresh debt for the capex plans,” said Kranthi Bathini of WealthMills Securities Pvt.
He expects these initiatives to benefit the company over the long term.
China plans for first manned mission to Mars in 2033.
The ambitious target is part of a plan to build a base on the Red Planet, in an intensifying space rivalry with the US.
China plans to send its first crewed mission to Mars in 2033, with regular follow-up flights, under a long-term plan to build a permanently inhabited base on the Red Planet and extract its resources.
The ambitious plan, which will intensify a race with the United States to put humans on Mars, was disclosed in detail for the first time after China landed a robotic rover on Mars in mid-May in its inaugural mission to the planet.
Crewed launches to Mars are planned for 2033, 2035, 2037, 2041 and beyond, the head of China’s main rocket maker, Wang Xiaojun, told a space exploration conference in Russia recently by video link.
Before the crewed missions begin, China will send robots to Mars to study possible sites for the base and to build systems to extract resources there, the official China Space News reported on Wednesday, citing Wang, who is head of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.
For human habitation on Mars, crews would have to be able to use the planet’s resources, such as extracting any water beneath its surface, generating oxygen on-site and producing electricity.
An uncrewed round-trip mission to acquire soil samples from the planet is expected by the end of 2030.
NASA, the US space agency, has been developing technology to get a crew to Mars and back sometime in the 2030s.
China’s Mars plan envisages fleets of spacecraft shuttling between Earth and Mars and the major development of its resources, Wang said.
To shorten the travel time, spacecraft would have to tap energy released from nuclear reactions in the form of heat and electricity, in addition to traditional chemical propellants, Wang said.
China would have to accomplish round trips with a total flight time of “a few hundred days”, he said.
Britain’s government is investigating how secret defence documents, outlining the movements of a warship that led to Russia firing warning shots off the Crimean coast, were found at a bus stop in England.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Sunday that an employee reported lost documents last week and that an investigation had been launched.
“It shouldn’t be able to happen,” Brandon Lewis, minister for Northern Ireland, said. “It was properly reported at the time … there’s an internal investigation into that situation.”
A member of the public, who wanted to remain anonymous, contacted the BBC after finding 50 pages of classified information in a soggy heap behind a bus stop in Kent early on Tuesday.
The papers included one set of documents that discussed the potential Russian reaction to HMS Defender’s travel through Ukrainian waters off the Crimea coast on Wednesday, according to the BBC, while another laid out plans for a possible British military presence in Afghanistan.
The MoD said that HMS Defender “conducted innocent passage through Ukrainian territorial waters in accordance with international law” and that “all potential factors” are considered when making “operational decisions”.
The HMS Defender is part of the UK Carrier Strike Group currently heading to the Indo-Pacific region.
However, it was announced earlier this month that it would be temporarily breaking away from the group to carry out its “own set of missions” in the Black Sea.
The Type 45 destroyer caused a clash with Russian forces on Wednesday when it travelled through waters south of the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia unofficially annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Moscow responded by having several aircraft shadowing the ship at varying heights, the lowest being approximately 500 feet (152 metres).
Matthijs De Ligt: Netherlands Lost To Czech Republic ‘Because Of What I Did’
The Netherlands suffered a shock last-16 exit from Euro 2020 at the hands of the Czech Republic – but one Dutch man felt the sense of responsibility of an early exit more than others.
With the teams level at 0-0, Matthijs de Ligt was sent off in the second half for handball when he denied Patrik Schick a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Thirteen minutes after their talismanic young defender trudged off the pitch, the Netherlands were behind and they failed to respond.
Goals from Tomas Holes and Schick eventually did the damage but De Ligt faced up to the media afterwards, saying “we basically lost the match because of what I did”.
“Of course, it feels bad. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have let the ball bounce,” he told Dutch public broadcaster NOS.
“I had it under control. The ball came and I let it bounce. I fell to the ground and got pushed, which made me use my hands.
“The moment changed the game and I feel responsible. I saw how the guys fought after and I’m proud of it. But I feel bad about the incident.”
De Ligt was given support by his manager Frank de Boer, who said “you can always blame it on me”.
“I am responsible at the end of day. I need to take a look in the mirror. I think this group can achieve everything but now the emotions are raw.
“We will have a big hangover. I will take this bitter pill tonight and afterwards we will see what happens.”
But did the Netherlands show enough fight and were the Czechs tactically better?
‘The Dutch didn’t show enough respect’
The Dutch became the first side in the history of the competition to win all three group games and then go on to lose in 90 minutes in the first knockout round.
And former England striker Dion Dublin said they failed to show the Czech Republic “enough respect”.
“The Czechs were better in all departments. They had better commitment. It was disappointing from the Dutch. They have all the talent in the world.
“We know how well they did in the group stage but everything about them today was never going to get them over the line. Sometimes you have to give your fellow professionals a little more respect.”
Former Netherlands midfielder Nigel de Jong told ITV it was a “poor” display.
“There was a lack of intensity, aggression and mentality. Sometimes when there’s a red card the team pulls together, but the Netherlands didn’t do that,” he added.
But midfielder Frenkie de Jong insisted his side “didn’t underestimate” the Czech Republic.
“It was almost as if we were tired, although I have no idea why. We really wanted to win it. We just couldn’t get our game going. Sometimes you have days like that.”
‘The Czech Republic were tactically ready’
For the Czech Republic, it was their first victory in the knockout stages of a major tournament since Euro 2004.
On that occasion they beat Denmark 3-0 in the quarter-finals – the same opponent they now face in the last eight.
Former Dutch international Mario Melchiot told BBC 5 Live: “The tactical level of how the Czech Republic played was totally different.
“Look at the goals the Dutch conceded. Tactically, the Czech Republic were ready, they set the team out and the energy level that they brought was incredible.”
The Czechs, ranked 40th in the world, will face another tough test against Denmark in Azerbaijan but goalscorer Holes has belief.
“It’s unreal, like a dream,” he said. “It was the game of my life. We were the underdogs today, and maybe before in the group stage. I believe we can still surprise Denmark, maybe even beyond that.”
An historic heatwave has scorched northwest region of the US and Canada, toppling records and sending residents searching for relief.
Stores sold out of portable air conditioners and fans, hospitals cancelled outdoor vaccination clinics, cities opened cooling centres, baseball teams abandoned or moved up weekend games, and utilities braced for possible power outages.
Portland, Oregon, reached 42.2 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit ) on Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
The previous heat record for Oregon’s largest city was 41.7 C (107 F ), a mark hit in 1965 and 1981.
Seattle reached 38.3 C (101 F) Saturday, making it the hottest June day on record and only the fourth time in recorded history the usually temperate city had topped 37.7 C (100 F).
The forecast was for even hotter temperatures on Sunday and Monday.
Many all-time heat records could be broken. In Seattle, the highest temperature ever measured was 39.4 C (103 F), in 2009.
Belgium’s Thorgan Hazard thundered in a first-half winner as they beat title holders Portugal 1-0 in their Euro 2020 last-16 game on Sunday to move into the last eight.
Hazard found enough space after a swift passing move to rifle home from 20 metres and score against the run of play in the 42nd minute, setting up a quarter-final clash with Italy, who are unbeaten in their last 31 matches.
Yet Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne, only recently back from a facial injury, could be a doubt, hobbling off three minutes into the second half after suffering an ankle injury shortly before the break.
Diogo Jota had two good chances for the 2016 European champions — one in each half — and Raphael Guerreiro hit the post in the 83rd minute but they could not find an equaliser despite an improved display in the second half.
Belgium will face Italy, who beat Austria 2-1 on Saturday, in Munich on July 2.
Donald Trump has held his first campaign-style rally since leaving the White House, repeating his election grievances and baseless claims of fraud as he urged his supporters to help Republicans win back majorities in the United States Congress.
Saturday’s rally in Ohio – a state the former president carried in the 2020 election – marks a return to the kind of freewheeling mass gatherings that have been critical to retaining the support of his base.
It was held to support Max Miller, a former White House aide who is challenging Republican Representative Anthony Gonzalez for his congressional seat. Gonzalez was one of 10 Republican House members who voted to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the January 6 attack on the US Capitol in the wake of his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump has pledged to back those who challenge the 10 legislators in the upcoming Republican primaries.
The Democratic Party’s razor-thin majorities in both chambers of Congress will be on the line in the 2022 mid-term elections and history favours Republicans’ chances of gaining seats in those contests.
“We will take back the House, we will take back the Senate, and we will take back America, and we will do it soon,” Trump told thousands of cheering supporters at Ohio’s Lorain County Fairgrounds.
So far, nine of the 10 House Republicans who voted for Trump’s impeachment have drawn primary challengers.
The former president has offered to support anyone who steps forward to challenge the remaining candidate, Representative John Katko of New York.
Trump has also endorsed a challenger to Senator Lisa Murkowski, the only one of the seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict him in his January impeachment trial who is up for re-election in 2022.
After a 19-year absence, Kenya is hosting this week the World Rally Championship (WRC), with thousands of fans attending the renowned Safari Rally, known to be one of the toughest races in the world.
Starting on Thursday, the rally will run until June 27.
“We are following the event, every aspect of it. We are here for it, because it’s an event we actually longed for,” a young spectator told Al Jazeera at the first stage held in the capital, Nairobi.
The Safari Rally was first held in 1953, an epic marathon of nearly 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) on often unforgiving terrain.
While international standards developed, the Safari Rally remained unchanged, leading to the WRC parting ways with it decades later.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta promised to bring the event back after taking office eight years ago. On Thursday, he officially flagged it off.
“Everything’s organised to international standards,” Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb reported from the event.
Speaking to Newsmen from the trackside, Kimathi Maingi, a former Safari Rally driver, said: “When we used to rally before, we didn’t need to wear the safety clothes. You could have your T-shirt; it was an option of whether to wear gloves or not.
“But now, they are supposed to wear the fireproof protection; they’re supposed to have a helmet. Everything is compulsory.”
In total, there are 18 stages of rough dirt roads through bush, forest and savannah.
By the end of Friday, Belgian Thierry Neuville of Hyundai was leading the way in the race.
There will be six special timed stages on Saturday, with five more slated for Sunday.
Israel has summoned Poland’s ambassador to express its “deep disappointment” over a Polish bill that critics say will make it harder for Jews to recover property they lost in World War II, a move that triggered a reciprocal reaction from Warsaw.
Poland’s lower house of parliament on Thursday passed a draft bill introducing a statute of limitations on claims for the restitution of property, drawing a furious response from Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who labelled it a “disgrace”.
A statement from the Israeli foreign ministry on Sunday said the legislation could affect up to 90 percent of property restitution requests from Holocaust survivors and their descendants.
“This is not a historical debate about responsibility for the Holocaust but a moral debt of Poland to those who were its citizens and whose property was looted during the Holocaust and under the communist regime,” the statement said.
The Polish foreign ministry, in turn, summoned Israel’s charge d’affaires in Warsaw on Monday, Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski said on Sunday.
Jablonski said Warsaw would like to set the record straight about the legislation.
Tal Ben-Ari Yaalon, the Israeli charge d’affaires, “has been summoned and we will explain to her in a decisive and factual way what it’s about”, the Polish diplomat told state television TVP.
“We believe that unfortunately what we’re dealing with here is a situation that certain Israeli politicians are exploiting for internal political purposes,” he added.
The Israeli embassy in Warsaw tweeted on Thursday that “this immoral law will seriously impact relations between our countries.”
Poland’s foreign ministry said on Friday the introduction of time limits would “lead to the elimination of fraud and irregularities, which occurred on a large scale”.
“The new regulations do not in any way restrict the possibility of bringing civil suits to seek damages, irrespective of the plaintiff’s nationality or origin,” it added.
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