French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko will head to Wimbledon as the sport's newest star admitting that she once believed grass courts were suitable only for football and not tennis.
     The 20-year-old Latvian stunned favourite and world number four Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 yesterday to become tennis's most unlikely Grand Slam champion.
     It was her first career title as she became the lowest- ranked winner in Paris, taking the trophy in just her eighth major appearance.
     Next up on the Grand Slam circuit is Wimbledon where Ostapenko was junior champion in 2014.
     However, she admitted that when she came across a grass court for the first time, it was hardly love at first sight.
     "When I first played on grass I didn't like it, I really didn't understand it," she told a small group of reporters following her shock Paris win as she recalled playing on grass at Roehampton in England as a 15-year-old.
     "I didn't see how people could play tennis on it. I thought grass .

I thought grass courts were for football, says Ostapenko

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He's the man with the Midas touch - so far at least. Since taking office four weeks ago French President Emmanuel Macron's star has shone bright, restoring a sense of national pride.
	From Germany's normally inscrutable Angela Merkel to India's nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Macron's youth, daring and optimism have bowled over world leaders who are lining up for photo-ops with "le Kid" as L'Express news weekly nicknamed the 39-year-old.
	Resistance is futile, as US President Donald Trump found out when he tried - but failed - to dominate Macron in a by now memorable white-knuckle handshake.
	A few days later Trump dropped a bombshell when he confirmed plans to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord.
	But he was arguably again upstaged by Macron, who replied with an English-language appeal to the world to "make our planet great again" - a slogan that has became a rallying cry for Trump critics.
	"France is in vogue again, France is cool," Spain's El Pais newspaper ...

Macron: modern president with Midas touch

Kosovo votes today for a new parliament that will have to navigate tense relations with Serbia, endemic corruption and possible war crimes indictments for some of its leaders.
	The early election is only the third since Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008. But it "might be the hardest to predict," according to Florian Bieber, professor of Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz in Austria.
	A month after the last government lost a confidence vote, the battle for a new prime minister pitches an ex-guerrilla commander against a former student protest leader and an economist likened to French President Emmanuel Macron.
	But overshadowing the election is a new special court set up to try war crimes allegedly committed by members of the pro-independence Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which fought Serbian forces in the late 1990s.
	Among those some speculate could be on the list of indictees - which may be announced later this year - are President Hashim Thaci and .

Kosovo votes with war crimes court, corruption in mind

Three US troops were killed and another wounded during a joint operation in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, the Pentagon said, in the latest so-called insider attack on international forces.
	The Taliban claimed responsibility for the deaths in the volatile district of Achin, which is also contested by Islamic State jihadists, saying it was carried out by an infiltrator.
	The Pentagon said in a statement yesterday that the wounded soldier had been evacuated for medical treatment. "This incident is under investigation," the statement added.
	Earlier, provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP that an Afghan commando had opened fire on US troops and was killed in return fire.
	Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed on Twitter that four US soldiers were killed in the attack. The insurgents are known to exaggerate battlefield claims.
	In April, the US military dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat on a complex of caves in Achin used by IS fighters. 

Three US soldiers killed in Afghan 'insider attack'

Police in Warsaw dragged away hundreds of protesters hoping to block a monthly rally by the head of Poland's rightwing ruling party to commemorate the 2010 plane crash in Russia that killed his brother.
	Several civic groups had called the demonstration yesterday, with participants chaining themselves together in a bid to halt the march organised by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of the Law and Justice (PiS) party.
	Police broke the chains with scissors before forcibly removing the protesters.
	The protest came after a law passed by the PiS-dominated parliament in March making it more difficult to carry out counter-protests, with demonstrators yelling "The PiS violates the constitution" and "We have the right to protest".
	The government claims the law is a necessary security measure, but opposition groups as well as the EU human rights commissioner have called it anti-democratic.
	In a speech, Kaczynski once again denounced what he called the "barbarity" of Russia and the previous liberal .

Polish police break up chained anti-Kaczynski protesters

British Prime Minister Theresa May reached an "outline agreement" with the ultra-conservative Democratic Unionist Party in order to be able to govern after a humiliating election that has left her authority in tatters.
	She also confirmed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a phone call yesterday that Britain was ready to begin Brexit negotiations "as planned in the next couple of weeks", reassuring EU leaders who had expressed doubts after May's electoral losses.
	May's Conservatives lost their parliamentary majority in Thursday's vote and need the support of the 10 MPs from Northern Ireland's DUP to have a majority.
	"We can confirm that the Democratic Unionist Party have agreed to the principles of an outline agreement to support the Conservative government," a spokesman for May said.
	The spokesman indicated this would not be a formal coalition but a minority government with looser DUP support on a "confidence and supply basis".
	"We welcome this commitment, which can provide ...

Britain's May reaches 'outline' power deal after election

A petition against British Prime Minister Theresa May's deal with the ultra-conservative Democratic Unionist Party garnered nearly 600,000 signatures today as concern grew over her plan to govern with their support.
	"This is a disgusting, desperate attempt to stay in power," read the petition, which outlined some of the DUP's more controversial views including opposition to gay marriage and abortion.
	The petition echoed some of the slogans at a leftist demonstration by a few hundred people outside Downing Street today who chanted: "Racist, sexist, anti-gay, the DUP has go to go".
	Some Conservative MPs also spoke out on Saturday as officials announced that Northern Ireland's DUP had signed up to "an outline agreement" to back a minority Conservative government.
	May needs the support of the DUP's 10 MPs to be able to govern after losing her parliamentary majority in Thursday's general election.
	The details of the agreement are not yet known but Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston said .

Petition grows against May's deal with ultra-conservatives

Hundreds of anti-government demonstrators marched against the Venezuelan president's planned constitutional reforms today, with some protests being broken up with tear gas in the country's latest bout of unrest.
	With Venezuelans suffering from high inflation, food shortages and soaring crime rates, plus a deepening corruption scandal, the Venezuelan opposition has mounted near-daily anti-government protests since April 1.
	The protests have left 66 dead and more than a thousand injured, according to prosecutors.
	The unrest has been further fueled by President Nicolas Maduro's call on May 1 for a constituent assembly, which his political opponents say represents a desperate bid to cling to power.
	Maduro says the country's crisis is a US-backed conspiracy.
	He has proposed July 30 as the day for voting to form the assembly; opponents insist the constitution can be changed only by a referendum.
	"There is no worse way to violate the Constitution than to make a constituent assembly by .

Venezuelan opposition rallies broken up by tear gas

British Prime Minister Theresa May reached an "outline agreement" today with the ultra conservative Democratic Unionist Party in order to be able to govern after a humiliating election that has left her authority in tatters.
	May's Conservatives lost their parliamentary majority in Thursday's vote and need the support of the 10 MPs from Northern Ireland's DUP to have a majority.
	"We can confirm that the Democratic Unionist Party have agreed to the principles of an outline agreement to support the Conservative government," a spokesman for May said.
	The spokesman indicated this would not be a formal coalition but a minority government with looser DUP support on a "confidence and supply basis".
	"We welcome this commitment, which can provide the stability and certainty the whole country requires as we embark on Brexit and beyond," he said.
	The details of the agreement "will be put forward for discussion and agreement" at a cabinet meeting on Monday, a day before the new parliament ...

May reaches 'outline' power deal after election fiasco

The Ashti camp in Iraq's northern city of Arbil today celebrated the return of a girl whose abduction by jihadists three years ago sent shockwaves through her Christian community.
	Joy filled the prefab unit that is now the home of six- year-old Christina Ezzo Obada's family, who were forced to flee the town of Qaraqosh, which lies between Arbil and Mosul and was taken over by the Islamic State group in mid-2014.
	"Seeing my daughter is a miracle," said her 46-year-old mother Aida.
	"I was shocked because she has changed so much, I didn't recognise her."
	They were on a bus with other displaced people when jihadist fighters took her daughter from her in August 2014.
	More than five months after her abduction by IS, Aida heard through acquaintances that her daughter had ended up with a family of 12 in the Tenek neighbourhood of west Mosul.
	Iraqi forces retook all of east Mosul earlier this year and have been battling die-hard jihadists in west Mosul since February.
	Christina's mother 

Iraqi girl reunited with family 3 years after IS abduction

British TV presenter Richard Hammond was hurt today in a "serious crash" in Switzerland but escaped with "no serious injury", a spokesman for his car show said.
	The former presenter of "Top Gear" -- the world's most- watched factual TV show -- suffered "a fracture to his knee", escaping from the electric car just before it burst into flames. He was airlifted to hospital in St Gallen in northeast Switzerland.
	"Richard was conscious and talking, and climbed out of the car himself before the vehicle burst into flames," a spokesman for Amazon's "The Grand Tour programme" said.
	Pictures posted online showed the charred wreck of the car flipped over and surrounded by flames. A video, apparently taken moments before the crash, showed it skidding onto a grass verge as it took a sharp turn.
	Hammond had been completing the Hemburg Hill Climb in Switzerland in a Rimac Concept One, an electric super-car built in Croatia.
	He was filming the second season of "The Grand Tour" for the Amazon ...

Former Top Gear host injured in 'serious' crash

Adam West, the actor whose career was defined by his superhero role in the hit 1960s television series "Batman," has died.
	He was 88 years old.
	The actor died last night after a "short but brave battle with leukemia," his family said in a statement posted Saturday to West's Facebook page.
	Donning a cape, cowl and bat gloves, West catapulted to fame after portraying the superhero Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne on the popular campy television series that premiered in 1966 and ran three seasons until its 1968 cancellation.
	In bringing Batman to life West delivered his often corny lines with deadpan earnestness, entertaining children and adding a touch of satirical humor for adults.
	The series epitomized the era's kitsch, with exclamations like "POW!" and "BAM!" written in pop-art script flashing across television screens nationwide.
	The show gave rise to a movie version in 1966, in which West also starred, and fueled a franchise that included merchandise like toy Batmobiles, .

Adam West, star of hit TV series 'Batman', dies at 88

British Prime Minister Theresa May has reached an "outline agreement" with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party that would allow her to govern, a Downing Street spokesman said today.
	"We can confirm that the Democratic Unionist Party have agreed to the principles of an outline agreement to support the Conservative government on a confidence and supply basis," the spokesman said.

UK PM May agrees 'outline' power deal with DUP: spokesman

At least eight migrants drowned when their Europe-bound boat sank off Libya's coast and at least 100 people are missing, a coastguard official said today.
	The eight bodies were on an inflatable craft that can carry up to 120 passengers, said Colonel Fathi al-Rayani, head of the coastguard in Garabulli, 60 kilometres (40 miles) east of Tripoli.
	He estimated that "at least 100" migrants were missing.
	The boat was spotted deflated off Garabulli, and the coastguard found the bodies inside, said an AFP reporter who accompanied them.
	Conflict-ravaged Libya has long been a stepping stone for migrants seeking a better life in Europe.
	The UN refugee agency has said around 61,250 migrants have reached Italy since the start of the year after crossing the Mediterranean, while 1,778 more are dead or missing.
	The Italian coastguard has said that more than 900 migrants were rescued off Libya on Thursday and Friday.
	Libyan navy spokesman, General Ayoub Qassem, meanwhile told AFP that ...

Eight migrants die as boat sinks off Libya

US-backed Syrian fighters broke into the western part of the Islamic State group's stronghold Raqa today, they and a monitor said, opening up a second front inside the northern Syrian city.
	The Syrian Democratic Forces alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters has spent months tightening the noose on IS-held Raqa and entered the city for the first time earlier this week from the east, backed by US-led coalition air strikes.
	Today, they pierced into Raqa from the west, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.
	"The SDF captured the western half of the Al-Sabahiya neighbourhood and are reinforcing their positions there," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.
	The forces then advanced north into the adjacent district of Al-Romaniya and seized part of it in the evening, Abdel Rahman told AFP.
	Earlier, a statement from SDF's Operation Wrath of the Euphrates said its fighters entered Al-Romaniya on Saturday and were locked "in fierce fighting inside the ...

US-backed force pierces into IS Syria bastion from west

Turkey's decision to station troops at a base in Qatar aims to ensure the emirate's security after Saudi Arabia and its allies imposed a blockade over claims it supports terrorism, the foreign minister said today.
	"This accord is not targeting any Gulf country," Mevlut Cavusoglu said after meeting with his Bahraini counterpart Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa.
	The purpose of the troop deployment "is to help foster security and stability across the Gulf," Cavusoglu said after talks attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said he wanted all parties to end the standoff before the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, around June 25.
	Bahrain joined Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and other states this past week in cutting ties with Qatar over what they say is the emirate's financing of extremist groups and its ties to Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional arch-rival.
	The Arab countries closed air, sea and land links with Qatar, barred the emirate's ...

Turkey says Qatar deployment aims to ensure security

Brazil's Supreme Court lashed out Saturday after a report that President Michel Temer had ordered the country's intelligence services to dig up dirt on the judge overseeing his corruption case.
	The report in Veja magazine yesterday quoted an unnamed aide to Temer saying that the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, known as Abin, had been tasked with finding compromising material on Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin.
	Although the presidential palace quickly issued a statement denying the report, the Supreme Court came out with an unusually strongly worded statement of its own Saturday to denounce any pressure on its judges.
	"It is inadmissable to commit a very serious crime against the Federal Supreme Court, against democracy and against liberty," said the statement signed by Chief Justice Carmen Lucia.
	Describing pressure against judges as "the practice of a dictatorship," Lucia said the court "vehemently rejects spurious, unconstitutional and immoral snooping against any citizen and .

Brazilian Supreme Court lashes out at Temer 'snooping'

Russia's Investigative Committee said Saturday it had detained a top executive at a state-owned technology group on suspicion of fraud that cost the company over 11 million euros.
	Andrei Gorkov, head of investments at Rosnano, a holding company specialising in nanotechnologies, was arrested after he bought a plane ticket to leave the country, the committee said.
	It has opened a case on claims of "abuse of authority", saying Gorkov transferred funds regularly between 2011 and 2013 to an account held by a bank that went under and was closed by the authorities in late 2014.
	The bank's failure cost Rosnano about 738 million rubles (11.6 million euros, USD 12.9 million at current rates).
	But shortly before the bank was shut, investigators claim, large amounts were withdrawn and used to purchase real estate on behalf of Gorkov's brother.
	Rosnano is led by Anatoly Chubais, an economist who oversaw liberal market reforms in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union, including a ...

Russia arrests tech executive on fraud allegations

An Algerian man who attacked a policeman with a hammer outside Notre Dame cathedral was a loner with a deep interest in Islamic State jihadist propaganda, the Paris prosecutor said today.
	The 40-year-old, identified only as doctorate student Farid I., was shot and wounded by another policeman during Tuesday's attack in which he shouted: "This is for Syria".
	The attack sparked panic among tourists at the popular attraction.
	Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said the suspect was an educated man who under questioning told investigators he had radicalised himself over a period of 10 months.
	Examination of a laptop and four USB keys found at the man's apartment in Paris revealed a "lone wolves' manual" compiled by IS, the prosecutor told a press conference.
	Investigators also found photographs of the last week's jihadist attack in London in which eight people were killed and videos "glorifying" earlier attacks in Paris and Brussels.
	"He had never shown any sign of radicalisation to ...

Notre Dame attacker a self-radicalised novice: prosecutor

Scientists have discovered a rare 115-million-year-old mushroom fossil that sprouted during the era of the dinosaurs, the oldest such specimen found by far.
	The two-inch (five-centimeter) fungus, similar to its distant contemporary descendants, was found in Brazil, then part of the supercontinent Gondwana.
	The enormous landmass later broke up to form South America, Africa, Antarctica, India and Australia.
	Studying the fossil under an electron microscope, scientists found that the ancient mushroom had gills under its cap as well as spores, which help identify fungus species, said Sam Heads, a paleontologist with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who co-authored the study in the June 7 issue of the journal PLOS One.
	The scientists called the specimen "Gondwanagaricites magnificus" in a nod to its place of origin.
	After falling into a river possibly during a flood, the fungus was carried into a lagoon where it was buried under sediment and fossilised, a scenario backed up .

Dinosaur-era mushroom fossil discovered in Brazil

Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko stunned third seed Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday to win her maiden Grand Slam title and become the lowest-ranked champion in French Open history.
     World number 47 Ostapenko is the first unseeded player to lift the Roland Garros title in the Open era and the first Latvian major champion in history.
     The 20-year-old is the youngest French Open winner since Iva Majoli in 1997 and the first player to win a debut tour- level title at a Slam since Gustavo Kuerten in Paris that same year.
     "I am really happy. I have no words. It was my dream," said Ostapenko, who will rocket to 12th in the rankings.
     She trailed by a set and 3-0 but launched a memorable comeback with a remarkable display of fearless shotmaking.
     "I was just trying to stay aggressive. A couple of games, everything turned my way. I was 3-0 down but I was fighting for every point.
     "I still cannot believe it. It was my dream always. When I was a child I was watching. ...

AFP

AFP

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