Brazil will be looking to maintain their defensive invincibility against Peru in Sunday's Copa America final, midfielder Casemiro says.
The hosts have yet to concede a goal in the tournament, including when they thrashed Peru 5-0 in a group-stage match earlier in the competition.  And keeping their goal intact will be key to lifting a ninth Copa crown, according to the Real Madrid man.
"Ending the competition without conceding a goal is one of our aims," said Casemiro.
"And if we don't concede a goal, it's not just thanks to the guys at the back, those up front help us a lot and that makes the difference."
The woodwork also made a difference in Brazil's 2-0 semi-final victory over arch rivals Argentina, as did referee Roddy Zambrano's refusal to consult VAR twice when Lionel Messi and his team-mates were claiming a penalty.
Sergio Aguero headed against the bar in the first half and Messi rattled the post after the break, while Brazil captain Dani Alves and midfielder Arthur both got ..

Brazil banking on defense in Copa America final with Peru

PTI Automatic

Brazil midfielder Casemiro warned fans that there would be no repeat of the 5-0 group-stage thrashing of Peru when the two sides meet in Sunday's Copa America final.
Casemiro opened the scoring in their Group A encounter when hosts Brazil ran away with the match as Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese had a day to forget, entirely at fault for Brazil's second goal scored by Roberto Firmino and guilty of hesitancy for the opener and poor positioning for the third goal by Everton.
A demoralized Peru then conceded two more in the second half although it could have been worse as Gallese saved Gabriel Jesus's injury-time penalty.  "It's a final, we don't expect a goal-fest," said Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro.
"Hopefully it will be, but we know it won't, it will be tough, they're preparing for the big final.
"They want to win the competition however they can -- on penalties, in extra-time -- and we also want to win, playing well, scoring goals and becoming champions."
It won't just be a ...

Brazil's Casemiro rules out Copa America final goal-fest

American Noah Lyles became the fourth-fastest man in history over 200 metres with a stunning Diamond League victory in 19.50 seconds at Lausanne.
The 21-year-old was expected to face a close challenge from Andre De Grasse, but the Canadian was left trailing in third as Lyles laid down a serious marker ahead of September's World Championships in Doha.
"Oh my God, would it be crazy if I said yes?," said Lyles when asked if he expected to run so fast. "Really, it was all about the plan. Me and my coach have been working on that turn.
"I don't know if we'll be expecting something (at the worlds), I'll just do what I do."
Only world-record holder Usain Bolt (19.19sec), his fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake (19.26sec) and four-time Olympic gold-medal winner Michael Johnson (19.32sec) have run quicker.
Lyles will now have the US Track and Field Championships, which run from July 25-28 in Iowa, in his sights.
Running in lane 7, he seized a clear lead coming out of the bend and was never going to be 

Lyles becomes fourth-fastest 200m runner of all-time, wins for Fraser-Pryce, Gatlin

Fifteen-year-old sensation Coco Gauff's magical Wimbledon journey continued when the American youngster saved two match points to reach the last 16.
Gauff, ranked 313 and who came through qualifying, battled back from 2-5 down in the second set and held her nerve when Slovenian opponent Polona Hercog clawed her way to 4-4 from 1-4 in the decider.
Her reward is a fourth round clash on 'Manic Monday' against former world number one and ex-French Open champion Simona Halep.
"I'm just super relieved that it's over, it was a long match," said Gauff.
"She was playing unbelievable. It was my first match on Centre Court, people say Court One is my court, maybe Centre can be too now.
She added of her second set recovery: "I knew I could come back so I just kept going for my shots."
Gauff's dramatic victory on an enthralled Centre Court overshadowed Novak Djokovic's passage to the last 16 for the 12th time.
The four-time champion is one of just four top 10 seeds left in the tournament along ...

Gauff saves match points, Djokovic level with Becker at Wimbledon

A young man who accused Kevin Spacey of a sexual assault in a Massachusetts bar has dropped his lawsuit against the award-winning actor.
A motion for "voluntary dismissal" of the civil complaint against the former "House of Cards" star was filed in Superior Court in Nantucket, Massachusetts, with no reason given.
Possible motives for the dismissal this week include a private settlement or the accuser's desire not to risk damaging his odds in a separate criminal case with the civil suit, which was filed just six days ago.
William Little's lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian, who made a name for himself defending victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests, gave no comment.
A hearing on the criminal charges against Spacey is set for Monday in the District Court in Nantucket, the posh island community where the alleged aggression took place in July 2016.
Little has said he took a smartphone video of the incident, which he says took place when he was an 18-year-old busboy in a Nantucket ...

US accuser drops civil suit against Kevin Spacey

Stock markets slid Friday as better-than-expected US job data clouded investors' hopes for steep cuts in interest rates in the world's biggest economy.
Wall Street stocks pulled back from records set Wednesday, ahead of the Independence Day holiday, while on the other side of the Atlantic, Europe's leading blue-chip indices, Frankfurt's DAX, Paris's CAC 40 and London's FTSE, all ended the day over half a percent lower.
Normally, financial markets should take heart from a stronger US economy, demonstrated by the latest jobs data -- with 224,000 new positions created last month, well in excess of forecasts.
But the strong figures challenged the market's certainty about relief from the US central bank later this month, with some analysts now expecting a smaller cut in interest rates, or no cut at all, when the Fed meets July 30-31.
All three major US indices rallied to records Wednesday following a trove of mediocre economic data that bolstered anxiety about a slowing economy and ...

Stocks fall as strong US jobs data cloud hopes for rate cut

US job creation roared back to life in June, wiping away fears of a slowdown but calling into question a hoped-for interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve despite months of public pressure from President Donald Trump.
After an unexpectedly weak May, the vigorous June rebound delighted President Donald Trump, who is preparing to seek reelection next year.
"JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!" he wrote on Twitter, claiming credit for record employment levels.
Trump, who recently likened the Fed to a "stubborn child" for dragging its feet on a rate cut to boost the economy, again slammed the central bank.
"Our country continues to do really well," but "If we had a Fed that would lower interest rates, we would be like a rocket ship," he told reporters at the White House.
"But we don't have a Fed that knows what they're doing."
The US economy added 224,000 net new jobs last month, smashing forecasts, according to the Labor Department's closely-watched report.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.7 ...

US hiring soars in June, quieting fears of a slowdown

British far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson was found in contempt of court on Friday, having live-streamed a confrontation with defendants in a criminal trial that was subject to reporting restrictions.
Two senior judges found he had acted in contempt when broadcasting footage of defendants outside Leeds Crown Court in northern England in May 2018.
Robinson denied any wrongdoing, saying he did not believe he was breaching any reporting restrictions and had only referred to information that was already in the public domain.
He live-streamed the footage while the jury in the second of a series of linked grooming trials was considering its verdict.
A reporting restriction postponed the publication of any details of the case until the end of all the trials, in a bid to ensure all defendants received a fair trial.
Judges Victoria Sharp and Mark Warby, sitting at the Old Bailey in London, England's central criminal court, found Robinson in contempt.
Sharp said Robinson was in contempt by ...

UK far-right activist in contempt of court over live-stream

After Melania cake, Melania honey, and even Melania slippers, the Slovenian hometown of the US first lady will now boast a statue of its most famous daughter -- albeit one that has faced decidedly mixed reviews.
The life-size statue on the outskirts of Sevnica was inaugurated on Friday and is the brainchild of 39-year-old American conceptual artist Brad Downey, who says it's the first monument anywhere dedicated to the wife of US President Donald Trump.
The sculpture was carved into a tree using a chainsaw and depicts Melania in a blue dress raising her left hand in a waving gesture, emulating a pose she struck at her husband's 2017 inauguration.
Its somewhat naive style has led some critics on social media to brand it a "scarecrow".
"I can understand why people might think that this falls short as a description of her physical appearance," Downey told AFP, but insisted that he found the end result "absolutely beautiful".
Since Donald Trump took office in 2017, sleepy Sevnica has ...

Statue on Slovenia's Melania tourist trail divides opinion

US lawmakers on Friday renewed their call for sanctions against China's top official in the Xinjiang region on the anniversary of riots that left nearly 200 dead.
China cracked down hard after the July 5, 2009 rampage in Urumqi, the region's capital.
Around one million Uighurs or members of other mostly Muslim, Turkic-speaking communities have been detained in a vast network of camps in the name of counterterrorism.
More than 40 US lawmakers across the political spectrum on April 3 called on the Trump administration to slap sanctions on Chen Quanguo, the Communist Party secretary in Xinjiang.
But the chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, a US government body that monitors human rights in the country, said the administration has not yet responded to the letter.
"On this sad anniversary, we reiterate that call to hold Chinese officials accountable," said the chairs, Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Representative Jim McGovern.
"The Chinese government ...

US lawmakers again urge sanctions over China's Xinjiang crackdown

UNESCO's World Heritage Committee voted Friday to add Iran's Hyrcanian forests to its World Heritage List, praising the area for its "remarkable" biodiversity.
The ancient Hyrcanian forests in northern Iran run 530 miles (850 kilometres) along the coast of the Caspian Sea, according to the global body.  "Their floristic biodiversity is remarkable," UNESCO said, with some 44 per cent of Iran's known vascular plants found in the Hyrcanian area.
The forests, which date back up to 50 million years, are also home to the Persian leopard and nearly 60 other mammal species, as well as 160 bird species.
They were just one of two natural sites added to the UNESCO list on Friday, the other in China, when the World Heritage Committee met in Azerbaijan's capital of Baku.
Iran's only other natural site listed by UNESCO is the Lut Desert in the country's southwest, which gained the status three years ago.
The Islamic republic also has 22 cultural sites on the World Heritage List, including the jewel 

UNESCO adds Iranian forest to World Heritage List

Armed bandits killed at least 18 people in raids in rural northern Nigeria, where attacks by kidnappers and cattle rustlers have been on the rise, residents said Friday.
Gunmen on motorbikes stormed into four villages in Kankara and Danmusa districts in Katsina state on Wednesday, shooting residents as they fled.
"We collected 18 dead bodies from the four villages after the attacks," said Sada Iliya, a community leader from Unguwar Rabo village where nine people were killed.
"The bandits rode through the villages, opening fire on people," he said.
Residents on Thursday transported the bodies to the state capital 130 kilometres (80 miles) away and presented them to the traditional emir in protest at the attacks.
"We took the 18 corpses to Katsina for the emir (so that he could) see what we are going through at the hands of bandits," said Isyaku Jari from Maidabino village.
The victims were buried the same day after funeral prayers attended by the emir, his entourage said.
Katsina state 

Bandits kill 18 in Nigeria village raids

The International Monetary Fund on Friday reached an agreement with Argentina that will release the next USD 5.4 billion disbursement under the loan program aimed to help stabilize the South American nation's economy.
The IMF board must approve the fourth review of the country's performance under the before Buenos Aires will have access to the funds. The board meeting is set for July 12.
"Argentina's economic policies are yielding results," acting IMF chief David Lipton said in a statement, noting that the government achieved all the targets agreed with the fund including on budget policy and social spending.
"I fully support Argentina's efforts to bolster confidence, lay the foundation for sustainable growth and protect the most vulnerable."
While inflation remains high it "is expected to continue to fall in the coming months," Lipton said. "There are also signs that the economy is improving in the second quarter."
President Mauricio Macri has faced increasing pressure over the ...

IMF reaches agreement with Argentina to release USD 5.4 bn loan tranche

The UN Security Council called Friday for a ceasefire in Libya as the death toll from a three-month offensive on Tripoli reached 1,000 including scores killed in an air strike that hit a detention centre for migrants.
The council condemned the attack late Tuesday on the Tajoura detention camp east of Tripoli and "stressed the need for all parties to urgently de-escalate the situation and to commit to a ceasefire," said a joint statement.
Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, whose forces hold eastern Libya and much of the country's south, launched an offensive in early April to wrestle the capital from forces loyal to the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).
Air strikes and ground fighting have since left nearly 1,000 people dead and some 5,000 wounded, the UN's World Health Organization said.
The fighting has forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes and threaten to plunge Libya into deeper conflict.
Among the dead are 53 migrants killed Tuesday night in an air ...

UN calls for Libya ceasefire as death toll climbs to 1,000

French prosecutors on Friday urged a Paris court to find the former bosses of France Telecom guilty of "moral harassment" over a wave of employee suicides that rocked the company and country a decade ago.
Between 2008 to 2009, 35 employees of the former state-owned telecom giant, now known as Orange, took their own lives in the midst of a restructuring plan during which bosses set out to cut over a fifth of the workforce.
Some of the victims, one of whom jumped out of a fifth-floor window in front of her colleagues, left notes expressing deep unhappiness at work. One man directly accused France Telecom, saying the company was "the sole cause" of his desperate act.
Experts on mental health point out that the factors that push people to suicide are usually complex and multiple.
But the suicides nonetheless caused much soul-searching about workplace culture, at a time when many big French companies were coming under pressure to be more competitive.
Seven former France Telecom bosses, ...

Prosecutors urge guilty verdict for bosses in France Telecom suicides trial

US President Donald Trump on Friday lobbed another attack on the Federal Reserve, accusing it of incompetence for failing to stimulate the economy.
"If we had a Fed that would lower interest rates, we would be like a rocket ship," he told reporters at the White House.
"But we don't have a Fed that knows what they're doing." Wall Street stocks were lower on Friday morning, with investors believing strong June jobs data could make the Fed less likely to cut interest rates this month.
The Labor Department announced job creation had zoomed higher in June, with employers adding a much-higher-than-expected 224,000 net new positions for the month.
"Those were really unexpectedly good and our country continues to do really well really, really well so we're very happy about," Trump said Friday of the employment numbers.
"We're going to be breaking records."
Trump since last year has excoriated the central bank and its chairman, Jerome Powell, in particular, shattering recent political norms ...

Trump: US Fed doesn't know 'what they're doing'

The UN's nuclear watchdog said Friday it will hold an emergency meeting on Iran's nuclear programme next week, days after Tehran breached one of the limits set in a 2015 deal with world powers.
The meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s board of governors, which follows a US request, would be held "on 10 July at 14:30," an IAEA spokesman said.
Earlier, the US mission in Vienna said in a statement that the American Ambassador to International Organizations Jackie Wolcott had requested the special meeting to discuss
Iran's breach of the amount of enriched uranium it could stockpile.
The IAEA confirmed earlier this week that Iran had breached the limit of 300kg for stockpiles of enriched uranium as stipulated under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The US statement described the news of the breach as "concerning".
"The international community must hold Iran's regime accountable," the statement added.
Iran has said that as of Sunday it will begin ...

IAEA to hold emergency meeting on Iran on 10 July

The UN's nuclear watchdog said  Friday it will hold an emergency meeting on Iran's nuclear programme next week, days after Iran breached one of the limits in a 2015 deal with world powers.
The meeting, which follows a US request, would be held "on July 10 at 14:30," an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spokesman said.

IAEA to hold emergency meeting on Iran on July 10

Chile has barred entry to more than 100 Venezuelans linked to the "dictatorship" of President Nicolas Maduro following a damning UN report, President Sebastian Pinera announced Friday.
"We are going to prohibit the entry into Chile of more than 100 people who are directly linked to the Venezuelan dictatorship," Pinera told a press conference in Santiago.
He did not specify individuals on the list of those barred, but said: "They are people who are part of the Venezuelan government."
Pinera's announcement came in the wake of a UN report that said Venezuelan security services had killed nearly 7,000 people in the past 18 months, many of them likely executions.
"The incidents of alleged extrajudicial killings by security forces ... have been shockingly high," the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in the report published Thursday.
Pinera said he would request that Bachelet -- his leftist predecessor as Chile's president -- provide "all the ...

Chile bars entry to 'more than 100' Venezuelans linked to Maduro govt: President

Germany and Poland urged Friday that countries such as Albania and North Macedonia be integrated into the EU, despite reluctance from France, the Netherlands and other northern member states.
Their arguments came during a summit in Poznan, western Poland, that focused on western Balkan states after the bloc delayed setting a date to open accession talks with Tirana and Skopje.
Critics say that enlarging the EU further risks importing problems, pointing to ongoing corruption and justice issues in Romania and Bulgaria, two formerly communist states that joined the EU in 2007.
Supporters argue that turning down new members could push them towards powers such as China, Russia or Turkey.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted that integrating Balkan states was in the EU's strategic interest.
"If we look at the geographical map, the states of the western Balkans are surrounded by EU member states -- so this (their EU integration) is a strategic responsibility that is in our own interest," 

Germany, Poland urge EU integration of Western Balkan states

Kuwait has been cleared to compete in the 2020 Olympics after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Friday it was lifting the suspension it imposed on the Kuwait Olympic Committee (KOC) four years ago.
In a statement, the IOC said the KOC had successfully implemented "a roadmap agreed between all parties".
The announcement comes less than a week after Sheikh Fahad Nasser Sabah Ahmad Al Sabah was elected President of the KOC.
This was the third and final step in the roadmap which also required revision and adoption of new statutes for sports clubs and federations, followed by elections.
Kuwait was suspended in October 2015 following "undue government interference after a sports law that was not compatible with the basic principles that govern the Olympic Movement was passed in the country".
The new law had threatened the autonomy of the KOC and all other national federations while also meaning the country would no longer comply with the Court of Arbitration for Sport ..

AFP

AFP

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