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Ruoning Yin wins Women’s PGA Championship, becomes 2nd woman from China with a major title

Marietta Reformado
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Ruoning Yin wins Women’s PGA Championship, becomes 2nd woman from China with a major title

Ruoning Yin wins Women’s PGA Championship, becomes 2nd woman from China with a major title

SPRINGFIELD, N.J. (AP) — Becoming the second woman from China to win a major championship left Ruoning Yin in awe, even an hour after being handed the Women’s PGA Championship trophy at Baltusrol.

“When I was walking to this tent, I just said: ‘Oh, wow, major winner!’ It’s amazing. It’s just unreal,” Yin said Sunday.

Yin made a birdie putt from about 10 feet on the final hole to beat Yuka Saso by one stroke. The 20-year-old closed with a 4-under 67 to finish at 8-under 276 and take a place in Chinese sports history next to Shanshan Feng.

“I would say she’s definitely the goal that I’m chasing,” Yin said. “But I think she is the person who inspired me the most.”

Feng, now national golf coach in China, won 23 events worldwide, including 10 on the LPGA Tour.

READ MORE : Sri Lanka vs Ireland, ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023 Highlights: SL Beat IRE By 133 Runs

Yin wasn’t even playing golf when Feng won this event — then known as the LPGA Championship — in 2012. She was 9 years old and didn’t take up the game for another 18 months. Her main sport was basketball and she idolized Stephen Curry, but her shorter stature led her to turn to golf.

Ruoning Yin wins Women’s PGA Championship, becomes 2nd woman from China with a major title
By TOM CANAVAN
today
Ruoning Yin, of China, holds the trophy after winning the Women’s PGA Championship golf tournament, Sunday, June 25, 2023, in Springfield, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Ruoning Yin, of China, holds the trophy after winning the Women’s PGA Championship golf tournament, Sunday, June 25, 2023, in Springfield, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. (AP) — Becoming the second woman from China to win a major championship left Ruoning Yin in awe, even an hour after being handed the Women’s PGA Championship trophy at Baltusrol.

“When I was walking to this tent, I just said: ‘Oh, wow, major winner!’ It’s amazing. It’s just unreal,” Yin said Sunday.

Yin made a birdie putt from about 10 feet on the final hole to beat Yuka Saso by one stroke. The 20-year-old closed with a 4-under 67 to finish at 8-under 276 and take a place in Chinese sports history next to Shanshan Feng.

“I would say she’s definitely the goal that I’m chasing,” Yin said. “But I think she is the person who inspired me the most.”

Feng, now national golf coach in China, won 23 events worldwide, including 10 on the LPGA Tour.

Yin wasn’t even playing golf when Feng won this event — then known as the LPGA Championship — in 2012. She was 9 years old and didn’t take up the game for another 18 months. Her main sport was basketball and she idolized Stephen Curry, but her shorter stature led her to turn to golf.

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Yin wins Women’s PGA at Baltusrol, Bradley wins home game at Travelers
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Thriston Lawrence wins in Munich for 4th European tour title
Yin has really turned it on the past two years. She picked up her first LPGA Tour win earlier this year in Los Angeles and now is the third player to win twice this season, joining Lilia Vu and world No. 1 Jin Young Ko. This came with a $1.5 million paycheck.

Yin earned it with her fourth birdie on a bogey-free day.

After Saso made birdie ahead of her on the par-5 18th hole to move into a tie for the lead, Yin found the rough with her tee shot, then hit her third shot into an ideal spot and curled in the right-to-left breaking putt, pumping her fist after it dropped.

“I actually kind of felt that I was going to make it, and I made it,” said Yin, who hit a tournament-best 66 greens in regulation and 48 of 56 fairways. “It’s a very weird feeling.”

Rose Zhang, who won in her professional debut three weeks ago, also in New Jersey, made a charge with a final-round 67 and finished in a tie for eighth, three shots back.

Saso, the U.S. Women’s Open champion in 2021, shot 66. The championship had a mid-round delay of nearly two hours because of severe weather, and Yin made three of her birdies after the re-start.

Saso, from Japan, thought she had blown her chance to win when she missed a 10-foot birdie attempt to tie the lead at No. 17. She got up-and-down from a greenside bunker to birdie the final hole.

“After missing the birdie on 17, I just wished that I wouldn’t hit my drive in the water on 18,” she said. “But glad I didn’t. Hit a good shot, and second shot hit it in the left bunker. It was not an easy bunker shot, but it was manageable, and I was able to manage it pretty good.”

Xiyu Lin, who either led or shared the lead during most of her back nine, found the water with her drive on the 18th and made bogey to shoot 67 and finish two shots back alongside Carlota Ciganda (64), Anna Nordqvist (65), Megan Khang (67) and Stephanie Meadow (70).

“Unfortunately I didn’t hit a good tee shot on the last hole,” said the 27-year-old Lin, who is winless on the LPGA Tour but came in ranked No. 14 in the world. “But it could have happened any other hole. I think overall I gave myself good chances. It’s still a really good Sunday to have a lot to take away from.”

Lin, also from China, rents a house in Florida to Yin and has joked that she is going to raise the rent.

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Wagner group Updates : Russia’s defense minister seen in first video since mercenary revolt as uncertainty swirls

Roshan Bilung
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Wagner group Updates : Russia’s defense minister seen in first video since mercenary revolt as uncertainty swirls

Wagner group Updates : Russia’s defense minister seen in first video since mercenary revolt as uncertainty swirls

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made his first public appearance since a mercenary uprising demanded his ouster, inspecting troops in Ukraine in a video released Monday aimed at projecting a sense of order after the country’s most serious political crisis in decades.

But uncertainty still swirled about his fate, that of rebellion leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and his private army, the impact on the war in Ukraine and even the political future of President Vladimir Putin.

A feud between Wagner Group leader Prigozhin and Russia’s military brass that has festered throughout the war erupted into a mutiny that saw the mercenaries leave Ukraine to seize a military headquarters in a southern Russian city and march seemingly unopposed on Moscow, before turning around after less than 24 hours on Saturday.

The Kremlin said it had made a deal that Prigozhin will move to Belarus and receive an amnesty, along with his soldiers. Yet on Monday, Russian media reported a criminal probe against him continued, and his whereabouts were unknown.

READ MORE : Wagner Group’s Revolt in Russia Ends After Deal Struck. What is International Response

In a return to at least superficial normality, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced an end to the “counterterrorism regime” imposed on the capital Saturday, when troops and armored vehicles set up checkpoints on the outskirts and authorities tore up roads leading into the city.

The Defense Ministry video of Shoigu — the first shown since the uprising that demanded his ouster — came as Russian media speculated that he and other military leaders have lost Putin’s confidence and could be replaced.

Shoigu was shown in a helicopter and then meeting with officers at a military headquarters in Ukraine. The video was widely broadcast on Russian media, including state-controlled television. It was unclear when it was shot.

General Staff chief Gen. Valery Gerasimov, also a main target of Prigozhin’s ire, has not appeared in public.

It was unclear what would ultimately happen to Prigozhin and his forces under the deal purportedly brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Saturday that Putin has given his word that Prigozhin will be allowed to go to Belarus.

The RIA Novosti state news agency cited unidentified sources in the Prosecutor General’s office as saying the criminal case against Prigozhin hasn’t been closed, despite earlier Kremlin statements. The Interfax news agency carried a similar report.

Should the case continue, Prigozhin’s presence in Belarus — a staunch Kremlin ally — would offer little protection against arrest and extradition.

Prigozhin appeared nonchalant in some of the last video taken during the rebellion. As a convoy carrying him in an SUV drove out of the southern city of Rostov-on-Don after its brief occupation Saturday, he was asked how he viewed the result of his revolt, according to footage posted on Russian social media.

“It’s normal, we have cheered everyone up,” the mercenary chief responded.

Before the uprising, Prigozhin had blasted Shoigu and Gerasimov with expletive-ridden insults for months, attacking them for failing to provide his troops with enough ammunition during the fight for the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, the war’s longest and bloodiest battle.

Prigozhin’s rift with the military dates back for years, to the Russian military intervention in Syria, where Wagner forces also were active.

Putin stood back from the feud and Shoigu and Gerasimov remained mum, possibly reflecting uncertainty about the president’s support. Observers said that by failing to end the feud, Putin had encouraged Prigozhin to raise the stakes dramatically.

Alex Younger, former head of Britain’s MI6 intelligence agency, said it appeared that “neither side was in control” during the rebellion.

Andrei Kartapolov, the head of the defense affairs committee in the lower house of Russia’s parliament, said lawmakers were set to consider a bill that would regulate the activities of private military companies.

In remarks published Sunday, Kartapolov said it makes sense to continue use Wagner troops, calling the company “the most capable unit in Russia.”

He noted that it’s unclear whether Wagner would remain as a single company or what it would be called, saying some troops could be offered contracts with the Defense Ministry.

U.S. President Joe Biden and leaders of several of Ukraine’s European allies discussed events in Russia over the weekend, but Western officials have been muted in their public comments.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg “the events over the weekend are an internal Russian matter.”

Speaking in Vilnius, Lithuania, he said the crisis was “yet another demonstration of the big strategic mistake that President Putin made with his illegal annexation of Crimea and the war against Ukraine.”

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, speaking to reporters before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, said the revolt showed that the war is “cracking Russia’s political system.”

“The monster that Putin created with Wagner, the monster is biting him now,” Borrell said. “The monster is acting against his creator.”

___

Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels and Jill Lawless in London contributed.

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Denmark to start the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s

Kyung An
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Denmark to start the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s

Denmark to start the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s government said Monday that the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 jets has started and the retirement of Scandinavian country’s fleet of aging U.S. fighters has been moved up two years.

The replacement fighters, F-35s, will be operative by 2025, acting Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said. Initially, the switch was planned for 2027.

Lund Poulsen said that NATO-member Denmark “has taken the step of starting a training and further education effort for the Ukrainian pilots.”

“We will also consider whether we should make a concrete donation to Ukraine of the Danish F-16 fighters, and how many there should be,” he said.

Ukrainian pilots must spend six to eight months of training before a possible donation of Danish F-16 aircraft can become a reality, Lund Poulsen told Danish broadcaster DR.

READ MORE : Denmark plans $2.6 bln more for Ukraine, Zelensky praises ‘major contribution’

“This does not mean that you cannot make a decision beforehand. But (the F-16 planes) will be in Denmark until 2024,” Lund Poulsen said.

Denmark has ordered 27 F-35A fighter jets, which will replace the more than 40-year-old F-16s, of which Denmark has 30 operative planes. The switch to the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter jets is taking place from late 2023 to the end of 2025.

Ukraine has long asked for Western fighter jets to help it resist the full-scale Russian invasion, which began in February 2022. Initially reluctant, the U.S. and other NATO countries recently agreed to allow Ukrainian pilots to receive training to on F-16 fighters, though none has yet committed to hand over any planes.

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Suspected militants from Somalia kill 5 people in Kenya border village

Mark Kenya
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Suspected militants from Somalia kill 5 people in Kenya border village

Suspected militants from Somalia kill 5 people in Kenya border village

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Five people have been killed in a Kenyan border village, fueling concerns that such attacks are increasing after a decline.

The weekend attack raises the death toll over the last month to more than 30 people — including soldiers, police reservists and civilians.

In Saturday’s attack in the coastal Lamu county, four of the victims had their throats slit and one was shot at close range, according to local police.

The officials said about 30 attackers also torched houses in the village and stole food.

The village borders Witu Forest, where al-Shabab militants have created hideouts and held abductees.

READ MORE : At least 41 killed in rebel attack on Ugandan school near Congo border

Lamu County has been attacked two other times in the last two weeks, with both incidents targeting Kenya Defense Forces running a security operation in the area and leaving four of them dead.

In Kenya’s north, Mandera, Wajir and Garissa counties have seen several attacks this month in which more than 10 people – including soldiers, police reservists and civilians – have died.

Al-Shabab has in the past targeted Kenya, but a coordinated operation at the border and inside neighboring Somalia had led to fewer attacks until recently.

Kenyan President William Ruto on Friday suggested that the country’s troops might stay in Somalia into next month, past the date of withdrawal.

“We are very clear and we are going to send a very powerful message to al-Shabab, that they are not going to reverse the gains that we have made in the last couple of years,” he said during a France 24 interview in Paris.

Kenya is among countries in the region that have contributed troops to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).

Kenyan Interior Minister Kindiki Kithure has assured residents of their safety, citing a budgetary allocation in the upcoming new financial year to purchase advanced security equipment.

Defense Minister Aden Duale last week warned locals in Garissa County against aiding and working with militants.

More security personnel have been deployed to the border areas to enhance security.

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Wagner Group’s Revolt in Russia Ends After Deal Struck. What is International Response

Shasi Kumar
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Wagner Group’s Revolt in Russia Ends After Deal Struck. What is International Response

Wagner Group’s Revolt in Russia Ends After Deal Struck. What is International Response

Moscow (TIME)- Troops led by Wagner mercenary group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, withdrew from the southern Russian regions of Lipetsk and Voronezg “steadily and without incident” on Sunday after negotiations between Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russia led to a deal and Wagner forces agreed to stand down.

The group had taken over the city of Rostov-on-Don Saturday and threatened to march toward Moscow in an armed rebellion before a deal was struck. Prigozhin said he decided to turn back to avoid “shedding Russian blood” and will now go to Belarus as part of the deal. Under the negotiations, the criminal case against Prigozhin will be dropped after the Russian national security sector FSB opened a case against Prigozhin for “organizing an armed rebellion,” according to a Kremlin spokesperson.

READ MORE : Wagner Group : Russian mercenary group revolt against Moscow fizzles but exposes vulnerabilities

Wagner troops will also not be charged, and will also have to sign contracts with Russia’s Ministry of Defense as part of the negotiations. Prigozhin also ordered the force to return to their field camps in Ukraine, the AP reports.

On Friday, Prigozhin originally demanded that several key military figures come speak with him, threatening to keep control of the city of Rostov-on-Don—where there was an alleged clash between Wagner and Russian forces—and take his troops to Moscow in what he called “a march for justice.”

However, in a turn of events later on Saturday, the convoy of Wagner vehicles traveling along a northbound highway halted just 124 miles from Moscow. Prigozhin has long criticized the country’s military leadership over the long battles in Ukraine that have been plagued with supply shortages, but things came to a boiling point Saturday after taking over Rostov.

Putin initially vowed to quash the insurgency, calling it a rebellion and a “stab in the back.”

What led to the rebellion?

Originally a successful businessman before becoming a mercenary leader, Prigozhin was a close ally of Putin’s. Over the 16 months since Russia invaded Ukraine, Prigozhin’s criticisms against Russian military leadership have compounded.

The Wagner leader lost fighters in vast numbers during the bloody campaign to seize Bakhmut—a battle that Russia claimed full victory in, but that Ukraine refutes. Prigozhin has blamed the military for supply shortages and other leadership failures on social media, but avoided criticizing Putin directly. Prigozhin has emphasized that his issue is not with soldiers, but rather with military leadership.

Prigozhin had denied starting a military coup and called himself a “patriot.” Wagner did not attempt to seize power from the government—the main hallmark of a coup—however, Prigozhin claimed to have widespread support among the armed forces.

A threat to Putin

In Russia, this armed rebellion by the Wagners marked the most recent hit to Putin’s power. His authority has already been affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, though the country refuses to characterize their actions as a “war,” instead opting to refer to it as a “special operation.”

“The Kremlin now faces a deeply unstable equilibrium,” the Institute for the Study of War said in a public statement. “The Lukashenko-negotiated deal is a short-term fix, not a long-term solution, and Prigozhin’s rebellion exposed severe weaknesses in the Kremlin and Russian [Ministry of Defense].”

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky also called Russia’s weakness obvious, referring to the chaos with Wagner. Zelensky claimed that Putin is “very afraid” of the Wagner group, but added that “[Putin] himself created this threat.”

On Saturday, Russian authorities declared a state of counterterrorism after Rostov, a major grain-producer in the region and home to the military headquarters that oversee the invasion of Ukraine, was taken. Wagner fighters were also said to have seized nearby military facilities in the city of Voronezh. Residents throughout the region had been advised not to travel and to stay in their homes.

Wagner’s forces are about 25,000 strong, and did not stand down after appeals from military generals Friday to resign their mission. Prigozhin claims that his forces were able to take over Rostov without firing a single shot. Prigozhin previously said that Wagner fighters would not turn themselves in. “We do not want the country to live on in corruption, deceit and bureaucracy.”

International Response

Since the crisis began, Russia has continued strikes on Ukraine, firing over a dozen missiles at Kyiv. Ukrainians are welcoming the dispute as a distraction for Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky called Russia’s weakness obvious, referring to the chaos with Wagner. Zelensky also claimed that Putin is “very afraid” of the Wagner group, but added that “[Putin] himself created this threat.”

U.S. government officials announced they’re watching the situation closely and the U.K. described it as the “most significant challenge to the Russian state” as of late.

President Joe Biden spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak about the rebellion on Saturday, according to the White House. The leaders also affirmed their ongoing support for Ukraine in the war. Russian officials warned Western countries not to use the crisis as an opportunity “to achieve their Russophobic goals.”

On Saturday, prior to the Wagner halt, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he offered Putin Turkey’s help seeking a “peaceful resolution.” Iranian officials announced that they recognized Russian rule of law and that the events in Russia were an internal matter.

Just west of Russia, Latvia moved to tighten border security after the conflict broke out. The foreign minister also announced that Latvia would cease admitting Russians into the country altogether. Several countries, including the Czech Republic, Israel, and Estonia urged their citizens to reconsider travel to Russia.

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Wagner Group : Russian mercenary group revolt against Moscow fizzles but exposes vulnerabilities

Andy Sengiah
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Wagner Group : Russian mercenary group revolt against Moscow fizzles but exposes vulnerabilities

Wagner Group : Russian mercenary group revolt against Moscow fizzles but exposes vulnerabilities

Europe (AP)- The greatest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power fizzled out after the rebellious mercenary commander who ordered his troops to march on Moscow abruptly reached a deal with the Kremlin to go into exile and sounded the retreat.

The brief revolt, though, exposed vulnerabilities among Russian government forces, with Wagner Group soldiers under the command of Yevgeny Prigozhin able to move unimpeded into the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and advance hundreds of kilometers (miles) toward Moscow. The Russian military scrambled to defend Russia’s capital.

READ MORE : Ukraine war: Russian nukes are now in Belarus, says Putin

Under the deal announced Saturday by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Prigozhin will go to neighboring Belarus, which has supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Charges against him of mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped.

The government also said it would not prosecute Wagner fighters who took part, while those who did not join in were to be offered contracts by the Defense Ministry. Prigozhin ordered his troops back to their field camps in Ukraine, where they have been fighting alongside Russian regular soldiers.

Putin had vowed earlier to punish those behind the armed uprising led by his onetime protege. In a televised speech to the nation, he called the rebellion a “betrayal” and “treason.”

In allowing Prigozhin and his forces to go free, Peskov said, Putin’s “highest goal” was “to avoid bloodshed and internal confrontation with unpredictable results.”

Some observers said Putin’s strongman image has taken a hit.

“Putin has been diminished for all time by this affair,” former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst said on CNN.

Moscow had braced for the arrival of the Wagner forces by erecting checkpoints with armored vehicles and troops on the city’s southern edge. About 3,000 Chechen soldiers were pulled from fighting in Ukraine and rushed there early Saturday, state television in Chechnya reported. Russian troops armed with machine guns put up checkpoints on Moscow’s southern outskirts. Crews dug up sections of highways to slow the march.

Wagner troops advanced to just 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Moscow, according to Prigozhin. But after the deal was struck, Prigozhin announced that he had decided to retreat to avoid “shedding Russian blood.”

Prigozhin had demanded the ouster of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, whom Prigohzhin has long criticized in withering terms for his conduct of the 16-month-long war in Ukraine. On Friday, he accused forces under Shoigu’s command of attacking Wagner camps and killing “a huge number of our comrades.”

If Putin were to agree to Shoigu’s ouster, it could be politically damaging for the president after he branded Prigozhin a backstabbing traitor.

The U.S. had intelligence that Prigozhin had been building up his forces near the border with Russia for some time. That conflicts with Prigozhin’s claim that his rebellion was a response to an attack on his camps in Ukraine on Friday by the Russian military.

In announcing the rebellion, Prigozhin accused Russian forces of attacking the Wagner camps in Ukraine with rockets, helicopter gunships and artillery. He alleged that Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff, ordered the attacks following a meeting with Shoigu in which they decided to destroy the military contractor.

The Defense Ministry denied attacking the camps.

Congressional leaders were briefed on the Wagner buildup earlier last week, a person familiar with the matter said. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. The U.S. intelligence briefing was first reported by CNN.

Early Saturday, Prigozhin’s private army appeared to control the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, a city 660 miles (over 1,000 kilometers) south of Moscow, which runs Russian operations in Ukraine, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said.

The 62-year-old Prigozhin, a former convict, has longstanding ties to Putin and won lucrative Kremlin catering contracts that earned him the nickname “Putin’s chef.”

He and a dozen other Russian nationals were charged in the United States with operating a covert social media campaign aimed at fomenting discord ahead of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election victory. Wagner has sent military contractors to Libya, Syria, several African countries and eventually Ukraine.

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Sri Lanka vs Ireland, ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023 Highlights: SL Beat IRE By 133 Runs

Diplomat Times
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Sri Lanka vs Ireland, ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023 Highlights: SL Beat IRE By 133 Runs

Sri Lanka vs Ireland, ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023 Highlights: SL Beat IRE By 133 Runs

DT SPORTS (NDTV) – Sri Lanka vs Ireland Highlights, ICC World Cup Qualifier 2023:Sri Lanka powered into the Super Six stage of the Cricket World Cup qualifying tournament with a crushing 133-run win over Ireland on Sunday that eliminated their opponents.

READ MORE : India vs Pakistan Live Streaming Info: Preview, when and where to watch SAFF Championship?

The result also guaranteed Scotland and Oman will join Sri Lanka in progressing from Group B. Opener Dimuth Karunaratne made a run-a-ball 103 and Sadeera Samarawickrama hit 82 as Sri Lanka compiled an imposing total of 325 all out off 49.5 overs after being put in to bat in Bulawayo. Mark Adair took 4-46 and Barry McCarthy claimed 3-56 but Ireland’s pace spearhead Josh Little conceded 78 runs in eight wicketless overs.

Here are the Highlights of the ICC World Cup Qualifier 2023 Group B Match between Sri Lanka and Ireland, straight from Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo:

Match 15, ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers, 2023, Jun 25, 2023
Match Ended
ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==
SL
325/10 (49.5)
ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==
IRE
192/10 (31.0)
Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
Sri Lanka beat Ireland by 133 runs

 

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Lionel Messi turns 36: A look back on what the legends think of him

Roshan Bilung
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Lionel Messi turns 36: A look back on what the legends think of him

Lionel Messi turns 36: A look back on what the legends think of him

DT SPORTS ( SB)- Today marks the 36th birthday of one of the greatest players of his generation, Lionel Andrés Messi – and to commemorate it, it’s worth looking back at what several sporting figures think of this legend of the game.

Lionel Messi has had one of the most illustrious careers in sport, with a career that has spanned 18 years so far and included 807 career goals and 42 trophies – it is no wonder that figures in sports rave about the little magician.

Arsène Wenger was once asked in an interview who the best player in the world was, to which he simply replied: “Lionel Messi.”

He was then asked who the best player in the world was, to which he simply replied: “Lionel Messi.”

Says it all really, as the interview took place during Wenger’s tenure at Arsenal, while Messi was still playing at Barcelona in his 20s.

READ MORE : Sri Lanka vs Ireland, ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023 Highlights: SL Beat IRE By 133 Runs

Jurgen Klopp spoke on Messi around the time of his Liverpool side’s clash with Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League, where he said: “I don’t want to talk about the other five, Messi for me would be the player that would be number one, that’s me, we have to say that Cristiano Ronaldo is in that as well and all the rest, we have to see.”

Following Manchester United’s 3-1 loss to Barcelona in the 2011 Champions League final where Messi ran the show, Sir Alex Ferguson was asked a question in the post-match conference that stands out as one of his iconic moments with the press.

The journalist asked: “Sir Alex, if the owners of Man United gave you a blank cheque over the summer and allowed you to bring in one, just one of Barcelona’s team from tonight, who would you sign?”

Sir Alex replied: “That’s one of the most stupid questions I’ve ever heard in my life.” The conference room erupted with laughter, before Ferguson sarcastically answered: “Mascherano. You’re testing my patience.”

Messi’s former manager Pep Guardiola talked about him during his early days as Man City manager too, saying how much he respected him and Barcelona: “When I left Barcelona, and I went to Bayern Munich then Manchester City, I never asked Lionel Messi to come and join Bayern Munich or here when I was manager. I never went to both clubs and said ‘I want this player’. Never. It’s because I know how important this guy is to Barcelona.”

As an ex-Barcelona player and manager, it is understandable that Pep would distance himself from signing the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Bryant said: “Ronaldinho, who was a good friend, I was talking with him and he told me, ‘Kobe, look I’m going to introduce you to the guy who is going to be the greatest player of all time.’ I said, ‘You what? You are the best.’

“But he said, ‘No, no. This kid right here is going to be the best.’ And that guy was Lionel Messi, who was only 17.”

Before Liverpool and Barcelona’s Champions League semi-final showdown in 2019, Jose Mourinho gave his predictions and thoughts on the tie on TV: “I would say Barca without Messi, I would say Liverpool are the favourite, I never say Messi is the special one in here, because everything he does, he does all the time.

“When Messi has the ball, one one one, you are dead.”

Finally, Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave the Argentinian the highest forms of praise in an interview: “I think Messi is one of a kind, what he is doing, I don’t know if we will see another player do the things that he does because he has his way of playing, the style, and to become that player, I don’t think it’s possible, that’s why I say it’s one of a kind.

“I had the luck to see him everyday, I saw what he was doing everyday, I’ve said it before it’s like playing PlayStation, you give the ball to the guy and he starts to go through every player, that’s who Messi is.”

These are just the tip of the iceberg, as several figures in sport have openly praised Lionel Messi and are often left in awe of what he can do on the pitch.

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Rapper Young Thug drops new album ‘Business is Business’ from jail

Mikey Peres
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Rapper Young Thug drops new album ‘Business is Business’ from jail

Rapper Young Thug drops new album ‘Business is Business’ from jail

ATLANTA — Despite being behind bars, Atlanta rapper Young Thug dropped a new album Friday amidst the Young Slime Life RICO trial in Fulton County.

Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, released his latest album titled “BUSINESS IS BUSINESS” at midnight EST.

The new album features prominent artists such as Drake, Future, Travis Scott, 21 Savage, Lil Uzi Vert, and others. The album is out on streaming platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify.

READ MORE : Al Pacino, 83, is a father for the fourth time, welcoming son Roman with Noor Alfallah

Young Thug has been in custody since he was arrested last May and indicted on charges accusing him of leading the “Young Slime Life” gang, which claims affiliation with the Bloods.

Williams, who maintains his innocence, is facing a gang activity charge from 2018 and a 2013 charge of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, Act.

Part of the premise of the ongoing YSL Trial, which is shaping up to be one of the longest in Fulton County history, is based on what the rapper’s attorney claims that Young Thug is being punished on the basis of rap lyrics and social media posts and little to no evidence of any criminal acts.

In particular, the Fulton County DA is targeting Young Thug as the alleged “head” of the gang – “he’s the one they’re all afraid of, he’s the one that’s King Slime” is how one prosecutor put it during the bond hearing.

It is yet to be seen if any of the rap lyrics in his album that dropped on Friday at midnight will play any consequential role in the upcoming trial or not.

On Thursday afternoon, a new Instagram post from the rapper – real name, Jeffery Williams – shows Young Thug in a courtroom. Tens of thousands of Young Thug’s fans have been speculating on the artist’s next project.

The rapper’s last album was released in 2021, and was called “Punk.”

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Via : 11Alive.com

Who is Linda Harding, wife of Hamish Harding, lost in the Titanic Submersible?

Shasi Kumar
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Who is Linda Harding, wife of Hamish Harding, lost in the Titanic Submersible?

Who is Linda Harding, wife of Hamish Harding, lost in the Titanic Submersible?

New Delhi (SNS)- The world mourns the loss of Hamish Harding — died in the Titanic Submersible Mission implosion — and his loving wife, Linda Harding, now finds solace in the outpouring of condolences and well-wishes from those near and dear to her.

Linda remembers his adventurous spirit and thirst for discovery that led him on countless expeditions, but his life was claimed while aboard the Titanic submersible, bound for the haunting wreckage of the Titanic in the vast Atlantic Ocean.

A woman who preferred to live a quiet and unassuming life away from the prying eyes of fame, Linda supported her late husband through his remarkable public endeavors. While Hamish embraced social media as a means to share his awe-inspiring explorations with the world, Linda chose a more private path, avoiding the spotlight cast upon their lives.

Together, they raised two sons, Rory and Giles, who were always there to cheer on their father’s triumphs. Whether it was celebrating his Guinness World Records or joining him on daring deep-sea ventures, the entire family reveled in Hamish’s achievements. However, since the fateful moment when Hamish was reported missing, both Rory and Giles have chosen to retreat from the public eye, grappling with their own immense grief in silence.

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For those seeking a glimpse into the extraordinary life shared by Hamish and his loved ones, Giles’s Instagram account stands as a visual testament. It paints a vivid picture of the adventures he embarked on alongside his father, offering a window into the thrilling escapades of their adventure-loving clan.

In addition to their shared children, Linda also brings two sons from a previous companionship into their blended family. One of them is Brian Szasz, a talented audio engineer who forged a deep and meaningful bond with his stepfather, Hamish. When news broke of Hamish’s disappearance, it was Brian who took it upon himself to share the heartbreaking update on Facebook. However, upon Linda’s request, he made the difficult decision to remove the post, shielding their family from the eyes of the public during this trying time.

Another cherished member of Linda’s brood is her son Lauren, who, much like his brother Brian, shared an extraordinary connection with Hamish.

About Hamish Harding

Dubai-based British explorer Hamish Harding has been remembered as a “loving husband to his wife and a dedicated father to his two sons, whom he loved deeply”. Harding, 58, was among five men who died after a Titanic expedition submersible suffered a “catastrophic implosion”.

“He was one of a kind and we adored him. He was a passionate explorer – whatever the terrain – who lived his life for his family, his business and for the next adventure.”

Talking about his achievements that include three Guinness world records, his family said: “What he achieved in his lifetime was truly remarkable and if we can take any small consolation from this tragedy, it’s that we lost him doing what he loved.

A UAE expat for 15 years, Harding was an accomplished aviator who had been to the depths of space and the ocean.

In a statement issued earlier, Mark Butler, managing director of Action Aviation, had called him an “extraordinarily accomplished individual who has successfully undertaken challenging expeditions, including but not limited to One More Orbit project (the record-breaking circumnavigation of the world), a flight to space with Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket as a commercial astronaut (NS-21 Mission), and the reintroduction of Cheetahs from Namibia to India”.

Via :  Khaleez Times

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