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Canadian women’s football staff sent home from Olympics over drone incident

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Canadian women’s football staff sent home from Olympics over drone incident

Canada head coach Bev Priestman apologies to New Zealand, says spying scandal does not represent team’s ‘values’.

Canadian women’s football coach Bev Priestman has removed herself from opening match duties at the Paris Olympics while an assistant coach and a team analyst were kicked out of the Games after a spying scandal engulfed the tournament.

The sport’s governing body FIFA said on Wednesday that it had begun disciplinary proceedings after New Zealand’s women’s team said a training session this week had been disrupted by a drone flown by a Canadian team staff member.

Canada and New Zealand will face each other in the opening match of Group A on Thursday.

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) also said it had taken action to remove two staff members from the team’s Olympic squad, who were gold medallists at the Tokyo Games.

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“Joseph Lombardi, an unaccredited analyst with Canada Soccer, is being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and will be sent home immediately,” COC said in a statement.

“Jasmine Mander, an assistant coach to whom Mr Lombardi reports to, is being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and will be sent home immediately.”

Coach Bev Priestman says the incident ‘does not represent the values’ of Canada’s football team [File: Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Reuters]

Lombardi, 43, was also given a suspended eight-month prison sentence for flying the drone over the New Zealand training session on Monday in Saint-Etienne.

In a statement, Priestman – the Canadian team’s head coach – said she had decided to “voluntarily withdraw” from the match against New Zealand on Thursday.

“On behalf of our entire team, I first and foremost want to apologise to the players and staff at New Zealand Football and to the players on Team Canada. This does not represent the values that our team stands for,” Priestman said.

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The New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) reported the incident to the police and to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit.

The NZOC said it and New Zealand Football “are committed to upholding the integrity and fairness of the Olympic Games”.

“At this time the NZOC’s main priority is to support the New Zealand women’s football athletes and wider team as they start their campaign,” it added.

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How Fast Is That Going?

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How Fast Is That Going?

You won bronze!

Lindon Victor, an Olympic decathlete from Grenada, threw this at [46] In competition, the discus can reach over [50]

Flying Objects at the Games

From the fast-flying badminton birdie to the slower and heavier shot-put, we’ve shown you a wide range of speeds that will play a critical role in who wins a medal. Is the object fast enough to go great distances? Is it fast enough to befuddle an opponent? Will the speed keep an arrow true?

The birdie and the shot-put could not be more different. The birdie is about the fastest projectile you’ll see at these Olympics, and it’s as light as a feather — literally. It’s made of 16 goose feathers and weighs less than two-tenths of an ounce (about five grams).

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Compare that with the men’s shot, one of the heaviest and slowest objects at the Summer Games. It weighs a whopping 16 pounds (7.26 kilograms) — the maximum weight of a bowling ball. To win an Olympic medal, an athlete will need to put it more than three-quarters of a basketball court.

When you’re watching the Games, keep in mind just how much an object’s speed can determine the outcome. Follow The New York Times Olympic coverage.

Methodology: The speeds of the objects were collected using a sports radar gun. Speeds were tracked throughout the flight and the peak speeds were used for this game.

Sources: U.S.A. Archery; Lancaster Archery Academy; Seng Ming Tan, Long Island Badminton Center; Chris Huffins, Olympics bronze medalist in decathlon and current decathlon coach; Marissa Chew, ​​assistant coach, combined events/vertical jumps, Texas Christian University; Yu Shao, New York Indoor Sports Club; U.S.A. Volleyball; Guinness World Records

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Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces his first House of Commons grilling from lawmakers

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Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces his first House of Commons grilling from lawmakers

Newly elected British leader Keir Starmer faced a House of Commons milestone on Wednesday, fielding lawmakers’ queries at the boisterous weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session.

It was the first such session since Starmer’s Labour Party won a landslide election victory on July 4, returning to power after 14 years. The center-left party won 412 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons.

KEIR STARMER ELECTED NEW UK PRIME MINISTER AFTER BIG LABOUR PARTY WIN

Starmer is more accustomed to asking the questions after spending four years as leader of the opposition to a Conservative government. Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak now fills that role as leader of the defeated Conservative Party.

Starmer was greeted with a loud cheer by Labour lawmakers packed onto the green benches in the Commons. The often rambunctious spectacle of PMQs struck an unusually cordial note, as Sunak and Starmer stressed their mutual commitment to supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion.

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Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Prime Ministers Questions session in parliament in London, Wednesday, July 24, 2024.  (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

The prime minister told the opposition leader he “wholeheartedly agree” on the need to arm Ukraine and set it on the path to NATO membership — words not often heard between them.

The two politicians also sent best wishes to British athletes at the Paris Olympics, although, Sunak added, “I’m probably not the first person they want to hear advice from on how to win.”

Labour won a landslide election victory over the Conservatives on July 4 on a promise to get the U.K.’s sluggish economy growing, unleash a wave of housebuilding and green energy projects and patch the country’s frayed public services.

Labour’s large majority means Starmer should easily be able to pass legislation. But he has already had to quell a rebellion, suspending seven Labour lawmakers for voting against the party over social welfare.

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The government is under pressure from anti-poverty groups and many Labour lawmakers to scrap a policy introduced by the Conservatives that limits a widely paid welfare benefit and tax credit to a family’s first two children. The new government says it can’t afford to immediately abolish the two-child cap.

On Tuesday night, seven Labour lawmakers on the left of the party sided with an opposition call to scrap the limit. The party said the seven, who include former deputy leader John McDonnell, had been suspended from Labour’s parliamentary caucus for at least six months. They will remain lawmakers, but will sit as independents.

Zarah Sultana, one of the suspended legislators, said she had “slept well knowing that I took a stand against child poverty that is affecting 4.3 million people in this country.”

“It is the right thing to do and I am glad I did it,” she told broadcaster ITV.

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‘Love Is Blind: U.K.’ Reveals Cast and Trailer as Hit Netflix Dating Show Moves Across the Pond

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‘Love Is Blind: U.K.’ Reveals Cast and Trailer as Hit Netflix Dating Show Moves Across the Pond

“Love Is Blind” is moving across the pond.

The U.K. version of the hit Netflix dating show revealed its full cast and trailer on Wednesday, teasing plenty of drama to come when the first episodes launch on Aug. 7.

“Love Is Blind: U.K.” shares the same synopsis as the U.S. version, following 30 singles who “have signed up for a less-conventional approach to modern dating, and will choose someone to marry without ever meeting them.” The singles hail from Dublin, London, Edinburgh and everywhere in between, range in age from 27 to 38 and include a chicken restaurateur, a techno DJ and a baby photographer.

“Over several weeks, the newly engaged couples will move in together, plan their wedding and find out if their physical connection matches their strong emotional bond developed in the Pods,” the synopsis continues. “When their wedding day arrives, will real-world realities and external factors push them apart, or will they marry the person they fell blindly in love with?”

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“Love Is Blind: U.K.” is hosted by Matt and Emma Willis, who have been married since 2008 and share three children. Matt is best known as the singer of pop-punk band Busted, while Emma has presented “Big Brother” as well as the U.K. edition of Netflix competition series “The Circle.”

The 11-episode series premieres on Netflix Aug. 7 with four episodes. The next four will premiere on Aug. 14, and the last two on Aug. 21.

Watch the trailer for “Love Is Blind: U.K.” below and scroll down to meet the cast.

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