Isis surrenders Iraqi hideout of leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

Islamic State has surrendered the key town of Baaj in north-west Iraq, a known hideout of the terrorist group’s leader which had been under Islamist militants’ control throughout 14 years of war and insurgency.
The few remaining Isis fighters fled the town on Saturday night, allowing Shia militia forces to enter unopposed.
A statement from the Popular Mobilisation Front, an umbrella organisation for pro-government paramilitaries that is dominated by Iran-backed Shia militias, announced the “total liberation” of the Baaj district and declared: “The Iraqi flag has been hoisted above its buildings.”
Throughout Sunday, the Front’s fighters raised Iraqi flags and banners where Isis flags had flown since mid-2014, securing a victory that resonates far beyond the formerly untamed corner of north-west Iraq.
with the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani, directed Shia paramilitary forces to capture Baaj as a crucial part of a land corridor that Iran has been trying to establish across Iraq and Syria.

Bukamal is expected to be a new focus of both Iranian and US efforts. At the same time, US-backed Kurdish troops are now within sight of Raqqa on three sides of the city. Kurdish groups say the battle to retake the city is likely to start sometime this month.
“This is all coming to a head now,” said a senior regional diplomat. “But not in a coordinated way at all. Everyone has their own agenda. There is no common purpose here. And there sure as hell isn’t a strategy.”
In Mosul, the battle to fully reclaim the city continues. It bears particular significance because the city’s Nouri mosque is where Baghdadi first declared the caliphate in 2014.
The battle was supposed to be over before the summer, but continues to grind on slowly six months on, with ideologically committed and battle-seasoned Isis fighters holding out against a three-pronged advance that has all but ground to a halt, while taking heavy casualties.
While the defeat of Isis seems assured, a plan to stop the group from re-emerging after the fighting is yet to take shape.
“Isis emerged in the first place because it was a rallying call for Sunni grievances,” a diplomat, who wanted to remain anonymous, said.
“It could remain that even if it loses. In fact, the loss could rehabilitate the group, giving it a renewed sense of victimhood that it encourages vanquished Sunnis to feed off.”

Gareth Bale staying put at Real Madrid despite Manchester United speculation

Gareth Bale has insisted that he has no intention of leaving Real Madrid this summer amid speculation that Manchester United may attempt to sign the Wales international for a fee of more than £100m.
Bale was a second-half substitute in his home city of Cardiff as Real became the first side to retain the status as European champions since the Champions League era began with a comprehensive 4-1 win against Juventus on Saturday.
That victory ensured Bale became the first Welshman to win club football’s most prestigious tournament for the third time at the end of a season during which the 27-year-old has been plagued by injury.
Bale made only 19 league appearances for the club as they won a first La Liga title since 2011. Having attempted to prove his fitness for the final, Bale did not start against Juventus with the manager, Zinédine Zidane, opting instead for Isco. That has fuelled rumours that United could turn to Bale after cooling their approach for Antoine Griezmann after the Frenchman confirmed on Sunday that he would not be leaving Atlético Madrid this summer after the Spanish club’s transfer ban was upheld by Fifa.
Bale, who agreed a new deal in October lasting until 2022 worth £350,000 a week after tax and with a €1bn buyout clause, was adamant that he wants to remain at the club he joined in September 2013 from Tottenham Hotspur for £85m, which was then a world-record fee.
“I’ve signed a long-term contract at Madrid,” he said. “My family is happy and I am happy so, yeah, we will continue what we are doing. We are winning trophies and I am happy.
“I’ve worked double sessions for three, four weeks to get myself ready for this, to get myself fit, recover from the surgery – which still has a little more healing to do – but I will be able to rest in the summer, do some more rehab and then come next season stronger. It’s been a tough year with a lot of football and the injuries, but the main thing for me is to get my ankle sorted and give it that rest it needs. I came back too early from the surgery. But I still finished the season happy, it’s a great finish with another trophy.”
United tried to sign Bale in 2013 when David Moyes succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford but were beaten to his signature. The Welshman’s representatives have dismissed reports linking him with a return to the Premier League, stressing that he has no desire to leave the most successful club in global football. Given that he has now won seven major trophies in only four years in Spain, it is hard to argue that this Madrid side is up there with some of the most successful in history.
“We’re used to this,” Bale said. “We have won three Champions Leagues in four seasons so we have to be in that category. All we can keep doing is keep working hard and hopefully there will be more to come. I think we can get better.
“We are still quite young as a whole team and we have a great squad. We haven’t just got a great eleven, we have a great squad so if any injuries come along there are other people who can do a job. We are strong and confident and the plan is to win more.
“This adds to the history of this club. This club is the biggest in Champions League history ever and now we have even more. It’s great to be a part of.”

More than 1,500 Juventus fans in Turin injured after stampede

More than 1,500 people are thought to have been injured – three of them seriously – after Juventus fans watching the Champions League final stampeded in a Turin square after mistaking firecrackers for an explosion or gunshots.
Thousands of people had gathered in Piazza San Carlo on Saturday night to watch Juventus play Real Madrid on giant TV screens. During the second half of the match loud bangs led to a sudden rush in the middle of the crowd, causing a surge that flung people against barriers.
Many were trampled as people began to run out of the centre of the square, screaming in fear. The stampede may been started by the explosion of a loud firecracker that was mistaken for a bomb, some witnesses suggested.
“I heard an explosion, which must have been a huge firecracker,” a witness told La Stampa, one of Italy’s daily newspapers. However, another suggested it may have been the result of a security barrier falling over.
“They shouted, there’s a bomb, evacuate the square,” a member of the audience told the paper. “So we ran away. There were people on the ground, and blood and glass everywhere.”
One of the fans, who was caught next to the barriers, said: “I felt I was being lifted up. It was terrible.”
Although initially police said 200 people needed hospital treatment, the Italian news agency Ansa later put the figure at 1,527, using hospital tallies.
Most of the injured were treated for cuts and light contusions, but three people, including a seven-year-old boy, were reportedly in a serious condition.
“The root cause of this was panic,” said the local official Renato Saccone. “We’ll have to wait a while to understand what triggered it.”
In a statement, local authorities said the crowd “was seized by panic and by the psychosis of a terror attack” fearing that the loud noise was caused by attackers.
Shoes and bags littered the ground in the aftermath of the stampede, and people were seen limping and searching desperately for friends and relatives. Police have set up an information point to help people find their loved ones, and are now investigating what caused the panic.
“I saw the entire piazza went in the direction next to the screen to escape, all in a panic,” Brian Hendrie, an Associated Press reporter, said. “They ran, fell on the ground on the glass.” He said some reported having heard a small explosion, others a shot. “I heard five or six different versions. It sparked a panic.”
Within minutes, dazed fans in Juve’s black-and-white jerseys returned and milled about the piazza amid the broken bottles and rubbish littering the cobblestones, with the match largely forgotten.

Islamic State claims responsibility for terror attack on London – as it happened

What we know so far: the attackers

• Isis has claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack, although this has not been verified. In a statement published late on Sunday by the Amaq news agency, which usually carries its claims, it said:

A detachment of Islamic State fighters executed yesterday’s London attack.

• Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said detectives were urgently investigating whether the three terror suspects were “assisted or supported” by a wider network.
• The names of the three men have not been released. Police say they believe all the attackers were killed after armed officers “fired an unprecedented number of rounds” to shoot them dead during their attack on Borough Market.
• One of the suspected attackers was described by neighbours as a married father of two who attended local mosques.
• One neighbour told the Guardian she had reported the man to police two years ago after fears he was attempting to radicalise children.

Resorts World Manila: At least 36 bodies found at casino complex

At least 36 bodies have been recovered from a casino and hotel complex in the Philippine capital, Manila, where a lone gunman opened fire overnight.

Most of the dead suffocated in thick toxic smoke after the man set fire to casino tables, officials told the BBC.
The gunman, whose nationality is not yet known, began shooting in the casino in Resorts World Manila in the early hours of Friday morning.
Police said he later killed himself by setting himself on fire.
The incident sparked a security lockdown. Authorities initially said there were no casualties, but appear to have only found the bodies while sweeping the complex after the gunman's body was recovered.

A Chicago schoolgirl is accused of murdering an Uber driver with a knife and machete she had just stolen from a Walmart.

Eliza Wasni, 16, walked " nonchalantly throughout the store" with the items and left unchallenged before hailing an Uber taxi driven by 34-year-old Grant Nelson, according to prosecutors.

A few minutes into the journey, the teenager began repeatedly stabbing Nelson with both implements while she sat on the back seat.

Nelson was able escape and summon help but he died in hospital after telling police officers that Wasni had fled in his Hyundai.

The girl crashed into a central reservation and and made off on foot while covered in her victim's blood. She was later found hiding behind an office building by officers.

Police say she was holding the knife and the machete, which she refused to drop when ordered to. They tasered her and took her into custody. The outside of the car was visibly smeared with blood around a rear door handle.

Wasni looked mostly at the floor as she appeared in court on Wednesday, 31 May, where a Cook County judge ordered her to be held without bail, The Chicago Tribune reported.

Nelson's sister, Alex, told WMAQ-TV that her brother "was not a vindictive person".

"He was not a cruel person. He didn't deserve this fate," she said.

Wasni is said to have taken two other Uber rides on the day of the alleged offence – the second was to the Walmart in Lincolnwood, just outside Chicago.

Uber said in a statement: "We are heartbroken by the loss of one of our partners. Our deepest sympathies and prayers are with his family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time."

How the Trump administration’s secret efforts to ease Russia sanctions fell short

In the early weeks of the Trump administration, former Obama administration officials and State Department staffers fought an intense, behind-the-scenes battle to head off efforts by incoming officials to normalize relations with Russia, according to multiple sources familiar with the events.

Unknown to the public at the time, top Trump administration officials, almost as soon as they took office, tasked State Department staffers with developing proposals for the lifting of economic sanctions, the return of diplomatic compounds and other steps to relieve tensions with Moscow.

These efforts to relax or remove punitive measures imposed by President Obama in retaliation for Russia’s intervention in Ukraine and meddling in the 2016 election alarmed some State Department officials, who immediately began lobbying congressional leaders to quickly pass legislation to block the move, the sources said.

“There was serious consideration by the White House to unilaterally rescind the sanctions,” said Dan Fried, a veteran State Department official who served as chief U.S. coordinator for sanctions policy until he retired in late February. He said in the first few weeks of the administration, he received several “panicky” calls from U.S. government officials who told him they had been directed to develop a sanctions-lifting package and imploring him, “Please, my God, can’t you stop this?”

Fried said he grew so concerned that he contacted Capitol Hill allies — including Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., the ranking minority member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — to urge them to move quickly to pass legislation that would “codify” the sanctions in place, making it difficult for President Trump to remove them.

Tom Malinowski, who had just stepped down as President Obama’s assistant secretary of state for human rights, told Yahoo News he too joined the effort to lobby Congress after learning from former colleagues that the administration was developing a plan to lift sanctions — and possibly arrange a summit between Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin — as part of an effort to achieve a “grand bargain” with Moscow. “It would have been a win-win for Moscow,” said Malinowski, who only days before he left office announced his own round of sanctions against senior Russian officials for human rights abuses under a law known as the Magnitsky Act.

The previously unreported efforts by Fried and others to check the Trump administration’s policy moves cast new light on the unseen tensions over Russia policy during the early days of the new administration.

It also potentially takes on new significance for congressional and Justice Department investigators in light of reports that before the administration took office Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and his chief foreign policy adviser, Michael Flynn, discussed setting up a private channel of communications with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak — talks that appear to have laid the groundwork for the proposals that began circulating right after the inauguration.

US travel ban goes to Supreme Court

he White House has asked the US Supreme Court to reinstate a travel ban on people from majority Muslim countries.
The ban has been blocked by lower courts which have said that it is discriminatory.
Two emergency applications have now been filed by the government with the court's nine justices that seek to overturn those lower court rulings.
The controversial ban has prompted protests and debate across the US.
"We have asked the Supreme Court to hear this important case and are confident that President Trump's executive order is well within his lawful authority to keep the nation safe and protect our communities from terrorism," said Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores.
"The president is not required to admit people from countries that sponsor or shelter terrorism, until he determines that they can be properly vetted and do not pose a security risk to the United States."
The administration has asked the court to grant emergency requests that would see the travel ban reinstated immediately. That ruling could come within two weeks.
The court will then decide whether to hear the administration's full appeal. If it does, that could take place in October.
Five questions on the revised travel ban
Opponents of the travel ban vowed to continue their fight.
The American Civil Liberties Union, tweeted: "We've beat this hateful ban and are ready to do it again."
Karen Tumlin, legal director of the National Immigration Law Center, told Associated Press: "Again and again, our nation's courts have found that President Trump's Muslim ban is unconstitutional. We will continue to defend our plaintiffs' right to live free from fear of discriminatory treatment by the federal government."

Ban 'rooted in religious animus'

Mr Trump signed his original executive order shortly after coming into office in January.
It banned entry to nationals from Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya and Yemen for 90 days and halted the refugee programme for 120 days.
Its implementation caused chaos at airports and protests in a number of cities.
It was blocked after a legal challenge initially mounted by Washington state and

Paris climate deal: Dismay as Trump signals exit from accord

There has been widespread international condemnation of President Trump's announcement that the US is withdrawing from the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

UN chief Antonio Guterres's spokesman called it "a major disappointment" while the European Union said it was "a sad day for the world".
However, senior Republicans and the US coal industry backed the move.
Mr Trump said the accord "punished" the US and would cost millions of American jobs.
In an address at the White House, he said he was prepared to negotiate a new agreement or re-enter the accord on improved terms.
"I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris," he said.
The Paris agreement commits the US and 187 other countries to keeping rising global temperatures "well below" 2C above pre-industrial levels and "endeavour to limit" them even more, to 1.5C.
Only Syria and Nicaragua did not sign up to the deal.

Why did Trump pull out of the accord?

Mr Trump characterised the Paris agreement as a deal that aimed to hobble, disadvantage and impoverish the US.
He claimed the agreement would cost the US $3tn (£2.3tn) in lost GDP and 6.5 million jobs - while rival economies like China and India were treated more favourably.
Mr Trump said he was fulfilling his "solemn duty to protect America and its citizens".
He added: "We don't want other leaders and other countries laughing at us anymore - and they won't be."
Mr Trump did not give a timescale. However, under the agreement, a nation seeking to leave the pact can only give notice three years after the date it entered into force - 16 November 2016.
The process of leaving then takes another year, meaning it would not be complete until just weeks after the US presidential election in 2020.

Judge expects update on Royal Bank of Scotland settlement negotiations

A judge will learn this week if a multimillion-pound settlement has been reached that would keep the former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Fred Goodwin from having to appear in court.
Goodwin has been called to give evidence in the long-running legal battle brought by thousands of investors who argue they were misled into buying the bank’s shares in a £12bn cash call in April 2008. The bank was bailed out six months later, leaving the shareholders nursing losses.Their claim for £520m of compensation had been due to begin in the high court last Monday but was adjourned to allow the bank and shareholders to try to thrash out a settlement thought to be worth around £200m.
While the court will not sit this week, Mr Justice Hildyard wants an update on Tuesday and asked to be told on Thursday if a settlement could be reached. The court is adjourned until 7 June.
The judge has been told that “progress is being made on a settlement” though some investors are being described as “diehards” who do not want to do a deal with the bank because they want to hold former senior managers to account.
The investors are bringing their claim against RBS, Goodwin and three former directors. The last time Goodwin – who left RBS in the wake of the 2008 bailout – accounted for his actions in public was in February 2009 when he had appeared before MPs and issued a “profound and unqualified apology for all of the distress that has been caused”.
It has been reported that the businessman Trevor Hemmings, who owns Preston North End football club and is helping cover the shareholders’ legal costs, is willing to accept the RBS settlement.
Last December, RBS announced that it had £800m to share among the various factions bringing claims relating to the April 2008 cash call. The bank has settled with 87% of them without admitting liability but to “minimise material litigation expense and management distraction”.

Reborn British Steel gives shares to workers after return to profit

Thousands of steelworkers have been granted a 5% stake in British Steel after the Scunthorpe steelworks, one of only two left in Britain, returned to profit.
British Steel was re-formed last June when investment firm Greybull bought Tata Steel’s long products business, which is primarily the Scunthorpe steelworks, for £1 and renamed it. The British Steel name disappeared in 1999 when it merged with a Dutch rival to become Corus. The company was later bought by Tata Steel.
British Steel said its operations had made a profit of £47m for the year to 31 March, compared with a £79m loss in the previous financial year when it was still owned by Tata Steel. Roland Junck, executive chairman, said the turnaround had been “remarkable”.
The company employs 4,800 people. Employees were asked to take a 3% pay cut when Greybull bought the business but this has now been reversed. The workers will also receive a 5% stake in the business.
Tata Steel offloaded the Scunthorpe site as it battled to stop mounting losses in its UK operations. The Indian company still owns the steelworks at Port Talbot, home to the only other blast furnaces in Britain.
British Steel has supplied all the rail for the Crossrail project in London. It also supplies high-strength wire rods for deepwater mooring and steel for construction projects such as the new stand at Liverpool’s football stadium, Anfield.

Google submits plans for 1m sq ft 'landscraper' London headquarters

Google has officially submitted plans for its new 1million sq ft (92,000m²) “landscraper” London headquarters, with the intention of beginning construction on the building in 2018.
Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group and Heatherwick Studios, the team behind TfL’s New Bus for London and the 2012 Olympic Cauldron, the building will stand 11 storeys tall and stretch parallel to the platforms of London’s King’s Cross railway station.
Floor plans for the building show a “wellness centre” containing gyms, massage rooms a narrow swimming pool and multi-use indoor sports pitch, and a rooftop garden split over multiple storeys and themed around three areas: a “plateau”, “gardens” and “fields”, planted with strawberries, gooseberries and sage.
A 200-meter-long “trim trail” runs through the roof, while peckish employees can grab food in one of four cafes, including a main one which spans three stories with a “promenade” with views of the
Combined with Google’s current King’s Cross office around the corner, and a third building that the company also plans on moving into in the area, it will form a new campus that will house 7,000 Google employees. Dubbed a “landscraper”, the finished building will be longer than the Shard is tall.
The Heatherwick-designed building was submitted to Camden council and will be the first to be wholly owned by, and designed specifically for, Google outside the US. Google declined to comment on the cost of the project.
station.
Heatherwick said in a statement: “The area is a fascinating collision of diverse building types and spaces and I can’t help but love this mix of massive railway stations, roads, canals and other infrastructure all layered up into the most connected point in London.”
He added: “Influenced by these surroundings, we have treated this new building for Google like a piece of infrastructure too, made from a family of interchangeable elements which ensure that the building and its workspace will stay flexible for years to come.”
Sustainability is smattered throughout the pitch. The building’s plans show space for 686 bikes, with just four car parking spaces, while solar panels on the roof have a combined annual output of almost 20MWh. Motorised timber blinds on the outside of the building serve to keep direct sunlight out.

General election: Leaving EU with no deal would be economic disaster, says Corbyn - live

resa May is doing a Q&A with workers in West Yorkshire now.
Q: Given that the polls show your lead narrowing, and your personal ratings going down, is it the case that polling day cannot come quickly enough for you?
May says she is just focused on polling day.

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17m ago 16:08

Corbyn's Q& - Summary

At the start of the campaign journalists never asked Jeremy Corbyn questions about what would happen in a hung parliament because the prospect seemed so remote. Now they are starting to crop up regularly. Here are the key points from the Q&A.

• Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, ruled out Labour doing deals with any other parties in a hung parliament. If it was the largest party, it would put forward a Queen’s speech and a budget and gamble on the progressive parties not daring to vote them down, she suggested. She said:

The truth is we’re fighting to win and we’re fighting to win with a majority and that’s what we’re fighting to do.
If we end up in a position where we’re in a minority, we will go ahead and we will put forward Queen’s speech and a budget and if people want to vote for it, then good, and if they don’t want to vote for it, they’re going to have to go back and speak to their constituents and explain to them why it is that we have a Tory government instead. If we are the largest party, we go ahead, no deals, with our manifesto, with our budget, and with our Queen’s speech. And that’s the conversations we’ve had. That’s it. That’s it. No deals.

Thornberry may have been keen to clarify things because, in a Newsnight interview last night, she refused to rule out Labour forming a coalition with the SNP. Asked if he agreed with Thornberry, Corbyn did not contradict her, but did not endorse her comment either. He just said “Emily and I are of the same mind on this, that we are determined to win the election.”

• Corbyn suggested that he would offer an effective “amnesty” to his Labour critics after the election if, as some polls suggest, he does much better than expected. Asked what his attitude would be towards those in the party who had expected him to do very badly, and whether he would be offering them a “group hug”, he said:

I do a lot of group hugs with lots of people. I love a group hug myself. In our family, the Labour party family, people say stuff. Do you know what? Sometimes it’s best to forget it.

• He said he would not try to delay the Brexit talks, which are due to start a fortnight Monday, if Labour won the election. Labour was ready to get on with the negotiation, he said.

• Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, said Labour would not set a target for reducing immigration.

• Corbyn said any government he led would not tolerate the “barbarity” of blood sports. He said the first speech he ever made, at school, was against hunting.

• A Times journalist was booed, and told by Thornberry his question was “stupid”, when he asked what Corbyn would do in a hung parliament. Francis Elliott, the Times’ political editor, asked if he would invite Sinn Féin MPs to take their seats to help prop up a Labour government. Labour activists in the audience booed loudly, and when Thornberry asked them to stop, she said reporters were entitled to ask questions, “however stupid”. Fellow journalists have hit back. This is from Channel 4 News’ Michael Crick.

Dani Alves: I made one final promise to the Barcelona board – ‘You’ll miss me’

Dani Alves has revealed that he came close to tears when Juventus defeated his former team Barcelona in the quarter-finals of this season’s Champions League, and says he felt “disrespected” by the Spanish club when he left the Camp Nou for the Serie A winners last June.
The right-back is expected to start against Real Madrid in the final on Saturday and has been in exceptional form during Juventus’s European run, creating three of their four goals in the semi-final against Monaco and scoring the other. But, writing exclusively for the Players’ Tribune website, he explained that his affection for Barcelona led to some mixed emotions after the 3-0 aggregate win in April.
“When we beat Barcelona in the Champions League, I walked up to my brother Neymar and gave him a hug,” he said. “He was crying, and a part of me felt like crying, too.”
Alves, who spent eight years at Barcelona before departing on a free transfer with a year left on his contract, says Barcelona is “still in my blood” and that he remains frustrated by the manner of his exit.
“Was I disrespected by the board of directors before I left the club last summer? Absolutely,” he said. “That is simply how I feel, and you can never tell me any different. But you cannot play for a club for eight years, and achieve everything that we did, and not have that club in your heart forever. Managers, players and board members come and go. But Barça will never go away.
“Before I went to Juventus, I made a final promise to the board at Barcelona. I said: ‘You’re going to miss me.’
“I didn’t mean as a player. Barça have plenty of incredible players. What I meant was that they were going to miss my spirit. They were going to miss the care I had for the dressing room. They were going to miss the blood I spilled every time I put on the shirt.”
During his time at Barcelona, Alves won 23 trophies – including three Champions Leagues and six La Liga titles. He was one of Pep Guardiola’s first signings, arriving from Sevilla in 2008, and describes his former manager as a “genius” with uncanny reading of the game.
“Pep would tell you exactly how everything was going to happen in a match before it even happened,” he said. “The sensation when we left every one of his pre-match talks was like we were already up three-nil. We were so empowered, so prepared, that it felt like we were already winning.”
Guardiola, who is under pressure to begin replicating that success at Manchester City, reshaped Alves’s understanding of football. “Pep was the first coach in my life who showed me how to play without the ball,” he said. “And he wouldn’t just demand that his players change their game, he would sit us down and show us why we wanted us to change with statistics and video.
“Those Barça teams were pretty much unbeatable. We played by memory. We already knew what we were going to do. We didn’t have to think.”
Alves played alongside Lionel Messi at Barcelona but believes Juventus have a comparable talent in the Argentina forward Paulo Dybala, who should start behind Gonzalo Higuaín in Cardiff. Dybala scored twice in the quarter-final against Barça and Alves expects the 23-year-old to follow in his compatriot Messi’s footsteps.
“In training one day, I saw something in Dybala that I had seen before in Messi,” he said. “It was not just the gift of pure talent. I have seen that many times in my life. It was the gift of pure talent combined with the will to conquer the world.”
Juventus seek their first Champions League since 1996 this weekend and Alves believes his current team go about things in a different manner to the free-flowing Barcelona side of which he was an integral part. Victory against Real would feel sweet but the motivation has nothing to do with his feelings towards his old club.
“At Barça, we played by memory,” he said. “At Juve, it’s different. It’s our collective mentality that has carried us to the Champions League final. When the whistle blows, we simply find a way to win no matter what. Winning is not just a goal at Juve, it’s like an obsession. There are no excuses.
“This Saturday, I have a chance to win my 35th trophy in 34 years on earth. It is a special opportunity for me, and it has nothing to do with proving to the Barcelona board that they made a mistake in letting me go.”

Donald Trump presidency a 'disaster for the planet', warn climate scientists

he ripples from a new American president are far-reaching, but never before has the arrival of a White House administration placed the livability of Earth at stake. Beyond his bluster and crude taunts, Donald Trump’s climate denialism could prove to be the lasting imprint of his unexpected presidency.

“A Trump presidency might be game over for the climate,” said Michael Mann, a prominent climate researcher. “It might make it impossible to stabilize planetary warming below dangerous levels.”
Kevin Trenberth, senior scientist at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, added: “This is an unmitigated disaster for the planet.”
Trump has vowed to sweep away the climate framework painstakingly built over Barack Obama’s two terms. At risk is the Paris climate accord, which only came into force last week, and Obama’s linchpin emissions reduction policy, the Clean Power Plant he ripples from a new American president are far-reaching, but never before has the arrival of a White House administration placed the livability of Earth at stake. Beyond his bluster and crude taunts, Donald Trump’s climate denialism could prove to be the lasting imprint of his unexpected presidency.

“A Trump presidency might be game over for the climate,” said Michael Mann, a prominent climate researcher. “It might make it impossible to stabilize planetary warming below dangerous levels.”
Kevin Trenberth, senior scientist at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, added: “This is an unmitigated disaster for the planet.”
Trump has vowed to sweep away the climate framework painstakingly built over Barack Obama’s two terms. At risk is the Paris climate accord, which only came into force last week, and Obama’s linchpin emissions reduction policy, the Clean Power Plan.

World urges Donald Trump not to dump Paris climate agreement

World leaders, businesses, investors, scientists and development charities have joined in urging Donald Trump not to withdraw the US from the Paris climate change agreement.
The US president is due to announce his decision at 3pm ET on Thursday and is expected to pull the world’s largest economy, and second greatest polluter, from the global accord agreed unanimously by almost 200 nations in 2015.
The agreement to fight global warming is based on voluntary pledges to cut greenhouse emissions but Trump has argued this could damage the US economy. However, a huge range of US business leaders argue the opposite, saying the fast-growing green economy is an opportunity for the US.
Twenty-five leading companies, including Apple, Facebook, Google, Levi Strauss and Unilever, are running an advert in the US media on Thursday, urging Trump not to abandon the Paris deal. They say the accord’s “stable and practical framework” creates jobs and is good for business.

More than 1,000 other US companies and investors, including DuPont, eBay and Nike, have also backed the Paris deal, saying: “Failure to build a low-carbon economy puts American prosperity at risk.” The Tesla boss, Elon Musk, said he had urged Trump to back Paris and would resign from two presidential advisory bodies he serves on.
World leaders also stated their commitment to the Paris deal, with China’s premier Li Keqiang saying on Thursday that fighting climate change was a “global consensus” and an “international responsibility”. The EU and China have forged a new alliance on climate change, stating on Wednesday that the Paris deal had their “highest political commitment”.
Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, tweeted at Trump on Thursday: “Please don’t change the (political) climate for the worse.” Trump was isolated on the climate issue at a recent G7 summit in Italy.
Malcolm Turnbull, the prime minister of Australia, which has in the past opposed climate action, said the country would remain steadfast in its support for the Paris agreement. Russia has said it attaches “great significance” to the Paris deal. On Tuesday the UN secretary general, António Guterres, warned that if Trump withdrew from the Paris deal there could be negative economic, security and societal consequences for the US.

While a presidential decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement would roil the international community and frustrate White House advocates of addressing climate change - including Donald Trump's own daughter - there are formidable forces within the administration in favour of such a move.

Economic nationalists like senior adviser Steve Bannon view withdrawal as visible way for the US to demonstrate that it's putting its own economic interests ahead of the concerns of the "international community".
Movement conservatives, including Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt, are keen to strike a blow to the environmentalist coalition, which they view as creeping socialism cloaked in an earth-friendly guise.
Meanwhile Mr Trump's working-class supporters - particularly those in the economically distressed coal-producing regions of West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania that delivered an Electoral College victory to the president - are more concerned about jobs and their way of life, rather than the distant, amorphous threat of rising sea levels or shifting climate patterns.
vanka Trump, along with her husband (and senior White House adviser) Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defence James Mattis, were reportedly strong advocates for remaining in the agreement - for a range of environmental, diplomatic and national security reasons.
The president's daughter even arranged for her father to meet politician-turned-activist Al Gore to discuss the issue during the presidential transition.
The efforts always figured to be an uphill battle, however, given the issues and interests that formed the heart of Mr Trump's presidential campaign.
Mr Trump once notably called global warming a "hoax" perpetrated by the Chinese, but over the course of last year's campaign he was largely silent on environmental issues.
He spoke early and often about jobs, the economy and government overregulation, however, and will likely frame any move to abandon the Paris agreement as evidence that his presidency is taking action to put more money in American pockets.
If such a move angers the international elite, US liberals and media talking heads, so much the better.

Nigel Farage 'doubts' FBI Trump probe claim

Nigel Farage says it is "extremely doubtful" he could be a "person of interest" to the FBI's investigation into Donald Trump and Russia.

The former UKIP leader said he had "no connections" to the country.
The Guardian is reporting that the FBI is interested in his links with individuals connected to Mr Trump and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
But it added he had not been accused of wrongdoing and was not a suspect or a target of the probe.
The FBI is carrying out an inquiry into Russia's alleged meddling in the US presidential election and any ties to the Trump campaign.
The Guardian quotes unnamed sources with knowledge of the investigation, who say Mr Farage had come to the attention of investigators because of his links to the Trump campaign and Mr Assange, who had a meeting with Mr Farage in March, at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he is living.

'Hysterical'

"One of the things the intelligence investigators have been looking at is points of contact and persons involved," the source is quoted as saying.
In a statement entitled "fake news", Mr Farage said: "In response to the Guardian article, it has taken me a long time to finish reading because I am laughing so much.
"This hysterical attempt to associate me with the Putin regime is a result of the liberal elite being unable to accept Brexit and the election of President Trump.
"For the record I have never been to Russia, I've had no business dealings with Russia in my previous life and I have appeared approximately three times on RT (Russia Today) in the last 18 months.
"I consider it extremely doubtful that I could be a person of interest to the FBI as I have no connections to Russia.
"My meeting with Julian Assange was organised for me by LBC Radio with a view to conducting an interview."
Mr Farage's office said he would be making no further comment on the matter.

Russia Black Sea air crash: Pilot error blamed

Russian investigators say the December crash of a Tu-154 airliner in the Black Sea, which killed 92 people, was most likely a case of pilot error.

The military flight was on its way to Syria, carrying members of the Alexandrov music ensemble, when it plunged into the sea on 25 December.
Analysis of the flight data suggests the pilot lost his bearings and ignored his instruments, believing that the jet was climbing too sharply.
Tiredness was thought to be a factor.
The Russian defence ministry's report said the cause "could have been disruption of the flight captain's spatial and situational awareness, which led to him making errors".
The report stressed that no violations of refuelling rules were found, nor was there any evidence of an external factor in the crash. It is the end of the official inquiry.
The Tupolev plane had taken off earlier that morning from Chkalovsky military airbase near Moscow, and had refuelled at Adler airport near Sochi.
Disaster struck as the jet was climbing away from Adler, en route to Russia's Hmeimim airbase, outside Latakia in Syria.

Russia's Kommersant daily says all the evidence points to Maj Roman Volkov having suffered from "somatogravic illusion" - a condition that can affect a pilot's sense of balance during rapid acceleration or deceleration.
Experts quoted by the daily said Maj Volkov was already feeling unwell on the ground - he had had trouble getting the plane on to the correct runway for take-off.
As the plane was gaining height he started issuing incoherent instructions to the crew and pushed the control column forwards, sending the plane into a steep dive, The plane lost height at 6-8 metres per second (20-26 ft/sec) and the alarm went off. But then the pilot made an abrupt manoeuvre, from executing a starboard turn with a 10-degree bank to a 53-degree bank to the left.
In the 70th second of the flight, the plane had dropped to just 90m (295ft) above the water, and it was diving at a rate of 20m/sec.
It broke up on impact, hitting the surface at 540km/h (336mph), with a 50-degree bank, and all aboard were killed.
The Alexandrov Ensemble - the official choir of the Russian armed forces - was scheduled to perform a New Year's concert at Hmeimim.
Those on board also included nine journalists, eight soldiers, two civil servants and eight crew members.
Among the victims was Yelizaveta Glinka, known as Dr Liza, the executive director of the Fair Aid charity and the inaugural winner of Russia's state prize for achievements in human rights.

China 'trying extremely hard' on climate

China will honour its commitments on climate change, its premier has said, as the US appears poised to pull out of a key deal.

Speaking on a visit to Germany, Premier Li Keqiang said fighting climate change was in China's own interest.
China was counting on other countries to follow its example, Mr Li said.
US President Donald Trump is due to announce his decision on the 2015 Paris agreement later. Some reports in the US suggest he will withdraw.
"China will continue to implement the promises made in the Paris accord. But of course we also hope to do this with the co-operation of others," Mr Li said.

As a big developing country, China had an "international responsibility" to try to prevent climate change, he added.
Chinese and EU leaders are set to agree a joint statement on the Paris climate agreement, saying it is "an imperative more important than ever".                                                                                   
The joint statement - a draft of which has been seen by the BBC - says rising temperatures affect national security and increase "social and political fragility", while the transition to clean energy creates jobs and economic growth.
Russia also said it would stick to its climate commitments, but said the Paris agreement would be affected by a US pullout.
"It goes without saying that the effectiveness of this convention is likely to be reduced without its key participants," a Kremlin spokesman said.
Meanwhile British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he was "anxious" at the prospect of a US withdrawal but said he believed Mr Trump was "genuinely thinking about the issue".
                                                                                 

s Serena Williams having a girl? Venus certainly thinks so

Spoiler alert: Tennis ace Serena Williams is having a baby girl. Unless her sister is mistaken.

Venus Williams appears to have accidentally given the news away during a post-match television interview at the French Open.
She referred to baby as "she", and listed a series of potential female names.
Serena's baby, with fiancé and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, is due in the autumn.
Venus was being interviewed after winning against Japan's Kurumi Nara in Paris, a match her sister came to watch on Wednesday.
"She is going to call me favourite aunt," she told the Eurosport presenter, with a laugh.
She then joked about their other sisters - Lyndrea and Isha - saying each of the siblings wanted the baby to take their name.
"We're all like, baby V, baby Isha, baby Lyn... We all want the baby to be named after us," she said.

The family is not doing well with secrets. Last month, Serena admitted she revealed her pregnancy news to the world by accident, after mistakenly uploading a photograph on Snapchat.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner posted a picture on the social media app, posing in a mirror with the message: "20 weeks", before deleting it, with her publicist later confirming the news.

Paris Climate Deal: Pres. Trump Leaning Toward Pulling US from Agreement

Wed, May 31

Pres. Trump is leaning toward pulling out of the landmark Obama-era global agreement on climate change, sources said. If he does, the US would join Nicaragua and Syria in not joining the agreement.

Charly Boy's daughter, Dominique, shares sultry new bedroom photos

Charly Boy's daughter, Dominique, shares sultry new bedroom photos

MAN UTD MONITORING BALE

Manchester United are keeping an eye on Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale, Mundo Deportivo reports .
Should the 27-year-old not start the Champions League final on Saturday, the Red Devils hope that will be an indication that Bale will be for sale this summer.

CITY FACE BATTLE FOR MENDY

Manchester City face stiff competition from a number of their Premier League rivals in their bid to sign Monaco defender Benjamin Mendy, according to  L'Equipe .
Chelsea and Liverpool have both accelerated their interest in recent days while Manchester United are also monitoring developments.
Full-back Mendy is keen to move to England this summer, though Barcelona are also keen on the 22-year-old.

WENGER WARNED OVER TRANSFERS

Arsene Wenger will be warned to stop "dithering" over transfers by Arsenal's board today ahead of expected confirmation of his contract extension at the club, according to the Daily Mail .
Missing out on Gonzalo Higuain in 2013 will be highlighted as an example when the Arsenal manager failed to act decisively on transfers.
Malaga pair Sandro Ramirez and Pablo Fornals are reportedly two of the Gunners' targets this summer, plus Wenger must deal with Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez having just 12 months left on their lucrative contracts.

LINDELOF TO COST MAN UTD £52M

Manchester United have been told they will need to splash €60 million (£52m) to sign Benfica defender Victor Lindelof, according to A Bola .
Jose Mourinho's men were believed to be close to signing the Swedish defender in the January transfer market but opted to wait until the summer to pursue the deal.
However, Benfica are insisting that United activate his contract clause if they want to sign him ahead of 2017-18, which could lead to a protracted transfer saga should they be unwilling to spend so much.

WHO WILL BE EUROPEAN CHAMPION

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MILAN IN €60M MORATA BID

AC Milan will offer €60 million to Real Madrid for striker Alvaro Morata, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport .
The Spanish striker has apparently already agreed to join the Serie A club on an €8m-a-season contract, and Milan will now put the sizeable transfer bid to Real Madrid after the Champions League final.

CONTE WANTS PSG KEEPER

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte wants Paris Saint-Germain's Alphonse Areola as Thibaut Courtois' backup at Stamford Bridge, The Sun reports.
With Asmir Begovic having sealed a move to Bournemouth, the Italian boss sees Areola as a perfect fit as Courtois' understudy.

CASILLAS OFFERED TO PSG

Current Porto keeper and former Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas has been offered to Paris Saint-Germain, l'Equipe reports.
Soon-to-be PSG sporting director Antero Henrique was involved in the 26-year-old's transfer from Madrid to Portual in 2015 and will liaise with the Ligue 1 club in the coming weeks over whether they would like to sign him.

MOU'S SECRET MORATA TALKS

Jose Mourinho has been in personal contact with Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata, Spanish outlet OkDiario reports.
It has been suggested that Milan are current favourites to sign the 24-year-old with a €60m bid, but Mourinho has allegedly told the Spain international that he can ensure he becomes 'the best number 9 in the world' at Manchester United.

GRIEZMANN TELLS ATLETI HE WANTS OUT

Antoine Griezmann has told the Atletico Madrid hierarchy that he wants to leave the club,  Deportes COPE reports.
Manchester United have been strongly linked with the France international forward, with the 26-year-old apparently now set to join Jose Mourinho's side.

MBAPPE WANTS MADRID MOVE

Monaco starlet Kylian Mbappe is intent on joining Real Madrid despite interest from Manchester City, according to Marca .
The 18-year-old has been linked with a move to Man City with Pep Guardiola ready to put Mbappe straight into the first team. However, the France international is keen on a switch to Madrid and will reject City's advances.

JUVE TO MOVE FOR ARSENAL'S SZCZESNY

Wojchiech Szczesny could be staying in Serie A next season as Juventus consider a £14 million bid for the on-loan Arsenal goalkeeper, according to the  Daily Mail .
The Poland shot-stopper has impressed greatly during a temporary switch to Roma, helping the Italians make the Champions League with a second-placed finish.
And Scudetto holders Juve see him as a fine long-term replacement for Gianluigi Buffon should Arsenal not want him at the Emirates Stadium.

MAN UNITED REJECT €60M MADRID BID FOR DE GEA

Manchester United have rejected a €60 million bid from Real Madrid for their star goalkeeper David de Gea,
The Spain international has long been targeted at the Santiago Bernabeu, but United are reluctant to sell and have said no once more as the summer transfer window kicks into gear.

REAL MADRID TARGET £100M HAZARD

Real Madrid are prepared to break the transfer world record to sign Eden Hazard from Chelsea, according to the Sun .
The Liga side have already met Hazard's entourage three times as they look to bring the Belgium international to Santiago Bernabeu for a record £100 million fee. Madrid believe that Zinedine Zidane's presence can help entice Hazard to leave Chelsea, but Antonio Conte does not want to sell his star player.

Ronaldo remembers Man Utd good times amid Madrid boos

The superstar is fed up with boo-boys in Spain, though he has no plans to leave the capital outfit

Cristiano Ronaldo said he misses Manchester United after expressing his frustrations with being whistled at by Real Madrid supporters.
Ronaldo's 40 goals in all competitions have helped Madrid to their first LaLiga title since 2012, while the European titleholders are a win away from back-to-back Champions League crowns.

Madrid's all-time leading scorer, however, has still been targeted by boo-boys at the Santiago Bernabeu this season.
And the four-time Ballon d'Or winner is fed up with the treatment he has received from his own fans as he talked up his love for former club United, where he spent six years before joining Madrid in 2009, though he has no plans to leave the Spanish capital.
"I don't like it and it's not normal that they whistle you in your own stadium. I just don't like it," the 32-year-old told La Sexta ahead of Saturday's Champions League showpiece against Juventus in Cardiff.