Pakistan won’t send hockey teams to India: govt sources
Pakistan will not travel to India for upcoming hockey tournaments over “security” concerns, government sources told AFP on Saturday, potentially jeopardising their place in next year’s World Cup.The nuclear-armed neighbours traded the worst violence in decades during a four-day conflict in May that killed 70 people. Pakistan was due to participate in the Men’s Asia Cup for field hockey to be hosted by India in August and September, for which the federation had sought the government’s clearance.”After the recent war the security and safety of our hockey players will be at risk,” said a sports ministry source, who asked not to be identified.Pakistan will also not participate in the Junior World Cup in India in November, the source said.Once a force in international hockey, with three Olympic gold medals and four world titles, Pakistan has slumped to 15th in the rankings. Not featuring in the Asia Cup will likely cost Pakistan a place in next year’s senior World Cup to be held in the Netherlands and Belgium.A second government source also confirmed the decision to AFP.Pakistan’s foreign office has not responded to AFP’s request for comment.India stalled all bilateral sporting ties with Pakistan in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which it blamed on militants based across the border.Cricket has been the most affected sport, with the two countries only meeting each other in multinational events abroad.India refused to visit Pakistan this year when it hosted the Champions Trophy, forcing the final to be staged on neutral ground in Dubai.In a tit-for-tat move, Pakistan will also not send its women’s cricket team to India for the 50-over World Cup later this year and the T20 World Cup in 2026.They agreed instead to play their matches in Sri Lanka.Pakistan’s hockey team last toured India for the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy, finishing fifth amongst six teams.
Vacances d’été: circulation “très dense” vers le sud à la mi-journée
La circulation était “très dense” samedi midi vers le sud, journée classée noire par Bison Fûté en Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes et rouge sur le territoire dans le sens des départs pour les vacances d’été.”Le pic est attendu entre 12H00 et 14H00, avec une circulation très dense depuis le petit matin”, a indiqué à l’AFP un porte-parole de la société Vinci Autoroutes qui gère notamment l’A7 en direction de la Mer.Sur cette dernière, où l’on enregistrait vers la mi-journée une moyenne de plus de “5.000 véhicules par heure”, le temps de circulation entre Lyon-Sud et Orange était estimé à 03H55 au lieu de 01H35. Sur l’A9, administrée également par Vinci, le temps de parcours d’Orange vers Narbonne était de plus de 03H00 contre 01H40, selon même source.Sur l’A61, de Toulouse vers Narbonne, les automobilistes devaient ronger leur frein pendant une bonne demi-heure pour parcourir l’heure de voyage habituelle, a ajouté Vinci Autoroutes.Sur le littoral ouest, le trafic était également très chargé sur l’autoroute A10, où le temps de parcours atteignait les 04H30 entre Saint-Arnoult (Calvados) et Poitiers (Vienne) soit deux heures de plus qu’accoutumée et dépassait d’une heure les deux heures de route pour se rendre de la capitale poitevine à Bordeaux.Dans le sens des retours, les usagers de l’A7 devaient gagner le sud de Lyon en 02H15 depuis Orange au lieu des 01H35 de trajet habituel.Dimanche, l’ensemble des voies de circulation est classé vert, selon Bison Füté.
Vacances d’été: circulation “très dense” vers le sud à la mi-journée
La circulation était “très dense” samedi midi vers le sud, journée classée noire par Bison Fûté en Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes et rouge sur le territoire dans le sens des départs pour les vacances d’été.”Le pic est attendu entre 12H00 et 14H00, avec une circulation très dense depuis le petit matin”, a indiqué à l’AFP un porte-parole de la société Vinci Autoroutes qui gère notamment l’A7 en direction de la Mer.Sur cette dernière, où l’on enregistrait vers la mi-journée une moyenne de plus de “5.000 véhicules par heure”, le temps de circulation entre Lyon-Sud et Orange était estimé à 03H55 au lieu de 01H35. Sur l’A9, administrée également par Vinci, le temps de parcours d’Orange vers Narbonne était de plus de 03H00 contre 01H40, selon même source.Sur l’A61, de Toulouse vers Narbonne, les automobilistes devaient ronger leur frein pendant une bonne demi-heure pour parcourir l’heure de voyage habituelle, a ajouté Vinci Autoroutes.Sur le littoral ouest, le trafic était également très chargé sur l’autoroute A10, où le temps de parcours atteignait les 04H30 entre Saint-Arnoult (Calvados) et Poitiers (Vienne) soit deux heures de plus qu’accoutumée et dépassait d’une heure les deux heures de route pour se rendre de la capitale poitevine à Bordeaux.Dans le sens des retours, les usagers de l’A7 devaient gagner le sud de Lyon en 02H15 depuis Orange au lieu des 01H35 de trajet habituel.Dimanche, l’ensemble des voies de circulation est classé vert, selon Bison Füté.
Ukraine says four killed in massive Russian drone, missile attack
Russia fired more than 620 drones and long-range missiles overnight killing four people, Ukraine said Saturday, calling for fresh sanctions on Moscow to halt its record barrages.Kyiv and Moscow have stepped up aerial strikes over recent months and US-led ceasefire talks aimed at pausing the over three-year war have stalled.”Twenty-six cruise missiles and 597 attack drones were launched, of which more than half were ‘Shaheds’,” , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, referring to Iranian-made drones. The Ukrainian air force said it had downed 319 Shahed drones and 25 missiles, adding that one missile and about 20 drones hit “five locations”. It did not elaborate.Zelensky said the strikes had killed at least two people and wounded 20 in Chernvsty in the west, far from the front lines of the east and south.Six people were wounded in Lviv, also in the west, while in the east, two people died in Dnipropetrovsk and three were wounded in Kharkiv, local authorities said.The Russian defence ministry said it had targeted companies in Ukraine’s military-industrial ccomplex in Lviv, Kharkiv and Lutsk and a military aerodrome.On Friday, Ukrainian drone and shelling attacks killed three people in Russia.US special envoy Keith Kellogg is due on Monday to begin his latest visit to Ukraine as a Washington-led peace effort flounders.On Friday, the Kremlin restated its opposition to a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine, after French President Emmanuel Macron said Kyiv’s allies had a plan “ready to go… in the hours after a ceasefire”.US President Donald Trump called Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday but said afterwards there had been no progress towards ending the war.The Kremlin said Putin would not give up on Russia’s war goals but would nonetheless continue to take part in negotiations.Moscow says its aim in Ukraine is to get rid of the “root causes” of the conflict and has demanded that Kyiv give up its NATO ambitions.- Weapons, sanctions -Zelensky said on Thursday Trump had given him firm dates for the resumption of US weapons shipments and planned to make a statement on Russia on Monday.Washington’s announcement earlier this month that it would pause some armament deliveries to Ukraine was a blow to Kyiv, which is reliant on Western military support.On Saturday, Zelensky urged his Western allies to send “more than just signals” to stop the war launched by Russia in February 2022. “The pace of Russian air strikes requires swift decisions and it can be curbed right now through sanctions,” he said.Zelensky specifically demanded penalties for those who “help Russia produce drones and profit from oil”.Oil exports are important for the Russian economy especially in the face of existing Western sanctions.Sanctions imposed on Russia — the world’s largest fertiliser producer — after the invasion spared its grain and fertiliser exports. But prices skyrocketed, fuelling fears of food insecurity.The United Nations signed a deal with Russia in July 2022 to facilitate exports of food and fertiliser to limit global price increases.But on Friday, it said the accord would not be renewed when it expires on July 22.Russia has repeatedly complained the agreement does little to protect it from secondary sanction effects.