AP-Breaking
The Latest: Krejcikova aiming for titles sweep in Paris
PARIS (AP) The Latest on the French Open (all times local):___1:30 p.m.A day after the marathon win that booked her a spot in the French Open final, Barbora Krejcikova is back on court at Roland Garros -- in doubles this time.Krejcikova and her fellow Czech teammate Katerina Siniakova are up against Magda Linette of Poland and Bernarda Pera of the United States in the doubles semifinals.Krejcikova is bidding to become the first woman to sweep Roland Garros titles since Mary Pierce in 2000. The last woman to make the final of both events in Paris was another Czech, Lucie Safarova. She did it in 2015 and won the doubles title.In just her fifth appearance in a Grand Slam singles main draw, Krejcikova made it to the final by beating Maria Sakkari 7-5, 4-6, 9-7 after saving a match point.She s been ranked No. 1 and won a pair of major championships in doubles.___More AP Tennis: https: apnews.com hub tennis and https: twitter.com AP_Sports
The Latest: Biden to host Germany s Merkel at White House
The Latest on the Group of Seven nations meeting being held in England:PLYMOUTH, England U.S. President Joe Biden is going to be hosting German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House next month.White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Friday that Merkel, who is leaving office later this year, will visit Washington on July 15.Psaki, in a statement, said the meeting will affirm ties between the two nations and the leaders will discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and international security.Merkel will be the first European leader to visit the White House.She and Biden were set to meet later Friday at the Group of Seven summit, a gathering of some of the world s wealthiest nations, taking place in England.___FALMOUTH, England The mother of a British teenager killed in a road accident involving a U.S. diplomat s wife says she is hopeful of progress in the stalled case after Prime Minister Boris Johnson raised the case with President Joe Biden at the G-7.Harry Dunn, 19, died in 2019 when his motorcycle collided with a car driven by Anne Sacoolas near a military base in England used by the U.S. Sacoolas claimed diplomatic immunity and returned to the United States after the crash. She has been charged in England with causing death by dangerous driving but is refusing to come back to Britain.The U.K. government said Johnson discussed the issue with Biden when they met Thursday, and reiterated that the U.K. wants to see justice done for the family. Johnson said the president was extremely sympathetic to the family s plight.Dunn s mother, Caroline Charles, said she hoped Biden s personal experience of similar tragic loss would help U.S. authorities take a different view of the case.Biden s first wife and their 1-year-old daughter died in a car accident in 1972.It is almost two years since we lost Harry in August 2019 and it would be lovely to think that all parties can now come together to help bring this living nightmare to an end so that we can try to rebuild our shattered lives, Charles said.___BERLIN The German government says a member of the country s advance team to the G-7 summit has gone into precautionary quarantine after a coronavirus case was reported in their hotel in the Cornish town of St. Ives.The government said in a statement Friday that the incident would have no impact on German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her delegation s trip to the summit in Carbis Bay.
Mostovoy tests positive, cut from Russia s Euro 2020 squad
MOSCOW (AP) Russia winger Andrey Mostovoy was cut from the national team for this year s European Championship on Friday after testing positive for the coronavirus.Mostovoy is the first player to be cut from a team at the tournament because of the virus.The team wrote on Twitter that Mostovoy has been replaced by defender Roman Evgeniev in connection with an unfavorable result of PCR testing.Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov said no other players were suspected to be infected.We all did (testing) yesterday evening, and all did it again this morning. Everyone is clean, he said.Russia is scheduled to play its opening Euro 2020 match against Belgium on Saturday in St. Petersburg.Mostovoy made his debut for Russia last year and played eight of the team s last 11 games, mostly as a substitute.Evgeniev s only appearance for his country was in a 5-0 loss to Serbia last year. He had been with the team at a training camp in the run-up to the tournament.Sweden and Spain have both reported positive results from coronavirus tests but haven t yet opted to replace the affected players.___More AP soccer: https: apnews.com hub soccer and https: twitter.com AP_Sports
Greece willing to back positive EU agenda for Turkey
ATHENS, Greece (AP) Greece s prime minister said Friday that his government is willing to back the European Union s positive agenda for relations with Turkey, signaling a further easing of tension between the neighboring countries.Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is due to meet Monday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels.Of course, we are always open to a positive agenda but in a gradual, proportionate, and reversible way..., provided that the current de-escalation is maintained and that Turkey participates constructively in the dialogue and respects the conditions set by the EU, Mitsotakis said in Athens.A longstanding dispute between Turkey and Greece over boundaries and rights to natural resources in the eastern Mediterranean flared last summer when Turkey sent energy research vessels into waters where Greece asserts jurisdiction.A navy buildup in the area at the time raised fears of a military confrontation.The EU broadly backed Greece in the dispute. But it stopped short of Athens request to impose sweeping sanctions on Turkey and instead applied pressure on Ankara to re-start diplomatic talks with Greece. Turkey is not an EU member.Diplomats from the two countries have held two rounds of talks in recent months for the first time in five years, while the foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey also held reciprocal visits.
Wales travel far to take on Switzerland in Baku at Euro 2020
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) From schoolboy to the national team, Dylan Levitt has come a long way since Wales went a long way at the last European Championship.The Welsh reached the semifinals at Euro 2016 in their tournament debut, inspiring the likes of Levitt to work his way into the team for this year s edition.Growing up watching that team, watching the games in the school hall. Every game, if I wasn t in school I d be watching it with my mates and my family, the 20-year-old Wales winger said Wednesday. I don t get bored with (hearing about) it really, I just want to remake it. Watching those games gave me more hunger to be in the next tournament.Levitt and his teammates, a group that includes including Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, will open their Euro 2020 campaign on Saturday against Switzerland in faraway Azerbaijan.Baku is nearly 4,200 kilometers (2,600 miles) from Wales on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan allows foreign fans to make the journey despite the pandemic, but there will be far fewer than in France five years ago.In a squad with a strong youth contingent that includes midfielder Ethan Ampadu and right back Neco Williams, Bale has faith in his younger teammates.We ve had little chats but at the same time they don t need too much help. They ve proven that over the qualifying campaign and we have full belief in what they can do as well, Bale said Friday. We have a good mix of youth and experience so we re excited to get the tournament under way.Wales preparations for the tournament, however, have been overshadowed over the last 12 months. Robert Page is the interim coach for Euro 2020 while Ryan Giggs awaits trial in January on charges of assaulting two women and exerting controlling and coercive behavior.The Swiss would certainly like to start with a win over Wales ahead of what may be tougher Group A games against Italy and a resurgent Turkey team which will have passionate support in close ally Azerbaijan.Switzerland defender Ricardo Rodr guez plans to watch Bale closely.He s a good player, you have to say, very experienced. But together we can stop him, Rodr guez told Swiss broadcaster SRF on Wednesday. If you leave him space to turn, it gets difficult.A disappointing 2020 for Switzerland, winning no games on the field and one by default when Ukraine had a virus outbreak, has given way to a better 2021 so far. Switzerland has won all of its five games this year, though it has yet to play top-level opponents.The Swiss have reached the round of 16 in their last three major tournaments. The challenge now is to build on that and reach the quarterfinals.___More AP soccer: https: apnews.com hub soccer and https: twitter.com AP_Sports
UK economy edges to pre-pandemic levels as lockdown eased
LONDON (AP) The easing of lockdown restrictions in April helped the British economy grow at its fastest rate since July 2020 and recoup further ground lost during the coronavirus pandemic, official figures showed Friday.The Office for National Statistics said the economy grew by 2.3% during April, which saw the reopening of shops selling non-essential items and a number of other service providers, such as hairdressers, resuming work. Schools were fully open for in-class learning, while pubs and restaurants were able to serve customers outdoors for the whole month.The four nations of the U.K. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been lifting lockdown restrictions in stages after new coronavirus infections fell sharply and vaccines were rolled out rapidly.Despite the growth recorded in April, the British economy remained 3.7% smaller than it was in February 2020, before the U.K. s first virus lockdown. Of the major sectors in the economy, only construction was above the level it was at on the eve of the pandemic.The British economy is expected to regain more ground over the summer as remaining restrictions are lifted.Following the historic collapse in spring 2020, the U.K. remains on track to return to its pre-pandemic level by the turn of the year, said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank. Judging by recent data trends, that could happen even sooner.Though most sectors of the economy have reopened, there are concerns that the next planned easing for England, scheduled for later this month, may have to be delayed because of a recent spike in new infections largely due to the delta variant that was first identified in India.The hope is that the rapid rollout of vaccines will dramatically break the link between new infections, hospitalizations and deaths. So far, the evidence suggests that a large proportion of the people being infected are in younger age groups, many of which have yet to receive a first dose.Under the government s plan for ending lockdown measures, social distancing restrictions are set to be lifted on June 21, which would be a particular boon to businesses such as pubs and cinemas. They are currently operating with capacity limits to meet the need to keep people apart.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to announce Monday whether the next easing will take place.___Follow all of AP s pandemic coverage at:https: apnews.com hub coronavirus-pandemichttps: apnews.com hub coronavirus-vaccine
Euro 2020 opening marks return of mega-scale sports events
ROME (AP) Postponed by a year, the biggest sporting event since the coronavirus brought the world to a halt kicks off Friday at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome a milestone both for European and world sports.The opening match of soccer s European Championship will be played in the capital of Italy, the first country outside Asia to get struck by the pandemic and the first in the world to implement a nationwide lockdown.The tournament represents a major step forward on the path toward recovery after one of the darkest chapters in the continent s history since World War II. More than 1 million Europeans have died in the pandemic, including almost 127,000 Italians.After everything that s happened, now the situation is improving, I think the time has come to start providing fans with something to be satisfied about, said Italy coach Roberto Mancini, who tested positive for COVID-19 in November but was asymptomatic.The tournament was postponed last March when countries were scrambling to contain virus outbreaks and major sporting events around the world were canceled or put on hold.Many worry that it s still not safe to bring tens of thousands of fans together in stadiums across Europe, but organizers hope measures including crowd limitations, staggered arrival times for fans, social distancing rules and lots of hand sanitizer will help prevent a resurgence of virus infections, which have dropped sharply in Europe in recent months.In Rome, fans entering the stadium are required to bring documentation showing they have been vaccinated against the virus, tested negative in the 48 hours before the match or already had the disease.The world of sports is watching. If everything goes smoothly, Euro 2020 can give a confidence boost for other major sporting events, like the Tokyo Olympics, scheduled to open on July 23 also a year late. If it doesn t, it would be a serious setback that could have ramifications beyond soccer.The virus already has had an impact on the tournament, which for the first time is not being hosted by one or two nations but is spread out across the continent with matches in 11 cities.Spain captain Sergio Busquets tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the team s first match against Sweden in Seville on Monday. Another Spain player tested positive, as did two of Sweden s players. The Spanish squad was getting vaccinated Friday.Russia winger Andrey Mostovoy then became the first player to be cut from a national team on Friday after testing positive.Italy s opening match against Turkey will bring together the biggest crowd in the country since it went into a full lockdown 15 months ago, even though the stadium will be filled to only 25% of its capacity.In Rome and elsewhere in Italy, most virus restrictions have been lifted. A midnight curfew and a requirement to wear a mask outside one s home are the most tangible ways in which the pandemic still affects the daily lives of citizens.___AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf contributed to this report.___More AP soccer: https: apnews.com hub soccer and https: twitter.com AP_Sports
Law enforcement struggles to recruit since killing of Floyd
Law enforcement agencies across the country experienced a wave of retirements and departures and are struggling to recruit the next generation of police officers in the year since George Floyd was killed by a cop.And amid the national reckoning on policing, communities are questioning who should become a police officer today.Mass protests and calls for reforming or defunding the police, as well as the coronavirus pandemic, took their toll on officer morale. The rate of retirements at some departments rose 45% compared with the previous year, according to new research on nearly 200 law enforcement agencies conducted by the Washington-based Police Executive Research Forum and provided to The Associated Press. At the same time, hiring slowed by 5%, the group found.The wave comes as local lawmakers have pledged to enact reforms such as ending the policies that give officers immunity for their actions while on-duty and say they re committed to reshaping policing in the 21st century. And recruiters are increasingly looking for a different kind of recruit to join embattled departments.Years ago, a candidate s qualifications might be centered around his yes, his brawn. Now, police departments say they are seeking recruits who can use their brain. And they want those future officers to represent their communities.Days of old, you wanted someone who actually had the strength to be more physical, Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said. Today s police officers, that s not what we re looking for. We re looking for someone who can actually relate to the community but also think like the community thinks.But the climate today, coupled with increases in crime in some cities, is creating what Chuck Wexler, the head of the Police Executive Research Forum, called a combustible mixture.It s creating a crisis on the horizon for police chiefs when they look at the resources they need, especially during a period when we re seeing an increase in murders and shootings, Wexler said. It s a wake-up call.The data from Wexler s organization represents a fraction of the more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide and is not representative of all departments. But it s one of the few efforts to examine police hiring and retention and compare it with the time before Floyd s killing in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Former officer Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee on Floyd s neck while Floyd was handcuffed behind his back, was convicted of murder and is awaiting sentencing.Researchers heard from 194 police departments last month about their hires, resignations and retirements between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, and the same categories from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020.By comparison, the changing public attitude on policing is well documented. In the past year, as many as half of American adults believed police violence against the public is a very or extremely serious problem, according to one poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.It s hard to recruit the very people who see police as an opposition, said Lynda R. Williams, president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, who previously worked on recruitment efforts for the Secret Service.Bryant knows firsthand. In the weeks after Floyd s death, a white officer, Garrett Rolfe, shot and killed Rayshard Brooks, a Black man, in the parking lot of a Wendy s.In quick succession, Rolfe was fired, the chief resigned and the local district attorney announced charges, including felony murder, against Rolfe a rare step in police shootings. Some cops left the force, which currently has about 1,560 officers about 63% of the force is Black, 29% white and 5% Latino.Then came the Blue Flu when a high number of police officers called out sick in protest. Bryant, then the department s interim chief, acknowledged that it had occurred in Atlanta after Rolfe was charged.Some are angry. Some are fearful. Some are confused on what we do in this space. Some may feel a bit abandoned, Bryant said last summer in an interview at the height of the crisis.But it hasn t shaken the resolve of some, like Kaley Garced, a hairdresser-turned-police officer in Baltimore who graduated from the academy last August. Despite the protests and attitudes toward law enforcement, she stayed with her career choice with a plan to interact with residents.Earning their trust leads to better policing, she said. Citizens who trust officers will not be afraid to call upon you on their worst day and ask for help.Williams said she believes the next generation of law enforcement will bring a new outlook and move the profession forward by making departments more diverse and inclusive.They are the change that they want to see, Williams said.Recruitment is still a challenge. In some cities like Philadelphia, departments are spending more time scouring a candidate s social media to hunt for possible biases. In others, pay disparities a longtime problem still exist, making it difficult to attract would-be officers and keep newly trained recruits when a neighboring jurisdiction offers more money and benefits.In Dallas, city leaders spent much of the last decade struggling to draw candidates and stem the outflow of officers frustrated by low pay and the near collapse of their pension fund.Despite those efforts, the force now stands at about 3,100 officers down from more than 3,300 in 2015 a loss at a time when the city s population has grown to more than 1.3 million. The force is about 44% white, 26% Black and 26% Latino. This means officers handle more calls and detectives more cases, all amid increased racial tension.In 2016, five officers were killed in Dallas by a sniper who was seeking revenge for police shootings elsewhere that killed or wounded Black men. Two years later, an off-duty officer fatally shot her neighbor in his home. She was fired and later was sentenced to a decade in prison for murder.Mike Mata, president of the Dallas Police Association, said the national political climate and local pay and pension issues have been compounding challenges to hiring in Dallas.In 2019, however, a consulting firm Dallas hired to review its department found that it needed not simply more officers but also a realignment of strategy, goals, mission, and tactics. That finding rings true to Changa Higgins, a longtime community organizer.You don t need to focus on hiring more officers, Higgins said. You need to focus on how you got these guys allocated.In Los Angeles, the department is fighting against a decadelong image of scandal and racial strife from the Watts riots in 1965 to the bloodshed in 1992 after a Simi Valley jury s acquittal of officers who brutally beat motorist Rodney King.Capt. Aaron McCraney, head of the Recruitment and Employment Division, and Chief Michel Moore ticked off the issues facing the 48 new recruits more than half of whom were women last year, noting that the pandemic, civil unrest and economic uncertainty were just some of the challenges the new officers would face.Even though these are tough times, these are difficult times, these are interesting times, McCraney said, these times will pass, and we ll get on to things better.
China denounces US-Australian navy drills as muscle flexing
BEIJING (AP) China on Friday said the U.S. and Australia were flexing their muscles with recent naval drills in the South China Sea, underscoring Beijing s sensitivity over the strategic waterway it claims as its own.The U.S. Navy s 7th Fleet said the guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur and the Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Ballarat concluded a week of joint operations in the South China Sea. Those included maneuvering drills along with resupplying vessels, cross-deck helicopter operations and live-fire gunnery exercises.The ships honed their advanced mariner skills in a joint environment while enforcing the normalcy of routine operations throughout the region in accordance with international law, the Navy said.At a daily briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the two countries should do things that are conducive to regional peace and stability, instead of flexing their muscles.The U.S. and China s neighbors have rejected Beijing s claim to virtually the entire South China Sea, through which an estimated $5 trillion in trade travels each year.Australia has joined them in expressing concern over China s growing presence in the South China Sea, most notably through its construction of militarized man-made islands built atop coral reefs in the highly disputed Spratly island group. Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam have claims that overlap with China s.China for its part calls the U.S. naval presence in Southeast Asia the biggest threat to regional security, particularly its insistence on sailing close to Chinese-held territories in what is termed freedom of navigation operations.In a bid to assuage concerns, Beijing hosted foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations this week, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi telling them China remained committed to signing a long-stalled code of conduct on activities in the South China Sea to prevent conflicts.
The Latest: Russia player out of Euro 2020 with virus
The Latest on soccer s European Championship:___Russia winger Andrey Mostovoy has become the first player to be cut from a team at this year s European Championship because of the coronavirus.The team says on Twitter that in connection with an unfavorable result of PCR testing for the virus Mostovoy has been replaced with defender Roman Evgeniev.The announcement comes a day before Russia plays Belgium in St. Petersburg in its opening Euro 2020 match.Mostovoy made his debut for Russia last year and played eight of the team s last 11 games. He has played mostly as a substitute. Evgeniev s only appearance for his country was in a 5-0 loss to Serbia last year.Sweden and Spain have both reported positive results from coronavirus tests but haven t yet opted to replace the affected players.___The biggest soccer tournament of the coronavirus-era is about to get started.The first match of the European Championship will kick off at 1900 GMT in Rome when Italy plays Turkey in Group A. And there will be about 16,000 fans in the stadium.Euro 2020 was supposed to start last year on June 12. The tournament was postponed for almost exactly one year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The final is now set for July 11 at Wembley Stadium in London.Much of the schedule for the postponed tournament remains the same as last year but some changes in venues have been made. The 51 matches will be played in 11 cities around the continent. Rome and London will be joined by Amsterdam, Baku, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Glasgow, Munich, Seville and St. Petersburg.___More AP soccer: https: apnews.com hub soccer and https: twitter.com AP_Sports