bbc--2020-07-29--The sweet smell of success: How Bulgaria took the lead in lavender

If you think of lavender , the picturesque purple fields of Provence , France might spring to mind .
A favourite scent of the Romans , it 's used for cosmetics , fragrances , and even - with the help of bees - to make honey .
However , in recent years , Bulgaria , the former communist country in Eastern Europe , has overtaken France to become the world leader in lavender oil production .
In the heart of Bulgaria 's Rose Valley , in the foothills of the Balkans mountain range , the fields around the small village @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Meanwhile , French lavender production has suffered big losses in the past decade , due to a bacterial infection .
`` Somebody needed to fill the gap , '' says Filip Lissicharov , the owner of the Enio Bonchev essential oil distillery in Tarnicheni .
He took over in 1992 , following the fall of communism and state ownership , but the business was set up by his family in 1909 .
With this year 's crop of flowers now continuing to be harvested , Bulgaria 's tradition of lavender cultivation dates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Century .
`` Bulgaria and France have changed places before , with Bulgaria being the largest producer of lavender back in the 70s/80s , '' says Nikolay Valkanov , chief executive at InteliAgro , a Bulgarian non-profit research group in the agriculture field .
Bulgaria snatched the crown back from France in 2012 , and its lavender plantations have expanded to cover 180sq km ( 69sq miles ) from less than a fifth of that a decade ago , according to InteliAgro , Cheap labour , a good climate and a long tradition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advantages , says Krisztof Glowacki , economist at the Center for Social and Economic Research ( Case ) , a think tank in Central and Eastern Europe .
Bulgaria has the lowest hourly labour costs in the European Union , at €6.00 ( $ 7 ; £5.47 ) , compared to €36.60 in France , according to EU figures .
Mr Glowacki says this helps to make Bulgarian lavender oil less than half the price of its French equivalent .
So as French production has fallen , he says that the cheaper cost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buyers such as large cosmetics companies .
In Tarnicheni , Mr Lissicharov 's firm is now distilling this year 's flowers to produce the lavender oil .
The flowers are steamed , and this moisture is collected and concentrated to form the oil .
Almost all of the oil will then be exported , as will the lavender water that the company also makes .
The latter is produced by adding flowers to water , and bringing it to the boil .
`` Regretfully 99 % of our lavender production goes for export @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well-developed cosmetics industry which uses this particular essential oil as a main raw material , '' says Mr Lissicharov .
The US is the world 's largest consumer of lavender oil , but the main buyers of Bulgaria 's exports are Germany , France and Austria , according to the Bulgarian National Association of Essential Oils , Perfumery and Cosmetics .
Lavender needs full sun and well-drained soil to grow well .
The plant originated from Mediterranean countries , so it requires temperatures of 20-30C during late spring and early summer to thrive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be successfully grown in countries like the UK .
And it was recently reported that sales of English lavender oil have risen sharply this year .
Although labour costs do play a part in the price of lavender oil , ultimately it comes down to its quality .
And many say that French oil remains the best .
Alain Aubanel , president of the Interprofessional Committee of French Essential Oils and owner of Distillerie des 4 Valees ( Distillery of the Four Valleys ) , says that while production in France has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is on quality .
`` It is true that in terms of prices , we ca n't compete , '' he says .
`` Nevertheless , in terms of quality , know-how , traceability , and the varieties adapted to the soil , there we really have an important card to play .
`` It 's like for the wine .
The varieties we use in France are not the same as the ones used in Bulgaria .
It 's not the same climate , and the production process is also totally different @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buyers .
`` On odour , the French oil is considered to have a floral , fruity , camphoraceous odour with an aromatic liquorice type top note , '' says Tracey Smith , global analytical sciences manager at Treatt , a fragrance and flavourings firm in the UK .
`` The Bulgarian oil can sometimes be described as floral and fruity , but less fresh with a slightly harsh grassy top note .
The highest grade AOP French fine lavender must be grown a minimum of 800m above sea level . ''
Ms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more Bulgarian lavender than French because of the price .
`` If you are going to create a fine fragrance , then you would want the best lavender .
If you are creating a fragrance for a hand wash , then Bulgarian lavender is fine , And it is much , much cheaper . ''
More from the BBC 's series taking an international perspective on trade : • Is rum about to become the new gin ?
• How are other economies dealing with the downturn ?
The future may be away @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` The demand for lavender products may depend on interest in complementary medicine , and aromatherapy , '' says Mr Glowacki , the think tank economist .
Nevertheless , he thinks that the trend of increasing salaries in Bulgaria will gradually make lavender cultivation there less profitable .
And in the longer term , he sees climate change as a risk , since lavender is a sensitive crop .
`` However , '' he says , `` the social significance of the sector is much higher [ than longer term climate concerns ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ less developed regions to gain income . ''

"It's like for the wine. The varieties we use in France are not the same as the ones used in Bulgaria. It's not the same climate, and the production process is also totally different."


bbc--2020-07-29--Ronaldo blanks as Serie A rival Immobile takes lead in Golden Shoe race

Cristiano Ronaldo 's hopes of finishing as Europe 's top scorer were dealt a blow as he failed to score @ @ @ @ @ by Cagliari .
Ronaldo has scored an incredible 31 Serie A goals this season but @ @ @ @ @ night .
Luca Gagliano 's close-range finish and Giovanni Simeone 's powerful drive secured the @ @ @ @ @ Ronaldo trails Lazio striker Ciro Immobile by four goals in the battle for Europe 's @ @ @ @ @ his 35th goal of the season as Lazio beat Brescia 2-0 on Wednesday .
With @ @ @ @ @ A season remaining , Immobile is the outright leading scorer in Europe as his latest @ @ @ @ @ Bayern Munich 's Robert Lewandowski , who finished the Bundesliga season with 34 goals .
@ @ @ @ @ goal away from equalling the Serie A record for most goals in a season .
@ @ @ @ @ for Napoli in the 2015-16 campaign .
• BBC Food 's essential minerals : Which @ @ @ @ @ out on ?

Last updated on .From the section European Football
It was a frustrating evening for Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo's hopes of finishing as Europe's top scorer were dealt a blow as he failed to score as champions Juventus were beaten by Cagliari.
Ronaldo has scored an incredible 31 Serie A goals this season but found himself frustrated on Wednesday night.
Luca Gagliano's close-range finish and Giovanni Simeone's powerful drive secured the win for the hosts.
Ronaldo trails Lazio striker Ciro Immobile by four goals in the battle for Europe's Golden Shoe.
Immobile scored his 35th goal of the season as Lazio beat Brescia 2-0 on Wednesday.
With one game of the Serie A season remaining, Immobile is the outright leading scorer in Europe as his latest strike moved him ahead of Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski, who finished the Bundesliga season with 34 goals.
Immobile is also just one goal away from equalling the Serie A record for most goals in a season.
Gonzalo Higuain scored 36 times for Napoli in the 2015-16 campaign.


bbc--2020-07-29--Ronnie O'Sullivan: Snooker players treated like 'lab rats'

Snooker players are being treated like `` lab rats '' by allowing spectators into the Crucible Theatre for the World Championship , says Ronnie O'Sullivan .
Qualifier Anthony Hamilton , who suffers from severe asthma , says it is `` ridiculous '' and `` too early '' for fans .
Five-time world champion O'Sullivan said players `` all run a bit of a risk '' .
A number of sports have already returned behind closed doors but snooker will be the second government-backed pilot event after the Surrey v Middlesex friendly in cricket to be staged in front of fans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attend the Sheffield venue will be placed in 'bubbles ' of up to four people - limited to a maximum of two households - and will be socially distanced from others in the arena .
Temperature checks will not be in place and face masks must be worn around the venue but can be removed once seated inside .
World number 48 Hamilton pulled out of the Tour Championship - the first event that was played on the sport 's return - because of health concerns and called the decision to allow people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ auditorium `` a mad thing '' .
He added : `` Let 's say one person gets ill and dies from the Crucible , that is one person who has died for no reason , just for entertainment .
`` I wo n't be comfortable in there personally , I do n't know why anybody would be comfortable , we all know it is airborne . ''
World Snooker Tour said being designated as the first indoor event in the UK was a `` fantastic triumph '' and that health and safety was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our fans , players and staff '' .
O'Sullivan said : `` I defy anybody if they have been keeping their distance from people for four months to say , oh right , now you 've got to go into a room full of people - unless you have got a death wish , and some people have in many ways and they just do n't care .
`` But if you are one of these people that happens to care about your health and are taking it seriously , I totally get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feel a bit strange walking in a room with 10 people I do n't know , and I have done .
I did n't feel comfortable .
`` So I totally respect where Anthony is coming from , and where other people are coming from - they want crowds in there , they want things back to normal .
We have a choice we do n't have to go and play .
We all run a bit of a risk .
`` I do n't think it 's a risk worth taking .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ but I 've decided to play .
Maybe with 5,000 fans I could see it 's a bit of an income you 're going to lose , but 200 fans , is it really ?
`` Maybe they have to start doing a test on crowds at some point and I 've heard people say they 're treating the snooker event a little bit like lab rats - you 've got to start somewhere , start with snooker players .
`` Less insurance to pay out for Anthony Hamilton than there is for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has had friends die from Covid-19 and has not been within 20ft of his mum who is in the `` high risk '' category as she had pneumonia last year .
`` It 's not until you 've had people close to you that have gone through it , and know someone who has died , '' he said .
`` And I 've had nurses who I have spoken to and they say , 'People have come in with Covid-19 and they think they are going to be alright and it 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they say `` please do n't let me die '' . '
`` Grown men and women crying their eyes out because they ca n't breathe .
It 's only when something like that happens and you hear those stories that you go 'hold on a minute , this is serious ' .
`` I do n't think it has been taken seriously enough . ''
The opening matches begin at 10:00 BST live across the BBC , with defending champion Judd Trump in action against Tom Ford , while O'Sullivan starts his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sunday .
• None Which ones could you be missing out on ?

Ronnie O'Sullivan says allowing spectators into the Crucible Theatre for the World Championship is treating snooker players like "lab rats".
The tournament, which begins on Friday, will be the first indoor sporting event with crowds, allowing around 300 supporters to attend each session.
Qualifier Anthony Hamilton, who suffers from severe asthma, says it is "ridiculous" and "too early" for fans.
Five-time world champion O'Sullivan said players "all run a bit of a risk".
A number of sports have already returned behind closed doors but snooker will be the second government-backed pilot event after the Surrey v Middlesex friendly in cricket to be staged in front of fans.
Those that have booked tickets to attend the Sheffield venue will be placed in 'bubbles' of up to four people - limited to a maximum of two households - and will be socially distanced from others in the arena.
Temperature checks will not be in place and although face masks must be worn around the venue they can be removed once spectators are seated inside.
World number 48 Hamilton pulled out of the Championship League - the first event that was played on the sport's return - because of health concerns and called the decision to allow people to take off their masks in the auditorium "a mad thing".
He added: "Let's say one person gets ill and dies from the Crucible, that is one person who has died for no reason, just for entertainment.
"I won't be comfortable in there personally. I don't know why anybody would be comfortable - we all know it is airborne."
Hamilton has reached the World Championship quarter-finals four times
The World Snooker Tour said having the championship designated as the first indoor event in the UK with fans attending since the start of the pandemic was a "fantastic triumph" and that health and safety was the "highest priority and protection for our fans, players and staff".
And Shaun Murphy, who won at the Crucible in 2005 said: "We're all desperate to get crowds back in - they bring that X-Factor to an event.
"I get Ronnie saying fans are an unnecessary risk. I understand where these concerns come from and I'm sure it will be a case that the person who coughs first or sneezes first might get the daggers from everyone, but that's become the new normal.
"We need to take on new measures but that doesn't mean we can't ever leave the house again.
"I think we just have to go right guys, we really want to get back to where we were but we've got to get back there slowly. The other option is to never go to a live sporting event again, stay inside, don't come out.
"I get their fears and I understand it but it's a pilot at the end of the day and we've got to move on."
However, O'Sullivan said: "I defy anybody if they have been keeping their distance from people for four months to say, oh right, now you've got to go into a room full of people - unless you have got a death wish, and some people have in many ways and they just don't care.
"But if you are one of these people that happens to care about your health and are taking it seriously, I totally get how [Hamilton] feels.
"I would feel a bit strange walking in a room with 10 people I don't know, and I have done. I didn't feel comfortable.
"So I totally respect where Anthony is coming from, and where other people are coming from - they want crowds in there, they want things back to normal. We have a choice - we don't have to go and play. We all run a bit of a risk.
"I have the option not to play but I've decided to play. Maybe with 5,000 fans I could see it's a bit of an income you're going to lose, but 200 fans, is it really?
"Maybe they have to start doing a test on crowds at some point and I've heard people say they're treating the snooker event a little bit like lab rats - you've got to start somewhere, start with snooker players.
"Less insurance to pay out for Anthony Hamilton than there is for Lewis Hamilton."
O'Sullivan says he has had friends die from Covid-19 and has not been within 20 feet of his mother, who is in the 'high risk' category because she had pneumonia last year.
"It's not until you've had people close to you that have gone through it, and know someone who has died," he said.
"I don't think it has been taken seriously enough."
The opening matches begin at 10:00 BST live across the BBC, with defending champion Judd Trump in action against Tom Ford, while O'Sullivan starts his campaign against Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh on Sunday.


bbc--2020-07-29--The big talking points as the NBA returns in Disney World bubble

It 's been more than 140 days since a ball was last bounced competitively in the NBA , with the season postponed on March 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic .
To limit the number of personnel inside the NBA 'bubble ' , only 22 of the league 's 30 teams are taking part .
Franchises with no chance of progressing to the post-season are not involved .
With the first of the tip-offs on Thursday , here 's a reminder of where we left the season and what to expect from the new-look NBA .
Who to look out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Los Angeles Lakers are the number one-ranked team in the Western Conference .
James , now 35 and in his 17th season in the league , is trying to win an NBA title with his third franchise having previously lifted it with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers .
The plot twist could come from the Lakers ' city rivals the Los Angeles Clippers , with Leonard ( a champion with the San Antonio Spurs and last season with the Toronto Raptors ) himself vying for a slice of history by also winning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In the East the Milwaukee Bucks host the best record - as well as the best overall record in the league .
Reigning Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo is having another stellar season - but critics are still waiting to see if he can continue that form when it really matters , come play-off time .
Listed at 6ft 9in tall and with a wingspan of 7ft 2in the 'Greek Freak ' will be trying to secure the Bucks ' first Finals title since 1971 .
There 's no doubt the crowd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ momentum and creating tension in sport - and in basketball the proximity of the fans and players means that 's often magnified .
Statistics show overwhelmingly the team starting at home usually advances - so psychologically it 's a huge advantage .
Well that 's out the window .
Inside the NBA 'bubble ' all games are played at a neutral venue with just the bench players , coaches , backroom staff and NBA personnel in the gym .
Unlike the Premier League the NBA has decided not to pump pre-recorded crowd noise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be on hand to help drum up atmosphere and fans will be able to get a `` courtside '' experience by using video conferencing and 17-foot tall LED screens that will go round the court .
Walt Disney World is considered a luxury experience in its usual state - and the NBA has spent millions of dollars making it 'home ' for the upcoming months .
A barber shop and games room have also been erected and there is a lake where players can do a spot of fishing .
However Disney Park @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
With plenty of downtime and nowhere to go , some players decided to bring the fun to Disney World in the form of video games .
And when Lakers team-mates James , Anthony Davis and Quinn Cook went online to play some NBA 2K , a lot of people were interested .
It appears it was not enough for some , though - as players are reported to have left the venue to get what they craved .
Sacramento Kings forward Richaun Holmes was placed in quarantine after he left the bubble @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And just days before the restart , Clippers guard Lou Williams was granted permission to leave the bubble and return home to attend a family funeral - only for him to be ordered to spend 10 days in quarantine on his return .
He admitted he 'd visited a strip club while outside but insisted it was because the venue served his favourite food .
He 'll miss the first two games back .
The NBA and its players have been one of the most vocal sport organisations to support the Black Lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to create slogans which will appear on their jerseys with social justice messages against racism and police brutality , ranging from ' I Ca n't Breathe ' to 'Justice Now ' and 'Education Reform ' .
The courts will also show the Black Lives Matter message during games .
The Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans are reportedly working together on a plan to kneel during the US national anthem and show support for the movement before they square off in the first official game of the restart on Thursday .

The NBA resumes with 22 teams battling it out for a place in the play-offs
It's been more than 140 days since a ball was last bounced competitively in the NBA, with the season postponed on March 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The likes of LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo are now tenants of Mickey Mouse, with the regular season and play-offs being completed at Walt Disney World, Orlando.
To limit the number of personnel inside the NBA 'bubble', only 22 of the league's 30 teams are taking part. Franchises with no chance of progressing to the post-season are not involved.
With the first of the tip-offs on Thursday, here's a reminder of where we left the season and what to expect from the new-look NBA.
Who to look out for?
Led by James, the Los Angeles Lakers are the number one-ranked team in the Western Conference. James, now 35 and in his 17th season in the league, is trying to win an NBA title with his third franchise having previously lifted it with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers.
The plot twist could come from the Lakers' city rivals the Los Angeles Clippers, with Leonard (a champion with the San Antonio Spurs and last season with the Toronto Raptors) himself vying for a slice of history by also winning the NBA Finals with three different franchises.
In the East the Milwaukee Bucks host the best record - as well as the best overall record in the league. Reigning Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo is having another stellar season - but critics are still waiting to see if he can continue that form when it really matters, come play-off time.
Listed at 6ft 9in tall and with a wingspan of 7ft 2in the 'Greek Freak' will be trying to secure the Bucks' first Finals title since 1971.
NBA returns - the first fixtures (all times in BST) Thursday, 30 July Utah Jazz v New Orleans Pelicans (23:30) LA Clippers v LA Lakers (02:00 Friday, 31 July) Friday, 31 July Orlando Magic v Brooklyn Nets (19:30) Memphis Grizzlies v Portland Trailblazers (21:00) Phoenix Suns v Washington Wizards (21:00) Boston Celtics v Milwaukee Bucks (23:30) Sacramento Kings v San Antonio Spurs (01:00 Saturday, 2 August) Houston Rockets v Dallas Mavericks (02:00 Saturday, 2 August)
Home court advantage
There's no doubt the crowd plays a huge part in both building momentum and creating tension in sport - and in basketball the proximity of the fans and players means that's often magnified.
Statistics show overwhelmingly the team starting at home usually advances - so psychologically it's a huge advantage.
Well that's out the window.
Inside the NBA 'bubble' all games are played at a neutral venue with just the bench players, coaches, backroom staff and NBA personnel in the gym.
Unlike the Premier League the NBA has decided not to pump pre-recorded crowd noise into the venues. DJs will however be on hand to help drum up atmosphere and fans will be able to get a "courtside" experience by using video conferencing and 17-foot tall LED screens that will go round the court.
Haircuts, video games and cravings - life inside the NBA bubble
Walt Disney World is considered a luxury experience in its usual state - and the NBA has spent millions of dollars making it 'home' for the upcoming months.
A barber shop and games room have also been erected and there is a lake where players can do a spot of fishing. However Disney Park and all its rides are off limits.
With plenty of downtime and nowhere to go, some players decided to bring the fun to Disney World in the form of video games. And when Lakers team-mates James, Anthony Davis and Quinn Cook went online to play some NBA 2K, a lot of people were interested.
It appears it was not enough for some, though - as players are reported to have left the venue to get what they craved.
Sacramento Kings forward Richaun Holmes was placed in quarantine after he left the bubble to pick up a food delivery.
And just days before the restart, Clippers guard Lou Williams was granted permission to leave the bubble and return home to attend a family funeral - only for him to be ordered to spend 10 days in quarantine on his return.
He admitted he'd visited a strip club while outside but insisted it was because the venue served his favourite food.
He'll miss the first two games back.
Speaking about life in the bubble, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said: "During the hiatus our guys did a great job in terms of conditioning. Once we got here, guys had the virus or had family stuff, what I call clutter. It's part of life and we've had to deal with that.
"But adversity is not all bad, you're going to go through hard stuff.
"For the most part I can't imagine someone's team not growing in this, especially the teams that have had all their guys, because it is a village you're living in, an NBA village.
"It's the greatest superstar basketball camp, It's like a dream. So I would say chemistry-wise it has probably been great for everybody, us included."
Black Lives Matter
The NBA and its players have been one of the most vocal sport organisations to support the Black Lives Matter movement. Players have been invited to create slogans which will appear on their jerseys with social justice messages against racism and police brutality, ranging from 'I Can't Breathe' to 'Justice Now' and 'Education Reform'.
The courts will also show the Black Lives Matter message during games.


bbc--2020-07-29--Brentford one game from Premier League after beating Swansea to reach play-off final

Brentford overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Swansea City 3-2 on aggregate and book their spot in the Championship play-off final at Wembley .
Ollie Watkins ' composed finish in the 11th minute levelled the semi-final on aggregate , and a header from Emiliano Marcondes put the Bees ahead in the tie four minutes later .
Bryan Mbeumo volleyed in a cross from Rico Henry in the first minute of the second half to make it 3-0 on the night and give Brentford a two-goal cushion .
Rhian Brewster dragged Swansea back into the contest with 12 minutes remaining , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jansson and chipping home goalkeeper David Raya , but the visitors were unable to find a second goal which would have forced extra-time .
Victory meant the Bees signed off at Griffin Park , their home of 116 years , in style before their move to a new stadium this summer .
The west Londoners , who are looking to end their 73-year exile from the top flight , will face either Cardiff City or neighbours Fulham at Wembley on Tuesday , 4 August .
Fulham will take a 2-0 lead into the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thursday ( 19:45 BST ) .
• 'It feels like a home ' - Brentford fans say goodbye to Griffin Park Andre Ayew had given Swansea a 1-0 lead at the end of Sunday 's first leg , and Brentford head coach Thomas Frank promised his side would attack from the off in a bid to reach the final .
Marcondes tested visiting goalkeeper Erwin Mulder in the fourth minute with a swerving shot from outside the box , and the Bees went ahead following a swift counter-attack from a Swansea corner .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Watkins through on goal , and the forward made no mistake to net his 26th goal of the season .
The hosts swiftly doubled their lead when Said Benrahma picked out an unmarked Marcondes in the box to guide in a header from 12 yards .
Bees keeper David Raya preserved his side 's advantage with a low save from Conor Gallagher 's side-footed effort and Benrahma almost made it 3-0 on the night with a shot which hit the inside of the post .
Swansea boss Steve Cooper made a double change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get back into the match , but his side fell further behind within a minute of the restart when Frenchman Mbeumo notched his first goal in eight games with a clinical volley .
Wing-back Connor Roberts cut in from the right and saw his left-footed effort tipped over by Raya as the visitors sought a way back into the match .
Brewster rarely had a sight at goal but calmly lobbed Raya from just outside the box after centre-back Jansson made a mess of an attempted back-heel .
It was the striker 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ loan from Liverpool in January .
Swansea continued to press forward and six minutes of stoppage time brought further drama as Brewster tested Raya from 25 yards , while Roberts and Bees boss Frank were both booked after a clash on the touchline .
Benrahma almost finished the match off with a flourish but saw a curling effort go narrowly over the bar .
Swansea were among the early pace-setters this season , but fell out of the play-off places in January and only just clawed their way back into the top six @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regular campaign .
Despite their play-off exit , Cooper , who led England to the Under-17 World Cup in 2017 , will have positive experiences to build on following his first year of senior club management .
Brentford had propelled themselves into contention for automatic promotion following a seven-match winning run after lockdown , but missed out on a place in the top two after defeats in their final two games of the season .
They were the top scorers in the Championship this season and were back to their attacking best during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's goal tested their defensive resolve in the closing stages .
The Bees have never won promotion in their eight previous play-off campaigns and have lost three finals , the most recent of which came in the third tier in 2013 .
If they end that run , they will move into the Brentford Community Stadium , a 17,500-capacity ground , as a Premier League club .
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank : `` We talked about not leaving the pitch without getting to the final .
The message was we needed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And we did that .
`` At 3-0 we should have been through to the final , but we made a mistake we should n't make .
But after that they were n't really dangerous and it was nice to show the defensive side of our game .
`` I am pleased and happy .
It is a very nice moment and we have achieved something good .
But we want to achieve something big and we are going to the final to win . ''
Swansea head coach Steve Cooper : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do .
We just did n't play well enough in the first half .
We were n't aggressive with our play , both with and without the ball .
`` We ended up being too deep , leaving too much space around our midfield line and our defensive line and allowed them opportunities to attack .
`` The goals are obviously really disappointing .
The first one is from our set-piece and the second and third ones , although they are really good finishes , you can not leave people unmarked in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't give up and we went right until the very end but we gave ourselves too much to do . ''
• BBC Food 's essential minerals : Which ones could you be missing out on ?

Last updated on .From the section Championship
Ollie Watkins' 26th goal of the season cancelled out Swansea's aggregate lead over Brentford
Brentford overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Swansea City 3-2 on aggregate and book their spot in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.
Ollie Watkins' composed finish in the 11th minute levelled the semi-final on aggregate, and a header from Emiliano Marcondes put the Bees ahead in the tie four minutes later.
Bryan Mbeumo volleyed in a cross from Rico Henry in the first minute of the second half to make it 3-0 on the night and give Brentford a two-goal cushion.
Rhian Brewster dragged Swansea back into the contest with 12 minutes remaining, capitalising on a poor clearance from Pontus Jansson and chipping home goalkeeper David Raya, but the visitors were unable to find a second goal which would have forced extra-time.
Victory meant the Bees signed off at Griffin Park, their home of 116 years, in style before their move to a new stadium this summer.
The west Londoners, who are looking to end their 73-year exile from the top flight, will face either Cardiff City or neighbours Fulham at Wembley on Tuesday, 4 August.
Fulham will take a 2-0 lead into the second leg of their semi-final tie on Thursday (19:45 BST).
Early Bees blitz turns tie around
Andre Ayew had given Swansea a 1-0 lead at the end of Sunday's first leg, and Brentford head coach Thomas Frank promised his side would attack from the off in a bid to reach the final.
Marcondes tested visiting goalkeeper Erwin Mulder in the fourth minute with a swerving shot from outside the box, and the Bees went ahead following a swift counter-attack from a Swansea corner.
A defence-splitting pass from Mathias Jensen put Watkins through on goal, and the forward made no mistake to net his 26th goal of the season.
Victory for Brentford in their final game at Griffin Park, their home since 1904, put the Bees within one win of a Premier League place
The hosts swiftly doubled their lead when Said Benrahma picked out an unmarked Marcondes in the box to guide in a header from 12 yards.
Bees keeper David Raya preserved his side's advantage with a low save from Conor Gallagher's side-footed effort and Benrahma almost made it 3-0 on the night with a shot which hit the inside of the post.
Swansea fall short
Swansea boss Steve Cooper made a double change at the break in a bid to get back into the match, but his side fell further behind within a minute of the restart when Frenchman Mbeumo notched his first goal in eight games with a clinical volley.
Wing-back Connor Roberts cut in from the right and saw his left-footed effort tipped over by Raya as the visitors sought a way back into the match.
Tempers flared between Brentford boss Thomas Frank and Swansea full-back Connor Roberts in the closing stages
Brewster rarely had a sight at goal but calmly lobbed Raya from just outside the box after centre-back Jansson made a mess of an attempted back-heel. It was the striker's 11th goal since moving to Swansea on loan from Liverpool in January.
Swansea continued to press forward and six minutes of stoppage time brought further drama as Brewster tested Raya from 25 yards, while Roberts and Bees boss Frank were both booked after a clash on the touchline.
Benrahma almost finished the match off with a flourish but saw a curling effort go narrowly over the bar.
Swansea were among the early pace-setters this season, but fell out of the play-off places in January and only just clawed their way back into the top six on a remarkable final day of the regular campaign.
Despite their play-off exit, Cooper, who led England to the Under-17 World Cup in 2017, will have positive experiences to build on following his first year of senior club management.
Brentford move closer to defining promotion
Brentford had propelled themselves into contention for automatic promotion following a seven-match winning run after lockdown, but missed out on a place in the top two after defeats in their final two games of the season.
They were the top scorers in the Championship this season and were back to their attacking best during a stirring first hour, before Brewster's goal tested their defensive resolve in the closing stages.
The Bees have never won promotion in their eight previous play-off campaigns and have lost three finals, the most recent of which came in the third tier in 2013.
If they end that run, they will move into the Brentford Community Stadium, a 17,500-capacity ground, as a Premier League club.
Reaction
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank: "We talked about not leaving the pitch without getting to the final. The message was we needed to start faster than we ever started before. And we did that.
"At 3-0 we should have been through to the final, but we made a mistake we shouldn't make. But after that they weren't really dangerous and it was nice to show the defensive side of our game.
"I am pleased and happy. It is a very nice moment and we have achieved something good. But we want to achieve something big and we are going to the final to win."
Swansea head coach Steve Cooper: "We gave ourselves too much to do. We just didn't play well enough in the first half. We weren't aggressive with our play, both with and without the ball.
"We ended up being too deep, leaving too much space around our midfield line and our defensive line and allowed them opportunities to attack.
"The goals are obviously really disappointing. The first one is from our set-piece and the second and third ones, although they are really good finishes, you cannot leave people unmarked in the box like that.
"We didn't give up and we went right until the very end but we gave ourselves too much to do."


bbc--2020-07-29--Joshua will fight 'anywhere, anytime'... even in my garden - Hearn

Last updated on .From the section Boxing World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will fight `` anywhere , anytime '' , says his promoter Eddie Hearn .
Hearn has erected a ring in the grounds of his Essex estate in a bid to resurrect the sport for an event dubbed 'Fight Camp ' .
`` Joshua would fight here [ at Hearn 's home ] , no problem , '' Hearn said .
`` If we were faced with the option of having no fans for an Anthony Joshua fight , we would still look to go ahead .
He 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here in this garden so he would have no problem fighting here himself .
`` He was here a couple of weeks ago .
He loves to fight , to box and it 's not just about fighting in a huge arena - Wembley Stadium , Madison Square Garden - it 's about boxing .
`` We want him to be in front of crowds .
But for his career , for his development , he needs to fight this year . ''
Joshua , who has also reached an agreement for two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was originally scheduled to fight Kubrat Pulev in June , but the bout was postponed because of coronavirus .
`` Of course fighters want to earn as much money as possible but they also need to develop as fighters and I think the Kubrat Pulev fight is a good , solid , tough fight for him and I am almost certain you will see that fight this year .
`` He wants to improve as a fighter and he will do it anywhere , anytime . ''
'Fight Camp ' opens with Sam @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against Ted Cheeseman on Saturday , with more events on 7 and 14 August , while James Tennyson will box Gavin Gwynne for the vacant British title .
• None Tennyson can get back on world title trail - Hearn Former WBC interim heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte fights Russian Alexander Povetkin on 22 August , with undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor up against Delfine Persoon in a rematch on the same bill .
`` I wanted to bring boxing back with a bang - we 're a major sport and we had to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hearn .

Last updated on .From the section Boxing
Eddie Hearn in front of the boxing ring he has had constructed in his back garden - complete with canopy and spotlights
World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will fight "anywhere, anytime", says his promoter Eddie Hearn.
The British boxer, 30, has not fought since he regained his WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles from Andy Ruiz Jr last December due to Covid-19.
Hearn has erected a ring in the grounds of his Essex estate in a bid to resurrect the sport for an event dubbed 'Fight Camp'.
"Joshua would fight here [at Hearn's home], no problem," Hearn said.
"If we were faced with the option of having no fans for an Anthony Joshua fight, we would still look to go ahead. He's spent a lot of time training out here in this garden so he would have no problem fighting here himself.
"He was here a couple of weeks ago. He loves to fight, to box and it's not just about fighting in a huge arena - Wembley Stadium, Madison Square Garden - it's about boxing.
"We want him to be in front of crowds. But for his career, for his development, he needs to fight this year."
Joshua, who has also reached an agreement for two fights with fellow Briton Tyson Fury, was originally scheduled to fight Kubrat Pulev in June, but the bout was postponed because of coronavirus.
"Of course fighters want to earn as much money as possible but they also need to develop as fighters and I think the Kubrat Pulev fight is a good, solid, tough fight for him and I am almost certain you will see that fight this year.
"He wants to improve as a fighter and he will do it anywhere, anytime."
'Fight Camp' opens with Sam Eggington defending his IBF international super-welterweight title against Ted Cheeseman on Saturday, with more events on 7 and 14 August, while James Tennyson will box Gavin Gwynne for the vacant British title.
Former WBC interim heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte fights Russian Alexander Povetkin on 22 August, with undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor up against Delfine Persoon in a rematch on the same bill.
"I wanted to bring boxing back with a bang - we're a major sport and we had to make a big impression," said Hearn.


bbc--2020-07-29--Spurs boss Mourinho wants Porto winger Diaz - Thursday's gossip

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho is interested in signing Colombia winger Luis Diaz , 23 , from Porto .
( Record - in Portuguese ) Inter Miami , the Major League Soccer side owned by former England captain David Beckham , want to make Barcelona and Uruguay forward Luis Suarez , 33 , their first big-name signing .
( Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish ) Manchester City and Paris St-Germain target David Alaba 's agent is asking Bayern Munich pay the 28-year-old Austria left-back 20m euros ( £18m ) a year to extend his contract .
( Bild - in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 23-year-old English goalkeeper Dean Henderson - who spent the season on loan at Sheffield United - are at a vital stage after weeks of negotiations .
( Sky Sports ) Chelsea are prioritising the signing of Leicester City 's England left-back Ben Chilwell , 23 , over other options in that position , including Ajax 's Argentine defender Nicholas Tagliafico , 27 , and Getafe 's Spain Under-21 international Marc Cucurella , 22 .
( Goal ) West Ham United are interested in Queens Park Rangers and former Republic of Ireland Under-21 full-back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ - subscription required ) Atletico Madrid have rejected an improved offer of 25m euros ( £22.6m ) , plus 21-year-old France midfielder Matteo Guendouzi , from Arsenal for Ghana defensive midfielder Thomas Partey , 27 .
( AS - in Spanish ) English former Burnley , West Ham and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart , 33 , is close to a move to Scottish champions Celtic .
( Sun ) Brazil forward Hulk , 34 , is considering a move to the Premier League when his contract at Shanghai SIPG expires in January @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Leeds United are targeting FC Utrecht 's 25-year-old Dutch right-back Sean Klaiber as they look to do early business in the transfer window .
( Voetbal International - in Dutch ) However , Leeds ' hopes of signing Argentina Under-20 winger Thiago Almada are fading , with the 19-year-old telling his Velez Sarsfield team-mates he wants to stay in his homeland .
( Leeds Live ) Watford are in talks with Vladimir Ivic over their vacant manager 's job after the 43-year-old Serb left his role as head coach at Maccabi Tel Aviv @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
( Mail ) Barcelona are looking to offload February signing Martin Braithwaite , 29 , with the Denmark forward not in manager Quique Setien 's plans for next season .
( Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish ) • That Prince William Episode : The future king talks Aston Villa and his six-a-side team with the boys • Listen to Focus Beats : Find your rhythm with Four Tet , Arlo Parks , Caribou & more

Last updated on .From the section Gossip
Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho is interested in signing Colombia winger Luis Diaz, 23, from Porto. (Record - in Portuguese) external-link
Inter Miami, the Major League Soccer side owned by former England captain David Beckham, want to make Barcelona and Uruguay forward Luis Suarez, 33, their first big-name signing. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish) external-link
Manchester City and Paris St-Germain target David Alaba's agent is asking Bayern Munich pay the 28-year-old Austria left-back 20m euros (£18m) a year to extend his contract. (Bild - in German) external-link
Liverpool and Manchester City are both interested in 27-year-old Sevilla and Brazil defender Diego Carlos, who has a release clause of £70m. (Star) external-link
Arsenal and Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's future at the club could be determined by whether the Gunners win the FA Cup final, with Barcelona and Inter Milan watching how the 31-year-old's situation develops. (Mirror) external-link
Talks between Manchester United and 23-year-old English goalkeeper Dean Henderson - who spent the season on loan at Sheffield United - are at a vital stage after weeks of negotiations. (Sky Sports) external-link
Chelsea are prioritising the signing of Leicester City's England left-back Ben Chilwell, 23, over other options in that position, including Ajax's Argentine defender Nicholas Tagliafico, 27, and Getafe's Spain Under-21 international Marc Cucurella, 22. (Goal) external-link
West Ham United are interested in Queens Park Rangers and former Republic of Ireland Under-21 full-back Ryan Manning, 24. (Telegraph - subscription required) external-link
How accurate were the BBC Sport pundits? How did BBC pundits' 2019-20 predictions turn out
Atletico Madrid have rejected an improved offer of 25m euros (£22.6m), plus 21-year-old France midfielder Matteo Guendouzi, from Arsenal for Ghana defensive midfielder Thomas Partey, 27. (AS - in Spanish) external-link
English former Burnley, West Ham and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, 33, is close to a move to Scottish champions Celtic. (Sun) external-link
Brazil forward Hulk, 34, is considering a move to the Premier League when his contract at Shanghai SIPG expires in January. (Talksport) external-link
Premier League newcomers Leeds United are targeting FC Utrecht's 25-year-old Dutch right-back Sean Klaiber as they look to do early business in the transfer window. (Voetbal International - in Dutch) external-link
However, Leeds' hopes of signing Argentina Under-20 winger Thiago Almada are fading, with the 19-year-old telling his Velez Sarsfield team-mates he wants to stay in his homeland. (Leeds Live) external-link
Watford are in talks with Vladimir Ivic over their vacant manager's job after the 43-year-old Serb left his role as head coach at Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he won consecutive league titles. (Mail) external-link
Barcelona are looking to offload February signing Martin Braithwaite, 29, with the Denmark forward not in manager Quique Setien's plans for next season. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish) external-link


bbc--2020-07-30--Republicans to Trump: You can't delay 2020 election

Top Republicans have rejected President Donald Trump 's suggestion that November 's presidential election should be delayed over alleged fraud concerns .
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy both dismissed the idea .
Mr Trump does not have the authority to postpone the election , as any delay would have to be approved by Congress .
Earlier , the president suggested that increased postal voting could lead to fraud and inaccurate results .
He floated a delay until people could `` properly , securely and safely '' vote .
There is little evidence to support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long railed against postal voting , which he has said would be susceptible to fraud .
US states want to make mail-in voting easier because of public health concerns over the coronavirus pandemic .
• Does US postal voting lead to ‘ tremendous fraud ’ ?
Mr Trump 's intervention came as new figures showed the US economy contracted by an annualised rate of nearly a third ( 32.9 % ) between April and June - the worst contraction since the Great Depression of the 1930s .
Senator McConnell said no US presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Never in the history of this country , through wars , depressions and the Civil War , have we ever not had a federally scheduled election on time .
We will find a way to do that again this November third , '' he told local Kentucky station WNKY .
Mr McCarthy echoed him .
`` Never in the history of the federal elections have we ever not held an election and we should go forward with our election , '' he said .
Trump ally Senator Lindsay Graham meanwhile said a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' .
However , Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to be drawn on Mr Trump 's suggestion .
Quizzed by reporters on whether a president could delay an election , he said he would not `` enter a legal judgement on the fly '' .
The spokesman for Mr Trump 's re-election campaign , Hogan Gidley , said Mr Trump had just been `` raising a question '' .
Donald Trump ca n't delay November 's presidential election without Congress , partially controlled by the Democrats , first approving the decision .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , someone has certainly told him by now .
The president also must know that tweeting about a delay - even framed as an `` I 'm just asking ! ''
question - is sure to ignite a political firestorm , particularly after he has repeatedly refused to say whether he 'd accept an adverse result in the upcoming presidential election .
Mr Trump appears to be doing everything in his power to undermine the credibility of November 's vote , in which a record number of Americans are predicted to rely on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exposure to the coronavirus .
He 's repeatedly made false and misleading claims about the reliability of the mail balloting and suggested broad conspiracy theories .
Critics warn that he could be laying the groundwork for contesting the results - although the purpose may be simply to give him a scapegoat if he loses .
His tweet could also be an attempt to divert attention away from the truly dismal second-quarter economic numbers just released .
He 's been relying on a financial turnaround to breathe life into his re-election campaign , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Whatever the reason , tweeting about an election delay is not the move of a candidate confident of victory - and could be a sign of more desperate moves to come .
What did Trump say ?
At a Thursday afternoon White House news conference , Mr Trump denied he wanted to postpone the election , but argued that mass postal voting would leave the result in doubt .
`` I do n't want to delay , I want to have the election , '' he said .
`` But I also do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three months and then find out that the ballots are all missing and the election does n't mean anything . ''
`` I do n't want to see a crooked election , '' Mr Trump also told reporters .
`` This election will be the most rigged election in history if that happens . ''
In a series of tweets earlier , Mr Trump railed against mass postal voting and warned - without providing evidence - that it would be susceptible to foreign interference .
In June , New York allowed voters to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poll for the party 's presidential candidate .
But there have been long delays in counting the ballots and the results are still unknown .
US media report that there are also concerns that many ballots will not be counted because they were not filled in correctly or do not have postmarks on them that show they were sent before voting officially ended .
However , several other states have long conducted votes by post .
Who can change the election date ?
President Trump does not have the authority to move the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November .
Any change of date would need to be approved by both houses of Congress - the House of Representatives and the Senate .
Democrats control the House of Representatives and some have already said they will not support any delay to the vote .
Any move by Congress to delay the election into 2021 would also require a constitutional amendment , US media quoted constitutional experts as saying .
• The week when everything changed for Trump Earlier this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hold `` all-mail '' ballot elections in November : California , Utah , Hawaii , Colorado , Oregon and Washington .
Other states are considering it , according to a postal voting campaign group .
These states will automatically send postal ballots to all registered voters , which then have to be sent back or dropped off on election day - although some in-person voting is still available in certain limited circumstances .
About half of US states allow any registered voter to cast their ballot by post on request .

Mr Trump appears to be doing everything in his power to undermine the credibility of November's vote, in which a record number of Americans are predicted to rely on mail-in voting to avoid the risk of exposure to the coronavirus. He's repeatedly made false and misleading claims about the reliability of the mail balloting and suggested broad conspiracy theories. Critics warn that he could be laying the groundwork for contesting the results - although the purpose may be simply to give him a scapegoat if he loses.


bbc--2020-07-30--US election 2020: Obama calls for end to voter suppression

Former US President Barack Obama has sharply criticised what he described as Republican attempts at voter suppression in a speech at civil rights leader John Lewis 's funeral .
He said people in power were `` attacking our voting rights with surgical precision '' and called for wide reform .
He also decried the police killing of George Floyd and the subsequent use of federal agents against protesters .
He was one of the `` Big Six '' civil rights leaders , which included Martin Luther King Jr , and helped organise the historic 1963 March on Washington .
• @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until his last breath' In a fiery eulogy delivered in Ebeneezer Baptist Church in the city of Atlanta , Mr Obama launched a stinging attack on Donald Trump 's administration and some police departments .
`` Today we witness with our own eyes , police officers kneeling on the necks of black Americans , '' he said .
`` We can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators . ''
He said people in government were `` doing their darnedest to discourage people from voting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` restrictive ID laws '' on minorities and students .
Mr Obama singled out the role of the US postal service in delivering postal votes amid the coronavirus pandemic .
Earlier on Thursday Mr Trump suggested the 2020 presidential election in November should be delayed because he said - without providing evidence - that postal voting would enable large-scale voter fraud .
Mr Obama also proposed a series of reforms to voting in the US , including : • making sure Americans are automatically registered to vote • giving the vote to former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ second chance '' • making election day a national holiday so workers who ca n't get time off can vote He also called for people in Washington and Puerto Rico to have the same representation as other Americans .
Washington is a federal district and so does not have representatives in Congress .
Puerto Rico is a US territory that doers not have representation in Congress and Puerto Ricans can not vote in presidential elections .
And he called for an end to the filibuster - the act of speaking at great length @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allotted for debating a bill and so prevent it from becoming law - which he described as a `` Jim Crow relic '' .
Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation in southern states until 1965 and were used to disenfranchise black people .
`` If all this takes eliminating the filibuster , another Jim Crow relic , in order to secure the god-given rights of every American , then that 's what we should do , '' he said .
• In pictures : John Lewis honoured at US capitol With less than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Barack Obama is sharpening his political rhetoric .
While he has n't hesitated to offer veiled criticisms of Donald Trump in the past - in May he said the coronavirus had `` finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they 're doing '' - his eulogy for John Lewis was perhaps his most pointed political speech since the 2018 congressional mid-term elections .
He drew a line from the segregationist politics of Alabama Governor George Wallace in the 1960s to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best in America that we 're seeing circulate right now '' .
He advocated specific policies , like statehood to Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia , expanding voting rights protections and ending a Senate practice that allows a minority in the chamber to block new legislation .
Some of what Obama said was new .
Some was a reprisal of previously announced positions .
The former president , however , framed all of it in terms of an ongoing struggle for a `` fuller , fairer , better America '' .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donald Trump has made a concerted effort to dismantle Obama 's presidential legacy - on healthcare , immigration , climate , foreign policy and more .
Obama 's attitude on Thursday suggests he knows he has just a few months to help deny his successor another four years to finish the job .
Paying tribute to Lewis , Mr Obama said he had becomes the first black US president because of the the congressman 's fight for civil rights for black Americans .
Lewis did `` everything he could to preserve this democracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in our bodies , we have to continue his cause , '' Mr Obama said .
The service was also attended by former presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush and House speaker Nancy Pelosi .
Republican Mr Bush said he had his `` differences '' with Lewis , a Democrat , but said `` we live in a better and nobler country today because of John Lewis '' .
`` He believed in humanity and he believed in America , '' Mr Bush added .
During the civil rights movement , Lewis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ( SNCC ) , and then became its chairman from 1963 to 1966 .
He co-organised and spoke at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom , the rally at which Dr King delivered his historic I Have a Dream speech .
Lewis was the last surviving speaker from the march .

While he hasn't hesitated to offer veiled criticisms of Donald Trump in the past - in May he said the coronavirus had "finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they're doing" - his eulogy for John Lewis was perhaps his most pointed political speech since the 2018 congressional mid-term elections.


bbc--2020-07-30--NBA: Basketball's unique role in the United States' discussion about racism

When fans tune in as the NBA season resumes at Disney World on Thursday , they will be watching a game with a different feel .
Jerseys ordinarily emblazoned with well-known surnames - prized products sold to fans around the world - will instead carry activist slogans : 'Justice Now ' , 'See Us ' , 'Hear Us ' , 'Respect Us ' , 'Love Us ' .
The stands will be empty and silent , but one message is already echoing loudly : the NBA wants to talk about racism .
Even before the shocking death of George Floyd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long been a vehicle for protesting against what has been called America 's Original Sin .
Big moments - like the raising of a fist by Tommie Smith and John Carlos in a black power salute as the 'Star Spangled Banner ' played at the 1968 Olympics - have become iconic images .
More recent gestures , like those sparked by Colin Kaepernick 's refusal to stand for the national anthem , have become a contentious point of political debate in the United States .
Race , as the respected San Antonio Spurs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the `` elephant in the room in our country '' - one that has come charging into the locker room on many occasions .
Of all sports , basketball is arguably the most obvious place for an unvarnished conversation .
From its earliest days of being popularised as entertainment by the Harlem Globetrotters , to a sport still primarily played by black athletes and , in the US , watched largely by ethnic minority fans ( two-thirds of those who tuned in during 2016-17 on US TV were non-white ) , race has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ league says it will embrace the conversation head-on this time .
But will it be any different than in the past - and will it make a difference ?
Black players have always been aware of the thin line that separates them from a life of professional success and a far different fate .
As the youngest of three sons of a single mother growing up in inner city Philadelphia , Rasheed Wallace realised early that it would be hard going , as did everyone around him .
`` The stakes are high @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Wallace - who played for 2004 champions the Detroit Pistons - tells the BBC .
Growing up poor and with few opportunities , sports are one of the few ways young black men , especially , can conceive of success .
`` You see a lot of black parents getting on their kids , no matter [ whether ] it 's football , basketball , baseball or any sport .
It 's like , 'look - this could be our ticket out of here ' , '' he says .
`` There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up to .
And for us , being black kids in the ghetto , we know that .
That if I can make it , I got a chance to make it better for my family . ''
But that success does not change how the world views a black man when he is out of team uniform , Wallace believes .
Stephen Jackson was sitting on his living room sofa in late May when his phone began to light up with messages .
`` I opened one from a close friend and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they did to your twin in Minnesota ? '
, '' Jackson , a former San Antonio Spurs shooting guard , tells the BBC .
He knew immediately what it meant .
George Floyd had been a close friend for more than 20 years .
Floyd , an imposing Texan of over 6ft 8in who was 46 when he was killed , and Jackson , 42 , looked so much alike they called themselves twins .
Today , one has an NBA championship ring and network sports podcast , and the other is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me , '' Jackson says .
`` I see myself down there because we look so much alike .
I definitely see myself getting murdered in the same fashion by a cop . ''
Wallace agrees .
`` For sure , it could have been me .
Especially with my attitude , the way I am . ''
He adds : `` Now I think [ race ] is even more of a bigger burden .
It 's almost like it 's a danger to stand up , to be black .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jogging in a neighbourhood .
It 's almost to the point where black men , we 're the targets . ''
Floyd had been a star athlete in his younger days , and was recruited to play basketball for a university team .
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in relation to his death .
Three other officers were also charged with aiding and abetting murder .
A tentative trial date has been set for March 2021 .
For those like Jackson and Wallace , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but it is no guarantee of a happy outcome .
Asked who he would call basketball 's greatest of all time , the legendary Kareem Abdul Jabbar did not name Michael Jordan , Wilt Chamberlain or some other household star but Earl Manigault , a street ball player he knew in Harlem , New York as a youth .
Manigault is little known , for he never made it into the professional ranks .
Seen as a prodigy on street courts , he instead went from an impoverished youth to difficult adulthood , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for drug possession .
`` For every Michael Jordan , there 's an Earl Manigault , '' Manigault once told the New York Times .
`` We all ca n't make it .
Somebody has to fail .
I was the one . ''
This is the realisation the rest of the country has been waking up to in 2020 - that the cards are stacked this way in black America .
The NBA says it wants to bring it into further focus .
According to the league 's 2020 handbook , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be to use the NBA 's platform `` to bring attention and sustained action to issues of social injustice , including combating systemic racism , expanding educational and economic opportunities across the black community , enacting meaningful police and criminal justice reform and promoting greater civic engagement '' .
Some , including Jackson , are sceptical .
This is not the first time the league has made public statements on racial justice .
In 2014 , the league allowed players to wear T-shirts bearing the words ' I ca n't breathe ' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ black man from New York , had uttered the words before he died in a police chokehold during an arrest .
The same year , commissioner Adam Silver ejected Donald Sterling , then owner of the Los Angeles Clippers , from the league after racist remarks he made about black players emerged .
The league publicly condemned Sterling and the team was sold .
But critics say that on the metrics that matter , nothing much has changed .
Three-quarters of players in the NBA are black , but only one of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ - Michael Jordan of the Charlotte Hornets .
As recently as 2017 , there were only three black general managers .
Now there are six .
After retiring from playing , Wallace served as an assistant coach for the Pistons for a season .
There were not many like him in the league .
`` We do n't get the quote-unquote 'white opportunities ' - to be that GM , to be that head coach , assistant GM or partial owner , whatever .
That 's always up to the white people , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closed door yet to be fully opened - but needs to be , he says , so that youngsters in neighbourhoods like the one he grew up in can see they `` do n't have to just play basketball or football or baseball to become someone , to become a significant person in my community , or to even make a lot of money '' .
He adds : `` That 's the only outlet that we see as young black men : I got ta make it in basketball or football or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we 're offered . ''
It would be hard to argue there has not been any progress .
The arc of basketball history has bent toward a bit more justice since the 1920s - when black athletes were forced to stay in segregated hotels while travelling through the American South - or even the 1980s , when white players were paid $ 26,000 more on average , despite poorer performances on the court .
Black players today have far greater power and command greater respect as public figures , plus the earnings to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the 1930s was worth as little as $ 7.50 a game - $ 144 ( £111 ) today - according to basketball historian Doug Merlino , but it was often a choice between that or a life of menial labour .
The current top five NBA players , all of whom are black , will make a collective $ 192m ( £147m ) on salaries alone over 2019-20 .
There are those - fans , commentators and players themselves - who will see the limits of sports activism , or reject it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' was the response from Laura Ingraham , a right-wing news anchor , when in 2018 LeBron James gave an ESPN interview criticising President Trump 's attitudes on race .
That Ingraham did not have similar advice more recently for Drew Brees , a white American football player , to keep out of politics have , in many people 's view , lent her previous comments a racial tinge .
( Brees had made remarks rejecting the take the knee protest in his sport . )
But the sentiment is not unique to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forums and comments below sports talk shows , are complaints from fans decrying the forays of their favourite court stars into politics .
Others see a heavy dose of hypocrisy in how players , former players and the league handle divisive political issues .
Jackson , for example , was engulfed in controversy after making anti-Semitic comments on social media .
He said his comments were taken out of context , but the episode extinguished a measure of sympathy for his racial activism among many .
For some others , it nullified all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Hollywood Reporter , Jabbar said Jackson 's comments `` undid whatever progress his previous advocacy may have achieved '' by himself committing `` the kind of dehumanising characterisation of a people that causes the police abuses that killed his friend , George Floyd '' .
He wrote of `` a very troubling omen for the future of the Black Lives Matter movement , '' adding : `` So too is the shocking lack of massive indignation . ''
More recently , Houston Rockets star James Harden drew fury when he was photographed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 'Blue Lives Matter ' , a counter-organisation to Black Lives Matter that backs police .
Harden said he was not trying to make a statement - he just thought that the design 'looked cool ' and covered his beard .
Detractors will say it proves sportsmen may not be the best agents of political messaging , and that it distracts from the experience fans are paying for with their time and money - a reprieve from politics .
And if politics should be allowed to enter in , where should the line be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after Josh Hawley , the Republican Missouri Senator , wrote to Silver to complain the NBA is allowing Black Lives Matter-themed slogans , but not those supporting US troops , or backing free speech in Hong Kong .
The senator accused the NBA of `` excusing and apologising for the brutal repression of the Chinese Communist regime '' .
`` Free expression appears to stop at the edge of your corporate sponsors ' sensibilities , '' he chided .
But even if thorny questions remain , there is no doubt that the zeitgeist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Poll after poll in 2020 shows that , unlike in the past , Americans are largely accepting the idea that racism exists and plays a part in the many social ills black people face in the country .
The `` myth '' that America 's problems with race are largely overcome is being challenged , whether in basketball or in the greater society , believes Popovich , the 71-year-old Spurs coach .
`` You ca n't go on and enjoy your life if you do n't understand what has happened to so many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the league 's race campaign , he is realistic about the prospect of influence .
`` Fans are like any other group of people - some will get it , some will understand , some will just enjoy the games and move on , '' he says .
`` Others will hopefully get involved in being part of the solution of being anti-racist , but that 's a pretty individual thing . ''
After all , sport - as much a cultural product of the times as any entertainment - can only reflect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2020 , the reality is that to be black is in itself to be political , and that position is not a choice , whether you are a basketball star or a bouncer .
The slogan stencilled beside the NBA logo is a reminder .
The lives of so many of the men dribbling , jumping , performing feats of athleticism are black ones - and they matter not just on the court .

LeBron James has been among the most vocal of those calling for change
When fans tuned in as the NBA season resumed at Disney World on Thursday, they were watching a game with a different feel.
On gleaming courts refashioned from ballrooms, in a basketball 'bubble' protected from coronavirus at the Florida resort, three words were stencilled alongside the enormous NBA logo: 'Black Lives Matter'.
Jerseys ordinarily emblazoned with well-known surnames - prized products sold to fans around the world - instead carried activist slogans: 'Justice Now', 'See Us', 'Hear Us', 'Respect Us', 'Love Us'.
The stands were empty and silent, but one message is already echoing loudly: the NBA wants to talk about racism.
Even before the shocking death of George Floyd triggered a national reckoning, sport had long been a vehicle for protesting against what has been called America's Original Sin.
Big moments - like the raising of a fist by Tommie Smith and John Carlos in a black power salute as the 'Star Spangled Banner' played at the 1968 Olympics - have become iconic images.
More recent gestures, like those sparked by Colin Kaepernick's refusal to stand for the national anthem, have become a contentious point of political debate in the United States.
Race, as the respected San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich puts it, is the "elephant in the room in our country" - one that has come charging into the locker room on many occasions.
Of all sports, basketball is arguably the most obvious place for an unvarnished conversation.
From its earliest days of being popularised as entertainment by the Harlem Globetrotters, to a sport still primarily played by black athletes and, in the US, watched largely by ethnic minority fans (two-thirds of those who tuned in during 2016-17 on US TV were non-white), race has figured prominently in the NBA.
The league says it will embrace the conversation head-on this time. But will it be any different than in the past - and will it make a difference?
Black players have always been aware of the thin line that separates them from a life of professional success and a far different fate.
As the youngest of three sons of a single mother growing up in inner city Philadelphia, Rasheed Wallace realised early that it would be hard going, as did everyone around him.
"The stakes are high, the stakes are real high," Wallace - who played for 2004 champions the Detroit Pistons - tells the BBC. Growing up poor and with few opportunities, sports are one of the few ways young black men, especially, can conceive of success.
"You see a lot of black parents getting on their kids, no matter [whether] it's football, basketball, baseball or any sport. It's like, 'look - this could be our ticket out of here'," he says.
"There's a standard you have to live up to. And for us, being black kids in the ghetto, we know that. That if I can make it, I got a chance to make it better for my family."
But that success does not change how the world views a black man when he is out of team uniform, Wallace believes.
Stephen Jackson (right) and George Floyd called themselves twins
Stephen Jackson was sitting on his living room sofa in late May when his phone began to light up with messages.
"I opened one from a close friend and it said: 'Do you see what they did to your twin in Minnesota?'," Jackson, a former San Antonio Spurs shooting guard, tells the BBC. He knew immediately what it meant.
George Floyd had been a close friend for more than 20 years.
Floyd, an imposing Texan of over 6ft 8in who was 46 when he was killed, and Jackson, 42, looked so much alike they called themselves twins.
Today, one has an NBA championship ring and network sports podcast, and the other is dead.
"That could have been me," Jackson says. "I see myself down there because we look so much alike. I definitely see myself getting murdered in the same fashion by a cop."
Wallace agrees. "For sure, it could have been me. Especially with my attitude, the way I am."
He adds: "Now I think [race] is even more of a bigger burden. It's almost like it's a danger to stand up, to be black. It's a danger for you to be jogging in a neighbourhood. It's almost to the point where black men, we're the targets."
Floyd had been a star athlete in his younger days, and was recruited to play basketball for a university team. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in relation to his death. Three other officers were also charged with aiding and abetting murder. A tentative trial date has been set for March 2021.
Wallace, pictured here in 2016, was assistant coach with Detroit from 2013-2014
For those like Jackson and Wallace, talent has kept misfortune at bay, but it is no guarantee of a happy outcome.
Asked who he would call basketball's greatest of all time, the legendary Kareem Abdul Jabbar did not name Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain or some other household star but Earl Manigault, a street ball player he knew in Harlem, New York as a youth.
Manigault is little known, for he never made it into the professional ranks. Seen as a prodigy on street courts, he instead went from an impoverished youth to difficult adulthood, becoming addicted to heroin and serving time for drug possession.
"For every Michael Jordan, there's an Earl Manigault," Manigault once told the New York Times. "We all can't make it. Somebody has to fail. I was the one."
This is the realisation the rest of the country has been waking up to in 2020 - that the cards are stacked this way in black America. The NBA says it wants to bring it into further focus.
According to the league's 2020 handbook, a "central goal" of the season will be to use the NBA's platform "to bring attention and sustained action to issues of social injustice, including combating systemic racism, expanding educational and economic opportunities across the black community, enacting meaningful police and criminal justice reform and promoting greater civic engagement".
Some, including Jackson, are sceptical. This is not the first time the league has made public statements on racial justice.
In 2014, the league allowed players to wear T-shirts bearing the words 'I can't breathe' before matches. Eric Garner, a black man from New York, had uttered the words before he died in a police chokehold during an arrest.
The same year, commissioner Adam Silver ejected Donald Sterling, then owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, from the league after racist remarks he made about black players emerged.
The league publicly condemned Sterling and the team was sold.
But critics say that on the metrics that matter, nothing much has changed. Three-quarters of players in the NBA are black, but only one of the 30 teams has a black majority owner - Michael Jordan of the Charlotte Hornets. As recently as 2017, there were only three black general managers. Now there are six.
After retiring from playing, Wallace served as an assistant coach for the Pistons for a season. There were not many like him in the league.
"We don't get the quote-unquote 'white opportunities' - to be that GM, to be that head coach, assistant GM or partial owner, whatever. That's always up to the white people," he says.
It is another closed door yet to be fully opened - but needs to be, he says, so that youngsters in neighbourhoods like the one he grew up in can see they "don't have to just play basketball or football or baseball to become someone, to become a significant person in my community, or to even make a lot of money".
He adds: "That's the only outlet that we see as young black men: I gotta make it in basketball or football or baseball. And that's all that we're offered."
It would be hard to argue there has not been any progress.
The arc of basketball history has bent toward a bit more justice since the 1920s - when black athletes were forced to stay in segregated hotels while travelling through the American South - or even the 1980s, when white players were paid $26,000 more on average, despite poorer performances on the court.
Black players today have far greater power and command greater respect as public figures, plus the earnings to match. Playing for the Harlem Globetrotters in the 1930s was worth as little as $7.50 a game - $144 (£111) today - according to basketball historian Doug Merlino, but it was often a choice between that or a life of menial labour.
The current top five NBA players, all of whom are black, will make a collective $192m (£147m) on salaries alone over 2019-20.
James Harden was criticised for wearing this mask with an emblem supporting 'Blue Lives Matter'
There are those - fans, commentators and players themselves - who will see the limits of sports activism, or reject it altogether.
"Shut up and dribble" was the response from Laura Ingraham, a right-wing news anchor, when in 2018 LeBron James gave an ESPN interview criticising President Trump's attitudes on race.
That Ingraham did not have similar advice more recently for Drew Brees, a white American football player, to keep out of politics have, in many people's view, external-link lent her previous comments a racial tinge. (Brees had made remarks rejecting the take the knee protest in his sport.)
But the sentiment is not unique to conservative news figures. On plenty of forums and comments below sports talk shows, are complaints from fans decrying the forays of their favourite court stars into politics.
Others see a heavy dose of hypocrisy in how players, former players and the league handle divisive political issues.
Jackson, for example, was engulfed in controversy after making anti-Semitic comments on social media.
He said his comments were taken out of context, but the episode extinguished a measure of sympathy for his racial activism among many. For some others, it nullified all goodwill entirely.
In a column for the Hollywood Reporter, external-link Jabbar said Jackson's comments "undid whatever progress his previous advocacy may have achieved" by himself committing "the kind of dehumanising characterisation of a people that causes the police abuses that killed his friend, George Floyd".
He wrote of "a very troubling omen for the future of the Black Lives Matter movement," adding: "So too is the shocking lack of massive indignation."
More recently, Houston Rockets star James Harden drew fury when he was photographed wearing a mask with an emblem supporting 'Blue Lives Matter', a counter-organisation to Black Lives Matter that backs police.
Harden said he was not trying to make a statement - he just thought that the design 'looked cool' and covered his beard.
Detractors will say it proves sportsmen may not be the best agents of political messaging, and that it distracts from the experience fans are paying for with their time and money - a reprieve from politics.
And if politics should be allowed to enter in, where should the line be drawn? Another row was stirred up after Josh Hawley, the Republican Missouri Senator, wrote to Silver to complain the NBA is allowing Black Lives Matter-themed slogans, but not those supporting US troops, or backing free speech in Hong Kong.
The senator accused the NBA of "excusing and apologising for the brutal repression of the Chinese Communist regime".
"Free expression appears to stop at the edge of your corporate sponsors' sensibilities," he chided.
But even if thorny questions remain, there is no doubt that the zeitgeist in America has shifted more broadly.
Poll after poll in 2020 shows that, unlike in the past, Americans are largely accepting the idea that racism exists and plays a part in the many social ills black people face in the country.
The "myth" that America's problems with race are largely overcome is being challenged, whether in basketball or in the greater society, believes Popovich, the 71-year-old Spurs coach.
"You can't go on and enjoy your life if you don't understand what has happened to so many," he says.
As for the league's race campaign, he is realistic about the prospect of influence.
"Fans are like any other group of people - some will get it, some will understand, some will just enjoy the games and move on," he says.
"Others will hopefully get involved in being part of the solution of being anti-racist, but that's a pretty individual thing."
After all, sport - as much a cultural product of the times as any entertainment - can only reflect the realities of its era. In 2020, the reality is that to be black is in itself to be political, and that position is not a choice, whether you are a basketball star or a bouncer.
The slogan stencilled beside the NBA logo is a reminder. The lives of so many of the men dribbling, jumping, performing feats of athleticism are black ones - and they matter not just on the court.


bbc--2020-07-30--Herman Cain, US ex-presidential candidate, dies after contracting Covid

Herman Cain , the Republican pizza chain CEO who ran for president in 2012 , has died after contracting Covid-19 .
Mr Cain , 74 , was hospitalised after being diagnosed with the disease earlier this month .
`` Herman Cain - our boss , our friend , like a father to so many of us - has passed away , '' a message posted on his official website said .
He was a supporter of President Trump and is one of the most high-profile Americans to die with the virus .
His social media accounts had been providing regular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ July , a post from his Twitter account said `` doctors are trying to make sure his oxygen levels are right '' .
`` This is a tough virus , '' it said .
`` Please continue praying . ''
Born in Tennessee to a janitor and a cleaner , Mr Cain went on to study for a degree in maths and a master 's in computing .
He worked variously as a Baptist minister , a radio talk show host and as a businessman .
Mr Cain was an advocate of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after a stint as CEO of Godfather 's Pizza .
During his run , he told reporters he would not stand for any `` gotcha questions '' .
`` And when they ask me who is the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan , I 'm going to say you know , I do n't know .
Do you know ? ''
He initially proved popular , but later found himself at the centre of a number of sexual harassment allegations .
Although he denied the accusations against him , his popularity soon suffered and he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ became the Republican candidate in an unsuccessful race against President Barack Obama 's bid for a second term in office .
In 2019 , Mr Trump sounded him out to sit on the Federal Reserve Board , but he withdrew his nomination after several Republican senators refused to back his appointment .
However , Mr Cain continued to back Mr Trump and appeared at a rally held by the president in Tulsa , Oklahoma , on 20 June .
He was admitted to hospital after contacting coronavirus on 1 July .
Mitt Romney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr Cain .
`` Saddened that Herman Cain - a formidable champion of business , politics and policy - has lost his battle with Covid , '' he wrote on Twitter .
`` Most people heard of Herman for the first time when he ran for president in 2011 .
What they did n't know was his business background , '' he wrote on Mr Cain 's official website .
`` They did n't know how he had started his career as a civilian employee of the Navy .
It was funny to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as kind of a goof - having no idea that during his time working for the Navy , he was literally a rocket scientist . ''
Mr Cain had enjoyed good health in recent years , Mr Calabrese wrote , but added that a previous diagnosis with cancer meant `` he was still in a high-risk group '' in the current pandemic .

"They didn't know how he had started his career as a civilian employee of the Navy. It was funny to us because sometimes political pundits portrayed him as kind of a goof - having no idea that during his time working for the Navy, he was literally a rocket scientist."


bbc--2020-07-30--Amazon, Facebook and Apple thriving in lockdown

The coronavirus crisis might be causing widespread economic upheaval around the world , but the world 's biggest tech firms are thriving .
Amazon sales soared 40 % in the three months ending June , while Apple saw a surge in purchases of its iPhones and other hardware .
At Facebook , the number of people on its platforms , which include WhatsApp and Instagram , jumped by 15 % .
The gains come as the firms face scrutiny over their size and power .
At a hearing in Washington on Wednesday , lawmakers grilled the companies about whether they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , noting the sharp contrast between their fortunes and many other firms .
Their positions are likely to become even stronger , as the pandemic pushes even more activity online , said Congressman David Cicilline , the Democrat who leads the committee .
`` Prior to the coronavirus pandemic , these corporations already stood out as titans in our economy , '' he said .
`` In the wake of COVID-19 , however , they are likely to emerge stronger and more powerful than ever before . ''
The gains were n't a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well many of the firms did , was .
At Amazon , the quarterly profit of $ 5.2bn ( £4bn ) was the biggest since the company 's start in 1994 and came despite heavy spending on protective gear and other measures due to the virus .
`` This is an exceptional quarter on all fronts under extreme circumstances , '' Moody 's vice president Charlie O'Shea said of Amazon 's blockbuster rise .
What were the results ?
The e-commerce firm 's sales surged 40 % for the three months ending 30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ - its strongest year-on-year growth in years .
Profits rose to $ 5.2bn from 2.6bn for the same period in 2019 .
The flood of online shopping has strained the firm 's capacity .
Amazon hired about 175,000 people in the quarter and is working to expand its warehouse space in anticipation of continued growth .
`` We 've run out of space , '' chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky said on a call with analysts about the results .
Meanwhile , Apple said quarterly revenues jumped 11 % year-on-year to $ 59.7bn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school helped drive demand for new devices , such as Macs and iPads , both of which saw double-digit gains .
Profits hit $ 11.25bn , up from $ 10bn in the same period a year ago .
Apple said the release of the low-cost iPhone SE in April had helped to boost sales and put the electronics giant in a better position , despite the financial impacts of the coronavirus crisis .
`` The last few months have underlined the importance of users - and households alike - to own better quality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Paolo Pescatore , tech analyst at PP Foresight .
`` Apple smashed it . ''
At Facebook , revenues rose 11 % - slower than other quarters - but were still ahead of analysts ' expectations , as advertising held up better than expected .
The firm 's profits hit almost $ 5.2bn for the quarter .
• Amazon v EU : Has the online giant met its match ?
The resilience was helped by a spike in users , which makes the firm attractive to advertisers , said Sophie Lund-Yates , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ firm said 2.4 billion people were active on its social media platforms and messaging apps on average in June , up 15 % from last year .
That included nearly 1.79 billion daily active users on Facebook , up 12 % year-on-year .
As lockdowns have eased , Facebook said it was `` seeing signs of normalisation in user growth and engagement '' , warning those figures could flatten or decline in the months to come .
Ms Lund-Yates said the firm also remains vulnerable to social and political pressure , which could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` But this is n't the first time Facebook 's navigated regulatory or social speed bumps , and it has deep pockets to throw at fixing problems , '' she said .
Alphabet , which owns Google and YouTube , was the weakest of the four .
The search giant said revenues were $ 38.3bn , down 2 % from a year ago , as businesses cut back on ad spending .
It was the first year-on-year decline in quarterly revenue for the search giant , since Google became a publicly-listed company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % year-on-year to roughly $ 7bn .
But even those falls failed to faze analysts , who had expected damage .
`` We expected April to be the bottom of the digital ad market , with a return to growth in May and June , and these results suggest that acceleration was stronger than expected , '' eMarketer principal analyst Nicole Perrin said .

At Amazon, the quarterly profit of $5.2bn (£4bn) was the biggest since the company's start in 1994 and came despite heavy spending on protective gear and other measures due to the virus.


bbc--2020-07-30--Hackers post fake stories on real news sites 'to discredit Nato'

Hackers have broken into real news websites and posted fake stories stirring up anti-Nato sentiment , a cyber-security firm has warned .
The disinformation campaign , nicknamed `` ghostwriter '' , has been ongoing since 2017 , according to FireEye researchers .
It is designed to `` chip away '' at support for Nato in Lithuania , Latvia , and Poland , they said .
While the false stories are `` aligned with Russian security interests '' , it is not known who is behind the attack .
The disinformation campaign uses `` falsified news articles , quotes , correspondence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coming from military officials and political figures in the target countries , '' FireEye said .
In some cases , false news stories were posted on real news websites without permission .
News websites typically use a content management system ( CMS ) to handle the large number of articles published .
The attackers apparently gained access to the CMS of the target website and replaced old articles with their own content , or posted entirely new false articles .
They would try to spread the fake stories on social media before they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from last year , a Lithuanian news site published a fake article claiming that German soldiers had desecrated a Jewish cemetery .
In another , a fake message was posted to the Polish War Studies Academy website , claiming to be from the organisation 's commander .
It called for troops to fight against `` the American occupation '' .
Those attacks were complemented by other methods - such as opinion pieces and blog posts written by non-existent `` journalists '' , and fake emails designed to look like they had come from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Some of the attacks had previously been reported by national authorities .
But FireEye 's report collected the various individual attacks into what it said was a `` broader influence campaign '' .
There have been rising tensions between Russia and several Nato members in recent years .
Poland has sought to have the United States forge a permanent military base in the country , while Russia says the arrival of US troops on rotation there in recent years is a threat to its security .
Lithuania , once a part of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is concerned about a potential threat from Russia , and announced plans to build a fence around the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad .
Latvia has a large and vocal ethnic Russian population .
A pro-Russia party won the most votes in the 2018 election , though it did not enter government .
Latvia , Lithuania and Poland are all members of Nato , which was founded after World War Two to balance the threat of communist expansion from the Soviet Union into Europe .

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bbc--2020-07-30--Trudeau denies 'preferential treatment' in ethics scandal

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has denied playing any role in picking a charity with ties to his family to manage a major government programme .
Testifying to the House of Commons , he rejected any involvement by him or his staff in the programme that has caused a huge political controversy in Canada .
Mr Trudeau is under scrutiny for failing to recuse himself from decisions around the programme .
He is being investigated by a federal ethics watchdog for failing to do so .
On Thursday , Mr Trudeau told the finance committee in Ottawa that the decision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ volunteerism programme was made independently by the federal public service .
He says he only learned that the charity had been recommended by the public service for the programme in early May .
WE Charity had previously paid the prime minister 's mother and brother to speak at events between 2017-18 and Mr Trudeau and his wife were involved with the organisation .
The prime minister says he knew that there would be scrutiny over the agreement because of those ties , so he asked bureaucrats to `` do their due diligence '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have them manage the programme .
He said they came back two weeks later and told him that WE Charity was the only organisation that could administer the programme .
• A simple guide to the new crisis engulfing Trudeau '' WE Charity received no preferential treatment not from me , not from anyone else , '' he told parliamentarians .
Opposition MPs on Thursday accused Mr Trudeau of throwing the public service `` under the bus '' .
The case centres around the decision to have WE Charity administer Canada 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ programme , which had an initial budget of C $ 912m ( $ 680m , £534m ) , was meant to give students grants for volunteer roles to help make up for the lack of summer jobs due to the pandemic .
WE Charity had previously paid the prime minister 's mother and brother a total of over C $ 280,000 to speak at events between 2017-18 .
Mr Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau have both regularly appeared in the charity 's events .
Trudeau family members were also reimbursed for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We Charity withdrew from the contract over the controversy on 2 July .
Mr Trudeau has apologised for not recusing himself from related discussions .
Federal finance minister Bill Morneau 's family also has ties to WE Charity .
What is WE Charity ?
WE Charity was founded 25 years ago by brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger in their parents ' home in Thornhill , Ontario , when Craig was just 12 years old .
Formerly known as Free the Children , the charity focused on ending child exploitation and quickly drew international @ @ @ @ @ @ @ motivational speaking conferences have become rites of passage for many young Canadians , who are drawn to its message that they can change the world .
The roster of celebrity speakers and performers has also appealed to many participants .
It is now a wide-ranging organisation with operations in the UK , Canada and the US .
Its founders told parliamentarians on 28 July they did not receive the contribution agreement due to any political connections and did not gain financially .
How will this affect Trudeau ?
This is the third ethics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in office .
In 2017 , a government ethics watchdog ruled that the prime minister violated conflict of interest rules when he and his family vacationed with billionaire spiritual leader Aga Khan .
The billionaire 's foundation is a registered lobbyist and has received hundreds of millions from the federal government over the past several decades , from both the Liberal and Conservative parties .
Last August , the federal ethics tsar found that Mr Trudeau broke federal conflict of interest rules by trying to influence a former minister in the SNC-Lavalin corruption @ @ @ @ @ @ @ latest controversy , Mr Trudeau 's Liberal Party has taken a hit in the polls , though his government had been doing well over its pandemic response before .
An Abacus Data poll on Thursday showed Liberals dropping to a four-point lead over Conservatives .
A poll by Nanos Research found Mr Trudeau was the preferred prime minister for 34 % of Canadians , down from 40 % last month .
The Angus Reid Institute found his approval ratings had fallen 11 points since May - and that the losses came primarily from @ @ @

The prime minister says he knew that there would be scrutiny over the agreement because of those ties, so he asked bureaucrats to "do their due diligence" when he first learned of the plan to have them manage the programme.