All posts tagged: edges

Six Nations: England edges Wales 16-14

Six Nations: England edges Wales 16-14

England’s George Ford kicks a penalty during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Wales at Twickenham stadium in London, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. ALASTAIR GRANT / AP England overturned a nine-point half-time deficit as they beat Wales 16-14 at Twickenham on Saturday, February 10, to make it two wins out of two this Six Nations. The hosts, down to 13 men early on after two yellow cards, had been at the break following a Wales penalty try and a try for Alex Mann either side of a score by England No 8 Ben Earl. But a George Ford penalty and a try from centre Fraser Dingwall left England just a point adrift at 13-14. Ford then landed another penalty to make it 16-14 with eight minutes left as England led for the first time in the match. Committed defence allowed England to close out the game, with Wales left to rue some missed chances as they suffered an eighth successive defeat at Twickenham hot on the heels of their agonising 27-26 opening …

French farmers block roads, dump produce as protest edges closer to Paris

French farmers block roads, dump produce as protest edges closer to Paris

A farmer pulls waste to block the RN 19 near in Vesoul, eastern France, on January 25, 2024.  Sebastien Bozon | Afp | Getty Images French farmers blocked highways and dumped crates of imported produce on Thursday, demanding urgent action on low farmgate prices, green regulation and free-trade policies as swelling protests moved closer to Paris. Farmers said the protests, now in their second week after breaking out in the southwest, would continue as long as their demands are not met, posing the first big challenge for new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. “All possibilities are still on the table,” Arnaud Gaillot, the head of the Young Farmers (Jeunes Agriculteurs) union told journalists when asked about reports farmers could start to disrupt traffic in Paris as soon as Friday. French intelligence services have warned the government that regional farming unions have called on their members to converge on the capital, Le Parisien newspaper and BFM TV said. As Attal convened senior ministers with the aim of announcing concrete proposals on Friday, farmers used bales of hay …

Poland edges closer to unblocking frozen EU funds – POLITICO

Poland edges closer to unblocking frozen EU funds – POLITICO

BRUSSELS / WARSAW ― Poland is confident it can unblock over €100 billion of frozen EU funds. The question is, will Brussels play ball?   The new pro-EU government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk has vowed to restore democratic standards and win EU funds suspended by Brussels over concerns of backsliding under the previous Euroskeptic government led by Law and Justice (PiS). EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders praised the new government’s efforts to reestablish judicial independence during a trip to Warsaw on Friday. “This is a change that is warmly welcomed,” he said during a press conference with the Polish Justice Minister Adam Bodnar, signaling a thaw in relations between Brussels and Warsaw.  But Polish President Andrzej Duda — who hails from PiS and has made a habit of picking fights with Tusk — is standing in the way of the release of the frozen funds. There is a chance Duda won’t agree to reforms designed to restore the rule of law — and Tusk’s ruling coalition doesn’t have the votes in parliament to override …

Microsoft edges out Apple as world’s most valuable company

Microsoft edges out Apple as world’s most valuable company

Microsoft’s stock market value ended a trading session higher than Apple’s for the first time since 2021 on Friday, making it the world’s most valuable company as worries about demand hit the iPhone maker’s shares. Apple crept up 0.2 per cent on Friday, while Microsoft added 1 per cent. With that, Microsoft’s market capitalization stood at $2.887 trillion, its highest ever, according to LSEG data. Apple’s market capitalization was $2.875 trillion, calculated with data in a filing on Thursday. Worries about smartphone demand have pushed Apple’s shares down 3 per cent so far in 2024 after rallying 48 per cent last year. Microsoft is up about 3 per cent year to date after surging 57 per cent in 2023 in a rally driven in part by its lead in generative artificial intelligence through an investment in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. Apple’s market capitalization peaked at $3.081 trillion on Dec. 14, according to LSEG. Microsoft has incorporated OpenAI’s technology across its suite of productivity software, a move that helped spark a rebound in its cloud-computing business in the …

Scots warned not to buy XL bully dogs as ban announcement in Scotland edges closer | UK News

Scots warned not to buy XL bully dogs as ban announcement in Scotland edges closer | UK News

Scots are being warned not to buy XL bully dogs as a ban north of the border edges closer to being announced. New regulations have come into force in England and Wales following a spate of attacks in which people have died or been injured by the breed. It will be illegal to own this type of dog south of the border from 1 February without an exemption certificate. At Holyrood on Tuesday, community safety minister Siobhian Brown told MSPs the government was “urgently reviewing” the policy following reports of widespread rehoming of the dogs from England to Scotland. “It would be preferable not to acquire any such dog at the present time in Scotland,” she warned. Ms Brown said officials are considering evidence on the situation, and she had met many different groups including the Scottish SPCA and the Dog’s Trust. She said no breed had been banned for 30 years and it was important to listen to expert views. Ms Brown said: “The unintended consequences of the UK government’s policy is that we’re …

Dollar edges higher as risk rally hits pause

Dollar edges higher as risk rally hits pause

SINGAPORE : The dollar rose broadly on Wednesday and stood near a two-week high against its major peers, underpinned by a confluence of factors including elevated U.S. Treasury yields and a cautious turn in risk sentiment that weighed on Wall Street. Trading was thinned in Asia with Japan out on a holiday, and with investors still returning from an extended New Year break, currencies traded mostly sideways in early deals. However, the New Zealand dollar, often used as a proxy for risk appetite, slid to a two-week low of $0.62485. The Australian dollar likewise hit a two-week trough of $0.6756. The U.S. currency was broadly firm, enjoying some respite after having fallen 2 per cent last month and clocking its first yearly loss since 2020. A surge in risk appetite at the end of last year – sparked by a dovish tilt in the Federal Reserve’s December policy meeting which further fuelled bets for U.S. rate cuts in 2024, had toppled the greenback and sparked a rally in Treasuries and stocks. That, however, failed to …

Kyogo Furuhashi edges vital Celtic win after 10-man Rangers refuse to lie down | Scottish Premiership

Kyogo Furuhashi edges vital Celtic win after 10-man Rangers refuse to lie down | Scottish Premiership

The latest momentum shift in this Scottish Premiership season comes at an opportune time for Brendan Rodgers. Rangers arrived at Celtic Park trailing their oldest foes by five points but holding two games in hand. They left disconsolate; Philippe Clement finally sampling defeat in his 17th match in charge. The further bad news for Clement is Celtic are likely to strengthen considerably in January. Celtic were not altogether convincing here and were given a fright by James Tavernier’s late free-kick. In this fixture, though, result is everything. Celtic simply had to find a way to halt a Rangers surge. During an opening half in which Rangers performed pretty well, Paulo Bernardo eased Celtic nerves. The visitors failed to clear a Luis Palma corner, with Bernardo meeting the loose ball before lashing home. Rangers were later to feel aggrieved over the non award of a penalty for a handball by Alistair Johnston but television pictures appeared to show an offside in the lead up to the incident. Leon Balogun of Rangers is shown a red card …

Crambo edges Paisley Park at Ascot to win Long Walk Hurdle | Horse racing

Over the past 14 years, Fergal O’Brien has loaded 48 horses into a box for the short trip from his Gloucestershire yard to Cheltenham’s Festival meeting. Every time he has returned home empty-handed. Hope, though, springs eternal for one of the most engaging and popular trainers in the game and in Crambo, the narrow winner of the Grade One Long Walk Hurdle here on Saturday, he may yet prove to have found the horse to break his Festival duck. Dysart Enos, a winner for the yard at Cheltenham this month, is the ante-post favourite for the Mares’ Novice Hurdle on the third afternoon in March, but Crambo is now a live contender for the Stayers’ Hurdle earlier the same day after edging out the veteran Paisley Park by a short head. Victory for Paisley Park would have put the 11-year-old alongside the great Baracouda as a four-time winner of the Long Walk, so Crambo’s narrow success was possibly not the result most neutrals were rooting for as he battled for the line against a rival …

West Indies clinch T20 series after Shai Hope edges hosts past England total | Cricket

West Indies clinch T20 series after Shai Hope edges hosts past England total | Cricket

What a difference two days make. Somehow Tuesday’s ludicrous, record-smashing, high-scoring entertainment was followed by a sequel that delivered, eventually, thrilling low-scoring entertainment; and a result that was as much as a contrast as the style in which it was achieved. It was won, with four balls to spare and in the most inappropriate of ways, with a massive six from Shai Hope. So a series marked by stunning power hitting, roaring run rates and an unexpected midway transformation in England’s performances and prospects concluded as a 3-2 triumph for West Indies, who extended their winning run at home against England to four series in three formats over nearly five years. England assembled exactly the same players in exactly the same place and exactly the same situation – losing the toss, put in to bat – but this was an entirely different performance. A wicket once so true turned untrustworthy and they struggled to a score of 132, less than half the 267 to which they had joyously motored just 48 hours previously. And though …