Bar Crobar

French Open: Djokovic in the race for the GOAT

By winning the French Open for the third time on Sunday, Novak Djokovic became the only person to hold the record of 23 Grand Slam titles. Although he will probably never be as adored as Roger Federer or as admired as Nadal, the numbers make him the likely GOAT (greatest player of all time).

23: the record number of Grand Slam titles

In detail, he has won the Australian Open ten times (record), Wimbledon seven times (Federer has the record with 8 titles), the US Open three times (Federer, Sampras and Connors have the record with 5) and the French Open 3 times (Nadal holds the appalling record of 14 titles). But in 2022, his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid prevented him from playing in Melbourne and New York.

Djokovic thus equalled Serena Williams and now only Margaret Court is ahead with the absolute record (24) for men and women combined.

The 2019 and 2020 editions of the US Open, for which he was favourite, had already eluded him because of a withdrawal and then a disqualification. In 2021, overwhelmed by the challenge of winning the Grand Slam, he was beaten in the final at Flushing Meadows by Daniil Medvedev.

Since Djokovic won his first major in 2008 (Australia), Nadal has won 19 and Federer 8.

He is the only player in history to have won each of the four Grand Slam tournaments at least three times. Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and Rafael Nadal have each won at least twice, while Roger Federer has only won the French Open once. On the women's side, Margaret Court, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams have also won each Major at least three times.

He is also one of only three players in history to have won the Grand Slam in both years (2015-2016), along with Donald Budge and Rod Laver.

And with four Wimbledon titles in a row, he has equalled Pete Sampras' record, but remains one behind Björn Borg and Roger Federer (5). The same is true in terms of consecutive matches won on the London turf: Djokovic has reached the 28-match mark, but Sampras (31), Federer (40) and Borg (41) are ahead.

. 388 (record): the number of weeks spent as world No.1. Ranked third in the world at Roland Garros, he begins his 388th week at the top of the rankings on Monday.

. 34 (record): the number of Grand Slam finals played, ahead of Federer (31) and Nadal (30). Like Chris Evert in the women's game, but better than Serena Williams (33).

. 10 (record): the number of finals played - and all won - at the Australian Open. He also has 8 at Wimbledon, where only Federer has done better (12). Nadal has played 14 finals at Roland Garros and won them all.

. 89 (record): the number of matches won at the Australian Open. He also has 86 at Wimbledon, where the record is held by Federer (105). Nadal holds the record for most victories in a single Major with 112 at Roland Garros, where he is second with 92.

. 348: The number of Grand Slam matches won. Federer is ahead (369).

. 94: the number of tournaments won on the main circuit. 103 for Federer, 92 for Nadal, but the record is held by Jimmy Connors (109).

. 1058: the number of matches won on the circuit, still far behind Connors' record (1274). Three other players have surpassed the 1,000-win mark: Federer (1,251), Lendl (1,068) and Nadal (1,068).

. 7 (record): the number of years he has been world No.1, one better than his idol Pete Sampras. Federer and Rafael have 5.

. 27-23 and 30-29: The win-loss record against Federer and Nadal.

Djokovic has a positive win-loss record against his two main opponents Federer (27 wins to 23 losses) and Nadal (30 to 29).

. 38 (record): the number of Masters 1000 titles

Djokovic is also the only player to have won all nine tournaments in this category, just below the Majors, and on more than one occasion.

. 6 (record): the number of Masters at the end of the year.

He equalled Federer's record last November in Turin in this closing tournament, which each year brings together the eight best players of the season.

. 36 years and 20 days: he becomes the oldest player to win the French Open, ahead of Nadal who was 36 years and 2 days old last year. The oldest Grand Slam winner is Ken Rosewall, who was 37 years and two months old at the 1972 Australian Open.

Text by TV5 Monde AFP

23 MARCH STRIKE IN PARIS: THE FRIGHT OF THE RESIDENTS OF A BUILDING HIT BY A RUBBISH BIN FIRE

Some people set fire to rubbish that had accumulated in the streets. The flames quickly spread to the front of a building.

The situation degenerated in a matter of minutes. On Thursday, during a demonstration against pension reform, some people deliberately set fire to some rubbish littering the rue Saint-Marc, in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. The fire quickly spread to the front of the neighbouring building.

"We went to the window and saw that people were starting to burn rubbish bins," a local resident told BFMTV. "And it started to catch fire everywhere.

140 fires in Paris

The flames hit the wooden storefront on the ground floor of the building and quickly spread. "Suddenly, the flames exploded and lots of people gathered around", recalls a resident of a neighbouring building. "I thought I was going to go out and put the fire out, but the flames got so big so quickly that I couldn't."

In the street with their simple fire extinguishers, the mobile firefighters were unable to bring the flames under control themselves. People in the street then tried to remove the rubbish to prevent the fire from growing.

"We saw that the building was on fire, and we started clearing away the debris", reported an off-duty policewoman on the street. "We're trying to clear it away, we were only thinking of one thing: people. Get the people out."

Some of the building's residents left, fearing that the flames would spread to the entire building.

When the CRS arrived on the scene, they secured the street to allow a fire truck to arrive. It took the fire brigade around twenty minutes to bring the fire under control. The door to the ground floor flat had to be forced open to make sure no-one was inside.

A total of 140 fires were reported to have started in Paris on Thursday, during demonstrations against pension reform.

Text by BFMTV Damien Gourlet, Pierre Barbin with Laurène Rocheteau

One year after the slap in the face at the Oscars, Chris Rock's scathing response to Will Smith

The comedian, who was punched live by the actor in the middle of the Oscars ceremony after making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, returned to the episode with some anger in a show broadcast on Netflix

A year after being slapped by Will Smith in front of a worldwide audience, American comedian Chris Rock hit back on Saturday, unleashing his punches in a stand-up routine broadcast on the Netflix platform.

In March 2022, the American actor took to the stage at the Oscars and hit out at the comedian who had just mocked the very short haircut of his wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia. A few minutes later, Will Smith received the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in King Richard. He later apologised to Chris Rock, but was banned from the Oscars for a decade.

The comedian refused to press charges and has remained virtually silent about the incident ever since. But on stage in Baltimore on Saturday, he came out swinging, accusing the Hollywood star of "selective indignation", and claiming that he had attacked a man shorter than himself because he was upset that his wife had cheated on him.

"Will Smith practices selective outrage," Chris Rock said during the show, which was broadcast live on Netflix. The comedian added that Will Smith was widely mocked after an episode of his wife's podcast in which the couple talked about her affair and how it affected him.

"It still hurts

"Why would you do that?" asked Chris Rock. "Everyone called her a slut. They called his wife a predator. Everybody called him a slut," he said, noting that he tried to offer his support after news of the affair became public.

"People (ask me), 'Does it hurt? It still hurts," he said, referring to the slap he received. "Will Smith is definitely bigger than me. Will Smith played Mohamed Ali in a film. Do you think I auditioned for that?" he quipped.

The comedian, who seemed angry at times during his performance, said that before the slap he had always liked Will Smith, first as a rapper and then as an actor. "He'd made some great films. I've supported Will Smith all my life." But now he says he sides with the slave master who beats up Will Smith's character in his latest film, Emancipation.

Text by Le Temps with AFP

"Mummy, I won an Oscar": Ke Huy Quan's incredible revenge

Awarded Best Supporting Actor for "Everything Everywhere All At Once", Ke Huy Quan, the child star of "Indiana Jones", had hardly made a film in 36 years.

Some revenges are more savoury than others. That of actor Ke Huy Quan, Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actor - it was his first nomination - at the age of 51, surpasses all others at this incredible 95th ceremony. For there were many thwarted destinies in Hollywood who finally received recognition during the evening. Like Brendan Fraser, a former leading man who was blacklisted following health problems and a sexual assault, who won the Best Actor statuette for his performance as a hyper-obese man in "The Whale".

He too was nominated for the first time, as were two of the actresses in the feature film that won the evening's seven statuettes, including Best Film, "Everything Everywhere All At Once": Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis. The former, at the age of 60, walked away with the Oscar for Best Actress, after a long and magnificent career previously ignored by the Academy. At 64, the daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh won the Best Supporting Actress award, again thanks to this crazy film.

But the man who has followed the most tortuous path in life - both personally and professionally - is Ke Huy Quan. As he tearfully recalled on stage at the Oscars: "My journey began on a boat". Born in Saigon in 1971, the young Vietnamese fled his country in precarious conditions with his parents and other "boat people" when he was just 4 years old. Taking refuge in the United States with his family, he was spotted by Steven Spielberg in California, where he was attending school, when he was just 12. The filmmaker gave him the role, adored by the public, of Half Moon, opposite Harrison Ford in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", the huge success of 1984 that launched the now young actor.

"Mummy, I've won an Oscar!

The following year, he followed this up with another Spielberg production: "The Goonies". A few series followed... and that was about it. In the space of 36 years, Quan would only appear in five feature films, in minor roles, and three TV projects. Hollywood has forgotten him. But he wasn't about to give up film for all that. Armed with degrees in languages and cinema, he is also a specialist in taekwondo, a martial art to which he was introduced on the set of Indiana Jones. So, to earn a living, he became a behind-the-scenes actor, more precisely a stuntman and a stand-in, setting the highly choreographed scenes in action films thanks to his mastery of taekwondo on features such as "X-Men".

So he was almost surprised when the "Daniels", aka Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the directors of "Everything Everywhere All At Once", asked him to play Michelle Yeoh's husband in the film. But they, who are such film buffs and pop culture aficionados, hadn't forgotten Half Moon. And they know that his martial arts skills will serve him well in the film's many action sequences. Since then, he and his new film 'family' have been living a daydream. In the space of a few months in 2022, the feature film that audiences have dubbed "EEAAO" has become the phenomenon that everyone in America is talking about. This has brought the team of Hollywood veterans even closer together, and two young filmmakers have been able to call on them.

It's easy to understand the emotion that gripped each of them in turn on the Oscar stage. Ke Huy Quan in particular. The boat-people child, who shouted "Mummy, I've won an Oscar", saw "EEAAO" announced as the winner of Best Film by Harrison Ford, the one-night winner, and Steven Spielberg, the unfortunate contender, was in the audience to witness Half Moon's belated triumph... A story that would make a fantastic screenplay, and one that Spielberg may already be thinking about...

Text by Le Parisien Renaud Baronian

War declared as Benzema attacks Deschamps head-on

Following an interview with the coach about his withdrawal from the World Cup, the Madrid striker hit back, calling him a liar.
For the first time since the World Cup, Didier Deschamps opened up in a lengthy interview with Le Parisien. His extension at the helm of Les Bleus, the final against Argentina, the resignation of Noël Le Graët... The coach discusses a host of subjects.

Deschamps talks about Benzema's move to Qatar

These include the case of Karim Benzema, who travelled to Qatar with the French team before withdrawing just a few days before the start of the tournament.

Deschamps went back over his discussion with KB9 on the night of his withdrawal: "I'm losing a very important player, another one. I have to accept that. Karim is devastated because this World Cup meant so much to him. He says to me, 'It's dead'.

The striker will be leaving the Les Bleus hotel as soon as possible. "When I left him, I said to him: Karim, there's no hurry. You organise your return with the team manager. When I woke up, I learned that he had left. It's his decision, he won't tell you otherwise, and I understand and respect it.

The coach also defended himself against any potential unease surrounding the situation of the Ballon d'Or winner, Les Bleus' top scorer at the Euros: "
Not at all. No player rejoiced at his departure as I may have heard or read. Karim knows it too.

The two men recently spoke about the future, but Benzema will not be returning to wear the colours of the Rooster. He's confirmed to me that he's decided to end his international career," continues DD. Don't ask me for his arguments. It's up to him whether or not he communicates them.

"Liar!" Benzema's riposte

These statements were quick to provoke a reaction from the man himself, who had already implied that the official version of events was not entirely accurate.

His response was posted in a two-part Instagram story, firstly highlighting DD's "audacity".

Before an even more explicit video message: "Liar! Yes, you, liar. You're a liar. You're a big liar."

A video message accompanied by the following caption: Sacré Didier, good night".

Text by Goal.com Robert Oleksiak

Earthquake in Turkey and Syria: several children rescued on Friday, keeping hopes alive

Several earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria early on Monday 6 February.
Estimates, still provisional, put the death toll at more than 24,000.
Nevertheless, 120 hours after the tragedy, the search is intensifying, and living children were pulled from the rubble on Friday.

Several children were pulled alive from the rubble on Friday 10 February in Turkey and Syria, five days after the earthquake that killed more than 24,000 people. On the same day, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called for "an immediate ceasefire in Syria to help support the disaster-stricken population.

Several rescues on Friday

On both sides of the border, thousands of homes were destroyed and rescue workers are stepping up their efforts to find survivorsEven though the crucial 72-hour window for finding survivors has closed. However, on Friday, a six-year-old boy, Moussa Hmeidi, was pulled alive from the rubble, to cheers, in the north-western Syrian town of Jandairis, according to an AFP journalist. He was in a state of shock and had facial injuries.

In the south of Turkey, in Antakya, "at the 105th hour After the earthquake, rescuers pulled an 18-month-old infant, Yusuf Huseyin, from the rubble of a building, and then, twenty minutes later, his brother Muhammed Huseyin, according to the NTV television channel. Two hours earlier, Zeynep Ela Parlak, a three-year-old girl, had already been rescued in this city devastated by the earthquake.

In the Gaziantep region (south-east), Spanish soldiers also rescued a mother and her two children from the rubble on Friday afternoon. In Nurdagi, in the same province, Zahide Kaya, six months pregnant, was pulled out alive after some 115 hours under a pile of ruins, according to the Anadolu agency. An hour earlier, her daughter Kubra, aged six, had also been rescued.

And while the search for survivors continues, according to the latest official figures, the 7.8-magnitude earthquake, followed by around a hundred tremors, killed at least 24,000 people.

Text TF1 info by Pierre Antoine VALADE

NBA: LeBron James, a record for the ages

Stratospheric: LeBron James has become the NBA's all-time leading scorer. With 38,390 points, the Lakers player has overtaken Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record.

LeBron James did it with 10:9 remaining in the 3rd quarter of the Lakers' 133-130 home loss to Oklahoma City. It was a successful turnaround shot that suddenly stopped time, the match and the breath of some 20,000 fans - including celebrities such as Jay-Z, LL Cool J, John McEnroe, Magic Johnson and wealthy people who paid up to 24,000 dollars for a seat - in a Crypto.com Arena in meltdown.

Still striving for excellence at the age of 38, 'King' James, the man with a host of other records and 4-time champion, achieved this long-term feat in his 20th season, scoring the required 36 points.

So it was time for a break to celebrate James' achievement, and he was overcome with tears as his family and friends came to share the emotional moment, immortalised by cameras and mobile phones.

He also thanked"Lakers faithful, one of a kind" . Not forgetting Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who came along to pass on the torch. " Being in the presence of such a legend means a lot to me. It's a great lesson in humility. Please give the captain a standing ovation!" .

A tough brand to beat

Last week, James agreed that he was aware that he was taking on ". one of the greatest records in sport in general, one of those that you think will never be beaten" . The facts prove him right, as the throne has only changed hands once since 1966, when Abdul-Jabbar overtook Wilt Chamberlain, now 7th on the all-time scoring list.

Text by RTS.ch agences/tai

American youtuber Mr.Beast helps 1,000 people regain their sight

Le créateur de contenu américain s’est servi de sa notoriété et de ses moyens colossaux pour réaliser une vidéo particulièrement émouvante.

Avec ses 130 millions d’abonnés, Mr.Beast ne cesse de mettre en place des concepts toujours plus impressionnants pour divertir sa communauté. Cette fois-ci, il s’est lancé le défi de permettre à 1000 personnes aveugles de retrouver la vue, en finançant les opérations nécessaires.

Des réactions extrêmement positives sur les réseaux

Les personnes prises en charge dans cette vidéo ont pu retrouver la vue grâce à une opération bien spécifique. Il s’agit de personnes dont le cristallin est devenu opaque, un handicap que le chirurgien soigne en aspirant la matière présente sur cette partie de l’œil et en le remplaçant par un cristallin artificiel.

En plus de cette opération déjà lourde financièrement, Mr.Beast a également offert à certains patients dans le besoin des grosses sommes d’argent pour financer leurs études ou venir en aide à leur famille. Il va même jusqu’à offrir une Tesla à un jeune participant à l’expérience.

La force de cette vidéo, c »est de voir un millier de personnes avec la vue corrigée, qui peuvent enfin voir le visage de leurs proches et entamer une vie plus simple. Pour certains, ce handicap était un énorme poids dans leur vie, qui les avait empêchés de poursuivre leur travail, ou de vivre pleinement.

Sortie il y a deux jours, la vidéo compte déjà 44 millions de vues et a suscité des réactions extrêmement positives sur les réseaux sociaux :

Avec un peu d’espoir, plus de créateurs de contenu avec autant d’impact prendront exemple et participeront à ce genre d’initiative.

Texte by radiofrance.fr

Noël Le Graët: investigation opened into psychological harassment

An investigation into psychological and sexual harassment was opened on Monday, following a report of "sexist contempt" targeting the president of the French Football Federation.

An investigation into psychological harassment and sexual harassment was opened on Monday, following a report of "sexist contempt" targeting the president of the French Football Federation, Noël Le Graët, the Paris public prosecutor's office said on Tuesday.

This alert was issued after Sonia Souid, an agent for several French internationals, gave evidence to auditors from the General Inspectorate for Education, Sport and Research (IGESR), according to the daily newspaper Le Monde.

Last week, Sonia Souid publicly denounced in the daily newspaper L'Equipe and on RMCThe French Football Federation (FFF) president, who has been president of the FFF since 2011, is considered to have behaved in a sexist manner. "He told me face-to-face, in his flat, very clearly, that if I wanted him to help me, I'd have to go to the pot," she said.

Referring to her past professional dealings with the head of French football, she explained that she had had the feeling that "every time, the only thing he was interested in - and I apologise for using vulgar language - was my two breasts and my arse". On 11 January, Noël Le Graët was "withdrawn" from the presidency of the federation by the executive committee.

"At this stage, I don't know what I'm accused of or who is behind it.

Noël Graët, Chairman of the FFF

When contacted on Saturday, the Ministry of Sport stated that the Minister, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, had been informed of the report, in accordance with procedure, and that she would not be commenting further on the subject.

"I have just been astonished to read an article in the World Le Graët reacted on Saturday in a statement sent to AFP after the report was revealed in the daily newspaper.

At this stage, I know neither the facts of which I am accused nor the people behind them," he said. More generally, I am surprised that information can be divulged even though the provisional report has not yet been sent to me and I have not been able to comment on it.

The investigation has been entrusted to the BRDP.

Texte by Le matin.ch/AFP

En Italie, l’extrême droite remporte une victoire historique

Fratelli d’Italia de Giorgia Meloni a remporté près d’un quart des voix lors des élections législatives ce dimanche. La coalition que le parti post-fasciste forme avec la Ligue de Matteo Salvini et Forza Italia de Silvio Berlusconi devrait obtenir la majorité absolue au Parlement.

La coalition que Fratelli d’Italia forme avec l’autre formation d’extrême droite, la Ligue de Matteo Salvini, et Forza Italia, le parti conservateur de Silvio Berlusconi, raflerait jusqu’à 47 % des suffrages. Avec le jeu complexe du système électoral, elle devrait s’assurer la majorité absolue des sièges aussi bien à la Chambre des Députés qu’au Sénat. Si ces résultats se confirmaient, FdI et la Ligue remporteraient ensemble « le pourcentage le plus élevé de votes jamais enregistré par des partis d’extrême droite dans l’histoire de l’Europe occidentale de 1945 à aujourd’hui », a relevé le Centre italien d’Etudes électorales (CISE).

Ce séisme intervient deux semaines après celui qui, en Suède, a vu la victoire d’un bloc conservateur comprenant les Démocrates de Suède (SD), parti issu de la mouvance néonazie qui a réalisé une forte percée, devenant la première formation de droite du pays nordique. SD et FdI font partie du même groupe au Parlement européen. Dans ce qui a été (mal) perçu à Rome comme un avertissement sans frais, la présidente de la Commission européenne Ursula von der Leyen a rappelé que l’Union européenne (UE) disposait « d’instruments » pour sanctionner les Etats membres portant atteinte à l’Etat de droit et à ses valeurs communes.

Embûches

Giorgia Meloni a prévenu Bruxelles qu’elle exigerait de revoir les termes de la relation de l’Italie avec l’UE : « La fête est finie, l’Italie va commencer à défendre ses intérêts nationaux », a-t-elle mis en garde. Elle réclame notamment une réforme du pacte de stabilité et la renégociation, pour tenir compte de l’inflation, de l’aide colossale de 190 milliards d’euros octroyée par ses partenaires européens à la troisième économie de la zone euro pour se relancer après la pandémie.

Les Européens s’alarment aussi des positions sur les questions de société de « la Meloni », comme on l’appelle en Italie, dont la devise est « Dieu, famille, patrie », et qui est proche du Premier ministre hongrois ultraconservateur Viktor Orban. Fratelli d’Italia doit son succès autant aux promesses non tenues de ses adversaires et au vent de « dégagisme » qui souffle sur la Péninsule qu’au charisme de sa dirigeante. Cette Romaine de 45 ans qui, jeune militante, disait admirer Mussolini, est parvenue à dédiaboliser son image et rassembler sur son nom les peurs et les colères de millions d’Italiens face à la flambée des prix, le chômage, les menaces de récession ou l’incurie des services publics.

Quel que soit le gouvernement italien issu des élections, qui ne prendra ses fonctions qu’au plus tôt fin octobre, son chemin apparaît d’ores déjà semé d’embûches et sans grande marge de manœuvre. Il devra notamment gérer la crise causée par l’inflation galopante, alors que l’Italie croule déjà sous une dette représentant 150 % du PIB, le ratio le plus élevé de la zone euro derrière la Grèce. Dans le dossier ukrainien, l’Europe et les alliés de l’Italie, membre de l’Otan, scruteront également la répartition des portefeuilles entre les trois partis. Car si Giorgia Meloni est atlantiste et soutient les sanctions frappant Moscou, Matteo Salvini s’y oppose.