Two a penny

.Australian-born German Heinrich Haussler has claimed his maiden stage win on the Tour de France as rainy conditions put a dampener on an anticipated battle for the yellow jersey.
Haussler was part of an early breakaway on the 200-kilometre 13th stage from Vittel to Colmar in the hilly Vosges region before he left his two remaining companions with two hills to climb.
After coming over the summit of the Col du Platzerwasel in the company of Sylvain Chavanel the Cervelo team rider went off on his own to quickly open up a gap on the Frenchman.
Spaniard Amets Txurruka of the Euskaltel team was second over the finish at just over four minutes behind.
The peloton with all the main favourites, and current yellow jersey wearer Rinaldo Nocentini, arrived 6 minutes and 43 seconds behind Haussler after he came over the finish line in triumph.
Nocentini, who has now spent a week in the race lead, still has a 6- and 8-second lead on Astana’s race favourites Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong.
Norwegian Thor Hushovd went for the line sprinting, his efforts giving him the few points necessary to take back possession of the sprinters’ green jersey from British rival Mark Cavendish.
With Saturday’s 14th stage set for a possible sprint finish, or a successful breakaway, the yellow jersey battle now seems set to resume on Sunday’s 207.
It is there that Astana may find out the cost of losing their American teammate Levi Leipheimer, an experienced helper in the mountains who pulled out with a fractured wrist on Friday.5km 15th stage from Pontarlier to Verbier in Switzerland. .
Haussler, known as the “Racing Kangaroo”, was born in Australia to a German father and Australian mother but went to Germany as a 15-year-old to pursue his dream of becoming a professional cyclist.
-

.Spain’s Luis Leon Sanchez has outsprinted his breakaway companions to win the 176.5 kilometre eighth stage of the Tour de France between Andorra and St Girons.
Sanchez, one of the most promising riders in the bunch, surged on the final stretch to beat Frenchman Sandy Casar, fellow Spaniard Mikel Astarloza and Russia’s Vladimir Efimkin.
The 25-year-old Sanchez, winner of Paris-Nice and six other races this season, was a stage winner on the Tour in Aurillac last year.
Despite numerous attacks in the two first category climbs of the day, which put his leader’s spot in jeopardy, Italian Rinaldo Nocentini retained the yellow jersey.
Sanchez became the flag bearer for the team after Alejandro Valverde decided against entering the Tour because he is banned from racing in Italy, with the race due to pass through Italian territory.
His latest victory came on the day when his team mate Oscar Pereiro, the 2006 Tour winner, called it quits. . I dedicate this victory to my team mates, to my father and my brother who is up there,” he said.
“I’m lucky to be in such a team. They took place but proved unfruitful.
Attacks against the Astana team of Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong – second and third in the overall standings respectively — were expected.
Australia’s Cadel Evans, the Tour runner-up for the past two seasons, tried his luck on the first climb of the day, the Port d’Envalira, culminating at 2,400 metres.
“Evans and Schleck tried to attack but it was too early in the stage,” Contador said.
The Australian, who lost three minutes in the first week of the Tour, finally gave up on the descent.
The Australian, who lost three minutes in the first week of the Tour, finally gave up on the descent.
The Luxembourg climber, crowned best young rider of last year’s Tour, struck twice but also failed to drop the favourites.
There was a second first category climb on the day’s menu, the Col d’Agnes, and it was Andy Schleck’s turn to challenge the Astana riders.
“I made a little mistake but it was hard with two Spaniards in the break working together and Efimkin, who did not do any work,” Casar said.
In the finale, Efimkin tried to break out on his own but Sanchez was the strongest and he overtook Casar near the line to grab the laurels.
The 160.
The Frenchman had reason to be bitter – it was the fifth time he had finished second in a Tour de France stage.
“I’m just concentrating on going through the Tourmalet,” Contador said.5km ninth stage to Tarbes is relatively short but features two classic climbs on the Tour, Aspin and Tourmalet.
-

.Norwegian Thor Hushovd has finally ended his frustrating wait for victory on this year’s Tour de France by winning a treacherous, rain-hit sixth stage from Gerona to Barcelona.
Saxo Bank’s Fabian Cancellara retained the race leader’s yellow jersey with a 0.22sec lead over American Lance Armstrong after the 181.
Despite attempts by Armstrong’s Astana team to distance their yellow jersey rivals further with accelerations of pace on the climbs, the biggest star of the day was Hushovd.5km stage ahead of the first day of climbing in the Pyrenees.
As the more agile sprinters climbed to their battle on the uphill finish line, Cavendish had to settle for 16th place. .
It was no suprise that Hushovd pumped his arms in the air, shouting defiantly moments after he had beat Spaniard Oscar Freire to victory..
“It’s been a really stressful week, with crashes and the rain and just the race itself . I’m just so happy,” said Hushovd, winning his first stage this year to take his career tally to seven..”
Australia’s Cadel Evans crossed the line ninth ahead of Cancellara in tenth.
“It’s always good to win on the Tour, but after everything that’s happened this has to be one of my best.
In a dramatic finale, Scotland’s David Millar saw his ambitious attack come to an agonising end just two kilometres from the finish line as the pace of the sprinters’ teams ruined his day at the front among a three-man breakaway.
In a dramatic finale, Scotland’s David Millar saw his ambitious attack come to an agonising end just two kilometres from the finish line as the pace of the sprinters’ teams ruined his day at the front among a three-man breakaway.
Cavendish retained the sprinters’ green jersey for the points competition by just one point over Hushovd.
Freire pulled slightly forward of the rest in the closing 150 metres but Hushovd drove more powerfully up the Spaniard’s right hand side to beat him by a bike length at the finish line.
On Friday’s first day in the mountains, Cancellara – who is not a realistic contender for the race’s main prize – is almost guaranteed to lose the lead, which could go to second-placed Armstrong.
But as the race heads into the mountains, it is the race for the yellow jersey that will take centre stage.
“There’s far better climbers here than were at the Tour of Switzerland,” said Cancellara, who won in Switzerland after managing to stay with most of the leaders on the race’s climbs, which are nevertheless easier than on the Tour.
But the Swiss, who also wore the yellow jersey for a week in 2006 and has since won a number of smaller stage races, said he might be ready to give it a try.
“If it’s over for me tomorrow it doesn’t matter.
“I want to defend it but I just don’t know how far I can go.
“But I’m ready to try and defend the jersey. It’s been a great week and I’ve been proud to wear the jersey.”
-

.Brazilian and French authorities are scaling back the search for bodies from Air France flight 447 which crashed in the mid-Atlantic ocean three weeks ago.
The Brazilian Air Force has withdrawn a sophisticated radar search plane from the operation, saying there is little more to be gained.
Fifty bodies have been recovered along with some debris from the plane itself, but there is little hope of recovering anything further.
Meanwhile, a French nuclear submarine is still searching for the two black boxes from the flight.
There are still some smaller Brazilian and French Navy vessels scouring the area, but little has been recovered in the past week.
The Air France Airbus A330 carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris came down in the Atlantic on June 1.
The batteries which power the underwater beacons which would allow the sub to locate the boxes are expected to expire within the week.

.
Under bright skies, leaders paid tribute to the US, British and Canadian veterans who fought against all odds to liberate Europe on the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings on Normandy.

It was unknowable then, but so much of the progress that would define the 20th century, on both sides of the Atlantic, came down to the battle for a slice of beach only six miles long and two miles wide, the US president said. The US president told his listeners that if the allies failed here, Hitler hold on Europe could have continued indefinitely.

The sheer improbability is part of what makes D-Day so memorable, said Obama speaking to fellow heads of state and veterans. The cemetery is located next to one of the D-Day landing sites, codenamed Omaha beach, where thousands of white tombstones mark the graves of the US war dead.

&raquo Obama&#039s D-Day landing and the missing Queen
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British PM Gordon Brown and Canadian PM Stephen Harper attended the anniversary event at the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. I want to pay homage, in the name of France, to your children who spilt their blood here and who are sleeping here, said Sarkozy, we will never forget them.

Speaking to 200 aging, white-haired veterans who had travelled to France, Sarkozy said his country would always remember the soldiers who were buried in the US military cemetery in Colleville.

In a sermon during the service, Reverend Patrick Irwin paid tribute to the chapter of bravery written by the fallen.

After praising Europe for its ability to reunify, Brown insisted that dreams of liberation still needed to be realised around the world, citing agony in Zimbabwe and detention in Burma.

Repairing ties

Residents in Normandy towns decked their streets in US and French flags in preparation for Obama’s visit. The least we can do is to work for a future they will never see, he said.

US President Barack Obama addresses fellow leaders and war veterans on June 6, 2009. Posters welcoming Obama read: Yes, we ca(e)n, a cross between Obama’s election campaign slogan and the city of Caen, which British and Canadian troops captured in 1944 after two months of bitter fighting.

The US president has been seeking to repair ties with France and other European states who were alienated by his predecessor George W.

Before the ceremony, Obama held talks with Nicolas Sarkozy in Caen, touching on subjects such as the Middle-East peace process, Turkey EU bid and Iran nuclear programme.

Obama’s presence at the D-Day ceremony has almost overshadowed the event, to the point that Sarkozy’s failure to invite Britain’s Queen Elizabeth &ndash who served with the armed forces during World War II &ndash prompted accusations that he was trying to make space for himself next to Obama. Bush’s go-it-alone diplomacy, the US-led invasion of Iraq and his policies on climate change.

Colonel Ernest J. .
Omaha beach

It is a tradition for American presidents to visit the landing beaches at Normandy where the June 6, 1944, invasion by British, US, Canadian and other Allied troops began a rollback of the Nazi war machine entrenched in Western Europe and helped end World War II the following year. Harold, former armements attach&eacute at the US embassy in Paris, speaks to them. Bush was there in 2002, and in 2004 for the 60th anniversary.

Ronald Reagan went to the D-Day beaches for the 40th anniversary in 1984, Bill Clinton was there in 1994 for the 50th and George W.

Obama’s great uncle Charles Payne, who was involved in the liberation of Buchenwald as a US soldier but did not visit the camp with Obama, was among the war veterans at the commemoration.

Obama’s great uncle Charles Payne, who was involved in the liberation of Buchenwald as a US soldier but did not visit the camp with Obama, was among the war veterans at the commemoration.

Barack Obama – D-Day commemorations – France

.The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) says its not aware of any speed monitor replacement program for A330 planes in Australia in the wake of the Air France accident.
Air France has announced it will expedite the replacement of speed monitors on its Airbus A330 planes after fears that a faulty reading may have been a factor in the crash of flight AF-447 six days ago.
French investigators say the plane ident.
Air France has announced it will expedite the replacement of speed monitors on its Airbus A330 planes after fears that a faulty reading may have been a factor in the crash of flight AF-447 six days ago.
French investigators say the plane sent out 24 automatic error messages in its final moments as its systems, including the autopilot, shut down. .

.
A spokesperson for CASA says new speed monitors for A330 planes in Australia would be a matter between the manufacturer and aircraft operators

.
AFP – Even by the standard of today’s celebrity-fuelled times Rudolf Nureyev was a phenomenon, a living legend, from his sensational 1961 defection to the West to his premature death from AIDS.

Sixteen years on, the National Centre for Stage Costume in central France has dedicated an exhibition to the myth, exploring his meteoric career as dancer and choreographer through photos, film and over 100 costumes.

For someone so famous, he was notoriously camera-shy.

He always said he hated pictures taken of him, but he did keep some for whatever reasons, explains Martine Kahane, who curated the exhibition. He refused to wear full costume even for a dress rehearsal, donning instead tights and leg warmers and his trademark woolly hats in an attempt to deter opportunistic photographers from taking a sly snap.

As well as informal moments caught in his dressing room or practising at the barre, they include rare pictures of the family he left behind in Russia and of Alexander Pushkin, his dance master at the Kirov ballet.

He had a pile of them in one of his apartments, which have been lent by the Rudolf Nureyev foundation, many of them never seen before in public.

They are presented in their original state, creased and dog-eared – We insisted on no touching up, says Kahane.

One of the most moving is a shot taken with a humble instamatic camera of Nurevey kissing the hand of Margot Fonteyn in their first performance together of Giselle at Covent Garden in February 1962. A photo of Nureyev dancing a highland fling in costume on the roof the Palais Garnier after he was appointed ballet director of the Paris Opera in 1983 is as gravity defying as it looks.

Someone born on a train crossing Siberia was destined to be nomadic: Nureyev was often photographed carrying suitcases. It launched them as the golden couple of ballet. For me a country is just a place to dance. He once said: I have no country.

There is a display case of some of his battered bags, opposite another containing pink satin point shoes wrapped in tissue paper bearing the names of some of the famous ballerinas he partnered.

There is a display case of some of his battered bags, opposite another containing pink satin point shoes wrapped in tissue paper bearing the names of some of the famous ballerinas he partnered.

The centre had to rework the tailor’s dummies displaying the costumes to take account of the very different physique of dancers from fashion models. His doublets were always the same, with sleeves set very high to allow the arms maximum movement and a very narrow waist, usually ending in a point in front or behind.

Nureyev was also a creature of habit.

The floor-sweeping cloak he wore for the role of Rothbart in Swan Lake had elastic strings hidden inside to allow him to lift the hem so that he could twirl without his feet getting caught up.

In the end though, he had it copied many times. When Frederick Ashton created the ballet Marguerite and Armand for him and Fonteyn, he at first hated the tailcoat designed for him by Cecil Beaton for his role — apparently because it was like the uniform worn by servants in the United States. The green cotton harem pants he wore for the pas-de-deux in Le Corsaire, one of his bravura pieces, are a patchwork of mends.

His attachment to some costumes is only too evident in their state of wear and tear.

The costumes are grouped according to ballets – Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Giselle, La Bayadere and so on – enabling the visitor to compare different productions. He wore them for every single performance of that role in his career, and although he had an identical pair made, they were never worn.

Music from each ballet piped softly in each room adds to the atmosphere.

Music from each ballet piped softly in each room adds to the atmosphere.

A slightly out-of-focus film of the Paris Opera corps de ballet, of which he was so proud, in Swan Lake is projected onto an entire wall, with a selection of frothy tutus. The first ballet he ever saw in his hometown Ufa, and which decided him on becoming a dancer, was a production of Song of the Storks, a version of Swan Lake.

The centre is working with the Nureyev foundation to set up a permanent memorial to him, with its legacy of his personal effects, including furniture and his collection of kilim rugs – which inspired the monument on his grave in Paris.

The exhibition is open until the end of November and ballet lovers unable to make the pilgrimage can console themselves with the exhaustive catalogue.

dance – France

.
More than 400 detainees were transferred from the decrepit 19th century prisons of Saint Joseph and Perrache, in the centre of Lyon, to a new prison facility in Corbas, in the city’s outskirts. The biggest such operation in France history, the transfer was carried out under top security.

Handcuffed in pairs, detainees left the Saint Joseph prison in groups of 15 to 20.

Nine hundred law enforcement officers were deployed to monitor the operation and prevent any prisoner escape, rebellion or smuggling. The operation began at four in the morning on Saturday and lasted all through Sunday. . By Sunday evening, the transfer had been completed, with no incidents reported. Individual cells are equipped with showers and intercoms through which detainees can call for help. It a far cry from their former unit: Perrache and Saint Joseph were two of France oldest and most run-down detention centres, under heated criticism for their bad hygiene and security conditions. For the first time in Lyon, the accused will be kept apart from those already sentenced. They are to call for more staff and better working conditions.

Despite this change for the better, Lyon prison guards will join their colleagues in a nationwide protest organised by three labour unions on Monday.

France – prison

.
The man credited with running the world first 21st century election campaign rolled into town this weekend, on a mission to spread the gospel of the Internet and nudge the faithful on the path to online political activism.

At a town hall meeting in Paris Saturday, Howard Dean, former Vermont governor and 2004 US presidential candidate, attempted to share some of his campaigning expertise with a gathering of mostly French Socialist Party volunteers and supporters.

Exactly five months after Barack Obama won the US presidential election following an extraordinary, Internet-driven campaign , the man who is often called the &lsquoarchitect&rsquo of the Obama campaign strategy acknowledged his contribution to history. But he did succeed in eliciting a visceral passion among supporters – dubbed Deaniacs or Deanie Babies &ndash through an organized campaign of online fund-raising and grassroots activism unprecedented in US politics. .

By the time that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton ran in the primaries, we had nationwide lists of every single voter, he said.

Referring to his presidential run, Dean noted that the millions-strong lists of voter email addresses that his campaign generated were inherited and effectively used by the Obama campaign. We had our troops ready to go. We had staff on the ground that had been there four years and we knew what we were doing. We had our lists ready to go.

Back in his heyday Dean displayed such oratorical zeal that, in the end, it proved to be his undoing.

ByClea CAULCUTT

From &lsquoDean screamer&rsquo to the Socialist daydreamer

The sedate, wood-paneled majesty of Paris&rsquo fourth district town hall (mairie du IV&egraveme arrondissement de Paris) was a far cry from the mammoth park rallies cramped with tens of thousands of wildly worshipful supporters Dean faced during his 2004 run.

But in his new avatar of political guru and chairman emeritus of the DNC (Democratic National Committee), Dean is a more subdued man these days. The video clip of his Iowa concession speech, featuring a hollering, red-faced candidate in what came to be called the Dean scream (see video below) so rattled voters, that his campaign essentially ended.

Sharing the podium with the French Socialist Party new generation stars, Arnaud Montebourg and Delphine Batho, Dean was the special guest at Saturday talk, titled Modernizing political life, and organized by Terra Nova, a Left-leaning Paris-based think-tank.

Sharing the podium with the French Socialist Party new generation stars, Arnaud Montebourg and Delphine Batho, Dean was the special guest at Saturday talk, titled Modernizing political life, and organized by Terra Nova, a Left-leaning Paris-based think-tank.

But Dean asserted that, as an American politician, he could only share his experiences, not offer solutions. The party has failed to produce a French president since Francois Mitterrand left office in 1995.

Reaching the senior, unwired vote

But that did not stop the audience from looking to their invited messiah for answers. The problems of the Socialist Party in France are the problems of the Socialist Party, he maintained.

It was an odd question for an ex-candidate whose campaign strategy deliberately broke with the old Democratic Party platform of trying to woo aging, affluent senior voters.

How do we reach out to older voters who support the UMP? asked an audience member referring to French President Nicolas Sarkozy ruling Union for a Popular Movement party.

The trick, he suggested, might lie in senior citizen fears of dwindling social security – especially healthcare – coverage.
But as an invited guest, Dean was doing his best.

How the Dean cyber-solution could be grafted on a country with one of the world best and most expensive social security networks for a largely unwired section of the population was not answered. I suspect that the case in France, he said.

But Dean was cautious about adopting the US primary model.

But Dean was cautious about adopting the US primary model. One problem of primaries is disunity, he warned. You can&rsquot translate everything you do in the US in France.

Barack Obama – French elections – French politics – Internet – Italian politics – Socialist Party – US election 2008

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font-size:10. They will have to choose between six candidates: outgoing president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Djahid Younsi, Louisa Hanoune, Mohamed Sa&iumld, Moussa Touati or Ali Faouzi Rabaine.0pt”Times New Roman”}

There are nearly 777,000 Algerian voters living in France, registered in 18 electoral counties. Some consider it their duty, while others mainly hope that the voting stamp on their electoral cards will speed up the customs paperwork when they go back to Algeria over the holidays.

For some, it is an honor to go to the polls. Every time I drop my ballot in the ballot box, I feel like I&rsquom celebrating Algeria independence in 1962 all over again, she says.

Voting is a badge of honour

Who, other than Bouteflika?

Zohra, 55, has lived in France for 30 years. In some countries, people aren&rsquot that lucky.

For Kim, a young Algerian born in France, voting to defend your ideas is a duty. In some countries, people aren&rsquot that lucky.

Kim: Voting to defend your ideas is a duty.

Amar, another voter, admits that he knows none of the candidates other than the outgoing president.
Some voters came to the polls with their children, dressed in white like on the last day of the Ramadan. As a result, members of Bouteflika party present at the polls, certain of his victory, were already in a celebratory mood. I think the opposition handed the Bouteflika an easy victory, he said. He explains his choice: Many Algerians still reject the idea of being governed by a woman.

I would rather vote for a woman than for Bouteflika

Rachid, 33, is a fervent supporter of Louisa Hanoune, this election only female candidate and spokesperson of the Labour party. Hanoune prouved she was up to the job. But I would rather a woman president than a third term for Bouteflika.

Some voters brought their kids
Voter turnout, a key stake

For Algerian authorities, Boutelflika almost certain re-election is less at stake than ensuring voter turnout. Maybe life would be gentler with a woman president.

The Algerian ambassador in Paris, Missoum Sbih, calls on his compatriots to participate in the vote, to exercise their civic rights. . He met with many representatives of the Algerian community to spread this message, seconded in his campaign by several ministers from the mainland. He met with many representatives of the Algerian community to spread this message, seconded in his campaign by several ministers from the mainland.

His efforts weren&rsquot sufficient to convince Majid, 34, to head to the polls. I don&rsquot know why these people even bother he admits. We all know Bouteflika will stay in power until his death. A friend adds: Voter abstention is the only way to oppose Bouteflika.

Illegal immigrant spiritual vote

Algerian immigrants with no legal French resident status were denied access to the voting centre. They linger outside to make their presence known.

Samir, 32, has lived in France since 2005. We don&rsquot have French documents, so we can&rsquot vote. But we came today anyway, to carry out a sort of spiritual duty. One of his friends adds that he never voted when he lived in Algeria, but it different when you live outside the country: to vote means you exist as an Algerian, and you&rsquore proud of it.

Abd El-Ali and Ismail: Who, other than Bouteflicka?

Algeria – France