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/ 25 July 2006

Platini in the running for Uefa presidency

Former France captain Michel Platini has confirmed his candidacy for the presidency of European soccer’s governing body. French soccer federation chief Jean-Pierre Escalettes officially announced Platini’s candidacy in a letter on Monday to Uefa secretary general Lars-Christer Olsson. The elections will be held in January 2007.

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/ 24 July 2006

Thrilling Tour de France lifts doping gloom

Floyd Landis’s thrilling Tour de France victory did much to dispel the air of gloom hanging over cycling’s showpiece event after it began engulfed by another doping controversy. ”Our only favourite is named suspense,” said outgoing Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc, dreaming of a wide-open race after the retirement of Lance Armstrong.

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/ 21 July 2006

Tosatto win makes up for Boonen’s failure

Italy’s Matteo Tosatto handed the Quick Step team and his country their first victory in this year’s Tour de France when he won the 18th stage on Friday. Tosatto, who was part of a long-range breakaway, outsprinted compatriot Cristian Moreni of the Cofidis team at the end of a 197km ride from Morzine to Macon. German Gerolsteiner rider Ronny Scholz took third place.

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/ 21 July 2006

Scientists try to explain déjà vu

Researchers believe they have found a key insight into d&eacute;j&agrave; vu, the eerie sensation of seeing something that has already been experienced, the <i>New Scientist</i> magazine reports. Experiments suggest that d&eacute;j&agrave; vu can be triggered independently, without a real memory to prompt it.

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/ 20 July 2006

Landis wins 17th stage, Pereiro retains yellow

American Floyd Landis won the 17th stage of the Tour de France, a 200,5km ride from St Jean de Maurienne to Morzine on Thursday. Spaniard Oscar Pereiro Sio retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey. Spaniard Carlos Sastre finished second on the stage, five minutes and 42 seconds behind Landis. France’s Christophe Moreau took third, 5:58 off the pace.

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/ 16 July 2006

World fascinated by Zidane’s fall and resurrection

The fairy tale of Zinedine Zidane vanished in an instant of visceral rage at the World Cup final. But what followed has proved strangely more compelling — more human, more profound, more universal. His now-legendary headbutt fascinated viewers around the world, competed with war zones for global headlines, and obsessed philosophers and sports fans alike.

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/ 13 July 2006

With Renault on home turf, Alonso aims to bounce back

Defending world drivers’ champion Fernando Alonso believes that this weekend’s French Grand Prix will see him bounce back from his disappointment in America last time out. The 24-year-old Spaniard could only finish fifth in his Renault at the United States Grand Prix as his title rival Michael Schumacher won for Ferrari to cut his championship lead to 19 points with eight races left.

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/ 13 July 2006

French football rallies around Zizou

Retired France captain Zinedine Zidane can do no wrong, according to his peers in the football world following his public apology on television for headbutting Italy’s Marco Materazzi. The 34-year-old great went on Canal+ and then TF1 TV stations in France to apologise to the world for losing his temper over jibes from the Italian centre-back in the World Cup final on Sunday.

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/ 12 July 2006

What really happened, by Zinedine Zidane

French football icon Zinedine Zidane on Wednesday said he was sorry for headbutting an Italian opponent during the World Cup final against Italy. But he said in a French television interview that defender Marco Materazzi had deserved it for insulting him with some ”very hard words” aimed at sullying his mother and sister.

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/ 11 July 2006

Freire dominates sprinters for stage win

Spaniard Oscar Freire of the Rabobank team dominated some of the world’s fastest sprinters to win the ninth stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday. After 169,5km of racing from Bordeaux, Serguei Gonchar of the T-Mobile team retained the race leader’s yellow jersey ahead of the first climbing stage of the race, a 190,5km ride from Cambo-Les-Bains to Pau.

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/ 10 July 2006

Airbus reports sharp fall in aircraft orders

European aircraft maker Airbus announced a sharp fall in its orders on Monday, a setback for the company in its battle with Chicago-based Boeing and a sign that the United States group is in the ascendancy. Airbus said it had booked 117 firm orders for passenger jets in the first half of 2006, fewer than half the number in the same period of 2005 and far behind Boeing.

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/ 7 July 2006

McEwen again too strong for Boonen

Australian Robbie McEwen dominated another bunch sprint to claim victory in the 189km sixth stage of the Tour de France on Friday, his 11th career win in the race. Belgian rival Tom Boonen, who finished a distant third, retained the race leader’s yellow jersey ahead of Saturday’s 52km time trial around Rennes.

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/ 6 July 2006

French revellers die in Cup celebrations

Two French revellers died and a third was feared drowned after more than half-a-million football fans took to the streets early on Thursday to celebrate their side’s qualification for the World Cup final. Across France the night’s celebrations were mostly peaceful — if noisy — with firecrackers and fireworks competing with drums and car horns.

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/ 5 July 2006

Bridgestone to exclusively provide F1 tyres

Japanese company Bridgestone will exclusively supply tyres for the Formula One world championship from 2008 to 2010, world motor sport’s governing body the FIA said on Wednesday. Bridgestone had been the favourites to win the deal since French tyre manufacturer Michelin refused to participate after FIA asked for offers.

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/ 3 July 2006

Heads of EADS, Airbus resign over delays to A380

The co-chief executive of the European aerospace group EADS and the head of its Airbus subsidiary paid with their jobs on Sunday for the crisis that has wiped billions of euros off the value of the company. The two companies issued terse statements announcing EADS’s French co-boss Noel Forgeard and Airbus’s head Gustav Humbert, a German, were stepping down.

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/ 2 July 2006

Hincapie grabs yellow jersey

American George Hincapie grabbed the first Tour de France yellow jersey of his career as Frenchman Jimmy Casper caused an upset on the race’s first big sprint rendezvous on Sunday. Hincapie, who lost out on the race lead by 0,73sec after he finished second in the prologue behind Thor Hushovd, found himself benefiting from the big Norwegian’s misfortune.

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/ 30 June 2006

Doping scandal: Heads roll in Tour de France

Germany’s Jan Ullrich and Oscar Sevilla of Spain have both been withdrawn from the T-Mobile team contesting the Tour de France after they were named in an official inquiry into blood doping in Spain. Italy’s Ivan Basso and Spain’s Francisco Mancebo have also been withdrawn because of being named in the scandal.

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/ 29 June 2006

Space clothes save the lives of earthlings

From bras and baby suits equipped with monitors to tough suits to protect sportspeople and adventurers from the hazards of life on earth, space technology is boldly pushing back fashion frontiers. ”The space programme has over the years provided a catalyst for a lot of the progress we are seeing today in textiles,” says David Raitt, promotions officer with the European Space Agency.