Europe

    Russia's athletes should stay banned from international competition and not be allowed to take part in the Rio Games, says a leading Olympic official. International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president John Coates has also branded Russia's anti-doping agency and athletics body as "rotten to the core". Russia was suspended following accusations of state-sponsored doping. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) meets on Friday to discuss lifting the ban. Russia was suspended from all track and field by the IAAF in November after an independent report from the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) depicted a culture of widespread state-sponsored cheating by Russia's athletes, with even the secret services involved. The country's sports minister Vitaly Mutko ...

    At a major international football tournament the first time that has ever happened. It's a vital game for two teams looking to escape the group stages, and it's happening at 2pm on a weekday. But does that mean you can't watch it? We decided to check exactly what your boss can - and can't - do to employees who bunk off, tune in at work, slide off to the pub or pull a sickie. Here are your rights: Can you make your boss give you time off? Long answer: You can still make the case to them that it would be better for everyone that they did. Shakespeare Martineau employment lawyer Chris Kisby said: “A blanket refusal may be counterproductive. Euro 2016 might be an opportunity to improve employee engagement and productivity by allowing staff to watch or listen to matches.” You ...

    Detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann were alerted two years ago to paedophile Sir Clement Freud' s connection to the case, but did nothing, one of his victims has revealed. Vicky Hayes, who was groomed by Freud for years before he raped her as a teenager, was left with an uneasy feeling about Freud's motives after reading that he had befriended the McCann family and cooked for them at his holiday home in Praia da Luz, Portugal. She said it was odd that Freud had sought out the McCanns, because he was a private person who did not enjoy the media spotlight when he was not performing. In her book, Madeleine, Kate McCann describes how Freud contacted the family two months after the three-year-old disappeared and invited them for dinner at his villa ar...

    The report came as officials probe the online history of the 29-year-old. Reports said Mateen's second wife was cooperating with agents Facebook The second wife of the Orlando gunman has reportedly told federal agents she knew in advance about the attack that left 49 people dead and tried to talk her husband out of going ahead with it. As officials said they were searching the online history of Omar Mateen and also probing whether he had an accomplice, it was reported his second wife had once dropped him off at the Pulse night club because he wanted to scope it, and had been with him to buy ammunition and a holster. NBC said that agents from the FBI had questioned Mateen’s second wife, Noor Zahi Salman, 30, who apparently lived with the gunman and their three-year-old son ...

    The number of homeless people in Los Angeles County jumped by nearly six percent over the past year to 46,874, in part due to a historic housing shortage, authorities said on Wednesday. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) said in its report that the increase came about despite a reduction in the number of homeless veterans and homeless families. Homelessness among veterans dropped by 30 percent across the county, while the number of homeless families fell by 18 percent, largely thanks to an increase in funding by the federal government. Homelessness responds to resources, said LAHSA executive director Peter Lynn. When we have systematically applied city, county and federal resources, we see results. According to the report, the number of homeless people in ...

    Provided by Mirror Deluded Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko has claimed there were no clashes between fans after England drew 1-1 with Russia on Saturday night. Three Lions goalkeeper Joe Hart urged supporters in the crowd to stay safe after Russian fans broke through the minimal segregation and perpetrated a coordinated attack on the England support inside the Stade Velodrome following running battles on the streets of Marseille earlier during the day. UEFA confirmed this morning that disciplinary proceedings have been opened against Russia for crowd disturbances, use of fireworks and racist behaviour. But Mutko, who infamously claimed for 97 breakfasts during a three-week official visit to Canada and has been accused of being complicit in state-sponsored Russian dopi...

    A woman pretended to be a victim of the Paris terror attacks in order to claim thousands in compensation. The unnamed 25-year-old, from Yvelines in the Île de France region of the French capital, faces five years in prison for fraud and a fine of €375,000 (£294k) after telling investigators she had been injured in a suicide bombing at the Carillon bar. She used fake photographs of burn victims as her evidence and told police she had had a miscarriage during the attack, in an attempt to get €20,000 (£15.7k) in compensation despite not being pregnant at the time, according to Le Parisien. Suspicions were raised immediately by the fact that terrorists had used machine guns at the Le Carillon bar but there had been no bombing there on November 13. The woman came forward to pol...

    Russian President Vladimir Putin walks past an honor guard London. The only big-name pols on Earth who think Britain should leave the European Union are Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen and Vladimir Putin. Or so the campaign for Britain to remain in the EU keeps telling us. Trump is open about his support for the British exit, or Brexit, and will be in Britain on the day of the referendum results. French hardliner Le Pen is keen to campaign in Britain—even though the leave camp has publicly demanded she stay away. The Kremlin, on the other hand, totally denies that Putin wants Britain to quit the 28-member economic and political union. Officials insist that the Russian president remains entirely neutral. He has offered no public statement on the June 23 referendum and his colle...

    Plans are under way in Denmark for a football league for asylum seekers, aimed at helping them to integrate into society. Residents at four centres for asylum seekers in eastern Denmark will compete against each other in the pilot project, which is due to kick-off in August, the TV2 website reports. It is the idea of Per Bjerregaard, former chairman of the top-flight Danish club Brondby IF. "The project can contribute in a variety of ways," he tells the broadcaster. "Asylum seekers can get exercise and variety in their daily lives, and get easier access to other Danes and associations in Denmark. In this way we can facilitate integration through football." The participants are being kitted out with football boots and strips, and Mr Bjerregaard says a number of big names ha...

    Murderers, rapists and violent offenders from across Europe have been able to remain in Britain after their crimes, the Justice Minister will say on Tuesday as he reveals a dossier of 50 offenders who have used EU rules to avoid deportation. Dominic Raab, who works closely with Michael Gove in the Justice department, said that British families are “at risk” because European courts are refusing to allow UK judges to deport dangerous and violent criminals back to EU countries. Mr Raab has compiled a dossier of the 50 most serious offenders who have been allowed to remain in the UK because of Brussels red tape. As justice minister, Mr Raab has had first-hand experience of many of the cases the UK has seen thwarted. His dossier includes an Italian man who stabbed a head teache...