التصنيف: أخبار

David Beckham was booed by Inter Miami fans who demanded a refund after Lionel Messi did not play in a pre-season friendly in Hong Kong.

Messi, who has been suffering from a hamstring injury, was left on the bench as his side beat Hong Kong XI 4-1.

Footage on social media showed angry fans chanting “refund” before a post-match speech from Beckham was greeted with boos.

The Hong Kong government said match organisers Tatler Asia could face a reduction in funding.

Its sports minister Kevin Yeung said the government’s funding agreement with Tatler Asia required Messi to play on the field for at least 45 minutes, unless there were safety or health concerns.

Mr Yeung said the organisers had reaffirmed Messi would be playing in the second half of the match before the start of the game.

But when the government noticed the second half did not proceed as planned, it tried to follow up with the organiser but was told Messi could not play due to an injury, he said.

“We therefore immediately request them to explore other remedies such as Messi appearing in the field to interact with his fans and receiving the trophy. Unfortunately, as you all see, these did not work out,” he said.

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An official statement added: “The government, as well as all football fans, are extremely disappointed that Messi could neither play in the friendly match, nor explain to the fans in person upon request.

“The way that the organiser and Inter Miami CF handled the situation could not meet the expectations of the fans who showed strong support to Messi, especially those visitors who came all the way here for the match.

“The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and the MSEC will rely on the terms and conditions of the agreement in requiring the organiser to take responsibility, including a reduction of the amount of funding as a result of Messi being not able to play in the match.”

A former Trump administration official has died after he was shot during an attempted carjacking.

Mike Gill, who worked as chief of staff at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under the former president, was shot in Washington DC last Monday as a man tried to get into a car before fleeing the scene, police said.

The incident lasted over three minutes and involved a Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV.

Later, the attacker failed at an attempt to steal a Mercedes, according to authorities.

The attacker then approached a man and woman demanding their car keys and proceeded to shoot and kill 35-year-old Alberto Vasquez Jr, fleeing in a stolen Chrysler 200, according to an incident report.

Police identified the suspect as 28-year-old Artell Cunningham after locating him to an SUV which had been disabled, realising it had been stolen.

Cunningham approached officers holding two guns while they searched the area for the vehicle’s occupants, police said.

He was then shot dead by officers.

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Cunningham was also accused of two other carjackings in Maryland.

Paying tribute to her husband, Kristina Gill said: “His sudden departure has left a void in our lives that can never be filled.”

She said he was “not only a devoted husband and father but also a cherished son, brother, and friend”.

Mr Gill was dedicated to improving others’ lives, being an active member of his church, befriending and mentoring co-workers, serving on the District of Columbia Board of Elections and coaching his daughter’s football team, Mrs Gill said.

Donald Trump paid homage to Mr Gill in a post on Truth Social on Sunday.

The former president said: “Wonderful and brilliant Mike Gill, a highly respected member of the Trump Administration, was ruthlessly and viciously shot in the head during a carjacking in Washington DC.

“He was a SPECIAL PERSON – His family and friends are devastated… God bless Michael and his family!”

Scientists at CERN – home to the world’s largest particle accelerator – have put forward proposals for a new “supercollider” which it is hoped will help uncover the secrets of 95% of the universe.

The Future Circular Collider (FCC) is seen as the giant successor to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which sits in a 17-mile tunnel beneath the ground near Geneva, Switzerland – but the new machine is also facing criticism for its £17bn price tag.

The LHC, which started operating in 2008, achieved its first high-energy particle collisions in 2010 and in recent years has received a series of upgrades.

It accelerates subatomic particles to almost the speed of light, before smashing them into each other.

The LHC discovered the so-called “God particle” – the Higgs boson – which enabled researchers to better understand where matter gets its mass from.

However, it has still been unable to find out more about the secrets of dark matter and dark energy – little known forces and particles which would allow scientists to have a better understanding of the universe.

The new proposals come as part of the FCC study by CERN – the European Organisation for Nuclear Research – and would be paid for by its member nations, including the UK, who are all reviewing the plans.

The FCC, which would begin construction in the 2040s and have a circumference of more than 56 miles, has a goal to “push the energy and intensity frontiers of particle colliders” and involves universities and experts from around the world.

CERN’s director general, Professor Fabiola Gianotti, told BBC News: “It is a tool that will allow humanity to make enormous steps forwards in answering questions in fundamental physics about our knowledge of the universe.

“And to do that, we need a more powerful instrument.”

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The price and size of the new machine has attracted criticism from other experts.

The UK’s former chief scientific adviser, Prof Sir David King, told the BBC: “When the world is faced with threats from the climate emergency, would it not be wiser to channel these research funds into the endeavours to create a manageable future?”

The planet’s next supercollider would consume as much energy as a “medium-sized city”, according to CERN – but adds the FCC would use “just one-sixth of the energy of its most power-intensive rivals to achieve the same physical goals”.

It claims the FCC’s carbon footprint would be “just 1% of the most polluting alternative”.