doubles

June 2 (UPI) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro reiterated allegations Tuesday of possible electoral fraud in the first round of the country’s presidential election, claiming irregularities in the voter registry and vote-counting systems ahead of the June 21 runoff.

In a message posted on X, Petro said he was presenting the “verified basis of possible fraud” and claimed he could submit evidence to the relevant authorities.

Petro said he has evidence of software modifications that allegedly introduced hundreds of thousands of voter identification records that were not properly registered and altered voting tables.

Petro contended that last-minute technical changes to systems operated by Colombia’s National Civil Registry, known as the Registraduria Nacional, resulted in irregularities, including an increase of 885,409 voter identification records in the electoral roll and the appearance of 1,493 additional voting tables that he claimed were not authorized.

He also alleged that the algorithms used in private software for preliminary vote counting and official tabulation were secretly modified three times during the final week of the campaign.

As a result, Petro said, he would only recognize the final official results certified by judicial authorities serving on Colombia’s electoral review commissions.

He said the alleged irregularities benefited far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella and harmed his preferred candidate, left-wing Sen. Ivan Cepeda.

After preliminary results showed De la Espriella leading with 43.74% of the vote and Cepeda in second place with 40.90%, Petro said he would not accept the preliminary count and pledged to present evidence to electoral authorities.

Before the election, several polls had projected Cepeda as the frontrunner, although analysts noted a rapid surge in support for De la Espriella during the final weeks of the campaign.

Petro intensified his criticism Tuesday, claiming electoral authorities were seeking to “close the vote count quickly” to avoid reviewing his allegations.

The National Civil Registry reported that the official count had reached 99.98% completion and said final results matched the preliminary count of 99.94%, rejecting claims of widespread manipulation.

According to Colombian media reports, Cepeda significantly softened his position Monday after initially supporting Petro’s concerns on election night.

The candidate of the Historic Pact coalition said that after an extensive review conducted by his monitoring team, no evidence was found of irregularities significant enough to call the legitimacy of the first-round results into question.

Voters will return to the polls June 21 to choose between two sharply different political visions.

De la Espriella, a political outsider associated with what supporters describe as a “new right,” has centered his campaign on public security and advocates a hardline approach to crime inspired by the policies of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele and Argentine President Javier Milei.

Cepeda, meanwhile, has campaigned on social justice and supports continuing and expanding Petro’s agrarian reform and energy transition agenda, while promoting negotiations with armed groups as part of a broader peace strategy.

There are two doubles wildcards available for the tournament at Queen’s, and one is reserved for a team which includes a former world number one, a Grand Slam champion of the past 10 years or a current top-30 player.

WIlliams has never liked the word retirement, preferring instead to say she was “evolving away” from tennis in 2022.

She lost to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the 2022 US Open, in what the world thought would be her final match.

Williams had reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open earlier that year, and won her last Grand Slam singles title in Melbourne in 2017 at the age of 35.

The Lawn Tennis Association has consistently prioritised British players when determining who should receive wildcards at domestic grass court events.

All four available for the singles draw are very likely to go to British players, but the LTA are likely to feel differently about the doubles given the “exceptional circumstances” of a potential Williams return.

“Never say never, and not wanting to speak of any one individual player, but you will have seen over recent years that those wildcard opportunities are afforded to British players – that is absolutely my fundamental personal belief and philosophy,” LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd said at a briefing for journalists in April.

“There might be exceptional circumstances which might influence a unique wildcard, but otherwise those playing opportunities we want to afford to British players.”

The organisation’s performance director Michael Bourne also hinted commercial opportunities could be a factor.

“It’s also really important to remember that we in the performance team understand that players have to earn that right,” Bourne said.

“We don’t take them for granted. If we didn’t think we had a depth of player where it was right for them to take those opportunities, and there was something else that was good for the business, we would hold our hands up.”

A VICTORIAN seaside spot has doubled in size thanks to a £185 million promenade makeover.

The beachfront has now reopened to visitors after six months of work.

Southsea beach in Portsmouth is undergoing a huge redevelopment as work continues to increase the beach’s size and improve the promenade flood defences.

The Southsea Coastal Scheme is a £185 million project that was introduced to help reduce the risk of flooding to thousands of homes and local businesses.

Its planned defences will stretch along a 2.7 mile section of the seafront and is the UK’s biggest local authority-led coastal defences project.

The beach widening work, which covered the stretch between the Pyramid Centre and the Coffee Cup café began in October last year and was completed by March 2026.

FIT THE BILL

Sandy UK beach with ‘undeniable charm’ to feature in new Bill Nighy film

PARK PARADISE

The Algarve-like holiday park on a UK beach with a £1million upgrade

Increasing the beach’s width was achieved using shingle dredged from a nearby strait close to the Isle of Wight, with one million tonnes of shingle deposited on the beach using a pipeline from the dredger.

Widening the beach improves the area’s flood defences as the larger beach can now absorb more wave energy and will better defend the coastline.

While this process was underway, access to the beach was limited for safety reasons and certain sections were closed to the public, reopening section-by-section as work was completed.

Speaking on the decision to expand the beach, Southsea Coastal Scheme project executive, Marc Bryan, said: “We’ve chosen to build a larger shingle beach in this area because they’re great at absorbing wave energy which in turn helps reduce erosion and protects homes and businesses from coastal flooding.

“The new beach will adapt to rising seas and our changing climate while still providing the required standard of protection.

“It will be easily maintained and can be topped up if needed in the future.”

Other work that forms part of the scheme has already been completed including the demolition and creation of a new seawall around Long Curtain Moat.

Two new bridges were also built nearby and the promenade was made higher and wider with additional seating.

Rocks were imported to create new sea defences around Southsea Castle and improvements have been made to part of the promenade between Pyramids and Speaker’s corner, including new terraces, seating and play areas.

Currently, construction work is underway between South Parade Pier and Speaker’s Corner creating a new-look promenade and improving the defences.

Large precast concrete blocks have been installed onto 75 units on the sea frontage, cleverly disguised as tiered planters and seating.

The promenade level is also in the process of being raised using a mix of crushed stone and crushed concrete from the previous promenade.

When complete, the new promenade area will match the existing seafront paving.

Construction is expected to continue till May 2027, and while the work is underway, certain areas of the beachfront will be closed, however many local businesses will remain open.

The entire coastal defence scheme is expected to be completed by 2029.

The beach, made up of a mix of shingle and sand, has been a popular tourist destination since the 19th century and is located just a mile south of Portsmouth city centre.

Named after the nearby Southsea Castle, the beach first welcomed its South Parade Pier in 1879, originally the site of a passenger steamer service for travellers heading to the Isle of Wight.

The seafront has been described by visitors as “a little gem” on the South East coast, with a “wonderful” promenade full of shops and cafes.

The traveller shared her top hand luggage hacks to avoid having to check in a bag, and it’s inspired other holidaymakers to reveal their favourite airport tips and tricks

A savvy traveller has been praised for her ‘genius’ hack to effectively double her hand luggage allowance without forking out for additional fees when flying.

The holidaymaker, known as @lifeofjazz_ on social media, has revealed her top trick for getting away with hand luggage only, dodging the need to check a bag in at the airport. First and foremost, she makes sure her suitcase meets the required dimensions and weight restrictions to avoid any headaches at check-in. She went on to explain: “I have a few tricks that I do when travelling with only hand luggage.

“Number one, I put a bag inside a bag. You see this bag [referencing her video], there’s another bag inside of it. I usually go to Boots or Duty Free, and get a bag because they are not allowed to touch anything inside something you’ve bought already within the airport.

“I have a crossbody bag, obviously that’s fine, it’s tiny. Then I have my small suitcase, make sure you roll everything within your suitcase so it can fit.”

She also advises getting on the plane early to secure overhead locker space rather than having to cram your bag beneath the seat in front.

Responding to her post, one follower commented: “I do the duty thing too. Get a cheeky meal deal from Boots and ask for the biggest bag.”

Another added: “People also don’t realise you don’t need to use those plastic bags for toiletries, you can use your own see through makeup bag, doesn’t matter how big.”

A third user said: “But nowadays you can even bring a cabin wheeled bag, just a rucksack. I do the duty free bag but Ryanair told me they have limitations on duty.”

One more user added: “I always bring a pillow case put some clothes in.”

This follows other passengers revealing their tricks to enhance the airport experience overall, with one user saying: “You can’t bring a full water bottle through airport security, but you can bring an empty one.

“Most airports have water bottle fillers installed at drinking fountains after security. Beats paying six dollars for bottled water.”

Adding to the discussion, another traveller recommended speeding up security screenings by taking off bottle lids, thereby demonstrating to officials the bottles are completely empty.

Meanwhile, someone else chimed in with: “You can bring ice in a bottle though as long as it’s not melted. I like to do that and then fill it up inside the airport. I love ice water.”

Another comment advised against using the first water refill station immediately after security – typically congested due to high traffic – suggesting instead to look for the next available one for a swifter top-up.

A different user contributed yet another travel tip, advising travellers to pack compression socks for longer journeys, explaining: “For personal comfort, I find compression socks to really help during longer flights/trips. I also carry an empty water bottle through security, then refill it before boarding in order to have plenty of water for the flight.

“I carry a light sweater or thin-down vest in my bag (too many cold flights). Noise-cancelling headphones. I also carry a small external battery pack. Always plan for the worst (long lines, delays) allow plenty of time and arrive early.”

Murray will be remembered for his razor-sharp volleying skills and the preposterous angles he conjured at the net. His returns were often unorthodox and he was fond of a lobbed service return to unsettle opponents.

Alongside his triumphs, Murray has been a staunch defender of doubles players and frequently demanded they be shown more respect.

“Doubles has its place in the game – it’s not the golden ticket that singles is, but it’s undervalued by the tour,” Murray told BBC Sport.

“As these events go longer and longer they need content, and doubles supports that.”

Murray said he was proud to have represented his hometown of Dunblane and the country of Scotland at the highest level.

“There is no history of tennis and no environment of tennis [in Scotland],” Murray told BBC Sport.

“I’d imagine the odds were against us from the start but we were able to make some good things happen.”

His mother Judy thought Jamie had the better hand-eye co-ordination of her sons when young. Jamie and Andy briefly became rivals as tennis players – and also while wrestling.

Judy once recalled: “Andy’s favourite [wrestler] was The Rock and Jamie’s was Stone Cold Steve Austin, and they used to create these bouts that they saw on the television. They used to wrestle each other on the duvet and thump each other with pillows, and create these belts and make up their own rules and scoring systems.”

Jamie is 15 months older than Andy, and as his early dominance on the tennis court started to fade Andy says he quite literally bore the brunt.

“We were coming back from Solihull in the minibus and I’d beaten Jamie in the final, I think, of the under-12s, so basically I was winding him up about that and my hand was on the hand rest,” he said in 2015.

“We were sitting next to each other and he just basically punched me on the hand – I lost my fingernail and I’ve still got the scars to show for it.”

Despite some defeats against Andy, Jamie was still very much on track for a professional singles career until a negative experience at an LTA training school in Cambridge in his very early teens.

He struggled with living away from home and the elite training environment, and even though he has never sought to blame the LTA, his forehand suffered and he has said he was never quite the same player again.