Welshman Mark Williams, a three-time world champion, told the World Snooker Tour: "Ray is one of the best sportspeople ever from Wales, and the best snooker player.

"He's one of the reasons why a lot of us started playing. He put snooker on the map, alongside Alex Higgins, Jimmy White and Steve Davis.

"Anyone playing now owes them a lot because they brought popularity to the game. He is a real inspiration."

Six-time World Championship finalist Jimmy White said he was "gutted" at the death of his "close friend".

He described Reardon as a "class act" and "a giant of the game", adding: "Rest in peace mate."

Four-time world champion Mark Selby said Reardon was "a legend", while commentator and former player John Virgo said it was "an honour to have known... a true great of our game".

Dennis Taylor, the 1985 world champion, said he "had the pleasure of travelling around the world with a true gentleman".

Stuart Bingham, world champion in 2015, said it was "one of the proudest moments receiving the Welsh Open trophy from the legend himself" in 2017.

Ray Reardon - Obituary:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/articles/clll5yj9373o

1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 11's crew successfully makes the first human landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later.

2012 – James Holmes opened fire at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and injuring 70 others.

2017 – O. J. Simpson is granted parole to be released from prison after serving nine years of a 33-year sentence after being convicted of armed robbery in Las Vegas.

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US President Joe Biden announces he's withdrawing from the race to be the next president, following mounting pressure from Democrats

He says his decision "is in the best interest of my party and the country" – but will stay on for the final six months of his term

Biden has endorsed Kamala Harris, the current vice-president, to be the new Democratic nominee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWaymcVmJ-A

Rangers will meet Dynamo Kyiv or Partizan Belgrade in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

The winner will progress to the play-off stage, where a place in the new 36-team league format will be at stake.

The two legs are on 6/7 August and 13 August - with Rangers away from home first - while the play-off round draw takes place on 5 August.

Should Rangers lose this tie or in the play-off round, they will enter the Europa League group stage.

Dynamo host Partizan in the first leg of their second qualifying round tie on Tuesday, with the return leg in Serbia eight days later.

The team from Ukraine will play their home match in Lublin, Poland, because of the ongoing hostilities with Russia.

This is the fourth successive season the Ibrox side have started out in the third qualifying round of the competition.

Last term, Rangers beat Servette before losing to PSV Eindhoven in the play-off - then went on to reach the round of 16 in the Europa League.

Like Rangers, Dynamo and Partizan were runners-up in their leagues last season.

July 22: Feast day of Saint Mary Magdalene (Christianity)

Mary Magdalene is considered to be a saint by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran denominations. In 2016, Pope Francis raised the level of liturgical memory on July 22 from memorial to feast, and for her to be referred to as the "Apostle of the apostles". Other Protestant churches honor her as a heroine of the faith. The Eastern Orthodox churches also commemorate her on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers, the Orthodox equivalent of one of the Western Three Marys traditions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMyCa35_mOg

comment by BraveheartTyke (U6173)
posted 36 minutes ago
Mary Magdalene is considered to be a saint by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran denominations. In 2016, Pope Francis raised the level of liturgical memory on July 22 from memorial to feast, and for her to be referred to as the "Apostle of the apostles". Other Protestant churches honor her as a heroine of the faith. The Eastern Orthodox churches also commemorate her on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers, the Orthodox equivalent of one of the Western Three Marys traditions.
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Mary

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Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

Luke 18:27

Sharks off the coast of Brazil have tested positive for cocaine, scientists say.

Marine biologists tested 13 Brazilian sharpnose sharks taken from the shores near Rio de Janeiro and found they tested for high levels of cocaine in their muscles and livers.

The concentrations were as much as 100 times higher than previously reported for other aquatic creatures.

The research, carried out by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, is the first to find the presence of cocaine in sharks.

Experts believe the cocaine is making its way into the waters via illegal labs where the drug is manufactured.

Packs of cocaine lost or dumped by traffickers at sea could also be a source, though this is less likely, researchers say.

Sara Novais, a marine eco-toxicologist at the Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre of the Polytechnic University of Leiria, told Science magazine that the findings are “very important and potentially worrying".

All females in the study were pregnant, but the consequences of cocaine exposure for the foetuses are unknown, experts say.

Further research is required to ascertain whether cocaine is changing the behaviour of the sharks.

However, previous research has shown that drugs were likely to have similar effects on animals as they do on humans.

Last year, chemical compounds including benzoylecgonine, which is produced by the liver after cocaine use, were found in seawater samples collected off the south coast of England.

Eluned Morgan looks set to become the next leader of Welsh Labour and Wales’ first female first minister, after she won the public support of all but five of her party's Senedd politicians.

No other politician is standing in the contest to replace Vaughan Gething, which ends 12:00 BST on Wednesday.

Ken Skates became the latest potential candidate to rule himself out on Tuesday, backing Ms Morgan instead.

She would need to be confirmed as first minister by a vote of the Senedd, which is currently in recess and would need to be recalled for a special session if Mr Gething was to formally resign before the parliament resumes in September.

Andy Murray has confirmed he will retire from tennis after the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The 37-year-old is planning to play in the singles and doubles at what will be his fifth Games.

"Arrived in Paris for my last ever tennis tournament," Murray wrote on X.

"Competing for Team GB has been by far the most memorable weeks of my career and I'm extremely proud to get to do it one final time!"

The Scot's first Games appearance was in Beijing in 2008, when he lost in straight sets to Lu Yen-hsun in the first round.

Four years later, Murray swiftly put the disappointment of a Wimbledon final defeat by Roger Federer behind him, defeating the Swiss in straight sets at London 2012 to win gold.

The Briton became the first male tennis player to win two Olympic singles titles when he beat Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro at Rio 2016.

"Sir Andy has lived and breathed the values of tennis throughout his long career, championing equality and helping to send the message that our sport is for everyone," International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty said.

"Sir Andy's love of tennis will see him continue to be involved in helping to grow and develop our sport globally."

The three-time Grand Slam winner had career-saving hip surgery in January 2019.

Murray, a two-time Wimbledon champion, played competitively at SW19 for one last time earlier this month when he was knocked out of the doubles in the first round alongside his brother Jamie.

A back injury had threatened Murray's participation at Wimbledon and he left it until the final moment before pulling out of the singles. He had hoped to play mixed doubles with Emma Raducanu, but she pulled out of that planned pairing because of a wrist injury concern.

Speaking after his defeat at Wimbledon, Murray said: "It is hard because I want to keep playing, but I can't.

"Physically it's too tough now. I want to play forever. I love the sport."

At least one person has been killed after the crew of a stricken fishing vessel were forced to abandon ship in the South Atlantic Ocean, Spain's foreign minister has said.

The crew of the Argos Georgia fled the ship when it started taking on water at about 16:00 local time on Monday - about 200 nautical miles off the coast of the Falkland Islands.

Some 27 people were left stranded in life rafts after initial attempts to rescue the crew failed due to bad weather, a spokesperson for the Falkland Islands government said.

In Madrid, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Spanish TV that two others are believed to have died, as well as the one confirmed death.

Those on board include nationals of Spain, Uruguay, Peru, Russia and Indonesia, he said.

The Falkland Islands - a British overseas territory - has been coordinating the search operation and confirmed a number of crew members have been rescued. They added that they will be taken to hospital in Stanley for assessment.

But a statement from the Falklands government did not confirm any deaths and said the search will continue through the night.

An earlier attempt on Monday to rescue the crew using a military helicopter was prevented by "extremely challenging weather conditions", including gale-force winds and waves reported to be eight metres high.

Officials had said the weather ruled out use of the helicopter and it will review when it can make another attempt to rescue the crew.

Ten crew members, including the ship's captain, were from Spain, an official in north-west region of Galicia told the EFE news agency. Mr Albares said two of the Spanish nationals were scientific observers.