Latest from Leader Live
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Sport
- Leader Live
Enzo Maresca taking Club World Cup ‘game by game' as Benfica clash looms
The Blues secured their place in the last 16 of the tournament with a comfortable 3-0 win over Esperance Tunis on Tuesday. As runners-up to Flamengo in Group D, the Londoners booked a clash with the Portuguese giants, who surprisingly beat Bayern Munich to top Group C. Victory would take Chelsea into the last eight and a meeting with Palmeiras or Botafogo, who face each other in an all-Brazilian clash in Philadelphia. Yet coach Enzo Maresca is not looking that far ahead yet, nor is he even thinking about the impact his side's run in the United States could have on their next Premier League campaign. He insists his only focus is on preparing to face the Lisbon side. The Italian said: 'The next game is on Saturday and from there we'll take it game by game. 'I'm not thinking about the final or how long it is before the Premier League starts. 'We can't think about playing in the final if we're not focused on Benfica and the rest of the games afterwards. 'I like to take it game by game, because I think it's the right thing to do.' Maresca has so far been ringing the changes from game to game to spread the workload due to the sweltering conditions. Further rotation is likely, with Maresca having said not to do so would be 'impossible', but striker Nicolas Jackson remains suspended. The Senegal international was handed a two-match ban for his straight red card against Flamengo last week. That could mean another start for new signing Liam Delap, who has impressed in the tournament so far and scored his first goal for the club against Esperance. Maresca said: 'We know Benfica are a top club with a top manager and first-class players. 'It is going to be very difficult but we were 32 teams, now 16 remains and we hope to go to the quarter-finals.'
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Leader Live
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs' lawyer mocks sex trafficking case in closing arguments
Marc Agnifilo mocked the government's case against Combs and belittled the agents who seized hundreds of bottles of Astroglide lubricant and baby oil at his properties, as he began a presentation expected to last several hours. 'Way to go, fellas,' he said of the agents. He said prosecutors had 'badly exaggerated' evidence of the swinger lifestyle and threesomes, to combine it with recreational drug use and call it a racketeering conspiracy. 'He did not do the things he's charged with. He didn't do racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking,' the lawyer said. Mr Agnifilo also called Combs' prosecution a 'fake trial' and ridiculed the notion that he engaged in racketeering. 'Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?' Mr Agnifilo asked. 'Did any witness get on that witness stand and say yes, I was part of a racketeering enterprise, I engaged in racketeering?' No, Mr Agnifilo argued, telling jurors that those accusations were a figment of the prosecution's imagination. Combs' family, including six of his children and his mother, were in the public gallery in the New York court for the closing arguments. All his life Combs has taken care of people, Mr Agnifilo said, including the ex-girlfriend who gave evidence under the pseudonym Jane, whose rent he is paying. 'I don't know what Jane is doing today,' Mr Agnifilo said. 'But she's doing it in a house he's paying for.' Referring to lawsuits filed by Combs' accusers, he said: 'This isn't about crime. It's about money. This is about money.' He noted that Combs' girlfriend of nearly 11 years, Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, sued him in a lawsuit that was settled for 20 million dollars (£14.5 million) in a day in November 2023, triggering a federal probe the following day. 'If you had to pick a winner in this whole thing, it's hard not to pick Cassie,' Mr Agnifilo said. Cassie and Jane both gave evidence during the trial that they were coerced repeatedly by Combs to perform in drug-fuelled days-long sex marathons with male sex workers, while Combs watched, directed, masturbated and sometimes filmed the encounters. Prosecutors, he argued, have invaded Combs' bedroom and his most intimate personal affairs. 'Where's the crime scene? It's your sex life,' Mr Agnifilo said. He also mocked the prosecution's assertion that Combs and his underlings had engaged in hundreds of racketeering acts and their suggestion that many of his so-called freak-offs and 'hotel nights' were crimes. If that is so, he said, 'we need a bigger roll of crime scene tape', a reference to a line from the movie Jaws. Mr Agnifilo reiterated that the defence 'owns' the fact that Combs was violent, but he argued that behaviour does not justify the grave charges he faces. He said Combs and Cassie had a 'loving, beautiful relationship', albeit a 'complicated' one. 'If racketeering conspiracy had an opposite, it would be their relationship, they were deeply in love with each other,' Mr Agnifilo said. If convicted, Combs could face a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life. He did not give evidence during the trial, which is in its seventh week. After Mr Agnifilo completes his closing, assistant US attorney Maurene Comey was expected to deliver a rebuttal summation before the judge reads the law to the jury, which is not expected to begin deliberations until Monday.
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Leader Live
Man allowed to keep licence after speeding in Flintshire
Gavin Harrop, of Bromfield Road, Stockport, appeared at Wrexham Magistrates Court on Friday for sentence. The 35-year-old had previously admitted one offence of speeding, which took place on the A494 between garden City and Deeside Industrial Park Interchange on May 30 last year. Prosecutor Brian Robinson told the court Harrop was clocked by average speed cameras on the day of the offence, and had been travelling at 57mph when the limit was 50. The offence, which ordinarily carries three penalty points, put Harrop at risk of a driving ban. Nigel James, defending, told the court: "He does send his sincere apologies to the court and is very embarrassed. "He's a self employed UXO (unexploded ordnance) engineer and he travels up and down the country. "He doesn't know where he's going until the end of the week preceding where he's working. "We did discuss public transport and taxis, but in both cases its completely unfeasible. "He has 60 kilos of bulky equipment and reliant on his licence to manage his role. "He used to be in the navy for 10 years and has been doing this very niche role now for four years." Mr James explained should his client face a six month driving ban, it would be difficult for him to find alternative work and there may also be difficulties in returning to his UXO work after such a gap. "He is also involved with search and rescue," Mr James continued. "He gets called upon for international incidents and is very much in demand for this particular area." Given the potential impact of a driving ban, Harrop put forth an application of exceptional hardship in order to be able to keep his licence. Responding to questions about his work on the witness stand, Harrop told the court his business works on and around building sites where digging and piling might turn up items of ordnance. MORE COURT NEWS He explained that should such an item be found in other settings, the Army bomb disposal squad would ordinarily be called. The Magistrates handed down three penalty points for the offence of speeding - but accepted the defendant's application for exceptional hardship on the basis that his job affects other workers and he has hard-to-replace specialised skills, in addition to his search and rescue, charitable and volunteering roles. As such, Harrop was not banned form driving, but was warned he must be careful not to find himself back in the dock for any other motoring offences as he cannot use the same reasons for such an application for the next three years. He must pay a £500 fine, £200 victim surcharge and £130 costs.
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Automotive
- Leader Live
Halkyn Road linking Flint with A55 set for 3-week closure
Halkyn Road, between the A55 Pentre Halkyn and Bryn Glas, Flint will close to motorists on July 8. Where the road closure will be in place. (Image: roadworks page) The closure will be for an approximate distance of 446 metres and is to facilitate a "critical upgrade" of overhead power lines with associated works for National Grid. The closure is set to last 21 days, and the alternative route for vehicles by it will be signed accordingly. Halkyn Road is commonly used by motorists leaving the A55 heading to Flint.
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Sport
- Leader Live
T20 contests in the spotlight in North Wales league
The club's second team is in 50-over action in Division One, while Northop's first team opens a busy month of action in Premier Division T20 action. 'To be honest, we've got 18 lads away on a stag do,' said Northop skipper Bart Ryan-Beswick. 'In effect, we're putting four teams out this weekend!' Northop are the host club for tomorrow's mini round-robin tournament with St Asaph and Mochdre. Northop take on the Saints at 11am and Mochdre at 5.45pm, with the other two clubs facing each other at 2.30pm. The likes of Romano Franco, Elliot Colclough, Jamie Northcott and Andy Oates will look to make their mark for Northop, with Ryan-Beswick adding: 'If we bat well enough, we can have a good crack and stay in the game.' Gwersyllt Park are also the host club for meetings with Denbigh (11am) and Menai Bridge (5.45pm). Park skipper Jamie Griffiths said: 'We are going to have to make some changes. It's one of them, people are going to go on holidays and I'd rather they get them out of the way now. 'It's good, because we can kind of get some of the kids involved. 'But, it's about momentum as well. The way T20 goes, it probably suits some of our boys. 'We have got three, potentially four or five, spinners. 'It's about playing smart cricket and getting ahead of who's going to bowl.' Menai Bridge will meet Denbigh in the 2.30pm match. There are two venues for Brymbo to play at tomorrow. At 11am, they are away to Bangor and then at 4pm, Dan Parry's side are away to Bethesda. Brymbo started off their T20 tilt with a four-wicket success versus Conwy, spear-headed by Johandre Barnard (85 not out) and Mohamed Nilam Jayman (38). The points teams gain in the T20 standings will go towards the main Premier Division table. Brymbo trail leaders St Asaph by just two points in the table and Parry admitted: 'I think we've got to aim to win both games.' However, Parry fears some players in the shorter format may have little to do other than field. 'I think the other thing for people and my argument is people are now giving up their Saturdays if they're a lower order batter that bowls a bit and they might not get a game,' he added. 'That's the problem in my view. In T20, you've got a team with five-or-six bowlers and the top-three batting might knock off the runs. 'It could be won by one or two players.' Conwy are at Bethesda at 11am and Bangor at 4pm. Division Two: Buckley v Pontblyddyn 2nds; Corwen v Carmel & District; Llanrwst v Pwllheli; Marchwiel and Wrexham v Abergele; Menai Bridge 2nds v Llay; St Asaph 2nds v Ruthin. Division Three: Abergele 2nds v Hawarden Park 2nds; Bersham v Gwersyllt Park 2nds; Caernarfon v Buckley 2nds; Denbigh 2nds v Mold 2nds; Gresford 2nds v Bethesda 2nds; Llandudno 2nds v Conwy 2nds. Division Four: Carmel & District 2nds v Ruthin 2nds; Connah's Quay 2nds v Bala; Halkyn 2nds v Mynydd Isa & Maeshafn; Hawarden Park 3rds v Dolgellau 2nds; Pwllheli 2nds v Llanrwst 2nds. Sunday: Brymbo 3rds v Marchwiel and Wrexham 2nds.
