Chancellor’s taciturnity follows comments by Danny Alexander that intervention would reach ‘hundreds of millions’ of pounds George Osborne has refused to be drawn on the cost of the Libyan intervention, following comments at the weekend by Danny Alexander that it would reach “hundreds of millions” of pounds. The chancellor and his chief secretary to the Treasury, both present in the Commons, were pressed to confirm the figure by the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, during Treasury questions. Balls said that in March the government had said the operation would cost “tens of millions not hundreds of millions”. Instead it was announced there will be a Ministry of Defence statement next week. On Sunday Alexander told Sky News: “The campaign is costing tens of millions, potentially into the hundreds of millions as it goes on, but that money is coming from the reserve that we have set aside, precisely for contingencies such as this.” When the military campaign started, the chancellor said the cost would be “in the order of tens of millions of pounds, not hundreds of millions”. Since then, defence economists have warned that it could reach £1bn if the campaign stretches on into the autumn. The news came as a minister in Libya’s opposition force, the National Transition Council (NTC), wrote an open letter challenging the decision by the UK attorney general, Dominic Grieve, not to release funds to the rebels. Dr Ali Tarhuni, minister for finance and oil in the NTC, said the body would run out of funds in less than a week, according to journalists in Benghazi. Grieve has said Britain can not release the 1.4bn dinars (approximately £700m) printed by De La Rue – Britain’s banknote printer – which have been impounded in the UK as the revolution has unfolded. De La Rue printed Libya’s currency during Gaddafi’s rule, and in an attempt to cripple his regime, the UK impounded the near $1.5bn-worth of dinars. Now Libya’s opposition forces believe they should be allowed the money impounded in the UK or risk being unable to fund continuing operations. Last month the Grieve said he was not legally able to release the funds. Tarhuni wrote: “Here in Benghazi we cannot sufficiently express our gratitude for the support the UK has extended to Libyans during our struggle against the tyrannical regime of Muammar Gaddafi. Together with her international partners, the UK has played a leading role in this defining battle for a free Libya. No one will ever forget this act of generosity and support for a democratic state. “[But] at present we face a liquidity crisis which threatens the stability of liberated Libya. With every day that passes we approach financial collapse. Funding pledges from international donors have yet to materialise. Our monthly salary bill, meanwhile, is in the region of 340m dinars. At present our money supply is almost finished. “The neatest short-term solution to this crisis is for the UK government to release the 1.4bn dinars printed by De La Rue and currently sitting in Britain. “We are deeply grateful that London has impounded this money, which was originally intended for the Tripoli regime. We would now ask the UK to exert every effort to take the next step and transfer this physical cash to the NTC to enable us to keep our economy afloat and pay our people. “Although there are inevitably serious legal issues that must be dealt with relating to the release of the De La Rue dinars, we sincerely hope the UK can give this burning issue the urgent attention it deserves. The future of a stable Libya after Gaddafi is too important to let this issue fester.” George Osborne Libya Middle East Africa Danny Alexander Allegra Stratton guardian.co.uk
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Jon Huntsman, Obama’s former ambassador to China, declares Republican 2012 candidacy with deliberate nods to Reagan era President Barack Obama’s former ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, has entered the Republican party’s 2012 presidential race, pledging to make the “hard decisions” he says are required to deal with America’s debt. “I’m a candidate for the office of president of the United States of America,” Huntsman told supporters at Liberty State Park in New Jersey, with the Statue of Liberty in the background. President Ronald Reagan launched his bid for the White House at the site in 1980. “For the first time in our history, we are passing down to the next generation a country that is less powerful, less compassionate, less competitive and less confident than the one we got,” Huntsman said. “This, ladies and gentlemen, is totally unacceptable and totally un-American.” Huntsman called for “broad and bold” changes to US tax laws and regulations and said America should seek energy independence and boost job creation, but gave no specifics on his plans. “We must make hard decisions that are necessary to avert disaster,” the former Utah governor said, painting a bleak picture of what it would mean for the country if it does not reduce its debt. Democrats have said they see Huntsman, who was a popular governor known for some moderate policies, as a potentially formidable candidate against Obama, although he currently lacks national name recognition and many polls put his support at less than 2%. Huntsman was Obama’s ambassador to China from 2009 until April, when he resigned to return to the United States and lay the groundwork for his presidential bid. Conservatives have attacked Huntsman for his work with Obama, which Huntsman has described as service to the country. Democrats have attacked Huntsman as changing his former moderate positions in order to appeal to the most conservative Republican base. Republican presidential nomination 2012 US elections 2012 Republicans US politics Obama administration Ronald Reagan United States guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …A 5,000-strong force of Venezuelan troops has been fighting for four days to regain control of a prison complex outside Caracas. Inmates, also heavily armed, say the troops have been attacking them with assault rifles and tear gas, AP reports. The country’s justice minister says two soldiers and one…
Continue reading …The comedian hired to impersonate President Obama at the Republican Leadership Conference says he’s surprised by the stinging backlash to his over-the-top performance . “I don’t think I crossed any sort of lines,” with his racially tinged jokes, Reggie Brown tells the Washington Post , claiming he would never do anything “to…
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Worker is second to be given death sentence this month as government cracks down on coal industry in Inner Mongolia A court in China’s vast northern region of Inner Mongolia has sentenced a coalminer to death for killing a resident who had complained about pollution, according to state media. The sentence was the second in a matter of weeks involving Inner Mongolia’s crucial coal sector, as the government tries to get tough with an industry that has ignited public anger with its pollution but fuels the economy. In the latest case, Sun Shuning was convicted of murdering Yan Wenlong after “a dispute over pollution caused by a coalmine” where Sun worked, the official Xinhua news agency said. Sun killed Wen with his forklift, the report added. “The act was utterly cruel, the crime very serious, and the consequences extremely bad,” it cited the court in Xilinhot as saying. Earlier this month, a court in the same part of Inner Mongolia ordered the execution of a man for murdering an ethnic Mongolian herder who had also protested against coalmine pollution. The death of the herder sparked demonstrations by ethnic minority Mongolians demanding better protection of their rights and traditions. Beijing, ever worried by threats to stability, is now trying to address some of the protesters’ concerns about the damage done by coalmining to traditional grazing lands. The authorities have since launched a month-long overhaul of the lucrative coalmining industry, vowing to clean up or close polluters. Inner Mongolia is China’s biggest coal producing region and the protests against the industry have come as severe power shortages loom ahead of the summer’s peak energy season. China Coal Pollution guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …The super massive black hole at the heart of a galaxy in the Draco constellation has been caught in the middle of a meal—and it’s a messy eater. Scientists analyzing an unusually long-lasting burst of gamma rays from the constellation 4 billion light years away believe they are witnessing…
Continue reading …One woman’s racist rant has become another operator’s business opportunity. A food takeout biz is adopting the “ching-chong” dig at Chinese students posted on YouTube that ended up driving freshman Alexandra Wallace out of UCLA . The new Asian-run food delivery biz is named Ching-Cong-Ling-Long Takeout and aims to”provide UCLA students/staff…
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A whole range of weather will be on display at this year’s Glastonbury festival, from bursts of sunshine to wind and rain This year’s Glastonbury festival will see rain, cool breezes and temperatures as high as 23°C, according to the Met Office. Met Office spokeswoman Helen Chivers told the Guardian that low temperatures and sporadic showers will mark the beginning of the festival on Thursday 23 June, but will improve to finish on a mostly dry, warm Sunday. “Wednesday and Thursday will see a mixture of sunny spells and short, sharp showers. There’s already mud at Glastonbury because it has rained in the run-up to the festival. It will also feel a little cooler than normal for this time of year because there will be a breeze,” Chivers said. “But after that things really don’t look that bad,” she continued. “Friday should be mostly dry with sunny spells. There will be rain overnight, and on and off through Saturday. But the rain won’t be heavy – it will be a humid, damp and cloudy day.” Temperatures will steadily climb over the weekend, with night-time temperatures on Thursday at around 8 or 9°C. By Sunday, the rain is expected to clear and the sun will hopefully come out. “Sunday looks like the best day of the week,” said Chivers. “It is likely to be dry and hot, as high as 23°C. Sunny spells are expected throughout Sunday.” Glastonbury 2011 Glastonbury festival Pop and rock Festivals Weather Rosie Swash guardian.co.uk
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• Press refresh or hit auto-update for the latest • Email paolo.bandini@guardian.co.uk with your thoughts • Click here for today’s order of play • Check out the latest scores here • You can even follow Paolo on Twitter, if that’s your thing 2.21pm: Rezai has just taken the second set against Williams, levelling things up at 6-3, 6-3. But I know you’re not interested in that – what you want to know is how Britain’s own Daniel Cox is getting on over on Court 14. I’m happy to report that after holding serve, Cox is now just 6-2, 6-4, 5-4 down – and has Stakhovsky right where he wants him. 2.14pm: Andy Roddick is doing his thing on Court 1, fizzing down serves at three times the speed of sound to leave Andreas Beck swishing his racket at thin air. Roddick presently leads 6-4, 4-3. Meantime, Alan McWhinney puts me on the spot. “Who would your preference be for best-looking male tennis player of all time,” he demands. Bjorn Borg, clearly. How can you argue with all that hair? 2pm: Time for an email. “Why are there so many empty seats on centre and No 1 courts? (admittedly there are not so many empty seats to see Serena Williams, but Murray’s match last night was half-empty, as were several singles yesterday),” demands someone claiming to be called DJ Sven. “This is the first week singles, when it is virtually impossible to get on to the show courts without queuing for days. You can only assume that these non-occupants must be there on some corporate jolly and are away in some tent stuffing themselves with smoked salmon and not letting the tennis get in the way of their massively important corporate networking. It is a total scandal (not to mention a good way of completely undermining the atmosphere and the value of the championships) that these fat cats are taking seats away from real fans who are camping on the street to get into the ground. Grrrrr!” Well Wimbledon doesn’t give out Corporate seats in the same way as, say the Olympics, Sven, but there will certainly be plenty of debenture holders who have regular access and therefore feel less anxious about being there all the time. Some, indeed, will use the opportunity to invite business associates here and may be more concerned with the talk over lunch than the tennis itself. But it’s also true that some who spend all that money on tickets for the show courts do so because they want to see one match in particular. When that match isn’t on, they might prefer to watch a match on an outside court than the one that happens to be on Centre. 1.55pm: And now some actual news from Twitter – Jamie Murray has just informed the world that he has found himself a partner for the mixed doubles. I have a mixed partner! I’ll be playing this year with Jarmila Gajdosova! 1.52pm: A most perplexing missive from the official Wimbledon Twitter account. Vote now for the best-looking male player in history of #Wimbledon http://bit.ly/kUQXSk Federer currently leading Nadal. Do U agree? Federer, the best-looking of all-time? Really ? 1.49pm: Yeah, that little run is now over. Williams holds serve to take the set. Over on court 14, Britain’s Daniel Cox is going down in entirely predictable flames against Stakhovsky, trailing 6-2, 5-4. 1.43pm: We return to Centre Court to find Rezai clinging on desperately in the first set – 5-2 down and serving to stay in the set. She gets there, too, watching Williams clump a backhand long at 40-30. Meaning that so far Rezai has won three out of three games when I’ve been watching, and nought out of five when I haven’t. Just saying. 1.40pm: Now for something completely different. Tennis, like it used to be. 1.36pm: Keothavong gets into the spirit of things with a huge “Com’ ON!” as she brings up match point at 40-30, but Broady hangs on in there, bludgeoning a two-handed backhand across from right to left to leave her opponent stranded. No matter – Keothavong quickly brings up another, and seals the match with as Broady’s attempt to parry her serve sails an inch long. It was never really in doubt in the end: Keothavong served better and returned better. But it goes without saying that she may find things rather trickier against the eighth seed Kvitova in the second round. 1.28pm: Serena Williams has broken back to tie the first set at 2-2 against Rezai, but I can’t tell you any more than that because I’ve flicked back to the all-British affair on Court 12. Broady ends a lengthy deuce to hold serve with a deft backhand dropshot, but Keothavong will now have the opportunity now to serve for the match. 1.22pm: That said, it is a shame they couldn’t have got Ms Ross to pitch in with some kind of opening ceremony … 1.20pm: Rezai shows what I know by breaking Williams’s opening service game. Diana Ross has been spotted watching on Centre Court. With rain forecast for this afternoon, let’s just say it’s a more promising start than Cliff Richard. 1.17pm: The first British winner of the day could be confirmed shortly, too, as Keothavong has broken Broady again in the second set and leads 6-2, 6-4. That Glatch win, meanwhile, means Daniel Cox will be up shortly on Court 14 for his match against Sergiy Stakhovksy. 1.15pm: The first two results of the day are in. Petra Kvitova has beaten Alexa Glatch 6-2, 6-2; while Tsvetana Pironkova overcame Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-1. 1.06pm: A lot of people have tipped this match between Rezai and Williams as a potential upset – a comment that surely stems at least in part from memories of the Frenchwoman’s win over Venus Williams in last year’s Madrid Open final. Certainly Rezai has the raw power to trouble anybody, but in truth that is not a quality Serena Williams traditionally has that much trouble with. Of course there is uncertainty over the American given the extent to which the various surgeries to her foot and lung have disrupted her year, but Rezai too has had her share of difficulties off the court – most notably a very public falling out with her father. Earlier this month, she was reported to have contacted the police in France, accusing him of ‘harassment, intentional violence and death threats’, as well as ‘swindling tens of thousands of euros’ . 1.03pm: “I know of at least one underdog who absolutely no one is fond of ,” notes Sam Brydges. Fair. 1.01pm: Unlike her sister yesterday, Serena Williams is out on time to get things started on Centre Court. Also unlike her sister, she has opted for a sensible cardigan. 12.57pm: With the cricket Test series against Sri Lanka finished, my colleague Matt Scott spotted some familiar faces making their way through the gates. He writes: England’s victorious cricketers have headed to Wimbledon this week fter their success in the Sri Lanka Test series. (Actually, it was more of a two-part mini-series than a proper examination of Test mettle, but history records it as a win so who are we to judge?) Everyone from James Anderson to Jonathan Trott, with Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton thrown in, are present. And at 6ft 7in it was impossible to miss Chris Tremlett on the way to his seat. So I confronted him to ask if this was his opportunity to interrogate the royals about the piecemeal distribution of gongs in the recent Queen’s Birthday Honours to the England cricket team, with Alistair Cook MBE and Andrew Strauss OBE the only players recognised from among the Ashes winners. “No, no I won’t be doing that,” said the seamer who has taken 45 Test wickets at 25.20. “But I did notice they all went to the batters,” he added, before remembering he was talking to a journalist. “…Although they did deserve it. 12.51pm: Keothavong takes the first set as Broady clumps a forehand into the net. Does this now make her the underdog? We’re supposed to love them right? Just behind the umpire, a nice lady in a twinset and pearls breaks down at the sheer confusion of it all. 12.44pm: For the record Niland is actually the first Irishman to play at Wimbledon since 1980 – not 1984, as our very own Simon Cambers explains. The American-born and raised Matt Doyle became an Irish citizen in 1985, but his last appearance at Wimbledon came the year before, when he was still a United States player. So instead Niland will be following in the footsteps of Sean Sorensen, who lost to Rod Laver in the first round in 1977 and played for a second time in 1980. 12.42pm: Middle Britain aren’t the only ones with their flags out today, as deeman1782 notes below the line. “Come on Conor Niland, the 1st Irishman to play in Wimbledon since 1984,” he hurrahs. Niland, ranked 184th in the world, is here very much on merit having battled through three rounds of qualifying in Roehampton this week, but his opponent Adrian Mannarino will be the strong favourite when they trot out on Court 17 later today (they are third up on the court). The pair have only played once – Niland losing in three sets at a Futures tournament back in 2006 – but the 22-year-old Mannarino is playing the best tennis of his career, and threatening to break into the top 50. 12.35pm: Scratch that last comment – Broady just lost her own serve to love. Plus she screeched at one point. Terribly un-British. Has she got some foreign parentage this can be blamed on, muses the lady in the floral hat to the plump man next to her, as he chomps into another strawberry sandwich. Keothavong leads 3-2. Elsewhere on the show courts, Radek Stepanek has broken Fernando Verdasco and leads 3-1. Jelena Jankovic, meanwhile, is level at 3-3 with Maria Jose Martinez. Which probably makes a nice change for her from being asked questions about how Jamie Murray used to flirt with her several years ago. 12.31pm: IIt was awful and it cost me £100000000000,” anounces Oliver Lewis in response to my strawberry sandwich review request. “Hand it over!” Sadly Oliver, your ruse has been blown. I have it on good information that the snack in question is available for just a single English pound. Which probably doesn’t say much for the quality of the strawberries. 12.24pm: Conflict is a-brewing on Court 12, as literally dozens of polite middle-aged men and women struggle to determine which out of Broady and Keothavong they should clap more loudly for. Keothavong would seem the natural choice – Broady, after all, is the bad girl of British tennis, one who famously had her LTA funding cut in 2007 after being photographed *gasp* eating pizza and *faint* posing in a flirty manner. But on the other hand, at 21, Broady’s career is the one with greater upside than Keothavong, whose career has been on a downhill curve since breaking into the top 50 in 2009. Plus she’s got a mean serve and meaty groundstrokes, and most importantly … is winning 2-1 in the first set. 12.17pm: The most troubling piece of news to cross my desk so far today: apparently Tesco are flogging Wimbledon-themed strawberries and cream sandwiches . If anyone is prepared to sample said monstrosity, I will happily reimburse the cost of purchase in return for a review and/or pictures. 12.11pm: And they’re off. Broady biffs down a series of big serves to hold her first service game to 15. An awkward camera angle then makes it briefly appear as though the ball boy is giving her a pat on the bum for encouragement. I’m at least 87% sure that isn’t what happened. 12.06pm: Keothavong and Broady are out promptly to knock up on Court 12. Our man Owen Gibson tweets: Combining two of middle England’s favourite things: Queues at court 12 for the guarantee of a British winner between Keothavang and Broady. 12pm: For those who missed yesterday’s action, or simply have very short memories, here’s a quick refresher: • Andy Murray romped past Daniel Gimeno-Traver and into the second round, but not before fulfilling his contractual obligation to blow a set needlessly and get Middle Britain unnecessarily anxious . • Boris Becker made controversial remarks about Murray’s mother . • Rafael Nadal won. Obviously . • Britain’s Katie O’Brien lost to a formerly retired 40-year-old , then drank some Pimms . • Venus Williams wore a playsuit . Up in the Royal Box, so did Rear Admiral Kilgour . 11.45am: Morning folks. The wind is blowing and the sun fighting a losing battle to be seen behind the grey clouds hovering ominously over SW19, but with a quarter of an hour to go before play starts on the outside courts the good news is that there is not yet any sign of rain. Good thing too – after a restless night camped outside the gates, one or two fans are taking the opportunity to get some shut-eye on the outer courts . Best to get it in now, as we have an eventful day coming up, including: • All three of Serena Williams , Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic (in that order) in action on centre court – as well as Andy Roddick, Robin Soderling and the women’s No1 Caroline Wozniacki on court 1. • An improbable first-round rematch between the most gifted undead tennis players you’re ever likely to see . Last year the decaying corpses of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut went at it for an incredible 183 games in a match that lasted 11 hours and five minutes and had to be played across three days. Today they are fourth up on the recently revamped Court 3 – assuming the weather holds. • Most importantly of all, today we will see A British Winner . In fact, we could even see more than one – a total of eight British players are in action today – but with Naomi Broady taking on Anne Keothavong in today’s first match on Court 12, the prospect of a total failure has at least been eliminated. Wimbledon 2011 Wimbledon Serena Williams Roger Federer Tennis Paolo Bandini guardian.co.uk
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• Press refresh or hit auto-update for the latest • Email paolo.bandini@guardian.co.uk with your thoughts • Click here for today’s order of play • Check out the latest scores here • You can even follow Paolo on Twitter, if that’s your thing 2.21pm: Rezai has just taken the second set against Williams, levelling things up at 6-3, 6-3. But I know you’re not interested in that – what you want to know is how Britain’s own Daniel Cox is getting on over on Court 14. I’m happy to report that after holding serve, Cox is now just 6-2, 6-4, 5-4 down – and has Stakhovsky right where he wants him. 2.14pm: Andy Roddick is doing his thing on Court 1, fizzing down serves at three times the speed of sound to leave Andreas Beck swishing his racket at thin air. Roddick presently leads 6-4, 4-3. Meantime, Alan McWhinney puts me on the spot. “Who would your preference be for best-looking male tennis player of all time,” he demands. Bjorn Borg, clearly. How can you argue with all that hair? 2pm: Time for an email. “Why are there so many empty seats on centre and No 1 courts? (admittedly there are not so many empty seats to see Serena Williams, but Murray’s match last night was half-empty, as were several singles yesterday),” demands someone claiming to be called DJ Sven. “This is the first week singles, when it is virtually impossible to get on to the show courts without queuing for days. You can only assume that these non-occupants must be there on some corporate jolly and are away in some tent stuffing themselves with smoked salmon and not letting the tennis get in the way of their massively important corporate networking. It is a total scandal (not to mention a good way of completely undermining the atmosphere and the value of the championships) that these fat cats are taking seats away from real fans who are camping on the street to get into the ground. Grrrrr!” Well Wimbledon doesn’t give out Corporate seats in the same way as, say the Olympics, Sven, but there will certainly be plenty of debenture holders who have regular access and therefore feel less anxious about being there all the time. Some, indeed, will use the opportunity to invite business associates here and may be more concerned with the talk over lunch than the tennis itself. But it’s also true that some who spend all that money on tickets for the show courts do so because they want to see one match in particular. When that match isn’t on, they might prefer to watch a match on an outside court than the one that happens to be on Centre. 1.55pm: And now some actual news from Twitter – Jamie Murray has just informed the world that he has found himself a partner for the mixed doubles. I have a mixed partner! I’ll be playing this year with Jarmila Gajdosova! 1.52pm: A most perplexing missive from the official Wimbledon Twitter account. Vote now for the best-looking male player in history of #Wimbledon http://bit.ly/kUQXSk Federer currently leading Nadal. Do U agree? Federer, the best-looking of all-time? Really ? 1.49pm: Yeah, that little run is now over. Williams holds serve to take the set. Over on court 14, Britain’s Daniel Cox is going down in entirely predictable flames against Stakhovsky, trailing 6-2, 5-4. 1.43pm: We return to Centre Court to find Rezai clinging on desperately in the first set – 5-2 down and serving to stay in the set. She gets there, too, watching Williams clump a backhand long at 40-30. Meaning that so far Rezai has won three out of three games when I’ve been watching, and nought out of five when I haven’t. Just saying. 1.40pm: Now for something completely different. Tennis, like it used to be. 1.36pm: Keothavong gets into the spirit of things with a huge “Com’ ON!” as she brings up match point at 40-30, but Broady hangs on in there, bludgeoning a two-handed backhand across from right to left to leave her opponent stranded. No matter – Keothavong quickly brings up another, and seals the match with as Broady’s attempt to parry her serve sails an inch long. It was never really in doubt in the end: Keothavong served better and returned better. But it goes without saying that she may find things rather trickier against the eighth seed Kvitova in the second round. 1.28pm: Serena Williams has broken back to tie the first set at 2-2 against Rezai, but I can’t tell you any more than that because I’ve flicked back to the all-British affair on Court 12. Broady ends a lengthy deuce to hold serve with a deft backhand dropshot, but Keothavong will now have the opportunity now to serve for the match. 1.22pm: That said, it is a shame they couldn’t have got Ms Ross to pitch in with some kind of opening ceremony … 1.20pm: Rezai shows what I know by breaking Williams’s opening service game. Diana Ross has been spotted watching on Centre Court. With rain forecast for this afternoon, let’s just say it’s a more promising start than Cliff Richard. 1.17pm: The first British winner of the day could be confirmed shortly, too, as Keothavong has broken Broady again in the second set and leads 6-2, 6-4. That Glatch win, meanwhile, means Daniel Cox will be up shortly on Court 14 for his match against Sergiy Stakhovksy. 1.15pm: The first two results of the day are in. Petra Kvitova has beaten Alexa Glatch 6-2, 6-2; while Tsvetana Pironkova overcame Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-1. 1.06pm: A lot of people have tipped this match between Rezai and Williams as a potential upset – a comment that surely stems at least in part from memories of the Frenchwoman’s win over Venus Williams in last year’s Madrid Open final. Certainly Rezai has the raw power to trouble anybody, but in truth that is not a quality Serena Williams traditionally has that much trouble with. Of course there is uncertainty over the American given the extent to which the various surgeries to her foot and lung have disrupted her year, but Rezai too has had her share of difficulties off the court – most notably a very public falling out with her father. Earlier this month, she was reported to have contacted the police in France, accusing him of ‘harassment, intentional violence and death threats’, as well as ‘swindling tens of thousands of euros’ . 1.03pm: “I know of at least one underdog who absolutely no one is fond of ,” notes Sam Brydges. Fair. 1.01pm: Unlike her sister yesterday, Serena Williams is out on time to get things started on Centre Court. Also unlike her sister, she has opted for a sensible cardigan. 12.57pm: With the cricket Test series against Sri Lanka finished, my colleague Matt Scott spotted some familiar faces making their way through the gates. He writes: England’s victorious cricketers have headed to Wimbledon this week fter their success in the Sri Lanka Test series. (Actually, it was more of a two-part mini-series than a proper examination of Test mettle, but history records it as a win so who are we to judge?) Everyone from James Anderson to Jonathan Trott, with Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton thrown in, are present. And at 6ft 7in it was impossible to miss Chris Tremlett on the way to his seat. So I confronted him to ask if this was his opportunity to interrogate the royals about the piecemeal distribution of gongs in the recent Queen’s Birthday Honours to the England cricket team, with Alistair Cook MBE and Andrew Strauss OBE the only players recognised from among the Ashes winners. “No, no I won’t be doing that,” said the seamer who has taken 45 Test wickets at 25.20. “But I did notice they all went to the batters,” he added, before remembering he was talking to a journalist. “…Although they did deserve it. 12.51pm: Keothavong takes the first set as Broady clumps a forehand into the net. Does this now make her the underdog? We’re supposed to love them right? Just behind the umpire, a nice lady in a twinset and pearls breaks down at the sheer confusion of it all. 12.44pm: For the record Niland is actually the first Irishman to play at Wimbledon since 1980 – not 1984, as our very own Simon Cambers explains. The American-born and raised Matt Doyle became an Irish citizen in 1985, but his last appearance at Wimbledon came the year before, when he was still a United States player. So instead Niland will be following in the footsteps of Sean Sorensen, who lost to Rod Laver in the first round in 1977 and played for a second time in 1980. 12.42pm: Middle Britain aren’t the only ones with their flags out today, as deeman1782 notes below the line. “Come on Conor Niland, the 1st Irishman to play in Wimbledon since 1984,” he hurrahs. Niland, ranked 184th in the world, is here very much on merit having battled through three rounds of qualifying in Roehampton this week, but his opponent Adrian Mannarino will be the strong favourite when they trot out on Court 17 later today (they are third up on the court). The pair have only played once – Niland losing in three sets at a Futures tournament back in 2006 – but the 22-year-old Mannarino is playing the best tennis of his career, and threatening to break into the top 50. 12.35pm: Scratch that last comment – Broady just lost her own serve to love. Plus she screeched at one point. Terribly un-British. Has she got some foreign parentage this can be blamed on, muses the lady in the floral hat to the plump man next to her, as he chomps into another strawberry sandwich. Keothavong leads 3-2. Elsewhere on the show courts, Radek Stepanek has broken Fernando Verdasco and leads 3-1. Jelena Jankovic, meanwhile, is level at 3-3 with Maria Jose Martinez. Which probably makes a nice change for her from being asked questions about how Jamie Murray used to flirt with her several years ago. 12.31pm: IIt was awful and it cost me £100000000000,” anounces Oliver Lewis in response to my strawberry sandwich review request. “Hand it over!” Sadly Oliver, your ruse has been blown. I have it on good information that the snack in question is available for just a single English pound. Which probably doesn’t say much for the quality of the strawberries. 12.24pm: Conflict is a-brewing on Court 12, as literally dozens of polite middle-aged men and women struggle to determine which out of Broady and Keothavong they should clap more loudly for. Keothavong would seem the natural choice – Broady, after all, is the bad girl of British tennis, one who famously had her LTA funding cut in 2007 after being photographed *gasp* eating pizza and *faint* posing in a flirty manner. But on the other hand, at 21, Broady’s career is the one with greater upside than Keothavong, whose career has been on a downhill curve since breaking into the top 50 in 2009. Plus she’s got a mean serve and meaty groundstrokes, and most importantly … is winning 2-1 in the first set. 12.17pm: The most troubling piece of news to cross my desk so far today: apparently Tesco are flogging Wimbledon-themed strawberries and cream sandwiches . If anyone is prepared to sample said monstrosity, I will happily reimburse the cost of purchase in return for a review and/or pictures. 12.11pm: And they’re off. Broady biffs down a series of big serves to hold her first service game to 15. An awkward camera angle then makes it briefly appear as though the ball boy is giving her a pat on the bum for encouragement. I’m at least 87% sure that isn’t what happened. 12.06pm: Keothavong and Broady are out promptly to knock up on Court 12. Our man Owen Gibson tweets: Combining two of middle England’s favourite things: Queues at court 12 for the guarantee of a British winner between Keothavang and Broady. 12pm: For those who missed yesterday’s action, or simply have very short memories, here’s a quick refresher: • Andy Murray romped past Daniel Gimeno-Traver and into the second round, but not before fulfilling his contractual obligation to blow a set needlessly and get Middle Britain unnecessarily anxious . • Boris Becker made controversial remarks about Murray’s mother . • Rafael Nadal won. Obviously . • Britain’s Katie O’Brien lost to a formerly retired 40-year-old , then drank some Pimms . • Venus Williams wore a playsuit . Up in the Royal Box, so did Rear Admiral Kilgour . 11.45am: Morning folks. The wind is blowing and the sun fighting a losing battle to be seen behind the grey clouds hovering ominously over SW19, but with a quarter of an hour to go before play starts on the outside courts the good news is that there is not yet any sign of rain. Good thing too – after a restless night camped outside the gates, one or two fans are taking the opportunity to get some shut-eye on the outer courts . Best to get it in now, as we have an eventful day coming up, including: • All three of Serena Williams , Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic (in that order) in action on centre court – as well as Andy Roddick, Robin Soderling and the women’s No1 Caroline Wozniacki on court 1. • An improbable first-round rematch between the most gifted undead tennis players you’re ever likely to see . Last year the decaying corpses of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut went at it for an incredible 183 games in a match that lasted 11 hours and five minutes and had to be played across three days. Today they are fourth up on the recently revamped Court 3 – assuming the weather holds. • Most importantly of all, today we will see A British Winner . In fact, we could even see more than one – a total of eight British players are in action today – but with Naomi Broady taking on Anne Keothavong in today’s first match on Court 12, the prospect of a total failure has at least been eliminated. Wimbledon 2011 Wimbledon Serena Williams Roger Federer Tennis Paolo Bandini guardian.co.uk
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