Le Journal

The ripple effects of geopolitics continue to reshape the landscape of professional tennis. After Maria Timofeeva, Kamilla Rakhimova, another name, has joined the growing list of Russian-born players choosing a new flag. Who is it? This time it’s the 22-year-old WTA star, Polina Kudermetova. The sister of the former world number 9, Veronika Kudermetova, is […] The post Russian Tennis Hit Hard as Another WTA Player Forfeits Citizenship appeared first on EssentiallySports.

It was a beautiful summer evening at Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach, thronged on Sunday by thousands of people soaking up the lingering warmth or taking sunset dips in the sparkling sea. Nearby, a Hanukkah celebration attracted families of all faiths, drawn in by face painting for children, ice cream, an outdoor movie and a petting zoo. Then mayhem erupted. For minute after minute shots rang out as people ran screaming, pulling each other into buildings, under tables and down alleyways, their beach towels, picnic blankets and flip flops strewn behind them as they fled. The violence horrified Australians not only because of its scale and the antisemitic extremism behind it, but also because it unfolded at a cultural and environmental landmark that has long represented the country’s cheeky, friendly and relaxed way of life. Bondi represents Australia’s laid back culture Bondi is Australia’s most famous beach. It’s the backdrop of a long-running reality television series about local lifeguards called “Bondi Rescue.” It’s also popular on Christmas day with foreign backpackers who flock to celebrate on the sand. The beach is well known for its election day fashion too. By tradition, some Australians visiting the Bondi polling place to vote arrive clad only in tight-fitting swim briefs known as Budgy Smugglers, with news photographers jostling to capture the most irreverent shots. Sunday night began in that spirit, with children enjoying rides and bubble blowing at the event, called Chanukah by the Sea. Then two men, a father and son, began indiscriminately gunning down men, women and children. Those killed were aged between 10 and 87. One was a Holocaust survivor, the Australian newspaper reported. The violence targeted Jewish families Rebecca, 33, who declined to give her surname because she feared reprisals, was with her husband and two children when gunshots erupted. In tears the morning after the attack, she described how she shielded her 5-year-old son with her body under a table. “I was just praying to God, ‘Please, don’t let us die. Please just keep my son safe,’” she told The Associated Press. A man lying inches from her was shot in the chest. Rebecca’s 65-year-old mother in law used a piece of cardboard to apply pressure to his wound but the man died. “One lady was to my side, and she was an elderly woman who couldn’t get down on the floor and they just shot her,” Rebecca said. The shots went on and on. In footage supplied to AP by a member of the public who filmed it from their nearby hotel room, gunfire can be heard for at least 7 minutes, totaling dozens of blasts. Australia 22 hours ago Father and son gunmen kill at least 15 people in attack on Hanukkah event at Sydney's Bondi Beach Palestinian-Israeli relations Aug 10 Australia will recognize Palestine as a state, prime minister says Guns are rare in Australia The violence provoked terror at the beach, in part because most Australians don’t come into close contact with guns. One beachgoer, Eleanor, who declined to give her surname, told the AP that she was walking at Bondi when the shots began and ran, fully clothed, into the ocean. On Monday, she plucked her sunglasses from a pile of abandoned belongings that lined the beach. Bondi is an affluent suburb close to downtown Sydney and part of the Waverley local government area, which is the center of Sydney’s Jewish life. A knife attack last year at the nearby Bondi Junction shopping mall was initially feared to be an antisemitic attack, but authorities ruled out any political motive. In that episode, law enforcement shot dead Joel Cauchi, who had a history of mental illness, after he stabbed to death six people and wounded another 12 at the complex on a busy Saturday in April. Mass shootings in Australia are rare. The death toll from Sunday’s massacre is the highest since a mass shooting in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996, that made it all but impossible for Australians to obtain rapid-fire rifles. The authorities said…