Notorious Sicilian mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro dies in jail
A notorious Italian mafia boss has died while receiving medical treatment after being arrested early this year, according to media reports. Matteo Messina Denaro was known as the last “godfather” of the Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian mafia. He was arrested in January after being on the run since 1993 and was suffering from colon cancer at the time of his arrest. He is believed to have ordered dozens of Mafia-related murders for the Cosa Nostra. Messina Denaro’s condition worsened in recent weeks and he was transferred to the San Salvatore hospital in L’Aquila from a maximum-security prison in central Italy. He had requested no aggressive medical treatment, Italian news agency ANSA reported on Monday. The medics had stopped feeding him after he was declared to be in an irreversible coma. A fugitive for the past 30 years, Messina Denaro was arrested at a private hospital in the Sicilian capital of Palermo, where he had been receiving treatment for cancer under a false name. He was sentenced in absentia to a life term for his role in the 1992 murders of anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. He also faced a life sentence for his role in bomb attacks in Florence, Rome and Milan which killed 10 people the following year. Messina Denaro was accused of helping organise the kidnapping of a 12-year-old, Giuseppe Di Matteo, to try to dissuade the boy’s father from giving evidence against the mafia as well. The boy was held for two years, then murdered. Nicknamed “Diabolik”, he was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s “boss of bosses”, after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore “Toto” Riina in 2017. According to medical records leaked to the Italian media, he underwent surgery for colon cancer in 2020 and 2022 under the false name “Andrea Buonafede”. A doctor at the Palermo clinic told the La Repubblica newspaper that Messina Denaro’s health had worsened significantly in the months leading up to his capture. Messina Denaro, who had a power base in the Sicilian port city of Trapani, in western Sicily, was considered Sicily’s Cosa Nostra top boss even while he was a fugitive. Police said in September 2022 that he was still able to issue commands relating to the way the mafia was run in the area around Trapani, his regional stronghold, despite his long disappearance. The son of a mafioso, Messina Denaro was born in the southwestern Sicilian town of Castelvetrano in 1962. He followed his father into the mob and was already carrying a gun at 15 years of age. Police said he carried out his first killing when he was 18. The Castelvetrano clan was allied to the Corleonesi, led by Salvatore “The Beast” Riina, who became the undisputed “boss of bosses” of the Sicilian mob, thanks to his ruthless pursuit of power. Nicknamed “U Siccu” (The Skinny One), Messina Denaro became his protege and showed he could be just as pitiless as his master, picking up 20 life prison terms in trials held in absentia for his role in an array of mob murders. He himself once claimed to have murdered enough people to fill a cemetery. He went into hiding in 1993 as a growing number of turncoats started providing details of his role in the mob, but investigators believe he rarely wandered far from Sicily. Police said he spent much of 2022 hiding in Campobello di Mazara, a town of about 11,000, a short drive from his mother’s house in western Sicily. He communicated with other mafiosi via “pizzini”, small pieces of paper, sometimes written in code and distributed by messengers, some of which were intercepted by police. He never married, but was known to have had a number of lovers. He wrote he had a daughter, but had never met her. Despite his notoriety, prosecutors have always doubted Messina Denaro became the Mafia “boss of bosses”, saying it was more likely that he was simply the head of Cosa Nostra in western Sicily. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Matteo Messina Denaro: The last ‘godfather’ of the Cosa Nostra arrested after 30 years on the run Watch moment Italy’s most infamous mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro is arrested Italian police announce arrest of most-wanted mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro Pope blames weapons industry for Russia-Ukraine war and 'martyrdom' of Ukrainian people Giorgio Napolitano, former Italian president, 1st ex-Communist in that post, has died, at 98 Sabato De Sarno makes much anticipated debut at Gucci under the gaze of stars like Julia Roberts
2023-09-25 15:18
Damien Comolli says Toulouse’s entire football operation ‘driven by data’
Toulouse president Damien Comolli insists that his club’s use of data is the reason behind their success rather than “football wisdom”. The entire football operation of the Ligue 1 club, who beat Liverpool in the Europa League last week, is entirely driven by data, from player and manager recruitment to which set-pieces to use in a match and when. It is bearing fruit as promotion from Ligue 2 in 2022 was followed by success in last season’s Coupe de France, which earned them their ticket to European football this season. And Comolli, who worked at Tottenham and Liverpool as sporting director, believes all their success comes from their use and understanding of the data. “Our whole football operation is driven by data, whether it his how we recruit a coach or sign a player, the way we play, the way we attack, the way we defend, from where we shoot, from where we cross, where we press,” Comolli said at Web Summit in Lisbon. “We try to optimise the wage bill and transfer budget using data. Data is part of our culture. “Where we gain a competitive advantage is we have decided to stick by data compared to the football wisdom. We are very disciplined at it. “At the moment we are struggling in the league, doing well in Europe. But with underlying data, we don’t look at results. “The day after the game, none of the pages of the match report will contain the result. It will show the underlying data, why we lost or why we won. “We need a bridge between the mathematics and science and the football people. Those individuals that can translate the data that is applicable to coaches and understandable to everyone, that bridge is absolutely key.” The use of data and artificial intelligence is quickly becoming more prominent in today’s game and Comolli believes it will have a big impact in the future of the game. He thinks that it will be particularly important in injury prevention. “In the last four seasons our player availability for per game has been at 95 per cent, the highest in France,” Comolli added. “We are constantly using data to measure player’s loads, we are are using AI to measure in-game data. “In the future it will help coaches make better decisions, when to make a substitution, when to make a tactical adjustment or not make one. “We played at Anfield, we were losing 4-1, our best striker was still on the pitch and we had a game a few days later. I messaged the analyst, ‘Why is he still on the pitch?’. “His data was showing he was in the red, so we brought him off. He went on to score in the next four games, maybe if we played him for longer he would have got injured or fatigued.” Read More No end to pursuit of the world’s best players, Saudi Pro League official says Basketball coach says sport can play big role in developing skills of youngsters Newcastle, Man Utd and West Ham target Leverkusen defender Chelsea ‘robbed’ by ‘embarrassing’ referee in Real Madrid draw, fumes Emma Hayes On this day in 2011: Martin Johnson resigns as England team manager Anthony Joshua sees Otto Wallin as stepping stone on way to title fight
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Tottenham lose at home to Brentford as fans turn on club’s board
Tottenham’s disappointing campaign took another turn for the worse after Bryan Mbeumo’s second-half brace earned Brentford a fine 3-1 win at their London rivals. Harry Kane’s early opener gave Spurs the perfect start in their quest to stay in the hunt for Europa League football, but the visitors turned the tables with an impressive display after the break. Mbeumo grabbed a quickfire brace to help fill the void of Ivan Toney, who on Thursday received an eight-month ban from all football activities from the FA for betting breaches. Yoane Wissa then sealed the victory late on for Thomas Frank’s side with Spurs suffering a 14th defeat of the Premier League season and leaving the pitch to boos after another match with more chants for chairman Daniel Levy to leave the club. Tottenham’s loss at Aston Villa last weekend had added to the glum mood around club, but the sun was shining for this final home fixture of the season and Ryan Mason rung the changes. Attackers Arnaut Danjuma and Dejan Kulusevski earned recalls while the fit-again Yves Bissouma made his first start since January with Spurs’ acting head coach reverting to the 4-2-3-1 formation he used in 2021. Chairman Levy used his programme notes to acknowledge the season struggles but promised to bring “on-pitch success” after a chaotic campaign. One of Levy’s many key decisions this summer – alongside hiring a new head coach and managing director of football – is to try and convince Kane to commit his long-term future to Spurs. After eight minutes Tottenham’s vice-captain provided yet another reminder of his importance. Oliver Skipp, another academy graduate, won a free-kick around 25-yards out and Kulusevski teed up Kane to curl over the wall and beyond David Raya for his 30th goal in all competitions. It was the perfect start for the hosts and Son Heung-min was the next to go close but Raya denied him after Kane’s pass. The strong opening period by Tottenham was not enough to prevent the first round of ‘Levy out’ chants from the South Stand with 23 minutes played to mark his number of years at the club. A second goal for the hosts should have followed immediately after but Emerson Royal’s header was brilliantly cleared off the line by Rico Henry after good work by Kulusevski and Son. Mathias Jensen side-footed over for Brentford minutes later but Spurs remained in the ascendancy and Danjuma headed wide before Ben Mee thwarted Son with a vital block. Kulusevski, impressive in the number 10 role, ended the half with a firm near-post effort that Raya pushed over to ensure it stayed 1-0 at the break. Bees boss Frank had seen enough and introduced Mikkel Damsgaard for the second half, which paid dividends straight away. It was Damsgaard who fed the ball into Yoane Wissa and he passed into the path of Mbeumo, who cut inside from the right and curled into the bottom corner to level in the 50th minute. While Kane blazed over after another Kulusevski through ball minutes later, Brentford had their tales up now and grabbed a second with 62 on the clock. Aaron Hickey played a superb ball down the right and Mbeumo raced away and dribbled into the area before side-footing into the bottom corner for his ninth goal of the campaign. More chants for chairman Levy to leave the club followed but only after Lucas Moura had been introduced for his farewell appearance. Mason turned to Pedro Porro and Richarlison next with the latter having half-hearted penalty appeals waved away before Wissa wrapped up the points. Shandon Baptise robbed the ball off Skipp and Mbeumo teed up Wissa, who curled home for his seventh goal this season. There was still time for nine minutes of stoppage-time and Raya to produce two outstanding saves to deny Richarlison before the full-time whistle was met with boos before chants urging Kane to stay amid uncertainty over his long-term future. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Cecilia Braekhus pulls out of Terri Harper fight through illness Emma Hayes won’t spend sunny Sunday evening watching potential WSL title decider Daniel Levy pledges to bring success to Tottenham
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Japan will soon release Fukushima radioactive water into the ocean. How worried should we be?
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