New Muslim Prayer Mat Points To Mecca

LONDON — Andy Murray’s Wimbledon career came to an anticlimactic end when Emma Raducanu, his mixed doubles partner, pulled out of that competition hours before their first-round match on Saturday because of an issue with her surgically repaired right wrist. The 37-year-old Murray, a two-time singles champion at the All England Club, has said he will head into retirement after competing at Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics, which start later this month. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Mixed doubles was supposed to be the last event at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament for Murray, who withdrew from singles because of an operation to remove a cyst from his spine on June 22, and then exited in the first round of men’s doubles alongside his older brother, Jamie. “Unfortunately I woke up with some stiffness in my right wrist this morning, so therefore I have decided to make the very tough decision to withdraw from the mixed doubles tonight,” Raducanu said.

LONDON — Prime Minister Keir Starmer held his first Cabinet meeting Saturday as his new government takes on the massive challenge of fixing a heap of domestic woes and winning over a public weary from years of austerity, political chaos and a battered economy. Starmer welcomed the new ministers around the table at 10 Downing St., saying it had been the honor of his life to be asked by King Charles III to form a government in a ceremony that officially elevated him to prime minister. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “We have a huge amount of work to do, so now we get on with our work,” he said. Starmer’s Labour Party delivered the biggest blow to the Conservatives in their two-century history Friday in a landslide victory on a platform of change. Among a raft of problems they face are boosting a sluggish economy, fixing a broken health care system, and restoring trust in government. “Just because Labour won a big landslide doesn’t mean all the problems that the Conservative government has faced has gone away,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. In his first remarks as prime minister Friday after the meeting “kissing of hands” ceremony with Charles at Buckingham Palace, Starmer said he would get to work immediately, though he cautioned it would take some time to show results., “Changing a country is not like flicking a switch,” he said as enthusiastic supporters cheered him outside his new official residence at 10 Downing.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran’s runoff presidential election Saturday, besting hard-liner Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country’s mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Pezeshkian promised no radical changes to Iran’s Shiite theocracy in his campaign and long has held Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the final arbiter of all matters of state in the country.

Today is Saturday, July 6, the 188th day of 2024. There are 178 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On July 6, 1957, Althea Gibson became the first Black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title as she defeated fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2. Also on this date: In 1483, England’s King Richard III was crowned in Westminster Abbey. In 1777, during the American Revolution, British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga (ty-kahn-dur-OH’-gah). Related Articles Finding your roots with help from your phone Today in History: July 5, Dolly the sheep marks cloning breakthrough Today in History: July 4, Declaration of Independence adopted in Philadelphia Rockies, dominated by Brewers’ Colin Rea, shut out at Coors Field Tribes have rights to a quarter of Colorado River’s water but have been excluded from decision-making.

MADISON, Wis. — President Joe Biden, fighting to save his endangered reelection effort, used a highly anticipated TV interview Friday to repeatedly reject taking an independent medical evaluation that would show voters he is up for serving another term in office while blaming his disastrous debate performance on a “bad episode” and saying there were “no indications of any serious condition.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “Look, I have a cognitive test every single day,” Biden told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, referring to the tasks he faces daily in a rigorous job.

Dear Eric: At a recent family celebration, I witnessed a crime committed by my outlaw relatives. These fools stole two bottles of nice-ish wine from the restaurant where we were celebrating. I was too stunned to say anything as an intervention and too late to prevent it from happening. My dear mother did not like the notion of me trying to “make right” by letting the restaurant know that this happened and making financial amends.