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France’s 42-27 win over Ireland in Dublin on Saturday propelled them into the lead in the Six Nations title chase.
But their free-scoring form has not only got the trophy engraver sharpening his tools, it is forcing a rewriting of historic records.
Wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s scorching form has delivered seven tries in four matches – a record for a Frenchman in a Six Nations campaign.
With a match to go in this year’s tournament, he is already level with Ireland wing Jacob Stockdale’s record for tries in a single edition of the Six Nations.
If he crosses again against Scotland in Paris on Saturday, the 21-year-old will equal the all-time record in the tournament.
England’s Cyril Lowe and Scotland’s Ian Smith scored eight tries in the 1914 and 1925 championships respectively.
Bielle-Biarrey now has 17 tries from his first 18 caps but has some way to go to catch his Bordeaux-Begles team-mate Damian Penaud.
Penaud crossed for his 38th try for France in the win over Ireland, equalling the record held by the legendary Serge Blanco.
The 28-year-old has reached his tally in significantly fewer games, having won 55 caps to Blanco’s 93.
Thomas Ramos is another French player with an eye on a landmark. The 29-year-old will surpass former fly-half Frederic Michalak as France’s all-time record points scorer if he can score seven points to reach a total of 437.
Barring a wasteful defeat by England in round two, France have been ruthless.
They have scored 26 tries in four matches, 11 of them in the 74-23 thrashing of Italy, which is France’s biggest ever win in the championship.
If they keep up that rate of scoring, they will comfortably break the record for tries scored in a single campaign, which was set by England when they crossed 29 times en route to the title in 2001.
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France’s 42-27 win over Ireland in Dublin on Saturday propelled them into the lead in the Six Nations title chase.
But their free-scoring form has not only got the trophy engraver sharpening his tools, it is forcing a rewriting of historic records.
Wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s scorching form has delivered seven tries in four matches – a record for a Frenchman in a Six Nations campaign.
With a match to go in this year’s tournament, he is already level with Ireland wing Jacob Stockdale’s record for tries in a single edition of the Six Nations.
If he crosses again against Scotland in Paris on Saturday, the 21-year-old will equal the all-time record in the tournament.
England’s Cyril Lowe and Scotland’s Ian Smith scored eight tries in the 1914 and 1925 championships respectively.
Bielle-Biarrey now has 17 tries from his first 18 caps but has some way to go to catch his Bordeaux-Begles team-mate Damian Penaud.
Penaud crossed for his 38th try for France in the win over Ireland, equalling the record held by the legendary Serge Blanco.
The 28-year-old has reached his tally in significantly fewer games, having won 55 caps to Blanco’s 93.
Thomas Ramos is another French player with an eye on a landmark. The 29-year-old will surpass former fly-half Frederic Michalak as France’s all-time record points scorer if he can score seven points to reach a total of 437.
Barring a wasteful defeat by England in round two, France have been ruthless.
They have scored 26 tries in four matches, 11 of them in the 74-23 thrashing of Italy, which is France’s biggest ever win in the championship.
If they keep up that rate of scoring, they will comfortably break the record for tries scored in a single campaign, which was set by England when they crossed 29 times en route to the title in 2001.
This video can not be played
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
This video can not be played
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
France’s 42-27 win over Ireland in Dublin on Saturday propelled them into the lead in the Six Nations title chase.
But their free-scoring form has not only got the trophy engraver sharpening his tools, it is forcing a rewriting of historic records.
Wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s scorching form has delivered seven tries in four matches – a record for a Frenchman in a Six Nations campaign.
With a match to go in this year’s tournament, he is already level with Ireland wing Jacob Stockdale’s record for tries in a single edition of the competition.
If he crosses again against Scotland in Paris on Saturday, the 21-year-old will turn his sights to the all-time record in the tournament.
England’s Cyril Lowe and Scotland’s Ian Smith scored eight tries in the 1914 and 1925 championships respectively.
Bielle-Biarrey now has 17 tries from his first 18 caps but has some way to go to catch his Bordeaux-Begles team-mate Damian Penaud.
Penaud crossed for his 38th try for France in the win over Ireland, equalling the record held by the legendary Serge Blanco.
The 28-year-old has reached his tally in significantly fewer games, having won 55 caps to Blanco’s 93.
Thomas Ramos is another French player with an eye on a landmark. The 29-year-old will surpass former fly-half Frederic Michalak as France’s all-time record points scorer if he can score seven points to reach a total of 437.
Barring a wasteful defeat by England in round two, France have been ruthless.
They have scored 26 tries in four matches, 11 of them in the 74-23 thrashing of Italy, which is France’s biggest ever win in the championship.
If they keep up that rate of scoring, they will comfortably break the record for tries scored in a single campaign, which was set by England when they crossed 29 times en route to the title in 2001.
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Israel says it has cut off electricity to Gaza in what seems like another attempt to force Hamas to accept changes it wants to impose upon the ceasefire terms agreed in January.
Israel imposed a blockade of humanitarian aid entering Gaza early in March in an attempt to force Hamas into extending the ceasefire’s first phase and releasing more captives.
It wants to do that to avoid moving to the second phase, which would entail a permanent end to the war.
Aid agencies, human rights organisations and countries, including some of Israel’s allies, have denounced the decision, citing its humanitarian impact and international laws prohibiting the collective punishment of a civilian population.
But according to statements from Gaza and media reports, this power cut announcement is not as it seems.
Here’s everything we know:
What exactly did Israel announce?
It said all electricity it provides to Gaza will be cut.
In a social media post on Sunday, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said he had “cut off electricity to the Gaza Strip immediately”.
“Enough with the talk, it’s time for action”! he said on the day before another round of ceasefire negotiations in Doha.
However, according to Israeli media, the announcement may be less dramatic than its proponents have made it appear.
You mean Gaza won’t go dark?
It was already dark.
According to , The Times of Israel, all electricity from Israel into Gaza was already cut in the wake of the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, during which 1, 139 people were killed in southern Israel and about 250 people were captured and taken to Gaza.
In November, the electricity supply to a desalination plant near Deir el-Balah in central Gaza was restored. The plant supports about 600, 000 mostly displaced civilians in central and southern Gaza.
The plant will now subsist on stored power, generators and what remains of the solar panels not damaged or destroyed by Israeli shelling.
Inas Al-Ghoul, a Palestinian engineer, checks a solar water desalination system she built in response to a water crisis in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip]File: Hatem Khaled/Reuters]
Did Israel only cut electricity and aid?
No.
In its attempt to revise the terms of the ceasefire it signed in January, Israel has also launched military strikes across the enclave and has told the media it is preparing a resumption of fighting in Gaza.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza has , issued daily summaries of civilians killed during the ceasefire.  ,
Palestinians , in Rafah, where Israel now wants to keep a military presence , in violation of the ceasefire, have been attacked by Israeli tanks and drones since Friday, killing at least three people and wounding more.
How has Hamas responded?
In a statement issued on Sunday night, Hamas accused Israel of “cheap blackmail”.
“We strongly condemn the occupation’s decision to cut off electricity to Gaza, after depriving it of food, medicine, and water”, Izzat al-Risheq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, wrote, characterising the move as “a desperate attempt to pressure our people and their resistance”.
A youth pushes a bicycle loaded with filled water containers outside the desalination plant in Deir el-Balah, which stopped working when Israel cut off electricity to the Gaza Strip]Eyad Baba/AFP]
“Cutting off electricity, closing the crossings, stopping aid, relief and fuel, and starving our people, constitutes collective punishment and a full-fledged war crime”, al-Risheq added.
Who supports Israel in this?
The United States.
Israel says its current blockade of Gaza is in fact to force Hamas to comply with a proposal from US envoy Steve Witkoff involving extending the first phase of the ceasefire and returning a number of the Israeli captives.
Witkoff has yet to publicly confirm his role in the plan he is widely credited with having devised.
However, speaking to journalists before Monday’s talks in Doha, Witkoff confirmed his and the US administration’s continued full support for Israel, up to and including joint US and Israeli military action against Hamas.
At the same time,  , the US is conducting direct talks with Hamas over the release of five captives with US citizenship who are held by the group, only one of whom is thought to be alive.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff walks out of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 6, 2025]Ben Curtis/AP Photo]
Who doesn’t support Israel in these blockades?
Pretty much everyone else.
Both Egypt and Qatar, who have mediated the ceasefire talks, as well as Saudi Arabia and Jordan released statements this month criticising the Israeli move to block food, medicine and fuel into the Strip.
“Humanitarian aid should never be contingent on a ceasefire or used as a political tool”, France, Germany and the United Kingdom said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Criminal Court, which issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant last year, condemned the block on aid.
International rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have also condemned the renewed blockade, describing it as a breach of international law and a crime against humanity.
How could this affect the ongoing negotiations in Qatar?
That remains to be seen.
Hamas said in a statement it has “dealt flexibly” with mediators, including US envoy Adam Boehler, who is overseeing the direct talks on the US captives, and hopes to proceed to the agreed-upon stage two of the ceasefire.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said that he will punish “even among those closest” to him for participating in mass killings in the country’s coastal region days ago.
Hundreds are reported to have died in the violence, including members of the Alawite minority, as well as security forces who were ambushed by apparent supporters of the former President Bashar al-Assad. Security forces are accused of carrying out “revenge” attacks after the ambushes carried out against them.
“We fought to defend the oppressed, and we won’t accept that any blood be shed unjustly, or goes without punishment or accountability, even among those closest to us”, al-Sharaa said in an interview with the Reuters news agency on Monday.
“Many parties entered the Syrian coast and many violations occurred”, al-Sharaa added. “It became an opportunity for revenge”.
Al-Assad is an Alawite, and many leading members of his regime, which was toppled in December, were from the minority, with much of the country’s Sunni majority feeling disenfranchised by a state noted for its mass killing of Syrians affiliated with the opposition.
Al-Sharaa blamed the outbreak of the violence on Thursday on supporters of the former regime who were backed by foreigners. However, he acknowledged that attacks carried out by government forces had then taken place.
The bloodshed has shocked Syria, as the country attempts to stabilise following years of war and an ongoing economic crisis.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that nearly 1, 500 had been killed between Thursday and Saturday, including 830 civilians. The network said that security forces and allied groups had killed most of the civilians in the heartland of the Alawites in coastal Syria. Al Jazeera was unable to verify the report.
Al-Sharaa said that 200 members of the security forces were killed, but did not give an overall death toll, pending an investigation by an independent committee.
Babygirl actress, Nicole Kidman has decided to take a break from acting after her non-stop schedule last year.
The Oscar winner starred in A Family Affair, Spellbound and Babygirl, along with TV series The Perfect Couple, Expats and Lioness season two – all in one year. In 2024 alone, this accumulates to six different acting projects, not including her second series of show Nine Perfect Strangers and the promotion of her upcoming film Holland.
Kidman plans to take a well deserved rest after the promotion tour of Holland. On Sunday, the Lion star told the Hollywood Reporter that: “]This year is] actually not as crazy. I was much more out there last year”, sharing that after filming the next series of Nine Perfect Strangers, she’s “off for the rest of year”.
In her newest role, the Australian plays a homebody teacher in small town Holland, Michigan. Overtime, the character becomes paranoid that her husband (Matthew Macfadyen) is leading a double life. The thriller’s director, Mimi Cave told Variety that the star used “really sharp” instincts as a producer, for both pre and post-production, and stepped back during filming.
Nicole Kidman appeared onstage during the TIME Women Of The Year Leadership Forum this February (Getty Images for TIME)
Nicole’s recent red carpet look for the the Time Women of the Year Gala on February 25th, 2025 (Getty Images for TIME)
Cave highlighted how involved Kidman is with each of her projects, saying the actress is in “not in a heavy-handed way, but in a way that’s pinpoint surgical, looking at what could be helpful in the script”. She added that the star is “very interested in what the director wants, so the moment]they] start shooting, she steps back from the producer role and really allows herself to be caught up in the actual role”. Cave concluded by likening Kidman to “lightning in a bottle. She has to stay available, spiritually, physically, emotionally, to play the character”.
Nicole has also shared that though she receives many compliments, there is one particular one she hates to hear. To Time Magazine, one of Hollywood’s busiest stars admitted she dislikes being called “superwoman”. For many who believe Nicole to be one, the lady herself replied: “People go”, You’re a superwoman “- I hate it”. She explained that Superwoman is a label often given to women who are able to balance having a career and a family. This appeared to trigger the Kidman, who also also admitted to have been left frightened when she realised she was unable to breastfeed post-birth.
The mother shares two daughters, Sunday Rose, 16, and Faith Margaret, 14, with her husband and Country legend Keith Urban. The former of which she carried herself, whereas Faith Margaret was born through IVF surrogacy Nicole also shares grown children with her ex husband Tom Cruise – the pair adopting Bella, 32, and Connor, 30, together.
Nicole described her experience to Time magazine, saying she had asked “what just happened? Where’s my milk”?. The star also recalled standing in the shower with her sister’s assistance, post-birth, sharing how her sister was her “source of strength. She’d had five children – she had the wisdom to pass on”, said Kidman. In 2010, Kidman and Urban conceived Faith Margaret via surrogacy.
Recently, Nicole caught the eyes of both fans and press on Holland’s recent premiere Red Carpet at SXSW in Austin, Texas on Sunday. The 57 year old wore an elegant tulle striped dress which was reported to have a black built-in corset. The layered cream and black frock was paired with diamanté hoop earrings, several dainty rings and a black leather strap watch. Kidman’s dress accentuated the star’s toned legs through the mesh of her dress, the look ending in black stiletto heels.
