- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
Bombshell as France's Breton slams door on EU commission
France's powerful European Union commissioner Thierry Breton abruptly resigned on Monday with a parting shot at the bloc's chief as she prepared to present her new team.
French President Emmanuel Macron proposed Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne as Breton's replacement.
Announcing his walkout the day before Ursula von der Leyen was expected to unveil her incoming team, the bloc's internal market commissioner claimed the EU chief had sought at the last minute to push him out.
President Emmanuel Macron had put Breton's name forward for France's spot on the EU executive team, and his reappointment to a sizeable role -- reflecting the country's weight within the 27-nation bloc -- had been taken as a given.
"In the very final stretch of negotiations on the composition of the future College, you asked France to withdraw my name," Breton wrote in a scorching letter to von der Leyen, posted on X.
"In light of these latest developments -- further testimony to questionable governance -- I have to conclude that I can no longer exercise my duties in the College," he wrote.
"I am therefore resigning from my position as European Commissioner, effective immediately."
A European Commission spokeswoman told reporters that von der Leyen had accepted Breton's resignation and "thanks him for his work as commissioner throughout the mandate".
In Paris, Macron's office said the president was instead proposing Sejourne for an EU portfolio focused on "industrial and technological sovereignty and European competitiveness", highlighting his past experience leading the centrist Renew group in the European Parliament.
It remained unclear, however, whether von der Leyen would be able to present her top team as planned on Tuesday -- a timeline already pushed back once amid a row over gender parity.
Breton, whose strained relationship with his EU boss was no secret during her first five years in office, claimed in his letter that von der Leyen's bid to block his candidacy was made "for personal reasons that in no instance you have discussed directly with me".
He said she had "offered, as a political trade-off, an allegedly more influential portfolio for France".
One of the most influential figures in Brussels, Breton has been the bloc's internal market commissioner since 2019 and has taken a hard line against abuses by the world's biggest digital platforms -- even sparring publicly with Elon Musk.
His portfolio also included defence and space, overseeing a defence industry push and marshalling the production of Covid jabs.
The former CEO of France Telecom had been tipped to receive a promotion as a commission vice president stewarding industrial growth.
- Counterweight -
The 69-year-old was seen by Paris as a key counterweight to Berlin's influence at the heart of the EU.
"Over the past five years, I have relentlessly striven to uphold and advance the common European good, above national and party interests," Breton wrote in announcing his resignation. "It has been an honour."
The centrist Breton has been outspoken in challenging von der Leyen -- and caused a stir earlier this year by publicly questioning the depth of support for her reelection within her centre-right European People's Party.
Breton was also one of four commissioners who questioned her "transparency and impartiality" over the appointment of a political ally to a highly-paid post as small and medium-sized enterprises envoy.
"It shows her strength to kill 'powerful' Breton," commented one EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, judging that von der Leyen "comes out stronger out of this."
How the 27-member commission's portfolios are divided up will send a strong signal regarding the bloc's political direction and the relative influence of each member state -- after EU parliament elections in June marked by far right gains.
Von der Leyen has been leaning on member countries to put forward more women for the bloc's executive arm, after most -- including France -- ignored her request to offer a choice of male or female candidates.
The furore in Brussels came as France awaits the formation of a new government by conservative Prime Minister Michel Barnier, named by Macron as a compromise pick after June elections produced a hung parliament.
P.Silva--AMWN