Author: INDEPENDENT

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Barcelona will need to find a way to get past the most successful club in women’s football if they want to build on their recent dominance in the sport.The Catalan club will be playing in a fourth straight Women’s Champions League final on Saturday in Bilbao against the record eight-time champions Lyon , the nemesis they have never been able to beat.The titleholders from Spain have a shot at a statement victory by finally overcoming the storied…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsTom Holland’s eagerly anticipated Shakespeare debut in Jamie Lloyd’s Romeo & Juliet production has received mixed reviews from critics following opening night at the Duke of York’s theatre on Thursday (23 May).The Spider-Man actor, 27, returned to the London stage for the first time since playing Billy Elliott on the West End in 2008. He stars in Lloyd’s production alongside Francesca Amewudah-Rivers as Juliet, with critics calling the stripped back Shakespeare show “sad”, “muted” and…

Rescuers hunt for survivors under rubble after Majorca restaurant collapse kills fourFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsAt least four people have died and 16 have been left seriously injured after a building collapsed at a beach resort in Majorca, with fears others could have been trapped under the rubble for 12 hours.Firefighters and rescue teams are at the scene of the Medusa Beach Club, a popular tourist restaurant, after a terrace where people were dancing fell onto the floor below…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta has been charged with misconduct over alleged breaches of betting rules. Paqueta, who strongly denies all allegations, has been hit with four charges, which relate to Rules E5 and F3, concern matches against Leicester City on 12 November 2022; Aston Villa on 12 March 2023; Leeds United on 21 May 2023; and AFC Bournemouth on 12 August 2023.An FA statement states that the Brazil international is alleged to have “directly sought to influence…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsLook, we all know why we’re here. It’s what Jamie Lloyd does: takes a classic play, strips away a load of stuff, and puts a massive star at the centre of it to sell all the tickets and sort of trick teenagers into watching Ibsen or Pinter or Shakespeare. It’s the same deal here, with someone of supernova quality: Tom Holland – aka Spiderman himself – returning to the London stage for the first time…

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USThree family members are set to face trial for the brutal killing of a 3-year-old girl with “demons” during an “exorcism ritual.”A judge in Santa Clara County, California, determined that prosecutors had enough evidence to move forward in the case over the death of Alrey Naomi.Her mom, Claudia Hernandez, 26, uncle, Rene “Aaron” Hernandez Santos, 20, and grandfather, Rene Trigueros Hernandez, 60, were all charged with assault on a child causing death.The three were in court…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton has all the qualities needed to step out of the shadows and make his mark on Euro 2024 if given the opportunity by Gareth Southgate, according to former England full-back Paul Parker.The 20-year-old joined the Eagles from Sky Bet Championship side Blackburn on transfer deadline day in February and has adapted quickly to life in the Premier League.Wharton’s consistent performances saw him earn a first senior international call-up as part of Southgate’s…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsAt least seven people have been killed and two dozen injured after Russia launched a second massive airstrike on Ukraine’s Kharkiv region in as many days.The attack came after a Russian glide bomb, a deadly explosive nicknamed the “building destroyer” by pro-Kremlin military bloggers, obliterated a cafe and injured 10 people in the middle of the day on Wednesday.Moscow’s forces are increasingly hammering the region’s capital, a city home to some 1.3 million people, as…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Before Wednesday’s Europa League final in Dublin, Gian Piero Gasperini did what he’s been doing with Ademola Lookman all season. That was to point out to the Atalanta winger exactly where he wanted him to attack, and where he could hurt the opposition.Lookman proceeded to do more damage to Bayer Leverkusen than any player has done to opposition in any European final since 1975, as the Nigerian scored the first hat-trick in a showpiece in 49 years.…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsBritain’s top female banker Debbie Crosbie announced Nationwide’s financial results with a £100 gift to members of the building society.The cash sum follows on from Ms Crosbie’s decision in March this year to buy rival lender Virgin Money for around £2.9 billion.She said the deal offers an “exciting opportunity to create a more diverse business that delivers even more value to our members.”Virgin Money’s asset value of £4.4bn is £1.5bn more than the acquisition price…