Author: INDEPENDENT

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailThe Republican Party’s nominee to face President Joe Biden could be facing a financial crisis on top of a mountain of legal obligations, including 88 criminal charges, with at least one criminal trial and verdict expected before Election Day.In a revealing court filing on 18 March, lawyers for Donald Trump said that he has tried to get help from at least 30 companies who can post a bond in excess of $454m after he lost a civil fraud…

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 Sammie Szmodics hopes he has “shut up” the detractors who questioned his hunger to play for the Republic of Ireland after finally making his international debut.The 28-year-old Blackburn striker has twice in the past had to pull out of squads, leading some to question his commitment amid suggestions – he insists without foundation – that he could defect to Hungary, for whom he also qualifies through his grandfather.However after turning in an impressive display in Saturday evening’s…

Biden launches ad answering Trump’s question: ‘Were you better off four years ago?’Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailThe US has condemned Friday’s terror attack on a concert in Moscow. A statement from the White House called perpetrators ISIS “a common terrorist enemy that must be defeated everywhere”.Meanwhile, a US government shutdown has been averted after the Senate passed a $1.2trn spending package in a 2am vote 74-24. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on Saturday. It will keep the federal government…

Gareth Southgate leads sporting world’s messages of support to Princess of WalesEngland face Brazil at Wembley tonight as Gareth Southgate’s side continue their Euro 2024 preparations with a marquee friendly fixture. The Three Lions have been hit by an injury crisis in what is their penultimate match before Southgate names his training squad for the European Championships this summer, with captain Harry Kane and winger Bukayo Saka among those who will play no part against Brazil tonight. That could lead to opportunities for several names on the fringes of Southgate’s plans to make their case to be brought to Germany.…

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 emailsVladimir Putin has vowed revenge after Moscow was hit by a devastating terror attack, promising that anyone involved in the assault will be “justly and inevitably punished”.However, his claims that the terrorists, who opened fire at a concert hall and killed at least 133 people, had been heading towards Ukraine have been dismissed as “absurd”.The extremist group Isis have claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred on Friday evening at Crocus City Hall when a…

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 For any Brazilian teenager breaking into the first team of a big club like Corinthians or Sao Paulo or Flamengo or Fluminense, there’s a good chance they’ve just earned themselves a lucrative ticket to European football. The five most expensive transfers in Brazil this season were all players sold to one of Europe’s major clubs (and Crystal Palace). Their average fee, according to transfermarkt, was £20m. Their average age was just 19.Brazil has always been fertile ground…

Police respond to reports of mass shooting at Moscow concert hallFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsFour people suspected of storming a concert hall and carrying out a deadly attack have been detained, including two following a car chase, according to Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein.The two fled in a Renault car and were caught in Russia’s Bryansk region, around 210 miles southwest of Moscow. Other suspects fled into a nearby forest and were also arrested.Mr Khinshtein said a pistol, a magazine…

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 England have been dealt a blow – and an opportunity – as they head into their final friendlies ahead of Euro 2024, with three more players struggling with injuries and likely to miss Saturday’s game against Brazil – including captain Harry Kane.The Bayern Munich striker will join winger Bukayo Saka on the sidelines, after the Arsenal star returned to his club earlier this week with a hamstring issue.Gareth Southgate revealed that Kane is unlikely to feature in…

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 emailsA Monument to Misconduct” splashed the Theatrely website. “Very Smooth, Somewhat Criminal” echoed the New York Stage Review. “No One’s Looking at the Man in the Mirror” attested The New York Times. When the notices for the Broadway opening of Christopher Wheeldon and Lynne Nottage’s Michael Jackson jukebox jamboree MJ the Musical landed in 2022, many gushed about the “megawatt” music and its eye-popping dance routines, but few could get around the curtained-off elephant in…

Related: Trump lawyer Alina Habba doesn’t rule out seeking $464m bond money from wealthy Russian or Saudi donorsSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailDonald Trump’s social media platform launched in the volatile aftermath of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol is headed for Wall Street.Shareholders of his Truth Social platform have voted to take the company public, a move that could raise the former president’s net worth by tens of millions of dollars as he desperately tries to find cash for the…