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 Usain Bolt has teased Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe after comparisons were made between the pair’s respective sprint speeds.Mbappe, one of the world’s fastest footballers, recently clocked an estimated speed of 10.9 seconds over 100m, over a second slower than Bolt’s world-record time of 9.58 seconds.The Frenchman’s reported time, albeit impressive, would still leave him outside the top 60 on the women’s 100m all-time list. The time would also rank him joint-433rd in the world when compared…

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailA senior official at the US State Department who was heavily involved in US-Ukraine policy and earned Moscow’s wrath as a result is stepping down in the coming weeks, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.Victoria Nuland was the agency’s Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and previously served as assistant Secretary of State for Europe; in both positions, she was a fervent advocate for US support of Ukraine while drawing from her deep professional history of working…

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 Southampton’s Championship match against Preston on Wednesday evening has been postponed after a huge fire broke out close to the stadium just a few hours before it was due to kick off.Eighteen fire engines were at the scene of the blaze, which involved four industrial units just yards away from the ground.The club said: “Southampton Football Club regrets to announce that tonight’s Sky Bet Championship match against Preston North End has been postponed.“The decision was made after…

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailThe Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee has invited Hunter Biden and a handful of his associates to testify at a public hearing as part of its flailing investigation into Joe Biden.The committee is investigating allegations that the president was involved in his son’s business dealings and used his political influence to enrich his family – a claim central to the Republican impeachment inquiry into the president.The probe, however, has so far turned up little evidence to support the claims.Now,…

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 Pep Guardiola feels his Manchester City side are playing like a team that believes they can win the Champions League again.The City boss also saluted the team’s consistency after they secured their place in the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite club competition with a comfortable victory over FC Copenhagen.City eased to a 3-1 win in the second leg of their last-16 tie at the Etihad Stadium to complete a convincing 6-2 aggregate success.Guardiola said: “We are a team…

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USFederal prosecutors charged a man for allegedly trying to scam George Santos — the former New York Congressman who now faces his own federal charges — by offering “false promises” in exchange for cash.An FBI affidavit states that Hector Medina Jr — an El Paso, Texas resident who also goes by Michael Soto — devised a “scheme to defraud certain publicly known persons facing criminal exposure.” He was charged in the Eastern District of New York.Mr…

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 Manchester City, the Champions League tends to start in earnest in the quarter-finals these days. The defending champions cruised through to the last eight for a seventh successive season. Now, finally, it gets tougher. City’s propensity to win weak groups and draw one of the lesser lights in the last 16 can delay the meaningful contests. FC Copenhagen were brushed aside, as they were always going to be, while Pep Guardiola granted nearly all of his…

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailIn a typical presidential election year, candidates will spend the 11 months leading up to election day shaking hands and kissing babies at rallies as the primaries unfold.But nothing is typical when it comes to Donald Trump.Instead, the ex-president will be forced to juggle his campaign for the White House while also defending himself in federal and state courts in four different trials that are currently set to occur between January and May.Kicking off with E Jean Carroll’s…

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 Mohamed Salah will begin his build-up to Sunday’s clash with title rivals Manchester City with minutes in the Europa League against Sparta Prague after recovering from injury.Klopp admits the Egypt international would not normally be in the squad after only returning to training on Tuesday but the current injury situation – there are at least nine first-team players absent – and the context of the season means he travelled with the squad.And with the weekend’s Premier League…

‘Rust’ firearms supplier tells armourer’s manslaughter trial he never provided live rounds The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USClosing arguments in the trial of “Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed are expected to get underway today.Gutierrez-Reed is facing involuntary manslaughter charges in the fatal 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Actor and producer Alec Baldwin is also facing involuntary manslaughter charges related to the shooting. His trial will begin on 9 July.The outcome of trial may hinge on testimony about the source of…