Author: INDEPENDENT

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 emailsRetired bishop Christopher Saunders has been charged with rape and child abuse in a remote part of Australia’s northwest.The 74-year-old former bishop of Broome was arrested and taken into custody by Western Australia police on Wednesday following investigations launched by law enforcement and the clergy.Mr Saunders is the most senior Catholic official in Australia to be charged with child sexual offences after Cardinal George Pell.Mr Saunders has previously denied any wrongdoing.He was taken to the…

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 Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp evoked memories of their famous win over Barcelona in 2019 during their “thunderstorm” second-half comeback to beat Luton 4-1.Trailing to Chiedozie Ogbene’s 12th-minute header, Klopp’s side were a different prospect after the break with Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz and Harvey Elliott bringing up 100 goals for the season.While it by no means matched the magnitude of their Champions League semi-final comeback after losing the first leg 3-0 to the Catalan…

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USUS prosecutors have charged a 60-year-old alleged member of the Japanese Yakuza mafia with conspiring to traffic nuclear materials.Takeshi Ebisawa was charged with allegedly attempting to sell uranium and plutonium intended for Iran to build a nuclear bomb.Mr Ebisawa, along with Thai co-defendant Somphop Singhasiri, 61, had previously faced weapons and drug charges in April 2022.“The defendant stands accused of conspiring to sell weapons-grade nuclear material and lethal narcotics from Burma (Myanmar), and to purchase military…

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 As long as they had 11 players, Jurgen Klopp had vowed, Liverpool would give it a go. Deprived of 10, going a goal down, they certainly did. A stunning turnaround brought Klopp’s band of brothers four goals and took them four points clear at the Premier League summit.They head to Wembley on Sunday buoyant, despite their injury problems. Depleted, they were not defeated, transforming a deficit into an emphatic triumph with irrepressible energy. Klopp had imbued his…

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 still wants to fully conquer Ukraine and impose regime change in the belief that Russia’s greater numbers in weaponry and soldiers will prevail at the end, according to Western officials.A series of successes on the frontline, the capture of Avdiivka in the Donbas most notable, and £47bn economic and military aid package for Ukraine blocked in the US Congress, is said to have buoyed the Russian president’s hopes of total occupation.“We do not…

(EPA)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 Liverpool host Luton Town on Wednesday night, with Jurgen Klopp’s side having seen Manchester City close to within a point of them one night previous. The Reds will remain focused on their own progress though, having won their last two following a poor defeat at Arsenal.Luton themselves are back in the Premier League relegation zone without having kicked a ball since the weekend, after Everton’s Monday night draw forced the Hatters down one place on goal difference.…

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USA United Airlines flight travelling to Los Angeles was diverted to Chicago after a reported bomb scare, prompted by a note in the plane bathroom.The aircraft landed safely at the Chicago O’Hare International Airport at around 7.40am local time on Wednesday, according to the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), and all passengers were evacuated.The Boeing 787 departed from Newark Liberty International Airport and was headed to Los Angeles International Airport, before crew members reported the “security concern”.Following…

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 Manchester United have asked Gary Neville to help regenerate Old Trafford.Neville has been invited by the club to join a newly devised committee which will make plans and key decisions on how the tired stadium is improved, as well as how the surrounding area is developed, according to The Times. Neville is open to the idea of participating so long as his role does not create a conflict of interest with his work as an analyst for…

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USKsenia Karelina had been looking forward to spending New Year’s Eve with her family. Though she’d long ago chosen to settle in the USA, she’d kept in touch with her relatives back in Yekaterinburg, Russia.Instead, it appears that the 32-year-old dual citizen is confined in a Russian jail cell on charges of high treason – all for allegedly sending $51.80 to a Ukrainian charity.”She’s just that kind of person,” Karelina’s former mother-in-law Eleonara Srebroski, 56, tells…

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 Thomas Tuchel is to leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season.After losing to Bochum last weekend, a third successive defeat in all competitions, the German giants have confirmed a parting of ways with the former Chelsea boss in order to conduct “a sporting realignment”.Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen confirmed both parties agreed to “mutually end our collaboration” after “an open, good conversation”.A statement added: “Our goal is to carry out a sporting realignment with a new…