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 AC Milan’s unbeaten start to the year in Serie A continued with a 1-0 victory over Napoli at the San Siro.Scudetto champions Napoli have failed to match the form which saw them win the title last season and were beaten by Theo Hernandez’s first-half strike.The France international latched onto Rafael Leao’s through ball and fired into the bottom corner to secure Milan a sixth win in seven league games.Fiorentina snapped a three-game winless run with a crushing…

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USOne child has been shot after a shooting at megachurch pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas.The child is believed to be around 5 and is in critical condition at Texas Children’s Hospital. A 57-year-old man was transported to another area hospital after he was shot in the leg but is in stable condition. Officials said they fatally shot the female shooter, believed to be between the ages of 30-to-35, during a news conference outside…

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 Cancer survivor Sebastien Haller inspired hosts Ivory Coast to their third Africa Cup of Nations title with a late winner to seal a 2-1 comeback win over Nigeria in Abidjan.Five of the last six host nations to reach the final had won the Afcon title, but the Ivory Coast’s appearance in this edition at one point looked unlikely, their 4-0 group-stage defeat to Equatorial Guinea leading to the mid-tournament sacking of Jean-Louis Gasset.The resurgent Elephants, who under…

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailUS Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalised on Sunday for what officials said appeared to be an “emergent bladder issue”. “Today, at approximately 2.20pm, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin Ill was transported by his security detail to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to be seen for symptoms suggesting an emergent bladder issue. The Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been notified. Additionally, White House and Congressional notifications have…

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 Erik ten Hag praised Scott McTominay as an example for others after the super sub sealed Manchester United’s belief-boosting win at fellow Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa.Sunday’s clash between fifth and sixth at Villa Park began with Rasmus Hojlund – the winner when these sides met on Boxing Day – scoring in his fifth straight Premier League match.United lost their way after that 17th-minute opener in a bright start and Villa eventually secured a deserved second-half leveller…

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailJoe Biden has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off invading Rafah until a plan is in place that would prevent massive civilian casualties. Gazans fleeing Israel’s bombardment and military advances have sought shelter in Rafah, a city in the south of the Gaza Strip. An estimated 1.4m Palestinians are currently in the region after being displaced by Israel’s campaign against Hamas. The White House released a synopsis of a call between Mr Biden and…

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 If the return of the Champions League on Tuesday offers Manchester United an unwelcome reminder of what they have lost, their exile from the European elite may be briefer than was feared. Cast ignominiously out of continental competition two months ago, their domestic form suggested they would not be making an immediate form.But perhaps they might. From what seemed the wreckage of a wretched season, Erik ten Hag’s team are on a charge towards the Champions League…

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailDonald Trump gave another sign that he would oversee the disintegration of the Nato alliance Saturday evening in South Carolina, but his comments were met by a collective shrug from his party, even among those once considered to be some of the strongest defence hawks in Washington.“If we don’t pay and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?” Trump claimed to remember a Nato member-state’s leader asking him when he was president. He then claimed to have…

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 Brendan Rodgers railed against the negative narrative around Celtic and him after reaching the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup with a 2-0 win over St Mirren.Despite sitting three points clear of Old Firm rivals Rangers at the top of the cinch Premiership, the Parkhead boss has come under fire for the Hoops’ style of play this season and also for his recruitment.The holders were shorn of defenders Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Greg Taylor through injury but…

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USThe Israeli Defence Force has reportedly detained two Americans they encountered during a raid at a home in Gaza.Relatives of Hashem Alagha, 20, and Borak Alagha, 18, said the brothers were with a group of approximately 20 others who were rounded up by the IDF after a raid. Yasmeen Elagha, the men’s cousin, said both of them are American citizens who were born in the Chicago suburbs, according to CNN. She said her cousins stayed in…