Author: INDEPENDENT

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailDespite attempting to dig himself out of the political crisis that has engulfed him since his debate debacle last month, Joe Biden appears to become more entrenched with every swing of his shovel.Sixteen House Democrats and one Senator have so far called on the president to drop out of the race for the White House, as of Friday — with others privately expressing their doubts he can continue as the party’s candidate.At least 19 further current and former…

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 In Luis de la Fuente’s first international break with Spain back in March 2023, he stopped a training session at moments that the players didn’t expect. It’s an approach that has become familiar now, but was odd for the squad at the time.One intervention was for goalkeeper Unai Simon to kick it long. Another was to work on set-pieces, since predecessor Luis Enrique had previously insisted he “didn’t have time”. These are obviously rudimentarily pragmatic elements that…

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailJoe Biden delivered his much anticipated “big boy press conference” on the sidelines of the Nato summit on Thursday night, marking his latest attempt to put mounting fears about his fitness to serve another term to rest.In Thursday night’s high-stakes briefing, the president spoke to reporters for just under an hour, answering 19 questions from 10 journalists, and once again insisting that he is the best person to take on Donald Trump in November.“I think I’m the most…

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 Gareth Southgate has led England to a second successive European Championship final – but the manager will be the first to say such success would be impossible without his staff.The Football Association brought a wide-ranging group of employees to Germany to aid this summer’s shot at continental gloryEngland have four analysts and a performance medicine team as part of that group, as well as a physical performance and nutrition team.Manager Southgate heads a six-man technical team and…

Zelensky says China trying to undermine Ukraine peace summitFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsRussian forces have lost 1,030 soldiers killed and wounded in the past 24 hours on the war frontline in Ukraine, the Ukrainian military has said. The losses for Vladimir Putin’s troops include 48 artillery systems and 23 armoured combat vehicles, said the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.Ukraine’s estimates of Russia’s losses since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022 find that Moscow has lost…

Fully fit England squad train in sun ahead of Euro 2024 SF v NetherlandsEngland face Spain in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday as the Three Lions try to finally end a wait of more than half a century for a major trophy. Gareth Southgate’s side have endured a rollercoaster ride in Germany this summer, stuttering through the group phase with two underwhelming draws before a dramatic late overhead kick by Jude Bellingham saved them from a dismal exit in the round of 16. But since then, England have clicked into gear with an improved display to edge past Switzerland…

Biden refers to Kamala Harris as ‘Vice President Trump’Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailUS president Joe Biden has vowed to “finish this job” and defeat Donald Trump for a second time in the presidential elections as he faced further calls to step down.During an hour-long post-Nato conference in Washington, Mr Biden was asked repeatedly if he was fit for office after he introduced Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky as “president Putin” and his own vice president Kamala Harris as “Trump”.After downplaying the significance of…

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 Francois Letexier will take charge of England’s Euro 2024 final against Spain in Berlin on Sunday night. The 35-year-old French official, a FIFA-listed referee since 2017, has been the man in the middle in three matches so far at Euro 2024: Spain’s last-16 win over Georgia, and the group-stage clashes between Denmark-Serbia and Croatia-Albania.Letexier refereed the 2023 UEFA Super Cup final between Manchester City and Sevilla and was the fourth official for the 2024 Champions League final…

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 emailsThe US has imposed new sanctions on an Israeli settler group and four unauthorised outposts in the West Bank, in the latest effort by the Joe Biden administration to confront land grab and instability in occupied Palestinian territories.The sanctions target Lehava, an umbrella group for Israeli settlers sanctioned by the UK, and members of Tsasv9, a group that blocked aid from reaching the starving Palestinians in Gaza. The sanctions also hit four illegal Israeli settler…

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 After the drama of this week’s semi-finals, England and Spain are the last two teams left to battle it out for Euro 2024 glory on Sunday.There will be, though, little time for either squad to reflect on achievements so far as thoughts quickly turn towards Berlin.Here, the PA news agency takes a look over Euro 2024 as the tournament heads into its last few days.Southgate seeks perfect finishEngland manager Gareth Southgate will have little time to reflect…