North Korea has fired an unidentified ballistic missile into the sea off South Korea's east coast, Seoul's military said on Monday, the latest in an apparent volley of tests by Pyongyang this year.
AFP Sport looks at five talking points in the first half of the world's richest cricket competition. Head starts and tall scores Opener Travis Head has been the demolition man for Sunrisers Hyderabad with his explosive starts taking the team to two record IPL totals of 277 and 287 this season. The Australian left-hander has amassed 324 runs so far including a hundred and two half tons in this campaign. Head has a strike-rate of 216 in six matches. At the weekend he smashed a 32-ball 89 to guide... Читать дальше...
The president of governing body the FIA had been accused of asking officials "to find some concerns to prevent the FIA from certifying the (Las Vegas) circuit" before it hosted a grand prix for the first time in 2023, according to an internal FIA report. The United Arab Emirates national, a former rally driver, was also cleared by the FIA ethics committee of influencing the results of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last year. "I wish it was only an accusation, but I was already convicted in the court... Читать дальше...
Eleven people are missing following storms that battered southern China, state media said Monday, with tens of thousands evacuated away from the torrential downpours.
Here are three talking points from the Shanghai International Circuit at the weekend: Zhou sends crowd wild China's first Formula One driver Zhou Guanyu was an enormous draw as he made his home F1 debut. The Chinese GP was first held in 2004 and there had always been enthusiastic F1 crowds in Shanghai, but the presence of Zhou ramped the excitement levels up to fever pitch. Tickets for Sunday's race sold out in minutes when they went on sale, huge grandstands were packed all weekend and Zhou's... Читать дальше...
The United States appears close to sanctioning an Israeli military unit over alleged human rights violations in the West Bank, a move the Israeli prime minister angrily denounced as "the height of absurdity." Read our liveblog to follow today's developments in the Middle East.
With Iran downplaying a reported Israeli attack on the country, which came days after a drone and missile strike on Israel by Tehran, tensions between the regional foes appeared to have cooled. While the situation remains tense, the lack of escalation over the weekend provided traders with an opportunity to pick up equities and helped push oil down. The gains came despite a largely negative lead from Wall Street, where the Nasdaq shed more than two percent owing to hefty selling in tech giants including Amazon, Apple and Netflix. Читать дальше...
Verstappen's future at Red Bull was thrown into doubt last month after his father, Jos, said the team was in danger of being "torn apart" if Horner remained its principal. It came after allegations against Horner of inappropriate behaviour towards a woman colleague. He denied the claims and an internal investigation cleared him of wrongdoing. Verstappen has publicly committed his future to Red Bull, but following the Dutchman's dominant victory at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, Mercedes boss Wolff stirred the pot anew. Читать дальше...
Europe endured a record number of "extreme heat stress" days in 2023, two leading climate monitors said Monday, underscoring the threat of increasingly deadly summers across the continent.
The unprecedented trial of Donald Trump moves to opening statements Monday, kickstarting weeks of embarrassing evidence centered on a porn star and alleged fraud that will overshadow the Republican presidential candidate's attempt to retake the White House.
Seen from a boat, GreenWave's farm seems unimpressive -- little more than lines of white and black buoys, a few hundred yards (meters) off the Connecticut coast. But beneath the dark Atlantic waters, suspended from ropes tied between the buoys around six feet (two meters) down, seaweed in varying shades of brown undulates. GreenWave, which uses no pesticides or herbicides, last year harvested more than 20 metric tons of kelp from this location and from another one a bit farther east. While seaweed-farming... Читать дальше...
A team has hung 32 traps made of green nets, each baited with rotting fish and fermented bananas. They are meant to blend in with the forest canopy. Their pungent odor clearly does not. Since last August, a team of biologists and park rangers has been monitoring butterfly numbers in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, a park famed for its abundant flora and fauna. They catch and document the colorful insects, releasing most with an identifying mark on their wings. Some of them, possibly from previously unknown species... Читать дальше...
Nations in 2022 agreed to finalize by the end of this year a world-first UN treaty to address the scourge of plastics found everywhere from mountain tops to ocean depths, and within human blood and breast milk. Negotiators have already met three times and are expected, after the Ottawa talks, to hold a final round of negotiations in South Korea. The previous meeting in Nairobi last November was the first opportunity to debate a draft treaty that outlined pathways to tackling the problem. It ended... Читать дальше...
The league unveiled three finalists for each of its individual awards for the 2023-24 regular season. Serbia's Jokic is an MVP finalist for the fourth straight season while France's Victor Wembanyama is in the running for both Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors. Jokic, who led the Nuggets to the title in 2023, won the MVP in 2021 and 2022 and finished runner-up in voting behind Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers last season. This season Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists for Denver... Читать дальше...
Sometimes derided as a game played over a pint in British pubs, darts is a huge deal in the Netherlands. Boards can be found in every pub, the grassroots game is massive and growing, TV coverage extensive, and the exploits of top "darters" make national headline news. The latest Dutch hero is Michael van Gerwen (or "MvG") and more than 12,000 fans sold out the Rotterdam Ahoy arena Thursday to see him compete in the Premier League, which pits the world's top eight players against each other. Well-oiled fans... Читать дальше...
Scheffler was five strokes clear with three holes to play and poised to become the first player to win four times in a five-tournament stretch since Tiger Woods in 2007-08. A delay of two hours 32 minutes on the course at Harbour Town in Hilton Head, South Carolina, due to storms and heavy rain meant play couldn't be completed and the round will resume on Monday. Scheffler, the world number one, sat on 20 under-par for the tournament, with a quartet of players on 15-under. He would also become... Читать дальше...
Ohtani crushed an 0-1 pitch from Mets right-handed hurler Adrian Houser 423 feet into Dodger Stadium's right field bleachers to break a tie with Matsui atop the list. Matsui, who was the 2009 World Series Most Valuable Player with the New York Yankees, needed 20 seasons to put up 175 home runs. Ohtani has passed him in his seventh campaign. Ohtani has five home runs this season. He had tied Matsui with a homer on April 13 and then gone seven games without a homer. In that span Ohtani was 11-for-29 at the plate... Читать дальше...
Rockets were fired late Sunday from northern Iraq at a military base in Syria housing a US-led coalition, according to Iraqi security forces.
The work measuring 50 metres (164 feet) long depicts a smiling girl cradling the Earth and beside it are the words: "Vote for Climate, Vote for Our Future". Artist Jamie Wardley, who created the painting for Earth Day on Monday, hopes the message will remind voters to consider the environment when they cast their ballots in a UK general election due this year. Wardley, who used football pitch paint and sprayers to create the painting, said the election was an opportunity for voters to prioritise the environment... Читать дальше...
The sport was rocked at the weekend by revelations that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for prescription heart drug trimetazidine (TMZ) -- which can enhance performance -- ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. But they were allowed to compete after world governing bodies accepted China's findings that they had ingested it unwittingly from food during a meet in late 2020 and the early days of 2021. Several went on to win medals, including gold, and many are in line to compete at the Paris Olympics this summer. Читать дальше...
Jude Bellingham snatched Real Madrid a dramatic 3-2 Clasico win over champions Barcelona on Sunday with a "fundamental" goal to take them 11 points clear at the top of La Liga.
The two-stroke triumph over Sweden's Maja Stark stretched Korda's season win streak to five titles in five starts to equal the LPGA record set by American Nancy Lopez in 1978 and matched by Sweden's Annika Sorenstam from 2004-05. Korda withstood a tension-packed back nine but never lost her lead in holding off rivals over the closing holes at Carlton Woods in suburban Houston to claim the $1.2 million top prize in the first women's major tournament of the season. "I can finally breathe now. That... Читать дальше...
The two-stroke triumph over Sweden's Maja Stark stretched Korda's season win streak to five titles in five starts to equal the LPGA record set by American Nancy Lopez in 1978 and matched by Sweden's Annika Sorenstam from 2004-05. The 25-year-old American fired a three-under par 69 in the final round to finish on 13-under 275 after 72 holes at Carlton Woods in suburban Houston to claim the $1.2 million top prize in the first women's major tournament of the season. Stark was second on 277 after a... Читать дальше...
Assailants shot dead the chief warden of a prison in western Ecuador on Sunday as voters went to polls to decide on tougher measures against organised crime, authorities said.
Global military expenditure saw its steepest increase in over a decade in 2023, reaching an all-time high of $2.4 trillion as wars and rising tensions fuelled spending across the world, researchers said Monday.
