Sport

• Real Madrid is reportedly confident in signing Rodri from Manchester City following Pep Guardiola's departure, while Bayern Munich is eyeing John Stones and Atletico Madrid is interested in Marc Cucurella. • Barcelona has agreed to personal terms with 28-year-old Marcus Rashford to make his loan permanent, though a transfer fee with Manchester United remains undecided. • Liverpool has formally registered interest in 20-year-old Hoffenheim winger Bazoumana Toure, facing competition from Manchester United, Aston Villa, and Newcastle.

• The Premier League is approaching "Championship Sunday," the final day of the season, where the top three positions and the bottom two relegation spots have already been determined. • Despite the settled top and bottom of the table, several matches remain critical for mid-table positioning and historic symbolic milestones. • In separate sporting news, the U.S. men's ice hockey team defeated Germany 4-3 in a shootout during the World Championships.

• BBC Sport provides a comprehensive hub for live football scores, latest results, and upcoming fixtures across multiple tiers of the game. • The coverage spans major competitions and leagues, specifically highlighting the Premier League, the Championship, and the Scottish Premiership. • This service serves as a critical real-time resource for fans to track team standings and match timings across various domestic and international tournaments.

• North Korea's Naegohyang women's soccer team defeated their opponents 2-1 in Seoul on Wednesday, marking the first sporting event played by a North Korean team in South Korea since 2018. • The match drew nearly 5,800 fans and represents the first time North Korean athletes have competed in the South since a unified table tennis squad played in Incheon six years ago. • This victory allows Naegohyang to advance to the finals of the Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League.

• The Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) announced the final list of candidates for the national e-sports team on Monday, the 18th, in preparation for the upcoming Asian Games. • Separately, MOONTON Games revealed that the first Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Championship Tour East Asia 2026 will be held in Shanghai, China. • The MLBB tournament is scheduled to take place from May 22nd to 24th, marking a significant expansion of the competitive scene in East Asia.

• A 2026 Nielsen report indicates that Asian-led content and sports stars, such as Shohei Ohtani, are driving record-breaking viewership levels across U.S. television and streaming platforms. • The data highlights a broader cultural shift where Asian influence is significantly reshaping the landscape of American pop culture and professional sports. • In related cultural developments, director Herman Yau is releasing "We’re Nothing at All," a social drama focusing on the marginalized fringes of Hong Kong society.

Top House Democrat calls out SEC schools for silenceCampaign comes as states move to redraw voter mapsHakeem Jeffries, the top US House Democrat, has amplified calls for Black athletes to boycott public universities in states that have moved to limit voting rights, saying an “unprecedented moment, featuring an unprecedented attack on Black political representation” requires an “unprecedented response”.Jeffries’s comments came Tuesday as the NAACP launched its “Out of Bounds” campaign. The campaign targets universities in eight states – Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Georgia – whose athletic programs generate more than $100m in revenue. Those eight states have moved to draw new voter maps after the supreme court’s Louisiana v Callais decision severely weakened the Voting Rights Act. Continue reading...

Eight southern states have moved to draw new maps after Callais decision, severely weakening the Voting Rights ActThe NAACP on Tuesday launched a campaign urging Black athletes, their families, alumni and fans to boycott athletic programs of public universities in states that “have moved to limit, weaken or erase Black voting representation”.In the announcement of the “Out of Bounds” campaign, the civil rights giant name-checked eight states – Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Georgia – whose flagship public athletic programs generate more than $100m in annual revenue. Each of those states has moved to draw new maps to limit Black voting representation, following the supreme court’s Louisiana v Callais decision severely weakening the Voting Rights Act. Continue reading...

• The Associated Press published the latest Big Ten Conference sports news on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 9 p.m., covering key updates from the league. • The roundup, updated shortly after publication, focuses on recent developments in Big Ten athletics from various member institutions. • This timely dispatch provides essential context for fans tracking college sports in the Midwest and beyond during the competitive season.

Safety board says it is gathering information about plane evacuation after person on the runway hit in DenverThe National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is collecting information about the evacuation of a Frontier Airlines aircraft after the jet struck and killed a person on the runway during departure from Denver international airport.The flight, which was headed from Denver to Los Angeles international airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 pm on Friday”, according to a statement posted on the airport’s official X account. The individual has not been publicly identified. Continue reading...

Sports Direct founder says people in his employ recorded footage of Peter Cowgill meeting another retail bossThe Sports Direct founder, Mike Ashley, has admitted to arranging surveillance footage that brought down his rival Peter Cowgill, the former JD Sports chair.Cowgill was secretly filmed in 2021 in a car talking with the Footasylum boss Barry Bown. JD Sports was in the process of acquiring the trainer retailer at the time and the two companies were not allowed to share commercially sensitive information. Continue reading...

• The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) hopes to keep politics separate from sports when women's clubs from North and South Korea face off in the AFC Women's Champions League semifinals on May 20 at Suwon Stadium, 30 km south of Seoul. • The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. local time, pitting the two Korean teams against each other in a high-stakes encounter. • AFC officials emphasized maintaining focus on football amid historical tensions between the divided nations.

Revocations will start on Friday for those who owe $100,000 or more, and then expand to those who owe $2,500 or moreSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The US state department will begin revoking the US passports of thousands of parents who owe a significant amount of unpaid child support.The department told the Associated Press on Thursday that the revocations would begin on Friday and be focused on those who owe $100,000 or more. That would apply to about 2,700 American passport holders, according to figures supplied to the state department by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Continue reading...

• The North Carolina High School Athletic Association approved two new varsity sports—girls' flag football and boys' volleyball—effective for the 2026-2027 season. • Both sports have gained popularity across high schools nationwide, with championship events being hosted by the NCHSAA starting immediately. • The board's decision reflects growing demand for gender-inclusive athletic opportunities and expands participation options for student-athletes in North Carolina.

• India announced it will continue banning bilateral sports events with Pakistan while permitting Pakistani athletes to compete in multilateral tournaments hosted in India. • The policy shift aims to position New Delhi as a global sports hub, as stated in an official release from New Delhi on Thursday. • This comes amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, balancing diplomacy with national security concerns in sports diplomacy.

Retail group with 4,800 stores worldwide expects drop in profits this year amid ‘muted market’Business live – latest updatesThe sports fashion retailer JD has warned that profits will fall this year amid a “muted market” hit by weaker spending by young people and concerns about the Middle East conflict.The company, which runs 4,800 stores worldwide including the JD, Blacks and Millets chains in the UK, said it expected profits of between £750m and £850m in the year ahead, after reporting £852m in the year to the end of January. Continue reading...

The limited-edition versions will place the US president’s portrait inside cover alongside declaration text and flag motifsUS politics live – latest updatesThe United States government, marking 250 years of independence from a monarchy, will this summer issue passports featuring a large photograph of its most senior leader’s face.The limited-edition documents, billed as a commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary of independence, will display Donald Trump’s photograph on the inside cover, surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence and the US flag, with his signature rendered in gold. A separate page features the famous painting of the founding fathers signing that very document. Continue reading...

Special envoy to Donald Trump suggested the idea‘Firstly not possible … secondly not appropriate’The Italian sports minister, Andrea Abodi, has described a proposal for his country to replace Iran at the World Cup as “not appropriate”, rejecting any idea that the Azzurri will be granted a last-minute berth at this summer’s tournament.On Wednesday it emerged that Paolo Zampolli, a special envoy to Donald Trump, had suggested Italy should be fast-tracked to the World Cup despite their shock defeat by Bosnia & Herzegovina in last month’s playoffs. Zampolli proposed the four-time winners Italy replace Iran and said they would “have the pedigree to justify their inclusion”. But Abodi said that football’s showpiece tournament should remain meritocratic. Continue reading...

Eurail, which sells passes, says data being ‘offered for sale on dark web’ after December breach affecting 300,000 peopleHolidaymakers across Europe are facing the stress and expense of getting new passports after their personal data was posted on the dark web after a hack of the Interrail company Eurail.Personal data, including passport numbers, names, phone numbers, email and home addresses and dates of birth of more than 300,000 European travellers was accessed in December. But this week Eurail revealed to customers that “data copied during the security incident has been offered for sale on the dark web and a sample dataset has been published on Telegram”. Continue reading...

Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMurder charge laid after woman’s body found at homeA 25-year-old man will face court after a woman’s body was found at a home. Continue reading...

Justice department claims state is violating Title IX – the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination The US Department of Justice sued Minnesota’s education department and the state’s school athletics body on Monday for allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports.In a lawsuit, the justice department claims that by making female student athletes compete against transgender girls, as well as share locker rooms and bathrooms with them, Minnesota is violating Title IX – the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination for any programs that receive federal funding. Continue reading...

Allan government says measure is temporary as energy shock from Middle East conflict sees petrol prices soarGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPublic transport will be free in Victoria for a month, in an effort to encourage people to switch from driving and alleviate the surge in demand for fuel.The Allan government announced on Sunday that it would make all metro and regional V/Line trams, trains and buses free from 31 March until the end of April. Continue reading...

• NASA is launching multiple technology and science demonstrations to low Earth orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Monday, March 30, 2026, as part of the Transporter-16 commercial rideshare mission. • The payload includes the AEPEX CubeSat for studying high-energy particle effects on the upper atmosphere, magnetic field measurement CubeSats, the R5-S10 CubeSat for proximity operations and formation flying, a power processing system from CisLunar Industries, and a heat shield experiment from Varda Space Industries. • The experiments aim to test thermal protection systems, advance in-space communications, and deepen understanding of Earth's atmosphere to support NASA's exploration and research goals.

• East and Midwest Regions completed Sweet 16 action on Friday, March 27, with top-seeded Duke facing a tough challenge from Rick Pitino's team. • Live bracket updates, scores, and in-depth analysis available for all 2026 March Madness games. • Elite Eight matchups now determined, setting stage for Final Four in Indianapolis.

• CERN researchers conducted the first-ever transport of volatile antimatter, mysterious antiparticles with negative charges identical to corresponding particles but opposite in charge. • The antimatter transport represents a major milestone in particle physics research; if the antimatter contacts regular matter even momentarily, it annihilates in a flash of energy. • This breakthrough has significant implications for advancing fundamental physics understanding and could enable new experimental capabilities at the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

Vehicle numbers on key Sydney and Melbourne roads have held steady, as calls grow for free or cheaper public transport to encourage people to drive lessFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralians appear to have kept driving despite soaring petrol prices, as calls grow for free or discounted public transport to help people save fuel and get off the road.Traffic and public transport usage are holding steady, with experts warning the country needs to change travel methods or start working from home if fuel costs keep rising.Do you know more? Email [email protected] Continue reading...

Bill was introduced in the Senate on Monday as prediction market companies face greater scrutiny on state levelPrediction markets are facing fresh bipartisan scrutiny in the US Senate as companies like Kalshi and Polymarket continue to battle state-led efforts to regulate online betting.A bill was introduced in the US Senate Monday that would ban federally regulated platforms from allowing wagers on sporting events, what would be a huge blow to marketplaces where billions of dollars have been traded on major events like the Super Bowl and the NCAA’s March Madness. Continue reading...

Bypassing animal health certificate system by using cheaper pet passport issued abroad could backfire, experts sayBritish pet owners who want to take their furry friends elsewhere in Europe have been warned not to try to dodge expensive health certificates by using a pet passport issued abroad.Before Brexit, taking a cat, dog or ferret to the EU was relatively simple: the Pet Travel Scheme meant an animal needed a microchip, vaccination against rabies, a pet passport and, for dogs, there were also requirements concerning tapeworm treatment. Continue reading...