WORLD

Fifa is planning to hold a special meeting next month at which two lucrative tournaments could be given the go-ahead. Football’s world governing body is said to have held “promising” consultations in recent weeks with regional confederations, individual football associations and leading clubs over the creation of a revamped Club World Cup and a new ‘Nations League’. The tournaments would ...

THE United States is flooding the European markets with record amounts crude oil as US producers seize on Russia and the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pact to cut output resulting in soaring oil prices. US crude oil is seen as the cheaper option as the OPEC and Russia pact begins to bite after agreeing jointly to oil ...

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have left hospital after the arrival of their third child, a boy. The couple’s second son, who was born at 11:01 BST, weighing 8lb 7oz, is fifth in line to the throne. Prince George and Princess Charlotte had visited their brother at the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, London. Leaving the hospital Prince ...

ANTONIO CONTE has been rejected by Juventus after offering his services to the club, according to reports in Italy. The Chelsea boss is expected to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season after failing to match the heights of his debut campaign. Conte claimed he was homesick late last year, and has done little to disguise the fact ...

Google, Amazon and other services inside Russia have been hit by the country’s bids to stop people using the Telegram messaging app. Russia banned the app after the company refused to hand over encryption keys that could unscramble messages. The ban, which started this month, involved Russian regulators blocking many net addresses to cut off access. Addresses used by Google ...

A 14-year-old Everton fan has made history by becoming football’s first “remote” match-day mascot – with the aid of a robot. Jack McLinden, who has multiple health conditions, experienced joining his heroes on the pitch before their game against Newcastle United on Monday. Everton captain Phil Jagielka carried the robot, which fed panoramic live images and sound back to Jack’s ...

Police in Florida have been criticised for allegedly entering a funeral home in a futile bid to unlock a dead man’s smartphone. Linus Phillip, 30, was killed while trying to escape from police at a petrol station in Largo on 23 March. After his body was released to the Sylvan Abbey Funeral Home, his family say, two police officers tried ...

Spotify, the UK’s biggest music streaming service, has started testing a way of filtering out songs which have explicit lyrics. The feature has been introduced on its iPhone and iPad apps – six years after being requested on its online forums. But some users have told BBC Radio 5 live: that the feature does not have enough controls. Rivals such ...

A man suspected of killing four people at a Waffle House in Tennessee has been arrested by police in Nashville. Police said Travis Reinking, 29, was caught in a wooded area. He allegedly opened fire at the restaurant on Sunday with an AR-15 rifle, before discarding his coat and fleeing naked. A customer, James Shaw Jr, prevented further bloodshed by ...

ALEXIS SANCHEZ struggled to produce a sample for the Wembley dope testers then explained why Manchester United have had wait to see the best of him. The Chile striker was the last player to emerge from a stadium he must wish he could play in every week. Sanchez had underlined the old sporting maxim that while form is temporary, class ...