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Bryson DeChambeau of the United States acknowledges a gallery of patrons while playing the third hole during a practice round prior to the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 07, 2026
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As part of their ongoing co-operation and co-ordination to ensure the highest standards of integrity in competitions and guarantee transparency and fair play for teams and players, the Qatar Stars League (QSL) and International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) have reaffirmed their commitment towards integrity in Doha Bank Stars League matches.Both entities collaborate to ensure integrity and transparency in competitions throughout the season, particularly in crucial rounds. The final round of the season has become crucial in determining the league champions and final positions – be they the top-four finish or relegation to Second Division.It may be noted that QSL and ICSS have a joint work programme in place based on promoting integrity and transparency. It included several workshops and training courses for those involved in professional football, with the participation of club company representatives, players and coaches.
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Real Madrid's French forward #10 Kylian Mbappe attends a training session on the eve of the UEFA Champions League quarter final first leg football match against FC Bayern Munich, at Real Madrid Sports City in
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Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen reacts after taking the pole position at the end of the qualifying session ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi
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Chinese President Xi Jinping called for normal passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz to be maintained, in a phone call yesterday with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held as Beijing steps up efforts to help end the Iran war. China is concerned over renewed instability around the strategic waterway, as a US-Iran ceasefire came under fresh strain after the US seized an Iranian cargo ship and Tehran signalled it would not join new peace talks for now. China is the main buyer of Iranian crude. Iran has largely closed the strait to ships other than its own since the US and Israel launched the war in February, while Washington has imposed a blockade of Iranian ships since last week. China advocates an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire, and insists on resolving conflicts in the Middle East through political and diplomatic channels, state news agency Xinhua cited Xi as saying. “The Strait of Hormuz should remain open to normal passage, as this serves the common interests of regional countries and the international community,” he told the Saudi leader. Worries have mounted over the survival of the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran after the US seizure of the Iranian vessel. Trump had credited Beijing with helping to get Iran to the previous negotiations with the US in Pakistan. The Chinese foreign ministry yesterday expressed concerns over the “forced interception” by the US of the Iranian ship, while urging relevant sides to abide by the ceasefire agreement.Xi’s call with the Saudi crown prince followed a meeting in Beijing last week with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, when Xi urged adherence to international law. Xi also told the Saudi crown prince that China supports countries in the Middle East in “taking their future and destiny into their own hands, and promoting long-term regional stability and peace”.
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I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) Commanding General and US Marine Corps Lieutenant General Christian Wortman attaches the Balikatan patch to Philippine Exercise Director Francisco Lorenzo, during the opening ceremony of the US-Philippines "Balikatan" joint
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US President Donald Trump yesterday dismissed his top energy official’s view that gas prices will not drop until 2027, saying Americans can expect lower costs as soon as the Iran war ends. On Sunday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNN that while petrol below $3 a gallon “could happen later this year, that might not happen until next year.” “I think he’s wrong on that. Totally wrong,” Trump told a reporter from ‘The Hill’, adding that prices are expected to come down “as soon as this ends.” While Wright, also on CNN, agreed that “with the resolution of this conflict, you’ll see prices go down,” no clear end is in sight. A fragile ceasefire is set to expire shortly and the chances another round of peace talks succeeding are unclear. Trump and his fellow Republicans are under pressure ahead of November’s midterm elections after pledging to lower costs. With months left to go, US petrol prices remain high, inflation is rising and Trump’s approval ratings are down. The average price for a gallon of regular gas on Monday was $4.04, according to an estimate by AAA, compared to $3.15 a year ago.
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European squash champion Victor Crouin believes the visibility of his sport will get a huge boost after it makes its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Tennis, table tennis and badminton all outstrip squash in terms of licensed player participation in France but Crouin is convinced this will now change. “The Olympics will give us notoriety,” the triple European champion and world number six told AFP. In France, there are just 22,000 licensed squash players compared to 254,000 in table tennis and over 1.2 million for tennis. So when squash was added to the Olympic roster after the 2024 Paris Games after years of bidding for a place, Crouin was delighted. “I couldn’t believe it was true,” he said. “This is now my career objective. As a squash player, I’ve always felt a bit excluded (from the Olympics) until now.” Places for LA are limited however to 16 male and 16 female players. “It makes for one less match to win and a better chance of a medal,” said Crouin, who studied economics at Harvard. Crouin believes his sport will make an attractive spectacle for fans. “It’s a spectacular sport. Squash is often described as a game of chess in a boxing ring,” he said. Other sports either added or back on the programme for the LA Olympics are cricket, flag football, baseball and softball.
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Bangladesh’s Nahid Rana (centre) celebrates a five-wicket haul with teammates after taking the wicket of New Zealand’s Jayden Lennox during the second ODI at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur Monday. (AFP) Pace sensation Nahid Rana took 5-32 to lead Bangladesh to a comfortable six-wicket win over New Zealand in the second one-day international and level the three-match series at 1-1 Monday. Rana registered his second five-wicket ODI haul as Bangladesh bundled out New Zealand for 198, a total they overhauled with 14.3 overs to spare in Dhaka. Opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim, who top-scored with 76, and Najmul Hossain Shanto, retired hurt on 50, steered the hosts to 199-4 in 35.3 overs, setting up a series decider on Thursday in Chattogram. Bangladesh suffered early blows with opener Saif Hassan and Soumya Sarkar out for eight apiece, but Tanzid hit back with an aggressive counter-attack that hauled the hosts to 67 in 10 overs. Tanzid found an able ally in Shanto and the left-handed pair put on 120 runs for the third-wicket stand to put the chase firmly in Bangladesh’s control. Left-arm spinner Jayden Lennox briefly threatened to spark a collapse, dismissing Tanzid and Litton Das in quick succession - both falling while attempting to clear the boundary. Tanzid struck 10 fours and four sixes in his 58-ball knock. Litton made seven. Shanto kept his calm as he raised his fifty off 71 balls, but was forced to retire due to severe cramp. Towhid Hridoy, unbeaten on 30, and skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz, not out on eight, saw Bangladesh home without further trouble. Earlier, the 23-year-old Rana set up the win during New Zealand’s innings after he operated across four separate spells and struck in the first over of each new burst. Left-arm quick Shoriful Islam provided strong support, returning 2-32 from his 10 overs, including the wicket of Nick Kelly (83). Fast bowlers Soumya and Taskin Ahmed took one wicket each, as did leg-spinner Rishad Hossain. New Zealand’s innings was held together almost single-handedly by opener Kelly, who made 83 for his maiden ODI half-century. No other visiting batter reached 20, with Muhammad Abbas the next highest scorer, on 19. Shoriful set the platform early, delivering an incisive opening spell of six overs for just 17 runs, generating 29 dot balls to put the tourists on the back foot. Rana tightened the stranglehold, collecting two wickets in his opening five-over spell. BRIEF SCORESBangladesh 199 for 4 (Tanzid 76, Shanto 50, Lennox 2-36) beat New Zealand 198 (Kelly 83, Rana 5-32 Shoriful 2-32) by six wickets Related Story
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Al Ahli’s Brazil winger Galeno celebrates after scoring against Vissel Kobe at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah. Defending champions Al Ahli struck twice in eight second-half minutes to come from behind to defeat Japan’s Vissel Kobe 2-1 and seal their place in a second successive Asian Champions League Elite final. Brazil winger Galeno cancelled out Yoshinori Muto’s first-half opener before Ivan Toney completed the comeback in front of 44,716 people at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium. Kobe, winners of the J1 League title in 2023 and 2024, took the lead on the half hour, when the Al Ahli defence were caught napping at a free-kick. Beating the Saudi side’s high line, an unmarked Yuya Osako headed the ball across the Ahli penalty area to Muto, who slotted home past former Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. In first-half stoppage-time, Rayan Hamed headed a Galeno free-kick onto the Kobe upright before Toney dragged a shot wide. Ahli, who 12 months ago defeated Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale in the final to capture a first continental crown, spurned another golden opportunity at the start of the second half when Brazil international Roger Ibanez headed across goal when free. At the other end, Daiju Sasaki struck the Ahli crossbar. However, Ahli levelled on 62 minutes. Galeno, scorer of a spectacular winner in the quarter-final win against Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim, struck another superb effort from range that flew high into the Kobe goal. Ahli edged ahead eight minutes later, Toney making the most of goalkeeper Daiya Maekawa’s failure to deal with a cross by side-footing home from the angle. The Englishman, the current top scorer in the Saudi Pro League, climbed to two goals for the tournament. Ahli were then denied a third through Riyad Mahrez, with the former Manchester City star’s 75th-minute finish ruled out for offside following a VAR review. But it mattered little as Ahli held on for the victory. They will now face either Japan’s Machida Zelvia or 2015 runners-up Shabab Al Ahli of the UAE, who meet in the other semi-final Tuesday. The final takes place on Saturday at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium. For the second year running, Jeddah is staging the eight-team centralised finals series of the continent’s premier football competition, rebranded last year as the Asian Champions League Elite. Related Story
