News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Wales's Euro 2016 victory over Belgium, officially the second-best team in football, showed again that you can have all the attacking talent in the world but if you are weak at the back you will be found out at the highest level.
Brazil coach Dunga launched a stinging attack on referee Enrique Osses after the Chilean whistler sent Neymar off.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Two quickfire headed goals from Wilfried Bony and Gervinho helped Ivory Coast recover to beat Japan 2-1 on Saturday as their bid for a first appearance in the World Cup knockout stages got off to a fine start.
Alexandre Lacazette's free-kick sent Arsenal into the Europa League semi-finals with a comfortable 1-0 win away over Napoli, while Chelsea beat Slavia Prague 4-3 in a roller-coaster game, helped by a Pedro brace.
While Lyon rallied to hold Leipzig 2-2 after a Memphis Depay strike, it was the English clubs who made a mark on the night. Liverpool and Chelsea moved into the last 16 with contrasting wins and now all four English clubs, including Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, are in the Champions League knockouts this season.
Atletico Madrid produced an inspired display of counter-attacking football to beat Chelsea 3-1 in the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg in London on Wednesday and set up an all-Spanish final against city rivals Real.
Nico Rosberg will have Formula One history in his sights in Spain this weekend, even if Dutch teenager Max Verstappen seizes his share of the limelight. The championship leader has won seven races in a row, including the last three of 2015, and can join fellow-German Michael Schumacher (2004) and Britain's Nigel Mansell (1992) as the only drivers to start a season with five successive victories. The chances of that happening looked remote this time last year, when Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton had won three of the first four and was heading for a third title, but Rosberg is now 43 points clear of the Briton. As 18-year-old Verstappen would agree, after his rapid promotion from Toro Rosso in a swap with demoted Russian Daniil Kvyat, Formula One moves fast off the track as well as on it. "I'm just enjoying the moment and the form I'm in, doing my best to keep it going and hoping I can carry it through to the end of the season," said Rosberg, 11/10 at bookmakers' William Hill with Hamilton at 5/4.
The oil cartel's decision to maintain the production ceiling at its 2016 level, despite the recovery of the world economy, will ensure shortfalls in supply and high oil prices in the foreseeable future, warns Ambassador D P Srivastava.
A breathtaking individual goal from Saul Niguez put Atletico Madrid in the box seat in their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich with a 1-0 victory in a tense first leg on Wednesday.
Tottenham Hotspur's tenacious chase of leaders Chelsea continued as they claimed a 12th consecutive Premier League home win with a 4-0 rout of Bournemouth on Saturday to cut the gap to four points.
'Elections don't offer easy or ideal choices. Voters may find there is no candidate whom they can fully trust. But here is a litmus test for choosing between competing imperfection: Reject any candidate or party that asks you to put growth above secularism,' says Rajni Bakshi.
IMAGES from the Euro 2020 qualifiers
Rediff.com Senior Contributor P Rajendran reports from New York on how the Indian-American researcher's pioneering work may wipe out the visible effect of Alzheimer's disease.
'The reason why we don't have an escalation of war like in 1962 is because in 1962, we didn't have this connectivity.' 'Whereas today, we have lots of incentives to stay stable and connected to China even though we still have that political rivalry.'
Young, raw energy from India's engineering colleges on display!
Rediff.com's Rajesh Karkera takes in the best of Bhutan, a beautiful little kingdom that has bundles and bundles of goodness to offer.
Striker Jonathan Calleri chipped a brilliant 'rabona' as Boca Juniors marked Carlos Tevez's homecoming with a 2-1 victory over Quilmes at La Bombonera to stay top of the Argentine championship.
A round-up of Saturday's action in La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
On a pitch offering extensive lateral movement, a target of 175 could prove to be a match-winning one for India.
An injury time own goal from England defender Laura Bassett put Japan into the World Cup final with a 2-1 victory, setting up a title rematch with the United States.
For example, railways, roads and highways, and shipping could form a section within the Budget as an omnibus transport sector
Juventus staged a superb revival to battle back from two goals down and rescue their Champions League hopes with a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich in their last 16 first leg on Tuesday.
The crucial black box of the doomed AirAsia jet was on Sunday found in the Java Sea stuck under the debris from the plane's fuselage and will be retrieved on Monday as the major breakthrough in the search raised hopes of unravelling the mystery of the crash soon.
Waris Ahluwalia, 41, who had been on a trip to Mexico, took a photo of himself and his boarding pass for an Aeromexico flight back to NYC, explaining in a caption that he had been prohibited from boarding.
Defender Miguel Britos was sent off for head-butting an opponent as Napoli lost 3-1 at champions Juventus on Saturday, all but ending their hopes of Champions League football next season.
Images from the 2020 Euro Championships qualifiers played on Saturday
Lionel Messi will be working "full time" to shake off the hamstring injury sustained on Sunday that will sideline him for six to eight weeks, Barcelona's Argentine World Player of the Year said on Tuesday.
'What does our conservatism seek to conserve?' 'Of course its values, which are akin to religion and accepted unquestioningly.' 'Such things as respect for elders, studying 'hard', career choices being determined or influenced by parents, the idea of arranged marriage, the marking of ritual and ceremony,' explains Aakar Patel.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Obama urged the girls to get into science and math in school, to push back on the idea that it is 'more of a boy thing'.
Determined defending and unstinting effort kept the League Two team in the game against opponents lying second in the Premier League, almost 70 places above them.
'By ruffling dignified feathers, and by polarising its audience, Kabir Singh has put movies and art back into our public discourse,' says Sreehari Nair.
Son fires Spurs to 2-0 win over Huddersfield
Dina Asher-Smith seized her golden opportunity to win the World Championship 200 metres on Wednesday and become the first British woman to claim a global sprint title.
Chronic fatigue syndrome may have its origin in your gut, says Nikita Puri.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Villarreal continued their impressive revival after a season in the second division when Jeremy Perbet and Jonathan Pereira struck in a 2-1 win at home to Espanyol in La Liga on Thursday.
A summary of Friday's Euro 2020 qualifying matches.
