Mauro Icardi's ongoing contract dispute with Inter Milan shows no sign of abating as the Italian team crashed out of the Europa League in his absence on Thursday before this weekend's key derby showdown against city rival's AC Milan at the San Siro.
Both sides are battling for Champions League football next season with Gennaro Gattuso's AC Milan in third, one point ahead of Inter, who occupy the final elite European qualifying spot.
Icardi's dramatic injury-time winner snatched a 1-0 win for Inter Milan in the reverse fixture last October.
But the Argentine -- joint top scorer in Serie A last season with 29 goals -- has not played since February 9 amid a contract dispute which resulted in him being stripped of the captain's armband.
The 26-year-old, who has scored 15 goals for the club this season, has complained of a knee injury but the club say a scan has not revealed any new injury.
In his absence Inter have won two of four league games, and crashed out of the Europa League on ...

Icardi debacle weighs heavy on Inter before crunch Milan derby

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Pep Guardiola remains coy about Manchester City's chances of winning the quadruple, but his side face Swansea in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday standing just 16 games away from a clean sweep of all four major trophies.
Guardiola's team moved closer to the unprecedented silverware haul on Tuesday as they advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals with a 7-0 demolition of Schalke in the last 16, second leg.
City have already won the League Cup, beating Chelsea in last month's final, but that has not quenched Guardiola's thirst for more success.
A victory at second-tier Swansea would see City move into the FA Cup semi-finals, with the Premier League title race set to go down to the wire.
City are one point clear of second-placed Liverpool and although the reigning champions would be knocked off top spot if the Reds win at Fulham on Sunday, they will have a game in hand.
In a bid to keep the pressure off his players, Guardiola has tried to talk down the possibility of City ...

Guardiola stays coy as City aim to advance quadruple bid

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will look for Manchester United to respond to the first domestic defeat of his reign when they face Wolves in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday as the Norwegian moves closer to landing the job on a permanent basis.
United's shock Champions League victory at Paris Saint-Germain last week carried them through to the last eight and all but confirmed Solskjaer will soon be named Jose Mourinho's successor on a long-term basis.
Since that famous evening in France, United have tasted defeat for the first time in England on the interim manager's watch, beaten 2-0 in last weekend's league visit to Arsenal.
But although that setback dented United's bid for a top-four finish, it did little damage to Solskjaer's standing, especially given the nightmare injury list he has endured recently.
Some reports have suggested Solskjaer could be confirmed as manager during the forthcoming international break, which follows the Wolves Cup tie.
United officials have offered no ...

Solskjaer's United looking for response after rare defeat

Bayern are back on top of the Bundesliga, but club bosses plan to clean out their ageing squad whose shortcomings were brutally exposed by Liverpool in the Champions League.
Jurgen Klopp's Reds dumped Bayern out of Europe on Wednesday with a deserved 3-1 return-leg win, handing Bayern a last-16 aggregate defeat by the same margin, at the Allianz Arena.
"Bayern urgently need radical change to still challenge for titles," Germany's daily Bild said -- the lineup which lost to Liverpool had an average age of 30.
German pundits agreed with ex-Bayern coach Louis van Gaal who late last year said senior club bosses had "failed to renew the squad."
Bayern had no answers as Sadio Mane took advantage of a mistake by 32-year-old Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to score the opener from a near-impossible angle before Liverpool defender Joel Matip netted an own goal to put the hosts level.
Virgil van Dijk killed Bayern's hopes with a crisp header before Mane again breached the defence late on from a 

Bayern plan to ditch ageing stars in wake of European exit

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang spearheaded Arsenal's revival by scoring twice in a 3-0 win over Rennes to reach the Europa League quarter-finals 4-3 on aggregate, as Chelsea and Napoli also booked a last-eight spot on Thursday.
The Gunners cancelled out their 3-1 deficit from last week's first leg in France inside 15 minutes as Aubameyang swept home from close range before teeing up Ainsley Maitland-Niles to head home.
However, Rennes had cause to complain as Aubameyang should have been flagged offside before the second goal.
With VAR not in use for the Europa League unlike the Champions League, there was no recourse for Rennes and the Ligue 1 side will also reflect on missed opportunities after the break as a historic European run for the club came to an end.
M'Baye Niang struck the post and Sead Kolasinac's last-ditch tackle denied Ismaila Sarr before the Bosnian wing-back crossed for Aubameyang to give Arsenal breathing space.
Winning the Europa League also offers Arsenal and Chelsea ...

Aubameyang seals Arsenal comeback, Giroud helps Chelsea into Europa League quarters

Zinedine Zidane has promised change at Real Madrid this summer and the last 11 games of the season will give an indication as to who will be part of his new era.
Zidane's first match since being reappointed as coach comes against Celta Vigo on Saturday, with Madrid lying in no-man's land in La Liga, 12 points behind Barcelona in first and 10 ahead of Alaves in fifth.
Atletico are away to Athletic Bilbao while Barcelona travel to Real Betis on Sunday.
But several Madrid players are playing for their futures before the campaign ends and Zidane's selection will offer early clues as to his thinking about his squad.
Here, AFP Sport looks at five areas of contention ahead of the game at the Santiago Bernabeu this weekend: Bale clean slate?
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Gareth Bale was the player many hoped would step up after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus but injuries have again disrupted his rhythm and, when fit, he has only delivered in flashes.  Zidane lost patience with Bale last ..

Key decisions for Zidane as Madrid rebuild begins

Switzerland's Belinda Bencic's resurgence continued Thursday as she reached the Indian Wells WTA semi-finals with a battling 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over fifth-ranked Karolina Pliskova.
Bencic, a former world number seven whose ranking slumped as injuries stalled her career, took her current winning streak to 12 matches.
Six of those wins have come against top-10 players, including a 6-3, 6-1 triumph over world number one and defending Indian Wells champion Naomi Osaka in the fourth round.
Bencic, who won her first title in four years at Dubai last month, will face either seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams or two-time Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber for a place in the final.

Switzerland's Bencic reaches Indian Wells semi-finals

At least one gunman who targeted crowded mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch killed a number of people Friday, police said, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern describing the shooting as "one of New Zealand's darkest days".
The mosques were packed with worshippers gathering for Friday afternoon prayers, and members of the Bangladesh cricket team were arriving when the shooter opened fire.
Local media reported at least nine people were dead and the South Island city was placed in lockdown as police hunted for an "active shooter."
"This is an evolving incident and we are working to confirm the facts, however we can confirm there have been a number of fatalities," commissioner Mike Bush said.
He said one person was in custody but there may be other offenders and armed officers were attending a number of scenes.
"Police are responding with its full capability to manage the situation, but the risk environment remains extremely high," Bush said Ardern said she was unable to ...

'Multiple fatalities' as gunman targets New Zealand mosques

Several people were reported dead when a gunman opened fire at a crowded mosque in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, during afternoon prayers Friday.
Local media reported up to six people were dead and the South Island city was placed in lockdown as police hunted for an "active shooter." "A serious and evolving situation is occurring in Christchurch with an active shooter," police said in a statement.
"Police are responding with its full capability to manage the situation, but the risk environment remains extremely high." The Masjid al Noor was filled with worshippers, including members of the Bangladesh cricket team.
One witness told stuff.co.nz he was praying in the Deans Ave mosque when he heard shooting and saw his wife lying dead on the footpath outside when he fled.
Another man said he saw children being shot.
"There were bodies all over me," he said.
An eyewitness told Radio New Zealand he heard shots fired and four people were lying on the ground, with "blood ...

Reports of dead as New Zealand police hunt 'active' mosque shooter

Multiple people were killed and several injured Friday when a gunman opened fire at a crowded mosque during afternoon prayers in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand media reported.
Local media reported up to six people were dead, and the South Island city was placed in lockdown as police hunted for an "active shooter".
"A serious and evolving situation is occurring in Christchurch with an active shooter," police said in a statement.

Multiple people dead in Christchurch mosque shooting: NZ media

Bangladesh's cricket team escaped unscathed after a shooting at a mosque in central Christchurch, an official told AFP on Friday.
Bangladesh Cricket Board spokesman Jalal Yunus said most of the team were bussed to the mosque and were about to go inside when the incident happened.
"They are safe. But they are mentally shocked. We have asked the team to stay confined in the hotel," he told AFP.
Player Tamim Iqbal tweeted that it was a "frightening experience" and that there were "active shooters".
"Entire team got saved from active shooters!!!" tweeted Tamim Iqbal. "Frightening experience and please keep us in your prayers." Local media said there were multiple casualties at one mosque and that another had been evacuated.

Bangladesh cricket team escapes NZ mosque shooting: official

Armed police in New Zealand swarmed central Christchurch Friday amid a shooting at a mosque in the South Island city.
"A serious and evolving situation is occurring in Christchurch with an active shooter," police said in a statement.
"Police are responding with its full capability to manage the situation, but the risk environment remains extremely high."
Local media said there were multiple casualties at one mosque and said another had been evacuated, and there were reports that members of the Bangladesh cricket team were also present at one site.
Police commissioner Mike Bush said all schools in the city had been placed in lockdown in response to "a serious ongoing firearms incident".
"Police urge anyone in central Christchurch to stay off the streets and report any suspicious behaviour," he said in a statement.
An eyewitness told Radio New Zealand he heard shots fired and four people were lying on the ground, with "blood everywhere".
There was no official information on casualties ..

NZ police order lockdown amid mosque shooting reports

Armed police in New Zealand swarmed central Christchurch Friday amid reports of a shooting at a mosque in the South Island city.
"Police are currently responding to reports of shots fired in central Christchurch," the police said in a statement.
Local media reported multiple casualties at one mosque and said another had been evacuated.

New Zealand police respond to reports of mosque shooting

Students in New Zealand launched a global wave of protests on Friday aimed at spurring world leaders into acting on climate change for the sake of future generations.
Hundreds gathered in Wellington carrying placards reading "Time's Melting Away" and "Act Now or Swim", part of a grassroots movement planning to stage 1,000 demonstrations in more than 100 countries on Friday.
The international student strike is set to see classrooms empty in cities across the globe, from Boston to Bogota, Dhaka to Durban and Lagos to London.
"This is young people taking the reins and realising that they do have people power, that's really awesome," Abigail O'Regan, 20, told AFP.
The protests were inspired by Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg, who camped out in front of parliament in Stockholm last year to demand action from world leaders on global warming.
"We are only seeing the beginning," tweeted Thunberg, who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her activism.
"I think that change is ..

Global student climate rally starts in New Zealand

A close aide to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani sparked a diplomatic spat with the United States by offering tough criticism of Washington's talks with the Taliban.
The advisor, Hamdullah Mohib, on Thursday took particular aim at US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and his personal "ambitions" in Afghanistan.
"We don't know what's going on. We don't have the kind of transparency that we should have," Mohib, Afghanistan's national security advisor, told some media during a visit to Washington.
"The last people to find out are us."
Mohib was "summoned" by the US undersecretary for political affairs, David Hale, who rejected the comments made by the Afghan official "criticizing the US approach to reconciliation," State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said.
At issue are the direct talks between the US government and Taliban negotiators that began last summer in Doha. The latest round wrapped up Tuesday.
After previous rounds of talks, Khalilzad typically travelled to Kabul to brief Afghan ...

US, Kabul ties tense over Taliban talks

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and his Russian colleague Alexey Ovchinin, who survived a dramatically aborted Soyuz launch last year, blasted off successfully for the International Space Station.
The two men, joined by US astronaut Christina Koch, lifted off from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at the expected time 1914 GMT on Thursday.
"The Soyuz is now in orbit and the crew are on their way to the International Space Station," said a commentator on NASA television.
The Russian space agency Roscosmos confirmed it had entered orbit.
The lift off was closely watched after the two men's space journey was cut short in October when a technical problem with their Soyuz rocket triggered a launch abort two minutes into the flight. Both men escaped unharmed.
It was the first such accident in Russia's post-Soviet history and a major setback for its once proud space industry.
Speaking to reporters ahead of their six-month mission, flight commander Ovchinin said that some faulty components 

Astronauts on aborted Soyuz launch blast off successfully for ISS

Poland's powerful Catholic church on Thursday published a report admitting that nearly 400 of its clergy had sexually abused children and minors over the last three decades, reflecting findings published last month by a charity focused on abuse in the church.
The Polish Bishops' Conference said in its report that it found 382 clergy sexually abused a total of 624 victims, including 198 under 15 years of age and 184 adolescents between the ages of 15 and 18.
The statistical report which covers the period between 1990 and 2018, did not include the names of perpetrators.
"We know that this is still only the tip of the iceberg," Jesuit Adam Zak, the Polish episcopate's coordinator for child protection and youth, told reporters at a press conference in Warsaw.
"The church must be impeccable and firm in stigmatising evil. But it must... also show mercy to the perpetrators if they strive for internal transformation, if they regret (their actions)," Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski told ...

Polish church admits clergy abused hundreds of children

The World Bank confirmed Thursday that senior US Treasury official David Malpass was the lone candidate nominated to take over the helm of the development aid institution.
Nominations closed Thursday morning, and the World Bank board said it will conduct a formal interview and make a decision before the Spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, which are to be held April 12-14.
The surprise early departure of World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on February 1, not even halfway through his second five-year term, gave US President Donald Trump the opportunity to put his stamp on the organization.
Malpass, a 62-year-old Treasury official in charge of international affairs, has been a strident critic of the international financial institutions, calling their lending practices "corrupt" and complaining about aid to China and other relatively more well-off countries that he says should have graduated from the institutions.
The World Bank has been led by American men ...

World Bank says US official lone candidate for presidency

International donors pledged nearly USD 7 billion in aid for 2019 for civilians caught up in Syria's bloody civil war, the EU said Thursday, but the total fell short of what the UN says is needed.
EU Humanitarian Commissioner Christos Stylianides announced the total at the end of a three-day conference in Brussels, on the eve of the eighth anniversary of the start of the conflict.
The European Union led the pledges with two billion euros, but the conference failed to drum up the USD 9 billion the United Nations said was needed to help the millions of Syrians forced to flee the country as well as those facing a humanitarian crisis at home.
Despite the shortfall, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock said he was "very pleased with the outcome" but stressed that only a political solution could end the misery endured by Syrians as a result of the war.
Before the conference the UN estimated that USD 5.5 billion (4.4 billion euros) are needed to help the approximately 5.6 million Syrians forced to flee 

International donors pledge USD 7 billion aid for Syria in 2019: EU

The United States has withdrawn all remaining diplomatic personnel from its embassy in Caracas as the crisis in Venezuela deepens, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday.
"Today, all US diplomats remaining in Venezuela departed the country. I know it is a difficult moment for them," he said in a statement.
"They are fully dedicated to our mission of supporting the Venezuelan people's aspirations to live in a democracy and build a better future for their families."
Venezuela is gripped by an acute economic crisis that has fueled the rise of opposition leader Juan Guaido, the national assembly speaker who in late January declared himself to be the interim leader.
The embassy closure is set to worsen already tattered relations with US President Donald Trump, who has not ruled out military intervention to oust President Nicolas Maduro as Washington monitors rapidly unfolding events in the oil-rich but crippled South American nation.
The US has already imposed sanctions designed to ..

All American diplomats have left Venezuela: Pompeo

FIFA chiefs will decide on Friday whether to back an expansion of the 2022 World Cup to 48 teams but a final decision will only be taken at a meeting in Paris in June, sources said Thursday.
The FIFA Council meeting in Miami on Friday will give its verdict on an internal feasibility study which supported increasing the number of teams at the 2022 tournament in Qatar from 32 to 48, However a final vote on increasing the number of teams at the football showpiece would only be taken at a full Congress meeting of football's global governing body in June.
And any declaration of support by FIFA's Council on Friday would acknowledge that expansion in 2022 can only take place if one or more countries on Qatar's borders are able to host games, according to a document seen by AFP.
FIFA's feasibility study into an expanded World Cup in 2022 said Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and United Arab Emirates were potential options to host games in three years time.
But Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the 

AFP

AFP

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