By Krishn Kaushik, Sarita Chaganti Singh and David Brunnstrom NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the

Stephen Kenny has brushed off speculation over his future as Republic of Ireland manager amid a tide of criticism in the wake of a disastrous start to the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. Kenny woke on Sunday morning to reports he could be replaced following Friday night’s 2-1 defeat in Greece, which left his side without a point from the first two fixtures and with their hopes of making it to the finals fast receding. However, despite seeing England Under-21s manager and former Ireland international Lee Carsley, Ghana boss Chris Hughton and Sam Allardyce linked with his job, Kenny remained bullish ahead of Monday night’s must-win fixture against lowly Gibraltar. Asked if he expected to be in charge for the remainder of the campaign, he said: “Yes, I definitely do. My contract is up to the end of the campaign and whether it’s renewed will depend on how people feel the campaign went overall, but certainly I fully expect to be. “We want a positive result tomorrow and that’s firmly what I’m focused on.” Anything other than a win over Gibraltar, ranked 201st by world governing body FIFA, some 152 places below Ireland, would simply fuel the fires of those who want a change of manager. Asked if anything less was unthinkable, Kenny replied: “In terms of European Championship qualification, yes, it is, yes.” It is not the first time during the three years since he replaced Mick McCarthy at the helm that Kenny has found himself in the firing line, and that clamour would increase significantly if his team did not come out on top – and handsomely so – on Monday evening. His background, unlike recent predecessors Giovanni Trapattoni, Martin O’Neill and McCarthy, is largely in the League of Ireland, and the success or otherwise of his attempts to play an enterprising brand of football has been a topic for debate throughout. Asked how he maintains his optimism in the face of such a backlash, Kenny said: “It’s irrelevant, to be honest, it’s irrelevant, I just really focus on developing the team and preparing the team for tomorrow. “There is a lot of criticism, some of it justified, and I have to accept that. Likewise some of it inaccurate, that’s the nature of it. From my point of view, I’m not fixated with it. I’m just firmly focused on what we have to do and just focused on the task at hand, which is managing this group of players. “We’re not perfect, but I really believe in the players. I know people have other viewpoints, but I believe in the players. “We wanted to win against Greece, we didn’t win. That’s a reality. If we had won the other night against Greece, everything would have been on track, we’d have been going into the Gibraltar game with everything great. “Now because we didn’t, it’s a catastrophe, and I do get that, but we’ve got to focus on tomorrow and Gibraltar, make sure we are ready.” Kenny has no fresh injuries, but has indicated he will make changes, one of which will see Wigan midfielder James McClean wear the captain’s armband as he wins his 100th cap.

Don Garber explained his views on the entertaining tournament.

Vladimir Putin has reportedly pardoned two Russian men convicted of cannibalism after they deployed to the frontline in the war with Ukraine. One of the men, Denis Gorin, was recruited into a private military company after signing a contract with the Russian ministry of defence but is known to have been convicted thrice for murdering at least four people between 2003 and 2022. He was also convicted of eating the remains of his victims along with his brother, reported Sibir Realii, a news outlet aligned with Radio Free Europe. He is the 17th person convicted for murder to be pardoned by the Russian president between 2022 and 2023. “At the trial, he (Gorin) admitted that they ate the murdered man who was their acquaintance,” said his neighbour Dmitry Vladimirovich. Investigators found out that Gorin first killed his victim and then washed and refrigerated the remains. After his last conviction in 2018, Gorin was sentenced to 22 years in prison but was pardoned in 2023 by the Russian president. The neighbour added that Gorin was now free and admitted to a military hospital in the eastern Russian city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk due to a moderate injury. “He’s basically free, pardoned, and half his [prison] sentence has been wiped out. But I don’t think he’ll stay free for long. His victims’ relatives remember everything," the neighbour said, adding that he feared Gorin might start killing again. According to a new photo on Gorin’s social media profile on Odnoklassniki – a Russian platform – from a month ago, he is seen wearing a military uniform with the letter Z emblazoned on the sleeve, a pro-war symbol for conflicts in Ukraine and abroad widely used in Russia. Another man, Nikolai Ogolobyak, was convicted of ritual murders, according to the Russian media reports. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2019 for murdering four teenagers and then consuming their remains. The 33-year-old man was reportedly pardoned this week by the Russian president for fighting in the invasion of Ukraine. Russia has regularly released and pardoned hardened criminals convicted for rapes, murders and other serious crimes to replenish its military personnel reserves fighting in Ukraine. Prominent PMC Wagner also released hundreds of convicts who joined its military operations in eastern Ukraine. Read More Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin’s forces suffer major losses in the east, says Kyiv Hungary set to receive millions in EU money despite Orban's threats to veto Ukraine aid South Korea says Russian support likely enabled North Korea to successfully launch a spy satellite

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