SEOUL South Korea's economy grew 0.3% in the first quarter from the previous quarter, revised central bank data

China and Russia used a military forum in Beijing to publicly reinforce their bond, a move that defies

By Dietrich Knauth Kidde-Fenwal Inc, a subsidiary of Carrier Global Corp that specializes in fire control systems, filed

If you want a little insight into just how much the sporting world has changed in the last 72 hours, take the story of one prime footballer who previously didn’t even consider an offer from the Saudi Pro League. The numbers and headlines being shared suddenly made the player do an about-turn and contact his agent to ask whether a deal was still on the table. His mind has been changed. That player is not Neymar, although he is the next big target after Lionel Messi, and a huge offer has been put forward to the Brazilian. They are the tier of top stars, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, who connected sources insist are the only ones getting over £50m a year. Those are still game-changing sums, since they are substantially more than the pay of the entire Luton Town squad just promoted to the Premier League. This is a game-changing moment. It was Ronaldo’s initial move that sparked it. It is the LIV Golf story that has, well, brought it to the fore. It is the only true global game in football, however, that will fittingly emphasise how much sport has really transformed in the last 72 hours. What Saudi Arabia is currently attempting is a takeover of the planet’s primary cultural pursuit. Some of that does stem from genuine social programmes within the state, particularly to tackle obesity. Most of it comes from the kingdom's “sportswashing” aims, as it attempts to preserve a power structure as oil diminishes. All of it ultimately comes from crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s marriage of brutal suppression with what human rights activist Iyed Al Baghdadi describes as a “desire to be loved”. That contrast almost perfectly scans on to what has happened with golf. The sport was split apart so the other side could be co-opted, albeit with Saudi Arabia now a part of its infrastructure. A fist and then an open hand. While football awaits similar, it should reflect on the fact that exact move has already been tried twice. The game had anticipated a first split with Gianni Infantino’s initial plan for an expanded Club World Cup in 2020, and a number of sources state that Saudi money underpinned the Softbank fund for that. That break was put off by new agreements made for the Covid pandemic, only for the ensuing financial crisis to push stricken clubs into rushing the European Super League. Again, the same sources state that Saudi money underpinned the JP Morgan loan for that. Unlike golf, however, the sport’s unique supporter culture kept the game together. It did not break. Saudi Arabia is now trying another approach. Or, rather, every other approach. The playbook set by their Gulf neighbours in Abu Dhabi and Qatar has been followed and significantly updated, as the world now moves onto the next stage. Saudi Arabia first went down the simple sponsorship route, as was most visible in so many deals with Manchester United. They then sought to fund the plans of others, as with Fifa's Club World Cup, while staging events such as the Italian and Spanish Super Cups. They then bought a club in the most prominent league in the world, with Newcastle United. They are now seeking to revamp their domestic league, all to build up to the most traditional form of sportswashing of all, which is the staging of the World Cup itself. That is the great ambition for 2030, which is of course the year marked for the culmination of Bin Salman’s grand economic plan. It was as part of the announcement of the latest plans for ‘Vision 2030’ that a new era for the Saudi Pro League was launched. One irony is that the overhaul of the domestic league could otherwise be seen as the most legitimate development in all of this. Saudi Arabia has a vibrant young population that is obsessed with the sport, and a very strong and long-standing football culture. It has produced a series of fine teams at Asian club level as well as two highly respectable World Cup performances, and the quality is generally described as good. There's even an argument a vibrant league has just been waiting to be developed there. It’s just that’s impossible to isolate from Bin Salman’s wider political aims, FairSquare describing it as “central to Saudi Arabia’s soft power strategy”. There is similarly a belief within football that the unusual nature of the overhaul could represent a model that soon spreads and upends the wider game. It admittedly isn’t expected to be as bombastic as the Chinese Super League, which briefly sent waves through the sport through huge fees and wages back in 2016-17. The Saudi Pro League is nevertheless seen as more of a disruptor because it is more sustainable. As part of the plan, the Public Investment Fund have taken over four of Saudi Arabia’s top football clubs - Al Ahli; Al Hilal; Al Nassr, who have Ronaldo, and Al Ittihad, who will have Karim Benzema. Those with direct knowledge of the preparations say the rationale is from research that the most vibrant leagues have a “top four”, in order to create a sense of competition around popular big clubs to drive broadcasting markets. "You've got to have a top four," in the simple words of one source. This has already led to some internal friction, as Riyadh’s third biggest club - Al-Shabab - have now missed out. They are instead one of 12 clubs who will likely get one top foreign player each, but the new big four will get three. The aim is then for this to raise the level of Saudi football as a whole, alongside the value of the league. It is hoped to make it worth £400m a season by that landmark year of 2030. The initial idea is that it becomes the natural home for stars in their mid-thirties looking for a last payday, since there is an obvious space there. The Chinese Super League is now gone as a force and the USA’s Major League Soccer is too constrained by regulation. The Saudi Pro League also has the attraction of huge crowds, unlike Abu Dhabi or Qatar. From there, the age of foreign stars would gradually be brought down, as the quality of homegrown players goes up. A number of big football industry figures have been invited over for consultations over the last few months and they have been struck by the substance of the idea. There is a belief that, while the competition can’t ever get to Premier League levels, the money involved can eventually bring it to a point where there are more high-profile prime stars than either Ligue 1 and Serie A. “It’s not going to be a significant league in the true sense,” one prominent source argued, “but it could be an interesting league.” To do that, though, the competition is going to need proper structure and regulation and that is where some of those consulted have been struck by the “eruption” of the last few days. It is like it all suddenly got super-charged. The Saudi state announcement ensured offers for players have been flying around, some of them greatly increased after the initial refusal, some of them clearly from actors looking to exploit the situation. Players have been getting contacted by six different intermediaries, all insisting they represent the same client or club. One source tells the story of a players called by an agent who claimed to be sitting right beside a “prominent member of the royal family, who loves you”. Another call minutes later revealed that to be bogus. “It’s creating chaos,” the source says. Others with knowledge of the Saudi plans do insist some of the numbers going around are also bogus. While there is an admittance Ronaldo, Neymar and Messi would be on the highest figures, they are adamant those for Benzema and N’Golo Kante do not go beyond £50m and £30m a year, respectively. After that, it is a sliding scale, if still an attractive one. Maybe not attractive enough for Messi, though. As of Wednesday afternoon, and despite extensive negotiations with his father Jorge, the Argentine agreed a deal in principle with MLS franchise Inter Miami. The Messis have kept the door open, though. The Saudi Pro League will meanwhile just move onto the next major target, which is Neymar. Messi’s decision nevertheless points to a potential “new world” in football, that has inevitably risen with the sport’s recent explosion in global popularity, and potentially has opposite poles represented by the hosts of the next two World Cups. While the USA already has 2026 along with Canada and Mexico, Saudi Arabia is currently the favourite for 2030. That’s what much of this is building up to. There will be a powerful emotional pull on the process since that year represents the centenary of the first ever World Cup in Montevideo, as marked by a joint bid from Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Another bid from Spain, Portugal and Ukraine will be similarly alluring. It is maybe the strongest ever field of bids, but Saudi Arabia has a strong claim of its own - namely in money. Despite the fact any such bid would face an avalanche of criticism over human rights, Qatar is already seen as crossing a threshold there, and the Kingdom has been canny in who it has corralled into its bid. The inclusion of Greece will split European votes. The inclusion of Egypt will split North African votes. There is even a theory now openly being stated that a deal will eventually be done with South America to bring Uruguay in. Montevideo would then be able to host the opening game, with Saudi Arabia underwriting the costs. This is the power of that kind of money, that football is proving as unresistant to as golf. It is why the reshaping of the Saudi Pro League is being viewed as the most interesting move - and, in many quarters, the most ominous move - of all. Many in football believe it represents a template for autocratic states eventually buying stakes in leagues. Private equity groups like CVC have already attempted similar with a number of sporting competitions, including La Liga. It would make sense, at least in sport’s perpetually greedy world, for states to be the next step. For many, up against the unparalleled power of the Premier League, it could even prove obvious. Such unintended consequences are how football repeatedly gets itself into such situations. If it is a struggle for anyone else to match the Premier League's power, then just do a deal with an autocratic state to lift the competition as a whole. The Premier League itself may not even be off-limits. “Anything is possible,” one prominent football executive says. The Premier League would just need to issue new shares and require a change of articles with a 75% vote, along with Football Association approval. Or, a new league could just be set up inviting clubs to join. “And you can be sure the football authorities aren’t even thinking about such challenges,” the same source argues. A mistaken recent belief in football has long been that any regulation can only ever be reactionary. It has left the sport unable to resist the influence of private equity and autocratic states. By the time those in power realise there are problems with that, it is all too integrated; the imperfect marriage of short-term greed from within and long-term political aims from outside. That has already happened in the sport as a whole, as an Abu Dhabi project at Manchester City aim for a treble. The entire era may now be moving onto its next stage, centred in Saudi Arabia. Read More Lionel Messi agrees ‘in principle’ on next move after PSG exit Rory McIlroy welcomes Saudi money in golf: ‘Would you rather have them as a partner or an enemy?’ The year that sportswashing won: A season that changed football forever Why has Saudi Arabia become big player in world sport and what does future hold? Karim Benzema says it is ‘impossible’ to forget Real Madrid as he bids farewell Where might Lionel Messi go next after Paris St Germain spell ends?

Latvia's Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins announced Monday he will step down from the office, citing "lack of dynamics" in the current government as...

New York architect Rex Heuermann is facing charges in the murders of three Gilgo Beach victims, court documents released by the Suffolk County District Attorney on Friday revealed. Mr Heuermann, 59, is accused of murdering Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello — all sex workers in their 20s who disappeared in the Long Island area before their bodies were found during a separate missing person investigation in 2010. The women’s remains along with the body of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who is also believed to be one of the “Gilgo Four,” were found within one-quarter mile of each other, similarly positioned and bound in a similar fashion by either belts or tape. The unsolved murders sent fear through the shoreline community of Gilgo Beach for more than a decade. Few developments were made in the case until earlier this year, when the Suffolk County Police Department, New York State Police, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI revamped the probe into the killings that ultimately led to Mr Heuermann’s bombshell arrest outside his Midtown office on Thursday. A bail application released by the Suffolk County District Attorney revealed that Mr Heuermann was linked to the serial killings through cellphone evidence and surveillance. Prosecutors argued in the application that no bail should be set for Mr Heuermann due to his recent searches for “sadistic materials, child pornography, images of the victims and their relatives.” This is a breaking story ... check back for developments.

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Lewis Hamilton criticised Formula One’s stewards after he was penalised for colliding with Sergio Perez in Saturday’s rain-hit sprint race in Belgium. Max Verstappen overcame Oscar Piastri’s impressive challenge to land another win ahead of Sunday’s main event in Spa-Francorchamps. Piastri finished runner-up with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly a surprise third. Hamilton crossed the line in fourth, but was demoted to seventh after he was dealt a five-second penalty for making contact with Perez as they diced for position through Stavelot. Perez sustained race-ending damage in the accident – with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner accusing Hamilton of putting a big hole in the side of his driver’s machine. But Hamilton, drawing on a famous quote from his childhood hero Ayrton Senna, said: “As Ayrton said, if you no longer go for a gap that exists, then you are no longer a racing driver. “That is what I did. And when I watched it back it feels like a racing incident to me. “The conditions were tricky out there. We are doing our best and it wasn’t intentional. He was slow and I went up the inside and I was more than half-a-car length alongside. “I feel like we should not be deterred from racing. It would have been nice to finish fourth but I don’t really care about finishing fourth, I want to win.” The four FIA stewards here – including former British grand prix driver Derek Warwick – also punished Hamilton with two points on his licence. Surmising the lap-six flashpoint, the quartet determined: “Hamilton was attempting to pass Perez on the inside at Turn 15. “While Perez was giving little room on the inside for Hamilton, Hamilton drove onto the kerb and subsequently understeered into Perez. The stewards consider that Hamilton was predominantly at fault for causing a collision.” However, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff backed his superstar driver, adding: “It was absolutely a racing incident. This is a sprint race. We want to see them racing. “The argument about the damage isn’t valid because he (Perez) was going backwards before then. Massively backwards. And then when you look at that corner, they were side-by-side, and it takes two to tango. It’s a racing incident. For me that’s really clear.” The start to Saturday’s dash around Spa-Francorchamps was delayed just six minutes before it was due to begin after the heavens opened. A 30-minute postponement ensued. One formation lap behind the safety car became five in a bid to make the track safe enough to race with visibility caused by spray a major concern ahead of this weekend’s event. Only four weeks ago, Dutch 18-year-old Dilano Van ‘t Hoff lost his life after a crash during a rain-hit Formula Regional European Championship race. The approach from race director Niels Wittich resulted in Saturday’s round being reduced to just 11 laps. But Wolff added: “You can absolutely understand that everyone wants to play it safe. “We have had terrible accidents here – the last one under similar conditions in the race where drivers couldn’t see because of the spray. So the approach needed to be on the super-safe side and that was right thing to do.” By the time the safety car peeled in, the track was good enough for the intermediate tyres. And Piastri benefited from being among 10 of the 20-strong field to change from the full wets before a proper racing lap had even taken place. Verstappen switched to inters at the end of the first lap round allowing Piastri to lead an F1 race for the first time in his career. But on the sixth lap – following a safety-car period to deal with Fernando Alonso crashing out – Piastri’s defence lasted only a handful of corners. Verstappen tracked Piastri through the fearsome Eau Rouge-Raidillon section and then blasted by on the Kemmel Straight to claim another win and extend his championship lead from 110 points to 118. Asked if it was a mistake not to stop for inters at the very start of the race, Verstappen said: “No, it was just a safer call. “I could have come in first and be blocked by other cars in the pits. We lost one position but we knew we were quick and when we put the inter tyres on we were flying.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen beats Oscar Piastri to sprint race pole in Belgium How Max Verstappen and record-breaking Red Bull compare to Formula One greats I held my breath – Lewis Hamilton enjoys ‘extraordinary’ run to pole in Budapest

The DeAndre Hopkins free agency saga continues and his first visit is with an unexpected team.The Arizona Cardinals cut DeAndre Hopkins last month, instantly making him the most sought-after receiver on the market. Hopkins has dealt with injuries the last couple years, but he remains a dynamic p...

The Chicago Sky are in the midst of an awful slump, losing four straight games to fall into fifth place in the Eastern Conference.Chicago has been down a few players due to injury, including star Kahleah Copper (personal), who missed one game.The Sky will look to turn things around against E...