A flurry of diplomatic activity between Iran and Western nations has taken place in recent weeks, raising hopes of a de-escalation in tensions as the Middle East nation continues to antagonize the West with its support for Russia and continued advancement of its nuclear program.

Italy captain Michele Lamaro praised his team for "embracing the challenge" of a 10-point half-time deficit to run out convincing 38-17 World Cup Pool A winners...

Drought in Spain, which is going through yet another heat wave this year, is so extreme that virtually

Daniel Dubois’s promoter Frank Warren has appealed the result of the British heavyweight’s fight with Oleksandr Usyk, while pushing for a rematch. Dubois was stopped by Usyk in Round 9 on Saturday 26 August, after the Briton floored the unified heavyweight champion in Round 5, only for his body-shot attempt to be ruled a low blow. Usyk was therefore granted five minutes to recover, and the Ukrainian used approximately three of those minutes before the bout in Wroclaw, Poland, resumed. Usyk, 36, then dropped Dubois, 25, in the eighth round and did the same in the ninth, with the Briton failing to beat the referee's count. With the result, Usyk remained unbeaten and retained the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles. Warren has now lobbied for a No Contest and a rematch, he told the BBC, while boxing journalist Dan Rafael took to X to post a screenshot of what appears to be the appeal. The appeal to the WBA (World Boxing Association) centres on the claim that Usyk would not have beaten a hypothetical referee’s count if Dubois’s punch in Round 5 had not been ruled a low blow. “Owing to what this appeal argues were errors in judgement made by the bout’s referee, Luis Pabon, Daniel Dubois was unjustly denied of his rightful status as unified world heavyweight champion,” read the apparent appeal shared by Rafael. It continued: “Approximately 20 seconds into the fifth round, Mr Dubois landed a body blow that dropped and severely hurt Mr Usyk and, seemingly, crowned Mr Dubois the heavyweight champion. However, the blow was incorrectly adjudicated as low by Mr Pabon. “Instead of being knocked out, Mr Usyk was given a substantial recovery period, which allowed him to regain his strength and continue the bout without impediment.” Usyk won the unified heavyweight titles with a decision victory over Anthony Joshua in 2021, before repeating the trick against “AJ” in 2022 to retain the belts. The southpaw has been linked with a fight against Tyson Fury for the best part of a year, though the WBC champion is due to fight ex-UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in October. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Chris Eubank Jr’s coach remanded in custody following airport arrest Oleksandr Usyk remains heavyweight champion but where does he go from here? Finally, Ricky Hatton has his happy ending

MMA fighters Jake Paul and KSI have been on a collision course for some time, but their clash in the boxing ring has yet to materialize

If there’s one thing the recent ban has revealed about American Bully XL owners, it is that they really, really love their dogs. Some might argue this is for good reason – the breed is known for being intelligent, sociable, and eager to please its owner. But along with the outpouring of love, swathes of memes and posters have emerged from XL Bully supporters which throw a more eyebrow-raising spotlight on the breed. Take the below from one Instagram user, who has placed a selection of Bullies in a knock-off Fast & Furious poster, complete with flames in the background, a motorbike and a souped-up car on either side. The same user also posted a similar mock-up earlier this month of a Bully next to a French Bulldog, with flames emanating from both sides of the unsuspecting canines. Elsewhere, a poster from June advertising a meetup between Bully owners from the UK and Brazil, with dogs placed in front of famous landmarks from the two countries including Big Ben and Christ The Redeemer. A list of names appears below the dogs in the image: DXD Violet, SBC Staxx, Pitmon Deadshot and Canilsagreal Unica. The caption on the Instagram post advertising the event reads: “These are going to be nothing but BEASTS!” A more recent post for an event which was due to take place on 24 September follows the action movie poster format, with Bully headshots placed alongside those of a Rottweiler, a Doberman and several other breeds. To its credit, the writing below reads: “No aggressive dogs, no dogs in heat, clean up after your dogs.” It comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a ban on XL Bullies earlier this month following a spate of attacks across the country. The decision prompted hundreds of protestors to take to the streets in London and Birmingham. They carried placards with messages such as: “Don’t bully our bullies,” and chanted: “Save our bullies”. One person wore a T-shirt which said: “Muzzle Rishi Sunak don’t bully our breed”. While many XL Bully owners feel aggrieved at the ban, blaming bad owners rather than bad dogs, the statistics are stark. Six of the 10 fatal dog attacks recorded in the UK last year were attributed to XL Bullies, while at least three of seven fatal dog attacks this year have been linked to the breed. The posters do have a certain macho charm. But sadly, they don't do much to dispel the common conception that XL Bullies are a little, erm, scary. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Chinese divers continued their perfect start to the world championships in Fukuoka on Sunday, claiming two more gold medals on...

(Reuters) -Qantas Airways Ltd forecast a record annual profit on Tuesday and increased its share buyback by up to A$100

Foreign investors sold a net 544 billion yen ($3.77 billion) of Japanese stocks last week, their first net

Embarrassing take.

I know, I know. The iPhone 15 isn't out for another few days, and yet,

One soldier is missing after a missile hits navy headquarters in Crimea's Sevastopol, Moscow says.