Aston Villa offer a contract to Real Madrid winger Marco Asensio, whose current deal at the Santiago Bernabeu expires this summer. The 27-year-old is keen to start more games and would be willing to move to the Premier League.

The Kremlin is paying the wives of Russian soldiers not to protest against their long deployment following small-scale demonstrations in Moscow, the UK ministry of defence said. “The Russian authorities are likely attempting to quash public dissent by wives of deployed Russian soldiers, including by attempting to pay them off and discrediting them online,” it said. “In recent weeks, the authorities have likely offered increased cash payments to families in return for them refraining from protest.” Women have been gathering in cities across Russia to challenge the Kremlin’s argument that mobilised troops are needed in combat indefinitely to secure victory in Ukraine. It comes as a majority of those questioned in Russia have expressed their support for peace talks over continued fighting, with 74 per cent saying they would be happy for the president to sign a peace deal immediately. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin dramatically increased the Russian troop numbers by nearly 170,000 to reach a total of 1.32 million. Read More Putin orders the Russian military to add 170,000 troops for a total of 1.32 million Ukraine’s war with Russia complicated by winter, Zelensky says European gymnastics federation rejects return of athletes from Russia and Belarus to competition

'After having my baby, I’ve just gotten so much more powerful. I’m just so strengthened in a crazy way,' said Keke Palmer

After England defeated Nigeria in a penalty shootout to progress in the Women's World Cup, the usual scenes of jubilation were stalled by a few Lionesses who decided to pay their respects to a defiant Nigerian side - especially their despondent goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie. As Nigeria pushed England to the brink, the match threatened to be defined by an uncharacteristic Lauren James incident. The England star who only picked up one yellow card in the Women's Super League for Chelsea last season was handed a straight red for a bizarre stamp on Michelle Alozie just minutes before the end of regular time. For the Lionesses, their defining moments followed in short succession. Firstly, Chloe Kelly lashed in the winning penalty in the resulting shoot-out, before she rushed over to comfort a fallen Nnadozie with Alex Greenwood and Hannah Hampton. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Then, with a camera looming over a tearful Nnadozie, Kelly ordered it to back-off and away from the trio as they shared a moment of comfort in amidst the celebrations. It's safe to say that the moment caught some positive attention: Next in the Women's World Cup, England will play either Jamaica or Colombia on Saturday 12 August - and they will be without James. As for other news, Donald Trump decided to get himself involved in the discourse surrounding the USWMNT and their exit from the World Cup by igniting his bizarre feud with Megan Rapinoe. 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.

Singapore’s central bank imposed nine-year prohibition orders on Su Zhu and Kyle Davies for transgressions at their collapsed

The United Auto Workers strike against Detroit’s big three automakers that spread to dozens of parts distribution centers one week ago may grow worse soon

Jody Glidden called off his wedding to a woman named Rabia shortly before his first sighting with Lisa Hochstein

Paddy Cosgrave has stepped down from his role as chief executive officer of Web Summit after his remarks

Fresh off an opening-day win over Burnley and a hard-fought midweek Super Cup triumph over Sevilla, Manchester City face an early test of their title credentials by welcoming Newcastle United to the Etihad Stadium. City were pushed all the way by Sevilla on Wednesday night before eventually winning on penalties but it was additional stress they probably could have done without and Newcastle may sense an opportunity, especially with the injuries City are facing – talisman Kevin De Bruyne set to spend months on the sidelines with a hamstring concern, while the likes of John Stones, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva are all either confirmed out or doubts. Meanwhile, the Magpies will be full of confidence after brilliantly beating Aston Villa 5-1 on the opening day to suggest that they’re ready to build on last season’s top-four finish. A result at the Etihad would certainly be a statement from Eddie Howe’s men but they might just fancy catching City at an opportune moment, even though they’ll be led in attack by the irrepressible Erling Haaland. Here’s everything you need to know about the fixture: When is Man City vs Newcastle? Manchester City vs Newcastle is due to kick-off at 8pm on Saturday 19 August at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. How can I watch it? Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate, with coverage on the channels – from which BT Sport was rebranded over the summer – from 7pm Team news Pep Guardiola has a few injury concerns as John Stones (muscle injury) and Bernardo Silva (illness) have joined now long-term absentee Kevin De Bruyne (hamstring) on the sidelines. Ruben Dias is only a “maybe” to play following last week’s concussion, although he was on the bench against Sevilla in midweek, while Julian Alvarez was “in discomfort” before that Super Cup clash and could only appear as a late substitute, although will be pushing to start. Newcastle’s injury news is ‘as you were’ with no new issues and no recoveries following their opening day thrashing of Aston Villa. That means Javier Manquillo (groin), Joe Willock (hamstring) and Emil Krafth (knee) remain unavailable. The likes of Callum Wilson, Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy, who all impressed off the bench against Villa, will be pushing for starts but Eddie Howe may be loathed to disrupt the rhythm of his team. Predicted line-ups Man City XI: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Foden, Alvarez, Grealish; Haaland Newcastle XI: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Almiron, Isak, Gordon. Odds Man City win 7/10 Draw 3/1 Newcastle win 15/4 Sign up to bet365 using The Independent’s unique bonus code by clicking here Prediction A rare week where City look fallible and with Newcastle flying high, they could earn a draw at the Etihad. Man City 1-1 Newcastle Read More Super Cup is crucial to Man City’s season but it’s not about the trophy Manchester City’s Super Cup victory shows that Cole Palmer is a gem to be treasured Kevin De Bruyne facing up to four months out and may require surgery Fulham vs Brentford LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Liverpool vs AFC Bournemouth LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Brighton & Hove Albion LIVE: Latest Premier League updates

Germany coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said Saturday she has no intention of quitting despite their shock early exit from the Women's World Cup and denied reports...

SAO PAULO Ford's Brazilian unit on Friday said it reached a transfer agreement with the government of Bahia

By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) -The U.S. government cannot ban people convicted of non-violent crimes from possessing guns, a federal appeals