By Max Hunder ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine The draining of one of Europe's largest reservoirs as a result of the

Much like most of the scenarios thrown up on his journey to the top echelons of motorsport, Oscar Piastri takes everything consummately in his stride. Strikingly level-headed and rational – notwithstanding an unflappable self-belief in his ability behind the wheel – a week which started with the 22-year-old signing a new contract with McLaren until the end of 2026 ended with his first podium in Formula 1 at Suzuka. It was quite a few days for the rookie Australian, whose meteoric rise through the ranks shows no signs of subsiding. What’s more, it was a weekend that fully justified Piastri’s bold a year ago, when the soap opera of his first forays into Formula 1 dominated the paddock. It was a storyline of dreams for Netflix’s Drive to Survive producers when Piastri, a test driver at Alpine, rebuked the Enstone-based team who’d announced his 2023 drive as a replacement for Fernando Alonso. We would later learn that the 2021 F2 champion had already penned a deal to join McLaren, with Zak Brown and the papaya targeting fresh blood following Daniel Ricciardo’s season of underachievement. It was a line of attack which carried much risk. Alpine beat McLaren to fourth in the constructors’ championship last year and many onlookers saw the switch as unwise from a competitive viewpoint. More pointedly, though, the impact it would have on Piastri’s moral standing in the sport was something emphasised by then Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer. The Renault-works outfit had invested millions of pounds into Piastri’s development, with countless test opportunities and financial backing through the junior series. But Piastri, managed by nine-time race winner and fellow Australian Mark Webber, was undeterred. He was set to be overlooked by Alpine for 2023 before Alonso’s surprise switch to Aston Martin and, feeling undervalued, he went on the search for other options fully aware he could ill-afford another season on the sidelines after not racing in 2022. A loan to Williams was on the table but McLaren, an eight-time constructors’ champion and giant of the sport despite their recent struggles, was his preference. The start was not smooth, though. McLaren acknowledged at the start of the year that they had not met their off-season development targets and the mood at the car launch at their impressive Woking HQ in February was decidedly pessimistic. Piastri’s F1 debut, in Bahrain, ended in retirement. But those early shortcomings were no fault of Piastri, despite a year on the sidelines. It is one of the more questionable rules of Formula 2 that the winner then cannot race in the series the next year, often leaving the champion in the wilderness. Brazilian racer Felipe Drugovich, last year’s champion, has acted as a reserve this year for Aston Martin and is struggling to find an F1 seat next year, though Williams has recently been mooted. This year’s F2 leader, Theo Pouchaire, is a test driver with Alfa Romeo but now looks set for a year without racing in 2024. It would make sense, it seems, to offer an exception should the champion not land a seat at the top table. Nonetheless, after scoring his first points following his home race at Albert Park, Piastri had to wait until Austria in July for a raft of game-changing upgrades which handed him and Lando Norris a shot at regular top-10 finishes. He has since scored in five of the last seven races, as well as a second-place finish in the sprint race in Belgium. Enough for McLaren to swiftly extend his deal. “It’s always nice to have a sense of security,” said Piastri. “It made sense from my point of view and from a team point of view. That longevity and continuation together – [it’s] nice confidence for us all.” It continues the Melbourne local’s meteoric ascent. He landed a junior role at Alpine, formerly Renault, by winning the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2019. A year later, he won Formula 3 before his F2 victory in 2021. A decision at 15 years of age to relocate to the UK for his racing was reaping the rewards. Now, after a first podium following a front-row start at Suzuka, Piastri has emerged as genuine competition for Norris – long labelled the team’s No 1. “I think it exceeded most people’s expectations from what he’s been able to achieve already this season,” Norris said on Thursday, after Piastri penned his extension. “He’s pushed me a lot – it’s not a nice thing, it’s not what I want – but he’s done a very good job so congrats to him for [continuing for] another few years.” As the Brit hinted, the intra-team jousting is not something he has been used to in recent years. Crucially at this point, the pair get on well – both young, affable and with bundles of potential. But Piastri has emerged as a genuine rival to Norris at McLaren. The Brit’s regular links to the second seat at Red Bull, despite a contract at McLaren until the end of 2025, are likely to have accelerated Brown’s willingness to pin down Piastri. But should Norris stay, it is undoubtedly a driver pairing capable of race victories in the future, should they be given the tools to do so. In contrast to the start of 2023, it is now a time of much optimism for McLaren. The team signed ex-Red Bull chief Rob Marshall as their technical director in May. David Sanchez will join the engineering department in the new year from Ferrari. Andrea Stella, who replaced Andreas Seidl as team principal last year, works well in tandem with Brown. At this rate, they’re likely to haul in Aston Martin for fourth in the constructors’ championship too, with Alpine long left behind in sixth. “What!! So we are doing this for another 3 years???” comically tweeted Piastri’s mum, Nicole, after the new contract was announced last week. That looks set to be a minimum. Should Piastri’s progress continue at the current trajectory, the Australian will be in Formula 1 for a while longer yet. Read More Lando Norris claims McLaren on ‘an upward trend’ after double podium ‘Shocker of a race’: Christian Horner pulls apart Sergio Perez’s display in Japan Lewis Hamilton frustrated by Mercedes strategy in Japanese Grand Prix ‘Shocker of a race’: Christian Horner pulls apart Sergio Perez’s display in Japan Christian Horner reveals Max Verstappen ambition ahead of Japan victory F1 Japanese Grand Prix LIVE: Race updates and results at Suzuka

The Arizona Diamondbacks subbed Tommy Pham out of Game 2 of the World Series when he had the chance to go 5-for-5. The DH explained why on Instagram.

England Under-21s reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2023 as Group C winners following a comfortable 2-0 victory against Israel. Anthony Gordon’s header put them in front in the 15th minute before Emile Smith Rowe doubled the lead in the second half. Lee Carsley’s side, guaranteed top spot after beating the Czech Republic in their opening match, will meet Germany in the final group game on Wednesday. After starting brightly, England nearly took the lead after some quick passing around the box was finished by Smith Rowe, but his backheeled effort was ruled out for offside. They continued to attack with Gordon firing a promising ball into the box and Curtis Jones’ shot was well defended by Gil Cohen. The dominant start was rewarded with quarter of an hour gone when a brilliant cross from Morgan Gibbs-White on the left found Gordon in the centre of the box and the Newcastle forward nodded the ball into the bottom corner. England were in charge but Israel sparked into life in the final 10 minutes of the first half. Dor Turgeman had the first opportunity with his header going wide of the post and Ethane Azoulay had a better chance in stoppage time when his direct free-kick from the edge of the area was saved by James Trafford. England had an opportunity to double their lead three minutes after the break when Gibbs-White threaded a great ball through to Noni Madueke, but his effort flew wide. Daniel Peretz made a great punch to clear the danger from Gibbs-White’s curling free-kick before a solid spell of pressure from Israel saw Karm Jaber’s effort go wide. England eventually earned their second through Smith Rowe in the 68th minute with an excellent finish from the Arsenal forward drilled low into the left corner. They continued to push and substitute Cameron Archer nearly made it three, but Peretz made a solid save from a tight angle. A great run from Harvey Elliott down the centre found Cole Palmer on the right, but his shot was easily blocked and cleared by the Israel defence before Yoav Hofmeister made a solid challenge to stop Jacob Ramsey’s attempted shot in the final minutes. PA Read More Lee Carsley praises England Under-21s’ ‘brilliant spirit’ after winning opener England Under-21s beat Czech Republic to get Euros campaign off to winning start Tommy Doyle inspired by Man City treble ahead of England Under-21s’ Euros bid Jacob Ramsey says current England Under-21s squad have ‘different mentality’ Koulibaly exits Chelsea to become latest star joining Saudi Pro League Arteta hypes up Arsenal progress despite pain of losing title race

By Sarah Morland and Marion Giraldo Grupo SURA, Colombia's largest investment company, on Tuesday cut its 2023 net

New Zealand prop Ethan de Groot has been suspended for three Rugby World Cup games for his red card against Namibia

Massive Resurgence, a popular game mode that brings respawns to Al Mazrah, has been removed from Call of Duty: Warzone 2.

On the surface, the turmoil in Russia would seem like something for the U.S. to celebrate: a powerful mercenary group engaging in a short-lived clash with Russia’s military at the very moment that Ukraine is trying to gain momentum in a critical counteroffensive. But the public response by Washington has been decidedly cautious. Officials say the U.S. had no role in the conflict, insist this was an internal matter for Russia and decline to comment on whether it could affect the war in Ukraine. The reason: to avoid creating an opening for Russian President Vladimir Putin to seize on the rhetoric of American officials and rally Russians by blaming his Western adversaries. Even President Joe Biden, known for straying from talking points, has stayed on script. Biden told reporters Monday that the United States and NATO weren’t involved. Biden said he held a video call with allies over the weekend and they are all in sync in working to ensure that they give Putin “no excuse to blame this on the West” or NATO. “We made clear that we were not involved. We had nothing to do with it,” Biden said. “This was part of a struggle within the Russian system.” Biden and administration officials declined to give an immediate assessment of what the 22-hour uprising by the Wagner Group might mean for Russia’s war in Ukraine, for mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin or for Russia itself. “We’re going to keep assessing the fallout of this weekend’s events and the implications from Russia and Ukraine,” Biden said. “But it’s still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going.” Putin, in his first public comments since the rebellion, said “Russia’s enemies” had hoped the mutiny would succeed in dividing and weakening Russia, “but they miscalculated.” He identified the enemies as “the neo-Nazis in Kyiv, their Western patrons and other national traitors.” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia was investigating whether Western intelligence services were involved in Prigozhin’s rebellion. Over the course of a tumultuous weekend in Russia, U.S. diplomats were in contact with their counterparts in Moscow to underscore that the American government regarded the matter as a domestic affair for Russia, with the U.S. only a bystander, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, said that Putin in the past has alleged clandestine U.S. involvement in events — including democratic uprisings in former Soviet countries, and campaigns by democracy activists inside and outside Russia — as a way to diminish public support among Russians for those challenges to the Russian system. The U.S. and NATO “don’t want to be blamed for the appearance of trying to destabilize Putin,” McFaul said. A feud between the Wagner Group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and Russia’s military brass that has festered throughout the war erupted into the mutiny that saw the mercenaries leave Ukraine to seize a military headquarters in a southern Russian city. They rolled for hundreds of kilometers toward Moscow, before turning around on Saturday, in a deal whose terms remain uncertain. Biden’s national security team briefed him hourly as Prigozhin’s forces were on the move, the president said. He said he had directed them to “prepare for a range of scenarios” as Russia’s crisis unfolded. Biden did not elaborate on the scenarios. But national security spokesman John Kirby addressed one concern raised frequently as the world watched the cracks opening in Putin’s hold on power — worries that the Russian leader might take extreme action to reassert his command. Putin and his lieutenants have made repeated references to Russia’s nuclear weapons since invading Ukraine 16 months ago, aiming to discourage NATO countries from increasing their support to Ukraine. “One thing that we have always talked about, unabashedly so, is that it’s in nobody’s interest for this war to escalate beyond the level of violence that is already visited upon the Ukrainian people,” Kirby said at a White House news briefing. “It’s not good for, certainly, Ukraine and not good for our allies and partners in Europe. Quite frankly, it’s not good for the Russian people.” Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the weekend, telling him, ”’No matter what happened in Russia, let me say again, no matter what happened in Russia, we in the United States would continue to support Ukraine’s defense and sovereignty and its territorial integrity.” Biden said. The Pentagon is expected to announce Tuesday that it is sending up to $500 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, including more than 50 heavily armored vehicles and an infusion of missiles for air defense systems, U.S. officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid had not yet been publicly announced. Biden, in the first weeks after Putin sent tens of thousands of Russian forces into Ukraine in February 2022, had issued a passionate statement against the Russian leader’s continuing in command. “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” he said then, as reports emerged of Russian atrocities against civilians in Ukraine. On Monday, U.S. officials were careful not to be seen as backing either Putin or his former longtime protege, Prigozhin, in public comments. “We believe it’s up to the Russian people to determine who their leadership is,” Kirby said. White House officials were also trying to understand how Beijing was digesting the Wagner revolt and what it might mean for the China-Russia relationship going forward. China and Russia are each other’s closest major partner. The White House says Beijing has considered — but not followed through on — sending Russia weaponry for use in Ukraine. “I think it’d be fair to say that recent developments in Russia had been unsettling to the Chinese leadership,” said Kurt Campbell, coordinator for the Indo-Pacific at the White House National Security Council, speaking at a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “I think I’ll just leave it at that.” China values Russia as a friend in part to keep from standing alone against the U.S. and its allies in disputes. With Russia’s invasion and resulting international sanctions sapping Russian resources and now sparking a rebellion, McFaul said, Ukraine and its allies could make the case: ”’Xi Jinping, you know, if you want your buddy to stay in power, maybe this is the time to put some pressure on him to wrap up this war.‴ ___ AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Putin issues desperate message to Russian public after Wagner mutiny US to send $500 million in weapons, military aid to Ukraine, officials say What the papers say – June 27

Andre Onana failed to deal with two Hakim Ziyech free-kicks as Manchester United threw away a two-goal lead against Galatasaray on Wednesday night. It was the latest Champions League drama for the much-scrutinised goalkeeper and here, the PA news agency looks at his United record. Champions League roller coaster The 3-3 draw in Istanbul followed a 3-2 defeat in the first meeting with Gala and 4-3 losses to Bayern Munich and FC Copenhagen as United, top scorers in Champions League Group A, prop up the standings. That contributes to Onana’s record of 33 goals conceded in 20 games since Erik ten Hag signed him from Inter Milan this summer to replace long-serving keeper David De Gea. He has conceded only 16 in 13 Premier League appearances – a slight improvement on De Gea’s record under Ten Hag at the same stage of last season, when he had conceded 18 – but remarkably has topped that in only seven appearances in other competitions, which also include a 3-0 Carabao Cup loss to Newcastle. By this date last season, United had conceded 25 goals in 21 games in all competitions – De Gea accounting for 23 in 20, albeit with his European appearances coming in the Europa League. Martin Dubravka was in goal for the 4-2 League Cup win over Aston Villa. One extreme or the other Onana has seven clean sheets with United, including a stoppage-time penalty save in the 1-0 home win over Copenhagen, but has conceded three or more on eight occasions – De Gea did so only six times the whole of last season, though they included losing 6-3 to Manchester City and 7-0 to Liverpool. United have this season lost league games 3-1 to Arsenal and Brighton and 3-0 to City, in addition to the Newcastle tie and the four Champions League games. Eight games represent 40 per cent of Onana’s United appearances to date, while De Gea conceded three or more in less than 10 per cent of games over his 12 years at Old Trafford. That ‘one extreme or the other’ approach this season leaves only five exceptions in which United have conceded either once or twice. They have four clean sheets and have conceded three or four in their other four games since beating Sheffield United 2-1 on October 21. How Onana compares De Gea won last season’s Premier League Golden Glove with 17 clean sheets and conceded 43 goals in 38 games, an average of 1.13 per game. Onana’s current rate of 1.23 would equate to 46.77 goals over the full league season – only twice have United conceded 47 or more, 54 in 2018-19 and 57 in 2021-22. De Gea was ever-present in the league for both of those seasons, comfortably United’s worst in the Premier League era. In 2018-19 they conceded 72 in 51 games in all competitions, an average of 1.41 per game. Last season, Ten Hag’s first in charge, United conceded 63 goals in 62 games overall – 1.02 per game. De Gea was ever-present apart from four Carabao Cup games shared between Dubravka and Tom Heaton. In mitigation for Onana, United have allowed more shots on target this season while dealing with injuries in defence. The Cameroon international has made 51 saves in 13 league games, already halfway to De Gea’s tally of 101 in 38 last term and averaging 3.9 per game, up from 2.7. Read More Lancashire sign Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon for 2024 season We have to own it – Scott McTominay urges Man Utd to atone for Galatasaray draw Keira Walsh ‘feeling fresh’ before latest round of Women’s Nations League games He’s amazing – Martin Odegaard hails ‘brilliant’ Declan Rice impact at Arsenal On This Day in 2004 – Sir Matthew Pinsent announces retirement from rowing Arsenal through to last 16 as Manchester United squander lead again

The Ravens took down the Bengals on Thursday Night Football, but they didn't come out of the evening unscathed, losing Mark Andrews to injury.

Welcome to Travel Week, a seven-day stretch where we celebrate our wanderlust with the best buys on everything from stylish packing cubes to keep you organized to once-in-a-lifetime vacations. Whether you’re planning a local staycation or traveling across the world, adventure awaits. Away we go!

Marcia Gay Harden is mom to Eulala, 24, Julitta, 19, and Hudson, 19, who she shares with ex-husband Thaddaeus Scheel