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Manchester City turned on the style to seal top spot in Group G at the Club World Cup with an emphatic 5-2 win over Juventus on Thursday. The third straight victory for Pep Guardiola’s side increases the chances of City avoiding a meeting with Real Madrid in the last 16 — a fate that may now await Juventus. City and Juve will not know their opponent until the final pair of games in Group H conclude later on Friday. A positive day for City saw 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri make his first start since rupturing his ACL in September and Guardiola’s side, featuring several new faces, look significantly improved on the team which struggled to finish 13 points behind Premier League champions Liverpool last season.

City were on top from the outset with a Bernardo Silva header forcing Juve keeper Michele Di Gregorio to save with his feet in the fifth minute.

Four minutes later, Guardiola’s new-look side had the lead when after a characteristic, patient build-up, Rayan Ait-Nouri split the Juve defence with a superb pass which Jeremy Doku collected and dispatched into the far corner.

Juve were gifted an equaliser when City’s Brazilian keeper Ederson’s pass out was intercepted by Teun Koopmeiners who marched into the box and confidently fired home.

Juve returned the gift though in the 26th minute when French defender Pierre Kalulu, under no pressure, turned a low cross from Matheus Nunes into his own net.

A short but intense downpour just before half-time cooled the stadium down and Guardiola introduced his prolific Norwegian striker Erling Haaland at the break and it took just seven minutes for him to find the scoresheet.

Rodri return

Tijjani Reijnders fed Matheus Nunes whose low cross found an unmarked Haaland in the middle and while it wasn’t the cleanest of finishes from close range, the striker celebrated his 300th career goal.

Rodri left the field in the 66th minute to applause as Ilkay Gundogan took over his role in the centre of midfield but City continued to over-run the Turin side.

Haaland latched on to a long ball from Ederson and looked for fellow sub Phil Foden in the middle but put his cross beyond the England man only for Savinho to recover it and set-up Foden for a simple conversion.

Savinho then made made it 5-1 when after a Haaland shot was saved by De

2024/25 saw the talented opener dropped from Mumbai’s domestic teams, and he also went unsold in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. However, despite all the downs, Shaw has revealed that legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar still has the faith that he can bounce back. He stated that after his own father, it is Tendulkar who has been a strong support system for him, revealing that he also shares a great bond with Tendulkar’s son, Arjun.My biggest support system is my father, but after him, he (Tendulkar) knows a lot. Arjun and I have been friends since we were eight or nine years old. Sir also used to be there. He has seen,” Shaw said in an interview with News24.

“Hardly two months ago, he was practising at MIG for the (International) Masters League. I was also there. At such a time, you need a mentor who gives a spark,” Shaw stated.

Shaw revealed that Tendulkar continues to give him words of advice and retains the belief that he can bounce back from his struggles.

“He still believes in me. ‘Prithvi, I have belief and I will continue to believe.’ He has seen me. He has trust. ‘Get back on track. Everything is still possible.’ That belief is very precious to me. Just like my father and a few friends believe,” Shaw spoke about Tendulkar.

Meanwhile, Shaw on Monday ended his ties with home team Mumbai after being granted a No Objection Certificate by the MCA to sign up with a new domestic side for his “growth and development as a cricketer”. Shaw has been out of reckoning from the red ball set-up for some time but has played white ball cricket. However, his off-field disciplinary issues have grabbed more air time than his on-field performances. The Mumbai Cricket Association confirmed receiving Shaw’s request and has given its approval to it.

“The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) would like to inform that cricketer Prithvi Shaw had formally requested a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to represent another state as a professional player in the upcoming domestic season. After due consideration, the MCA has granted the NOC,” the MC stated MCA Secretary Abhay Hadap said the body appreciates Shaw’s contributions over the years.

West Indies head coach Daren Sammy has voiced his concerns over the performance of TV umpire Adrian Holdstock during the first Test against Australia in Barbados, following a series of contentious review decisions on Day 2, as per ESPNcricinfo. Sammy reportedly met with match referee Javagal Srinath after the day’s play to seek clarification regarding multiple decisions that didn’t go in the West Indies’ favour. He also expressed his concerns about Holdstock’s officiating during the recent ODI series in England, where the South African umpire served as TV umpire in two games and stood on the field in another.Two key moments on the second day left the West Indies camp frustrated. The first was the dismissal of captain Roston Chase, adjudged lbw to Pat Cummins, despite what West Indies believed was clear evidence of an inside edge. The second was the wicket of Shai Hope, who was caught behind by Alex Carey off Beau Webster. The catch was deemed clean after a review by the third umpire.

“We are just trying to find some sort of understanding as to what the process is,” Sammy said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

“We only hope for consistency. That’s all we could ask for. When there is doubt in something, just be consistent across the board,” he added.

“I have noticed, especially with this particular umpire, it’s something that for me started in England. It’s frustrating. I just ask for consistency in the decision-making,” he noted.

“Yeah, look, you don’t want to get yourself in a situation where you’re wondering about certain umpires. Is there something against this team? But when you see decision after decision, then it raises the question. I know he’s here for the series. You don’t want to go in a Test match having that doubt,” Sammy said.

“So I want to have that conversation as to the process… so we could be all clear. Because, at the end of the day, you don’t want to be going into a Test match not trusting the umpires. And that’s not what our team is about. So we’re just looking for some clarity as to the decisions,” he noted.

Mohammed Siraj had a poor outing in the first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds. On the surface that had no help for bowlers, the right-arm pacer struggled to pick wickets and also leaked runs at an economy of 4.05. Siraj bowled 27 overs in the first innings and picked up two wickets while leaking 122 runs. During the second innings, he bowled 14 overs and gave away 51 runs while failing to pick a single wicket. Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has urged the pacer to understand his role.My only question to Siraj is… can you dry up the run flow? You don’t have to pick up wickets. But can you not give away 4-5 runs every over? If runs are being leaked, then you have to bring Bumrah back into the attack. How many dams will Bumrah be able to construct? ” Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel.

Jasprit Bumrah was the standout India bowler during England’s first innings, picking up a five-wicket haul. Krishna too accounted for three wickets, but he leaked runs at an economy of 6.40.

“Also, he gets tired, and his spells are pushed, and by then, partnerships are forged. Or you’d have to go with Jadeja, who has to step in and stem the flow of runs. Prasidh is playing for the first time, and he is inexperienced. So Siraj has to play the bankable role. Remember how Morne Morkel used to bowl 2/43 in 20 overs? That should be his role. In Bazball, you could go for 2/58, I guess. Siraj has to play that role, and if he is effective in it, then it would make a huge difference,” said Ashwin.

“I agree that wicket-taking is important in Test cricket. But in Test cricket, you also bowl for one another. Ishant Sharma used to do it wonderfully. He played the Morkel role very well. He would hold the pressure on one end, and would have given just 40-odd runs after an entire day’s play. Of course, I am not asking Siraj to do the same, but regulate the leakage of runs,” he added.

November 19 is a date that most fans of Indian cricket do not remember fondly. After an invincible World Cup campaign, India suffered heartbreak in the final, losing to Australia on November 19, 2023. However, some months later, India exacted somewhat of a revenge when they defeated Australia in the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2024. Rohit Sharma, India’s ODI captain, reflected on the feeling he had after the defeat in the World Cup final, and what it meant to beat Australia en route to the T20 World Cup title.Rohit pioneered India’s victory over Australia in the T20 World Cup. Batting first, Rohit smashed 92 runs off just 41 balls, taking India to a daunting total of 205 in 20 overs. Australia ultimately felt 24 runs short, receiving a major blow to their semi-final hopes.

Rohit looked back on his knock:

“The anger was always there. It was in the back of my mind,” said Rohit, in an interview with Star Sports.

“Inhone hamaara 19 November kharaab kar diya, humaara nahi poore desh ka (They ruined November 19 for us. Not only for us, but also for the entire country). We should reserve something for them. We should also give them a nice gift. You have such thoughts in your mind,” Rohit added.

Rohit smashed Australian pacer Mitchell Starc for 29 runs in the third over of the innings. Starc was taken to the cleaners, being slammed for four sixes and a boundary in that one over.

Rohit clarified that the idea of avenging their World Cup final defeat only happened before the match, and not while actually playing.

“But when you’re batting, you’re not thinking, ‘I want to knock them out of the tournament’. Yes, in the dressing room we keep talking about these things. There’s that kind of fun that, yes, inko bahar karte hai, maza aayega (let’s knock them out, it’ll be fun),” Rohit said.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said that she is seeing “progress” from institutions regarding the Trump administration’s demands.

Trump in an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had said that, “We want to have foreign students come. We’re very honoured by it, but we want to see their list.” She echoed the same sentiments.

“Harvard didn’t want to give us the list. They’re going to be giving us the list now. I think they’re starting to behave, actually, if you want to know the truth,” the president added.

In May, the Trump administration sent a letter to Harvard University, stating that if Harvard wants the opportunity of regaining Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification before the upcoming academic school year back, they should provide the “information required” within “72 hours”.

The information included the list of students who had participated in pro-Palestine protests.

McMahon defended the attacks on universities such as Harvard and Columbia and said, “I have seen progress. And you know why I think we’re seeing progress? Because we are putting these measures in place, and we’re saying we’re putting teeth behind what we’re looking at,” in an interview to NBC News.

Amid the ongoing Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, the Defence Ministry is going to take up Rs 10,000 crore proposal to buy three sophisticated spy planes to help Indian Air Force get a clear air-to-ground picture to carry out precision strikes against enemy ground targets like radar stations, air defence units and other mobile objects.

The Rs 10,000 crore project for the Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (I-STAR) is expected to be taken up for clearance at a high-level defence ministry meeting scheduled to be held in the fourth week of June, defence officials told ANI.

The ISTAR provides air-to-ground surveillance to the forces to help them in carrying out precision strikes.

The spy aircraft project being developed by the Defence Research and Development includes the acquisition of three aircraft through an open tender from foreign manufacturers, including Boeing and Bombardier.

The onboard systems on the aircraft would be completely indigenous, as the DRDO’s Centre for Airborne Systems has already successfully developed them, they said.

The systems have already been proven and developed by the CABS and they will just have to be integrated with the three aircraft which would be acquired and modified for the purpose, they said.

The development of an ISTAR system would also add India to a select club of nations with such a capability, including the US, UK, Israel and a few others.

ISTAR thus provides dynamic and time-sensitive targeting capability and contributes significantly to meeting the nation’s security goals.

It will aid in limiting the scale and complexity of undetected hostile threats. It has multi-spectral surveillance capability to detect, locate and monitor irregular forces.

The I-STAR system shall be for carrying out intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting by day and night from stand-off ranges.

The ISTAR systems are operated at high altitudes from large stand-off ranges and will be used for intelligence processing, exploitation, dissemination and generation of the common operating picture.

The ISTAR aircraft will be a system comprising airborne and ground segments.

The India Meteorological Department has issued red alerts for Idukki, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts and orange alerts for the remaining districts.

Heavy rain lashed many districts of Kerala on Friday, disrupting normal life and causing waterlogging.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued red alerts for Idukki, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts and orange alerts for the remaining districts today.

Authorities in several districts have declared holidays for educational institutions under their jurisdiction.

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), strong westerly winds are likely to persist at lower tropospheric levels over Kerala and the Lakshadweep region for the next two to three days, resulting in widespread rainfall.

The IMD stated, “Strong westerlies likely to continue at lower tropospheric levels over Kerala and the Lakshadweep region during the next 2-3 days. Under the influence of these, widespread rainfall activity with scattered Heavy rainfall to Very Heavy rainfall with isolated Extremely Heavy rainfall is very likely to occur over Kerala on 29th & 30th May 2025. Heavy rainfall is very likely to occur at isolated places over Kerala on 31st May, 1st and 2nd June 2025.”

District administrations across Kerala have declared a holiday for all educational institutions in several districts on May 30 (Friday).

The precautionary measure applies to professional colleges, anganwadis, tuition centers, madrassas, and special coaching classes.

The action was taken against the advisory committee of the Kottukkal Manjippuzha temple in Kollam, which is managed by the TDB.

The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the top temple body in Kerala’s Travancore region, dissolved the advisory committee of a temple following the rendition of the RSS ‘gana geetham’ (prayer song) during a recent musical concert held there.

The action was taken against the advisory committee of the Kottukkal Manjippuzha temple in Kollam, which is managed by the TDB.

A TDB statement issued on Tuesday said the decision followed an inquiry into the rendition of the ‘gana geetham’ and the erection of flags belonging to political and communal outfits on the temple premises.

The Board found that the advisory committee had committed serious lapses in connection with both incidents.

It added that an existing order strictly prohibits the erection of flagpoles of political and communal organisations in temples and on temple premises under the TDB’s control.

Authorities said that some containers have been found along the coasts of southern Kollam and coastal Alappuzha districts.

Containers from a Liberian cargo ship that sank off the Kerala coast have started washing ashore, while the oil spill spreading from the vessel has prompted authorities to issue a high alert along the state’s coastline, officials said on Monday.

Authorities said that some containers have been found along the coasts of southern Kollam and coastal Alappuzha districts.

In the wake of the sinking of the ship off the Kerala coast, a high-level meeting was convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to assess the situation.

An advisory has been issued urging coastal residents and fishermen to remain vigilant.

So far, nine containers have washed ashore, and an advisory has been reiterated for coastal residents and fishermen to remain alert, according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

The cargo ship capsized and sank early on Sunday, leading to a significant oil spill. According to the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), the sunken vessel had 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil in its tanks.