- Sakamoto leads Japanese women's sweep at Skate Canada
- Sainz success shows his class as Ferrari rise above the radar
- Verstappen, Norris set for another duel
- Michelle Obama admits fear over vote result, slams Trump
- Sainz takes pole for Mexico City Grand Prix ahead of Verstappen
- Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps defend Skate Canada pairs title
- Lille score twice in stoppage-time to beat Lens after 'extraordinary' week
- Barca in 'flow' state after thrashing Madrid: Flick
- Curfew extended in French Caribbean territory amid power blackout
- Ruling party set to win Georgia election amid opposition protests
- Lille score twice deep in stoppage-time to beat Lens, Brest win
- NASA astronaut released from hospital after return from ISS
- Lewandowski double as Barca shred Madrid in La Liga Clasico
- Floods hit Saint-Tropez as rains lash south of France
- Japan votes with new PM on shaky ground
- Herve Renard completes surprise return as Saudi coach
- Di Lorenzo fires Napoli five points clear, Atalanta hit Verona for six
- Van Graan has 'utmost respect' for Du Toit as Bath go top of Premiership
- Report details fossil fuel threat to 'Amazon of the seas'
- Michelle Obama to boost Harris, as Trump rages against migrants
- Catholic Church assembly acknowledges 'obstacles' for women
- 'Too early' to say Leverkusen out of title race: Alonso
- World champion Malinin grabs men's lead at Skate Canada
- Farrell 'sorry' for second Top 14 yellow in Racing win
- Ruling party set to win Georgian elections
- Piastri, Norris set Mexico practice pace as Verstappen struggles
- Lewis century gifts West Indies consolation victory in Sri Lanka
- Guardiola vows to learn from rock-bottom Southampton after tight win
- Rooney 'angry' despite stunning Plymouth fightback in Preston draw
- Opposition, ruling party both shown ahead in Georgia elections
- Venezuelan prosecutor accuses Lula of faking injury as tensions with Brazil rise
- Draper into Vienna ATP final, ensures career-high ranking
- Farrell opens Top 14 try account in Racing victory, ends game in sin-bin
- Opposition tipped to win narrow majority in Georgia election: exit poll
- Haaland fires Man City to top of Premier League, Villa held
- West Indies set 195 to win rain-hit Sri Lanka ODI
- Leipzig beat Freiburg to go top, Dortmund lose away again
- Shelton downs friend Fils to reach Basel final
- Di Lorenzo fires Napoli past Lecce and five points clear
- Hussain says Pakistan have found 'kryptonite to Bazball' with England series win
- Seven dead in overnight Russian attacks on Ukraine
- Tehran presses on, uneasy after Israeli strikes
- Masood says Pakistan need stability after famous England win
- Iran warns will defend itself after Israeli strikes
- N.Korea involvement in Ukraine raises regional security risks: analysts
- Santner heroics seal historic New Zealand Test series win in India
- Brignone wins ski World Cup opener as Shiffrin flops
- Thitikul surges into three-way lead at LPGA in Malaysia
- Israel hits Iran military sites in retaliatory strikes
- Santner heroics seal New Zealand's first Test series win in India
Demolition man Head, Pandya booed, red-hot Kohli: IPL talking points
The Indian Premier League is around the halfway mark this season with teams scrambling to make the top four of the T20 tournament.
AFP Sport looks at five talking points in the first half of the world's richest cricket competition.
- Head starts and tall scores -
Opener Travis Head has been the demolition man for Sunrisers Hyderabad with his explosive starts taking the team to two record IPL totals of 277 and 287 this season.
The Australian left-hander has amassed 324 runs so far including a hundred and two half tons in this campaign.
Head has a strike-rate of 216 in six matches.
At the weekend he smashed a 32-ball 89 to guide Hyderabad to 266-7 against Delhi Capitals and said it was good to be "on a roll".
- Impact player rule has... impact -
The impact player rule has been the reason behind the skyscraper totals, with the teams getting a better understanding of how to use it.
The measure was introduced last year and allows the replacement of a player named in the starting team at any point after the toss.
But it hasn't found favour among some players.
"I am not a big fan of the impact sub rule," said India captain and Mumbai Indians player Rohit Sharma.
"It is going to hold all-rounders back, eventually cricket is played by 11 players, not 12 players."
IPL chairman Arun Dhumal has said the board will review the rule at the end of this edition.
- Kohli top, Bengaluru flop -
Virat Kohli has been the lone warrior for Royal Challengers Bengaluru -- he is the leading batsman in the IPL so far with 379 runs including a ton and two half-centuries.
But the former India captain, fondly known as "King Kohli" for his prolific run-scoring, cannot do it all.
His team are bottom of the table with one win in eight matches.
Kohli hit the first ton of this edition but his unbeaten 113 was not enough in a match where Jos Buttler cracked an unbeaten 100 to steer Rajasthan Royals to victory.
Kohli and Bengaluru have never won the IPL and it seems the wait will go on for another year.
- Pandya's tale of woe -
Hardik Pandya joined five-time champions Mumbai Indians ahead of this season and replaced veteran Rohit as captain.
The joy was short-lived after the IPL heavyweights lost their opening three matches.
The star all-rounder has been repeatedly booed, prompting commentator Sanjay Manjrekar to say "behave" to the crowd at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.
Mumbai have won three of their seven matches, but Pandya's form with bat (141 runs) and ball (four wickets) is a cause for concern.
The lowest point was when Chennai's M.S. Dhoni smashed Pandya for three straight sixes in a 26-run final over.
- Starc under pressure of big bucks -
Australia's Mitchell Starc hasn't lived up to his top billing in the IPL with his six wickets and an economy of 12.94 proving costly for Kolkata Knight Riders.
The left-arm quick returned to the IPL after nine years when he became the most expensive buy in IPL history at $2.98 million.
Starc has had his moments, including bowling figures of 3-28 in a win against Lucknow Super Giants.
But he has been guilty of leaking runs at the backend, with his 19-ball last over on Sunday nearly giving away the match to Bengaluru.
Two-time winners Kolkata are second in the table despite Starc failing to properly fire.
L.Harper--AMWN