- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- SE Asian summit urges end to Myanmar violence but struggles for solutions
- Wimbledon replaces line judges with electronic system
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England power to 351-3
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England's power to 351-3
- Sabalenka relishes 'much-needed' tennis rivalry with Swiatek
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson set for six weeks out
- Taylor Swift got police escort to London gigs after Austria terror plot
- Cook tips Root to break Tendulkar's all-time runs record
- British skull auction sparks Indian demand for return
- Joe Root: England's elegant Test record-breaker
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Hezbollah strikes Israel, says it foiled Israeli incursions
- Jurgen Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Sinner to face Medvedev in Shanghai Masters quarter-finals
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Record-breaking Root guides England to 232-2 in reply to Pakistan's 556
- Japan PM dissolves parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- Goodbye Tito? Tomb at risk as Serbs argue over Yugoslav legacy
- Restoration experts piece together silent Sherlock Holmes mystery
- Sinner avoids Shanghai deja vu with assured Shelton win
- Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
- Trumpet star Marsalis says jazz creates 'balance' in divided world
- No children left on Greece's famed but emptying island
- Nepali becomes youngest to climb world's 8,000m peaks
- Climate change made deadly Hurricane Helene more intense: study
- A US climate scientist sees hurricane Helene's devastation firsthand
- Padres edge Dodgers, Mets on the brink
- Can carbon credits help close coal plants?
- With EU funding, Tunisian farmer revives parched village
- Sega ninja game 'Shinobi' gets movie treatment
- Boeing suspends negotiations with striking workers
- 7-Eleven owner's shares spike on report of new buyout offer
- Your 'local everything': what 7-Eleven buyout battle means for Japan
- Three million UK children living below poverty line: study
- China's Jia brings film spanning love, change over decades to Busan
- Paying out disaster relief before climate catastrophe strikes
- Chinese shares drop on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- SE Asian summit seeks progress on Myanmar civil war
- How climate funds helped Peru's women beekeepers stay afloat
- Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded as wars rage
- Pacific island nations swamped by global drug trade
- AI-aided research, new materials eyed for Nobel Chemistry Prize
- Mozambique elects new president in tense vote
- The US economy is solid: Why are voters gloomy?
- Balkan summit to rally support for struggling Ukraine
- New stadium gives Real Madrid a headache
Leverkusen face Leipzig in early test of title defence
Defending Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen face the first true test of their title defence when they host RB Leipzig on Saturday.
Unbeaten in Germany last season, Xabi Alonso's side have battled to narrow wins in the German Supercup, German Cup and in their Bundesliga opener this season.
In Leipzig, they face a title rival for the first time.
The two league fixtures between the clubs last season proved crucial milestones in Leverkusen's breakthrough title.
In the Bundesliga opener last year, Leverkusen won 3-2 against Marco Rose's German Cup holders.
The victory was an early warning to title favourites Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, who had finished the previous season atop the table, separated only by goal difference.
In January's return game in Leipzig, Leverkusen again won 3-2, coming from behind twice before scoring an injury-time winner.
The late victory was a sign of things to come from a side who have scored 17 goals in the 88th minute or later so far in 2024.
Both clubs come into season 2024-25 in an unusual position, having held on to most of their star players during the off-season.
From the team which won an unbeaten league and cup double last season, Leverkusen lost only defender Odilon Kossounou.
Leipzig, often raided by Europe's elite at season's end, lost forward Dani Olmo, but his replacement Antonio Nusa has fitted right in, with two goals in two games.
Leverkusen have not impressed so far this season and struggled to a 1-0 win at fourth-division Carl Zeiss Jena on Wednesday.
Midfield enforcer Robert Andrich said the win was their "weakest performance" of the year, saying "we didn't take it seriously."
"We made far too many mistakes."
Jonas Hofmann, who scored the game's only goal, said the display should be "a warning shot to show all of us that our performance didn't cut it."
Elsewhere, Union Berlin host St Pauli in Friday's opener, the first top-division clash between the two cult sides.
Bayern -- who needed to come from behind to beat Wolfsburg 3-2 on Sunday -- host Freiburg on Sunday.
Freiburg made a dream start to life after the retirement of long-serving manager Christian Streich, beating last season's runners-up Stuttgart 3-1 in Saturday's Bundesliga opener under new boss Julian Schuster.
Dortmund travel to Werder Bremen, while Stuttgart host Mainz.
One to watch: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
He may not have scored, but Harry Kane was the foundation of everything Bayern Munich did well in Sunday's 3-2 win at Wolfsburg.
The England captain launched an attack down the right for Jamal Musiala's opener.
When Bayern found themselves behind after a quick-fire Lovro Majer double, Kane's powerful header created an own goal to level the scores and he set up Serge Gnabry's winner in the final stages.
Speaking with the Bundesliga website on Wednesday, Kane said England's loss in the Euro 2024 final gave him "even more motivation" to break through for the first team title of his career this season.
"This club need to be winning titles. I think there's a real hunger and desire with the new coach (Vincent Kompany). We're all eager to get those trophies back."
Key stats
1 in 17 - Freiburg have won just one of their past 17 games against Bayern Munich.
710 - Sunday will be Thomas Mueller's 710th game for Bayern, a club record.
Three in six - In August 2022, Werder Bremen scored three goals in six minutes to snatch a 3-2 win at Borussia Dortmund, with the last goal coming in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Fixtures (1330 GMT unless stated)
Friday
Union Berlin v St Pauli (1830)
Saturday
Werder Bremen v Borussia Dortmund, Holstein Kiel v Wolfsburg, Stuttgart v Mainz, Eintracht Frankfurt v Hoffenheim, Bochum v Borussia Moenchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen v RB Leipzig (1630)
Sunday
Heidenheim v Augsburg, Bayern Munich v Freiburg (1530)
Th.Berger--AMWN