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Rex Features20 May 2025, 09:47 BST91 CommentsUpdated 2 hours agoCarlisle United manager Mark Hughes will remain with the club following their relegation from League Two to the National League.Hughes took over at Brunton Park in February after Mike Williamson was sacked, with Carlisle five points from safety and 18 games remaining.The former Wales, Manchester City and Fulham boss could not keep the club in the league, however, and they were finally relegated after defeat at Cheltenham Town in their penultimate game of the season.”Since joining back in February, the support I’ve received from the fans has been exceptional – thank you,” Hughes told the club website.”I hope to see more of the same next season as we aim for an immediate return to the EFL.””Mark brought the squad together during the closing stretch of the season and gave us a fighting chance,” chairman Tom Piatak added.”His leadership, composure, and connection with the players was clear, and we’re confident in his ability to lead us forward.”Despite their relegation, Hughes reinvigorated his side for the end-of-season run-in as they lost just once at home under his tenure and won three consecutive games for the first time in more than two years.A run of 10 points from four games in April came too late to pull them out of trouble, however, with Hughes wanting to remain in post despite the drop into non-league football.Hughes ‘forged connection with fractious fanbase’Analysis – BBC Radio Cumbria sports editor Paul NewtonHe may not have been able to keep Carlisle United up – and there are some in the fanbase who feel he had enough time to do so – however, the retention of Mark Hughes has been roundly welcomed in the city.Carlisle were a mess on the pitch when he took over in February. Hughes was quick to recognise an unfit, top-heavy squad and was ruthless where needed. Performances and, to an extent, results did improve towards the back end of the campaign while Hughes was also able to forge a connection with a fractious and disconnected fanbase.While those are clear positives to his appointment, there are negatives given a lack of experience managing at National League level and no promotion to his name.Carlisle’s significant financial backing under their American owners, the Piatak family, will mean there is an expectancy for United to bounce back at the first attempt.Whether Hughes can deliver that remains to be seen.To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedRelated topicsLeague TwoCarlisle UnitedFootballNational League

Rex Features2 hours agoBurnley have released Nathan Redmond and Jonjo Shelvey following promotion to the Premier League – but have also completed the permanent signings of four on-loan players.Redmond, 31, had an injury-hit spell with the Clarets, missing most of 2024 with a hamstring injury along with another period out due to a calf issue.In total, he made 16 appearances in all competitions, including just three this season, with two of those coming in the Championship.Shelvey, 33, joined in January on a short-term deal, following the expiration of his contract with Turkish side Eyupspor, and made four Burnley appearances.However, loan players Jaidon Anthony, Marcus Edwards, Bashir Humphreys and Zian Flemming will all join the club permanently this summer.Anthony, 25, made 43 appearances on loan from Bournemouth and scored eight goals, while 26-year-old Edwards scored twice in 16 appearances after joining from Portuguese side Sporting in January.Defender Humphreys made 28 appearances after joining from Chelsea, and Millwall loanee Flemming scored 14 goals in 37 games to help power the club to automatic promotion.The club said they are in discussions with out-of-contract trio Josh Brownhill, CJ Egan-Riley and Ashley Barnes, while Jeremy Sarmiento will return to Brighton & Hove Albion after the conclusion of his spell on loan.Related topicsBurnleyFootball TransfersChampionshipFootball

Glenn Murray speaks to three members of the four generations of the Hinshelwood family – the most recent of whom, Jack, is making waves at Brighton.Jack scored an 85th-minute winner against Liverpool on Monday, with his 17-year-old cousin Harry Howell making his debut for the Seagulls.Jack’s father Adam is managing York City in the National League play-off semi-final against Oldham on Tuesday.This video was originally posted in September 2024.Available to UK users only.Watch Football Focus, Saturdays, 12:00 BST on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and appGet all the latest Brighton & Hove Albion news and viewsMore from the Premier League (external site)

Huw Evans Picture Agency3 hours agoCommentsLiverpool forward Ceri Holland has been named in the Wales squad for the final Nations League group matches, two months after fears that she could miss Euro 2025.Holland, 27, is part of a 26-strong squad named by manager Rhian Wilkinson for the decisive League A matches against Denmark in Odense on May 30 and against Italy in Swansea four days later.The winger was taken off on a stretcher during Wales’ 2-1 defeat by Denmark in April but scans showed her leg injury was not as serious as first thought and she returned for Liverpool later that month.The news came as a great relief to not only the player, who was in tears coming off the pitch, but to a Wales team preparing for its first major women’s tournament when they take on the Netherlands on 5 July in Lucerne, Switzerland.Record cap-holder Jess Fishlock and striker Kayleigh Barton have also returned to Wilkinson’s squad for the upcoming Nations League matches.To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedLike Holland, 38-year-old Fishlock, who is in line to win a 161st cap, was a late injury withdrawal for the 1-1 draw away to Sweden. Barton, 37, also missed the trip as well as the Denmark game in Cardiff four days earlier.But experienced goalkeeper Laura O’Sullivan-Jones does not feature after sustaining an ACL injury which has also ruled her out of Euro 2025..Eighteen-year-old Aston Villa keeper Soffia Kelly has been called up in her place, one of three uncapped teenagers along with fellow stopper Poppy Soper and Bristol City forward Tianna Teisar. Manchester United’s once-capped 18-year-old midfielder Mared Griffiths is also included.Wales will be relegated from League A if they lose to Denmark or if they draw and Italy do not lose to Sweden. To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedWales squadGoalkeepers: Olivia Clark (Leicester City), Safia Middleton-Patel (Manchester United), Soffia Kelly (Aston Villa), Poppy Soper (Blackburn Rovers).Defenders: Rhiannon Roberts (Real Betis), Josie Green (Crystal Palace), Charlie Estcourt (DC Power), Hayley Ladd (Everton), Gemma Evans (Liverpool), Mayzee Davies (Manchester City), Lily Woodham (Crystal Palace – on loan from Seattle Reign), Ella Powell (Bristol City), Esther Morgan (Sheffield United).Midfielders: Alice Griffiths (Durham – on loan from Southampton), Angharad James (Seattle Reign), Lois Joel (Newcastle United), Carrie Jones (IFK Norrköping), Jess Fishlock (Seattle Reign), Mared Griffiths (Manchester United).Forwards: Ceri Holland (Liverpool), Rachel Rowe (Southampton), Kayleigh Barton (Charlton Athletic), Tianna Teisar (Bristol City), Hannah Cain (Leicester City), Ffion Morgan (Bristol City), Elise Hughes (Crystal Palace).Related topicsWales Women’s Football TeamFootballWomen’s Football

Getty Images4 hours agoUncapped Adelaide United forward Erin Healy has been called up to the Republic of Ireland squad for the upcoming Nations League matches against Turkey and Slovenia. San Diego-born Healy, who qualifies through her Monaghan-born grandfather, scored eight goals in her first A-League season and was named Adelaide’s player of the year.Louise Quinn has been included despite announcing her retirement last month. The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) says Quinn will “bring her leadership to the squad ahead of retiring this summer”. Megan Connolly is recalled after missing the wins over Greece in April because of injury, but Heather Payne, Leanne Kiernan, Tara O’Hanlon, Jamie Finn, Lily Agg and Jess Ziu are sidelined. Captain Katie McCabe will link up with the squad following her involvement with Arsenal in Saturday’s Champions League final against Barcelona. The Republic of Ireland face Turkey away on 30 May before hosting group leaders Slovenia in Cork on 3 June (both 17:00 BST) in their final Nations League game. Under new boss Carla Ward, the Irish have beaten Turkey at home and secured back-to-back wins over Greece, but lost 4-0 to Slovenia.Republic of Ireland squadGoalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (Unattached), Sophie Whitehouse (Charlton Athletic).Defenders: Jessie Stapleton (West Ham United), Aoife Mannion (Manchester United), Anna Patten (Aston Villa), Caitlin Hayes (Brighton & Hove Albion), Louise Quinn (Unattached), Chloe Mustaki (Bristol City), Megan Campbell (Unattached), Katie McCabe (Arsenal).Midfielders: Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Ruesha Littlejohn (Shamrock Rovers), Megan Connolly (Lazio), Tyler Toland (Blackburn Rovers), Marissa Sheva (Sunderland), Aoibheann Clancy (Shelbourne).Forwards: Kyra Carusa (San Diego Wave), Amber Barrett (Standard Liege), Abbie Larkin (Crystal Palace), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City), Emily Murphy (Newcastle United), Saoirse Noonan (Celtic), Erin Healy (Adelaide United).Related topicsRepublic of Ireland Women’s Football TeamNorthern Ireland SportFootballWomen’s FootballIrish Football

6 hours agoHead coach Steve Clarke concedes the dearth of emerging goalkeepers is a concern and “probably an oversight” for Scotland.With 42-year-old Craig Gordon missing, Angus Gunn returns for the June friendlies against Iceland and Liechtenstein.Gunn, currently a free agent after leaving Norwich City, has 15 caps and was first choice at Euro 2024 before injury struck, allowing Gordon to reclaim his spot.Uncapped duo Robby McCrorie and Cieran Slicker provide back-up, with the latter having played 10 minutes as a substitute for Ipswich Town all season.McCrorie made 20 Premiership starts for Kilmarnock, while the vast majority of Scottish top-flight goalkeepers come from other countries.”We just keep looking, Scottish grannies are in big demand,” Clarke half-joked when the issue was raised at his squad announcement media conference.”Since we had Craig, David Marshall and Allan McGregor, we haven’t quite had the same quality coming through.”It’s something we should have picked up on a few years ago. It’s probably an oversight. We had three goalkeepers of such quality all playing at the same time and you think ‘that will never end’.”Gordon has 81 caps, having made his international debut in 2004, while Marshall played 47 times and McGregor bowed out after 42 appearances.”We have a crop of younger ones and you don’t know how they are going to progress,” Clarke said.”You can be saying ‘we haven’t got anything’ then suddenly some 18, 19, 20-year-olds might get some minutes on the pitch and get a chance to play more regularly.”In March, I said to the coaches of the 17s, 19s and 21s to try and pick four goalkeepers, so you’re looking at more and putting them in against their peers. Then you’re looking for the one that can step up and become the best in that age group.”Of goalkeepers with recent Scotland Under-21 experience, Hearts’ Liam McFarlane and Ruairidh Adams of Dundee United have been busy, each playing 39 games this season, on loan at East Fife and Kelty Hearts respectively.Rangers’ Lewis Budinauckas played four matches for Greenock Morton and eight with Partick Thistle before losing his place to 35-year-old David Mitchell.Murray Johnson of Hibernian got 13 games for Airdrieonians and was then limited to just one minute with Queen of the South in the second half of the term.”The young ones need to play,” Clarke added. “A lot tend to be kept in squads to sit on the bench. They are working with good people and learning good habits but only in training.”Maybe we can find a way to get these young goalkeepers out to clubs in League 1, League 2, the Championship at an earlier age where they play and do well.”Obviously, if you’re a manager and you take a young goalkeeper and he throws a couple into the net, you’re going to put a more experienced goalkeeper back in.”The boys need a chance and, when they get a chance, they need to take it. If they don’t, the manager won’t play them.”Related topicsFootballScotland Men’s Football Team

Clips: Global news CA, CTV News
Canada medical mystery takes twist as study finds no evidence of brain illness

WASHINGTON — The revelation that former President Biden has advanced prostate cancer generated more questions than answers on Monday, prompting debate among experts in the oncology community over the likely progression of his disease and resurfacing concerns in Washington over his decision last year to run for reelection.Biden’s private office said Sunday afternoon that he had been diagnosed earlier in the week with an “aggressive form” of the cancer that had already spread to his bones, after urinary symptoms led to the discovery of a nodule on his prostate.But it was not made clear whether Biden, 82, had been testing his prostate-specific antigens, known as PSA levels, during his presidency — and if so whether those results had indicated an elevated risk of cancer while he was still in office or during his campaign for reelection.Biden’s diagnosis comes at a difficult time for the former president, as scrutiny grows over his decision to run for a second term last year — and whether it cost the Democrats the White House. Biden ultimately dropped out of the race after a devastating debate performance with Donald Trump laid bare widespread concerns over his age and health, leaving his successor on the Democratic ticket — Vice President Kamala Harris — little time to run her own campaign.A book set to publish this week titled “Original Sin,” by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, details efforts by Biden’s aides to shield the effects of his aging from the public and the press. The cancer diagnosis only intensified scrutiny over Biden’s health and questions as to whether he and his team were honest about it with the public.“I think those conversations are going to happen,” said David Axelrod, a former senior advisor to President Obama.President Trump, asked about Biden’s diagnosis during an Oval Office event Monday, said it was “a very, very sad situation” and that he felt “badly about it.”But he also questioned why the cancer wasn’t caught earlier, and why the public wasn’t notified earlier, tying the situation to questions he has long raised about Biden’s mental fitness to serve as president.PSA tests are not typically recommended for men over 70 due to the risk of false positive results or of associated treatments causing more harm than good to older patients, who are more likely to die of other causes first.But annual physicals for sitting presidents — especially of Biden’s age — are more comprehensive than those for private citizens. And a failure to test for elevated PSA levels could have missed the progression of the disease.A letter from Biden’s White House physician from February of last year made no mention of PSA testing, unlike the most recent letter detailing the results of Trump’s latest physical, which references a normal measurement. Biden’s current aides did not respond to requests for comment on whether his office would further detail his diagnostic testing history.Even if his doctors had tested for PSA levels at the time, results may not have picked up an aggressive form of the cancer, experts said.Some specialists in the field said it was possible, if rare, for Biden’s cancer to emerge and spread since his last physical in the White House. Roughly 10% of patients who are newly diagnosed with prostate cancer are found with an advanced form of the disease that has metastasized to other parts of the body.Dr. Mark Litwin, the chair of UCLA Urology, said it is in the nature of aggressive prostate cancers to grow quickly. “So it is likely that this tumor began more recently,” he said.Litwin said he does not doubt that Biden would have been screened for elevated PSA levels. But, he said, he could be among those patients whose cancers do not produce elevated PSA levels or whose more aggressive cancers rapidly grow and metastasize within a matter of months.“The fact that he has metastatic disease at diagnosis, to me, as an expert in the area and as a clinician taking care of guys with prostate cancer all the time, just says that he is unfortunate,” Litwin said.Litwin and other experts in prostate cancer from USC, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, Cedars-Sinai and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute all told The Times that Biden’s diagnosis — at least based on publicly available information — was not incredibly unusual, and similar to diagnoses received by older American men all the time.They said he and his doctors absolutely would have discussed testing his PSA levels, given his high level of care as president. But they also said it would have been well within medical best practices for him to decide with those doctors to stop getting tested given his age.Dr. Howard Sandler, chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Cedars-Sinai, said he sees three potential explanations for Biden’s diagnosis.One is that Biden and his doctors made a decision “to not screen any longer, which would be well within the standard of care” given Biden’s age, he said.A second is that Biden’s was tested, and his PSA level “was elevated, maybe not dramatically but a little bit elevated, but they said, ‘Well, we’re not gonna really investigate it,’” again because of Biden’s age, Sandler said.The third, which Sandler said was “less likely,” is that Biden’s PSA was checked “and was fine, but he ended up with an aggressive prostate cancer that doesn’t produce much PSA” and so wasn’t captured.Zeke Emanuel, an oncologist serving as vice provost for global initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and a former health policy official in the Biden administration, told MSNBC that Biden has likely had cancer for “more than several years.”“He did not develop it in the last 100, 200 days. He had it while he was president. He probably had it at the start of his presidency, in 2021,” Emanuel said. But Litwin, who said he is a friend of Emanuel’s, said most men in their 70s or 80s have some kind of prostate cancer, even if it is just “smoldering along” — there but not particularly aggressive or quickly spreading — and unlikely to be the cause of their death. Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support. pic.twitter.com/oSS1vGIiwU— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 19, 2025 He said Biden may well have had some similar form of cancer in his prostate for a long time, but that he did not believe that the aggressive form that has metastasized would have been around for as long as Emanuel seemed to suggest.Departing Rome aboard Air Force Two, Vice President JD Vance told reporters he was sending his best wishes to the former president, but expressed concern that his recent diagnosis underscored concerns over Biden’s condition that dogged his presidency.“Whether the right time to have this conversation is now or in the future, we really do need to be honest about whether the former president was capable of doing the job,” Vance said. “I don’t think that he was in good enough health. In some ways, I blame him less than I blame the people around him.”Trump’s medical team has also faced questions of transparency.When Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 during his first term, at the height of the pandemic, he was closer to death than his White House acknowledged at the time. And his doctors and aides regularly use superlatives to describe the health of the 78-year-old president, with Karoline Leavitt, his White House press secretary, referring to him as “perfect” on Monday.“Cancer touches us all,” Biden posted on social media alongside a photo with his wife, Jill Biden, in his first remarks on his diagnosis.“Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places,” he added. “Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.” More to Read

MEXICO CITY — Police in El Salvador have arrested a prominent human rights attorney who is an outspoken critic of President Nayib Bukele.Ruth Eleonora López, who heads the anti-corruption program at Cristosal, a human rights nonprofit, was arrested at her home in San Salvador late Sunday night. In a post on X, prosecutors accused López of “collaborating in the theft of funds from state coffers” during her time working in the government of Salvador Sánchez Cerén, a leftist who served as president before Bukele.Officials at Cristosal said the charges against López were a politically motivated act and part of the Bukele government’s “systematic strategy of criminalization of those who defend human rights.”In a country where many people are afraid to speak out against the government, López has been an outspoken critic of Bukele, who took office in 2019 and has increasingly adopted authoritarian tactics. To crack down on gangs that for years had dominated life in El Salvador, Bukele declared a state of emergency three years ago that has suspended civil liberties, including due process, and facilitated the imprisonment of about 85,000 people. López and her organization say tens of thousands of innocent people have been unfairly detained. She and Cristosal spoke out when Bukele pushed for a court decision that allowed him to run for a second term despite a constitutional ban. They denounced the Bukele government’s use of spyware to monitor human rights defenders and journalists and exposed apparent corruption in the awarding of contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bukele, a close ally of President Trump, who this year sent hundreds of U.S. deportees to be housed in a Salvadoran prison, has ramped up his attacks on critics in recent weeks. He recently proposed a new law that would impose a 30% tax on donations to nongovernmental organizations, including Cristosal. And he ordered the arrests of 16 bus company owners on charges of sabotage after they failed to comply with a decree that all transportation in the nation should be made free. In a statement, Cristosal said it did not know of López’s whereabouts.“The authorities’ refusal to disclose her location or to allow access to her legal representatives is a blatant violation of due process, the right to legal defense and international standards of judicial protection,” the group said. Prison guards transfer deportees from the U.S., accused of being Venezuelan gang members, to the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on March 16, 2025. (El Salvador presidential press office) Last year, López was named one of the 100 most influential women in the world by the BBC, which lauded her for promoting “political transparency and citizen accountability.”Her arrest sparked outcry. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) was one of several members of Congress to decry the arrest. He wrote on X that he was “concerned by the arrest of anti-corruption activist Ruth López & what it means for El Salvador’s authoritarian trajectory.”A coalition of human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch demanded López’s release and said they were “deeply concerned at the increasingly pervasive environment of fear that threatens freedoms in the country.”A spokeswoman for the president’s office did not respond to requests for comment about López’s arrest. More to Read

Canada Post says it has received a strike notice from the union representing some 55,000 postal workers, with operations poised to shut down by the end of the week — for the second time in six months.The union informed management that employees plan to hit the picket line starting Friday morning at midnight, the Crown corporation said.A work stoppage would affect millions of residents and businesses who typically receive more than two billion letters and roughly 300 million parcels a year via the service.No new items would be accepted until the strike ends, while those already in the system would be “secured” but not delivered, Canada Post said. Social assistance cheques and live animals mark the two exceptions, with delivery of both continuing — though no new animals would be let through — it added.A 32-day strike during peak shipping season ahead of the holiday season last November and December left millions of letters and parcels in limbo and a massive backlog to sort through.Canada Post workers walk the picket line in Mississauga, Ont., in December 2024.