BBC Sport cricket reporter Henry Moeran explains why England’s decision to go to the beach in Noosa is not attracting the same intense scrutiny locally as it has done in Britain, with Ben Stokes’ side 2-0 down in the Ashes series against Australia.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado will not receive the Nobel Peace Prize in person at an award ceremony in Oslo but she will be in the European city, the director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute has said.
Machado, 58, was due to receive the award on Wednesday at Oslo City Hall in the presence of Norway’s monarchs and Latin American leaders, including fellow right-wing politicians Argentinian President Javier Milei and Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa.
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The opposition leader of the Vente Venezuela party was awarded the prize in October, with the Nobel committee praising Machado’s role in the country’s opposition movement and her “steadfast” support for democracy.
Machado, who holds many right-wing views, dedicated it in part to United States President Donald Trump, who has said he, himself deserved the honour and was infuriated that he did not.
“Although she will not be able to reach the ceremony and today’s events, we are profoundly happy to confirm that Machado is safe and that she will be with us in Oslo,” the institute stated.
She is expected to reach Oslo “sometime between this evening and tomorrow morning,” the institute’s director Kristian Berg Harpviken told the AFP news agency on Wednesday, shortly before the 1pm (12:00 GMT) ceremony, at which her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, is set to accept the award in her place.
“I will be in Oslo, I am on my way,” Machado stated in an audio recording released by the institute.
The announcement was part of a sequence of events more befitting of cloak-and-dagger intrigue, as the institute had earlier stated Machado’s whereabouts were unknown. A planned news conference a day earlier was also cancelled due to her absence.
Machado has a decade-long travel ban on her and has spent more than a year in hiding.
The political leader has welcomed international sanctions and US military intervention in Venezuela, a move her critics say harkens back to a dark past.
The US has a long history of interference in the region, particularly in the 1980s when it propped up repressive right-wing governments through coups, and funded paramilitary groups across Latin America that were responsible for mass killings, forced disappearances and other grave human rights abuses.
Venezuelan authorities cited Machado’s support for sanctions and US intervention when they barred her from running for office in last year’s presidential election, where she had intended to challenge President Nicolas Maduro. Machado has accused Maduro of stealing the July 2024 election.
Shortly after her Nobel win in October, Machado also voiced support for Israel in a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during its ongoing genocidal war in Gaza.
Machado has previously pledged to move Venezuela’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, as Trump did with the US diplomatic presence during his first term in office, if her movement comes to power. This would be on par with other right-wing Latin American leaders who have taken pro-Israel stances, including Argentina’s Milei and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
Machado has aligned herself with right-wing hawks close to Trump who argue that Maduro has links to criminal gangs that pose a direct threat to US national security, despite doubts raised by the US intelligence community.
The Trump administration has ordered more than 20 military strikes in recent months against alleged drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and off Latin America’s Pacific coast.
Human rights groups, some US Democrats and several Latin American countries have condemned the attacks as unlawful extrajudicial killings of civilians.
Maduro, in power since 2013 following the death of Hugo Chavez, says Trump is pushing for regime change in the country to access Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. He has pledged to resist such attempts.
England will play Uruguay and Japan at Wembley in March in their final two games before head coach Thomas Tuchel chooses his squad for the 2026 World Cup.
The Three Lions will face Uruguay on Friday, 27 March before taking on Japan on Tuesday, 31 March, with Tuchel scheduled to announced his squad in May.
“We are really pleased to have these two fixtures confirmed as our World Cup year takes shape,” said Tuchel.
“We wanted to play two teams ranked in the top 20 in the world, but also to test ourselves against opponents from outside of Europe.”
Uruguay are 16th in Fifa’s men’s rankings while Japan are 18th and both countries have also secured spots at the 2026 World Cup, which will run from 11 June to 19 July across Canada, Mexico and the United States.
England, who are expected to play two warm-up games in America before the tournament, have been drawn with Croatia, Ghana and Panama in Group L.
Tuchel’s team will play all three of their group games in the US, with their first two matches against Croatia, on 17 June, and Ghana, on 23 June, kicking off at 21:00 BST.
Simon Cowell’s new boyband have been unveiled and will be called December 10.
The British seven-piece boyband have signed to EMI/Universal and their first promotional shot has now been released. Their name is the same date that the new Netflix series about their creation has been released.
The lads consist of Cruz (19), Danny (17), Hendrick (19), John (17), Josh (17), Nicolas (16) and Sean (19). They are from Chorley, Rochester, Dublin, London, Lisbon and Walsall, and between them Irish, Brazilian, Indian, Nigerian and Jamaican heritage.
Viewers will see the come together during an audition process on new Netflix series Simon Cowell: The Next Act which dropped on Netflix today. The band were amongst the guests at a premiere for the series in London on Wednesday night.
On the series Cowell admits since creating global smash hit boyband One Direction he has not signed or created another huge act, but he feels now the time is right.
But Cowell is feeling the pressure and he tells the cameras: ““If I can’t get it right,“I’ll have to accept that I’ve lost whatever I had before.” The band are set to fully launch with new music in 2026.
* Simon Cowell: The Next Act is available now on Netflix globally, across all territories worldwide.
A wide-ranging investigation into illegal gambling involving figures in Turkish football is under way with hundreds of players, club owners and referees under scrutiny.
A series of police raids have taken place, arrests have been made and more than 1,000 players have been suspended as the scope of the inquiry continues to grow.
Turkish Football Federation (TFF) president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu said at a press conference this week he saw “a growing sense of panic” within Turkish football “as operations deepen”.
Last month the TFF suspended 1,024 players from its professional leagues as part of an investigation into betting.
It then handed out bans to 102 players from its top two divisions for “betting-related activities”.
Last week, prosecutors ordered the arrest of 46 people, including players, club presidents, commentators and a referee, over insider betting in Turkey’s professional leagues.
Among those detained were Galatasaray player Metehan Baltaci and Fenerbahce captain Mert Hakan Yandas, as well as former Adana Demirspor president Murat Sancak.
Players, club officials and match officials are banned from betting activities by TFF, Fifa and Uefa rules.
The betting scandal first erupted on 27 October and focused on referees.
A five-year TFF investigation found 371 of 571 match officials in Turkey held betting accounts, with 152 of those actively gambling.
While some had only bet once, 42 had bet on more than 1,000 football matches – with one official was found to have placed 18,227 bets.
Of these 152 referees, seven were top-flight referees and 15 were top-flight assistant referees.
Shortly after the TFF’s announcement in October, Istanbul’s chief criminal prosecutor said the statement would be treated as a formal criminal complaint and that ongoing investigations would be expanded.
The investigation then moved beyond match officials.
7 November: Prosecutors order the detention of 21 people on suspicion of “manipulating match results” and “sharing misleading information online”.
10 November: Eight suspects – including the president of Super Lig side Eyupspor Murat Ozkaya – is arrested.
10 November: The TFF says it has referred 1,024 players to the disciplinary board for betting violations. So many players are suspended that the TFF asks Fifa for an extra 15 days in addition to the winter transfer window so clubs can deal with squad shortages.
13 November: 102 players from the Super Lig and the second-tier 1 Lig receive bans ranging from 45 days to 12 months. Among them are Baltaci (nine months) and Eren Elmali (45 days).
18 November: 282 third tier players are issued with bans.
On 20 November, Istanbul’s chief prosecutor Akin Gurlek signalled that further arrests could follow, saying many suspects had placed bets through relatives or intermediaries.
5 December: A second wave of arrests take place with 46 people taken into custody.
Prosecutors allege Yandas had significant financial transactions with a long-time associate, and that these funds were moved into accounts used to bet on Fenerbahce matches.
They claim Yandas engaged in behaviour “intended to influence match results”.
Yandas denies betting on his own matches. He says he loaned money to a man who had previously helped him financially, and was unaware the money would be used for betting.
He denies any involvement in match-fixing.
Prosecutors accuse Baltaci of betting on 27 of his his own team’s matches through a legal site and accessing illegal betting platforms, as well as being “individually engaged in betting activities aimed at influencing match results”.
Haciosmanoglu says the TFF has shared its betting investigation report – based on state intelligence – with Fifa and Uefa. Neither organisation has publicly commented.
Three Turkish clubs are currently competing in Europe: Galatasaray in the Champions League, Fenerbahce in the Europa League and Samsunspor in the Conference League.
Galatasaray’s Elmali – suspended for 45 days – was removed from the national squad and has missed Champions League matches. Baltaci was not part of Galatasaray’s European squad this season. Samsunspor’s Celil Yuksel also received a 45-day suspension.
Sports lawyer Anil Dincer told BBC Sport the scandal has “seriously damaged the image of Turkish football”, but said a transparent process could have a positive long-term effect.
“If managed properly, Turkey could send a strong message to the world: that Turkish football has been cleaned up,” he said.
He warned that mismanagement or a lack of transparency could lead to Uefa or Fifa sanctions including possible bans on Turkish clubs in European competitions.
Some of Turkey’s top clubs have commented.
Besiktas said the initial investigation into referees “could mark a new beginning for clean football”, while Trabzonspor called the development “a historic opportunity to rebuild justice in Turkish football”.
PWR – Harlequins v Sale Sharks
Venue: Twickenham Stoop, London Date: Saturday 13 December Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Ireland back row Aoife Wafer is set to make her Harlequins debut against Sale Sharks in the PWR on Saturday, having not played since the World Cup in September.
Wafer played on despite breaking her collarbone and rupturing her medial collateral ligament in the quarter-final defeat by France.
She told BBC Sport she is “buzzing for it” and that her body feels “strong, powerful, fast”.
Quins are fifth in the table and it is expected that Wafer will be named on the bench at Twickenham Stoop.
“Fingers crossed, I get out. I’m just itching to give back to the team.”
Wafer, 22, made the decision to leave Ireland to play in the PWR towards the end of last season.
“I’m loving it,” she said. “I’m going to uni in St Mary’s in Twickenham and it’s a different lifestyle to Ireland.
“The first week was definitely tough – leaving family, rehab wasn’t going quite to plan, and you’re coming over here, taking a big pay cut, losing my Irish contract.
“But the girls were just incredibly welcoming, and it has just felt like family from day one.”
Wafer, who says the PWR is “only good for the women’s game”, is surrounded by top players at Quins, including England’s former world player of the year Ellie Kildunne.
“We’ve also got Lucy Packer, who’s also a world champion,” said Wafer.
“And you’ve players there that are brilliant for their countries, like Bimba (Laura Delgado), a stalwart for Spanish rugby.
“And Alex Callender, who’s the Welsh captain. She’s a phenomenal player. They’re just my housemates.”
Quins’ ‘Big Game’ is played at Allianz Stadium every Christmas, with the men’s and women’s sides playing Bristol on 20 December.
“You hear about the walk across to the stadium from The Stoop and how fans really get out and support us,” Wafer said.