Real Madrid’s French superstar Kylian Mbappe did not come out to train with his team-mates on Tuesday on the eve of his team’s key Champions League clash against Manchester City.
The forward broke a finger during the defeat by Celta Vigo in La Liga on Sunday, and when asked by AFP, Madrid said his absence from training was because of that injury but also other discomfort he suffered in that match.
If Mbappe is unable to play against City on Wednesday, it would be a big blow for coach Xabi Alonso, with Spanish media reporting that a defeat would lead to his dismissal.
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The 26-year-old striker has scored 25 goals in 21 matches across all competitions this season and has been Madrid’s key player.
BBC Sport asks fans and experts in Bilbao to explain why Athletic Club winger Nico Williams is attracting the attention of Europe’s biggest clubs in his debut Champions League season.
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The International Criminal Court has sentenced a former leader of the Janjaweed militia to 20 years in prison for committing atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region.
Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, 76, also known as Ali Kushayb, was sentenced on Tuesday following his conviction in October for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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This is the first time the ICC has convicted a suspect of crimes in Darfur, a region that is once again seeing mass atrocities amid a vicious civil war, between the government-linked Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which traces its origins back to the Janjaweed militia.
The court had unanimously convicted Kushayb on 31 counts, including attacks against civilians, murder, torture, rape, pillaging, destruction of property, persecution, and forcible transfer of population between 2003 and 2004.
‘Extermination, humiliation and displacement’
Abd-Al-Rahman was a leading member of Sudan’s infamous Janjaweed militia who participated “actively” in multiple war crimes during the civil war, the court found.
Judge Joanna Korner who passed the sentence said he had “personally perpetrated” beatings, including with an axe, and given orders for executions.
She cited victims who said he had carried out a “campaign of extermination, humiliation and displacement”.
Abd-Al-Rahman had consistently denied during his trial being a high-ranking official in the Janjaweed militia, a largely Arab paramilitary force armed by the Sudanese government to kill mainly Black African tribes in Darfur.
He insisted from the opening of his trial in April 2022 that he is “not Ali Kushayb” and that the court had the wrong man – an argument rejected by the judges.
Prosecutors had called for a life sentence, noting that among his crimes, Abd-Al-Rahman killed two people with an axe.
“You literally have an axe murderer before you. This is the stuff of nightmares,” prosecutor Julian Nicholls said at a pre-sentencing hearing.
Defence lawyers had asked for a seven-year jail term.
The court noted that the time Abd al-Rahman has spent in detention – from the date of his surrender on June 9, 2020, until the date of the judgment – will be deducted from his sentence.
Horror has returned to Darfur, with the latest conflict displacing millions of people and creating a deep humanitarian crisis (File: Reuters)
‘Desperate’
Fighting broke out in the Darfur region in the 2000s, when non-Arab tribes, complaining of systematic discrimination, took up arms against the Arab-dominated government.
Khartoum responded by unleashing the Janjaweed, a force now known as the Popular Defence Forces and drawn from among the region’s nomadic tribes.
The United Nations says 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million more were displaced in the conflict.
Abd-Al-Rahman had fled to the Central African Republic in February 2020, when a new Sudanese government announced its intention to cooperate with the ICC’s investigation.
He said he then handed himself in because he was “desperate” and feared authorities would kill him.
The Darfur region has suffered further since a civil war between the military-run government and RSF erupted in April 2023.
Both sides are accused of committing atrocities – although mainly the RSF – and millions have been displaced and are at risk of famine, creating an urgent humanitarian crisis.
Made In Chelsea star, Sophie Habboo, gave birth to her first child with husband, Jamie Laing, last week and has shared a photo from the hospital, which has left fans in shock
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Sophie Habboo has been praised by fans after she and Jamie Laing shared new pics(Image: Instagram)
New mum Sophie Habboo left fans stunned after sharing a photo of herself in labour before giving birth to her first child. The Made In Chelsea star, 31, welcomed son Ziggy into the world with husband, Jamie Laing, 36, last week and told her followers that the tot had “captured our whole hearts”.
Many mums-to-be would prefer to have their photo taken after their baby is born. However, Sophie has posted candid snaps of herself in labour in which she smiles serenely from her hospital bed with two fetal monitoring straps around her belly. With her arms behind her head, the reality star looks positively serene as she prepares to welcome her son into the world.
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Commenting on the stunning snap, Sophie’s followers were full of admiration. While many flooded the comments section with love hearts, one impressed fan gushed: “How do you still look like a supermodel during labour? Beautiful!”
Among the carousel of photos was one of Jamie in the delivery suite – sporting an eye mask and black pyjamas – as he prepared to become a dad for the first time. Sophie also shared a photo of Ziggy’s little hand as the family of the three started their new lives together.
Announcing their son’s birth, Jamie said on Instagram: “Ziggy, you have our whole hearts.” Celebrity pals including Stacey Solomon and Stacey Dooley were quick to offer their congratulations. Rochelle Humes and Rylan Clark also reached out to the new parents with the One Show’s Alex Jones telling them: “Let the adventures begin!”
Sophie and Jamie recorded the last episode of their Nearly Parents podcast two weeks, with Sophie breaking down in tears as they were surprised with a goodbye party as she went on maternity leave. “Now we get the party started,” Jamie declared as the crowd whooped and clapped before dancing away.
Sophie revealed during the final podcast that the couple were looking at methods to get her labour moving, joking: “I told you guys, we’re a the stage where we should be nailing the sex.”
Spluttering, Jamie quipped: “Wait, you’ve never told me this.” Sophie replied: “I did, I said we need to be having sex, we really need to wrap this up. You looked at me and went: ‘Pfft you’re just a bit of a unit.'” The couple then fell into laughter as Sophie joked: “As I’m there, with my t*ts hanging on my stomach.”
The pair met on E4’s reality smash hit, Made In Chelsea, before going on to bag coveted hosting gigs on the Radio One presenting team.
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After dating for several years, Jamie got down on one knee at the swanky Rosewood London hotel in December 2021 – where he and Sophie shared their first ever date – and popped the question.
Former British number one Katie Boulter has missed out on a place in the main draw for the Australian Open.
There are 104 players who have received direct entry into the Melbourne draw, including those with protected rankings, with Boulter currently ranked 106.
The 29-year-old will now have to go through qualifying at Melbourne Park in January for the first Grand Slam of 2026.
Boulter had the opportunity to earn extra ranking points in the WTA 125 challenger event in France last week but opted not to play after sustaining a hip injury in Hong Kong in October.
She told BBC Sport in November that she had to “choose between my body and my ranking” when weighing up whether to play to improve her ranking.
“If there are tournaments there, it gives you an opportunity because you want to make the main draw of Australia,” she said at the time.
“I think I know my own right choice, but it’s difficult because it means that everyone else is going to be playing and passing me.”
Boulter has won just 14 Tour-level main-draw matches this year and recently split with coach Biljana Veselinovic after a three-year partnership in which she won three WTA titles.
For the first time, the men’s Australian Open entry list was drawn up in November – which is the ATP’s official year-end ranking date – with the earlier draw aimed at discouraging players from chasing ranking points in the off season, as Boulter could have.
The women’s entry list was based on the world rankings as of 8 December.
“There has to be somewhere where you draw the line and you give people an opportunity to recuperate and also get a good pre-season in,” Boulter said.
“I feel like this year we’ve seen so many burnouts, and so many people not playing the end of year because of mental health issues as well as body issues, and I do think it contributes to it.”
Real Madrid are “all together in this” from the dressing room to the boardroom as they bid to halt a poor run of form, says under-pressure coach Xabi Alonso.
Former Bayer Leverkusen boss Alonso, who has not ruled out a future move to the Premier League, was appointed by Real in the summer to replace Carlo Ancelotti on a three-year deal.
He is seemingly already clinging to his job after six months.
Real suffered a 2-0 home loss against Celta Vigo on Sunday and are on a run of one victory in five La Liga games, slipping four points behind leaders Barcelona.
They host Premier League side Manchester City in the league phase of the Champions League on Wednesday, when 15-time European champions Real will be aiming to put an end to recent troubles.
“We are all on the same boat,” said Alonso in a pre-match news conference. “We have to go through positive and negative times.
“We need to believe the next game is an opportunity and tomorrow we have a very exciting game for all of us, and we need to keep our eyes open to have that energy so the Bernabeu enjoys what it sees.
Last week, Alonso spoke with club president Florentino Perez as pressure built around his job.
BBC Sport’s Guillem Balague reports that Alonso’s chances of survival are “slim” and defeat against City in Europe could spell the end of his short spell.
Alonso says the board are being supportive.
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Alonso mentions Liverpool ‘bond’
Former midfield playmaker Alonso has not played for or managed an English club since leaving Liverpool for Real in 2009.
The Reds’ current boss Arne Slot is under pressure as the reigning champions have faltered this season, and star player Mohamed Salah gave an explosive interview at the weekend.
The 44-year-old Alonso remains a popular figure at Liverpool and left the door open when asked by BBC Sport if he would consider a return to work in the Premier League one day.
He said: “Of course there is a bond with my former club, but for now this is my place. In the future you never know what might happen.”
