By Vidya Ranganathan SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Currency markets were lulled by holidays in Japan and the United States on Thursday, with

Officials say Russia has resumed its targeting of grain infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, using drones in overnight strikes on storage facilities and ports along the Danube River

Google will soon require that political ads using artificial intelligence be accompanied by a prominent disclosure if imagery or sounds have being synthetically altered

California regulators are poised to decide whether two rival robotaxi services can provide around-the-clock rides throughout San Francisco

It’s 22 years and counting since Coventry City last graced the Premier League, over two decades of ups and downs, necessary ups as a result of downs, a whole chapter and more of club history written outside of the game’s elite. Once, the Sky Blues were synonymous with top-flight football, iconic Nineties names – if not always quite among the elite – throughout the team. They lined up for the first Premier League campaign, in 1992/93, and stayed a part of that fledgling top flight for the first nine years, finishing in the bottom half each term but always there, always a tough opponent, always carrying players with a backstory, a big future, or both. But an entire generation of football fans have never seen Coventry among the top clubs. A sea change has happened at England’s highest level since they were on the scene; they departed in 2001, two years before Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea and could now return one year after he sold it. While billions were moved around in the transfer market and in broadcast deals in Coventry’s absence, they embarked on an altogether more painful journey; should they complete the comeback on 27 May and win the EFL Championship play-off final they will become the first team to go from the Premier League all the way down to the fourth tier... and come all the way back up again. Before they can dream of all that, though, they must overcome Middlesbrough in the second leg of a two-legged semi final. The first leg, on home soil, was a goalless draw. A generation back, that would have been Highfield Road. For those who haven’t followed the fortunes and failings of Coventry’s ownership since then, that memorable old ground – where they played for over a century – was demolished in 2005. They moved to the Ricoh Arena, but less than 10 years later there were leasing issues and disagreements, resulting in the team spending a season at Sixfields in Northampton, 33 miles away. A return to within the city limits lasted only another few years, with the 2019/20 and 20/21 campaigns spent playing home games at Birmingham City’s St Andrew’s stadium – this time 23 miles away, and in the opposite direction to Sixfields. Two seasons back at the renamed Ricoh (now the Coventry Building Society Arena) have followed, with a 10-year deal to play there seemingly securing the club’s future at the ground – but the stadium owners have since been bought out and Coventry now only have an agreement to stay at the stadium until the end of this campaign. Investment group Sisu Capital bought the Sky Blues in 2007 to stop them going out of business, but under Ray Ranson’s chairmanship the club floundered on and off the pitch. Liquidation and relegation to League Two painted a bleak picture; the EFL Trophy in 2017 and promotion back to League One in 2018 offered a glimpse of hope. Doug King, a local businessman, finally completed a full takeover just a few months ago and immediately insisted on a future of “transparency and clarity”, noting there was no debt on the club and no interest would be payable on loans provided to it. However, he was unable to secure the purchase of the stadium, leaving work to do there for next season. Yet even that question mark only becomes cause for excitement if Coventry can pull off the most improbable of finishes to this campaign. When King took sole ownership on 27 January – just four months to the day before the play-off final – Coventry sat 15th in the Championship. They had won nine games all season, and lost 10. They had a negative goal difference. Their first game of the new era took place the next day and they won – and they have done so, again and again, in nine of their last 19, losing only twice. Mark Robins has managed a minor miracle in that most mad-cap of leagues, while it’s worth noting that the final day of the regular season saw them play away at the team they now face twice more in the play-offs. A 1-1 draw at Boro didn’t give much away for either side, while Coventry won the early-season meeting on home soil. Robins, of course, is the former striker who – as myth, legend or partial truth tells it – saved Sir Alex Ferguson’s career at Manchester United in those pre-trophy early seasons, scoring a goal in a must-win FA Cup clash which might otherwise have seen the Scot sacked. Robins went on to play for Norwich and Leicester, before a nomadic final decade or so in the game. This spell with Coventry, his second with the club, is his sixth coaching job. He is just three games away from giving the fans their best occasion in decades. And they have had plenty of those memorable occasions before. This is the club of Dion Dublin, Noel Whelan, Darren Huckerby, Robbie Keane. And before that, of Steve Ogrizovic, Roland Nilsson, Roy Wegerle, Gary McAllister and Peter Ndlovu. They were genuinely exciting, talented, committed players who could certainly have played for the biggest sides – some indeed went on to do so – had that era been like this one, where top clubs swoop continuously on any of those below them who fare well. Now it is instead to Viktor Gyokeres, Gustavo Hamer and Callum Doyle the fans will look, in hope and in anguish, that a long and difficult road might be just weeks from the final corner. What lays around it is almost entirely unknown, yet it could also in many ways mark the most incredible full-circle journey the Premier League era has seen. Read More Michael Carrick on the brink of managerial success with Middlesbrough, unlike old England teammates Coventry’s Mark Robins feels pressure is on Middlesbrough in play-off second leg How to watch Championship play-offs Coventry and Middlesbrough fail to land early blow in Championship play-off semi-final Coventry and Middlesbrough fail to land blow in Championship play-off semi-final Kitman Chris Marsh overcomes illness to help support Coventry’s promotion push How to watch Championship play-offs

California-based Farmers Insurance said Monday it is laying off 11% of its workforce — or 2,400 employees — in a bid to restructure itself for long-term growth.

Ukraine's military intelligence said Friday that a recent drone attack on an airport in northwestern Russia which damaged several transport planes was carried out...

Police detained the driver of a box truck on Monday night after the vehicle crashed into security barriers

James Maddison opened his account for Tottenham before Dejan Kulusevski ended his goal drought to help the feelgood factor around Ange Postecoglou’s new-look team continue with a 2-0 win at Bournemouth. Maddison had starred in last weekend’s fine victory over Manchester United, but was spotted on crutches and in a protective boot later that same night. A sore ankle failed to stop Spurs’ new number 10 featuring on the south coast and he applied the finishing touch to an excellent team move after 17 minutes while continuing to pull the strings throughout this Premier League encounter. Bournemouth did improve after the opener but Kulusevski was able to clip into the bottom corner in the 63rd minute for his first goal since January to ensure Postecoglou’s side extended their unbeaten run to three matches. Maddison had been a pre-match doubt after he only returned to training on Friday, but he started at Vitality Stadium . After morning sunshine in Bournemouth, the heavens opened by the time referee Tim Robinson blew his whistle and it was a bruising start for Spurs. Destiny Udogie, Maddison and Cristian Romero all received early blows in the pouring rain, but it failed to knock the visitors off their stride and the opener arrived in the 17th minute. Pedro Porro and Yves Bissouma exchanged passes before the latter found Pape Sarr, who spotted Maddison’s late run and the England international was able to scuff his shot into the bottom corner from eight yards. While Maddison’s finish was scruffy, it still represented his first goal for Tottenham since a £40million switch from Leicester. Maddison had been denied by Neto two minutes earlier after a similar move but was running the show despite proving unpopular with the home fans. Sarr was next to go close but his deflected shot was saved after Maddison and Son combined and Spurs’ new captain Son sent a volley wide after 26 minutes. It was Maddison again at the heart of Tottenham’s next chance when Romero produced a fine tackle on Antoine Semenyo and the visitors’ number 10 led the counter-attacker before playing through Richarlison, but he was crowded out and the chance went begging. Richarlison headed Maddison’s corner into the side-netting minutes later, but Bournemouth – also at the start of a new era under Spaniard Andoni Iraola – did finish the first half strongly. Ryan Christie tested Guglielmo Vicario with a low effort and Philip Billing curled wide from 18-yards. The Cherries continued their momentum into the second half with Dominic Solanke firing a dangerous ball across the face of goal and Semenyo curling wide. Postecoglou had seen enough and Richarlison’s frustrating afternoon ended not long after he received a yellow card for a late tackle on Illia Zabarnyi with Ivan Perisic and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg introduced by the hour mark. Son was now down the middle and the tactical tweak worked a treat with a one-two with Udogie resulting in Kulusevski making it 2-0. Udogie got to the byline and brilliantly cut back for Kulusevski, who flicked into the corner. Kulusevski let out a roar in celebration after his 63rd-minute effort and it was timely for Tottenham. Maddison could have put the game to bed seven minutes later but dragged wide before Perisic survived a VAR call for shoving Max Aarons. A raft of substitutions was followed by another downpour alongside thunder and lightening, but it failed to dampen Spurs spirits with Postecoglou’s side able to continue their promising start with a second consecutive win. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Liverpool lucky with availability of centre-backs this season – Jurgen Klopp Robert Helenius failed drug test before fighting Anthony Joshua, Vada says Eddie Howe admits last season’s battles with Liverpool remain vivid memories

By Miguel Lo Bianco and Claudia Martini BUENOS AIRES Argentines, up against painful annual inflation at 113% and

Iowa's state House passed a bill Tuesday night that would ban most abortions in the state as early as six weeks into pregnancy, acting quickly in the special session ordered by GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds with the sole purpose of restricting the procedure in the state.

A young girl who was bullied for being autistic may have a higher IQ than Stephen Hawking or Albert Einstein. Adhara Maite Pérez Sánchez, an 11-year-old from Tláhuac, Mexico, is being described as a prodigy by many after recently graduating with a degree in Systems Engineering. She is now going on to study industrial engineering. The extraordinary girl has a passion for astronomy and space, expressing the dream to become the first Mexican woman to travel to space as an astronaut and has given talks about her interest and knowledge of aerospace. She intends to become an astronaut at NASA, and is currently taking courses in astronomy and gravitational waves at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), which is widely regarded as a top research university. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Adhara has also had her achievements recognised in 2021 by the Senate of the Republic, as well as being declared one of Mexico’s 100 most influential women, and appearing on the cover Marie Claire Mexico. However, life hasn’t always been easy for Adhara, who struggled with being bullied by her classmates. Often labelled as a ‘weirdo’ for her autism. Adhara was diagnosed with Asperger’s at 3 years old, but has succeeded greatly with it. Recently she has begun developing a bracelet designed to monitor the emotions of children such as herself in order to improve their communication skills. But she hasn’t let the negativity bring her down. Determined to succeed and achieve her goals in spite of what others say about her. Her inspirations include late physicist, Stephen Hawking, and Carmen Félix, a Mexican engineer currently developing a plan to launch a manned mission to Mars. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.