Serbia’s government has decided to ban arms export for 30 days just days after the United States imposed sanctions on the Balkan country’s intelligence chief over alleged involvement in criminal activities including illegal arms shipment

Manchester City defeated Manchester United to win the FA Cup and take another step closer to completing the treble at Wembley. Ilkay Gundogan scored the fastest-ever FA Cup final goal after just 13 seconds but Bruno Fernandes equalised from the penalty spot in a thrilling first half. But Gundogan struck for the second time to restore City’s lead after the restart and although substitute Alejandro Garnacho went close, Pep Guardiola’s side held on. City can complete the treble and match Manchester United if they defeat Inter in the Champions League final next week. Manchester City Stefan Ortega, 7 Pep Guardiola made the big call to start him in the FA Cup final and the goalkeeper didn’t do anything to let his manager down. Made a big save in stoppage time to tip over the crossbar. Kyle Walker, 6 The full-back’s recovery pace was needed at times but he wasn’t really troubled until Garnacho’s introduction. Ruben Dias, 7 A picture of authority in the centre of defence. The Portuguese is back to his best and he looked like he coasted through the final. Manuel Akanji, 7 Another key City performer who makes everything look so simple. Wins his individual duels and creates the platform for players like Gundgoan to be match-winners higher up the pitch. John Stones, 9 Outstanding in the second half as his growing influence helped City take back control. May have been man of the match if it wasn’t for Gundogan’s double. Rodri, 8 Hardly put a foot wrong defensively - or with the ball. Such a reliable performer week after week. Bernardo Silva, 6 A quieter afternoon for the Portuguese - didn’t have his usual big-game impact on the right. Kevin De Bruyne, 7 Mesmeric in the second half and showed his class to take the game away from United. Taken off after 75 minutes with the Champions League final in mind. Ilkay Gundogan, 9 City’s man for the big occasion. His record-breaking opener after 13 seconds was a dream strike, the second wasn’t struck as purely but the German’s sense of timing is extraordinary. Player of the match. Jack Grealish, 6 Didn’t look sharp enough in the first half. Unfortunate with the penalty, but his place in the team ahead of the Champions League final could be uncertain now. Erling Haaland, 7 The striker had some good moments against Raphael Varane but the match was won elsewhere. His work rate remained high. Manchester United David de Gea, 5 Gundogan’s second looked soft and although De Gea may argue he couldn’t see it through a pack of bodies, what’s clear is United need an upgrade in goal. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 5 The right back won his individual battle with Grelaish but was unable to offer much else. Victor Lindelof, 4 Beaten by Haaland in the move for Gundogan’s opener inside 15 seconds and replaced in the closing stages as Ten Hag rolled the dice. Raphael Varane, 5 Looked to get tight with Haaland and be physical but the City striker was still able to roll him on a couple of occasions. Luke Shaw, 5 Managed to keep Bernardo Silva quiet but was pinned back by City’s relentless pressing. Casemiro, 4 Unable to influence the game from midfield apart from putting in a couple of robust challenges - needed more help from elsewhere. Fred, 4 Struggled to match De Bruyne in the second half and gave away the free kick that led to Gundogan’s second with a foul on the Belgian. Bruno Fernandes, 5 Tucked away a first-half penalty to equalise for United but his team needed more from their influential captain. Christian Eriksen, 3 Looked off the pace and struggled to match City’s intensity in midfield. Taken off on the hour. Jadon Sancho, 3 The winger didn’t turn up and was fortunate he wasn’t removed too with half an hour to play. Sancho didn’t take the warning and was hooked just 17 minutes later. Marcus Rashford, 5 Starved of service for large spells and didn’t look fully fit. Centre forward just doesn’t suit his abilities but wasn’t too far away with a touch and hit from outside of the area. Subs Alejandro Garnacho, 7: Took responsibility and went close with a bending effort. Should have started. Wout Weghorst, 4: Didn’t make an impact and was frustratingly caught offside when the ball was played long to him. Read More Man City vs Manchester United LIVE: FA Cup final latest goal updates as Ilkay Gundogan scores second Victor Lindelof struck by object thrown from crowd in FA Cup final Gundogan breaks record for fastest-ever goal in an FA Cup final Even in defeat, Garnacho shows he’s the future of Manchester United

As the squads have been adjusting to Australia and New Zealand over the last few weeks, many coaches and staff members have been doing what the rest of the public does, bouncing around news stories about the different teams to see how they are doing. It is the point at which an international tournament takes on that enticingly self-contained quality. All eyes still go to the USA, especially with this being Megan Rapinoe’s last World Cup, and the squad looking to see her off with a historic third successive victory. As the defending champions themselves look around the field, though, they aren’t seeing what they used to. There is the usual confidence, of course, but also some caution. The gap between them and the rest of the teams isn’t as big. Rapinoe’s retirement may well close out a wider era, since the dominant factor in women’s football over the last decade has been how the USA have enjoyed much longer-term development than the rest of the game. That has been seen as especially influential as regards physical conditioning, but the general feeling is that the European game and Australia have caught up. England would certainly have no fears there, especially given how they beat the USA in that signpost match back in October. This could well be a threshold tournament. In many ways, of course, that’s the way to describe almost every women’s tournament at this stage of the game’s development. It is evolving at such a pace that every competition brings something new. Australia and New Zealand will still have had so much more than most when viewed from the perspective of history. It is fittingly the biggest ever, matching the men’s with 32 teams and spanning across two countries for the first time, just at a point when football cultures like England’s enjoy a boom of interest and Spain’s sees some of the best-attended fixtures on the planet. There’s then the joyous buzz around both New Zealand and Australia, the latter host nation looking to carry that emotional momentum all the way to the trophy itself. If ever there was a time for the tournament to expand, it’s now. That has still brought the counter-argument that it has expanded too quickly and it will merely create a group stage that is essentially a pre-tournament characterised by mismatches. There’s a real sense – not least among the eight to 12 teams genuinely believing they can go all the way - that the “real World Cup” won’t start until the last-16 in August. That is likely to be one cost of expansion, but the real question is whether it is outweighed by the value. That could be an emphatic yes, especially when you consider the value that can’t be measured. That is the excitement that is going to be felt in the competing countries, especially the eight debutants reaching this stage for the first time, or those unused to such a level. Put simply, new heroes and influences will be born. New memories will be created. That may seem trite, but you only have to look at last summer in England for the truth of it. There's nothing like the buzz that participation brings. Ireland are almost the perfect example in this sense. They form one of a burgeoning middle class of sides, between the favourites and the minnows, who are mostly hoping to develop in this campaign. There are so many banners put up around the country and the team have regularly been on television. Imagine this replayed a few times over, particularly in the Philippines and Morocco. Many traditional men’s football cultures feel the same. Argentina are desperate for a first win. Italy, Portugal and Denmark are seeking the next step up. This has played into the tournament’s second game perhaps being the biggest event of the opening stage. Australia-Ireland will hopefully set a tone in terms of atmosphere. Aside from launching what the hosts hope will be a victorious campaign, it has had immense interest from the huge Irish diaspora in the region. That has already seen it moved from Sydney Football Stadium to the 83,500-capacity Stadium Australia. It is a match to savour, for all sorts of reasons. It is also one that inadvertently points to some of the other challenges posed by this World Cup’s specific stage. As glorious as Australia and New Zealand are as hosts, there is the slight pity that it is this tournament that arrives just as Europe becomes so invested in the women’s game and so many of the continent's sides see themselves as winners. Their games will be far from prime time. That did play into the unfortunate delay on broadcasting rights in Europe, even if there was the sense that some broadcasters sought to cynically use this excuse to low-ball Fifa. Late-morning and afternoon kick-offs are still great for the many children that form the Women’s World Cup audience, given its more diverse demographics. It’s not just time that’s an issue, though. There’s the distance, which has meant Ireland are one of the few nations taking up anything close to their full allocations. Some sources within fan groups have been critical of the sales campaigns from both Fifa and federations, arguing they didn’t undertake anything like the same processes as with the men’s World Cup. “Some just didn’t bother selling tickets,” one connected figure says. “Others only gave fans a few days. There should be additional impetus for a women’s tournament, but it was the opposite. A collective failure.” The distance has played a part in another concern. It is hugely expensive for federations to travel. This has actually been mentioned in fractious negotiations between the Football Association and the England squad, as the players seek bonus payments that match similar elite nations in USA and Australia. Remarkably for a side that could win the whole competition, the issue has not been resolved as the World Cup starts, with Sarina Wiegman’s team merely willing to postpone discussions. The players have made the point that it just shows much still has to be fought for in the women’s game. South Africa and Nigeria have faced more extreme disputes. This is still one area where, for all justified criticism in so many other areas, Fifa do deserve the credit. The landmark stipulation that 60 per cent of prize money is guaranteed for each individual player is both game-changing and, in many cases, life-changing. It is again fitting for a tournament that feels new and is itself enriched by thrilling sporting vitality. There has never been a women’s World Cup as open as this. If the group stage may be characterised by mismatches, the knockouts are likely to be the complete opposite and feature an exhilarating concentration of quality and truly unpredictable games. USA remain the favourites but injury issues that have been an unfortunate addition to the general build-up – with so many ACL problems – have ensured they aren’t what they were. A powerful Germany now run them very close, leading a fine group of sides where the gaps between them are shorter and shorter. England of course defeated that German side in the Euro 2022 final, before going on to beat the world champions and have the assurance from that, even amid injury problems of their own. Spain are perhaps the most technically luscious team in the World Cup, France the most outrageously talented. Australia have many of those qualities and more, as Sweden and the Netherlands themselves seek to make strides forward. All of this is further fired by the kind of captivating storylines that really create great tournaments, as well as the moments that create memories. Rapinoe is one of a few greats bowing out, as Marta bestows her experience on an exciting young Brazilian generation, and Canada seek to suitably close the career of the great Christine Sinclair. Alexis Putellas, meanwhile, returns for Spain, determined to take command and take the chance of the kind of tournament she should have had at Euro 2022 before being denied by injury. That is framed by all the controversy around her squad and the refusal of some players to appear under coach Jorge Vilda. He may be looking to enjoy a redemption, as another male coach – the charismatic Herve Renard – becomes the first manager in history to participate in two World Cups in the space of a year. The Frenchman can take his home nation much further than he did a redoubtable Saudi Arabia in Qatar. The stage is really being set for the real stars, though. They are Putellas, Rapinoe, Sinclair, Netherlands’ Jill Roord, France’s Wendie Renard, Germany’s Alexandra Popp, Sweden’s Stina Blackstenius, USA’s Sophia Smith, Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala and – maybe above everyone – home star Sam Kerr, all leading a supreme cast. Some will score goals that enter the archives. Some players will dazzle from out of nowhere. Others will suffer mishaps and misfortune. A precious few will enjoy those defining individual campaigns that decide their teams’ legacies and, ultimately, the tournament itself. This is what makes a World Cup. This one has factors like no other before. History will be made in numerous ways. For that grand conclusion, England are one of a few countries realistically dreaming of their first World Cup win. USA are going for an unprecedented third in a row. Most eyes remain on the champions. More eyes than ever are on the Women’s World Cup itself. Read More Women’s World Cup 2023: Group guides and players to watch for every team England’s Lionesses park controversial bonus row on eve of Women’s World Cup England’s World Cup hinges on a defining question Can France handle injuries after overcoming Women’s World Cup crisis? Can Spain regroup from mutiny to challenge for the Women’s World Cup? Are the United States still the team to beat at the Women’s World Cup?

President Joe Biden plans to announce new steps to address the extreme heat that has threatened millions of Americans, most recently in the Southwest

Facebook owner Meta's new Threads app, meant to rival Twitter, will not be available in the European Union when it launches Thursday because of regulatory concerns, a...

By Lisa Richwine and Dawn Chmielewski LOS ANGELES Before Hollywood writers walked off the job in early May,

Manchester United and England great Wayne Rooney has been appointed manager of Birmingham City

Fred S

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Kanishka Singh KENTFIELD, California/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday called Chinese President Xi Jinping

MOSCOW Russia is considering imposing an additional tax tied to the rouble-dollar rate on exports of metals, fertilisers

A hacking group responsible for a series of outages at Microsoft Corp. earlier this month had spent the

By Orathai Sriring and Kitiphong Thaichareon BANGKOK Thailand's annual headline inflation was weaker than expected in July, helped