Worldwide temperatures briefly exceeded a key warming threshold earlier this month, drawing notice in the scientific community and prompting public chatter that climate change might be accelerating

The Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics 123-116 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals Wednesday night and they got big contributions from Kyle Lowry and Bam

A World Cup that started with questions over the future of 50-over one-day internationals ended with doubts still being expressed about their worth outside the...

When Edin Dzeko’s number was up and Romelu Lukaku took the field, the stage was set for the perfect conclusion to Chelsea’s car crash of a season. If Lukaku, the man a team who developed a chronic aversion to scoring, delivered the winning goal in the Champions League, it would be irrefutable proof of Todd Boehly’s anti-Midas touch. Yet there were colliding forces at play and Manchester City duly benefitted. Lukaku’s previous European final for Inter brought an own goal in defeat to Sevilla in the 2020 Europa League. His 2022-23 may forever be defined by his traumatic second half against Croatia, by the four glaring misses that brought Belgium’s golden generation to an end and eliminated his side from the World Cup. But there was a largely luckless sequel. Inadvertently, he blocked Federico Dimarco’s second header after the wing-back struck the bar. When presented with a glorious opportunity, five yards out, he headed against Ederson’s left knee. A player with 351 career goals risks being defined by the ones he didn’t score. But, in fairness to Lukaku, if one man won City their maiden Champions League, it was not him, but Ederson. The Brazilian’s passing can feel more notable than his shot-stopping and he rarely features near the top of the charts for save percentage but he produced three superb stops: first Lautaro Martinez was denied then Lukaku and finally, deep into injury-time, Robin Gosens. There were echoes of a compatriot, Alisson, and the 2019 final: scarcely required in the first three-quarters of the game, he was outstanding at the end. “You have to be lucky. Ederson or they miss it, they could draw,” Pep Guardiola reflected. “This competition is a coin.” Champions League finals can often leave the losers lamenting what might have been. In Inter’s case, there are added reasons to wonder, perhaps for years in the wilderness. “There are no words that can handle the pain but they are the second best team in Europe and that is incredible,” said Guardiola, citing City’s defeat to Chelsea in 2021 to empathise. Yet City may have had that status then; Inter were Champions League runners-up this season but third in Serie A. By some criteria – talent, budget, expectation – they might not be in the continent’s top 10 teams. So this had the feel of a one-off and an emphatic victory in the xG battle showed the quality of their openings, even if pragmatists may care little about such statistics. But if there is never a guarantee teams will return to such occasions, others have been likelier to than this Inter. In 11 previous seasons, they had not even reached the quarter-finals of this competition. An unfancied team overachieved, aided by a favourable draw. Their financial problems mean they will have to continue to beg, borrow and bargain for signings. They may face battles to retain Martinez and Nicolo Barella, two of their most valuable assets. Their starting 111 cost £113 million, less than City paid for Jack Grealish and Manuel Akanji alone. Age counts against them: the 35-year-old Francesco Acerbi and the 37-year-old Dzeko offered improbable tales of unexpected progress at points when some of their peers have retired. In all probability, neither will win the Champions League. The old were joined by the old-fashioned. There were points where Inter appeared to be trying to play the 2003 Champions League final in 2023; their seeming passiveness baffled City, their static approach confusing them. Among elderly strikers, manager Simone Inzaghi seemed to cover more ground than Dzeko, the antidote to gegenpressing, standing still rather than hassling City’s defenders. Even when it was walking pace, Dzeko walked less than anyone else. And yet, with their inactivity, Inter exerted a strange kind of control and when Rodri scored, they suddenly started to create: largely from set-pieces and crosses but in a way that showed the merits of Inzaghi’s seemingly antiquated 3-5-2 formation, of having wing-backs who could get forward and twin strikers in the box. Lukaku’s misses notwithstanding, perhaps he should have started. Otherwise, Inter may have been the best version of themselves: organised, tactically astute, confident in their own gameplan. It was an advertisement for Italian strategy, for ignoring the fashions elsewhere in football; Inter looked a team who had plotted a path through the knockout stages with expert nous. Relatively few City players performed anywhere near their best – perhaps only Ederson, John Stones and Nathan Ake, though Kevin de Bruyne created two chances with incisive passes before his early departure – while the majority of those to excel were Nerazzurri. Alessandro Bastoni, Marcelo Brozovic, Dimarco and Barella were all terrific. Andre Onana made a fine first-half save from Erling Haaland. It took a telling deflection to unlock them: not from Rodri’s shot but Bernardo Silva’s cross, which struck Acerbi and fell obligingly for Rodri. For Inter, it might be the hard-luck tale without another chapter. For Inzaghi, reaching the Champions League final on a lesser budget may be a greater feat than Antonio Conte’s unaffordable Scudetto. He has had to be resourceful. He almost reaped the ultimate reward. “I wouldn’t trade these players for anyone and today the whole world saw why,” Inzaghi said. “We conceded little against a very strong team. We have many regrets, but we must be proud.” But pride and regrets could go hand in hand. Inter could have pulled off the greatest shock in a Champions League final since 2005, since it was last in Istanbul. And instead, Lukaku has more harrowing moments to relive. Read More Watch live: Manchester City leave Istanbul after Champions League win Pep Guardiola ended 12 years of hurt thanks to masterful midfield reinvention Manchester City treble-winners can be judged among the greats – Pep Guardiola

Goldman Sachs reported a sharp drop in profit on Wednesday as dealmaking and trading, a core part of the mega bank's business, dry up. The Wall Street titan also felt the pain of a nearly $1 billion reduction in the value of its consumer and real estate businesses.

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Singing, songwriting legend George Michael passed away on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of 53, and the world continues to mourn his death. His legacy in the band Wham, along with his childhood friend Andrew Ridgeley has been immortalised in a new Netflix documentary about the 80s pop sensations. The film charts their humble beginnings as struggling musicians before making their breakthrough on Top of the Pops and writing landmark songs such as 'Last Christmas' and 'Wake Me Up Before You Go Go' before their eventual break-up in 1986. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Michael, whose real name was Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, died from a heart attack on December 25th 2016. In the wake of his untimely death many British charities, celebrities and individuals have revealed the secret donations, said to be in the total of millions, he made to various organisations and people in need, often anonymously. Here are 13 of his most giving moments: 1. George Michael gave a woman on Deal or No Deal £15k for IVF treatment. 2. George Michael once gave a stranger £25k to pay for her debts, after he overheard her crying in a café. 3. George Michael worked in a homeless shelter, anonymously, for years. 4. George Michael set up a Trust giving grants to support rights of disabled children and adults. 5. George Michael sent free tickets to hospital workers after they treated him for pneumonia 6. George Michael played a free Christmas concert for NHS nurses in memory of the support his mother got when she was suffering from cancer. 7. George Michael let David Baddiel use Faith for “almost nothing” in The Infidel. 8. George Michael donated all the royalties from Wham! Last Christmas/Everything She Wants to Ethiopian famine relief 9. George Michael purchased John Lennon’s 'Imagine' piano in 2000, for £1.67m so people could see it, and then handed it over to the Beatles Story museum. 10. George Michael gave the proceeds from Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me to children and Aids charities. 11. George Michael once tipped a barmaid £5k because she was a student nurse in debt. 12. George Michael gave Sports Relief £50,000 after comedian David Walliams swam the channel. 13. George Michael supported 28 charities, including a number of children's charities, including Barnardo’s and War Child. 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.

A Russian general in charge of forces fighting in southern Ukraine has been relieved of his duties after speaking out about the problems faced by his troops

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Manchester United midfielder Fred has completed his transfer to Fenerbahce. United announced a deal had been agreed between the two clubs on Friday and the Brazil international travelled to Turkey on Saturday for a medical and to discuss terms. Both happened without an issue, so Fred heads to Istanbul in a move worth an initial 10million euros (£8.6m) rising to a possible 15m euros (£12.9m). The 30-year-old, who moved to Old Trafford from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018 and had made 213 appearances for the club, had already said his goodbyes on social media. He said on Saturday: “Thanks for everything, Manchester United Football Club. “Today ends one of the most beautiful stages of my career. I lived the dream of wearing the shirt of one of the biggest clubs in the world. “Going through ups and downs, I leave with the conviction that I always gave my best during all training sessions and games. “It was five years of a true dream for me and my family. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity. Forever a Red!” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live