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Jason Collins, NBA's first openly gay player, dies at 47 of brain tumor

Harry Kane scores twice, while Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford also net, as England beat Croatia 4-2 in 2026 opener.Harry Kane scored twice in the first half as England eventually saw off Croatia 4-2 to launch their World Cup assault in Texas.Jude Bellingham, immediately after half-time, and substitute Marcus Rashford with five minutes to go ensured a winning start for Thomas Tuchel’s side after Croatia had fought back to level at 2-2 in Wednesday’s game.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Zidane Iqbal: The footballer who gave Pakistan its first World Cup momentlist 2 of 4World Cup Day 7: Ronaldo chases history as England take on Croatialist 3 of 4Iran war day 110: Tehran says Israeli attacks on Lebanon threaten US deallist 4 of 4Arnautovic scores penalty as Austria beat World Cup debutants Jordan 3-1end of listThe prolific Kane twice put England ahead in the first half – one a retaken penalty – only for Martin Baturina and Petar Musa to hit back for 2018 runners-up Croatia.With both sides shaky at the back, the second half threatened another goal glut, Bellingham needing just two minutes to put England ahead again in front of a crowd of 70,000.England had numerous chances to extend their lead immediately after, but did not take them until Rashford popped up.The meeting was a repeat of the 2018 semi-final, which Croatia won 2-1 after extra-time, although England have since had the edge against one of the older squads at the tournament in North America.Thomas Tuchel’s side, bidding to deliver England a first major trophy since 1966, made a nervy start in front of a packed house at the impressive air-conditioned home of the Dallas Cowboys.Then the drama came. Croatia’s talismanic captain Luka Modric dangled out a leg and caught Noni Madueke in the box.Kane saw his unconvincing penalty saved by Dominik Livakovic, only for French referee Clement Turpin to order a retake after video replays deemed the stopper had come off his line.Turpin once sent off Tuchel in the Champions League and the referee taking charge of the game had been highlighted by English media this week.Bayern Munich predator Kane held his nerve second time around, again going to Livakovic’s left but this time in more ruthless fashion to give England the lead after 12 minutes.Now it was all England, and Real Madrid midfielder Bellingham – preferred to Morgan Rogers in the number 10 role – surged upfield, forcing Livakovic to smother.Jude Bellingham of England, centre, celebrates after scoring his team’s third goal with Harry Kane, left, and Noni Madueke, right, during the Croatia match [Marvin Ibo Guengoer/Getty Images]Loud boos rang out for the drinks break, given the match was under a roof and not the unforgiving Texas sun.On the half-hour England should have gone 2-0 up, Bellingham narrowly failing to make contact with Madueke’s delicious low cross.On 36 minutes Croatia drew level.England squandered the ball in midfield, then Petar Sucic left John Stones on the floor with some neat footwork to set up Baturina.The 23-year-old met the ball first time and whipped it past Jordan Pickford, who got a hand to the ball.Zlatko Dalic’s side were level for just six minutes as a Declan Rice corner found Kane unmarked and the captain nodded home.It took skipper Kane to 10 World Cup goals, the most of any England player along with Gary Lineker.Tuchel, who has made it clear that winning the World Cup is his aim, barely smiled.Putting the seal on a frenetic first half, Musa took advantage of more poor England defending in the fifth minute of injury time to stroke the ball in from close range for 2-2.The second half started just as the first ended — with a goal — as Bellingham galloped down the right unchallenged and rolled the ball into the corner.Kane and Nico O’Reilly twice each, and Bellingham, had good chances for a 4-2 lead as England pummelled the Croatia goal.With 15 minutes left and England retreating, Croatia had several opportunities, before Rashford mad

Al JazeeraJun 17

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probeagency2026

CBI registers case to probe alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, forms special teams

Home News India SC stresses need for fair and impartial probe in matter in Twisha Sharma's death Updated - May 25, 2026 11:25 am IST Rekha Sharma, mother of former model-turned-actor Twisha Sharma, and other family members, during the last rites of Twisha, at Bhadbhada Cremation Ground in Bhopal, on May 24, 2026. | Photo Credit: PTI The Supreme Court today (May 25, 2026) is hearing the suo motu matter concerning alleged institutional bias and procedural discrepancies in Twisha Sharma death case. A three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi is scheduled to hear the matter. Sharma (33) was found dead at her matrimonial home in Bhopal on the night of May 12. The actor-model had married Samarth Singh, a lawyer, on December 25 last year. Her family has levelled allegations of mental harassment and financial demands against Mr. Singh and his mother.The top court’s intervention comes amid mounting allegations by Sharma’s family regarding the manner in which the probe into her death was handled. The family has alleged procedural lapses, institutional bias, and tampering with evidence, while also seeking scrutiny of phone records and other material connected to the case.Follow live updates here:May 25, 2026 11:24 Don't reduce victim's family's pain to sound bites: Supreme Court to mediaDuring the suo motu hearing on the Twisha Sharma death case, the CJI-led Supreme Court bench also made note of the media coverage the case has been receiving. The bench urged media to observe restraint while reporting developments, and asked not to record statements of victim’s family and “reduce their pain to sound bites”- PTIMay 25, 2026 11:20 SC stresses need for fair and impartial probe in matterTerming Twisha Sharma’s death as “unfortunate”, the Supreme Court stressed the need for fair and impartial probe in matter.The CJI-led bench also noted that probe into the case has been recommended to be conducted by CBI. “We are in pain because of some of the actions, let things move as per law and procedure,” the bench said. - PTIMay 25, 2026 11:13 SC hails Madhya Pradesh HC for promptly ordering second autopsy of model-actor Twisha SharmaThe CJI-led bench hailed the Madhya Pradesh High Court for promptly ordering second autopsy of model-actor Twisha Sharma. The second autopsy was conducted a day earlier on the directions of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Sharma’s family had raised doubts over the first post-mortem conducted by doctors of AIIMS Bhopal where the accused mother-in-law Giribala Singh’s sister is a senior doctor, and stuck to their demand of a second impartial examination. - PTIMay 25, 2026 11:06 12 days after death, family bids tearful farewell to Twisha Sharma; second autopsy done The last rites of Twisha Sharma were performed in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal on Sunday (May 24, 2026), hours after a second autopsy was conducted on the body by an expert panel of AIIMS New Delhi, 12 days after she was found dead at her marital home here. Dozens of ex-servicemen, family and relatives and locals turned up to pay tributes at Bhopal’s Bhadbhada Vishram Ghat with her brother Major Harshit Sharma performing the rituals on Sunday evening even as her mother appeared inconsolable. Click below to read more on this:Dowry case: 12 days after her death and second autopsy, Twisha Sharma cremated in BhopalTwisha Sharma cremated in Bhopal amid dowry harassment allegations against her husband and mother-in-law following her tragic death.May 25, 2026 11:05 Supreme Court registers suo motu case over death of Twisha Sharma The Supreme Court on Saturday (May 23, 2026) registered a suo motu case concerning the alleged dowry death of Noida resident Twisha Sharma amid allegations by her family that her in-laws tampered with evidence and that the investigation suffered from procedural irregularities.A three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi a

The HinduMay 25

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Freedom of conscience not given in 1950: Supreme Court top 5 remarks on Day 10 of Sabarimala hearing

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: May 14, 2026 05:08 AM IST Mehta said he was only arguing that if a practice is directly challenged, the court will ask those challenging it to go to the legislature, but if a law is challenged, the court must examine it. The Constitution “did not create a secular court as the reformatory overlord of the religious traditions of 1.4 billion citizens” and entrusted the mechanism of religious reform to the legislature “to be exercised at the pace at which a democratic society arrives at consensus”, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Wednesday, pitching for denomination status for devotees of the Sabarimala temple deity Lord Ayyappa. “If courts may reform religion in the absence of legislation, whenever they determine that a practice offends the Constitution, there is, in practice, no limit on the judicial reformation of religious traditions. Every denomination’s internal discipline, every temple’s mode of worship, every faith’s institutional arrangements become permanently available for constitutional challenge. This consequence is not hypothetical; it has occurred in the Sabarimala case,” the Centre stated.These submissions are part of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s rejoinder to the arguments made by parties defending the SC intervention in allowing women to enter the Sabarimala temple. Mehta, appearing for the Centre before a nine-judge bench hearing the Sabarimala reference, said the Constitution had instead “created fundamental rights on religious freedoms, with a specific and democratic mechanism of reform” vested in the legislature. Courts could intervene when something was contrary to public order, health, or morality, he said, “but not as a part of reform”. The bench presided by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and also comprising Justices B V Nagarathna, M M Sundresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Aravind Kumar, A G Masih, Prasanna B Varale, R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi, is considering questions arising from petitions seeking review of the SC’s September 28, 2018, judgment striking down age restrictions on entry of women to the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. Mehta argued that Article 25(2)(b), which provides for legislation for social welfare and reform, consciously entrusted reform to the legislature, to ensure that “such reform and welfare emanate from a constitutional body reflecting the will of the people”. Reform and welfare measures, he said, “must emanate from within the people to be acceptable and long-lasting”. During the hearing, Justice Amanullah sought to disagree with the argument and said: “Saying leave it to the legislature may not be tentatively acceptable as it would mean … majoritarianism.”Story continues below this ad Mehta said he was only arguing that if a practice is directly challenged, the court will ask those challenging it to go to the legislature, but if a law is challenged, the court must examine it. CJI Kant also intervened and said that “the question of religious practice has nothing to do with the majoritarian principle or minority principle. Minorities can have their own religious practice, and the majority can have their own. All are protected under Article 25 … We are only examining the extent of that”. Justice Bagchi also raised questions on the Centre’s stand. “It’s not majoritarianism that the court is bothered about. The court is bothered about majoritarianism trumping constitutionalism. And that is the Lakshman rekha. We are committed to a democracy, which is definitely a test of numbers, but we are also a constitutional democracy. So even if a majority feels that a particular thing is to be done, the courts have that role to test that decision from constitutional principles,” he said. Ananthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 23 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in

Indian ExpressMay 14

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