• World-record holder Chepngetich ‘not in right place’
• Defending women’s champion Jepchirchir has ankle injury

The women’s world-record holder, Ruth Chepngetich, and the reigning champion, Peres Jepchirchir, have withdrawn from the London Marathon, organisers said on Friday, less than two weeks before the race.

Kenyan Chepngetich broke the women’s record in Chicago last year, running 2hr 9min 56sec to become the first woman to break 2:10, and had hoped to improve on that time in London on 27 April. “I’m not in the right place mentally or physically to race my best in London and I am therefore withdrawing,” she said in a statement. “I am very sad to miss the race and I hope to be back next year.”

Hosts withstood a barrage of late pressure to overcome Rangers 2-0 on the night and on aggregate

Streaming firm reported a $10.54bn revenue in first quarter, though analysts say consumers could reconsider spending

Netflix exceeded Wall Street expectations for quarterly results and offered a bullish revenue outlook on Thursday, signaling confidence amid the economic uncertainty surrounding Donald Trump’s erratic tariff plans.

Netflix reported revenue of $10.54bn for the first quarter, edging past analysts’ estimates of $10.52bn, according to data compiled by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). Shares of the company were roughly flat in after-hours trading at $970.10.

Wednesday’s outage the latest in series of blackouts to affect Puerto Rico in wake of Hurricane Maria in 2017

About 58% of Puerto Rico has has had power restored following an island-wide blackout on Wednesday, the government of Puerto Rico federal affairs administration said on Thursday.

It added that current generation stands at 1,439MW. A total of 31 generation units are online, with 16 additional units in the process of being brought back online, it said.

• Serena Williams calls out hypocrisy of Sinner ban
• Williams says ‘I would have gotten 20 years’ if caught
• World No 1 Sinner twice tested positive for clostebol

Serena Williams says she would have been hit with a 20-year ban if she had failed drug tests like men’s world No 1 Jannik Sinner, who received a three-month suspension in February.

“I love the guy, love this game,” Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam winner, told Time magazine this week after being named one of its 100 most influential people. “He’s great for the sport. I’ve been put down so much, I don’t want to bring anyone down. Men’s tennis needs him.

Federal judge deals blow to tech giant and paves way for government to break up company’s advertising products

Alphabet’s Google illegally dominated two markets for online advertising technology, a judge ruled on Thursday, dealing another blow to the tech giant and paving the way for US antitrust prosecutors to seek a breakup of its advertising products.

The US district judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, found Google liable for “willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power” in markets for publisher ad servers and the market for ad exchanges which sit between buyers and sellers. Publisher ad servers are platforms used by websites to store and manage their ad inventory. Antitrust enforcers failed to prove a separate claim that the company had a monopoly in advertiser ad networks, she wrote.

Move paves the way for Moscow to normalise ties with leadership of Afghanistan

Russia has suspended its ban on the Taliban, which it had designated for more than two decades as a terrorist organisation, in a move that paves the way for Moscow to normalise ties with the leadership of Afghanistan.

No country currently recognises the Taliban government that seized power in August 2021 as US-led forces staged a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war. But Russia has been gradually building ties with the movement, which Vladimir Putin said last year was now an ally in fighting terrorism.

• Defender reacted after ballboy threw ball away from him
• Bayern were chasing goal to force extra time at San Siro

Bayern Munich’s Josip Stanisic said it was “stupid” of him to push a ballboy off his stool after he tossed the ball away in stoppage time of their Champions League match against Inter on Wednesday.

A 2-2 draw in the second leg at San Siro enabled Inter to advance to the semi-finals 4-3 on aggregate.

Testimony that Instagram was ‘better’ seems to bolster allegations Meta used ‘buy or bury’ tactic to snap up rivals

Meta’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, considered spinning off Instagram in 2018 in anticipation of a potential antitrust suit, documents unveiled at a trial in Washington showed on Tuesday.

​​“While most companies resist break-ups, the corporate history is that most companies actually perform better after they’ve been split up,” he wrote in an email at the time. He said there was a “there is a non-trivial chance” his company would be forced to spin Instagram and WhatsApp out anyway.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio also spoke with foreign minister about strengthening countries’ ties

The United States has removed sanctions on a close aide of the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, the state department said, adding that the punitive measures had been “inconsistent with US foreign policy interests”.

Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, spoke on Tuesday with his Hungarian counterpart, the foreign minister Péter Szijjártó, and informed him of the move, state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

UBC and others report spike in interest from US citizens as Trump withholds funds and revokes foreign student visas

More students living in the United States are applying to Canadian universities or expressing interest in studying north of the border as Donald Trump cuts federal funding to universities and revokes foreign student visas.

Officials at the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Vancouver campus said the school reported a 27% jump in graduate applications as of 1 March from US citizens for programs starting in the 2025 academic year, compared with all of 2024.