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Rangers put former captain Barry Ferguson in charge until end of season

  • Philippe Clement was sacked by club on Sunday evening
  • ‘We appreciate Barry and his team stepping into the role’

Rangers have placed their former captain Barry Ferguson in charge of first-team affairs until the end of the season following Philippe Clement’s sacking.

Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat by St Mirren proved to be the final straw for Clement, with the club announcing the Belgian’s departure on Sunday night after 16 months at the helm. The surprise loss left second-placed Rangers 13 points behind Old Firm rivals Celtic in the Premiership and came after a damaging Scottish Cup reverse to minnows Queen’s Park on 9 February.

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© Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

© Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

Cult folk singer Bill Fay, writer of The Healing Day, dies aged 81

Songs by the reluctant live performer have been covered by the War on Drugs, Wilco, Pavement and Marc Almond

The folk singer Bill Fay, known for songs such as The Healing Day and Thank You Lord, has died aged 81, his record label has announced.

Fay began work on his latest album just a month before his death, and his label Dead Oceans said they hoped to “find a way to finish and release it”.

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© Photograph: Parri Thomas

© Photograph: Parri Thomas

Philippe Clement sacked by Rangers after home defeat by St Mirren

  • Belgian departs after 16 months in charge at Ibrox
  • Team are 13 points behind Celtic and out of Scottish Cup

Philippe Clement has been sacked as the Rangers manager after 16 months in charge following damaging back-to-back home defeats. The Belgian has been under extreme pressure since the humiliating Scottish Cup exit at the hands of the Scottish Championship side Queen’s Park a fortnight ago, and a first Ibrox loss to St Mirren since 1991 on Saturday proved to be the final straw for the board.

Clement departs Rangers – 13 points adrift of their city rivals Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership – at a time when the club are in talks about a multimillion-pound investment by a United States-led consortium which includes Paraag Marathe, president of 49ers Enterprises and chairman of Leeds United.

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© Photograph: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Virat Kohli century steers India to Champions Trophy win over Pakistan

Virat Kohli’s record-extending 51st one-day century secured a six-wicket win over Pakistan in Dubai that puts India on the verge of qualifying for the Champions Trophy semi-finals.

After Pakistan were bowled out for a disappointing 241 in 49.4 overs, Kohli took centre stage, ticking off 14,000 ODI runs en route to 100 not out off 111 balls – with a final cover drive sealing his century and India’s victory, which leaves their rivals on the brink of early elimination.

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© Photograph: Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC/Getty Images

© Photograph: Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC/Getty Images

Preparations under way for meeting between Trump and Putin, Russia says

Russian and US leaders will meet face to face in move towards normalising relations, deputy foreign minister says

Preparations for a face-to-face meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are under way, Russia’s deputy foreign minister has said.

The event would mark a dramatic shift away from western isolation of Moscow, which has been in place since Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking to Russian state media, Sergei Ryabkov said a possible Putin-Trump summit could involve broad talks on global issues, not just Ukraine.

“The question is about starting to move towards normalising relations between our countries, finding ways to resolve the most acute and potentially very, very dangerous situations, of which there are many, Ukraine among them,” he said.

But he said efforts to organise such a meeting were at an early stage, and that making it happen would require “the most intensive preparatory work”.

Ryabkov added that US and Russian envoys could meet “within the next two weeks” to pave the way for further talks between senior officials.

Russian and US representatives agreed on Tuesday to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties, according to the two countries’ top diplomats, at a high-level meeting in Saudi Arabia that marked an extraordinary about-face in US foreign policy under Trump.

After the meeting, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, told the Associated Press that the two sides agreed broadly to pursue three goals: to restore staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow; to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks; and to explore closer relations and economic cooperation.

He stressed, however, that the talks, which were attended by his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and other senior Russian and US officials, marked the beginning of a conversation, and more work needed to be done. Lavrov, for his part, said the meeting was “very useful”.

No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting. The country is slowly but steadily losing ground against more numerous Russian troops, nearly three years after Moscow launched an all-out invasion of its smaller neighbour.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said his country would not accept any outcome of the talks, since Kyiv didn’t take part, and he postponed his own trip to Saudi Arabia, which had been scheduled for last Wednesday. European allies have also expressed concerns that they are being sidelined.

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© Composite: AP, AFP via Getty Images

© Composite: AP, AFP via Getty Images

FIA condemns ‘tribalist’ booing of Verstappen and Horner at launch

  • Red Bull duo jeered at season launch in London this week
  • FIA: ‘It was disappointing to hear the crowd’s reaction’

Formula One’s rulers have condemned the “tribalist” booing of Max Verstappen and Christian Horner at the sport’s season launch in London.

Both world champion Verstappen and his Red Bull team boss Horner were subjected to jeers by some of the 15,000 fans inside the O2 Arena earlier this week. The FIA was also targeted with boos, and on Saturday the sporting federation moved to stand up for the pair.

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© Photograph: Dave Benett/Formula 1/Getty Images

© Photograph: Dave Benett/Formula 1/Getty Images

Coe agrees with Trump on excluding transgender athletes from women’s sport

  • IOC presidential candidate focused on integrity of sport
  • Coe claims Trump ‘right on the principle’

US president Donald Trump is right in principle to seek the exclusion of transgender athletes from women’s sport, International Olympic Committee presidential candidate Sebastian Coe has said.

Earlier this month Trump signed an executive order aimed at banning transgender athletes from women’s sports, which includes empowering the secretary of state’s office to put pressure on the IOC on its inclusion policy ahead of the Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028.

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© Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/Reuters

© Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/Reuters

Shubman Gill thwarts Bangladesh as India win Champions Trophy opener

  • Bangladesh 228, India 231-4; India win by six wickets
  • Gill hits unbeaten century, Shami shines with ball

Shubman Gill struck an unbeaten century after Mohammed Shami took five wickets as India cruised to a six-wicket win over Bangladesh in their Champions Trophy opener in Dubai.

Having slipped to 35 for five after choosing to bat, Bangladesh fought back to make 228 with Towhid Hridoy making 100 and Jaker Ali contributing 68, the pair sharing a sixth-wicket stand of 154.

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© Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AP

© Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AP

Finn Russell fit to face England as Scotland name side for Six Nations clash

  • Co-captain recovers from injury but Darcy Graham out
  • Schoeman and Ritchie come into Scotland pack

The Scotland co-captain Finn Russell has been passed fit for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup match with England but his fellow back Darcy Graham misses out.

The key duo were doubts for the Six Nations showdown at Allianz Stadium after colliding with each other and being forced off with head injuries in the first half of the defeat by Ireland.

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© Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA

© Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA

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