The drivers and teams report back on all the action from FP1 and Sprint Qualifying at the Miami International Autodrome.
Franco Colapinto believes that Alpine are "looking strong compared to the midfield cars" this weekend ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, with the Argentinian and team mate Pierre Gasly both set to start in the top 10 for the Miami Sprint.
Mercedes' stranglehold on pole positions in 2026 was broken in Miami as McLaren's Norris set a scintillating pace in Sprint Qualifying to outgun championship leader Kimi Antonelli – with the pecking order getting a bit of a shake-up in the Sunshine State.
Max Verstappen admits his Red Bull car is "still not where I want it to be" but that his performance in Sprint Qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix was "a really positive step for us" after finishing fifth.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have been reflecting on how Sprint Qualifying went for Ferrari at the Miami Grand Prix.
Alex Albon has been demoted down to P19 for the Miami Sprint after the stewards deemed the Williams driver exceeded track limits during Sprint Qualifying.
Ukraine war briefing: Russian oil hub of Tuapse hit for fourth time as environmental disaster mounts
Ukrainian drone attacks on refinery in Black Sea port cause toxic clouds and oil slicks on resort’s coastline; Kyiv to reform army. What we know on day 1,529
Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse on Friday for the fourth time in 16 days as authorities struggled to cope with a growing environmental disaster from toxic black smoke clouds and oil leaking into the sea. Ukraine’s SBU security service said drones had again struck the seaport and refinery that make Tuapse an important hub for Russian oil exports. Local Russian officials said a major operation was under way to put out a fire at the port but no casualties were reported. The refinery has been hit and set ablaze at least twice since 16 April, halting production, in attacks that have thrown up dense black clouds over the town and caused oil slicks along the coastline, ruining the beaches of the popular resort.
Russian authorities had so far cleared more than 13,300 cubic metres of fuel oil and contaminated soil along the coast, they said on Friday. State TV showed a reporter standing on a blackened beach and using a spade to show how deep the oozing filth had seeped.
Russia launched almost 410 drones at Ukraine in a daytime attack that including injuring 10 people in the western city of Ternopil, Ukrainian officials said on Friday. Air force units downed or neutralised 388 of them in the north, south, centre and west of the country, Ukraine’s air force said. In Ternopil, about 150-200km from the Polish border, 10 people were hurt in the attack, which hit industrial and infrastructure facilities, the city’s mayor said.
In central Ukraine, 19 drones were downed over the Cherkasy region, the regional governor said, reporting damage to a nursery, a school, seven private houses and a power line. A woman was hurt in the central Vinnytsia region, the local governor said, adding that a building was destroyed. Near the southern city of Odesa, which had come under the overnight attack, another daytime attack damaged the roof of a shopping centre and caused a fire, the regional governor said, while Zelenskyy said at least five people were wounded in the region.
Ukraine has announced plans to carry out reforms of the army this summer to address problems with infantry shortages and the discharge of the longest-serving soldiers, four years into the war with Russia. Manpower shortages have become an even more pressing issue as enthusiasm for service has waned amid reports of poor training and support, as well as heavy-handed draft officers. “Now, in May, all key details will be finalised,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram on Friday. “In June, the reform will begin – and the first results must already be delivered in June.” He promised higher pay for the infantry, saying: “A Ukrainian infantryman who holds the front line must feel that our state truly respects him.” Ukraine had to be ready to fight on if a peace deal could not be reached, Zelenskyy said. Mykhailo Fedorov, who was named defence minister in January, said the changes announced amounted to a “systemic” transformation of the army.
Public prosecutors in Peru said they were investigating an alleged trafficking network offering fake jobs in Russia to Peruvians before forcing them to fight in Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Individuals including former military personnel and police officers were allegedly recruited through social media with deceptive offers of well-paid work as security agents and other jobs in Russia, the attorney general’s office said. According to information provided to the police, “victims were reportedly taken to Russia and, once on foreign soil, forced to take part in combat operations in the context of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine”, it said. Thirteen Peruvians had died in the Ukraine war, a lawyer for the victims’ families told local media.
Continue reading...Gurindji families mourn ‘a life so precious, gone far too soon’
Warning: This article contains images of and references to Indigenous Australians who have died
Kumanjayi Baby Girl’s relatives have released a statement saying they felt “helpless” when they heard she was missing, and hope their community can unite in grief.
“A life so precious, so full of innocence, gone far too soon,” the Gurindji families said of the five-year-old Warlpiri girl, who was found dead in Alice Springs on Thursday evening – five days after she had gone missing from her bed in the Old Timers town camp.
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Thomas Hawk posted a photo:
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HAVANA (ANP) - Volgens de Cubaanse president Miguel Díaz-Canel getuigen de nieuwe opgelegde Amerikaanse sancties "van morele armoede en van minachting voor het gevoel en het gezond verstand van de Amerikanen en de hele internationale gemeenschap". Dat schrijft de Cubaanse president op X.
"De blokkade en de verscherping ervan richten zoveel schade aan, vanwege het intimiderende en arrogante gedrag van de grootste militaire macht ter wereld", aldus Miguel Díaz-Canel. Volgens hem kan "geen enkel eerlijk mens het excuus accepteren" dat Cuba een bedreiging voor de VS zou zijn.
Vrijdag legde de Amerikaanse president Donald Trump Cuba nieuwe sancties op. Naast een aanscherping van bestaande sancties komen er nieuwe maatregelen tegen "entiteiten, personen of gelieerde partijen" die het Cubaanse veiligheidsapparaat steunen of betrokken zijn bij corruptie of mensenrechtenschendingen.
"Ze zullen ons niet intimideren", aldus de Cubaanse minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Bruno Rodríguez eerder op X.