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Desailly: Chelsea should sign PEA over Morata Bakayoko completed his move from Monaco on Saturday, penning a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge in a deal worth £40million. The 22-year-old won Ligue 1 with Monaco last season and feels he could not have picked a better Premier League side to continue his career with than Chelsea. “I am very happy to be here,” Bakayoko told his new club’s website in his first interview after the signing was confirmed....

Having moved to the Spanish capital as part of a record-breaking transfer in 2013, the Wales international has now hinted that he could soon be heading for the exits. He admitted after a match-winning performance in the Champions League final that he will be weighing up his options this summer as he seeks to find a starting berth “week in, week out”. If he is to leave Madrid, then the 28-year-old will depart with a Liga title and four Champions League crowns under his belt....

I found it amusing that Serbs would envision themselves as modern-era Asterixes. At about the same time, the Yugoslav newspapers started running stories about “clan gatherings” and “tribal meetings.” Another spoof about rebellious Gaul plotting against Julius Caesar, right? Wrong! Those are dead-serious protests by anti-independence Montenegrins who resist the split with Serbia and want to preserve Yugoslavia in its present (already very truncated) form. Three months ago Montenegro presented Serbia with a platform redefining the relations between the two republics within Yugoslavia....

Boston Police on Monday announced they had made an arrest after a ballot drop box outside the Boston Public Library in Copley Square was set alight in the early hours of Sunday morning, damaging dozens of ballots. The incident, a week after another ballot drop box in Los Angeles County, California was set on fire, fueled fears that the drop boxes may have targeted to undermine democracy. But on Monday, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said the suspect in the Boston arson attack, 39-year-old Worldy Armand, appears to be “emotionally disturbed” and she does not believe Armand is “plotting against our democracy....

The Italy international, who was overlooked for a recall to the Azzurri this weekend despite his excellent form in France, shot brilliantly into the top corner with a curling shot from the edge of the box with four minutes to restore his side’s advantage after Benjamin Moukandjo cancelled out Ricardo Pereira’s opener. Balotelli, however, was booked for his celebration as he removed his shirt following what proved the game’s decisive moment....

The striker, who was overlooked for the most recent Italy squad, has been in excellent form for Nice this season and will face off against PSG on Sunday. It is a match that Balotelli does not seem to be attributing any particular importance to, suggesting that the capital side, who are 14 points clear of Monaco at the top of the standings, see themselves apart from their domestic rivals....

Fox 45 Baltimore reporter Maxine Streicher was engaged in a live broadcast from the city’s Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood on Monday when the camera panned over to an alley just as a rat scurried out from under trash and along a wall. The live shot prompted widespread mockery from supporters of the president who touted the video as “proof” the president was correct in telling Maryland’s 7th District Democratic congressman Elijah Cummings via Twitter to “clean up this very dangerous & filthy place....

Ebukam got to Stafford relatively unchallenged before knocking the bal out of his grasp with a ferocious swipe. The ball made its way toward the first down marker before eventually being scooped up by a pair of cherry-stained gloves. It was an apt way to finish proceedings, all things considered. Ebukam’s strip sack was one of seven times Stafford was brought to the canvas behind the line of scrimmage, an eye-watering total....

The U.S. economy has taken its biggest downturn in decades, as the pandemic has led state leaders across the country to order all but essential businesses to shut down in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Already, some 26.4 million workers have filed for unemployment in less than two months, a higher number than all the jobs created since the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009....

Matthew Hartwig, USAA’s director of communications, said Thursday the policy change was something the company had considered but was magnified when a USAA customer in Minneapolis revealed her family’s entire stimulus check of $3,450 was delivered to a closed account with the bank. The customer, who was featured in The American Prospect, said the funds were direct deposited into the closed account and used to pay outstanding bank fees, even though the account had been written off by the bank....

That was then. Until recently, Chinese artists could be frank about everything but communism. But last week the communist leadership, locked in power struggles and determined to keep order, announced a much tougher campaign for a “spiritual civilization.” A new 15,000-word directive rules out not just slander against the party but anything that encourages “social vices” and makes people “doubt the future of socialism.” The declaration calls on cadres to be China’s “soul engineers” and attacks those who “pander to low tastes....

The study, led by Louis Klarevas, research professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, is one of the only comprehensive assessments of large-capacity magazine bans in the United States. Klarevas’s study, selected for publication in the American Journal of Public Health, looked specifically at high-fatality mass shootings, defined as incidents in which six or more victims died. His research found that death tolls were 62 percent higher on average when large-capacity magazines was used....

19-year-old Linda, who has represented South Africa at U-17, U-20 and now senior level, featured on the free-role just behind the striker in Vera Pauw’s 4-2-3-1 formation as the championship hopefuls got their season off to a moderate start. Motlhalo, who signed from South African Sasol Women League side JVW Football Club, lasted 77 minutes before she was replaced by Claire Falknor. Fellow South African Janine Van Wyk also featured for the BBVA Compass Stadium side and lasted the entire duration of the match....

The trip comes on the heels of Obama’s visit to Sen. Tom Harkin’s annual Steak Fry, a legendary gathering viewed as one of the most important platforms in Democratic presidential politics. Former Sen. John Edwards, who is considering a second go at the Democratic nomination in 2008, headlined the event last year, while Bill Clinton has spoken there three times. More than 3,500 people showed up last week to see Obama–a number that organizers said ranked second only to Clinton’s crowds, which exceeded 10,000 back in 1996....

Yatom’s mission now is to complete the peace process. And to pull it off, he’ll be relying mostly on military men. While generals are nothing new in Israeli politics, Barak has culled his peace junta almost exclusively from the elite troops who served under him in the Army, sidelining prominent political figures in the process. His bureau chief, Mendel Shaked, served under him in the Sayeret Matkal or general reconnaissance unit....

The Primera Division’s most talented players enter the spotlight as sides from the likes of La Liga and the Premier League look to find the next Lionel Messi or Sergio Aguero, and many end up moving while still in their teens. Argentina 9/1 to win World Cup 2018 Racing Club’s whizzkid Lautaro Martinez is one such example: having attracted attention from the likes of Arsenal and Valencia earlier this season, the 19-year-old forward is now being closely watched by Barcelona and Atletico Madrid....

The thoroughfare is one of Barcelona’s most famous landmarks, and is a hotspot for tourists from across the world. But La Rambla was marked by tragedy when an unidentified individual crashed his vehicle into pedestrians, before fleeing the scene. Catalan authorities have confirmed 13 deaths at the site, although there is as of yet no final count for those killed or hurt. Barca star Lionel Messi was among the first players to respond, writing via his official Instagram page: “I want to send my condolences and all my support to the families and friends of the victims of the terrible attack in our beloved Barcelona....

The 32-year-old’s existing deal is due to expire in 2018, but he is keen to commit his long-term future to the club with which he has spent his entire professional career. “We have spoken, but I still have a year-and-a-half on my contract,” Iniesta was quoted as saying by Sport. “For everything to be calm, the most logical thing would be for it to be done as soon as possible....

What are the odds on Barca beating Juve? Goal understands that the Italian team came in with an offer of a one-year loan for Munir that included a purchase option to be exercised in June 2018. The bid, similar to the deal previously agreed with Everton for Gerard Deulofeu, now back at Camp Nou, was eventually declined by Barca, despite the overtures of Roma’s new transfer supremo Monchi. But Roma are not the only team interested in Munir, who spent last year on loan with Valencia....

The France international suffered a hamstring injury in January and was ruled out for up to a month by club medics. Dembele’s setback came less than two weeks after he returned to action following a more serious hamstring tear, which saw him sidelined for nearly four months after his transfer from Borussia Dortmund. The 20-year-old will not play a part in Barca’s Copa del Rey semi-final second leg against Valencia on Thursday but could be in line for the La Liga game against Eibar on February 17, which takes place just three days before the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Chelsea....