Lukaku has turned down a contract extension at Goodison Park, with agent Mino Raiola claiming this week that Everton have promised their star man he can leave for “certain clubs”. Hazard planning Chelsea stay His former team Chelsea have been heavily linked and Courtois would welcome the 24-year-old back at Stamford Bridge. “Romelu is a great player so if he decides to go to Chelsea or Chelsea decide to sign him, I would be happy to see him in the dressing room in July,” the goalkeeper told Sky Sports....

There has been debate over whether Kevin Trapp or Alphonse Areola should be between the sticks for the Ligue 1 leaders, particularly after a blunder from the latter in Metz last week should have cost his side a goal. BTTS v Lyon 4/6 Despite an assured performance from the former France Under-21 keeper in the 5-0 win at Celtic Park on Tuesday, it is an issue that is liable to rumble on, with Courtois, 25, one of the names touted as a potential replacement....

A group of three People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ships sailed within 35 nautical miles of Taiwan’s Orchid Island, heading south late on Monday, CNA said, citing an unnamed military source. The outlying island, popular with tourists, is 22.5 nautical miles southeast of Taiwan proper. According to the report, a single southbound Chinese guided-missile frigate was detected 50 nautical miles off Orchid Island between 7 and 11 p.m. local time the following day....

China claims Taiwan is a breakaway province determined to declare independence with the help of “external forces,” despite Taipei’s repeated statements to the contrary. The Taiwan Affairs Office, which is established under China’s State Council, returned to familiar rhetoric on Wednesday when spokesperson Zhu Fenglian blamed Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for destabilizing the Taiwan Strait. It was Zhu’s first press conference since two large groups of People’s Liberation Army warplanes buzzed the skies near Taiwan over the weekend, drawing a statement from the State Department expressing “concern” at Beijing’s actions and reaffirming the Biden administration’s “rock-solid” support for Taipei....

Team China gave a strong performance in the men’s gymnastics rings, with Liu Yang and You Hao claiming the gold and silver medals. Liu scored 15.500 points to finish top, followed by You with 15.300 points. Eleftherios Petrounias, the defending champion from Greece, took bronze with 15.200 points. Liu secured China’s first artistic gymnastics gold medal in Tokyo. China also beat Germany to win the Olympic gold in the women’s team sprint....

“Such an approach, I must say, is too negative,” he said, adding that it lacks “a forward-looking spirit.” The U.S. and China have become increasingly at odds over a range of issues, including accusations of human rights abuses in Tibet and the Xinjiang region. In March, the U.S. and some of its Western allies announced sanctions against Chinese officials for “serious human rights abused” against Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang....

An editorial in The Global Times, an English-language tabloid published by the Chinese Communist Party, was titled: “Malicious Washington cannot kill Hong Kong.” The article described the U.S. as “extremely selfish” and argued that the Trump administration has an “abnormal worship of its own power.” “Washington is extremely selfish. It has promoted ‘America First,’ cut international aid, and has been calculating with allies in terms of trade policies and cost-sharing of U....

The announcement of the arrest of Xiaolei Wu by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Massachusetts comes at a time of rising concern for U.S. authorities over Beijing’s reach into the country to harass and intimidate opponents of China’s ruling Communist Party, as reported by Newsweek in a recent investigation. Wu targeted someone who had posted a flier around the campus of the Berklee College of Music in Boston that read “Stand with Chinese People”, “We Want Freedom,” and “We Want Democracy”, the U....

Tabloid reports on Wednesday have suggested England captain Rooney is now keen to leave Old Trafford after over 12 years at the club. RUMOURS: Rooney to quit Man Utd The United striker, who has struggled for regular first-team minutes this season despite breaking the club’s goalscoring record in January, has apparently been offered £35 million per year to move to China. And Cannavaro has revealed that Tianjin Quanjian had a “chat” over a move for Rooney, but insists that Aubameyang, who the club apparently made a bid for, and Kalinic are higher priorities....

The report is likely to raise more questions about the sustainability of a league that has made headlines with its massive spending in recent seasons. Players like Oscar, Hulk, Carlos Tevez, Alex Teixeira and Ramires have moved to the CSL in recent seasons for massive transfer fees. Those players have brought star power to the league, but the long-term viability of the CSL has been brought into question by the huge spending of many of the clubs’ owners....

At least not yet. MORE: Bosh an example of why positions matter in the NBA Bosh sat on the Heat bench during the team’s 124-119 win over the Nuggets — the first game he has attended since being sidelined with a calf injury at the All-Star break. Blood clots caused Bosh to miss the second half of last season after a similar injury, so doctors have been extra cautious. He has missed 14 games this year....

Cuomo opened his show Cuomo Prime Time tonight by telling his colleague Anderson Cooper that he was “doing better.” Later in the show, Cuomo described his latest struggles with the virus when asked by CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta to detail his current condition. “I feel better. I’m scared by this. I’m scared by the potential of this and it frustrates me because I can’t get out of this basement,” Cuomo said....

Mortensen’s reported that 11 of 12 balls used by the Patriots against the Colts were deflated 2 pounds below the league-mandated PSI minimum. The report ended up being wrong, and he was going to explain how that happened. Instead, he decided not to talk. MORE: Judge tells NFLPA to knock it off | Suspensions shorter than Tom Brady’s “You guys made a mistake by drumming up business for the show and how I would address my reporting for the first time,” Mortensen told WEEI, via ProFootballTalk....

The 67-year-old actor, who vehemently denies the allegations made against him, quietly returned to Instagram on February 16 for the first time since December. Sharing a photo of his son Orion, 14, in the midst of a basketball game, the screen star wrote: “SWISH. It’s a thrill to watch his love for basketball blossom.” The former Sex and the City star returned to the image-sharing platform days later to dedicate a post to his son, Keats, as he celebrated his second birthday....

The controversial referee called Thunder star Chris Paul for a curious delay of game penalty in the second quarter of Oklahoma City’s Game 7 loss on Wednesday, even though the cleaning crew was mopping the floor at the time. Paul was tying his shoes while looking at the replay of a shooting foul he committed and trying to determine whether OKC should challenge the call. MORE: Game 2 of Heat-Bucks marred by controversial ending...

Biden announced last Wednesday that his administration would bring an end to America’s longest war by September 11, marking the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks against Washington, D.C. and New York that the U.S. used as justification to invade Afghanistan in 2001. But Biden has received swift pushback from many top Republicans, who have strongly criticized the decision and warned of greater “instability.” On Fox News Sunday, Wallace raised these concerns directly with Sullivan....

The independent Facebook Oversight Board announced on Wednesday that it would uphold the social media giant’s decision to suspend Trump, which it did following the attack on the U.S. Capitol by the former president’s supporters on January 6. However, the board declined to rule on whether the ban should become permanent, saying Facebook’s leadership should make a final determination on that within six months. In a Wednesday YouTube video, Vaughn, the co-founder of First Harvest Ministries in Mississippi, responded to the decision, urging his followers and Trump supporters to share content from the former president on Facebook....

To help readers stay fueled during their mission to buy last-minute gifts, Newsweek has gathered up all the opening hours during the festive eve for some of the biggest chain restaurants in the U.S. What restaurants are open Christmas Eve? Applebee’s: “All restaurants will be open on Christmas Eve, although hours may be reduced,” a spokesperson for the company told Newsweek. “Please contact your local Applebee’s for specific information on holiday hours as each restaurant is independently owned and operated and hours vary by location....