Italy has foiled “Russian origin” cyber-attacks targeting the Winter Olympics, says Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

He said websites linked to the Games, hotels in host town Cortina d’Ampezzo and foreign ministry facilities, including an embassy in Washington, were targeted.

Cortina d’Ampezzo, one of five host clusters for the Olympics, will stage alpine skiing, biathlon, curling, and sliding events.

“We prevented a series of cyber-attacks against foreign ministry sites. These are actions of Russian origin,” said Tajani.

The Games officially begin on Friday, although the first action got under way on Wednesday.

Man Utd are set to try and sign a left-winger in the summer and RB Leipzig teenager Yan Diomande is a player they are interested in.

Manchester United are interested in RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande as they consider attacking reinforcements this summer, but they will face serious competition for the Ivory Coast star. United missed out on a January move for Antoine Semenyo, with the forward joining Manchester City for £62.5million, and opted not to pursue any other targets during the window.

While central midfield is a major priority heading into the summer, United will also try to sign a left-winger and Diomande is a player they have monitored and someone who is of interest.

The 19-year-old has had a breakthrough season for RB Leipzig, registering eight goals and six assists in 21 games in Germany. Diomande only turned 19 in November but is already attracting the attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs. The right-footed attacker can play on both wings but would be seen as an option on the left at Old Trafford.

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United have monitored Diomande’s emergence this season and after staying at RB Leipzig in the January window, there is now an expectation that he will leave the club in the summer.

He was in the Ivory Coast squad for the Africa Cup of Nations alongside Amad and played in all five of his country’s games in Morocco. He has three goals in his nine caps so far.

Liverpool have also been linked with a move for Diomande and Paris Saint-Germain are expected to challenge for his signature in the summer. Reports in Germany have suggested Leipzig have slapped a €100million price tag on the player, but the teenager is likely to leave the club for a fee lower than that.

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United intended to use Semenyo as a left-wing option had they signed the 26-year-old. Patrick Dorgu has since impressed in that position for Michael Carrick and Matheus Cunha played there against Fulham, but both are versatile players who could be needed elsewhere.

Dorgu can also play on the right wing, and with Tyrell Malacia leaving the club this summer, he might be needed as cover at left-back. Cunha can play as a false nine and has done so off the bench in Carrick’s first two games, while he can also fulfil the No.10 role.

United are set to see two left-wingers depart this summer. Jadon Sancho is out of contract and will leave the club, while Marcus Rashford will aim to complete a permanent transfer to Barcelona.

Youtuber and inventor Colin Furze explains the facintaing science behind the Winter Olympics halfpipe, where athletes perform freestyle tricks at heights over 40ft in the air.

Follow the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics across the BBC from Friday, 6 February.

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Great Britain goes again in the curling in the Winter Olympics 2026 with Milano-Cortina offering up genuine medal opportunites.

A gold and a silver in both the women’s and men’s tournaments at Beijing 2022 set the bar for British hopes in Italy.

But Team GB’s hopes start in the mixed doubles pair with Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds in action early on

The sport has captivated British fans for years, with its peculiarities proving captivating through the Games.

For example, during games, fans will see lights on top of the stones. Here is what they mean:

What are the lights on curling stones?

The lights are a tracking system to ensure the athletes release the stone before the first hog line – the red line at both ends, where both teams must release the stone before passing it.

A heat sensor is embedded into the ice and will be triggered if your hand continues to hold onto the handle while breaching the line, meaning each stone has batteries to power these sensors.

Failure to release your hand before the line will turn the lights red and that team will be forced to remove it from play.

It rarely happens at this elite level, but such is the pressure at the Winter Olympics, it can occasionally happen.

How much does the stone weigh and what is it made of?

The official USA Curling rulebook states that each curling stone cannot be greater than 44 pounds (19.96kg) in weight, and no less than 38 pounds (17.24kg). The handle is included as part of the weight.

The stone’s circumference cannot exceed 36 inches (91.4cm) and cannot exceed 4.5 inches (11.43cm) in height.

The stones are made of a special type of granite, which is found on the island of Ailsa Craig in Scotland.

The hammer is a crucial part of curling. The team that has the hammer is able to throw the final stone of each end, generally a significant advantage, with all other stones thrown and the current scoring situation clear.

Whichever team doesn’t score during an end will get the hammer in the next round – this sometimes causes teams to avoid scoring just a single point, instead preferring to retain the hammer and score more heavily in the next end.

It is retained if neither team scores.

Before a game of curling begins, teams decide who will have what is also known as Last Stone Advantage. In championship curling the hammer is decided by a draw to the button with two players from each team delivering a stone as close as possible to the centre of the house – one stone is delivered clockwise and the other counter-clockwise – and the distance from the stone to the centre being measured.

This process is called the Last Stone Draw or LSD.

In the men’s and women’s events, the final two stones of each end are generally thrown by the skip.

This is the de facto captain of each rink, who shapes their team’s strategy and must execute calmly under pressure.

In mixed doubles, in which five stones are played, the same team member throws the first and last stones of each end.

Their teammate throws the middle three stones: teams begin every end with one stone, per team, pre-placed therefore it’s possible to score six points in an end.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, a mission aimed at standing up against Jewish hate, announced a new Super Bowl ad ahead of the game this Sunday in Santa Clara, California.

While Kraft is focused on winning another Super Bowl ring for his franchise, he’s also calling on all Americans to stand up against antisemitism and all forms of hate through a new ad entitled “Sticky Note.”

The ad features a young student who is victimized in the halls of his school for being Jewish, with classmates sticking a degrading, antisemitic note on his backpack without him noticing.

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Owner Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots before a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., Oct. 5. (Bryan Bennett/Getty Images)

It goes on to show a fellow student silently overlaying the hateful sticky note with one of his own, a blue square. The student also places a similar blue square on his chest and proudly walks alongside the Jewish boy.

“For the third straight year, the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate is proud to show up on sports’ biggest stage and speak directly to more than 120 million Americans with an urgent message: Stand up for each other and stand up to hate wherever you see it,” Kraft said in a statement.

“The Blue Square serves as a symbol of unity and solidarity and for sisterhood and brotherhood at a time in which we need it most.”

PATRIOTS’ ROBERT KRAFT MISSES OUT ON PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME: REPORTS

Blue Square’s state-by-state assessment shows that 58% of American adults believe that antisemitism is not an issue, while only 32% said they would speak up in the face of antisemitism. This was a decrease from a 2023 assessment.

A scene from Blue Square Alliance Against Hate from its latest Super Bowl Ad, “Sticky Note.” (Blue Square Alliance Against Hate)

“Hate will not be defeated unless we take it upon ourselves to stand up to it,” Adam Katz, president of the Blue Square Alliance against Hate, said in a statement. “Our mission at the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate is simply that, to inspire Americans to stand up to hate in their own communities, online and wherever they see it. With this ad, we’re reaching hundreds of millions of Americans and encouraging them to take up this collective mission.

“Together, we can defeat hate in America in all its forms.”

Blue Square has had previous campaigns showcasing powerful ads, including its “When There Are No Words” message that had a heavy impact in October 2025.

During last year’s Super Bowl, Tom Brady and Snoop Dogg were among those featured in “No Reason To Hate.” Blue Square also ran its “Silence” ad during the Super Bowl in 2024.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft smiles before a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Oct. 19, 2025. (Kara Durrette/Getty Images)

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This $15 million ad buy will reach Americans through television, social media, YouTube and billboards over the next few months.

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A new Olympic sport is debuting this month at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.

Ski mountaineering combines uphill sprinting (on boots and on skis) and downhill skiing. Although the sport on the global stage is relatively new, it has roots dating to the late 19th century.

Something to know about Olympic skimo: it’s fast, with sprint races lasting about 3 minutes.

How it works

Ski mountaineering will have men’s and women’s sprint events along with a mixed relay.

The race works like this: The racers sprint uphill with skins on the bottom of their skis. A skin is a strip of material that allows for traction going uphill. They then run a section in boots before putting their skis back on to traverse another uphill section.

Once at the top, they take the skins off and race downhill. In the men’s and women’s sprint-event format, there will be a qualifying round where 18 racers qualify over three heats. The top three athletes in each heat advance to the semifinals along with three others based on time.

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In the semifinal rounds, two advance along with two more “lucky losers,” which sets up the race for medals.

The mixed relay consists of one female and one male racer from each country. Each will complete two ascents and descents. The female athlete begins, then tags her male teammate for the switch. The team that completes all four laps first wins gold.

Who to watch

The current ski mountaineering sprint champions are Swiss racer Marianne Fatton and Spain’s Oriol Cardona Coll. Another favorite is France’s Emily Harrop, who won the test event at the venue last winter ahead of Fatton.

Venues and dates

The races will be staged in Bormio at the Stelvio Ski Center, with the men’s and women’s sprint events taking place on 19 February.

The mixed relay competition takes place two days later.

Memorable moments

The medal winners will be the first in their sport at the Olympics.

Fun facts

There are penalties in the race for things such as disrespectful behavior, unsportsmanlike conduct, technical errors and equipment that’s missing. The penalties range from a disqualification to adding time.

The first ski mountaineering world championships were held in France in 2002. The sport is presided over by the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF), representing roughly 55 national federations across five continents.

Ski mountaineering was part of the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne. The sport is proposed for the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps.

Former Premier League manager Tim Sherwood believes Liverpool and Manchester United could still target Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven

Manchester United have been told why they could have a chance of signing Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven this summer. United had a quiet January transfer window with no new signings arriving at Old Trafford, but it could be a different story in the summer.

Ruben Amorim left the club at the start of January and was subsequently replaced by Michael Carrick, who was named as United’s interim head coach until the end of the season.

It remains to be seen what plans United will have for the summer transfer window, and the Reds have already been linked with a host of potential targets, particularly in midfield.

However, former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood has argued why Van de Ven, a centre-back, could be a player of interest to United in the summer, reports the Liverpool Echo.

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Speaking to CasinoStugan, Tim Sherwood suggested Van de Ven’s Spurss future hinges on his fitness record, while also explaining why United may not be alone in showing an interest in the defender.

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“If he proves his fitness, I think there will be a queue around the block for him,” Sherwood said. “Hopefully Tottenham can keep hold of him but you know what it’s like when a player decides he wants to leave. Unfortunately, if you don’t let him go, you’re left without the money and the player in the end.

“People may be shocked by that but it all depends on who they have as manager in the summer because they’ve got it wrong so many times before and it looks like they have got it right at the moment.

“United are a club that can go from where they have been to the top quicker than most because they’ve got the brand power, the money to do it. They can pay the big wages for the big players.

“They missed the boat before. They could have signed Declan Rice and Harry Kane. Instead, they ended up with seven or eight signings who were alright but mostly very poor.

“They won’t want to miss the boat this time on Van de Ven. He will certainly be at the top of a lot of lists at any number of clubs and Tottenham will have to fight tooth and nail to keep hold of him.

“I think the only real way they keep hold of him is if Micky [Van de Ven] decides that there might be a bright future ahead at Tottenham, and right now they’re down in 14th in the Premier League and out of the running for the two domestic cups. They’re flying high in the Champions League but there are stiffer tests to come in that competition.”

Sherwood went on to explain why United’s bitter rivals, Liverpool, could be another club who have an interest in signing Van de Ven. This is despite the Anfield club agreeing a £60million deal with Rennes for centre-back Jeremy Jacquet on deadline day.

“Is Micky van de Ven to Liverpool off? All Micky has got to do is to prove his fitness between now and the end of the season but that will make it very difficult for Tottenham,” Sherwood said.

“Van de Ven is what I call a hierarchy player, players who when they are fit, they will play. They are the players that fans crave, and Tottenham fans want those top players like Harry Kane.

“When he was fit, you knew he was playing, and they’ve only got one of those players at the moment and that’s Micky van de Ven. If he’s fit, he plays. Other than him, Tottenham’s players are all a much of a muchness.

“I think Tottenham have got more chance of keeping Micky van de Ven than they have of bringing in another one of these players. That is the issue.”

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Following their win over Indiana on Tuesday night, USC has won consecutive games and three of their last four, with the lone loss during that stretch a tough one-point game at Iowa.

Holding serve at home against an Indiana team ranked 30th in the NET was huge for the Trojans, a team sitting firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble as February gets rolling.

And the importance of the win over another bubble team was not lost on Eric Musselman, who pointed out in the postgame that given the NCAA Tournament implications and Big Ten Standings, “This game is not worth one game.”

In his first four games with the Trojans, he averaged just 23.3 minutes per game. Getting a full run is a promising sign.

And for a USC team on the bubble, getting production from the talented guard as he finds his stride is huge.

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Arenas is a bona fide scorer and playmaker who can create his own shot. Moving forward, opponents will have to pay even more attention to Arenas’s offensive prowess—and that should open things even more on the offensive end for the likes of Chad Baker-Mazara and Ezra Ausar.

Baker-Mazara is another guy who can create space for himself on offense. Ausar is athletic in the front court and has reached double figures in 20 of 23 games, including 12 in a row. Adding another scorer also allows Kam Woods to be a true point guard and really play to his strengths.

With Arenas hitting his stride, the Trojans have a chance to make a lot of noise down the stretch.

The lone East Coast trip remaining is the Penn State/Ohio State combo.

The Nittany Lions have been a disaster this season with just one Big Ten win and nine of their 10 wins on the season being Quad 4 wins. The Buckeyes offer SC a chance to steal a road game against another bubble team, albeit in a tough place to pick up a road win.

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writes about various topics for SuperWest sports, including stats and records, college sports, and motorsports. He also founded and runs the Sports and Entertainment Research Center (SERC).

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