Russia marks 75 years since the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two on Saturday.

War cabinet papers reveal PM’s concern French ally would pre-empt joint announcement

Winston Churchill believed a disgruntled general Charles de Gaulle intended to pre-empt the allies’ announcement of victory in Europe by 24 hours but felt unable to pressure him to change his plans, according to British war cabinet documents released free online by the National Archives during the lockdown.

The 75th anniversary of VE Day will be celebrated on Friday 8 May but Gen Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme allied commander in north-west Europe, and the Soviet high command had actually received the German surrender in the French city of Reims on 7 May 1945 at 2.41am.

The league’s centralised structure should help during the pandemic but it is also vulnerable in a way that European competitions are not

The warning from Adrian Hanauer was stark. According to the Seattle Sounders majority owner, the shutdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic could result in “astronomical” losses for Major League Soccer teams. “Hundreds of millions, billions, really big numbers,” he told the Sounder At Heart podcast earlier this month.

Hanauer’s remarks were in line with much of what is being said around the soccer world. The sport has never experienced anything like this with entire seasons on hold, soon to be abandoned in some cases, and competitions such as Euro 2020 and Women’s Euro 2021 pushed back a whole year. For all the meetings that have been held and contingency plans drawn up, nobody can guarantee when play will resume.

Russia marks 75 years since the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two on Saturday, but the coronavirus outbreak has forced it to scale back celebrations seen as boosting support for the Kremlin.

Thousands of troops paraded before crowds of spectators in Minsk Saturday to mark 75 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany as Belarus held a celebration of Victory Day despite the coronavirus pandemic. Neighbouring Russia cancelled its Victory Day parade over the pandemic and Belarus was the only ex-Soviet country with reported cases to hold the annual event. President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been dismissive of the pandemic and the "psychosis" around the virus, watched in military uniform with top brass as some 4,000 troops marched past and planes and helicopters flew overhead.

Footage of last year's Red Square military parade play on TV as the pandemic mutes celebrations.

The Red Square parade was cancelled because of the pandemic, but in neighbouring Belarus the parade went ahead as planned.

The European Commission has hailed victory in a World Trade Organisation case concerning Russian anti-dumping duties on certain light commercial vehicles from Germany and Italy.

The EU has said that, as a result of dispute proceedings it launched in 2014, Russia has lowered tariffs on certain paper, refrigerators, and palm oil products.

In a letter to President Obama, Secretary-General Angel Gurría acknowledged that Americans demonstrated their recognition of the President's many achievements during his first four years in the White House.

World leaders call for an urgent debt moratorium and unprecedented health and economic aid packages

MATT SPIRO IN FRANCE: Tuchel's charges streamed off the pitch and climbed to a point high up the Tribune Auteuil where a balcony at the back of the stand overlooked the mass of smoke and bodies.

First he dispatched a rank outsider. Then one of the biggest rebels in tennis. And yesterday Rafael Nadal came up against the eternal entertainer that is Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and again prevailed.

Kyrgios' first-round win against American Steve Johnson was his first since copping a record $US113,000 ($A167,000) fine for a spectacular meltdown during a tournament in Cincinnati.

MIKE DICKSON IN GENEVA: Alex Zverev made up for the loss of an injured Rafael Nadal when he carried Team Europe to victory in the Laver Cup on Sunday night for the third time in its three editions.

The Australian 23rd seed toppled Italian world number 53 Lorennzo Sonego 6-2 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-1) in front of a delighted crowd at Melbourne Arena on Tuesday night.

The Russian was a 7-6 (3), 6-4 winner in one hour 39 minutes and has guaranteed his place in the world's top five in next week's new ATP rankings. Medvedev stormed into a 4-1 lead against Goffin.

British number three Kyle Edmund had posted back-to-back wins after arriving at the Rolex Paris Masters on an eight-match losing streak that stretched back to August.

Novak Djokovic was forced to dig deep and lost his temper with the chair umpire and crowd in his 7-6(5) 7-6(6) win over Kevin Anderson to win a testing ATC Cup tie for Serbia in Brisbane.

Jordan Pickford joked he is relieved to have escaped a Twitter battering after scoring his penalty in the UEFA Nations League shoot-out victory against Switzerland.

The 26-year-old broke Jessica Ennis-Hill's British record to post 6,981 points and take the title at the World Championships on Thursday. She beat defending champion Nafi Thiam by 304 points.

MARTIN SAMUEL - CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: Ian Poulter was prancing around dressed as a red pillar box. Tommy Fleetwood was being chaired from green to green.

Chaos ensued at a lavish party at a nearby venue with most of the team drinking from the trophy, Justin Rose dancing with pop star Niall Horan and Thomas Bjorn's squad singing 'American Pie'.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: England have taken Ireland to the cleaners twice in the past 12 months, but only one of those victories counted for a bean and that was in Dublin 12 months ago.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: I was expecting a torrid dogfight against an Ireland team with their tails up and nothing to lose. But what transpired was a strong and disciplined England performance.

ON THE ROAD: The joke wasn't lost on the home fans as they gathered at the Happy Abode. Supping on pre-match lager from plastic pint pots and surrounded by the wrong shade of blue.

ROB ROBERTSON AT THE KOBE MISAKI STADIUM: Needing a bonus point win to keep their World Cup campaign alive, it took them until five minutes from time before they got that vital fourth try.

Japan captain Michael Leitch dedicated the team's 28-21 victory over Scotland at the Rugby World Cup on Sunday to those affected by the typhoon which nearly cancelled the match.

ROB ROBERTSON IN YOKOHAMA: Japan took a stunning 28-21 victory in Yokahama. The result means that the host nation will now face South Africa in the quarter finals.

CHRIS FOY IN EDINBURGH - England's  task is to turn down the volume - in the Murrayfield stands and far beyond. There is suddenly a lot of noise swirling around the national team.

The veteran fly-half's kicking was exemplary as he added the extras to tries from Jacques Vermeulen and Stuart Hogg as well as slotting over four penalties.

Hundreds of Belarusians, including Second World War veterans, attended a Victory Day parade in Minsk on Saturday that marked the 75th anniversary of the allied victory over Nazi Germany.

All of Rory McIlroy's well-documented problems when playing in the final group on Sunday were consigned to history emphatically during the course of a stunning seven stroke success.

Rory McIlroy says he is feeling more confident than at any time since 2016 as he bids to end his wretched run at the US Open.