SPORTS

The successor to Thomas Bach as International Olympic Committee president must "embody the principles of justice" and that means refusing to welcome Russia back into the sporting world, Ukraine's Sports Minister Matviy Bidnyi has told AFP. Seven candidates are vying to succeed Bach in an election in March but the German will step down in June 2025 after 12 years in charge.

Drug lords like Sean McGovern, a top lieutenant of the Kinahan cartel, and Faissal Taghi -- son of the infamous head of the Dutch-Moroccan Mocro Maffia -- used to hang out and party in Dubai's glitzy hotels and restaurants without a care in the world.

A Filipina inmate on death row in Indonesia told AFP from prison Friday that her planned transfer was a "miracle", in her first interview since Manila and Jakarta signed an agreement last week to repatriate her.

The nearly two-year-long, $2 billion Eras tour shattered records, made history and quite literally triggered earthquakes -- so what could Taylor Swift, the planet's biggest star, possibly do next?

Australia will spend US$385 million to establish a team from Papua New Guinea in its rugby league competition, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday, a move designed to help ward off China.

FIFA is set to confirm on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup while a joint bid by Morocco, Spain and Portugal which also features matches in South America will be awarded the 2030 tournament.

A new Netflix series on Saudi football features packed stadiums and top-flight talent, but whether it can curb criticism of Riyadh's bid to host World Cup 2034 is an open question.

One of the five stars that used to adorn the facade of the Margarita hotel on the Venezuelan paradise island of the same name has fallen off.

Icelanders voted Saturday in a legislative election after the collapse of a fraught coalition prompted a snap poll where the economy has been a top concern.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October last year, many home fixtures of Israel's national football team and clubs have been moved to Hungary.

Spanish traveller Alberto Blasco Ventas looked out at Ukraine's destroyed Irpin brige, blown up to stop Russian troops in 2022 and now a hotspot for thrill-seeking tourists visiting the country.

Superstar Rafael Nadal's glittering career in professional tennis came to an end on Tuesday as Netherlands eliminated Spain in the Davis Cup quarter-finals.

Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal will cap his emotional farewell from tennis at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga this week even if he admits he may not make it onto the courts.

Egypt's economy has been in crisis for years, but as the latest round of International Monetary Fund-backed reforms bites, much of the country's middle class has found itself struggling to afford goods once considered basics.

New Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's party was set for a landslide victory in snap legislative elections, initial results showed Friday.

High above the sparkling surface of the Athens coastline, the cranes for building the 50-floor luxury tower centrepiece of Greece's future "smart city" look out over the Saronic Gulf.

A debate over the soul of football is raging in World Cup holders Argentina, pitting defenders of the social role of the beautiful game against the government of libertarian President Javier Milei, who wants to turn clubs into for-profit companies.

Nearly 40 years after making his professional debut, and 19 years after being battered into retirement, a 58-year-old Mike Tyson will climb back into the ring on Friday for a Netflix-backed bout that has drawn widespread condemnation across the boxing world.

Officials in southern China ramped up security on Wednesday at the site of one of the country's deadliest mass-casualty events in years, snuffing out makeshift memorials to the 35 people killed when a man drove a car into a crowd at a sports complex.

Former Wales flanker Alix Popham has told AFP he hopes the new chairman of World Rugby will push for the changes required to prevent players from suffering the long-term effects of successive head injuries, as he has done.

Sri Lanka's new leftist leader has drawn strong support from an unlikely source as he seeks to expand his three parliamentary seats to a house majority in elections on Thursday.

Talent, discipline and a desire to please leader Kim Jong Un have helped propel North Korea's youth footballers to two Women's World Cup crowns in a matter of weeks, experts say.

Yang Chi'ao takes her place next to gym equipment and waits to be called by an instructor at a weight-loss camp in China, where over half of adults are overweight.

Alfred Mamba was just 12 when boxing great Muhammad Ali descended on Kinshasa, at that time the capital of Zaire, in October 1974 in a bid to regain his heavyweight title.

The most eagerly anticipated World Series showdown in decades gets under way here Friday as the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the New York Yankees in what promises to be a baseball blockbuster for the ages.

An unexpected schism among American youth could decide the US presidential election, with young women largely leaning left to back Kamala Harris, but many men turning right to rally behind Donald Trump, according to polls.

Las Vegas may be America's playground but for those who live and work in Sin City, high costs make life difficult, and that single issue will be decisive when they vote for a new US president in November.

America's late night talk shows once were appointment viewing, but with ratings tanking and ad revenues plummeting, their coveted place on the small screen is in question.

After suffocating Covid-19 restrictions, many embraced the call of the wild and the joys of foraging, but tightening Swiss biodiversity protection measures are infuriating growing hordes of mushroom-picking enthusiasts.