London, United Kingdom | AFP | Maurizio Sarri admitted Chelsea need attacking reinforcements after they wasted a chance to cement their place in the Premier League’s top four with a 0-0 draw against struggling Southampton on Wednesday. Sarri’s team remain in fourth place, but they are now just three points …

Niamey, Niger | AFP | Niger’s army killed more than 280 Boko Haram militants near the southeast border with Nigeria in days of land and air raids, the defence ministry said Wednesday. More than 200 jihadists were killed in air strikes and a further 87 by ground troops since the …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United made it four wins out of four in the Premier League on Wednesday, beating Newcastle to close the gap on fourth-placed Chelsea, who were held at home by Southampton. United have been transformed since their former striker replaced Jose …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | The conditions for a possible visit to Iraq by Pope Francis have not yet been met, the Vatican number two said on Wednesday, citing concerns about the possibility of a terrorist attack targeting the pontiff. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, …

Washington, United States | AFP | A partial shutdown of the US government entered a 12th day Wednesday as President Donald Trump prepared to meet top Democratic and Republican lawmakers in a bid to break the impasse over his demand for funding for a border wall with Mexico. One day …

Doha, Qatar | AFP | Novak Djokovic admitted he had to “fight” to come back from a set down to beat world number 36, Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics at the Qatar Open on Wednesday. The world number one survived a huge scare to eventually triumph 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. “For the first …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says Manchester City are the best team in the world ahead of his Premier League leaders’ top-of-the-table clash at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday. Klopp’s unbeaten side go into the meeting with a seven-point lead over City, who have slipped …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP | More than 60 people, mostly police officers, were wounded in clashes with supporters at a football match in Algeria, local authorities said on Wednesday. The fixture between top division club MC Alger and third league Village Moussa was marred by repeated stone-throwing before the referee …

Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Madagascan security forces on Wednesday fired tear gas to break up a protest by supporters of losing presidential candidate Marc Ravalomanana, who claims he was denied victory in last month’s election because of fraud. In the run-off vote on December 19, Ravalomanana won 44 percent …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa cut short his annual vacation Wednesday to try to resolve an impasse with doctors who have been on strike for a month, a government spokesman said. Hundreds of junior doctors in public hospitals across Zimbabwe withdrew their services in November demanding …