Paris, France | AFP | Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Paris Masters on Wednesday guaranteeing Novak Djokovic’s return to the world number one spot. Announcing his withdrawal at a hastily arranged press conference Nadal said: “My abdominal muscles haven’t felt good for the past few days, especially on serve, …

Berlin, Germany | AFP | Marco Reus’s 120th-minute penalty broke Union Berlin hearts and sent Borussia Dortmund stumbling into the third round of the German Cup with an epic 3-2 win on Wednesday. Sebastian Polter had twice brought Union back from behind, but the second division side’s spirited resistance was …

Mexico City, Mexico | AFP | Millions of people in Mexico City were without water on Wednesday, and expected to wait at least four days as authorities undertake maintenance work on one of the major supply systems. Half of the capital’s eight million population were affected, with a further three …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Chelsea dumped Frank Lampard’s Derby out of the League Cup on Wednesday despite a valiant effort by the Championship side to battle back from a defensive Halloween horror show. Maurizio Sarri’s much-changed side eventually emerged 3-2 winners, with all five goals coming in a …

Doha, Qatar | AFP | The boss of Qatar Airways said Wednesday his company was considering “several options” for a potential sponsorship deal in the English Premier League. Speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony announcing a yet another sponsorship deal, this time with South America football federation, CONMEBOL, Akbar …

New Delhi, India | AFP | An Indian court Wednesday sentenced 16 police officers to life imprisonment for rounding up and massacring dozens of unarmed Muslims during historic riots in the country’s north decades ago. The officers were found guilty of shooting 42 men and tossing their bodies into canals, …

Doha, Qatar | AFP | Qatar Airways announced yet another football sponsorship deal on Wednesday by unveiling a four-and-a-half year agreement with CONMEBOL to become the South American football confederation’s “official global airline partner”. The sponsorship agreement will run until the end of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. “Qatar …

a Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | When one of Africa’s richest men joined Twitter and posted his first tweet on May 11 this year, the fanfare in his native Nigeria was immediate. News that Femi Otedola had opened an account spread like wildfire and the billionaire head of Forte Oil …

Hong Kong, China | AFP | Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered on Wednesday said pre-tax profits rose 25 percent in the first nine months of the year, and warned it was keeping tabs on worsening China-US trade tensions. The results come as the world’s top two economies have imposed a series …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Twitter on Tuesday confirmed that a year after doubling the character limit for tweets, the average length of messages fired off in English actually got a smidge shorter. The news promised to allay concerns that raising the character limit from 140 to 280 …