Paris, France | AFP | Russia being banned from the Winter Olympics stole the headlines but may also have overshadowed an otherwise sorry year for sport in terms of scandals. It was a particularly damaging year for sporting officials, not least from the world of football and FIFA in particular. Former …

Washington, United States | AFP | The Miss America pageant’s CEO resigned on Saturday after dozens of former beauty queens demanded he step down over leaked internal emails that contained misogynistic, fat- and slut-shaming language. “This afternoon, the Board of Directors of the Miss America Organization accepted the resignation of …

Caracas, Venezuela | AFP | Venezuela on Saturday said two diplomats from Canada and Brazil were no longer welcome, in an escalating showdown over their criticism of President Maduro’s socialist government. The head of the powerful pro-government Constituent Assembly, Delcy Rodriguez, said the body decided on the move against Brazil’s …

Burnley, United Kingdom | AFP | Mauricio Pochettino saluted “fantastic” duo Harry Kane and Dele Alli after Tottenham revived their challenge for Champions League qualification with a 3-0 win at Burnley. Kane scored a hat-trick to take his total of Premier League goals in the calendar year to 36, equalling …

Beijing, China | AFP | China’s home-grown AG600, the world’s largest amphibious aircraft in production, took to the skies on Sunday for its maiden flight. The plane, codenamed “Kunlong” according to state news agency Xinhua, took off from the southern city of Zhuhai and landed after roughly an hour-long flight. …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Barcelona further tightened their vice-like grip on the La Liga title by sweeping aside eternal rivals Real Madrid 3-0 on Saturday to leave the European champions 14 points adrift down in fourth place. Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Aleix Vidal were on target for the …

Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | Pep Guardiola said Sergio Aguero had earned the right to determine his own Manchester City future after the Argentinian striker scored a brace in a 4-0 demolition of Bournemouth. The build-up to Saturday’s contest was dogged by talk of Aguero’s supposed discontent at the …

Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | Thick fog on Sunday disrupted flights at major airports in the United Arab Emirates as thousands of foreign residents rushed to travel home for Christmas and the New Year. Dozens of flights were cancelled, diverted or delayed at the three main airports in …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Thousands of Israelis on Saturday held a demonstration in Tel Aviv for the fourth week running calling for the resignation of the “corrupt” government and its head. In Jerusalem, hundreds also took part in a rally against graft headed by a rightwing former member of Prime …

Leicester, United Kingdom | AFP | Jose Mourinho slammed his Manchester United stars after they conceded a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw against 10-man Leicester that left them 13 points adrift of leaders Manchester City. United were already trailing in City’s wake, but Harry Maguire’s 94th-minute leveller at the …