SPORTS

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | An Africa Cup of Nations with new dates and an expanded 24-team line-up will take centre stage this year in the continent, but the hosts have still to be decided. CAF will announce next Wednesday whether Egypt or South Africa stage the June 15-July …

Paris, France | AFP | The players in France’s football team which last year won the World Cup, on Tuesday were awarded the the Legion of Honour in the new year’s honours list. The 23 players, including star strikers Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann, each received France’s top medal for …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Arsenal responded to their thrashing by Liverpool in the best possible manner reeling off a routine 4-1 humbling of struggling Fulham in their Premier League clash on Tuesday. Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka had set Arsenal on their way with his fourth goal of the …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Arsenal manager Unai Emery was fined £8,000 ($10,000) on Monday for kicking a water bottle into the crowd during his side’s Boxing Day draw at Brighton after admitting to a Football Association charge. “Unai Emery has been fined £8,000 after he admitted an FA …

Doha, Qatar | AFP | World Cup 2022 host Qatar is to introduce a 100 percent tax on alcohol from January 1, a government official confirmed on Monday. The “sin” tax is being introduced just weeks after the conservative Muslim Gulf state announced in its annual budget statement that it …

Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | After scoring 12 goals in three games under caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United could add another weapon to their attacking arsenal at Newcastle on Wednesday, with Alexis Sanchez set to return from injury. The Chilean has been sidelined by a hamstring injury …

Buenos Aires, Argentina | AFP | Diego Maradona has given his backing to Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly after the Senegalese international was subjected to racist abuse by Inter Milan supporters last week. Argentina great Maradona, who won the Serie A title with Napoli in 1987 and 1990, posted a picture …

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Floyd Mayweather beat Japanese kickboxing phenomenon Tenshin Nasukawa by a technical knockout on Monday in the first round of a New Year’s Eve “exhibition” bout that brought the US boxing superstar out of retirement. Mayweather floored Nasukawa, a kickboxer less than half his age, three …

Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | Liverpool took another significant step towards a first top-flight title in 29 years by thrashing Arsenal 5-1 to open up a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League, thanks also to Tottenham’s collapse at home to Wolves. Manchester City are once again …

Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | Ole Gunnar Solskjaer encouraged Paul Pogba to cut showboating from his game to recreate the “efficient” display that saw the Frenchman score twice for the second straight game in a 4-1 thrashing of Bournemouth at Old Trafford. A third consecutive victory since Solskjaer took …