SPORTS

Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets reiterated his call for the club’s board to strengthen in the transfer market on Tuesday, but warned replacing the departed Neymar will be almost impossible. The Brazilian’s absence was noticeable as Barca fell to a 3-1 Spanish Super Cup, first leg defeat …

Shanghai, China | AFP | A group of elderly Chinese joggers are pounding along a deserted motorway when suddenly a taxi ploughs into the back of them, knocking them over like skittles. At least one person was killed and the footage from the eastern province of Shandong went viral on Chinese …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya is to launch a bid to host the athletics world championships in 2023 after successfully staging two other international competitions in the last 10 years. No African nation has ever staged the sport’s flagship event, but Kenyan sports minister Hassan Wario said Kenya had shown …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Diego Costa’s stand-off with English Premier League champions Chelsea is just the latest in a long line of disputes between players and their employers. Here AFP Sport picks out five such infamous examples: French World Cup squad’s ‘Busman’s holiday’ Probably the most spectacular and humiliating …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP |  Tiger Woods had five drugs, including the opioid painkiller hydrocodone, in his system when he was arrested in May on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to a toxicology report released Monday. A urine test revealed four other medications along with hydrocodone …

Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Barcelona made Brazilian international midfielder Paulinho their first signing since banking a world record fee for Neymar on Monday after agreeing a 40 million-euro ($47 million) fee with Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande. “Barcelona and Guangzhou Evergrande have reached an agreement for the transfer of the player …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Cristiano Ronaldo was hit with a five-match ban by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) on Monday for pushing the referee after being sent off in Real Madrid’s 3-1 Spanish Super Cup, first leg win over Barcelona. The World Player of the Year received an automatic one-match …

St. Louis, United States | AFP | Russian chess champion Garry Kasparov owned the game for 15 years, gaining superstar status among fans before retiring and throwing himself into politics — but he just can’t seem to stay away from the chessboard. The 54-year-old former world champion is coming out of …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Athletics greats Allyson Felix and Caster Semenya lit up the track to bring the curtain down on the world championships in great style on Sunday. However, not for the first time, but certainly the last as an athlete, Usain Bolt stole the show. Retiring superstar …

Paris, France | AFP | Kylian Mbappe watched on from the bench as Radamel Falcao struck a hat-trick in champions Monaco’s 4-1 victory away to Dijon in Ligue 1 on Sunday. Jemerson also scored in a comprehensive victory for the principality side that made it two wins from two after they …