Maignan clanger hands Champions League gift to fired

Rotterdam (Netherlands) (AFP) – A catastrophic mistake by AC Milan’s French goalkeeper Mike Maignan handed troubled Dutch side Feyenoord a precious 1-0 advantage after the first leg of the Champions League play-offs Wednesday.

Paixao's shot should have been easily saved

Bayern sink Celtic to seize control of Champions League play

Glasgow (AFP) – Bayern Munich took a major step towards the Champions League last 16 as Michael Olise’s thunderbolt and Harry Kane’s clinical finish secured a 2-1 win at Celtic in the play-off round first leg on Wednesday.

Bayern Munich's Harry Kane celebrates scoring against Celtic

Trump is now head of top Washington cultural venue

Washington (AFP) – Donald Trump was appointed chairman of the Kennedy Center on Wednesday, as a new board of trustees loyal to the US president brought his aggressive rightwing, anti-“woke” stamp to Washington’s premier arts venue.

The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opened in Washington on September 8, 1971, and is one of the premier performing arts venues in the United States

White House says American among three detainees freed by Belarus

Washington (AFP) – US officials said Wednesday they had secured the release of three “hostages” who had been detained in Belarus, including an American citizen, in a diplomatic success for President Donald Trump’s administration.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC

Battling Swiatek lines up Doha quarter

Doha (AFP) – Three-time defending Qatar Open champion Iga Swiatek scrapped her way past Czech youngster Linda Noskova on Wednesday to set up a quarter-final with last year’s runner-up Elena Rybakina.

Iga Swiatek's run of consecutive sets won in Doha ended at 25 but she recovered to reach the quarter-finals

Dodgers manager expects Sasaki, Yamamoto to pitch in Tokyo

Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Japanese pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki are expected to start for the Los Angeles Dodgers in season openers at Tokyo next month, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Wednesday.

Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto is expected to be the starting pitcher for the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers when they open the MLB regular season next month against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo

Wife of Colombian

Bogotá (AFP) – The wife of Elkana Bohbot, a Colombian-Israeli man being held hostage by Hamas, said Wednesday she had received proof he was alive and denounced the “terrible” conditions in which he was being held.

Elkana Bohbot, an Israeli-Colombian father of two, was taken hostage by Hamas gunmen when they stormed Israel on October 7, 2023