BEIJING (AP) — Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has denied saying she was sexually assaulted, despite a November social media post attributed to her that accused a former top Communist Party official of forcing her into sex. The Lianhe Zaobao Chinese-language newspaper posted video of Peng it...

BEIJING (AP) — China accused the United States of violating the Olympic spirit on Tuesday after the Biden administration announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Games over human rights concerns. Rights groups have pushed for a full-blown boycott of the Games, accusing China of...

Syria’s sports federation has complained to basketball’s world governing body after Kazakhstan welcomed its team with the Iranian national anthem, instead of the Syrian, to the game at the first leg of Asian qualifiers for World Cup 2023. Syrian players appeared perplexed when the song was...

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Huang Xueqin, who publicly supported a woman when she accused a professor of sexual assault, was arrested in September. Wang Jianbing, who helped women report sexual harassment, was detained along with her. Neither has been heard from since. Meanwhile, several other women's...

Qatar 2022, the Middle East’s first football World Cup, is only 12 months away. The opening match of the next World Cup, which was awarded to Qatar in 2010, will be played on November 18, 2022, at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al-Khor, located north of the capital Doha. Al Jazeera answers some...

BEIJING (AP) — Missing tennis star Peng Shuai reappeared in public Sunday at a youth tournament in Beijing, according to photos released by the organizer, as the ruling Communist Party tried to quell fears abroad while suppressing information in China about Peng after she accused a senior leader...

The eight stadiums — all within a 30-mile radius of Doha — are now largely complete. The 2022 World Cup has been preserved after fending off hostility from neighbors, corruption investigations and concerns about worker abuses. Now a clock on the Corniche waterfront in the Qatari capital will be...

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is hoping that a charity soccer match that includes Swiss Guards, Vatican employees, priests, a player with Down syndrome, migrants and members of the Roma community will deal a significant “kick” to discrimination. The match takes place Sunday in Rome and will be...

Beijing (AFP) – The head of the Women's Tennis Association said he is prepared to cut lucrative business ties with China if tennis star Peng Shui remains unaccounted for and her sexual assault allegations against a top Communist Party official are not investigated. WTA boss Steve Simon's...

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A Chinese professional tennis player not seen in public since she accused a former top government official of sexual assault purportedly sent an email claiming she was safe and that the allegation was false, a message that only amplified concerns about her safety and...

BEIJING (AP) — Tennis star Naomi Osaka says she's been shocked to hear about a fellow player who has gone quiet since making a sexual assault allegation against a former top government official in China. The Japanese former No. 1-ranked, four-time major winner posted on social media on...

Argentina superstar Lionel Messi is set to make his return from injury in a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay, his coach Lionel Scaloni said on Thursday. The six-time Ballon d'Or winner missed the last two matches with his club Paris Saint-Germain due to knee and hamstring issues. He...

Cristiano Ronaldo scored another late goal to rescue Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday, as his former club Juventus and Bayern Munich both secured qualification for the last 16 with two group games to spare. Ronaldo fired in from the edge of the box a minute into injury...

Ibrahim Idan's life was turned upside down when he was wounded in an Assad regime bomb attack in 2015 and forced to flee his home in Syria. He lost one of his legs in the attack; he is preparing for the 2023 European Sitting Volleyball Championships in Turkey. After coming to Gaziantep,...

Ons Jabeur will move into the Top 10 of the WTA Singles Rankings for the first time on Monday, after making her first WTA 1000 semifinal with victory over Anett Kontaveit at the BNP Paribas Open. Ons Jabeur has already had numerous milestones during her breakthrough 2021 season, and now with...

France defeated Spain 2-1 in a 2021 UEFA Nations League final match Sunday. Both teams started a fairly balanced match with no goals scored in the first half at San Siro. Spain appeared more determined in the second half, with France keeping the balance as both teams made several close...

Newcastle United have confirmed the club’s takeover by a Saudi Arabian-led consortium, ending Mike Ashley’s 14-year ownership. The controversial £300m deal received Premier League approval almost 18 months after it was first proposed. It hands the keys of St James’ Park to owners...

BEIJING (AP) — The Beizhong International Travel Agency in the eastern city of Tianjin has had only one customer since coronavirus outbreaks that began in July prompted Chinese leaders to renew city lockdowns and travel controls. Most of China is virus-free, but the abrupt, severe response...

NEW YORK (AP) — A game from the end of his bid for what would have been the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969, Novak Djokovic covered his face with a towel, hiding his tears during a changeover. For 27 Grand Slam matches in 2021, on hard courts, clay courts and grass,...

NEW YORK (AP) — British teenager Emma Raducanu arrived in New York last month with a ranking of 150th, just one Grand Slam appearance to her name and a flight booked to head out of town after the U.S. Open's preliminary rounds in case she failed to win her way into the main tournament. And...