articles by Agence France-Presse

Sports

Premier League: Southampton sign striker Adam Armstrong from Blackburn on four-year deal

Armstrong's arrival helps fill the void left by the departure of last season's top goalscorer Danny Ings to Aston Villa earlier this month.

Sports

Premier League: Thomas Tuchel remains tight-lipped over Romelu Lukaku's impending transfer to Chelsea

Lukaku is expected to complete his move from Inter Milan ahead of the start of the Premier League season this weekend, but will not be in the Chelsea squad for Wednesday's UEFA Super Cup final against Villarreal in Belfast.

Sports

LaLiga: Real Madrid planning on taking legal action against Spanish league, CVC Capital Partners

Real are furious with the deal announced last week by La Liga president Javier Tebas to give CVC a capital stake in the Spanish game over 50 years for 2.7 billion euros ($3.2 billion).

Sports

Ligue 1: Argentine superstar Lionel Messi lands in France ahead of move to Paris Saint-Germain

Messi arrived at Le Bourget airport to the north of the French capital and was greeted by hundreds of PSG supporters who had gathered hoping to catch a glimpse of their new signing.

World

Taliban seizes seventh Afghan provincial capital, in less than a week, across northern Afghanistan

A provincial lawmaker told AFP the insurgents had taken Farah city, while a Taliban spokesman posted pictures of fighters walking casually past the gates of the police headquarters and governor's office

Sports

Ligue 1: Lionel Messi's father Jorge confirms Argentine star's move to Paris Saint-Germain

Asked by reporters at Barcelona's El Prat airport if the Argentine star would later on Tuesday sign with the French club, Jorge Messi, who is also the player's agent, said: "Yes".

First Cricket News

Former New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns on life support, says report

Cairns, one of New Zealand's all-time greats, suffered an aortic dissection — a tear in the body's main artery — last week in Canberra and is understood to have had several surgeries since, Newshub said.

World

China virus cases hit seven-month high; Delta variant challenges Beijing's grip on pandemic

State media has described the current outbreak as the most severe since the virus emerged in the central city of Wuhan

First Cricket News

India vs England: Hosts recall veteran all-rounder Moeen Ali to squad ahead of second Test

The 34-year-old all-rounder has played only one Test match in the last two years, against India in Chennai almost six months ago, but will link up with the team at Lord's.

Sports

Premier League: John Stones signs four-year contract extension with Manchester City following resurgent season

The new deal rewards Stones, who joined the club from Everton in a £47.5million ($66 million) deal in 2016, for a past year in which he has rejuvenated his career for club and country.

Sports

Premier League: Fans attending matches to be subject to random spot-checks of COVID-19 status

The 2021-22 campaign kicks off on Friday when newly-promoted Brentford host Arsenal with national government restrictions on crowd capacity now eased.

Sports

Paris Saint-Germain hold their breath in Lionel Messi waiting game

PSG is expected to be Messi's next destination after his tearful exit from Barcelona.

Sports

WTA Montreal: First win for Maria Sakkari after string of losses; swift progress for Ons Jabeur

Sakkari is the first Greek woman to get this far here. Her ailing opponent needed a medical timeout before quitting the match after 91 minutes on court.

Sports

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic withdraws from Cincinnati US Open tuneup tournament

Djokovic is a two-time winner of the Cincinnati event, including last year, when it was played in New York due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sports

Toronto Masters: Feisty Fabio Fognini scrapes into second round, to face Andrey Rublev

Fognini finished with 26 winners while between them the pair committed nearly 90 unforced errors. Out of a cumulative total of 25 break points, only nine were converted.

First Cricket News

New Zealand announce T20 World Cup squad, clear players for remainder of IPL 2021

New Zealand players involved in this year's prematurely suspended Indian Premier League would be allowed to re-join their franchises when it re-starts in September.

First Cricket News

West Indies vs Pakistan: Windies recall Chemar Holder, Shamarh Brooks for two-match Test series

There is no place however for bowling spearhead Shannon Gabriel, who is continuing his recovery from injury, and left-handed batsman Darren Bravo who has been "given a break" after being Covid bubbled for a lengthy period.

First Cricket News

Bangladesh vs Australia: Aussies succumb to lowest-ever T20I score as Shakib Al Hasan leads Tigers to victory in final match

Chasing 123 for victory, Australia crashed out in 13.4 overs with Shakib returning figures of 4/9 with his left-arm spin in the 60-run rout in the fifth match in Dhaka.

First Cricket News

India vs England: Upset with top-order batters, England coach Chris Silverwood ready to give Haseeb Hameed a go soon

Big top-order runs have been a consistent problem for some time for England with Rory Burns, Zak Crawley and Dom Sibley under the spotlight after failing to register a score of 30 in two innings of the drawn first Test.