SPORTS

Monaco, Principality of Monaco | AFP | Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk won the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award on Thursday, edging out Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, while Lucy Bronze took the women’s prize. Dutchman Van Dijk starred as Liverpool won their sixth European Cup last season with a 2-0 Champions League …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Manchester United cut their losses on Alexis Sanchez on Thursday as the Chilean joined Inter Milan on a 10-month loan deal with the English giants still on the hook for much of his reported £400,000 a week salary. The Red Devils believed they were closing …

Zurich, Switzerland | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandan long distance ace Joshua Cheptegei stepped up his preparations for next month’s World Athletics Championships with a great win in the final 5,000m race of the Diamond League in Zurich Thursday. Cheptegei made it look easy, speeding off from the start to beat …

New York, United States | AFP | Top-ranked defending champion Novak Djokovic fought through shoulder pain to reach the third round of the rain-hit US Open on Wednesday while Roger Federer shook off another slow start to advance. Djokovic, winner of four of the past five Slam titles and 16 in …

Auckland, New Zealand | AFP |  All Blacks selectors backed star centre Sonny Bill Williams to help achieve an unprecedented World Cup treble in Japan but dumped veteran prop Owen Franks from their 31-man squad on Wednesday. The axing of 108-Test stalwart Franks was the major surprise, although the defending champions …

New York, United States | AFP |  Rafael Nadal launched his tilt at a fourth US Open title Tuesday with a swift defeat of John Millman as other leading seeds in his half of the draw tumbled out in the first round. Four players in the world’s top 10 — Dominic …

New York, United States | AFP | Serena Williams overwhelmed Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-1 on Monday to reach the second round of the US Open in search of her 24th Grand Slam title while “rusty” Roger Federer rallied past Indian qualifier Sumit Nagal. Six-time US Open champion Williams crushed the five-time major …

Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | Two teams confronted each other on the dusty sports field, wielding roughly cut sticks to whack a homemade puck at high speed. For the middle-aged and beyond, the sight of this rugged game triggered distant memories, of happier times. The sport, known as ngbaba, …

Washington, United States | AFP | So many NBA headliners from the United States are skipping the Basketball World Cup in China that they would assemble a formidable all-star squad of their own. But it is nothing new for the Americans as they seek a third consecutive crown in the global showdown …

Lukaku scores as Conte’s Inter reign starts in style Milan, Italy | AFP | Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku scored on his Inter Milan debut as new coach Antonio Conte’s reign got off to a perfect start with a 4-0 win over promoted Lecce on Monday. “There was a spark, but …