Lionel Messi fired Argentina into the World Cup with a brilliant hat-trick on Tuesday as South American champions Chile suffered a shock elimination. Messi single-handedly resurrected Argentina’s hopes in a 3-1 win over Ecuador in Quito that drew a line under a chaotic campaign that had left the two-time champions in danger of failing to qualify.
Tossed into the sea by a sailor on a yacht in the Atlantic ocean, a message in a bottle drifted across the seas for five years. Some 8000 kilometers later, it washed up on a Northland beach in New Zealand. A couple were walking along the waterfront near their home when the corked wine bottle caught their eye. Inside was a letter thrown into the sea near the Falkland Islands, penned on January 20, 2012.
In a move that critics say impinges on the legitimacy of democracy, the Brazilian Congress has approved legislation allowing parties and candidates to force social media outlets to censor offensive or critical content by anonymous authors.
The chairman of Brazil’s Olympic Committee, who helped organize the Rio 2016 Games, submitted his resignation on Saturday, saying he wanted to concentrate on defending himself against corruption charges.
The building up to the South American qualifier for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, between Argentina and Peru, which was played in Buenos Aires on Thursday evening, resurfaced the strong political and military alliance of the two countries, particularly referred to recent events such as the Falklands war in 1982.
A week-long national holiday in China is providing a much-needed boost for the entertainment and retail industry in London, with Chinese tourists taking advantage of the dip in exchange rates. China's National Day Golden Week holiday is arguably one of the biggest events in the consumer calendar.
Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay formally launched South America’s three-nation bid to host the 2030 World Cup on Wednesday and said Argentina would likely host the majority of the tournament’s stadiums. The presidents of the three nations, who announced in August that they were teaming up to bid for the tournament, kicked off the campaign at the Casa Rosada, Buenos Aires’ government palace.
Barcelona's La Liga game against Las Palmas was played behind closed doors as a protest after their request for it to be postponed in light of Catalonian independence referendum was rejected. The Spanish government pledged to stop a poll declared illegal on a day of violent protests and unrest.
Playboy founder Hugh M. Hefner, the pipe-smoking hedonist who revved up the sexual revolution in the 1950s and built a multimedia empire of clubs, mansions, movies and television, symbolized by bow-tied women in bunny costumes, has died at age 91. He died of natural causes at his home surrounded by family Wednesday night, Playboy said in a statement.
Paris and Los Angeles celebrated their coronation as host cities for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics here on Wednesday, delivering a jolt of good news for the International Olympic Committee as it battles escalating corruption allegations. In a drama-free conclusion to a three-year bidding race, IOC members voted unanimously to rubber-stamp a deal hashed out in July for Paris to be given 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.