For the love of the game

England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty says during a press conference alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Britain has appeared to have peaked, as more than 10 million people have received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine across the country.

Evenings are usually the busiest time at Mikado, a retro gaming arcade in Tokyo, but these days the shutters come down early, leaving "Street Fighter" fans out in the cold. Bright, noisy game centres are still a neighbourhood fixture in Japan, but have been disappearing as business is hit by virus-curtailed opening hours.

Joe Biden's first phone call to Riyadh went not to MBS but to his dad, the ailing King Salman. This came ahead of the declassification of intelligence that links the crown prince to the 2018 murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Overnight, we witnessed the first use of US military force on Joe Biden's watch: an air strike targeting facilities used by Iran-backed militias in Syria, just over the border with Iraqi Kurdistan. Some 17 people were killed, according to local sources.

It's tempting to blame the West for all of Africa's problems. But it's an all too common tactic used by so-called benevolent dictators trying to cover their autocratic tendencies, says DW's Abu-Bakarr Jalloh.

Brussels and Ankara are trading recriminations in the wake of a diplomatic faux pas that observers say smacked of Turkish chauvinism. Turkey has now claimed that it was following EU instructions.

Video games company Electronic Arts says hackers managed to steal some of the source code to its popular football game FIFA 21, as well as the Frostbite engine underpinning several titles.

Indigenous Guatemalans practice an ancient ball game in which only the hip can be used to hit the ball. Guatemala boasts 11 teams, all of which have their eyes on December's Mesoamerican Championship.

Munich, hosting Germany's match against Hungary, wanted to light up the stadium in rainbow colors after Hungarian lawmakers passed new anti-LGBT+ legislation.

What's as addictive as alcohol or tobacco, targets the young and underprivileged and makes millions for sports franchises? As we set our gaze beyond the ball at the pitch-side billboards at Euro 2021, ads for beer and home appliances seem a dying breed. Instead, online sports betting rules. It's been more than a decade since most European nations loosened rules on online gambling. What are the consequences?

A cartridge of Nintendo's classic video game "Super Mario 64" sets a world record, selling for $1.56 million (€1.32 million) after a 20% buyer's premium at the Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. The sale, the first ever of a game cartridge to surpass $1 million, came just two days after a sealed copy of "The Legend of Zelda", made for the old Nintendo NES console, sold for a then-record of $870,000.

According to the Israeli club, Barcelona did not want to play the match in Jerusalem, prompting Beitar's managers to call off the game.

Lionel Messi joins his Paris Saint-Germain teammates for training for the second time ahead of the side's Ligue 1 match against Strasbourg.