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Mbappe’s late penalty gives edgy Real Madrid 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano

Mbappe’s late penalty gives edgy Real Madrid 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano

Real Madrid earn a ⁠hard-fought football victory over their local ​rivals to move to within one point of league leaders Barcelona. By News Agencies Published On 1 Feb 20261 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Kylian Mbappe stayed calm to roll home a 100th-minute penalty and grab Real Madrid a 2-1 win over nine-man Rayo Vallecano in a spicy La Liga football derby on Sunday. Los Blancos cut Barcelona’s lead back to one point at the top of the table a day after the Spanish champions beat Elche. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Vinicius Junior scored early on for Madrid after Jude Bellingham limped off with an apparent hamstring injury. Jorge de Frutos pulled Rayo level early in the second half as Madrid fans showed their anger at their team. But after Rayo’s Pathe Ciss was issued a red card, Mbappe netted from the spot at the death. Pep Chavarria was also sent off for 17th-placed Rayo, who took a shaky Madrid to the wire before falling short. After the hosts’ midweek defeat at Benfica, which forced them into the Champions League playoff round, the Santiago Bernabeu crowd was in an unforgiving mood. Mbappe and Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa had begged fans to support the team, but, just as they did two weeks ago against Levante, they whistled at their own players. Former Barcelona winger Ilias Akhomach fired narrowly wide early on, and the atmosphere would have been further soured had his effort crept inside Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’ post. Los Blancos suffered an early setback as England international Bellingham pulled up holding the back of his thigh, going off in agony. Vinicius fired the hosts ahead in the 15th minute, showing tidy footwork just inside the area before firing high over Augusto Batalla and into the net. Vinicius Junior scores the opening football goal for Real Madrid [Thomas Coex/AFP] Arda Guler came close to getting a second, with Batalla saving his effort and Vinicius turning the rebound wide. Advertisement Los Blancos were in charge, but though they took the lead, their fans were not appeased, and whistled the team in at the break. Four minutes into the second half, Rayo pulled level. Alvaro Garcia nodded a cross down for de Frutos, a former Madrid youth player, to reach and drill home. The visitors should have taken the lead after an hour, when Andrei Ratiu ran through on goal with only Courtois to beat. But the Belgian stopper made a superb save to deny him. Mbappe came centimetres away from putting Madrid in front when Batalla rushed out of his goal, with the French forward knocking the ball around him but then hitting the bar from distance. Kylian Mbappe rounds Augusto Batalla only to miss an open goal from distance [Manu Fernandez/AP Photo] Rayo made life harder for themselves when midfielder Ciss was sent off for an ugly foul on Madrid’s Dani Ceballos. Eduardo Camavinga headed against the post as Arbeloa’s side turned the screw, before nine minutes of stoppage time were added on. With the clock ticking down, Madrid were awarded a penalty when Nobel Mendy clumsily fouled Brahim Diaz, and La Liga’s top scorer Mbappe dispatched the ball to snatch three points for his side. Rayo finished the match with nine men after Chavarria was shown a second yellow card for shoving Rodrygo Goes. Adblock test (Why?)

LA Olympics chief Wasserman issues Maxwell apology, but denies Epstein ties

LA Olympics chief Wasserman issues Maxwell apology, but denies Epstein ties

Files published by the US Department of Justice included flirtatious emails between Casey Wasserman and Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. By News Agencies Published On 1 Feb 20261 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Los Angeles 2028 Olympics chief Casey Wasserman has ‍apologised for communicating with ‍convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell more than 20 years ago, after the publication of a series of personal emails between the two. New files related to late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell’s former boyfriend, published by the United States Department of Justice on ⁠Friday, included flirtatious email exchanges between Wasserman, who was married at the time, and Maxwell dating ​from 2003. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty in ‍2021 by a jury in New York on charges including sex trafficking of a minor. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial. “I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” Wasserman said in a ‍statement on Sunday. “I ⁠am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.” Maxwell was arrested in 2020 after being accused by federal prosecutors of recruiting and grooming girls for sexual encounters with Epstein between 1994 and 2004. “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell,” said Wasserman, adding that it took place before her and Epstein’s crimes “came to light”. The International Olympic Committee, which works very closely with Wasserman in preparation for the Summer Olympic Games, refused ​to comment on the matter. “I believe Mr Wasserman has put out his ‌statement and we have nothing further to add,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry said in a press conference before the start of next week’s Milano-Cortina Olympics. Advertisement Asked whether the Wasserman emails were a distraction shortly before the Milano Games, Coventry said ‌there had been past Olympics that were dogged by stories prior to their start, such as the Zika virus before the Rio de Janeiro ‌2016 Olympics. “Anything that is distracting from these Games is sad,” ⁠Coventry said. “But we have learned over the many years … there has always been something that has taken the lead, leading up to the Games. What is keeping my faith alive is when the opening ceremony happens … suddenly the world remembers ‌the magic and spirit the Games have,” she said. Wasserman is a sports and entertainment executive who has been leading the LA28 Olympic project from the bidding phase and currently serves as chairman of ‍the organising committee, which is due to deliver a progress report to the IOC session on Tuesday. The 2028 Summer Olympics were awarded to the city in 2017. Adblock test (Why?)

Venezuela rights activist freed from jail amid prisoner release

Venezuela rights activist freed from jail amid prisoner release

Tarazona freed after four years in prison on ‘terrorism’ and conspiracy charges. Published On 1 Feb 20261 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Venezuelan rights ‍activist Javier Tarazona has been freed ‍in a prisoner release, his family says, more than four years since he was arrested. “After 1675 days, 4 years and 7 months, this long-awaited day has arrived. My brother Javier Tarazona is free,” Jose Rafael Tarazona posted on X on Sunday. “One person’s freedom is everyone’s hope.” Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Legal rights group Foro Penal said several other prisoners had been released with Tarazona from the Helicoide detention centre in Caracas. The group said it has ​verified more than 300 political prisoners freed since the government announced a series of releases on January 8. Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez on Friday unveiled a proposed “amnesty law” covering hundreds of prisoners and said the Helicoide prison – long condemned by rights groups as a site of prisoner abuse – will be transformed into a sports and social services complex. Translation: Today, #1Feb, after 1675 days, 4 years and 7 months, this long-awaited day has arrived. My brother Javier Tarazona is FREE. THANKS BE TO GOD ALMIGHTY. Thank you to everyone who made this moment possible. One person’s freedom is everyone’s hope. #FreeToLiberate Tarazona is the director of FundaRedes, which tracks alleged abuses by Colombian armed groups and the Venezuelan military along the countries’ border. He was arrested in July 2021 and accused of “terrorism” and conspiracy. Government officials – who deny holding political prisoners and say those jailed have committed crimes – have given a much higher figure for the releases, saying there have been more than 600, but have not been clear about the timeline and appear to be including releases from previous years. The government has never provided an official list of how many prisoners will be released or who they are. Advertisement Families of prisoners said the releases have progressed too slowly, and Foro Penal said more than 700 political prisoners remain jailed, an updated ​count including prisoners whose fearful families had not previously reported their detentions. Families and rights advocates have long ‌demanded the charges and convictions against detainees who are considered political prisoners be revoked. Opposition politicians, journalists and rights activists have long been subject to charges like “terrorism” and treason, which their families have called unjust and arbitrary. The proposed amnesty law could affect hundreds of detainees who remain behind bars in the ‌South American country as well as former prisoners who have already been conditionally released. The releases were announced as the top United States envoy for Venezuela arrived in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to reopen a US diplomatic mission seven years after ties were severed. Last month, the US abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from the presidential palace in Caracas on the orders of US President Donald Trump. Maduro was then taken to a prison in New York and is facing drug trafficking and “narcoterrorism” conspiracy charges. Adblock test (Why?)