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Nearly 60 French actors and other prominent figures have denounced the "lynching" of disgraced cinema legend Gerard Depardieu, who is charged with rape and facing a litany of sexual assault claims.

A stubborn Marnus Labuschagne weathered a storm to help steer Australia to 187-3 on a rain-disrupted opening day of the second Test in Melbourne Tuesday against a probing and resilient Pakistan attack.

Luka Doncic scored 50 points, hitting the 10,000-point plateau as he propelled the Dallas Mavericks to a 128-114 victory over Phoenix on Monday as Boston downed the Lakers in a Christmas clash of storied NBA rivals.

Japanese car maker Daihatsu has suspended all its domestic production as the Toyota-owned company faces a massive safety testing scandal.

More than 100 yachts set off on the annual Sydney-Hobart race Tuesday, with storms and hail threatening to lash sailors in one of the world's most gruelling ocean events.

More than 100 yachts set off on the annual Sydney-Hobart race Tuesday, with storms and hail threatening to lash sailors in one of the world's most gruelling ocean events.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted peace can only be achieved in Gaza if Hamas is destroyed, the territory demilitarised and Palestinian society "deradicalised", after warning the war is set to intensify.

Pakistan removed openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja on day one of the second Test in Melbourne to leave the match finely poised before rain arrived and tea was taken early on Tuesday.

The world of Chinese chess is in uproar over rumours of cheating and a bad behaviour scandal that saw the national champion stripped of his title Monday after a victory celebration ended with him defecating in a hotel bathtub.

Australia's Usman Khawaja wore shoes marked with his daughters' names as he batted against Pakistan on Tuesday, after he had earlier been banned from sporting footwear with a statement about respecting human rights in Gaza.

The Turkish parliament was Tuesday set to resume debate on approving Sweden's bid to join NATO, a thorny issue that was further complicated after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan linked it to Ankara's request for F-16 fighter jets from its ally the United States.

Pele "would have been sad" at the state of the current Brazilian national team, his son Edinho has told AFP in an interview days before the first anniversary of his death on Friday.

The Las Vegas Raiders defense produced two touchdowns in a matter of seconds on Monday to key a 20-14 upset at Kansas City that put the Chiefs' bid to lock up the AFC West division title on hold.

Opener David Warner was out for 38 on the stroke of lunch as Australia battled to 90-1 on day one of the second Test against Pakistan in Melbourne on Tuesday.

The Boston Celtics used a hot start and a strong finish to put away the Los Angeles Lakers 126-115 on Monday in a Christmas clash of storied NBA franchises.

Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic put on a show in the Denver Nuggets' 120-114 victory over Golden State on Monday, as the New York Knicks launched the NBA's Christmas slate with an upset over the Milwaukee Bucks.

A plane that had been grounded in France for days over concerns its nearly 300 mostly Indian passengers were part of a human trafficking scheme has landed in Mumbai, flight tracking data showed early Tuesday.

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been moved to a penal colony in the Arctic, allies said on Monday after over two weeks during which his whereabouts were unknown.

Armed groups have killed at least 160 people in central Nigeria in a series of attacks on villages, local government officials said on Monday.

World Health Organization staff visited Monday a Gaza hospital receiving casualties from deadly strikes on a refugee camp, hearing distressing stories of entire families killed and seeing dying children.

On a countryside road in battle-ravaged Sudan, the hum of a passing vehicle turns villagers' blood cold, fearing the arrival of paramilitaries plundering their way south in their war against the army.

Thousands gathered in front of a Belgrade police station on Monday evening in support of those arrested the previous day during protests against what they say was electoral fraud in Serbia's recent parliamentary and local elections.

Jalen Brunson scored 38 points as the New York Knicks finally got the better of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, halting the Bucks seven-game NBA win streak with a 129-122 victory at Madison Square Garden.

An Israeli strike in Syria has killed a senior general with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the military force said, with Tehran vowing retribution.

Turkish air strikes killed eight civilians in Syria's Kurdish-held northeast Monday, a war monitor and local media said, as Ankara launched operations in Iraq and Syria following deadly attacks on its soldiers.

Japan's SLIM space probe entered the Moon's orbit on Monday in a major step towards the country's first successful lunar landing, expected next month.

Demonstrators set up roadblocks in the Serbian capital Belgrade Monday, to protest what they say was electoral fraud in Serbia's recent parliamentary and local elections.

Residents of Gaza's Al-Maghazi refugee camp returned to their neighbourhood on Monday only to find blocks of concrete strewn where their homes had stood just a day ago.

Israel on Monday said it was "intensifying the fighting" against Hamas in Gaza, where relentless strikes across the Palestinian territory exacerbated the dire conditions for civilians in the war's 12th week.

A plane with close to 300 Indian passengers detained near Paris over suspicions of human trafficking took off Monday for Mumbai after being cleared for departure by French police, an AFP reporter said.

King Charles III has evoked environmentalism and the need for peace around the world in the second Christmas Day message of his reign -- and his first since being formally crowned monarch in May.

Five people arrested in northern France last week as part of an investigation into a criminal terrorist conspiracy have been released without charge, a judicial source said Monday.