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Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah on Sunday won his fifth Dakar Rally driver's title and second in a row with Argentina's Kevin Benavides securing his second motorbike crown.

Carl Hahn, who headed the Volkswagen group during the German car giant's heyday in the 1980s, has died, a spokeswoman for the Carl and Marisa Hahn Foundation told AFP on Sunday.

Ukraine said Sunday that the death toll had risen to 21 after a Russian missile slammed into a tower block in the city of Dnipro during a massive wave of strikes causing power outages and blackouts across the war-torn country.

Twenty-nine people were confirmed to have died Sunday when a plane with 72 on board crashed in Nepal, the airline said.

US President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in California, as the latest in a succession of storm systems blew into the state, bringing heavy flooding to already waterlogged regions and threatening snowfalls of up to six feet (two meters).

An aircraft with 72 people on board crashed in Nepal on Sunday, Yeti Airlines and a local official said.

Know-it-all chatbots landed with a bang last year, convincing one engineer that machines had become sentient, spreading panic that industries could be wiped out, and creating fear of a cheating epidemic in schools and universities.

In a league where a 45-year-old Tom Brady remains the biggest star, playoff experience is invaluable, but on Saturday it was a rookie and a second-year quarterback who delivered breath-taking game-winning performances in the opening NFL playoff games.

Jayson Tatum scored 33 points as the Boston Celtics overturned a double-digit deficit to extend their lead at the top of the NBA Eastern Conference on Saturday with a 122-106 road victory over the lowly Charlotte Hornets.

The Jacksonville Jaguars pulled off a remarkable playoff comeback, fighting back from 27 points down to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 31-30 while rookie quarterback Brock Purdy led the San Francisco 49ers past the Seattle Seahawks 41-23 in the NFL playoffs on Saturday.

Rafael Nadal opens his Australian Open title defence Monday feeling vulnerable and against a dangerous young opponent, with women's top seed Iga Swiatek also facing a tricky encounter as she targets a maiden crown.

China's economic growth for 2022 is expected to have been among its weakest in four decades after the twin crises of the pandemic and property woes, analysts said ahead of Tuesday's GDP announcement.

Tending to his camels in Petra, Jordan's spectacular archaeological marvel hidden deep in a desert canyon, Hussein Bdoul is all smiles: the tourists are back.

Iraq's local currency has been on a two-month roller coaster ride following a tightening of procedures for international transfers, with some blaming Washington for the dinar's woes.

Thousands of containers packed with essential food items, raw materials and medical equipment have been held up at Pakistan's Karachi port as the country grapples with a desperate foreign exchange crisis.

Jayson Tatum scored 33 points as the Boston Celtics overturned a double-digit deficit to extend their lead at the top of the NBA Eastern Conference on Saturday with a 122-106 road victory over the lowly Charlotte Hornets.

London is on track to transform a disused stretch of elevated railway in the heart of the city into a "park in the sky", emulating similar successful schemes in Paris and New York.

Ukraine said Russia had unleashed a fresh barrage of missiles Saturday, killing at least 14 people, as Britain became the first Western country to offer it the heavy tanks it has long been seeking.

Hayden Buckley had two eagles in a six-under-par 64 on Saturday to grab a two-shot lead after three rounds of the Sony Open, where he's chasing a first US PGA Tour title.

Five additional pages of classified material have been found at Joe Biden's family home in Delaware, the White House said Saturday in a new twist in a politically sensitive affair for the president.

By ransacking government buildings in their fervent opposition to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil's January 8 rioters may have strengthened his hand, at least temporarily, analysts say.

Rookie quarterback Brock Purdy led the San Francisco 49ers into the divisional round of the NFL playoffs with a stellar second half performance in Saturday's 41-23 wildcard round win over the Seattle Seahawks.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday pledged to provide 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, making it the first Western country to supply the heavy tanks Kyiv has been calling for.

La Rochelle prop Joel Sclavi scored an 81st-minute try as the holders beat Ulster 7-3 on Saturday to book their place in the Champions Cup last 16.

German police clashed with environmental protesters on Saturday at a village being razed to make way for a coal mine expansion.

Brazil's new leftist government tightened the net around suspected instigators of riots that targeted the seats of power, ordering a probe of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro and arresting his justice minister Saturday.

Tens of thousands of people protested in central Tel Aviv Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new hard-right government, which critics say threatens Israeli democracy.

Real Sociedad strengthened their hold on third place with a convincing 3-1 Basque derby victory over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

French football chief Noel Le Graet could face criminal proceedings after a claim of a "sexist outrage" was made against him, Le Monde reported on Saturday.

La Rochelle forwards coach Donnacha Ryan said his side's 7-3 victory over Ulster on Saturday was "not pretty" as the holders booked their place in the Champions Cup last 16.

Gabe Vincent scored 27 points and snaffled five steals as the Miami Heat took full advantage of the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo to score a 111-95 defeat of the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.

The latest in a damaging succession of storm systems blew into California on Saturday, bringing heavy flooding to already waterlogged regions and threatening snowfalls of up to six feet (two meters) in areas.