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Robert Lewandowski has taken La Liga by storm but Barcelona coach Xavi must cope without him during a busy January period, starting with a Catalan derby against Espanyol on Saturday.

Underneath the calm turquoise waters off eastern Thailand, a rapidly spreading disease is killing corals over vast stretches of the sea floor, and scientists fear it may be getting worse because of climate change.

Dallas star Luka Doncic rewrote the NBA record book on Tuesday with a stunning 60-point triple-double, carrying the Mavericks to a wild 126-121 overtime victory over the New York Knicks.

Nick Kyrgios stunned his teammates by pulling out of the United Cup Wednesday on the eve of the tournament, soon after Rafael Nadal said the Australian had "all the weapons" to win a Grand Slam.

Norway's Casper Ruud declared Wednesday that the world number one ranking could be his as early as the Australian Open in January.

Alex Carey struck a maiden Test century Wednesday to give Australia a vice-like grip on the second Test against South Africa at tea on day three in Melbourne.

Moroccan director Maryam Touzani hopes her latest film, shortlisted for an Oscar, will provoke "a healthy, much-needed debate" around LGBTQ rights and challenge taboos in the conservative country.

Asian markets were mostly lower on Wednesday following declines on Wall Street as China's move to reopen after abandoning its zero-Covid policy revived inflation fears.

With foreign workers making up the vast bulk of private sector jobs in the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf's second-largest economy wants to boost opportunities for its own citizens.

Reinventing himself as a brewer at age 62 would never have occurred to Poul Erik Vestergaard, but Denmark's controversial cull of the country's minks over Covid fears forced him to change course.

A "highly motivated" Rafael Nadal welcomed rival Novak Djokovic's much-anticipated return to the Australian Open as "good for tennis" Wednesday, while brushing off suggestions this may be his last tilt at the season-opening Grand Slam.

Acclaimed director Hirokazu Kore-eda fears that Japan's underfunded, inward-looking cinema industry is putting off young talent, so he's taken matters into his own hands by mentoring up-and-coming filmmakers for a new Netflix series.

South Africa took four wickets, including David Warner first ball after he resumed on 200, but a half-century from Alex Carey strengthened Australia's grip on the second Test in Melbourne on Wednesday.

Exhausted by "surviving instead of living" in Cuba, David Gonzalez set his sights on a new life in the United States.

Among a motley collection of rescued farm animals, four horses graze peacefully on a farm outside the Uruguayan capital Montevideo, blissfully unaware they had narrowly escaped the chopping block.

A Republican elected to Congress in November was facing a growing clamor for his resignation Tuesday after admitting that he made up large parts of his biography -- but refusing to give up his seat.

The US government's two-year-old policy of invoking Covid-19 precautions to turn away hundreds of thousands of migrants at the Mexican border will remain in place for now, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

European and Asian stock markets advanced on Tuesday but Wall Street wavered after China said it would end quarantines for overseas arrivals, spurring hopes for the revival of the world's second-largest economy.

Australian allrounder Cameron Green on Wednesday was ruled out of the third Sydney Test against South Africa with a fractured finger, and he will not bowl again in Melbourne.

The UN Security Council on Tuesday called on the Taliban to reverse policies targeting women and girls in Afghanistan, expressing alarm at the "increasing erosion" of human rights in the country.

Manchester United made a positive start to life without Cristiano Ronaldo as Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial stepped out from the Portuguese's shadow to score in a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.

The US Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a pandemic-era measure used since 2020 to block hundreds of thousands of migrants from entering the country should remain in place.

Australian supermaxi Andoo Comanche secured a fourth line honours victory in the gruelling Sydney-Hobart ocean race Wednesday, but fell short of setting a new course record.

Chelsea manager Graham Potter praised the Blues' reaction to a poor run prior to the World Cup as they eased past Bournemouth 2-0 on Tuesday to end a five-game winless streak in the Premier League.

French authorities were Tuesday investigating as suicide the drowning of an Iranian man in the southeastern city of Lyon who had said on social media he was going to kill himself to draw attention to the protest crackdown in Iran.

Kai Havertz and Mason Mount’s early strikes helped Chelsea ease to a 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Tuesday to snap a dismal run of five Premier League games without a win.

Southwest Airlines remained in the hot seat Tuesday as it contended with mass flight cancellations while rival US carriers recovered from a severe winter storm.

Some died of sickness. Others of dehydration.

The monster storm that killed dozens in the United States over the Christmas weekend continued to inflict misery on New York state and air travellers nationwide Tuesday, as stories emerged of families trapped for days during the "blizzard of the century."

Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's inauguration will be secured by "100 percent" of the capital district's police force, an official said Tuesday amid widespread fears of violence.

European and Asian stock markets advanced on Tuesday but Wall Street wavered after China said it would end quarantines for overseas arrivals, spurring hopes for the revival of the world's second-largest economy.

The deadly attack on Kurds in Paris last week has highlighted the long plight of the non-Arab ethnic group of between 25 and 35 million people who remain stateless.