SPORTS

Hayan Hadid was 18 when soldiers arrested him in his pyjamas and took him for execution in Syria's Hama in 1982, during one of the darkest chapters of the Assad clan's rule.

Iga Swiatek will look to continue her march to a maiden Australian Open title on Wednesday while Jannik Sinner's powers of recovery will be tested in a quarter-final against home hope Alex de Minaur.

Novak Djokovic was at the centre of another Australian Open row on Monday while Jannik Sinner needed medical attention in fierce heat to battle into the quarter-finals and Iga Swiatek won easily.

Donald Trump pledged a blitz of presidential actions to end "American decline," telling a fired-up inauguration eve rally on Sunday that he would crack down on woke ideology and immigration.

Novak Djokovic surged into an Australian Open quarter-final clash against Carlos Alcaraz with a dominant victory on Sunday while women's world number one Aryna Sabalenka was a ruthless winner.

A "hot-headed" Novak Djokovic sent an Australian Open warning to join Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev in the last 16 on Friday, but Naomi Osaka's bid for a third Melbourne crown is over with injury.

World number one and defending champion Jannik Sinner roared back to surge into the Australian Open third round on Thursday as Iga Swiatek set up a showdown with Emma Raducanu.

Powerful winds on Tuesday threatened to rekindle and whip up major fires that have devastated parts of Los Angeles, killing at last 24 people and changing the face of America's second biggest city -- perhaps forever.

Last year's runner-up Daniil Medvedev destroyed his racquet and avoided a huge shock at the Australian Open on Tuesday to join a rampant Taylor Fritz and veteran Gael Monfils in the second round.

After a lifetime in opposition, Germany's hard-left standard-bearer Sahra Wagenknecht has shaken up the political scene with a blend of pro-poor, Moscow-friendly and anti-immigration policies.

The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, begins in Melbourne on Sunday and promises to be jam-packed with plotlines.

Animal ears and pom-poms on fuzzy hats adorn tourists' heads on the streets of the frigid northeastern Chinese city of Harbin, which is enjoying a surge in visitors driven by social media.

NBA superstar LeBron James celebrates his 40th birthday on Monday, the milestone carrying him to yet another first in a league in which he has starred for more than two decades -- with the clock still running.

Three days after Germany's deadly Christmas market attack in which a Saudi man was arrested, both the far-right AfD and counter-protesters were due to hit the streets Monday in the bereaved city of Magdeburg.

Despite a barrage of Western sanctions and swathes of brands quitting Russia after the Kremlin launched its Ukraine offensive, Moscow's most well-off shoppers are still spoilt for choice when it comes to luxury Western goods.

Australian Olympic breakdancer Rachael "Raygun" Gunn says her legal dispute with the makers of a parody musical about her has been resolved, with a new version planned.

Famed Australian broadcaster and former Wallabies coach Alan Jones said Wednesday he is "certainly not guilty" of alleged historical sex crimes, after his first court appearance.

In the shadow of the Grand Lisboa, the Macau casino world-famous for its "golden lotus" design, fashion boutique owner Suzanne Leong wonders if the economic miracle that initially made her fortune has now cast her aside.

The successor to Thomas Bach as International Olympic Committee president must "embody the principles of justice" and that means refusing to welcome Russia back into the sporting world, Ukraine's Sports Minister Matviy Bidnyi has told AFP. Seven candidates are vying to succeed Bach in an election in March but the German will step down in June 2025 after 12 years in charge.

Drug lords like Sean McGovern, a top lieutenant of the Kinahan cartel, and Faissal Taghi -- son of the infamous head of the Dutch-Moroccan Mocro Maffia -- used to hang out and party in Dubai's glitzy hotels and restaurants without a care in the world.

A Filipina inmate on death row in Indonesia told AFP from prison Friday that her planned transfer was a "miracle", in her first interview since Manila and Jakarta signed an agreement last week to repatriate her.

The nearly two-year-long, $2 billion Eras tour shattered records, made history and quite literally triggered earthquakes -- so what could Taylor Swift, the planet's biggest star, possibly do next?

Australia will spend US$385 million to establish a team from Papua New Guinea in its rugby league competition, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday, a move designed to help ward off China.

FIFA is set to confirm on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup while a joint bid by Morocco, Spain and Portugal which also features matches in South America will be awarded the 2030 tournament.

A new Netflix series on Saudi football features packed stadiums and top-flight talent, but whether it can curb criticism of Riyadh's bid to host World Cup 2034 is an open question.

One of the five stars that used to adorn the facade of the Margarita hotel on the Venezuelan paradise island of the same name has fallen off.

Icelanders voted Saturday in a legislative election after the collapse of a fraught coalition prompted a snap poll where the economy has been a top concern.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October last year, many home fixtures of Israel's national football team and clubs have been moved to Hungary.

Spanish traveller Alberto Blasco Ventas looked out at Ukraine's destroyed Irpin brige, blown up to stop Russian troops in 2022 and now a hotspot for thrill-seeking tourists visiting the country.