SPORTS

France's 2018 World Cup-winning coach Didier Deschamps announced on Wednesday he will leave his post after the 2026 tournament in North America.

Former world number one Novak Djokovic's Australian Open preparations suffered a blow Friday as he was bundled out of the Brisbane International by towering American Reilly Opelka.

The celebratory atmosphere of Bourbon Street in New Orleans, long an American byword for indulgence and revelry, was dimmed Wednesday as residents and visitors alike reeled from a deadly truck attack on New Year's crowds.

Elena Rybakina's Kazakhstan dumped defending champions Germany out of the United Cup on Wednesday with Alexander Zverev sidelined by an arm injury barely a week away from the Australian Open, while top seeds USA beat China to reach the semi-finals.

The basketball superstar, speaking after a Lakers practice session, also said he plans to finish out his NBA career with the Lakers, and would not make a comeback after leaving the league -- whenever that is.

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.

A man who killed 35 people in a car attack in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai last month was sentenced to death on Friday, state media reported.

Two sailors have been killed in separate incidents in the treacherous Sydney to Hobart bluewater classic, organisers said Friday, as a string of yachts limped out of a race fleet battered by powerful winds.

Asia's stocks rose in thin Boxing Day trade on Thursday, extending a "Santa Rally" with key markets Hong Kong and Sydney still shut for the holidays.

With flickering candles and the sound of organs, hundreds of Catholics held a muted Christmas Eve mass in Indonesia's Aceh province, the only one under ultraconservative Islamic law in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Pope Francis opened the "Holy Door" of St Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve on Tuesday, launching the Jubilee year of Catholic celebrations set to draw more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome.

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.

Crisis-hit Manchester City slumped to an unthinkable ninth defeat in 12 matches at Aston Villa on Saturday as Nottingham Forest stormed Brentford's fortress to climb to third in the Premier League table.

Tyson Fury weighed in at the heaviest of his career on Friday as he vowed to go to war with Oleksandr Usyk in their world title rematch.

Nike reported lower profits on another drop in revenue Thursday, with new CEO Elliott Hill vowing to get the slumping sports giant back on track.

Tsunami-hit nations will next week commemorate the more than 220,000 people who died in the Boxing Day disaster two decades ago, when huge waves tore into coastal communities around the Indian Ocean.

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.

Catarina Macario scored two penalties in the space of five second-half minutes to lead Chelsea to a 2-1 comeback over Real Madrid in the Women's Champions League on Tuesday and confirm their status as group winners.

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.

World Cup winners Spain will play Italy, Belgium and Portugal at Women's Euro 2025, while England face a tough path to defending their title at the tournament in Switzerland.

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.

Russia named a sports minister sanctioned by the West as its new Olympics chief on Friday, as Moscow faces isolation from international sport over its Ukraine offensive.

India's aspiring chess players and their parents woke up Friday with big dreams after 18-year-old hometown hero Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest world champion.

A Filipina drug convict 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?

Indian teen prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest undisputed world chess champion Thursday after beating China's Ding Liren in the final match of their series in Singapore.