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World number five Aryna Sabalenka is aiming to hold onto the momentum from her season-ending run at the WTA Finals when she starts as second seed at the Adelaide International next week.

Only hours after Cristiano Ronaldo penned a two-year contract with Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr, crowds flocked to a football kit store in Riyadh to buy the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's new club jersey.

When Kurt and Anna-Maria Spennesberger heard the news about former pope Benedict XVI's death, they immediately got into their car and drove 200 kilometres to the former pontiff's southern German birth town Marktl.

The peaceful death of Benedict XVI in a monastery in the Vatican contrasts with the painful, violent or sometimes mysterious deaths of many of his predecessors.

Russian strikes on Saturday targeted Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, just hours before New Year's Eve celebrations while President Vladimir Putin told Russians that "historical rightness" was on their side.

Barcelona stumbled in the Spanish title race with a 1-1 draw against rivals Espanyol in a bad-tempered Catalan derby on Saturday, levelling Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.

The Brazilian barber who cut Pele's hair for more than 60 years is lamenting the loss of both a customer and a close friend.

Marcus Rashford gave the perfect response to his benching for disciplinary reasons as the Manchester United forward's late strike clinched a 1-0 win at Wolves on Saturday.

Romanian teenager Cosmin sweats profusely under a gigantic bearskin costume as he prances to the exhilarating sound of drums, flutes and whistles to welcome the New Year.

For the first time in modern history, a sitting pope will preside over his predecessor's funeral next week, with Pope Francis leading a "simple" ceremony for Benedict XVI, who died Saturday.

Sweden's Mattias Ekstrom drove his Audi hybrid to victory in the 13km-long prologue of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

President Xi Jinping said Saturday the "light of hope is right in front of us" as China faces an explosion of Covid-19 cases after an abrupt lifting of restrictions.

The world's eight billion people began ushering in 2023 on Saturday and bidding farewell to a turbulent 12 months marked by war in Europe, stinging price rises, Lionel Messi's World Cup glory and the deaths of Queen Elizabeth, Pele and former pope Benedict.

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford was dropped to the bench for Saturday's Premier League match at Wolves for "internal disciplinary" reasons.

Catholics and tourists visiting St Peter's Square on Saturday expressed sadness and admiration for former pope Benedict XVI, following news of his death aged 95.

Here is a selection of Benedict XVI's standout quotes, some of them controversial, from his 2005-2013 papacy and in his retirement.

The shock retirement in 2013 of pope Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday aged 95, raised serious questions within the Roman Catholic Church about the extent to which there could be two "men in white" at the Vatican.

Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday aged 95, was the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages after a papacy beset by Church infighting and outcry over paedophilia.

Former pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95, the Vatican announced Saturday, almost a decade after he became the first pontiff to resign in six centuries.

Rafael Nadal lost his opening match of the season Saturday in the countdown to the defence of his Australian Open title, but women's world number one Iga Swiatek cruised to victory at the United Cup.

World number two Ons Jabeur said on Saturday her pair of 2022 Grand Slam finals have only increased her desire to finally lift a major trophy.

Rising Canadian star Felix Auger-Aliassime said Saturday he was determined to "improve and improve" in a bid to keep riding the wave of success he enjoyed over the closing stages of 2022.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday he was keen to ramp up military cooperation and hailed the two countries' efforts to counter Western influence.

Croatia was counting the last hours Saturday before switching to the euro and entering Europe's passport-free zone -- two milestone steps for the country since joining the EU nearly a decade ago.

World number five Aryna Sabalenka is aiming to hold onto the momentum from her season-ending run at the WTA Finals when she starts as second seed at the Adelaide International next week.

LeBron James celebrated his 38th birthday by scoring a season-high 47 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and adding nine assists to spark the Los Angeles Lakers to a 130-121 victory in Atlanta on Friday.

Pioneering television journalist Barbara Walters, who upended a male-dominated industry as the first woman to anchor an evening news show in the United States, has died at the age of 93, her long-time employer ABC said late Friday.

China's manufacturing activity contracted sharply in December for the third month in a row, according to official figures released Saturday, despite Beijing's loosening of Covid restrictions at the beginning of the month.

The world's eight billion people on Saturday prepared to usher in 2023 and farewell a turbulent 12 months marked by war in Europe, stinging price rises and Lionel Messi's world cup glory.

Irreverent British designer Vivienne Westwood, who died on Thursday, succeeded in keeping her fashion house financially independent, even as others sought stock market listings or security within major luxury groups.

Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who assumes the presidency Sunday, faces a long list of hurdles from healing a deeply divided country to battling poverty and hunger in the face of severe budget constraints.

First there was the "Drake," a concoction of alcohol and macerated mint leaves imbibed by British privateer Sir Francis Drake in Cuba in the 16th century. Then "The Train," a blend of gin, barley and hot water from the early 1900s.