SPORTS

Kirsty Coventry says she has "learned the best lessons by failing" and the Zimbabwean swimming great's mantra appears to have served her well after she became the first woman and African to be elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Valerie Montchalin found out who her friends were when she transitioned to being a transgender woman in her village high in the Massif Central of central France.

The race to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee reaches a climax on Thursday with Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior, Sebastian Coe and Kirsty Coventry believed to be neck and neck but clear of the remaining quartet.

Colombian influencer Sara Samaniego braids her long straight hair, checks her make-up in a mirror, places her phone in the center of a ring light and flashes a big smile for the camera.

The race to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee is nearing the finish with Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior, Sebastian Coe and Kirsty Coventry widely seen to be clear of the remaining quartet.

Tens of thousands of mourners dressed in black, some waving Hezbollah flags or carrying portraits of the group's slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, flocked to his funeral Sunday in a stadium on the outskirts of Beirut.

Donald Trump's foreign aid freeze has halted vital projects in the South Pacific, aid workers and analysts say, risking lives and hurting US efforts to woo the region.

Canada and the United States, whose inaugural fight-filled showdown set off emotional and political fireworks, meet for a rematch in Thursday's NHL Four Nations Face-Off tournament final.

Running late and vastly over budget, a mammoth rail project stands as a monument to what critics say is Germany's glaring failure to tackle long-standing infrastructure woes.

Jannik Sinner's long doping saga came to an end on Saturday after he agreed to a three-month ban from tennis, the world number one admitting "partial responsibility" for team mistakes which led to him twice testing positive for traces of clostebol in March last year.

In a packed cafe in Cairo, all eyes were glued to a flickering flat-screen TV, waiting for Omar Marmoush, now donning Manchester City's sky-blue jersey, to step onto the pitch.

Campaigning began Tuesday in the Philippines for mid-term elections that could set the table for the next presidential race and determine the political future of impeached Vice President Sara Duterte.

Donald Trump will make history on Sunday when he becomes the first sitting US President to attend the Super Bowl, writing a new chapter in an often-strained relationship with the NFL that has been marked by decades of animosity.

In just one week, US President Donald Trump's turbulent trade tussle with rivals and allies triggered tit-for-tat moves, more tariff threats and tense talks, leaving the world bracing for more.

Rukaya al-Zubaidi placed a cautious foot on a skateboard and then struggled to find her balance as others glided back and forth at Baghdad's first park dedicated to the sport.

The Kansas City Chiefs chase a historic hat-trick of Super Bowl titles when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles here Sunday as New Orleans hosts the NFL showpiece just five weeks after a deadly attack in the city's party district.

Swedish police indicated Wednesday that a gunman who slaughtered 10 people at an adult education centre shot himself as the country mourned its worst mass killing.

Sweden reeled Wednesday from the deadliest mass shooting in its history after 10 people plus the suspected gunman were killed in a shooting at an adult education centre in the central city of Orebro.

Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison defended the jaw-dropping trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis on Sunday as a shellshocked NBA struggled to comprehend the deal.

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.