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England midfielder Jordan Henderson admitted Friday it had been a tough period both for him following his controversial move to Saudi Arabia, and for new club Ajax, who are enduring a torrid season.

Veteran Spanish driver Carlos Sainz won the gruelling Dakar Rally for a fourth time on Friday, becoming at 61 the oldest winner of the race.

Japan's "Moon Sniper" was set to touch down early Saturday on the lunar surface, one of myriad new missions on the back of renewed interest in Earth's natural satellite.

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Veteran Spanish driver Carlos Sainz won the gruelling Dakar Rally for a fourth time on Friday, becoming at 61 the oldest winner of the race.

Andy Murray hailed teenager Mirra Andreeva's mental strength Friday after she kept her Australian Open dream alive with a stunning come-from-behind win, with the 16-year-old planning to print off his praise and frame it.

Markets mostly rose Friday following a tech-led rally on Wall Street that helped soothe traders' concerns that the Federal Reserve will likely not cut interest rates, though China's economic woes dragged on Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Pakistan's prime minister will hold an emergency security meeting on Friday with military and intelligence chiefs after trading deadly air strikes with Iran on militant targets this week.

Deep in the desert along the border with Pakistan, India's most controversial billionaire is building the world's largest renewable energy park as he races to future-proof his coal-linked fortune.

Japanese consumer inflation slowed again in December due to lower electricity and gas bills, government data showed Friday, ahead of a Bank of Japan policy decision next week.

On board Japan's "Moon Sniper" spacecraft is a little robot with a big mission: to pop open like a Transformer toy, wiggle across the lunar surface and beam images back to Earth.

Jannik Sinner said he was confident and relaxed after reinforcing his Australian Open title credentials with a straight-sets mauling of 26th-seed Sebastian Baez Friday.

The Minnesota Timberwolves poured it on in the fourth quarter, surging to a 118-103 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday to maintain their NBA Western Conference lead over Oklahoma City, who beat the Utah Jazz 134-129.

Pedro Pascal said playing a hitman in his new rap-battling, punk-rocking, Nazi-slaying movie lived up to its "freaky" title, as the Sundance film festival kicked off Thursday.

Teenage giant-killer Mirra Andreeva kept her dream Australian Open run going Friday with a stunning come-from-behind win to sweep into the fourth round and match her best Grand Slam performance.

Israel bombarded southern Gaza on Friday after it publicly sparred with its main ally the United States over the possibility of a Palestinian state, the creation of which Washington sees as the only pathway to a lasting peace.

Yemen's Huthi rebels claimed another attack on a US ship early Friday, after the United States launched fresh strikes on rebel targets over their aggression towards vessels in and around the Red Sea.

Australia's Sam Welsford celebrated his birthday with a third stage win in another sprint finish as Mexican Isaac del Toro Romero clung on to the overall lead in Australia's Tour Down Under on Friday.

Liverpool can strengthen their position on top of the Premier League when they travel to Bournemouth on Sunday.

Xavi Hernandez and his wounded Barcelona side visit Real Betis on Sunday in La Liga still dusting themselves down from last weekend's humbling by Real Madrid.

Juventus have the chance to claim top spot in Serie A on Sunday with leaders Inter Milan contesting the Italian Super Cup, while Roma idol Daniele De Rossi takes the reigns at his boyhood club.

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka described Friday's 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Lesia Tsurenko at the Australian Open as "perfection", but said she could get even better in a chilling warning to her rivals.

Stefanos Tsitsipas said he was delighted with the passion and determination he showed Friday to sweep into the Australian Open fourth round in straight sets.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday inaugurate a temple that embodies the triumph of his muscular Hindu nationalist politics, in an unofficial start to his re-election campaign this year.

The oldest person ever to win an Oscar, renowned director James Ivory is still making films at 95, with a documentary about his formative trip to Afghanistan in 1960.

Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner emphatically stated their Australian Open title credentials on Friday, pummelling their third-round opponents as a below-par Novak Djokovic prepared for another testing examination.

The director of Zac Efron's heartbreaking new wrestling film, "The Iron Claw", said it was a battle to keep the emotional star from turning on the waterworks during filming.

Jannik Sinner reinforced his Australian Open title credentials with a straight-sets mauling of 26th-seed Sebastian Baez Friday, dropping just four games in the one-sided romp.

A deadly, days-long clash between armed gangs intensified Thursday in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, as elsewhere demonstrators marched demanding accountability for the Caribbean nation's spiraling security crisis.

Asian markets rose Friday following a tech-led rally on Wall Street that helped soothe traders' concerns that the Federal Reserve will likely not cut interest rates as early or by as much as hoped this year.

A rejuvenated Amanda Anisimova ended former world number two Paula Badosa's injury comeback Friday at the Australian Open, admitting she could not believe how well she was playing after a long break.

Former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt vowed to "build a way forward" for the Wallabies on Friday as officials confirmed he is taking over as coach to replace Eddie Jones.