Monaco Journal - News from Monaco, Monte-Carlo and the world

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka took delivery Saturday of Russian oil -- which could soon be subject to a European embargo -- to restart operations at the country's only refinery, the energy minister said.

Charles Leclerc topped the times to take pole position for Ferrari at his home Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday after Red Bull's Sergio Perez crashed on his final flying lap in a dramatic qualifying session.

Chinese 19-year-old Zheng Qinwen said she was eager for the chance to test herself against Iga Swiatek after setting up a last-16 meeting with the world number one and former Roland Garros champion.

Fabio Di Giannantonio snatched a shock pole position at home in the Italian MotoGP on Saturday, as Marc Marquez announced he will undergo further surgery on his troublesome right arm.

Fresh harrowing accounts emerged Saturday of the ordeal faced by survivors of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, fanning public fury over the massacre even as the deeply traumatized town prepared for a visit Sunday by US President Joe Biden.

World number one Iga Swiatek was the only top 10 seed left standing at the French Open on Saturday after racking up her 31st straight win as third seed Paula Badosa and seventh-ranked Aryna Sabalenka crashed out in the third round.

Alize Cornet hit out at a "handful of idiots" as she was booed after a thigh injury forced her to retire Saturday in her French Open third round clash against China's Zheng Qinwen.

Italian cardinal Angelo Sodano, right-hand man to former popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, has died at the age of 94, the Vatican announced on Saturday.

World number one Iga Swiatek racked up her 31st straight win to reach the French Open last 16 on Saturday, partly crediting her victory over Danka Kovinic to a hasty wardrobe rethink.

Fabio Di Giannantonio claimed a shock pole position in the Italian MotoGP on Saturday, the Italian snatching top spot on the grid for the first time in his career on his final lap at Mugello.

Formula One's top teams are all set to break the sport's new budget cap restrictions this year unless its ruling body revises the current 140 million dollars limit.

World number two Daniil Medvedev eased into the fourth round at the French Open on Saturday, defeating Serbian 28th seed Miomir Kecmanovic 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.

The UN rights envoy on Saturday said her contentious visit to China was "not an investigation", and insisted she had unsupervised access during meetings in Xinjiang, where Beijing is accused of widespread human rights abuses.

World number one Iga Swiatek racked up her 31st straight win to reach the French Open last 16 on Saturday as Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas looked to make the second week and pounce on any slip-up by title favourites Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Roman Abramovich said Saturday owning Chelsea had been the "honour of a lifetime" after the Premier League club said the sale to a consortium led by Todd Boehly, the co-owner of baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, was expected to be completed by Monday.

Sergio Perez topped the times for Red Bull in Saturday's third and final practice for the Monaco Grand Prix, narrowly outpacing home hero Charles Leclerc of Ferrari in the final seconds of an intense sunlit session.

Russia pressed its onslaught on eastern Ukraine Saturday, saying it had captured the strategic town of Lyman and had succesfully tested hypersonic missiles in the Arctic.

Western United stunned defending champions Melbourne City 2-0 to win the A-League grand final Saturday and lift the silverware in only their third season as a professional club.

Liverpool and Real Madrid meet in the Champions League final in Paris on Saturday, with Jurgen Klopp's side aiming to end the season with a trophy treble while the Spanish giants will look to Karim Benzema to inspire them to a 14th European Cup victory.

"We put a cross for every day spent here alive," says Nadia Ryjkova, 76, in a dark underground shelter in the northeastern Ukrainian village of Kutuzivka, where she lives with about 50 people.

Leolia Jeanjean's run at the French Open ended in the third round on Saturday when the 227th-ranked wildcard was defeated 6-1, 6-4 by Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania.

Ukraine said it is doing "everything" to defend the eastern Donbas region, where Russia confirmed Saturday it had captured a strategic town in its intensifying offensive.

It has been a long and painful path for Angella Okutoyi to reach the red clay courts of Roland Garros but the 18-year-old Kenyan is in no doubt about her ambition.

Chelsea said on Saturday that the sale of the Premier League club to a consortium led by Todd Boehly, the co-owner of baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, is expected to be completed by Monday.

Liverpool and Real Madrid meet in the Champions League final for the second time in five years in Paris on Saturday, with Jurgen Klopp's side aiming to end the season with a trophy treble while the Spanish giants will look to Karim Benzema to inspire them to a 14th European Cup victory.

Indian Premier League debutants Gujarat Titans will take on a Shane Warne-inspired Rajasthan Royals in Sunday's final, both teams eyeing a fairy tale victory after each enjoyed a dominant season run.

Iranian police fired tear gas and warning shots to disperse protesters in the southwestern city of Abadan where a tower block collapse killed 28 people, local media reported on Saturday.

German judges and experts have arrived at the edge of a melting glacier high up in the Peruvian Andes to examine a complaint made by a local farmer who accuses energy giant RWE of threatening his home by contributing to global warming.

They appear at nightfall, dragging heavy carts from dustbin to dustbin in the affluent northern suburbs of the Colombian capital Bogota.

Vanuatu's parliament has declared a climate emergency, with the low-lying island nation's prime minister flagging a US$1.2 billion cost to cushion climate change's impacts on his country.

It was banned for years and its authors -- including the celebrated Ngugi wa Thiong'o -- imprisoned, but after more than four decades, Kenya's most famous play is finally home.

After a tycoon bromance, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi is struggling to break up with Russia's Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine war -- like many in his country, where ties with Moscow run deep.