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Kyiv on Saturday urged the West to remain "vigilant and firm" in its talks with Russia, as US President Joe Biden announced a small troop deployment to eastern Europe amid fears Moscow could invade Ukraine.

Blinding snow whipped up by near-hurricane force winds pummeled the eastern United States on Saturday, as one of the strongest winter storms in years triggered severe weather alerts, transport chaos and power outages across a region of some 70 million people.

Hundreds of truckers drove their giant rigs into the Canadian capital Ottawa on Saturday as part of a self-titled "Freedom Convoy" to protest vaccine mandates required to cross the US border.

Standing in the dining room of her Kyiv flat, mother-of-three Mariana Zhaglo pulls her long rifle out of its khaki case.

Guy Laporte, a fly half on the France squad that reached the first World Cup final in 1987, has died aged 69, Graulhet rugby club, where he was president, announced on Saturday.

Italy's parties were set Saturday to vote for outgoing President Sergio Mattarella to stay on for another term, averting the political chaos a failure to elect his successor could have sparked in the eurozone's third-largest economy.

Justin Harding stayed patient throughout a demanding third round of the Dubai Desert Classic to maintain a two-shot lead on Saturday with Rory McIlroy in hot pursuit.

A powerful winter storm packing heavy snow and high winds pummeled the US East Coast Saturday, forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights as severe weather alerts were sounded across a region of around 70 million people.

Danielle Collins says she will "walk away proud" after pushing world number one Ashleigh Barty hard in her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open on Saturday.

The United States is paying athletes to "create disturbances" during the Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese state media reported Saturday.

Australian bad boys Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis won the Australian Open men's doubles title on Saturday, beating compatriots Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell on Rod Laver Arena.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Turkish media with legal action over content "incompatible with national and moral values," in a move seen by critics as an attempt to stifle the dissent.

Italy's warring parties were set Saturday to beg outgoing President Sergio Mattarella to stay for another term, fearing political chaos due to a possible failure to elect his successor.

Reigning world champion Corinne Suter boosted her morale ahead of the Olympic downhill in Beijing with victory at Garmisch-Partkenkirchen on Saturday in the weekend's final tune-up races before the Winter games, which starts next week.

Tennis great Rod Laver and pop princess Kylie Minogue led the tributes to Ashleigh Barty after she won her first Australian Open title Saturday, with Laver calling her "the complete player".

An imperious Ashleigh Barty said it was a dream come true after on Saturday becoming the first Australian to win her home Grand Slam in 44 years, but the memories made along the way were more important than the trophy.

Multi-talented Ashleigh Barty has been a professional cricketer, won a golf tournament and now taken her place among the giants of Australian tennis after winning her home Grand Slam on Saturday.

Residents in an inundated neighbourhood of Madagascar's capital Antananarivo are returning with dread to see what remains of their homes and harvests, three days after Tropical Storm Ana relented.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sacked the head of the state statistics agency, according to a decree published Saturday, after releasing data showing last year's inflation rate hit a 19-year high of 36.1 percent.

Eleven people have been arrested after a deadly clash at a nightclub in Indonesia's easternmost region, police said on Saturday.

An imperious Ashleigh Barty became the first Australian to win her home Grand Slam in 44 years Saturday, halting the charge of fearless American Danielle Collins in straight sets.

Activists handed out 1,000 "Where is Peng Shuai?" T-shirts to spectators ahead of the Australian Open women's final Saturday to highlight concern for the Chinese tennis star.

Oil washing up on a beach on Thailand's east coast could be the "nail in the coffin" for pandemic-hit hotels and restaurants, local hospitality businesses said Saturday.

An ailing young whale found near the coast of Athens in a rare sighting has returned to deeper waters after receiving medication, Greek officials said on Saturday.

For someone most often said to play tennis as if it were chess, Daniil Medvedev has had a white-knuckle ride into Sunday's Australian Open final.

Finicky to the point of distraction, Rafael Nadal cuts an instantly recognisable figure on court with idiosyncrasies that are regarded as charming by his fans but often irritating by opponents.

Rafael Nadal is chasing a record 21st Grand Slam crown in Sunday's Australian Open final but Daniil Medvedev is once again ready to act as the spoiler.

Hong Kong's oldest university covered up one of the last public tributes to the deadly 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on Saturday, as Beijing continues to muzzle dissent in the financial hub.

Hong Kong's oldest university covered up one of the last public tributes to the deadly 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on Saturday, as Beijing continues to muzzle dissent in the financial hub.

Molly Meacher's voice quivers with emotion as she tells how her aunt took her own life after her liver cancer tumour grew to the size of a football.

Australia flew a small team of emergency medical specialists to Honiara on Saturday after the Solomon Islands requested help in battling a worsening outbreak of Covid-19.

With Russian troops massed on Ukraine's border, US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is trying to break through a "wall of Russian propaganda", its director for Europe told AFP.