South Africa will begin its coronavirus inoculation campaign with Johnson & Johnson vaccines, the health minister said on Wednesday, after withholding the Oxford/AstraZeneca formula over doubts about effectiveness. The country worst-hit by the pand...

Japanese sensation Naomi Osaka thwarted Caroline Garcia on Wednesday with an effortless straight sets victory, as she stormed into the Australian Open third round. Osaka, the third seed, faced a tricky contest against the Frenchwoman, who was rank...

Unknown before the pandemic, Spain's former health minister Salvador Illa is hoping to unseat Catalonia's ruling separatists in Sunday's regional election, embodying Madrid's desire to turn the page on the independence crisis. Prime Minister Pedro...

Populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr said Wednesday he backed early elections overseen by the UN, in a rare press conference outside his home in the Iraqi shrine city of Najaf. Iraq is meant to hold early parliamentary elections this year, a central...

A crashed Indonesian passenger jet's throttles showed an "anomaly" and had been repaired several times before the deadly accident, but the exact cause of last month's fatal dive was still unclear, investigators said Wednesday. A potential malfuncti...

The Dallas Mavericks have opted to stop playing the US national anthem before games this season, reports said Tuesday, breaking with a pre-game ritual that is widespread in American sport. The Athletic website said the Mavericks' policy against pla...

Pakistan are hoping to turn their Twenty20 fortunes around when they take on a depleted South Africa in a three-match series starting in Lahore on Thursday. The hosts have won just one of their last eight Twenty20 series, with victory coming agains...

Eight-time champion Novak Djokovic was made to sweat at the Australian Open on Wednesday as Serena Williams made serene progress in her bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title. As major-winners Stan Wawrinka, Bianca Andreescu and Petra Kvi...

Britain's shuttered pubs urgently need the government to decide when they can reopen from coronavirus lockdown to help them survive, the British Beer and Pub Association said on Wednesday. Pub beer sales slumped by 56 percent or £7.8 billion ($10....

Japan will start coronavirus vaccinations next week, its prime minister said Wednesday, but it is scrambling to secure suitable syringes so doses won't go to waste. The country has reached deals with three major drug firms to buy enough vaccine dos...

Tokyo 2020 organisers said Wednesday they will meet this week to discuss sexist comments made by their embattled president, as a heavyweight sponsor said the remarks were contrary to the Olympic spirit. Tokyo's governor turned up the heat further, ...

Pumped-up defending champion Novak Djokovic survived a serious scare Wednesday from dangerous American Frances Tiafoe, who pushed him to four gruelling sets before the world number one prevailed. The Serbian top seed looked in control after taking ...

At least two people, including a local police chief, were killed after multiple bomb blasts rocked the Afghan capital early Wednesday, officials said. The latest violence in Kabul follows a pattern of attacks during morning rush-hour traffic target...

Venus Williams hobbled out of the Australian Open Wednesday after a straight-sets loss to Italian qualifier Sara Errani, departing from her record 21st appearance at Melbourne Park as a disconsolate figure. The seven-time Grand Slam winner rolled...

US intelligence on the supposed origin of the coronavirus pandemic was not reliable, a member of the special WHO mission to China said Wednesday, after Washington cast doubt on the transparency of the probe. The World Health Organization mission e...