Athens News - News from Athens, the political, economic and cultural centre of Greece, the European Union and the whole world

George Russell of Mercedes claimed pole position for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix after a thrilling end to the qualifying session on Saturday.

US qualifier Robin Montgomery upset Australian Ajla Tomljanovic to advance to the final of the s'Hertogenbosch grass court tournament on Saturday where she will meet Czech Barbora Krejcikova.

Ghana said Saturday it has formally lodged a protest over Canada's refusal to issue a visa for the World Cup to player Thomas Partey, who is facing trial in Britain on rape charges.

Five-time winners Brazil roll into the World Cup on Saturday when they play surprise 2022 semi-finalists Morocco in one of the standout group-stage matchups.

George Russell built confidence ahead of the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix by topping the timesheets in the final practice session on Saturday.

A dominant Lani Pallister swept to victory in the 1500m freestyle at the Australian trials on Saturday to cap a marquee week where she also won the 400m and 800m in super-quick times.

The United States and Iran could finalise an agreement to end the Middle East war "within 24 hours", key mediator Pakistan said Saturday, after both sides expressed optimism about the chances of concluding a deal.

International Cricket Council chief executive Sanjog Gupta, insists the Women's T20 World Cup can "co-exist" with the football World Cup.

Batsman Will Young was drafted into the New Zealand Test squad on Saturday in place of Kane Williamson, who called time on his international career mid-series against England.

The body of the Thai king's eldest daughter was brought to the royal palace in Bangkok on Saturday, as thousands of black-clad mourners lined the procession route.

Days of anti-immigration violence in Belfast have shown how three decades of unrest in Northern Ireland, known as the Troubles, still shape the contours of daily life, residents and academics said.

The Wellington Hurricanes powered clear in the second half to crush the Auckland Blues 57-21 on Saturday, setting up a Super Rugby final against the Waikato Chiefs.

Six Georgians have been sentenced to up to seven years' jail in France over the theft of rare editions of Russian literary classics, including by 19th-century luminary Alexander Pushkin, from prestigious French libraries.

He netted twice on his World Cup debut but US striker Folarin Balogun is not about to celebrate wildly, telling reporters Friday he plans to finish his epic night by curling up in front of Netflix.

England's World Cup preparations have been hit by the theft of equipment ahead of the squad's arrival at their Kansas City training base on Saturday.

The World Cup arrived in the United States on Friday in a blizzard of celebrity and glamour, with Los Angeles pulling out all the stops for the opening game between Team USA and Paraguay.

The United States launched their home World Cup in emphatic fashion Friday, thrashing Paraguay 4-1 with a perfectly scripted opening performance to delight a star-studded home crowd in Los Angeles.

The World Cup is officially underway in the United States and the biggest breakout star is...Freddy.

The United States could scarcely have scripted a better start to their World Cup as a Folarin Balogun brace and Gio Reyna curler fired the co-hosts to a 4-1 drubbing of Paraguay in front of Hollywood royalty in Los Angeles on Friday.

A US mayoral race triggered a flood of misinformation from online influencers sponsored by betting companies -- exposing a new threat analysts warn could undermine the integrity of future elections.

Rising NSW Waratahs centre Henry O'Donnell is serving an 18-month suspension for violating anti-doping rules, the club revealed on Saturday.

Victoria Mboko says she will miss the rest of the grass court tennis season with a knee injury but hopes to resume her doubles partnership with US great Serena Williams.

After organizers "lost the course" and desperately watered greens between groups in the past two US Opens at Shinnecock, there's hope for improvement when the 126th US Open begins Thursday.

World number one Scottie Scheffler will try to become the seventh golfer to complete the career Grand Slam by winning the 126th US Open, which starts Thursday at Shinnecock Hills.

Departing coach Rob Penney expects his Canterbury Crusaders to bounce back next year after the 13-time Super Rugby champions' season-ending record loss to the "smoking hot" Waikato Chiefs.

The World Cup arrived in the United States on Friday with a Hollywood-style opening ceremony before the tournament's third co-hosts kick off their opener in Los Angeles against Paraguay.

The term "narco-terrorist" has been weaponized just as the word "communist" was in the past, Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchu told AFP in an interview.

Fans tuning in for the first 2026 World Cup game on US soil Friday night might be a bit confused: why had they never heard of Los Angeles Stadium before?

Elon Musk, newly crowned the world's first trillionaire, faced renewed criticism Friday over anti-immigrant riots in Belfast after researchers said violent narratives he amplified on his platform X amassed millions of views.

The United States launch their World Cup challenge on Friday, taking on Paraguay in the first game in the tournament on US soil for 32 years.

More than 20 years after its founding, SpaceX made history Friday with its record-high stock market debut, crowning a unique journey marked by dazzling successes but also catastrophic failures and unfulfilled promises.

The US Justice Department on Friday cleared Paramount Skydance's $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, handing a major win to a media empire financed by one of President Donald Trump's closest billionaire allies.

A US deportation flight landed in the Central African Republic on Friday, lawyers and activists said, carrying nationals from Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and Georgia as part of the latest "third-country" deportation under US President Donald Trump.

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani was out of the lineup against the White Sox in Chicago on Friday, a day after he exited a game early with discomfort in his left knee.

Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Friday that the five-time World Cup winners have a team capable of competing with the very best, as they bid to end a 24-year wait for another global crown.

England made a flying start to the Women's T20 World Cup as Danni Wyatt-Hodge's blistering century inspired an 87-run rout of Sri Lanka on Friday.

A major military operation against criminal gangs in southeastern Venezuela has left a trail of ghost towns and abandoned mines in its wake.

OG Anunoby, who sent New York into a frenzy with a game-winning tip-in that put the Knicks on the brink of the NBA title, says he's "grateful" to suddenly find himself among the city's sports pantheon.

Co-hosts Canada grabbed a second-half equaliser to draw 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday in the first World Cup finals game ever played on Canadian soil.