Aussie fill-in skipper Spithill hopes to 'smoke' new-look Team USA in SailGP's Dubai regatta

Some big SailGP rivalries will heat up when the global league returns to Dubai this weekend, including a one-off between the new-look Team USA and its former skipper, Jimmy Spithill. Spithill is filling in as helmsman of Team Australia's “Flying Roo” foiling catamaran while...

OnlyFans has a new content creator: tennis player Nick Kyrgios

Tennis pro Nick Kyrgios is setting up a free-to-access OnlyFans page. Kyrgios is a 28-year-old Australian who was the runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2022 but was sidelined by injuries for nearly all of this past season. He played in just one official singles match in...

Australia pushes against China's Pacific influence through a security pact with Papua New Guinea

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government signed a security pact with its nearest neighbor Papua New Guinea on Thursday that strengthens Australia’s place as the preferred security partner in a region where China’s influence is growing. Prime Minister Anthony...

French foreign minister says she is open to South Pacific resettlement requests due to rising seas

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on Monday she was open to any resettlement request from tiny South Pacific nations threatened by rising sea levels, similar to Australia’s agreement with Tuvalu. Colonna said France had watched with...

France and Philippines eye a security pact to allow joint military combat exercises

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — France and the Philippines are considering a defense pact that would allow them to send military forces to each other’s territory for joint exercises, the Philippine defense chief said Saturday after holding talks with his French counterpart. Gilberto...

Pentagon forges new high-tech agreement with Australia, United Kingdom, aimed at countering China

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (AP) — From underwater drones to electronic warfare, the U.S. is expanding its high-tech military cooperation with Australia and the United Kingdom as part of a broader effort to counter China’s rapidly growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. Defense...

Rafael Nadal says he will return to playing at Brisbane International in Australia in January

The Philippines opens a new monitoring base on a remote island in the disputed South China Sea

THITU ISLAND, South China Sea (AP) — The Philippines inaugurated a new coast guard monitoring base Friday on an island occupied by Filipino forces in the disputed South China Sea and plans to expand joint patrols with the United States and Australia to counter China’s “pure bullying” in the...

Alternative healer faces manslaughter charge over woman's death at a UK slapping therapy workshop

LONDON (AP) — An alternative healer who advocates a technique known as “slapping therapy” was charged Thursday over the death of a woman at one of his workshops in England seven years ago. Hongchi Xiao was charged with manslaughter by gross negligence in the October 2016 death...

Sweden halts adoptions from South Korea after claims of falsified papers on origins of children

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden’s main adoption agency said Wednesday it was halting adoptions from South Korea, following claims of falsified papers on the origins of children adopted from the Asian country. Swedes have been adopting children from South Korea since the 1950s....