In the refugee camp in eastern Lebanon's Qab Elias where Fatima Khaled lives with her two daughters, only three children found a spot in the local school.

So when parents found out that Khaled was an educator, they begged her to teach their children. An unemployed teacher who fled Damascus three years ago, Khaled could not find work in Lebanon. "I came here and tried to find a job, but no one would hire me," she said. "Parents here suggested the idea. They told me I could teach and help the children."

In the mountains of northwestern Iran, Farnaz Esmaeilzadeh clings to a sheer rock face, ignoring the dizzying height and icy wind as she searches for the next handhold.

The 27-year-old, who has been rock climbing since she was 13, has distinguished herself in international competitions despite the barriers she faces as a female athlete in conservative Iran.

Novak Djokovic has a new goal for the year. He calls it the Djoker Slam.

The No. 1-ranked player has one thing missing from his fast-growing collection of 11 Grand Slam trophies.

Europe's finest strikers were on target on Sunday as Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Napoli secured wins.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice as leader Paris Saint-Germain equaled the longest unbeaten run in the French league with a 2-0 win at Saint-Etienne. Cristiano Ronaldo did even better with a hat trick that helped Real Madrid crush Espanyol 6-0 and stay in touch with Barcelona at the top in Spain.

Chelsea captain John Terry will leave the Premier League champions at the end of the season after the club he has served since the age of 14 told him it would not be renewing his contract.

The 35-year-old central defender, the most successful captain in Chelsea's history, was informed about the decision before last week's 1-0 league win over Arsenal.

When Italian Premier Matteo Renzi flew to New York to witness the all-Italian U.S. Open final between Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci in September, it was a source of controversy at home.

Critics decried the use of a government plane for a personal trip, while supporters trumpeted his celebration of two Italian athletes on a world stage.

China strongly condemned the United States after a U.S. warship deliberately sailed near one of the Beijing-controlled islands in the hotly contested South China Sea to exercise freedom of navigation and challenge China's vast territorial claims.

The missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur sailed within 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) of Triton Island in the Paracel chain "to challenge excessive maritime claims of parties that claim the Paracel Islands," without notifying the three claimants beforehand, Defense Department spokesman Mark Wright said Saturday in Washington..

Republican and Democratic presidential hopefuls crisscrossed the Midwestern state of Iowa in a frenzied weekend prelude before voters have their first say in the 2016 presidential race which has taken an unexpected turn with the emergence of outsider candidates who have challenged the establishment in both parties.

Iowa offers only a small contingent of the delegates who will determine the nominees at each party's national convention in July. But Monday's caucuses will provide a test of whether the large enthusiastic crowds turning out at rallies for real estate mogul Donald Trump and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will turn into actual votes. The caucuses should also help winnow out the crowded Republican field and provide momentum heading into the Feb. 9 New Hampshire primary.

Mix one part superstition, two parts fashion, a dab of celebrity idolatry and a heap of media frenzy, and what do you get? "Child angel" dolls, the latest craze in Thailand.

The dolls occupy a niche somewhere between Buddhist amulets, beloved by gamblers, gangsters and policemen for their reputed magical protective powers, and Furby toys, adored by children for their cuteness.

In Japan, where communal ties to local Buddhist temples are fading, families have in recent years been able to go online to find a Buddhist monk to perform funerals and other rituals.

But when Amazon Japan allowed a provider to offer "Obo-san bin," or "Mr. Monk Delivery," on its website, it shone a spotlight on the emerging trend and prompted a major Buddhist organization to criticize the Internet marketer of commercializing religion.