Israel is moving ahead with plans to build a massive Jewish settlement on the site of a long-abandoned airport that the Palestinians had hoped would one day service their future capital in east Jerusalem.

It's one of several settlement projects that are advancing despite condemnation by the Biden administration, which along with the Palestinians and much of the international community views the settlements as an obstacle to resolving the century-old conflict.

Spain is set to begin its title defense at the Davis Cup Finals without Rafael Nadal, and with all eyes on the teenager touted as his heir.

The 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz will be attracting attention when Spain starts on Friday against Ecuador. Spain is looking to triumph again two years after winning the inaugural edition of the revamped nations' competition.

Karim Benzema and the teams that employ him appear unfazed by his guilty verdict for having played a part in the sex tape blackmail plot against a former France teammate.

Hours after the conviction by a Versailles court on Wednesday, Benzema helped Real Madrid clinch a spot in the Champions League knockout phase for a 25th consecutive season by scoring in a 3-0 win at Sheriff in Moldavia.

Israeli authorities have said they would permit 500 members of the Gaza Strip's tiny Christian community to enter Israel and the occupied West Bank to celebrate Christmas.

Israel has in the past allowed Gazans to exit the blockaded territory for Christmas, though the practice was frozen last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Australia announced Thursday it is sending police, troops and diplomats to the Solomon Islands to help after anti-government demonstrators defied lockdown orders and took to the streets for a second day in violent protests.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the deployment includes a detachment of 23 federal police officers and up to 50 more to provide security at critical infrastructure sites, as well as 43 defense force personnel, a patrol boat and at least five diplomats.

Kevin Durant grew up in the Washington, D.C., area looking up to Allen Iverson as he led Georgetown to back-to-back trips to the NCAA Sweet 16.

Now the Nets forward is looking down at the Hall of Famer from the top 25 of the NBA's all-time scoring list.

A renowned Chinese fashion photographer has apologized for her past work after online critics called it insulting to the Chinese people and fashion house Dior removed one of her photos from a show in Shanghai.

Chen Man acknowledged the criticism of her earlier work, including "Young Pioneers," a series of images of a young model with backdrops of major landmarks such as China's massive Three Gorges Dam or with an image of the country's first lunar orbiter flying out from under her dress.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen opened a virtual meeting of Asian and European leaders Thursday with a call for sustainable and shared global growth as the world seeks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thirty European countries and 21 Asian countries, along with multinational organizations representing the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, are represented at the two-day Asia-Europe Meeting. The biennial event is being hosted by Cambodia after being postponed from last year due to the pandemic.

The holiday tree is towering over the main square in this central German city, the chestnuts and sugared almonds are roasted, and kids are clambering aboard the merry-go-round just like they did before the pandemic. But a surge in coronavirus infections has left an uneasy feeling hanging over Frankfurt's Christmas market.

To savor a mug of mulled wine — an uncomplicated rite of winter in pre-pandemic times — masked customers must pass through a one-way entrance to a fenced-off wine hut, stopping at the hand sanitizer station. Elsewhere, security officers check vaccination certificates before letting customers head for the steaming sausages and kebabs.

The deaths of at least 27 people in the English Channel is fueling tensions between the U.K. and France over how to stop migrants from crossing the world's busiest waterway in small boats.

Despite a pledge from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron that they would "do everything possible" to stop people smugglers from endangering lives, politicians on both sides of the channel are already sniping at their counterparts for failing to prevent Wednesday's tragedy.