Judge Tarek Bitar on Monday received a request demanding his removal from the Beirut port blast case, which effectively suspends his probe pending a decision from the Court of Appeals.

The development follows a lawsuit filed by ex-interior minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq.

Wearing the No. 10 jersey that used to belong to Lionel Messi, Ansu Fati made a triumphant return from a long injury layoff on Sunday, scoring a goal and giving Barcelona fans hope for the future.

Fati, who hadn't played in more than 10 months because of a knee injury, scored in stoppage time to seal a 3-0 Spanish league win over Levante that helped ease some of the pressure on Barcelona following a three-match winless streak.

Paulo Dybala left the field in tears shortly after scoring to set Juventus on the way to a 3-2 victory over Sampdoria in Serie A on Sunday.

Dybala has endured a number of muscular injuries over the years and it appeared as if he had suffered another one after pulling up suddenly. The Juventus forward was able to walk off and was consoled by his teammates as he did so.

With 55 shots in the last two games, no goals and a pair of 1-0 losses, Manchester United's attack is looking blunt. That's even with Cristiano Ronaldo back at the club, although he only played in Saturday's defeat to Aston Villa and not the League Cup exit to West Ham. There will be little room for error in the Champions League if Villarreal can't be beaten at Old Trafford in Group F on Wednesday after United opened two weeks ago with a loss to Young Boys. Villarreal beat United in last season's Europa League final and Ole Gunnar Solskjær will want to avoid United dropping into Europe's second-tier competition again after benefiting from so much investment in the squad.

MADRID'S ATTACKING POWER

Google is heading to a top European Union court Monday to appeal a record EU antitrust penalty imposed for stifling competition through the dominance of its Android operating system.

The company is fighting a 2018 decision from the EU's executive Commission, the bloc's top antitrust enforcer, that resulted in the 4.34 billion-euro ($5 billion) fine — still the biggest ever fine Brussels has imposed for anticompetitive behavior.

A cyclone flooded parts of India's eastern coast with heavy rains and uprooted thousands of trees and power poles, knocking out electricity, before weakening to a deep depression Monday.

Heavy rains lashed the town of Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state on Sunday, swamping roads and marooning hundreds of villages, local official Shrikesh Lathkar said.

A Spanish island volcano that has buried more than 500 buildings and displaced over 6,000 people since it erupted last week stopped releasing large clouds of ashes and molten rock on Monday, although scientists said it was too early to declare the eruption phase finished.

Live footage from the public Canary Islands Television showed the Cumbre Vieja range in the La Palma island without the plume of ash that had been emerging from the main vent that opened on Sept. 19.

The Rolling Stones are touring again, this time without their heartbeat, or at least their backbeat.

The legendary rockers launched their pandemic-delayed "No Filter" tour Sunday at the Dome at America's Center in St. Louis without their drummer of nearly six decades. It was clear from the outset just how much the band members — and the fans — missed Charlie Watts, who died last month at age 80. Except for a private show in Massachusetts last week, the St. Louis concert was their first since Watts' death.

President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan is traveling to Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the U.S. tries to press the kingdom to move toward a cease-fire in its years long war with Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Sullivan will be the highest-ranking Biden administration official to visit Saudi Arabia. Besides seeing the crown prince, often referred to by his initials, MBS, Sullivan is expected to meet with deputy defense minster Khalid bin Salman, a brother to the crown prince, according to two senior administration officials. The officials were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Global shoppers face possible shortages of smartphones and other goods ahead of Christmas after power cuts to meet government energy use targets forced Chinese factories to shut down and left some households in the dark.

In the northeastern city of Liaoyang, 23 people were hospitalized with gas poisoning after ventilation in a metal casting factory was shut off following a power outage, according to state broadcaster CCTV. No deaths were reported.