The Irish Press - News from Dublin, Kilkenny, Waterford, Drogheda, Galyway, Ireland and the world

Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas reached his first final since last year's French Open when he came back from a set down to defeat Czech qualifier Jiri Lehecka in the Rotterdam semi-finals on Saturday.

Manchester United's top four bid suffered another blow as Southampton hit back to earn a 1-1 draw, while Everton boosted their bid for Premier League survival with a vital 3-0 win against Leeds on Saturday.

India's rising star Ishan Kishan fetched a whopping $2 million in the auction for the Indian Premier League -- the world's most valuable cricket tournament -- on Saturday.

Dan Biggar's drop-goal 10 minutes from time proved decisive as Wales revived their Six Nations title defence with a 20-17 win over Scotland at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Saturday slammed Western claims of an imminent Moscow invasion of Ukraine as a "provocation" as he began new crisis talks with US President Joe Biden.

VfL Bochum forward Gerrit Holtmann inspired his side to a stunning 4-2 win over Bayern Munich on Saturday, as the Bundesliga leaders suffered a historic humiliation ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Red Bull Salzburg.

Waving flags and singing the national anthem, thousands of Ukrainians braved the winter cold to march across Kyiv on Saturday to show unity in the face of a feared Russian invasion.

Top seed Maria Sakkari reached her fourth WTA Tour final on Saturday after beating unseeded Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 in a three-hour thriller in Saint Petersburg.

French ice dancers Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron made a commanding start to their quest for Olympic gold on Saturday, breaking their own world record to place top in rhythm dance.

Mattia Zaccagni struck a second-half brace as Lazio strolled past Bologna 3-0 to close in on Serie A's Champions League places.

Jaclyn Narracott earned Australia's first Olympic medal in a sliding sport Saturday with silver in the women's skeleton, three years after she nearly quit, as Germany continued their domination of the high-speed events at the Beijing Winter Games.

Paris police fired teargas and issued hundreds of fines on Saturday to break up a convoy of vehicles that attempted to block traffic in a protest over Covid restrictions and rising living costs.

Olympic road race champion Richard Carapaz did not start the stage two of the Tour of Provence after testing positive for Covid-19, his team Ineos said Saturday.

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw warned there is "no way" the Red Devils will reach the Champions League next season if they continue to throw away leads after a 1-1 draw with Southampton on Saturday.

French ice dancers Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron made a commanding start to their quest for Olympic gold on Saturday, breaking their own world record to place top in rhythm dance.

Police in Canada were positioning Saturday to clear a key bridge on the US border, snarled for days by truckers protesting against vaccination rules, an AFP journalist observed.

Top seed Maria Sakkari reached her fourth WTA Tour final on Saturday after beating unseeded Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 in a three-hour thriller in Saint Petersburg.

Veteran industrialist Rahul Bajaj, whose name was synonymous with road transport in India, died Saturday aged 83, his company said.

A convoy of vehicles from across the Netherlands brought The Hague's city centre to a standstill on Saturday, protesting against coronavirus restrictions.

Jaclyn Narracott earned Australia's first Olympic medal in a sliding sport Saturday with silver in the women's skeleton as Germany continued their domination of the high-speed events at the Beijing Winter Games.

US President Joe Biden prepared to sound out Russia's Vladimir Putin on Saturday and Ukraine urged its citizens not to panic after Washington warned that an all-out invasion could begin "any day".

Manchester United blew a first half lead for the third consecutive game as Che Adams' strike earned Southampton a deserved 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Danish rider Anthon Charmig powered to victory in the third stage of the Tour of Oman on Saturday to take the overall lead from Mark Cavendish.

When bobsleigh pilot Axel Brown decided to switch from the Great Britain team to race for Trinidad and Tobago at the Winter Olympics, he needed to find a brakeman.

Michele Lamaro said Saturday that Italy should be inspired by their under-20's historic win over England as the senior team await the Six Nations visit of the 2019 World Cup finalists.

The United States outslugged Canada 4-2 on Saturday in an Olympic clash of hockey heavyweights that lacked none of the intensity of their long rivalry despite the absence of NHL superstars.

Turkmenistan's autocrat Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who has signalled his intention to step down as president, went from personal dentist of the country's eccentric former leader to head of state, before recreating much of his predecessor's personality cult.

The Netherlands' short track speed skaters hope to bring Beijing Olympic gold home in Sunday's women's 3000 metres relay for their tragic team-mate who died suddenly aged just 27.

US President Joe Biden and France's Emmanuel Macron prepared to sound out Russia's Vladimir Putin on Saturday and Ukraine urged its citizens not to panic after Washington warned that an all-out invasion could begin "any day".

The 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva will learn on Monday whether she can remain at the Beijing Olympics, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said, as questions grew over why it took six weeks for her failed drug test to come to light.

A French "freedom convoy" of cars and vans began arriving in Paris on Saturday for a protest over coronavirus restrictions, but the police moved quickly to prevent a Canadian-style blockade of the capital by issuing hundreds of fines.

Three key opposition figures in Nicaragua including a former deputy foreign minister have been found guilty of "undermining national integrity," a rights group said Friday, in a continuing crackdown on opponents of President Daniel Ortega.