Australia

Formula One organisers the FIA on Jan. 20 announced earlier starts for five grand prix this season, the move introduced as one of the recommendations after Jules Bianchi's near-fatal crash.
      
The 25-year-old Frenchman was left fighting for his life when his Marussia car ploughed into a recovery vehicle at the Japanese Grand Prix last October.
      

World number ones Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams showed no mercy in powering through to the Australian Open second round Jan. 20 as unseeded dark horse Victoria Azarenka won her grudge match.
      
Defending men's champion Stan Wawrinka, Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori and women's fourth seed Petra Kvitova also stayed on course.
      

Bocuse d'Or, a competition of the world's top 24 chefs, will turn Lyon (France) into the capital of gastronomy on January 27-28.

Photo credit: (c) www.bocusedor.com

BELGRADE - An Australian film festival featuring recent movies will be held in Belgrade from January 21 to 25.

Australian Ambassador to Serbia Julia Feeney will open the festival, while Black Baloon directed by Elissa Down will be the first film on the programme. It was made in 2008 in coproduction with the UK.

MELBOURNE - Serbia's tennis player Viktor Troicki made a winning start at the Australian Open, after defeating Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in a first-round match on Monday.

After claiming the title in Sydney, Troicki continued with good matches, confirming he is in excellent shape.

Big guns Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova successfully blasted their way into the Australian Open second round yesterday but the Grand Slam dream of Ana Ivanovic was shattered.

Big guns Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray successfully blasted their way into the Australian Open second round Jan. 19 but the Grand Slam dream of Ana Ivanovic was shattered.
      
Third seed Nadal and sixth seed Murray both enjoyed straight sets wins, with rising stars Simona Halep and Grigor Dimitrov also progressing comfortably on a cool and windy Melbourne day.
      

Politics play in the background each time a national squad enters the pitch during the the 2015 Asian Cup as diplomacy is expanded to cultural diplomacy Kuwait may have scored the first goal against Australia in the opening match of the Asian Cup, but when the match ended 4-1 in favor of the Australian hosts the message was not simply a defeat on the pitch.

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer begin their quest for five Australian Open titles while Serena Williams is chasing her 19th Grand Slam crown in the year's first major starting Monday.
      
World number one Djokovic looms as the player to beat in the men's draw having won four of the last seven Australian editions, and he holds an affinity with the hardcourts in Melbourne.

Israel is lobbying member-states of the International Criminal Court to cut funding for the tribunal in response to its launch of an inquiry into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories, officials said on Jan. 18.