Vossische Zeitung - News from Berlin, Brandenburg, Europe and the whole world

Arsenal head into 2023 with a formidable seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League after a 4-2 win at Brighton, while Manchester City's title defence suffered a major setback as Everton snatched a 1-1 draw against the champions on Saturday.

Owen Farrell took centre stage as Saracens responded to their surprise defeat by London Irish with a 35-3 thrashing of bitter rivals Exeter in the English Premiership on Saturday.

Stade Francais ran in six tries to defeat Pau 37-3 on Saturday, racking up a third consecutive Top 14 victory to stay on the trail of leaders Toulouse.

Two migrants died and another 200 were rescued Saturday when their boat sank off Lebanon's northern coast, from where increasing numbers make the risky journey to flee a collapsed economy.

Uruguayan international striker Luis Suarez has signed a two-year contract with Brazilian club Gremio, the Porto Alegre side announced on Saturday.

When Kurt and Anna-Maria Spennesberger heard the news about former pope Benedict XVI's death, they immediately got into their car and drove 200 kilometres to the former pontiff's southern German birth town Marktl.

The world's eight billion people have begun ushering in 2023 and bidding farewell to a turbulent 12 months marked by war in Europe, stinging price rises, Lionel Messi's World Cup glory and the deaths of Queen Elizabeth, Pele and former pope Benedict.

Manchester City's Premier League title defence suffered a major setback as Everton snatched a 1-1 draw against the champions, while Marcus Rashford responded to his benching for missing a team meeting with the late strike that clinched Manchester United's 1-0 win at Wolves on Saturday.

Pope Francis paid homage Saturday to "noble" and "kind" ex-pope Benedict XVI, who has died at the age of 95, a decade after becoming the first pontiff since the Middle Ages to resign.

Catholics expressed sadness and admiration Saturday for former pope Benedict XVI, following news of his death aged 95.

Viktoria Lukovenko was making a salad for a New Year's Eve party on Saturday when explosions overhead sent her running for cover in a Kyiv metro station.

World number five Aryna Sabalenka is aiming to hold onto the momentum from her season-ending run at the WTA Finals when she starts as second seed at the Adelaide International next week.

Only hours after Cristiano Ronaldo penned a two-year contract with Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr, crowds flocked to a football kit store in Riyadh to buy the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's new club jersey.

When Kurt and Anna-Maria Spennesberger heard the news about former pope Benedict XVI's death, they immediately got into their car and drove 200 kilometres to the former pontiff's southern German birth town Marktl.

The peaceful death of Benedict XVI in a monastery in the Vatican contrasts with the painful, violent or sometimes mysterious deaths of many of his predecessors.

Russian strikes on Saturday targeted Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, just hours before New Year's Eve celebrations while President Vladimir Putin told Russians that "historical rightness" was on their side.

Barcelona stumbled in the Spanish title race with a 1-1 draw against rivals Espanyol in a bad-tempered Catalan derby on Saturday, levelling Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.

The Brazilian barber who cut Pele's hair for more than 60 years is lamenting the loss of both a customer and a close friend.

Marcus Rashford gave the perfect response to his benching for disciplinary reasons as the Manchester United forward's late strike clinched a 1-0 win at Wolves on Saturday.

Romanian teenager Cosmin sweats profusely under a gigantic bearskin costume as he prances to the exhilarating sound of drums, flutes and whistles to welcome the New Year.

For the first time in modern history, a sitting pope will preside over his predecessor's funeral next week, with Pope Francis leading a "simple" ceremony for Benedict XVI, who died Saturday.

Sweden's Mattias Ekstrom drove his Audi hybrid to victory in the 13km-long prologue of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

President Xi Jinping said Saturday the "light of hope is right in front of us" as China faces an explosion of Covid-19 cases after an abrupt lifting of restrictions.

The world's eight billion people began ushering in 2023 on Saturday and bidding farewell to a turbulent 12 months marked by war in Europe, stinging price rises, Lionel Messi's World Cup glory and the deaths of Queen Elizabeth, Pele and former pope Benedict.

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford was dropped to the bench for Saturday's Premier League match at Wolves for "internal disciplinary" reasons.

Catholics and tourists visiting St Peter's Square on Saturday expressed sadness and admiration for former pope Benedict XVI, following news of his death aged 95.

Here is a selection of Benedict XVI's standout quotes, some of them controversial, from his 2005-2013 papacy and in his retirement.

The shock retirement in 2013 of pope Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday aged 95, raised serious questions within the Roman Catholic Church about the extent to which there could be two "men in white" at the Vatican.

Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday aged 95, was the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages after a papacy beset by Church infighting and outcry over paedophilia.

Former pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95, the Vatican announced Saturday, almost a decade after he became the first pontiff to resign in six centuries.

Rafael Nadal lost his opening match of the season Saturday in the countdown to the defence of his Australian Open title, but women's world number one Iga Swiatek cruised to victory at the United Cup.

World number two Ons Jabeur said on Saturday her pair of 2022 Grand Slam finals have only increased her desire to finally lift a major trophy.