Tattoos go mainstream after sketchy image

LONDON - Mothers shopping with teenage children and parents pushing baby buggies joined the crowds of body art enthusiasts at this weekend's annual London Tattoo Convention, underscoring the increasing acceptance of tattoos in mainstream culture.

NZ awaits Peters' pick of the parties

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - The leaders of the main parties prepared on Sunday to start talks with Winston Peters, the leader of a nationalist party who emerged as kingmaker after an inconclusive general election, but Peters indicated he was in no rush to pick a side.

First refugees taken from offshore detention center under US swap deal

SYDNEY - Refugees have left one of Australia's offshore detention centres on Sunday for the United States, an asylum seeker and a refugee advocate said, as part of a swap brokered by former US president Barack Obama last year.

IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Merkel win could pave the way

With Germans casting their ballots on Sunday to elect the country's new government, veteran French politician Jean-Pierre Raffarin said Chancellor Angela Merkel's expected victory will form a "perfect duo" with new French President Emmanuel Macron to deepen Europe's strategic partnership with China.

'Comfort women' memorial unveiled in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO - "I hate the crime, not the people," an emotional Lee Yong-soo, a Korean woman who survived sexual slavery by the Imperial Army of Japan during World War II, told a packed audience at a public square in San Francisco.

Double boost bolsters the Blues

STOKE-ON-TRENT, England - Antonio Conte was left frustrated by Chelsea's failure to beat Arsenal last weekend, but the Blues boss has been given a lift ahead of Saturday's trip to Stoke City by Eden Hazard's return and the end of the Diego Costa saga.

Emery evasive as PSG grapples with penalty problem

PARIS - Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery refused to name his first-choice penalty taker on Thursday in the wake of Neymar and Edinson Cavani's apparent falling-out against Lyon last week.

Zidane appeals for calm amid Madrid's travails

MADRID - In the space of just five games Real Madrid has gone from red-hot La Liga title favorite to trailing rival Barcelona by seven points ahead of Saturday's trip to Alaves.

United lifted by record revenues

LONDON - Manchester United announced record revenues and operating profits on Thursday despite missing out on the riches of the Champions League last season.

Zahavi upstaging illustrious imports

While Oscar broke transfer records and Carlos Tevez pocketed a bumper pay deal, it is little-known Eran Zahavi who has emerged as the goalscorer supreme in this season's Chinese Super League.

Tevez takes aim at Chinese players

Carlos Tevez has criticized the standard of Chinese soccer players, claiming the country will be unable to match the sport's leading nations "even in 50 years".