The cruise to the moon took 3 1/2 months and covered 2 1/2 million miles (4 million kilometers) — far longer than the direct three-day flight by Apollo astronauts.

Over the New Year's weekend, a pair of NASA spacecraft arrived back-to-back at their destination in the first mission devoted to studying lunar gravity.

Real Madrid and Barcelona can set the stage for another pair of "clasicos" by beating Malaga and Osasuna when Spanish football returns from its annual winter break this week with the Copa del Rey's round of 16.

Madrid and Barcelona both play their first leg at home, and big victories there would all but end their opponents' hopes of pulling off an upset in the return match.

Fiji's military government will move Saturday to lift a state of emergency it imposed in 2009, as the country prepares to open consultation on a new constitution, Prime MinisterFrank Bainimarama said in a New Year's message.

The Public Emergency Regulations gave police and the military extended powers, imposed tough censorship on the South Pacific nation's media and tightly controlled public assembly.

South Korea's president opened the door Monday to possible nuclear talks with North Korea and warned the neighboring country to avoid any provocations, saying the Korean peninsula is at a crucial turning point.

Lee Myung-bak's comments in a nationally televised speech come as the young son of the late Kim Jong Il takes power in North Korea as Supreme Commander of the military and ruling party leader after Kim's death last month. The North vowed Sunday in a New Year's message that it would bolster its military and defend the son, Kim Jong Un, "unto death."

Kim Clijsters began preparation for the defense of her Australian Open singles title with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Romania's Simona Halep in the first round of the Brisbane International on Sunday.

Clijsters beat China's Li Na in the final at last year's opening Grand Slam at Melbourne Park. This year's Australian Open begins Jan. 16.

Novak Djokovic showed he remains the player to beat in 2012, routing David Ferrer 6-2, 6-1 Saturday to win the World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament.

The top-ranked Djokovic also beat Gael Monfils and then routed Roger Federer en route to his first Abu Dhabi title.

When Big Ben strikes 12 to ring in the New Year, no one will feel the level of anticipation — and pressure — more than organizers of the London Olympics.

With the arrival of 2012, the preparations will no longer be for "next year's games."

U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur faces a difficult road in her first tournament of 2012, with Serena Williams, Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters and former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic on her side of the Brisbane International draw.

Hometown favorite Stosur opens play Monday at Pat Rafter Arena against Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus.

Dozens of camera traps installed in an Indonesian national park earlier this year captured images of 35 critically endangered Javan rhinos, including five calves, officials said Thursday.

It's still possible that more of the animals live in the Ujung Kulon National Park — the animal's original habitat — said Bambang Novianto, director of biodiversity conservation at the forestry ministry.

The World Health Organization is warning that dangerous scientific information could fall into the wrong hands after U.S. government-funded researchers engineered a form of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus more easily transmissible between humans.

In a strongly worded statement Friday, WHO said it was "deeply concerned about the potential negative consequences" if the results of the study were used to create biological weapons or the mutated virus was accidentally released.