A Soyuz spacecraft safely delivered a Russian, an American and a Dutchman to the International Space Station on Friday, restoring the permanent crew to six members for the first time since September.

But just as concerns over the reliability of the Soyuz have eased, a different version of the Soyuz rocket failed Friday during an unmanned launch. It was the latest in a string of spectacular launch failures that have raised questions about the state of Russia's space industry.

Former playing greats Romario and Ronaldo have announced a plan to donate 32,000 free tickets to disabled fans to watch matches at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Romario, a World Cup winner in 1994 who has since been elected to the Brazilian parliament, had requested the free tickets from the organizing committee. The former Brazil striker, who has a daughter with Down syndrome, had tears in his eyes as he announced the giveaway Friday.

Pope Benedict XVI's popemobile may be getting an ecological upgrade.

Young car designers participating in an annual auto style competition are being asked to design a low-emission popemobile that meets the Vatican's high security standards.

More than spirits are being lifted this holiday season.

During the four weeks leading up to this Christmas, an estimated $1.84 billion in merchandise will be shoplifted from retailers in the U.S., according to The Global Retail Theft Barometer. That's up about 6 percent from $1.7 billion during the same period last year.

Almost halfway through the Premier League season and there is already seven points separating Manchester rivals City and United from the chasing pack.

"At this point in time everyone thinks it is going to be a one-two for the city (of Manchester)," United manager Alex Ferguson said Friday. "But things change. You only need to go back over the years to see how dramatic our league can be. Lose a game in this league and all the rest get a pickup and start chasing harder."

Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the Brisbane International because of her continuing recovery from a left ankle injury first suffered at the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo in September.

Sharapova told Brisbane tournament officials in a statement released Saturday that "unfortunately my ankle is not 100 percent and I won't be able to make it this year." It would have been her first appearance at the Brisbane event which begins Jan. 1.

Nevada gambling regulators on Thursday unanimously approved rules that allow companies in the state apply for licenses to operate poker websites, a move that puts Nevada in a position to capitalize if Congress reverses its ban on Internet gambling.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the regulations would let casino companies operate Internet poker sites in the state, and some sites could begin operating by the end of 2012.

Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood denied on Saturday its involvement in the Damascus bombings, saying the regime had set up a website similar to its webpage to implicate it in the blasts that left 44 people dead a day earlier.

In remarks to al-Arabiya TV station, Brotherhood official Mohammed Farouq Tayfour said the Syrian authorities established the site to accuse the group of carrying out the twin suicide bombings.

There is a "gentlemen's agreement" between OPEC members to accommodate increasing output from Libya, the North African country's oil minister said Saturday.

The comments by Abdul-Rahman bin Yazzah indicate that while there is no formal deal among members of the 12-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output, the producer group is willing to take the step as Libya's production ramps up to pre-civil war levels of 1.6 million barrels per day.

Robert De Niro is a father again.

Stan Rosenfield, the 68-year-old actor's spokesman, said De Niro and his 56-year-old wife, Grace Hightower, welcomed a healthy 7-pound, 2-ounce (3.3 kilogram) baby girl named Helen Grace Hightower through a surrogate mother.