Dozens of makers of medicines and diagnostic tests have joined together in an unprecedented effort to tackle "superbugs" — infections that increasingly don't respond to drugs and threaten millions of people in countries rich and poor.

Altogether, 74 drugmakers, 11 makers of diagnostic tests and nine industry groups have signed a groundbreaking agreement to work with governments and each other to prevent and improve treatment of drug-resistant infections. They plan to announce the new agreement Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Israel's military has conducted a drill to prepare for simultaneous combat along its northern frontier with Syria and Lebanon.

It said Wednesday the two-week exercise that combined air, ground and naval forces was aimed at "preparing troops for a long-term multi-front conflict."

Syrian peace talks due next week are looking increasingly moot as a string of recent battlefield victories by government troops have bolstered President Bashar Assad's hand and plunged the rebels into disarray.

The government's advances add to the obstacles that have scuttled chances of halting — at least anytime soon — the five-year civil war that has killed a quarter of a million people, displaced half the country and enabled the radical Islamic State group to seize a third of Syria's territory.

Novak Djokovic opened his Australian Open title defense with a straight-sets win, before going to the defense of his sport as reports of match-fixing overshadowed the first day of the season-opening Grand Slam.

Djokovic had a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over Chung Hyeon of South Korea at Rod Laver Arena on Monday, immediately after women's defending champion and No. 1-ranked Serena Williams started her bid for a seventh Australian title with a 6-4, 7-5 win over No. 34-ranked Camila Giorgi.

Katie Ledecky was barely in the pool when American swim great Michael Phelps was asked about the precocious teenager who seems to mow down world records at will.

"It's always something special when she gets in the water," Phelps said with an eye toward the timing board.

San Antonio stretched its franchise-record unbeaten streak this season to 24-0 by routing Texan rival Dallas 112-83 on Sunday.

The result opened a 13-game gap between the top and second teams in the NBA's Southwest Division, and meant the Spurs were now only 1-1/2 games behind Golden State for the Western Conference and overall league lead.

Real Madrid's second straight five-goal performance under new coach Zinedine Zidane came at the high price of losing Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema to injury on Sunday, while Luis Suarez scored a hat trick to lead Barcelona's 6-0 demolition of 10-man Athletic Bilbao.

As the two powerhouses got goals from their trios of star strikers, Atletico Madrid quietly churned out a 3-0 win at Las Palmas to retain its provisional lead of the Spanish league.

Iran will release four detained Americans in exchange for seven Iranians held or charged in the United States, U.S. and Iranian officials said Saturday in a major diplomatic breakthrough announced as implementation of a landmark nuclear deal appeared imminent. A fifth American detained in Iran, a student, was released in a move unrelated to the swap, U.S. officials said.

Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati, pastor Saeed Abedini and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, whose name had not been previously made public, were to be flown from Iran to Switzerland aboard a Swiss aircraft and then transported to a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, for medical treatment, U.S. officials said.

A Lebanese official on Friday acknowledged European concerns about safety regulations at the Beirut airport, saying the facility needs improvement but adding that recent reports that the airport does not meet international safety standards are "exaggerated."

Mohammed Qabbani, head of Parliament's public works and transport committee, also said that Lebanon will use part of a $25 million Saudi grant to buy scanners and other new inspection machines to ensure more security in and around the airport.

Defending champion Serena Williams and No. 5-ranked Maria Sharapova were drawn into the same section for the Australian Open on Friday, setting up a potential quarterfinal match featuring the 2015 finalists.

Six-time champion Williams has a tough draw starting in the opening round against Camila Giorgi of Italy, who finished 2015 at No. 34 and was the highest-ranked player who was not seeded for the season's first major which begins Monday.