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Serena Williams started preparations for her sensational return from retirement as she took to the Queen's Club practice courts with doubles partner Victoria Mboko on Thursday.

Brazil wants to acquire 20 additional Gripen fighter jets, made by Swedish defence company Saab, on top of the 36 it already has, Sweden's defence minister said Thursday.

UK leader Keir Starmer accused US tech tycoon Elon Musk on Thursday of "trying to whip up division" in Britain following anger over the police handling of the murder of a white student by a Sikh man.

Andoni Iraola arrived in Liverpool on Thursday to finalise the details of his appointment as the club's new head coach following the dismissal of Arne Slot.

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has revealed Pep Guardiola was on the verge of quitting "100 times" before finally leaving at the end of this season.

Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday announced the appointment of Spaniard Carles Martinez Novell as manager, replacing former coach Kasper Hjulmand with immediate effect.

Italian Serie A runners-up Napoli confirmed on Thursday that coach Antonio Conte will leave the club after two years with former AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri tipped to take over.

Oil prices and the dollar retreated Thursday while stock markets were mixed as traders reacted to conflicting events in the Middle East war and the artificial intelligence industry.

Israel carried out new strikes in Lebanon on Thursday and again threatened Beirut, despite the two countries agreeing to a conditional ceasefire that Lebanon's president called the "last chance" for a durable end to the fighting.

MEXC, a pioneer in 0-fee digital asset trading, ranked No. 1 in new perpetual contract listings among all major centralized exchanges globally, according to CoinGecko's newly released 2026 State of Crypto Perpetuals Report. Beyond leading in new contract listings, MEXC also ranked among the top four exchanges globally in open interest market share and established itself as a key participant in global perpetual trading volume.

New Zealand enjoyed an early breakthrough as they dismissed England debutant Emilio Gay cheaply in the 150th Test at Lord's on Thursday before rain stopped play.

The race to replace the ageing International Space Station is heating up after US company Vast announced a mission to fly an astronaut to its planned Haven-1 station next year.

Alexander Zverev may insist that he does not "particularly care" about being the runaway favourite to win a maiden Grand Slam title, but the second seed will know the pressure lies squarely on his shoulders in Friday's French Open semi-finals.

Protesters are furious over a planned luxury tourism complex in Albania that is linked to US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Iran's supreme leader said Thursday that the United States and Israel had been dealt a "decisive blow" in the Middle East war, after the government reported "no tangible progress" in negotiations on ending the conflict.

Manchester City are considering legal action after Real Madrid presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme said he would sign superstar forward Erling Haaland if elected.

Environmental causes face an uphill battle. Overshadowed in politics, overlooked in budgets and defeated in courts, nature is often treated as a niche concern, second to more pressing matters.

Franco-Iranian author and film director Marjane Satrapi, best known for the graphic novel and film "Persepolis", has died aged 56, AFP learned Thursday from a member of her close circle.

SpaceX, the rockets-to-AI behemoth led by Elon Musk, aims to raise $75 billion in the biggest initial share sale ever, as the world's richest person pursues data centers in space and a trip to Mars.

Israel struck south Lebanon on Thursday and threatened new attacks on Beirut despite an announcement hours earlier that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to implement a conditional ceasefire.

Asian stocks sank Thursday after a disappointing forecast by chip giant Broadcom stoked concerns about the AI trade, while stronger-than-expected US data compounded speculation the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates.

Heavy gunfire rocked Somalia's capital overnight, with smoke rising over the city and armed forces deployed on the streets on Thursday, AFP journalists reported, after clashes erupted between rival political factions ahead of planned protests.

Fiji's environment ministry rejected on Thursday a plan by an Australian billionaire to burn rubbish for energy in the South Pacific nation after a backlash from traditional landowners and tourism operators.

South Korea's ruling Democratic Party swept most seats in local elections but failed to flip the crucial Seoul mayoral seat, official results showed Thursday, in a sign that voters sought to keep a check on its power.

A generation has grown up in the closed world of Orania, South Africa's whites-only Afrikaner enclave on the margins of the rainbow nation that this year celebrates its 35th anniversary.

Gazing at two large engraved 16th-century elephant tusks on display at Nigeria's National Museum Lagos, a guide surprised visitors by telling them: "You can touch them gently".

A Nepali climbing guide who went missing on Mount Everest for six days and was feared dead has been found alive after crawling back to Base Camp, officials told AFP on Thursday.

South Korea's ruling Democratic Party swept most seats in local elections but failed to flip the crucial Seoul mayoral seat, official results showed Thursday, in a sign that voters sought to keep a check on its power.

Jalen Brunson fueled another New York comeback triumph on Wednesday but said the Knicks can't afford to relax after pulling off a 105-95 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in game one of the NBA Finals.

Under the shade of recently planted poplars in northeastern Afghanistan, village leader Ghulam Ali Poya is proud to see residents rediscover the value of trees after years of wartime deforestation.

South Korea kept up their momentum ahead of the World Cup with a 1-0 win over El Salvador on Wednesday in their final friendly before the tournament begins next week.

Victor Wembanyama refused to hit the panic button on Wednesday after the San Antonio Spurs blew a double-digit lead to suffer a potentially crucial NBA Finals game one defeat to the New York Knicks.

Jalen Brunson scored 30 points as the New York Knicks erased a 14-point second-half deficit to stun the San Antonio Spurs 105-95 and take a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals on Wednesday.

Kim Jong Un vowed an "exponential" increase in nuclear military capabilities as state media reported the North Korean leader visited a new atomic facility.

Though Hong Kong has overtaken Switzerland as the number one in cross-border wealth management, rather than enter panic mode, Swiss banks seem unruffled -- feeling it bolsters the case against looming tighter banking regulations.

Indonesia's rupiah hit its weakest level ever against the dollar on Thursday, breaching the psychological 18,000 threshold amid concerns about the country's economy amid surging energy costs.

Stocks sank Thursday after a disappointing forecast by chip giant Broadcom stoked concerns about the AI trade, while stronger-than-expected US data compounded speculation the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates.

The US House of Representatives has backed a resolution seeking to halt American military action in Iran -- a symbolic move that deals a political blow to President Donald Trump as efforts to find a deal with Tehran stagnate.

As the ceasefire with Iran teeters and his Republican Party faces dire risks over the war's costs, US President Donald Trump made sure the press assembled Wednesday in the Oval Office knew what was on his mind: renovating the historic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.