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Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson are among the stars who teed off on Thursday at the LIV Golf Invitational London, the launch event of a lucrative and divisive series that is rocking the sport.

The family of a British journalist missing in the Amazon urged British and Brazilian authorities in London on Thursday to step up their efforts to find him.

Wimbledon announced record prize money Thursday for this year's edition of tennis' oldest Grand Slam tournament, with the two singles champions taking home £2 million ($2.5 million, 2.3 million euros) each.

Kylian Mbappe is staying at Paris Saint-Germain and Erling Haaland is on his way to Manchester City, but plenty more big-name stars are on the market as the summer transfer window opens in Europe.

The UN atomic energy watchdog said on Thursday that Iran was removing 27 surveillance cameras at its nuclear facilities, warning this could be a "fatal blow" to negotiations to revive a landmark deal.

Former British yachting champion turned environmental campaigner Ellen MacArthur on Thursday won Spain's prestigious Princess of Asturias prize for international cooperation for her work to promote the circular economy.

The European Central Bank on Thursday said it would raise interest rates for the first time in over a decade next month to combat runaway inflation, bringing the curtain down on the eurozone's era of cheap money.

The summer transfer window officially opens in England on Friday with Premier League clubs again set to splash the cash while the futures of a selection of out-of-contract stars dominate headlines on the continent.

French authorities tried to deflect blame and scapegoat Liverpool fans after their "incompetence" caused chaos at the Champions League final last month, the mayor of the Liverpool region told AFP Thursday.

French prosecutors are investigating claims that officials at a nuclear power station covered up incidents of malfunction at an ageing plant, a source close to the probe told AFP on Thursday.

Britain said on Thursday it was readying new legislation to rewrite its Brexit commitments on Northern Ireland but denied it was breaking its treaty obligations to the European Union.

Joe Biden sought Thursday to step up action on climate at an Americas summit with hopes for at least small progress with Brazil, whose far-right leader will hold a potentially tense meeting with the US president.

The head of Paris police acknowledged Thursday the "failure" of security operations for the Champions League final last month where crowd problems, tear-gas and street crime marred the biggest night in European club football.

Jack Leach has kept his place in an unchanged England XI for the second Test against New Zealand at Nottingham's Trent Bridge starting Friday after being passed fit following concussion.

The departure of controversial Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg is unlikely to improve the troubled social media giant, whistleblower Frances Haugen told AFP.

A trainer walks a mare around a grassy pen under the gaze of potential buyers from across Libya, where passion for horses is undimmed despite years of violence.

Three-time British champion jockey Oisin Murphy, who is currently banned from riding, told the BBC he was blacking out from drinking so much last year he considered quitting horse racing.

Dmitry Medvedev as Russian president chomped on a burger at an American diner with Barack Obama, praised independent media and made ambitious promises of reform to create a more open Russia.

A giant crocodile-faced dinosaur discovered on the Isle of Wight by one of Britain's best fossil hunters was probably the largest predator ever to stalk Europe, scientists said on Thursday.

Baku hosts the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday. AFP looks at five stories doing the rounds ahead of the eighth leg of the Formula One world championship:

More than three centuries after he sought to bring Russia closer to Europe, Russians on Thursday marked the 350th birthday of tsar Peter the Great with the country deeply isolated over the Ukraine conflict.

Equity markets mostly fell Thursday as inflation fears gain momentum, with all eyes on the outcome of a European Central Bank policy meeting aimed at tackling soaring consumer prices in the eurozone.

Iran condemned as "unconstructive" Thursday its censure by the UN atomic energy watchdog for failing to cooperate, in a new spat that clouded efforts to revive a deal limiting its nuclear activities.

Thailand relaxed its cannabis laws Thursday, with users permitted to possess and grow the plant -- albeit under complicated new guidelines.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday suggested an EU-wide scheme to protect citizens from higher energy costs resulting from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the fate of the whole Donbas region hinges on the "very fierce" battle with Russian troops for the flashpoint eastern city of Severodonetsk.

The age at which people can buy tobacco in England should rise by one each year until it becomes a "smoke-free" society, a government-commissioned review recommended Thursday.

Michel Platini "was worth his million" Swiss francs a year, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter insisted Thursday, telling a Swiss court he could not understand why the pair were answering fraud charges.

Thai authorities have seized 200 kilograms of crystal meth hidden inside a replica Easter Island statue awaiting shipment to Taiwan, police said Thursday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday sought to reset his embattled leadership with a policy blitz to tackle Britain's cost-of-living crisis, including contentious new measures to boost home ownership.

Months behind schedule and dogged by lawsuits, critics say a vast new migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos is a potential forest fire hazard that could wreak havoc on the environment.

Another member of Sri Lanka's ruling family quit public office on Thursday, denying responsibility for an economic crisis that has caused severe hardship in the island nation.