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Russia said Friday it intended a full-bore assault to carve out control of a sizeable slice of Ukraine but faced intensified world outrage as the UN documented the killing of dozens of civilians in one town.

Robbie Henshaw "will play a big role" in achieving the goals of both Leinster and Ireland in the years to come said IRFU Performance Director David Nucifora after the centre signed a contract extension on Friday.

Russia's double Olympic swimming champion Evgeny Rylov has been banned for nine months by world governing body FINA after attending a rally hosted by President Vladimir Putin supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

By the time he reached a third Colombo pharmacy out of stock of the drug his cancer-stricken wife desperately needs, Dawood Mohamed Ghany was distraught.

From his surprise detention to an audacious escape from Japan hidden in an audio-equipment box, the rollercoaster saga of disgraced former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn has grabbed headlines worldwide.

Two months ago, Roksana Panashchuk was working as a freelance journalist in Ukraine. Now, she's a refugee in Germany, closely watching events back home from the northeastern city of Greifswald.

French presidential hopefuls Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen kicked off a final flurry of campaigning Friday, hoping to mobilise millions of hesitant voters before the weekend media blackout imposed for Sunday's contest.

English county cricket club Gloucestershire announced on Friday they had signed former Pakistan paceman Mohammad Amir on a three-match deal.

Hossein Vafaei may have bowed out of the world snooker championship at the first hurdle but he said being the first Iranian to appear at the sport's showpiece event was "a very big achievement for me and my country".

Far from the conflict in Ukraine, spring has arrived in Moscow with -- on the surface at least -- life appearing to go on much as normal.

Economic growth in the eurozone accelerated and hit a seven-month high in April, a key survey showed on Friday, despite concerns about inflation and Russia's war in Ukraine.

Myanmar's junta chief on Friday called for face-to-face peace talks with the country's established ethnic rebel groups, as the military struggles to crush newer anti-junta militias that have sprung up to fight the coup.

Myanmar's junta chief on Friday called for face-to-face peace talks with the country's established ethnic rebel groups, as the military struggles to crush newer anti-junta militias that have sprung up to fight the coup.

Taliban forces have arrested a suspected Islamic State militant who planned a bomb attack that killed at least 12 worshippers at a Shiite mosque in Afghanistan, police said on Friday.

Britain and India agreed a "new and expanded" defence and security partnership on Friday, under-fire British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on a visit to New Delhi.

India's prime minister will on Sunday hold his first public event in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir since New Delhi imposed a sweeping security clampdown there more than two years ago.

Thailand on Friday announced the end of compulsory Covid-19 tests for vaccinated travellers, as the country steps up efforts to revive its pandemic-thumped tourism industry.

South Korean baseball fans and football supporters will be allowed to cheer at stadiums for the first time in two years from Friday as the country drops almost all coronavirus restrictions.

When the headaches come for Diane Wattrelos, as they do for half an hour 10 times every day, she says it feels like someone has "stuck a screwdriver in my eye and turned it".

French authorities have issued an international arrest warrant for Carlos Ghosn, the disgraced auto tycoon who jumped bail in Japan and fled to Lebanon in a sensational getaway, prosecutors told AFP on Friday

Japan described four disputed islands as "illegally occupied" by Russia for the first time in nearly two decades on Friday as ties sour between the countries over the war in Ukraine.

Around a bend on a narrow trail that runs deep into the forest of Gabon's Loango national park, Kamaya comes into view. The huge silverback gorilla coolly watches visitors arrive, then goes back to his meal.

New clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters broke out on Friday at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem.

For many Ukrainians, Russia's cultural scene is as complicit as the government in the invasion of their country and deserves to be banned by the West.

One of Turkey's most famous prisoners will appear before court Friday for what could be his final hearing in a case that has come to define Ankara's uneasy ties with the West.

The so-called "poison pill" Twitter has proposed to use against Elon Musk's potential hostile takeover is a mechanism with a proven track record that could force the outspoken entrepreneur into negotiations.

Australia will over the next decade host a bumper schedule of major international sporting events as part of a long-term plan to boost tourism, health and the economy while also enhancing its global image.

The Memphis Grizzlies erased a 26-point deficit to stun the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-95 on Thursday and take a 2-1 lead in their NBA playoff series.

The Memphis Grizzlies clawed back from a 26-point deficit to stun the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-95 on Thursday and take a 2-1 lead in their NBA playoff series.

US and Chinese diplomats fought for the affections of the Solomon Islands on Friday after the small island state shocked its American allies by signing a defence pact with Beijing.

French actor and filmmaker Jacques Perrin, who starred in dozens of films including "Cinema Paradiso" and "The Young Girls of Rochefort" and co-directed "Winged Migration", has died at the age of 80, his family told AFP.

More than a dozen Chinese coal power projects overseas were cancelled after a ban last year on funding such plants, but loopholes could allow 18 others to still go ahead, according to a study published Friday.