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Gail Halvorsen, the former US pilot who thought up the idea of dropping tiny improvised parachutes loaded with sweets for children into Berlin during the Soviet blockade, has died at the age of 101.

Charles Leclerc said "expectations are very high" as Ferrari on Thursday unveiled their new F1-75 car which they hope can challenge Mercedes and Red Bull for the Formula One world title this year.

At least four people were killed as severe storms lashed central Europe on Thursday, with winds of up to 181 kilometres per hour causing widespread travel disruption.

Steve Dickson, the top US air safety regulator, whose tenure overlapped a period of extreme upheaval in aviation, will step down next month, citing family reasons, authorities said Thursday.

Belgium's Princess Esmeralda has repeated her call for Belgium to "apologise" for its colonial past and not simply express regret.

Pre-Games favourite Kamila Valieva finished fourth in the women's figure skating Thursday at the Beijing Olympics after a major doping scandal.

Kamila Valieva finished fourth in the Olympic women’s figure skating final on Thursday after her error-strewn performance handed Russian teammate Anna Shcherbakova gold, as a doping scandal took its toll on the 15-year-old.

Belgium on Thursday gave the DR Congo an inventory of tens of thousands of art objects from the former Belgian Congo held in its colonial era museum, the latest step in the restitution of looted artefacts.

Michael Masi has been removed as Formula One race director over his management of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year which led to Max Verstappen being controversially crowned world champion.

The world must slash $1.8 trillion in annual subsidies that destroy the environment, according to a study Thursday from business groups including one founded by tycoon Richard Branson.

While announcing on Thursday that France would withdraw its troops from Mali, President Emmanuel Macron made his strongest condemnation yet of the shadowy Russian mercenary group Wagner whose alleged arrival in West Africa has infuriated Paris.

Ukraine and Moscow-backed separatists traded accusations Thursday of intensifying shell fire across their frontline, fuelling fears of a potential Russian invasion of its pro-Western neighbour.

Walmart reported better-than-expected quarterly profits Thursday as strong consumer demand during the festive season offset the hit from higher costs.

French-Dutch aviation giant Air France-KLM on Thursday said its net loss narrowed by more than half last year but would need more capital strengthening measures due to the pandemic.

An influential cardinal opened a Vatican symposium on the priesthood Thursday apologising for "unworthy ministers" and the cover-up of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, before an audience that included Pope Francis.

Ex-president Armando Guebuza on Thursday took the witness stand in Mozambique's biggest corruption scandal, defending his government's decision to contract huge secret loans that triggered an economic crisis.

The piercing sounds of bagpipes reverberate in the cold air from men dressed in tartan kilts. But this is not Scotland, it's the curling at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and Zhang Ali has never even been to Britain.

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was poised Thursday to step onto the ice in pursuit of her second Beijing Olympics title but with a dark cloud of doping hanging heavy over her.

Japan will ease its strict virus border rules to allow students and businesspeople into the country from March, but tourists will still be barred, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday.

Prop Mohamed Haouas, who was recently given a suspended sentence for his role in a series of burglaries, has been recalled to the France squad for the Six Nations match with Scotland.

Rescue workers raced against the clock searching for any remaining survivors among mud and wreckage after devastating flash floods and landslides hit the picturesque Brazilian city of Petropolis, as authorities said Thursday the death toll had risen to 104.

France announced Thursday that it was withdrawing troops from Mali due to a breakdown in relations with the country's ruling junta, after nearly 10 years of fighting a jihadist insurgency.

Michelle Gisin reflected on "the craziest rollercoaster" having battled back from illness to win Beijing Olympic gold in the alpine combined on Thursday.

Japan will ease its strict virus border rules to allow students and businesspeople into the country from March, but tourists will still be barred, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday.

Formula One managing director Ross Brawn believes Mercedes and Red Bull could be off the pace when the new season starts next month after they were caught up in last year's "intense" world championship battle.

The shell crashed through Aicha Nur's flimsy hut just as she was serving a lunch of bread and milk to her nine-year-old son Tahir.

The crisis in Ukraine is a serious threat to the global economy's post-pandemic recovery, Indonesia's leader on Thursday warned a meeting of finance chiefs from the G20 nations.

Flags at half-mast, black ribbons everywhere and families devastated by grief: the Spanish port town of Marin was left reeling after a deadly shipwreck left 21 sailors dead or missing at sea.

Russia on Thursday announced more troop pullbacks from the Ukrainian border as Washington insisted that Moscow is still building up forces for a potential invasion of its pro-Western neighbour.

France announced on Thursday that it was withdrawing troops from Mali due to a breakdown in relations with the ruling junta, after nearly 10 years of fighting a jihadist insurgency.

Switzerland's ski cross head coach criticised Beijing Olympics judges after athlete Fanny Smith lost out on a bronze medal when she was penalised for kicking a rival in Thursday's women's final.

Ex-president Armando Guebuza was on Thursday expected to testify in Mozambique's biggest corruption scandal, an affair concerning secret loans contracted under his tenure that triggered an economic crisis.