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French police warned Thursday they would prevent so-called "Freedom Convoys" from blockading Paris, as protesters against Covid rules began to drive towards the capital.

Libya found itself with two prime ministers Thursday, after its parliament named a rival to replace the existing unity government's chief Abdulhamid Dbeibah, threatening a new power struggle in the war-torn nation.

Even with a huge lead in Ligue 1 and the Champions League looming, Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino said Thursday his team has a basic motivation to beat Rennes - "revenge".

Inflation in the United States was as hot as ever last month, with consumer prices seeing their largest annual jump in nearly four decades as costs rose for a wide range of items.

French actor Andre Wilms, who appeared in a string of arthouse hits by cult Finnish film director Aki Kaurismaki, has died at the age of 74.

Twitter on Thursday reported that revenue and its user base grew less than expected, but the platform stuck with ambitious growth targets for the coming years.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday unveiled plans to muster investment of more than 150 billion euros for Africa, proclaiming Europe to be the continent's biggest and "most reliable" partner.

President Jair Bolsonaro has waded into a swirling controversy over Nazism unleashed by a popular podcast in Brazil, saying it should be repudiated along with every other totalitarian ideology, including Communism.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Thursday this year's World Cup finals in Qatar will become a "benchmark" for holding future global sporting events during a health crisis.

Sting has sold his songwriting catalog -- including solo works as well as hits with The Police like "Roxanne" -- to Universal Music Group, the company said Thursday, the industry's latest such blockbuster transaction.

A gender-swapped update of a German cult classic on Thursday opened the Berlinale, Europe's first major international film festival of the year, which organisers are staging as a live event despite surging coronavirus infections.

The Enigma, the largest cut diamond ever to come to auction, went under the hammer in London on Wednesday for £3.16 million ($4.3 million, 3.8 million euros) having recently gone on display for the first time.

YouTube on Thursday laid out goals for the year that included making the lives of creators easier and boosting a popular format that rivals TikTok.

Jamaica's bobsleigh crew at the Beijing Olympics say it's an honour to carry on the legacy of the pioneers who represented the Caribbean island at the 1988 Games as told in the movie "Cool Runnings".

Indonesia on Thursday ordered 42 Rafale fighter jets from France and may acquire two French submarines, as Paris and Jakarta seek to strengthen military ties in the face of growing tensions in the Asia-Pacific.

The 15-year-old figure skating sensation Kamila Valieva, who led Russia to team gold at the Beijing Olympics this week, tested positive for a banned heart medication before the Games, Russian media have reported.

The road meandering towards Gaza Valley is notorious for the stench of pollution choking the plant and animal life that once flourished in the Palestinian enclave's biggest wetland.

France's gender equality minister threw her support on Thursday behind Muslim women footballers who are seeking to overturn a ban on players wearing headscarves on the pitch.

Bangladeshi national cricketer Nasir Hossain has gone on trial charged with adultery after a man claimed the batsman illegally married his wife, lawyers said Thursday.

Ireland's talismanic captain Johnny Sexton will miss this weekend's Six Nations clash with France in Paris due to a hamstring injury, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) said on Thursday.

Global steel giant ArcelorMittal posted on Thursday a record annual profit in 2021 but warned that reducing its carbon emissions posed a financial risk to the group.

French energy giant TotalEnergies on Thursday rebounded from the Covid crisis with a huge 2021 profit as oil and gas prices soared -- a performance that raised political hackles in an election year in France.

An award-winning Ugandan author and fierce government critic who fled the country after being "tortured" in custody told AFP on Thursday he planned to return home despite his ordeal.

The eviction of a hundred Lenca indigenous families in Honduras was stopped Wednesday at the request of President Xiomara Castro after dozens of police officers tried to remove them.

Religious police in northern Nigeria's city of Kano have destroyed nearly four milllion bottles of beer, on grounds that sale and consumption of alcohol is prohibited in the predominantly Muslim region.

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to throw his support behind a massive nuclear power plant programme on Thursday despite concerns about the cost and complexity of building new reactors.

India's most populous state went to the polls Thursday in a key popularity test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government.

Third-grader Maria Shanovska is mulling which toy to pack in her emergency evacuation bag should the Russian forces massing at the border invade her war-shattered town in east Ukraine.

A northern Swiss region will vote Sunday on whether non-human primates should enjoy some of the same basic fundamental rights as their human cousins.

Switzerland goes to the polls Sunday to decide whether animal and human testing should be banned -- a proposal that has triggered an outcry in a country heavily reliant on big pharma.

Nathan Chen won a dominant figure skating gold for his first Olympic title with reigning champion Yuzuru Hanyu falling twice on the ice and failing to win a medal in Beijing on Thursday.

Police and anti-vaccine protesters clashed on the grounds of New Zealand's parliament Thursday, with more than 120 arrested after demonstrators who camped outside the legislature for three days were ordered to move on.