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Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis will head into the world indoor championships, which run from Friday to Sunday, confidently eyeing a fourth pole vault title, but there is a rival lurking in the wings potentially capable of springing a suprise.

Kylian Mbappe, who has only just returned to action after a knee injury, will lead the France squad into friendly matches this month against Brazil and Colombia in the United States.

A pro-democracy research group said Wednesday that freedom in the United States has declined to its lowest level since it started assessments, as President Donald Trump aggressively wields executive authority.

Four teams out of six eliminated, with a total of 28 goals conceded over the two legs -- it has been a chastening week for most of England's representatives in the Champions League knockout phase.

UK health authorities are probing 27 cases linked to a deadly meningitis outbreak believed to have spread at a nightclub in southeast England.

Bayern Munich starlet Lennart Karl received a first Germany call-up while his injured club teammate Jamal Musiala missed out after coach Julian Nagelsmann named his 26-man Germany squad on Thursday.

Just a trickle of cargo ships and tankers -- most of them Iranian -- have made it through the Strait of Hormuz since Iranian forces blocked the crucial trade route in the Middle East war.

The Bank of England left its benchmark interest rate at 3.75 percent on Thursday as it monitors the inflation outlook, pressured by rising energy prices from the Middle East war.

Oil and gas prices soared Thursday after Iran hit the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Qatar and threatened to destroy the region's energy infrastructure, and Donald Trump warned of a furious US response if such attacks continued.

Formula One world champion Lando Norris has said it feels "surreal" he will soon be joining other sports stars and celebrities by having a waxwork likeness unveiled at London's Madame Tussauds.

Iran executed three men on Thursday who were accused of killing police officers during protests in January, with activists warning of the risk of a new surge in hangings as war rages with Israel and the United States.

North Korea reached their first Women's World Cup since 2011 on Thursday with the Philippines also securing a spot at the global showpiece in Brazil next year.

Michael Carrick has told his Manchester United side to ready themselves for an awkward encounter away to Bournemouth on Friday as they look to maintain their challenge for a Champions League place.

Energy prices soared and stocks sank Thursday as Iran stepped up attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure, reigniting fears over global supplies and inflation.

China's Alibaba said Thursday that revenue from AI-related products showed strong momentum, even as the tech giant reported a 66 percent year-on-year drop in quarterly net profit.

Oil prices soared 10 percent Thursday after Qatar reported "extensive" damage to the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility following Iranian strikes, sparking fears for global energy supplies.

The number of meningitis cases being probed by UK authorities has risen to 27, health officials said Thursday, following an unprecedented deadly outbreak centred on a university.

A defiant Hungarian leader Viktor Orban vowed Thursday to keep blocking a massive loan for Ukraine despite heavy pressure from EU partners, who were headed into a Brussels summit hoping to unlock the much-needed funding.

Iran will "boycott the United States" but "not the World Cup", Iranian football federation president Mehdi Taj said in a video released by the Iranian press agency Fars.

Tokyo's meteorologists declared the start of the much-loved cherry blossom season in the Japanese capital on Thursday, as residents prepare to host outdoor picnics under dazzling floral displays.

Energy prices soared Thursday and stocks sank as Iran attacked several Gulf energy facilities and warned of more in retaliation for a strike on one of its key gas fields.

Qatar reported "extensive" damage on Thursday to the site of the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility following Iranian strikes, sparking fears for global energy supplies and fresh threats from Donald Trump against Iran.

Clutching a monkey plushie, Eliete Ikeda screamed "Punch!" as she caught sight of the underdog baby macaque still drawing crowds of photo-hungry visitors to a Japanese zoo weeks after he shot to stardom.

China's snaggle-toothed Labubu dolls will soon come alive on the big screen after flying off the toy shelves, with maker Pop Mart announcing a collaboration with Sony Pictures.

Oil surged more than five percent Thursday and stocks sank as Iran attacked several Gulf energy facilities and warned of more in retaliation for a strike on one of its key gas fields.

BTS, the world's biggest boy band, reunites on stage on Saturday in a K-pop extravaganza watched by hundreds of thousands of fans in downtown Seoul and by millions around the planet online.

In the back of a 4X4, a nurse cleaned a gash in a boy's arm, picked up from living rough on the streets of Kinshasa, the capital of one of the world's poorest countries.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is the scion of a construction dynasty and a hobbyist jet pilot, but championed Thailand's decriminalisation of cannabis and styles himself as a man of the people.

Thailand's new parliament on Thursday elected Anutin Charnvirakul as prime minister, according to an AFP tally of the vote, keeping the conservative in the top office after his party routed its election rivals.

Through months of winter protests in support of South Korean democracy, professor Lee Ji-young clutched her K-pop glowstick -- a small but telling sign of her love for K-pop megastars BTS.

Almost all life-saving fire safety measures failed on the day a devastating blaze tore through a Hong Kong housing complex last year, killing 168 people, a public hearing was told on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump threatened to "massively blow up" a vast Iranian gas field unless Tehran stops striking Qatari energy facilities, which sustained extensive damage Thursday.