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Max Verstappen enjoyed an imperious opening day's practice for the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday, but admitted he was checking his mirrors for the much-improved Ferraris.

A downcast, but realistic Lewis Hamilton dismissed his hopes of winning this weekend's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix after struggling to finish ninth in practice on Friday.

World champion Max Verstappen set the fastest time in the second Formula One practice session at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Rachael Blackmore added another chapter to her history-making exploits as she became the first woman jockey to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the blue riband of jumps racing, easing to victory on A Plus Tard on Friday.

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has slammed Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta for complaining about the Gunners' crowded fixture schedule.

David Ojabo, a Nigerian-born Scotsman seen as one of the top prospects for next month's NFL Draft, suffered a left ankle injury during a workout for clubs on Friday.

Chinese and US warships sailed through the flashpoint Taiwan Strait on Friday, Taiwanese and US officials said, shortly before China's Xi Jinping issued a warning to Joe Biden that ties could suffer if there is a "mishandling" of the island's status.

France captain Antoine Dupont said Friday that while the stakes will be high as they try to clinch a first Six Nations title since 2010 against England, "we have to enjoy the moment."

Chinese leader Xi Jinping said war is "in no one's interest" during a phone call Friday with President Joe Biden, but he showed no sign of giving in to US pressure to join Western condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Wales great Alun Wyn Jones has said it is an "honour and privilege" to make yet more rugby union history by becoming the first player to win 150 caps for a single country.

Shakib Al Hasan led a strong Bangladesh batting effort in the first one-day international against South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday.

Three Russian cosmonauts blasted off to the International Space Station Friday, as Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine brought the Kremlin's relations with the West to their lowest point since the Soviet era.

Middlesbrough will donate their share of gate receipts from Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final against Chelsea to humanitarian aid in Ukraine, the club announced on Friday.

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas followed her historic 500-yard freestyle title by qualifying for Friday's 200-yard freestyle final, shrugging off protesters at the US collegiate women's championships in Atlanta.

Airplanes owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and state carrier Aeroflot among others have violated US sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, Washington said Friday.

A Russian strike on a theatre sheltering civilians in Ukraine's besieged city of Mariupol badly wounded one person but did not kill anyone, authorities said Friday, as deadly fighting raged on elsewhere across the country.

A steaming pot of thick soup bubbles at a campsite turned refugee shelter near Prague where Ukrainian women who fled Russia's invasion prepare delicious meals for curious locals.

A former Boeing pilot accused of misleading US aviation regulators during the certification process for the 737 MAX jetliner was due to go on trial Friday.

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City are capable of surviving the daunting road to a remarkable treble.

Oil prices rose and stock markets were stable to slightly higher on Friday at the end of a week of high volatility related to the war in Ukraine, traders said.

Six Scotland players have been disciplined for a breach of team protocols after a night out in Edinburgh following last week's win away to Italy, it emerged Friday.

USA Rugby officials said Friday they will refocus bid plans and seek the 2031 Men's World Cup and 2033 Women's World Cup after a three-day summit with World Rugby leaders.

Protests were held on Friday in the English port cities of Dover, Hull and Liverpool, a day after the sudden dismissal of 800 employees by shipping operator P&O Ferries.

Afros, braids, dreadlocks: the US House of Representatives on Friday voted to ban discrimination based on hairstyles associated with a particular race or national origin.

A sea of Russian flags, pro-Kremlin pop stars, and state television unexpectedly cutting President Vladimir Putin mid-speech: Moscow on Friday marked eight years since its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, as its troops advanced further into the country.

Ben Stokes was again in the thick of the action as England plucked out two more West Indies wickets and could have had a third with the home side reaching lunch at 114 for three in their first innings on the third day of the second Test at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Friday.

In a dark stairwell in Istanbul, Alex, Micha and Nigina wait for keys to a temporary flat.

Rachael Blackmore became the first woman jockey to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the blue riband of jumps racing, as she eased to victory on A Plus Tard on Friday.

Ukraine on Friday said "hundreds" of civilians were trapped in the wreckage of a theatre bombed by Russia, as the United States demanded China get tough with its "war criminal" allies in the Kremlin.

Fourteen-year-old Anna-Maria Romanchuk's lip trembles after a Russian missile exploded outside Gymnasia No34 Lybid, her school in Kyiv.

Hidden on the backs of canvases or scrawled on scraps of paper, doodles have allowed artists down the ages, from Michelangelo to Picasso, to test, explore and unleash their creativity.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday opened the world's longest suspension bridge over the Dardanelles strait in northwestern Turkey -- which cuts travel time between Asia and Europe to six minutes.