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Ski jumper Marita Kramer's virus-enforced absence from the Beijing Olympics is "really sad", her rivals said Thursday, but blows the field wide open with the favourite ruled out.

Thomas Bach will meet Peng Shuai at the Beijing Winter Olympics to assess her "physical integrity and her mental state", the IOC chief said Thursday, as controversy dogged the Games right up to the eve of the opening ceremony.

Australia-born winger Mack Hansen will make his Test debut for Ireland in their Six Nations opener agianst champions Wales on Saturday.

The World Health Organization on Thursday offered Europe hope of a "long period of tranquility" and even "enduring peace" in the war on coronavirus, with a growing list of nations lifting almost all Covid curbs.

England coach Eddie Jones compared Tom Curry with New Zealand great Richie McCaw after naming the flanker as captain for Saturday's Six Nations opener away to Scotland.

US special forces carried out a brazen nighttime airborne raid in northwestern Syria during which the head of the Islamic State group was "taken off the battlefield", US President Joe Biden said on Thursday.

The European Central Bank stuck to its ultra-loose monetary policy on Thursday, despite record inflation in the eurozone putting the Frankfurt-based institution under mounting pressure.

India's top diplomat in Beijing will skip the Winter Games after a Chinese soldier involved in a deadly Himalayan skirmish took part in the Olympic torch relay, officials said Thursday.

The Bank of England on Thursday lifted its main interest rate for the second time in a row in a bid to tackle decades-high inflation.

The UK government on Thursday stepped in to help the hardest-hit households struggling with the rising cost of living, announcing a £9 billion package to offset soaring energy bills.

Seven Pakistani soldiers and at least 13 militants were killed in clashes in restive Balochistan province, the army said Thursday, while separatists claimed dozens more had died in fighting that was still ongoing.

Josh Adams will play in the centre for Wales for the first time when the Six Nations champions open their campaign against Ireland on Saturday in Dublin.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are set to team up for Europe against the rest of the world in the fifth edition of the Laver Cup later this year.

Two years after the outbreak of Covid-19, Europe could soon enter a "long period of tranquility" due to high vaccination rates, the milder Omicron variant and the end of winter, the WHO said Thursday.

Veteran Sri Lankan fast bowler Suranga Lakmal will retire from international cricket after the team's tour of India ends next month to join the English county club Derbyshire, officials said Thursday.

Human Rights Watch accused Lebanon on Thursday of "flawed" assassination probes and urged donors to review millions of dollars in aid to security forces in a country where crimes often go unpunished.

Novak Djokovic on Thursday said he plans to provide his “version” of what happened during the fiasco that led to his deportation ahead of the Australian Open in the coming days.

Tom Curry will captain England in their Six Nations opener away to Scotland on Saturday after Eddie Jones' first two choices as skipper were ruled out through injury.

Olympic 100 metres champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs will return to action for the first time since his shock Tokyo victories in the 60m indoor in Berlin on Friday, just days after denying accusations of doping.

In his open-plan office in the centre of Kyiv, tech executive Dmytro Voloshyn lists off the tricky questions he's dealt with over the last weeks as fears have soared over a possible Russian invasion.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan landed in Kyiv Thursday in an effort to mediate the crisis with Russia, as EU leaders stepped up outreach to the Kremlin to defuse fears Moscow could invade Ukraine.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan headed to Kyiv Thursday in an effort to mediate the crisis with Russia, as EU leaders stepped up outreach to the Kremlin to defuse fears Moscow could invade Ukraine.

Two months into the job, the honeymoon is already over for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, with critics accusing him of being "invisible" on the Ukraine crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.

Midfielder Cho So-hyun's fourth-minute goal helped ease South Korea to a comfortable 2-0 victory over the Philippines and enter their first Women's Asian Cup final in India on Thursday.

Stock markets mostly dropped Thursday as profit-taking set in after recent strong gains, as traders awaited interest rate updates from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.

Is Joe Biden "weak" in the face of Russia, Iran or North Korea? This is the accusation leveled by opponents of the US president, who is trying to balance a firm hand with pragmatism to overcome multiple international crises and focus on a rising China.

In the early days of communism in Cuba, Fidel Castro had pledged that every child under seven would have a liter of subsidized milk every day.

Those competing in this month's Beijing Winter Olympics will face frosty temperatures but should be spared the Siberian winds and chill factor that sparked postponements and athlete anger during the last Games in South Korea.

There is oil in the water, on the rocks and in the sand where children normally play on the banks of the Coca River in Ecuador.

Decreed in February 1962 and still in place today, American sanctions against Cuba is one of the world's longest-running boycotts by one country against another.

They were working for a Catholic bishop and had clear-cut orders from Pope Francis himself -- probe reports of pedophile priests in a city in Colombia.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan headed to Kyiv Thursday in an effort to mediate the crisis with Russia, as EU leaders stepped up outreach to the Kremlin to defuse fears Moscow could invade Ukraine.