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Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday called it "a mess" and said that tennis players are fighting "to have something better" after an elite group sent letters to the Grand Slam tournaments asking for more influence and money.

New Zealand rising star Jorja Miller has been recalled for Saturday's Women's Rugby World Cup third-placed play-off with France after she missed last week's semi-final loss to Canada.

Nicolas Sarkozy entered the Elysee Palace in 2007 boasting hyperactive energy and a vision to transform France, but lost office after just one term and the ex-president is now set to go to prison in a spectacular downfall.

Poland's Andrzej Bargiel has become the first climber to ski down the world's highest mountain without supplemental oxygen, his team and expedition organiser said Thursday.

After high-profile violations of NATO airspace by Russia over Poland and Estonia, alliance members have appeared at odds over how forcefully to react.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz is sweating on his fitness at the Japan Open after injuring his ankle in a 6-4, 6-2 opening win over Argentina's Sebastian Baez on Thursday.

Denmark said Thursday that drone flights over multiple airports this week were a "hybrid attack" designed to create fear, adding it would acquire new capabilities to detect and intercept drones.

Former president Nicolas Sarkozy was on Thursday set to become France's first postwar leader to go to prison after a court jailed him for five years over a scheme for the late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi to fund his victorious 2007 presidential run.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz shrugged off an ankle injury to beat Argentina's Sebastian Baez 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday in a gritty start to his Japan Open campaign.

US ticket sales giant Ticketmaster has agreed to more transparent pricing following widespread anger over the exorbitant costs paid by some fans for the Oasis reunion tour, Britain's competition watchdog said Thursday.

European stocks skidded Thursday as traders pulled back further from the buying that propelled global equity markets to recent record highs, as focus switched to upcoming US inflation and jobs data.

The European Commission launched an antitrust probe into German software giant SAP Thursday over fears the company's practices may have distorted competition.

Ali Akbar knows everyone and everyone knows him: the last newspaper hawker in Paris, he zigzags each day from cafe to cafe, shouting humorous headlines in the heart of the French capital.

The European Union rejected a call by Apple to scrap its landmark digital competition law on Thursday, dismissing the US giant's claims that the rules put users' security at risk.

England captain Zoe Aldcroft believes it is "our time now" as her side bid to end more than a decade of Women's Rugby World Cup heartache in Saturday's final against Canada.

Top-selling carmaker Toyota opened its new high-tech village in Japan on Thursday, an experimental project to test autonomous driving and other futuristic developments.

US ticket sales giant Ticketmaster has agreed to make its pricing more transparent following widespread anger over the exorbitant costs paid by some fans for the Oasis reunion tour, Britain's competition watchdog said Thursday.

Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi has challenged his side to prove they are "a great team" when they visit Strasbourg on Friday, just days after a long-awaited victory over Paris Saint-Germain.

Germany must move quicker with potentially painful reforms, experts warned Thursday, in the latest sign of unease at Chancellor Friedrich Merz's efforts to turn the struggling economy around.

Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi, who is being investigated over an alleged rape, said he has "peace of mind" and expects to be cleared of the accusations.

Veteran spin great Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday joined Sydney Thunder as the first Indian men's international to feature in Australia's Big Bash League.

A Paris court on Thursday convicted former French president Nicolas Sarkozy on charges of criminal conspiracy but acquitted him of corruption and accepting illegal campaign financing in his trial into accusations late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi helped fund his victorious 2007 presidential run.

At a windswept container park near the sprawling port of Rotterdam, a crane slots a 30-tonne white battery into a transporter vessel, enough to provide eight hours of zero-emissions freight.

Just over two years since moving to Bayern Munich, in-form striker Harry Kane can set yet another record in Friday's home clash with Werder Bremen.

A Vietnamese court has sentenced four siblings and dozens of others in a transnational online gambling and crypto case involving $3.8 billion in transactions, state media said Thursday.

England coach John Mitchell has named an unchanged starting XV and replacements' bench for Saturday's Women's Rugby World Cup final against Canada at Twickenham.

Switzerland's central bank kept its policy rate at zero percent on Thursday, warning that massive US tariffs are weighing on the country's export-dependent economy.

Denmark said Thursday a "professional actor" was behind drone flights over multiple airports this week in a "hybrid attack" designed to create fear, adding it would acquire new capabilities to detect and down drones.

Marc Marquez said he wanted to celebrate his "second life" in MotoGP by clinching his first world title since 2019 this weekend in Japan after a nightmare struggle with injuries.

Stocks skidded Thursday as traders continue to pull back from the buying that has propelled markets to record highs in recent months, with upcoming US inflation and jobs data seen as likely to be the next catalysts for action.

Colombia's largest drug-trafficking cartel has reached its "peak" and is entering a decline that could see it lay down its arms, a government negotiator involved in peace talks with the group told AFP.

American rapper Snoop Dogg said he was "in love" with Australian Rules football Thursday, ahead of a controversial performance at the sport's grand final.