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New Zealand will be ready to pounce if India's bowling star Jasprit Bumrah falters in the T20 World Cup final said all-rounder Glenn Phillips on Friday.

Crude prices surged higher Friday as oil fields in Iraq came under attack and US Donald Trump demanded Iran's unconditional surrender, while stocks slumped after data showed a surprise drop in jobs in the United States.

US retail sales declined by 0.2 percent in January, according to delayed government data released on Friday, missing some analysts' expectations amid persistent concerns that consumption in the world's biggest economy is slowing.

Global energy prices have shot upwards after the US and Israel unleashed war in the Middle East, but just how far those shocks will ripple across the economy remains unclear.

The United Nations on Friday demanded swift investigations into fatal Israeli strikes across Lebanon to decide if they complied with international law.

Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior said Friday he has no fixed number one goalkeeper after dropping Robert Sanchez from his starting line-up in midweek.

A surge in natural gas prices since the Middle East war erupted has sparked renewed debate about Europe's electricity market, where prices are still linked to gas.

Israel’s air force has struck deep inside Iran with devastating precision, killing even the country’s supreme leader within minutes of the war’s outbreak -- a feat experts say reflects years of elite pilot training and combat experience.

German media group Axel Springer said Friday it had agreed to buy right-wing British newspaper The Telegraph in a surprise move, as the UK government investigates a rival bid.

The United States unexpectedly lost jobs in February while unemployment edged up, government data showed Friday, piling pressure on President Donald Trump's economic agenda as key midterm elections approach.

Iran's sole competitor at the Paralympics in Milan-Cortina has been forced to pull out of the Games due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Friday.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Friday that "loyal cooperation" should prevail over "confrontation" in relations with the United States after tensions over Madrid's opposition to Washington's use of its bases against Iran.

In the lobby of a vocational school packed with hundreds of people, Zeinab Moqdad, who fled Beirut's southern suburbs, rages at a new war between Hezbollah and Israel whose consequences she is once again forced to bear.

The United Nations rights chief called Friday for answers after a deadly strike on an Iranian elementary school, as a media investigation concluded the United States was most likely responsible.

AC Milan face Serie A leaders Inter this weekend knowing the derby could offer a last chance to apply pressure.

Italian skier Laura Pirovano vowed to "savour this victory" after finally claiming her first World Cup win on Friday in the first of two downhills on home snow in Val di Fassa.

Iceland's government on Friday proposed that a referendum be held on August 29 on resuming the country's EU membership talks after they were terminated in 2015.

Hungary will expel seven detained Ukrainians, the government said Friday, as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded threats in a row over stalled Russian oil supplies.

Shohei Ohtani blasted a home run to ignite Japan's World Baseball Classic campaign as the defending champions thrashed Taiwan 13-0 in their tournament opener in Tokyo on Friday.

A US submarine this week torpedoing an Iranian warship during the Middle East conflict raised the crucial question of who controls the seas during wartime.

Fresh strikes rocked Iran and Lebanon Friday as Israel and the United States stepped up their attacks in the spawling Middle East war, with powerful explosions shattering the skies of Tehran.

Italian skier Laura Pirovano finally claimed her first World Cup victory on Friday by winning the first of two downhills on home snow in Val di Fassa.

Iranian drone strikes on Azerbaijan have raised fears that the Middle East war could spill into the Caucasus, as Baku, an ally of Israel, vows to respond.

Israel's air superiority over Iranian skies in the war with the Islamic republic reflects decades of strategic thinking and a singular partnership with Washington, experts told AFP.

Hungary will expel seven detained Ukrainians, the government said Friday, as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded threats in a row over stalled Russian oil supplies.

Nepal's centrist party of rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah took an early lead in the high-stakes parliamentary election on Friday, as slow counting continued after the first polls since last year's deadly uprising.

Global stock markets fluctuated and oil prices jumped Friday at the end of a volatile week's trading unleashed by the Middle East conflict.

German aviation giant Lufthansa warned Friday it faced a more uncertain outlook because of the unfolding Middle East conflict, and that the fallout showed how vulnerable air traffic remains to geopolitical shocks.

Fresh Israeli strikes on Friday battered Lebanon, where Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned "a humanitarian disaster is looming" due to mass displacement.

Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai will not appeal against the national security conviction for which he was jailed for 20 years last month, his legal team said on Friday without providing a reason.

A retired general who criticises the EU, wants to send home illegal migrants and says Ukraine should accept a peace deal with Russia is challenging Italy's hard-right government on its own turf.

China's leaders are "clearly aware" of challenges facing growth, the head of the country's top economic planning body said on Friday, vowing to boost sluggish domestic consumption.

Kyiv accused Budapest of kidnapping seven of its citizens on Friday, as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he would use "every means" to pressure Ukraine in an escalating row over stalled Russian oil supplies.

North Korea and defending champions China both eased ominously into the Women's Asian Cup quarter-finals on Friday, joining South Korea and hosts Australia in the last eight.

Israeli air strikes left behind massive destruction in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday morning, with the Israeli military saying it had destroyed Hezbollah targets.

Asian markets mostly down Friday as the war in the Middle East showed no sign of ending, though there was some reprieve from the surge in oil prices after the United States looked to ease supply concerns.

Opener Finn Allen has long been regarded as the hardest hitter of a cricket ball in New Zealand and his performance in taking his side to the T20 World Cup final showed just why.

With his ability to bowl yorkers at will, Jasprit Bumrah is India's main weapon as they hunt for their third T20 World Cup title on Sunday, and he will carry the hopes of a billion-plus fans in the cricket-obsessed country.

India face New Zealand on Sunday in Ahmedabad looking to become the first side to lift the T20 World Cup for a third time but under huge pressure with the weight of a nation on their shoulders.