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India's cricket World Cup-winning star Deepti Sharma became the joint second-most expensive player in the Women's Premier League history after a winning bid of $358,000 by UP Warriorz on Thursday.

The European Space Agency announced Thursday it had secured a record budget of 22.1 billion euros to fund its programmes for the next three years, as the continent seeks greater independence in space.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he would end his Ukraine offensive if Kyiv withdrew from territory Moscow claims at its own -- otherwise his army would take it by force.

Arne Slot vowed Thursday to "keep fighting", saying his conversations with Liverpool's owners have not changed despite his team's deep slump.

Johnny Depp's life with former French partner Vanessa Paradis and their two children was "bliss", the US actor told AFP in an interview on Thursday.

Hong Kong authorities said on Thursday the death toll from the city's worst fire in decades had risen to at least 75, as firefighters scoured torched high-rise buildings in an apartment complex for scores of people listed as missing.

Hard-right British lawmaker Nigel Farage faced growing scrutiny Thursday over allegations he made racist and antisemitic comments while a youngster at an elite English school.

A middle-aged woman emerged, weeping and clinging to her companion, from a community hall now used as a victim identification station in the shadow of smouldering apartment towers that mark Hong Kong's worst fire in decades.

France captain Antoine Dupont is set to return for Toulouse this weekend after more than eight months out injured, a source told AFP on Thursday.

Pope Leo XIV began a four-day visit to Turkey on Thursday, urging Ankara to embrace its role as a mediator in a world gripped by conflict, he said after talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

DNA pulled from the dung of African forest elephants has given experts a more accurate -- and higher -- population estimate for the elusive animal, but the species remains critically endangered, a study showed Thursday.

Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Fermin Lopez has been ruled out for the next two weeks with a calf injury, the club announced on Thursday.

Two prisoners escaped from a French jail using bed sheets after sawing through the bars of their cell, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Italian alpine skiing World Cup holder Federica Brignone said on Thursday her return to snow was a "starting point" with the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics a little more than two months away.

Hong Kong authorities said on Thursday the death toll from the city's worst fire in decades had risen to 65, as firefighters scoured scorched high-rise buildings in an apartment complex for more than 250 people listed as missing.

The world's top wildlife trade body voted Thursday to effectively ban all international trade in the critically endangered oceanic whitetip shark but rejected a proposal to protect more species of eel.

Hong Kong's worst fire in almost 80 years killed at least 65 people in an eight-building apartment complex, with more than 250 people still missing.

Kenyan long-distance runner Evans Kibet said he came to Russia for a sporting event but was instead spirited away to a military training camp and sent to fight in Ukraine.

Authorities across Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia worked on Thursday to reach residents trapped in floods that have killed dozens of people across the region in recent days.

Net migration to the UK dropped by 69 percent to 204,000 in the year to June, official figures showed on Thursday, in a much-needed boost to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

A plushy, AI-enabled teddy bear recalled after its chatbot was found to engage in sexually explicit conversations and offer instructions on where to find knives is again for sale, AFP found.

European stock markets steadied Thursday after solid gains in Asia, as markets increasingly expect the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next month.

Former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas has been appointed as director of racing at Ineos Grenadiers, the British team announced on Thursday.

Russian athletes are free to compete "under their national flag", the International Judo Federation (IJF) said on Thursday lifting the neutral status that had been imposed following the invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022.

Switzerland's Super-G Olympic champion Lara Gut-Behrami will miss the 2026 Winter Games with a serious knee injury, the Swiss ski federation announced on Thursday.

South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus made nine changes from the team that beat Ireland last week to play Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Turkey on Thursday for a four-day visit where he will hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and meet Christian leaders on the first overseas trip of his papacy.

A Turkish court on Thursday acquitted four journalists, including AFP photographer Yasin Akgul, who were on trial over mass demonstrations in Istanbul in March, a case that drew condemnation from press freedom watchdogs.

Streets were nearly deserted Thursday in the capital of Guinea-Bissau, with the announcement of election results thwarted by the military seizing power, arresting the president and closing the borders of the coup-prone west African country.

The world's top wildlife trade body rejected new protections for eels on Thursday in a secret ballot at talks in Uzbekistan.

The European Union could fine Elon Musk's X platform for breaking its digital rules by the end of 2025 -- two years into a probe that has tested the bloc's resolve to police the online space.

Most Asian markets rose Thursday to extend the week's global rally as traders ramp up bets on a third successive US interest rate cut next month.

Pavel Hajko never tires of painting roosters. Inside his home studio in Kovacica -- a sleepy town in northern Serbia famous for its style of naive art -- the brightly coloured creatures cover the walls.

A man suspected of shooting two National Guard soldiers near the White House was an Afghan national who had served alongside American troops in Afghanistan, US media reported Wednesday, as Washington labelled the incident an "act of terror."

Hong Kong firefighters were scouring scorched high-rises Thursday for over 250 people listed as missing, a day after the financial hub's worst blaze in decades killed at least 55 in an apartment complex.

Eleven pink painted elephants marched through Bangkok on Thursday, bowing in unison outside the Grand Palace in a lumbering tribute to the late queen mother.

Spain's unheralded Sebastian Garcia held a two-stroke lead with three holes to play when a hailstorm forced an early end to day one of the Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane on Thursday.

With his eyes closed, Oleksandr Savchuk plucks the strings on his bandura, a lute-like Ukrainian folk instrument, as he delivers a gently melancholic performance in the frontline city of Kharkiv.

Batting great Sunil Gavaskar has called for a "post-mortem" into India Test cricket after their aura of home invincibility was blown away by a second series whitewash in 12 months.