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When one of the few lawmakers willing to call out corruption in single-party Laos was left off the candidate list ahead of this weekend's heavily managed election, a rare wave of dissent erupted.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to lift living standards as he opened a landmark congress, state media said Friday, offering a glimpse of economic strains within the sanctions-hit nation.

Cricket's T20 World Cup moves into the Super Eights stage on Saturday after two weeks of intense action in the 20-team tournament in India and Sri Lanka.

Pakistan and New Zealand will clash in Colombo on Saturday as the second "Super Eights" phase of the T20 World Cup kicks off without former champions Australia, who shockingly failed to make it out of their group.

A new UN panel on artificial intelligence aims to "make human control a technical reality", the global body's chief said Friday as leaders at a New Delhi summit weighed their message on the future of the divisive technology.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged Friday to make Japan "strong and prosperous", while hitting out at China and pledging to keep "hitting the growth button" following her party landslide election win.

South Korea's disgraced former president Yoon Suk Yeol apologised Friday for the "hardship" caused by his 2024 martial law decree, one day after he was sentenced to life in prison for insurrection.

South Korea's former president Yoon Suk Yeol apologised Friday for the "hardship" caused by his 2024 martial law decree, one day after he was sentenced to life in prison for insurrection.

Lionel Messi kicks off a critical season for Major League Soccer this weekend as the rapidly growing US domestic league seeks to cash in on a huge spike in interest from the upcoming World Cup.

Newly crowned Olympic women's figure skating champion Alysa Liu says she wants her story to "inspire others" after the golden return of a former child prodigy who suffered burnout.

A dominant Cade Cunningham scored 42 points as the NBA-leading Detroit Pistons swatted aside the New York Knicks 126-111 Thursday on the basketball league's return from its brief All-Star Game break.

Former Barcelona and Everton midfielder Andre Gomes has joined Columbus Crew just two days before the Major League Soccer season kicks off, the team announced Thursday.

After a thrilling win over England at Murrayfield last weekend, a revitalised Scotland head to Cardiff on Saturday to take on a Wales team that has not won a home game in the Six Nations since the Scots came calling in February 2022.

England will hope the dynamic Henry Pollock can revive their Six Nations fortunes after the 21-year-old rising star was handed a first Test start in Saturday's third-round clash with Ireland at Twickenham.

Arsenal must banish their untimely bout of title race anxiety as the wobbling Premier League leaders head to Tottenham for the north London derby.

Since Hansi Flick arrived in Barcelona in the summer of 2024 things have largely gone better than even he might have hoped, at least until the past week.

RB Leipzig host in-form Borussia Dortmund on Saturday in the Bundesliga with hopes of Champions League football next season fading away.

Nvidia is on the cusp of investing $30 billion in OpenAI, scaling back a plan to pump $100 billion into the ChatGPT maker, the Financial Times reported Thursday.

Japanese inflation slowed in January, government data showed Friday, in welcome news for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi after her recent election landslide win.

Rory McIlroy weathered drenching rain and gusting winds to fire a five-under par 66 and seize a share of the clubhouse lead at the Genesis Invitational, where Aaron Rai was six-under through 16 holes when darkness halted play.

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte earned global infamy for the deadly drug crackdown that led to his arrest over crimes against humanity charges, despite his huge popularity at home.

Most Asia equities fell and oil prices rose Friday after Donald Trump ratcheted up Middle East tensions by hinting at possible military strikes on Iran if it did not make a "meaningful deal" in nuclear talks.

The arrest of former prince Andrew has underlined the striking contrast between Europe, where high-profile, powerful people are being held to account over their links to Jeffrey Epstein, and the United States, where the fallout has been limited.

Mary Ann Pajo watched quietly as cemetery workers opened her son's tomb in Manila this week and removed his body for examination by a forensic pathologist.

The President of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee told AFP he feels the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) have betrayed Ukraine by permitting Russian athletes to compete under their own flag at the Milan-Cortina Games.

Venezuela's National Assembly on Thursday unanimously approved a long-awaited amnesty law that could free hundreds of political prisoners jailed for being government detractors.

Serie A leaders Inter Milan travel to a resurgent Lecce on Saturday without leading light Lautaro Martinez after the midweek loss to Bodo/Glimt.

Fledgling Indian artificial intelligence companies showcased homegrown technologies this week at a major summit in New Delhi, underpinning big dreams of becoming a global AI power.

Dozens of world leaders and ministers are expected to deliver on Friday a shared view of how to handle artificial intelligence, wrapping up a five-day summit focused on the technology.

Fatou Sanyang still experiences extreme pain she says feels like "hot water is being poured on me" decades after undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM) as a girl in The Gambia.

North Korea's ruling party has opened a landmark congress, state media said Friday, launching a political spectacle expected to unveil the next phase in the nation's nuclear weapons programme.

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte faces a pre-trial hearing at the International Criminal Court from Monday over crimes against humanity allegedly committed as part of a brutal crackdown on drugs.

Japanese superstar Kaori Sakamoto said her feeling was one of "frustration" after missing out on Olympic gold in her final figure skating competition on Thursday.

Japanese inflation slowed in January, government data showed Friday, in welcome news for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi after her recent election landslide win.

FIFA will spearhead a $75 million fund to rebuild soccer facilities in Gaza that were destroyed by the war between Israel and Hamas, President Donald Trump and the sport's governing body said Thursday.

Shops and supermarkets closed, flights were canceled and garbage piled up Thursday as Argentine workers staged their fourth general strike of President Javier Milei's term, some clashing with police.

The Chicago Bears on Thursday hailed the "most meaningful step" yet toward building a new stadium in Indiana, as the neighboring state passed a key measure to entice the NFL franchise to make a divisive cross-border move.

Alysa Liu saw off her Japanese rivals to claim America's first Olympic women's figure skating gold in a generation on Thursday as the USA beat fierce rivals Canada in the women's ice hockey final.

Carlos Alcaraz came from behind to beat Karen Khachanov on Thursday and book his spot in the semi-finals of the Qatar Open but it was the end of the road for Jannik Sinner as he lost in three sets to Jakub Mensik.