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Sanae Takaichi, a staunch conservative who admires Margaret Thatcher, became Japan's first woman prime minister in October but has shown little appetite for framing her leadership around gender.

The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics officially open with a star-studded opening ceremony at the San Siro Stadium on Friday.

Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai will be sentenced on Monday following his national security trial, a court website showed.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend will be hoping his side secure a convincing win over Italy in their Six Nations opener on Saturday in Rome and ease some of the pressure on him.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's ambitious $40 billion defence spending plan is caught in a political deadlock as opposition lawmakers refuse to consider the proposal without government concessions, sparking criticism in Washington.

Inter Milan visit Sassuolo this weekend with the chance to stretch their lead at the top of the Serie A table to eight points with title rivals AC Milan not in action.

Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa and his star striker Kylian Mbappe agree on at least one thing, ahead of Sunday's visit to face Valencia in La Liga -- the need for consistency.

In just two matchdays, Borussia Dortmund have cut Bayern Munich's lead atop the Bundesliga ladder by five points, drawing six behind the league leaders and potentially reviving a title race long considered dead.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique expects his side to be pushed hard over the closing months of the Ligue 1 season, starting with Sunday's visit of unpredictable arch-rivals Marseille.

Japanese premier Sanae Takaichi won US President Donald Trump's full endorsement on Friday, two days before snap elections that polls suggest may see her coalition romp home with a super-majority.

AI tools can easily fabricate convincing images of Jeffrey Epstein with world leaders, a study showed Thursday, following a surge of manipulated photos falsely linking prominent politicians to the convicted sex offender.

Asian equities sank again Friday as a tech rout that battered Wall Street for the third day in a row showed no sign of letting up amid growing unease about the hundreds of billions splashed out on artificial intelligence.

The guitar played by late rock legend Kurt Cobain on the anthemic grunge track "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is going under the hammer next month.

Thais vote Sunday in an election pitting the popular reformists who won last time against the conservative who ended up as prime minister, with ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra looming large from his prison cell.

The scandal surrounding disgraced former prince Andrew has thrust the British royal family and its opaque finances into the spotlight, with a parliamentary probe due in the coming months.

Armenia is facing an intensifying wave of disinformation and hybrid attacks from abroad ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for June, officials have said, with media experts pointing the finger at Russia.

Australian undercover inspectors have found pubs fail to pour enough beer and other alcohol into customers' glasses for nearly a third of the drinks they serve.

Jeffrey Epstein cultivated a global network of politicians, top business executives, academics and celebrities, many of whom have been severely tainted by association with the convicted sex offender.

When Brazilian businessman Daniel Vorcaro was arrested last year over what may be the country's biggest ever banking fraud scandal, he boasted to police that he had friends in high places.

The argument that sport and politics should not mix could be tested at the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday, when Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny performs against a backdrop of fury from right-wing critics.

Arsenal could take another giant step towards the Premier League title with victory over Sunderland on Saturday before Manchester City face a daunting trip to Liverpool.

The New England Patriots will seek a record seventh Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in a wide-open clash between two teams nobody expected to reach American football's biggest stage.

Chris Gotterup is off to another hot start in his bid to claim a second US PGA Tour title of 2026 at the Phoenix Open, where frustrated world number one Scottie Scheffler was 10 shots off the pace.

Canada and France, which both adamantly oppose Donald Trump's wish to control Greenland, will open consulates in the Danish autonomous territory's capital on Friday, in a strong show of support for the local government.

Several hundred people rallied outside The Washington Post headquarters Thursday to protest its decision to lay off hundreds of journalists, including most of its overseas staff.

New Zealand's deputy prime minister brushed off criticism on Friday of his claims that colonisation had been positive for the country's Indigenous population and labelled hecklers "muppets".

Amazon shares dove more than 11 percent on Thursday as the computing and retail titan reported strong sales but significantly boosted spending estimates.

France head coach Fabien Galthie lauded his team's attacking performance after their dazzling 36-14 victory over Ireland in their Six Nations opener on Thursday.

Argentina's right-wing government stepped up its standoff with the media on Thursday by launching a social media account to "debunk" what it called media lies about libertarian President Javier Milei.

One of Australia's most famous gangsters will walk free after prosecutors Friday said they would drop a planned retrial on drug trafficking charges.

France captain Antoine Dupont rued a second-half stutter but said that Thursday's often brilliant 36-14 Six Nations win over Ireland in Paris was "a good sign for what's to come".

Cuba is prepared to hold dialogue with the United States but not under pressure, President Miguel Diaz-Canel insisted Thursday after months of threats from US President Donald Trump.

The San Francisco 49ers were named on Thursday to face the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL's first regular-season game in Australia, set for Melbourne later this year.

Reiging champions France threw down an ominous marker for their Six Nations rivals as Louis Bielle-Biarrey inspired them to a 36-14 victory over Ireland on Thursday.

The Olympic flame arrived in Milan on Thursday ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Games, while US Vice President JD Vance arrived with a message of unity for the American team.

Olympic champion Su Yiming survived a major scare in big air qualifying on Thursday as Japan's Hiroto Ogiwara topped the leaderboard on the first day of snowboarding at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games.

The last 89 Christians held captive since criminal gangs attacked three churches in northern Nigeria in mid-January were released on Thursday, following a spate of mass kidnappings in the country.

Cuba is prepared to hold dialogue with the United States but not under pressure, President Miguel Diaz-Canel insisted Thursday after months of threats from US President Donald Trump.

Famine is spreading in Sudan's western Darfur region, UN-backed experts warned on Thursday, as a grinding war between the army and paramilitary forces has left millions hungry, displaced and cut off from aid.