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American Jessica Pegula kept her chances of reaching the semi-finals of the WTA Finals alive by easing past Italy's Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-3 in Riyadh on Thursday.

Dutch giants Ajax said Thursday they had sacked coach John Heitinga after a poor start to the season that has seen them rooted to the bottom of the Champions League table.

Argentine ex-president Cristina Kirchner, already serving a six-year fraud sentence under house arrest, went on trial Thursday in a new corruption case described as the biggest in her country's history.

Ruben Amorim has told Manchester United to "focus on the future" following former Old Trafford star Cristiano Ronaldo's withering assessment of his old club.

A US judge dropped criminal charges against Boeing on Thursday over deadly crashes of its 737 MAX 8 aircraft as part of an agreement between the company and prosecutors.

UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday said leaders must confront the "moral failure and deadly negligence" of missing the 1.5C climate target and urgently correct course at the COP30 summit.

Two British drug convicts including a grandmother on death row left a Bali jail on Thursday, as part of a deal to send them home on humanitarian grounds.

Defender Eric Garcia suffered a broken nose during Barcelona's 3-3 Champions League draw at Club Brugge midweek and will have to wear a mask when he returns to action, the Spanish club said Thursday.

More than 700 police deployed across the UK city of Birmingham Thursday for protests planned ahead of a football match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Aston Villa, with visiting Israeli fans barred.

Ethiopia's Afar region says it came under attack from forces of the neighbouring Tigray region, which seized control of villages and bombed civilians, in the latest sign of internal conflict in the fractured nation.

Nancy Pelosi, a towering figure in US politics and the first woman to serve as speaker of the House of Representatives, announced on Thursday that she will step down at the next election.

Israel struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Thursday as the group rejected the prospect of direct political talks between the countries and vowed to defend itself.

Nandre Burger took a career-best 4-46 as South Africa restricted Pakistan to 269-9 in the second one-day international in Faisalabad on Thursday.

US and European stocks sputtered Thursday as investors weighed another wave of corporate results, interest rates, the US government shutdown and a Supreme Court hearing on President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Police said Thursday that 19 people they caught working illegally during a raid at the Swedish start-up Stegra's steel mill would be deported.

Saudi Arabia-based veteran N'Golo Kante returned to the France squad to reinforce the injury-hit midfield for the World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Azerbaijan.

Marcus Smith has been recalled at full-back as one of seven changes to England's starting 15 for Saturday's rugby international against Fiji at Twickenham.

South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus said on Thursday iconic captain Siya Kolisi's 100th Test will not "distract" the team before they face France in the Autumn Nations Series this weekend.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever gave his deadlocked ruling coalition more time to agree a cost-cutting budget on Thursday, staving off fears of an imminent government collapse.

Germany supports proposals by the EU to increase tariffs on foreign steel as the bloc struggles with cheap imports, especially from China, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday.

New Zealand coach Scott Robertson has changed his second row and midfield for Saturday's Autumn Nations series rugby union international against Scotland at Murrayfield after injuries to brothers Scott and Jordie Barrett.

Munster centre Tom Farrell will make his debut for Ireland in their Autumn Nations Series Test with Japan as head coach Andy Farrell made eight changes to the starting XV from the one beaten 26-13 by New Zealand last Saturday.

John Stones believes Manchester City team-mate Phil Foden has given England manager Thomas Tuchel a selection headache leading up to next week's final World Cup qualifiers with Serbia and Albania.

Novak Djokovic will take on Carlos Alcaraz in the group stage of the upcoming ATP Finals while Jannik Sinner could face a derby with Lorenzo Musetti during his title defence at the season-ending tournament.

The spectre of humanity's failure to curb heat-trapping emissions hangs over climate negotiations in Brazil, after the UN confirmed the planet is now certain to "overshoot" 1.5C of warming and faces a tough battle to bring temperatures back down.

South Africa's two-time Rugby World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi will win his 100th Test cap in this weekend's Autumn Nations Series game with France in Paris, South African Rugby announced on Thursday.

Typhoon Kalmaegi made landfall Thursday in Vietnam's already storm-battered central belt, where thousands have been evacuated from areas in the path of one of the world's deadliest cyclones this year.

The Bank of England kept its key interest rate at 4.0 percent Thursday, opting against a cut before the UK government's annual budget this month set to feature tax rises.

Leroy Sane has been recalled and Said El Mala received a first call-up to Germany's 25-man squad for the November World Cup qualifiers, coach Julian Nagelsmann announced Thursday.

India took a 2-1 lead in their T20 series against Australia with a 48-run demolition of the home side on Queensland's Gold Coast on Thursday.

Paul Biya, who has been president of Cameroon for 43 years, was be sworn in on Thursday for an eighth term, after a contested election that sparked mass protests and subsequent repression in which several demonstrators died.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick vowed to stick with a high defensive line despite struggles at the back as the champions travel to face Celta Vigo on Sunday in La Liga.

Plying everything from handbags to salt in a cavernous Shanghai exhibition hall, US exporters hit by the trade war with China said Thursday they hope improving bilateral relations will bring much-needed stability.

France head coach Fabien Galthie said on Thursday South Africa are "perhaps the best team ever" as he named La Rochelle scrum-half Nolann Garrec as Antoine Dupont's stand-in for this weekend's Autumn Nations Series game in Paris.

British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced surging quarterly profit Thursday on strong sales of cancer drugs and as the group zones in on the United States, pressured by President Donald Trump.

"Vibe coding," a word that essentially means using artificial intelligence (AI) to tell a machine what you want instead of coding it yourself, was on Thursday named the Collins Word of the Year 2025.

Vietnam evacuated thousands of people from coastal areas as Typhoon Kalmaegi, already among the world's deadliest cyclones this year, closed in on the country's storm-battered central belt on Thursday.

European stock markets dropped Thursday following gains in Asia and on Wall Street as traders reacted to positive US jobs data and mixed earnings.

MotoGP legend Giacomo Agostini has praised the "desire to win" displayed by freshly-minted world champion Marc Marquez.