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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will tell Ethiopia next week that it needs to move forward on a fragile peace process if it wants to restore once warm ties when he pays the highest-level US visit since the brutal civil war, officials said Friday.

Global markets took a beating on Friday as US jobs data boosted the likelihood of further aggressive interest rate hikes, and bank shares were mauled by the SVB debacle.

Gregor Townsend proclaimed Stuart Hogg "one of the best players in the history of Scottish rugby" as the full-back prepared to win his 100th cap against Ireland in Sunday's key Six Nations clash at Murrayfield.

Facebook owner Meta is working on a new "text sharing" social media platform, it said Friday, in a project seen as a potential rival to embattled Twitter.

Global banking shares gyrated on Friday as trouble at US regional lender SVB Financial sparked concerns over the wider sector.

Thousands of mourners, including Ukraine's armed forces chief, knelt on Kyiv's main square on Friday at the funeral of a war hero nicknamed "Da Vinci", who was killed by Russians in the battle for Bakhmut.

A surprise deal to restore ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran will reverberate across and beyond the Middle East, analysts said Friday, touching everything from Yemen's war to China's regional engagement.

Japan's World Baseball Classic manager warned that his team can still get better after they thrashed arch-rivals South Korea on Friday for their second straight win of the tournament.

Italy's navy and coastguard said Friday they were racing to save some 1,300 migrants in difficulty in the Central Mediterranean, nearly two weeks after a deadly shipwreck killed more than 70 people.

One by one, black body bags under flurries of snow are wheeled out from the unassuming Jehovah's Witness centre where six people were killed in the German city of Hamburg.

South African captain Temba Bavuma ended a long wait for a second Test century and took his team to a strong position on the third day of the second Test against the West Indies at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Friday.

They have similar backgrounds, similar ages, even similar sartorial style: the UK and French leaders did not lack for common ground as they escaped domestic crises for a day of diplomatic pomp.

Tadhg Furlong was hailed as "world-class" by Ireland coach Andy Farrell as the prop prepared to make his first appearance of this year's Six Nations, in Sunday's key clash away to Scotland.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a fast-acting nasal spray from Pfizer designed to treat migraines, the US pharmaceutical giant said Friday.

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte said he would "die for this club" until the end of the season but admitted the contract he signed at the start of his tenure was strange.

Regional powerhouses Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed Friday to restore ties and reopen diplomatic missions in a surprise, Chinese-brokered announcement that could have wide-ranging implications across the Middle East.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday agreed a new pact to stop illegal cross-Channel migration after a summit in Paris aimed at overcoming years of Brexit tensions.

Global stock markets sank Friday as banking shares faced a rout over contagion fears, while US jobs data was seen all but ensuring further aggressive interest rate hikes.

Mariana has made the long journey from the rural mountains of southern Colombia to the United Nations in Geneva to denounce digital inequity and online dangers facing children like her.

French utopian architect Roland Castro, a political activist who fought what he called "urban apartheid" and wanted to transform run-down housing estates into places people would actually like to live, has died aged 82, his daughter said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Ethiopia next week to push forward a fragile peace process, the State Department said Friday, on the highest-level US visit since the brutal civil war shook ties between the longtime allies.

Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool are already reaping the rewards of their longer-term planning, with his new-look forward line firing the club's push for a top-four finish in the Premier league.

Fighting erupted on Friday between M23 militiamen and government troops near the eastern DR Congo city of Goma, where a European mercy flight arrived in the afternoon, sources said.

The UK economy has returned to growth, data showed Friday, easing fears of an inflation-induced recession as the government readies next week's budget against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis.

French champions Paris Saint-Germain on Friday confirmed it is in the race to buy the Stade de France, the centre piece for next summer's Olympics.

The United States added more jobs than expected in February -- though fewer than the previous month, government data showed Friday, suggesting policymakers have more to do to cool down the world's biggest economy

Shohei Ohtani kept the Tokyo crowd waiting for his first home run of the World Baseball Classic, but in the end Japan thrashed arch-rivals South Korea 13-4 Friday for their second straight win.

Real Madrid's French striker Karim Benzema, who has been dogged by fitness issues this season, will miss Saturday's La Liga match against Espanyol on Saturday but should feature in the Champions League next week.

Jack Dempsey will make his first Scotland start, while Stuart Hogg wins his 100th cap, as the Dark Blues go in search of a Triple Crown against unbeaten Ireland in Sunday's Six Nations clash at Murrayfield.

Ozone air pollution is linked to a higher rate of hospitalisations for heart diseases, according to a large study released Friday, the latest warning of the health dangers posed by greenhouse gases.

Ireland prop Tadhg Furlong will make his first appearance of this year's Six Nations after being named in the starting XV to face Scotland in Sunday's key clash at Murrayfield.

Ellis Genge's rise to the England rugby captaincy has delighted forwards coach Richard Cockerill, who remembers the days when he just tried to keep the prop "out of trouble".