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One is a former comic actor who became president in 2019 as a political novice. The other a one-time KGB agent now in power for over two decades.

Tadej Pogacar and Julian Alaphilippe will do battle on Saturday as a trio of Italian cycling races over the next two weeks begins with the Strade Bianche.

Asian markets tumbled Friday and crude bounced as news that Europe's biggest nuclear power plant was on fire after Russian shelling fuelled a flight to safety and ramped up fears about the Ukraine war.

With wooden spinning wheels and hand-drawn looms, Bangladesh is painstakingly resurrecting a fabric once worn by Marie Antoinette and Jane Austen but long thought forever lost to history.

Russian troops attacked Europe's largest nuclear plant on Friday, starting a fire at the Ukrainian facility, with the country's leader accusing Moscow of "nuclear terror".

The China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank said it will suspend business related to Russia and Belarus, which have been hit with massive international sanctions over the Ukraine war.

Google on Thursday said it has stopped allowing reviews to be added to its online Maps service in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to prevent them from being used for war news.

Rod Marsh was remembered as "a colossal figure" in Australian cricket Friday who gave close to 50 years' service to the sport as tributes poured in after he died following a heart attack at a charity event last week.

The United States has returned a set of illegally obtained artifacts, including a skull from the Parisian catacombs and golden ingots from an Atlantic shipwreck, to their rightful owner -- the French state.

From a huge Russian military convoy snaking its way to Kyiv to missile strikes and refugee crossings, commercial satellite imagery of the Ukraine conflict is helping lift the fog of war, illuminating for the public what was previously the domain of spy agencies.

Ask Brazilian teen Yan Araujo who his idols are, and he doesn't hesitate. Not Neymar. Not Vinicius Junior. "Nobru and Cerol," he says -- superstars of the booming gamer scene in Brazil's favelas.

Europe's largest nuclear power plant was on fire Friday after Russian strikes hit the Ukrainian facility, with the country's foreign minister demanding an immediate ceasefire at the site to avoid disaster.

Chase Seiffert grabbed eight birdies in a seven-under par 65 on Thursday to share the first-round lead with fellow American Michael Kim in the US PGA Tour Puerto Rico Open.

Two men who were arrested near Ukraine's embassy in Washington Thursday for carrying firearms reportedly told police they wanted to help fight off Russia's invasion of its pro-Western neighbor.

Rory McIlroy got off to another hot start at Bay Hill on Thursday, firing a first-round 65 to take a two-shot lead in the US PGA Tour Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Top-ranked Ashleigh Barty has withdrawn from the prestigious hardcourt tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami saying she hadn't been able to prepare in the wake of her Australian Open triumph.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "going to plan", President Vladimir Putin said Thursday despite fierce resistance and deepening international isolation, as Kyiv won precious agreement from Moscow on a humanitarian corridor for terrified civilians to flee.

An Argentine judge on Thursday threw out a lawsuit brought by a Cuban ex-girlfriend of the late football icon Diego Maradona over alleged people trafficking.

Former world number one golfer Jason Day said Thursday that his mother, Adenil "Dening" Day, had died after a long battle with cancer.

European and US stocks tumbled as investors monitored the worsening toll of the Russian invasion of Ukraine amid worries over high oil prices.

Rory McIlroy got off to another hot start at Bay Hill on Thursday, firing a first-round 65 to take the lead in the US PGA Tour Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Real Betis will play Valencia in the final of Spain's Copa del Rey after Borja Iglesias' dramatic 91st-minute goal sealed a 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano on Thursday and a 3-2 win on aggregate.

The United States consulate, closed since 2017 following alleged "sonic attacks" against diplomatic staff, will resume a limited service issuing visas, its embassy in Havana said Thursday.

A group of men in the western Ukraine city of Lviv are helping the war effort against Russian invaders by producing home-made anti-tank obstacles, from tutorials found in the internet.

The United States imposed sanctions on the ultra-wealthy Russian oligarchs at the heart of President Vladimir Putin's regime Thursday in the latest ratcheting up of pressure on the Kremlin to halt its invasion of Ukraine.

The NFL is suspending all Covid-19 protocols including mandatory testing, masks and contact tracing, according to a memo to teams obtained by US media.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Israel a "potential ally" and said in a wide-ranging interview published on Thursday that he wants to "work it out" with Iran

US singer Courtney Love has settled a lawsuit with her ex-son-in-law over claims she planned to kill or kidnap him in a dispute about one of Kurt Cobain's guitars.

Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska made the Lyon WTA quarter-finals on Thursday, less than a week after escaping Russian bomb attacks on her home city of Odessa, and insisted: "I want to win for my country".

The Sackler family will pay up to $6 billion to address damage linked to the US opioid crisis under an amended Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan following an agreement with holdout states, according to a court filing Thursday.

Toyota and Volkswagen, the world's two biggest auto manufacturers, said Thursday they would suspend operations at their production facilities in Russia, following the invasion of Ukraine.

Nicaraguan opposition figure Cristiana Chamorro, detained since June last year while planning an election challenge to President Daniel Ortega, went on trial behind closed doors Thursday, a rights group said.