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EU leaders locked horns Thursday over the bloc's next long-term budget as they kicked off talks in Brussels under pressure to seal a deal before several high-stakes elections next year, most crucially in France.

Protesters and police clashed in Albania's capital for a third straight day on Thursday, when the prime minister toured the aftermath of demonstrations that left government buildings badly damaged.

Irvan Maulana has struggled with shortness of breath and a cough as wildfire smoke cloaks the Indonesian city of Palangkaraya. But he is a doctor, and patients keep arriving.

North Korean trucks festooned with flags and flowers trundled towards China on Thursday as a new bridge between the countries opened, allowing the isolated nation to ramp up trade with its huge neighbour.

At 38, Nadinne Fillol has a job, a partner and hopes of having children.

The Asian Cup scheduled for January in Saudi Arabia could be moved back a year to 2028 "if we need to", the continent's top football official said, following a series of Houthi attacks on the country.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk called on Wednesday for Volodymyr Zelensky to "go" as Ukraine's leader, after insisting any disruption to the war-torn country's use of his satellite communications system was the fault of the US government, not his company.

South African head coach Shukri Conrad axed batsman Tristan Stubbs and wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne on Thursday when he announced his squad for the second Test against Australia starting Sunday.

At 117, Qamile Marra is not particularly concerned with proving she may be the world's oldest woman -- or even persuading Albanian pension officials that she is not dead.

Twenty-seven pupils and a teacher were killed on Thursday after a roof collapsed at a school in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar, a hospital official said.

Pope Leo XIV had a "good night" in hospital and has eaten breakfast as he recovers from lung cancer surgery, the Vatican said Thursday.

Thick haze turned the skies in Indonesia's Palangkaraya apocalyptic shades of yellow and orange on Thursday, reducing visibility to a few dozen metres as wildfires cause a regional air pollution crisis.

China's economy likely grew at a slower pace than the government's target in the third quarter, an AFP survey of analysts shows, as energy, geopolitical and debt crises stoke fears of a global downturn.

When Americans vote in next month's midterm elections, one question on the ballot in California could echo far beyond the state: should the ultra-wealthy pay a special tax on their fortunes?

Costa Rica opened a high-security jail on Wednesday inspired by a mega-prison in El Salvador that has become a symbol of the country's war on gangs, widely criticized by human rights groups.

As the new school year gets under way in Austria, a headscarf ban for girls under 14 has sparked protests on the streets and in the classroom, with dozens of pupils refusing to comply.

Slovakian lawyers Ivan Novotny and Metod Spacek got married in Austria in 2020, but their home country refused to register their marriage -- a decision they are now challenging in court.

Kofi Alexis Amani has watched the trees on his cocoa plantation wilt and sometimes wither as rains became unpredictable and less abundant in Ivory Coast over the past several decades.

Seven years after Covid-19 put the brakes on Indonesia's new women's football league, Zahra Naqiyyah will finally return to the field with "high hopes" for the women's game in the country.

A typhoon in the Philippines and flooding in Brazil. Twice in less than a year, British energy giant Shell has been the target of a new type of lawsuit seeking to make polluters pay part of the cost of specific extreme weather events.

Centre Nicolas Depoortere admits "expectations will be high" for Bordeaux-Begles in their bid for a record-equalling third straight Champions Cup crown, ahead of their visit to in-form Gloucester in Friday's tournament opener.

A new four-lane road bridge linking China and North Korea finally opened on Thursday, 12 years late, enabling the Asian giant and its isolated nuclear-armed neighbour to step up cross-border trade substantially.

New Zealand coach Dave Rennie urged his side Thursday not to take their foot off the gas with the Bledisloe Cup already secure, warning Australia can be dangerous when "hurting".

Asian stocks plunged Thursday as tech firms suffered another painful rout after forecast-topping US inflation data fuelled expectations the Federal Reserve will have to ramp interest rates higher.

Palmeiras, lethal on the counterattack, beat Fluminense 2-1 on Wednesday to seize the upper hand in their Copa Libertadores semi-final tie.

Millions could be thrown into poverty by surging energy costs, the impact of an intense El Nino phenomenon and higher interest rates, with vulnerable countries being pushed to the brink by repeated crises, the UN's development chief told AFP.

The Milwaukee Brewers produced a late home run blitz to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 and leave the reigning World Series champions on the brink of elimination from Major League Baseball's playoffs on Wednesday.

Australia said Thursday it refused to allow big tech to have "unfettered" access to its kids as it formally introduced new legislation that would give users choice over what they see on their feeds.

Asian stocks plunged Thursday as tech firms suffered another painful rout after forecast-topping US inflation data fuelled expectations the Federal Reserve will have to ramp interest rates higher.

Inside a traditional Mongolian ger in the sprawling suburbs of Ulaanbaatar, children queue to have their teeth checked at a mobile dental practice that roams the vast country, providing treatment that is hard to come by in remote areas.

Two decades after being allegedly abused by Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed, Isabella heard "chillingly" similar testimonies from other women, painting a picture of a sprawling, murky network of exploitation.

Australia coach Les Kiss elevated Declan Meredith to playmaker Thursday among four changes to his starting side as they look to rebound from a crushing Bledisloe Cup loss to New Zealand.