The Albany Gazette - News from Albany, New York and the whole world

The Middle East war has created an "unprecedented shock" for the region's economies with no guarantee of a quick recovery, a senior International Monetary Fund official has told AFP.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Thursday his country was "ready" for a possible US attack on the communist island following months of mounting pressure from President Donald Trump.

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday criticised the "tyrants" ransacking the world, on a high-security visit to a "bloodstained" region of Cameroon following a war of words with US President Donald Trump.

Two sanctioned cargo vessels have crossed the Strait of Hormuz, apparently bound for Iranian ports despite Washington's blockade in the Middle East war, tracking data indicated Thursday.

Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham have been ruled eligible for the NBA's Most Valuable Player race despite not meeting the 65-game minimum to enter the running for the honor, the league said Thursday.

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Alexander Manninger, who played for Austria at Euro 2008, died on Thursday after his car was hit by a train, his former club Red Bull Salzburg said.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hussein Hajj Hassan told AFP on Thursday that the Lebanese government's decision to hold direct negotiations with Israel was a "grave error", urging Beirut to stop making concessions to Israel and the United States.

Lana Del Rey has joined an exclusive club of pop greats by voicing a new theme song for James Bond -- albeit for the fictional British superspy's video game incarnation in the upcoming "007: First Light".

With local elections due next week, West Bank Palestinians are struggling to muster enthusiasm for their first ballot since the Gaza war, discouraged by limited political choice and the difficulty of voting under Israeli occupation.

Lionel Messi has bought Catalan club Cornella and become the team's new owner, the Spanish fifth-tier side announced on Thursday.

Union Berlin coach Marie-Louise Eta said Thursday she was looking forward to questions about football rather than her pioneering role as the first female manager of a men's team in a top European league.

Near Singapore, thousands of miles from the Strait of Hormuz, ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil have continued during the Middle East war, helping Tehran evade sanctions and maintain trade with China.

A South African court sentenced radical left-wing opposition leader Julius Malema to five years in jail on Thursday for firing a rifle into the air at a rally eight years ago.

Liam Rosenior has warned Chelsea their bid to qualify for the Champions League is hanging in the balance ahead of Saturday's crucial clash with Manchester United.

The United States threatened Thursday to resume air strikes on Iran and maintain a naval blockade of its ports if Tehran refuses to accept a deal to end the war that has engulfed the Middle East.

Lufthansa said Thursday that it was accelerating savings plans by closing a regional subsidiary as the German aviation giant struggles with surging fuel costs due to the Iran war and a wave of labour strikes.

French drinks giant Pernod Ricard said Thursday that talks to buy Brown-Forman, the US owner of Jack Daniel's whiskey, were continuing after reports of a rival American offer by Sazerac.

Anthony Joshua has resumed training with former heavyweight rival Oleksandr Usyk as he continues preparations for a return to the ring that could culminate in a 'Battle of Britain' bout against Tyson Fury later this year.

Bayern Munich supporters have apologised after several photographers were injured when fans stormed over barriers at the end of Wednesday's home Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.

Stock markets advanced Thursday on expectations that a Mideast ceasefire would soon let oil and gas tankers resume transmit through the Strait of Hormuz, easing inflation pressures that have upended economies worldwide.

A South African court sentenced radical left-wing opposition leader Julius Malema to five years in jail on Thursday for firing a rifle into the air at a rally eight years ago.

Iran was the top exporter of commodities through the Strait of Hormuz in March, as shipments from other countries fell off a cliff with Tehran's blockade of the vital waterway, data by analytics firm Kpler showed.

Bernardo Silva will leave Manchester City when his contract expires at the end of the season, the Premier League club announced Thursday as they hailed his "incalculable" contribution to our "greatest sustained period of success".

A massive Russian drone and missile barrage killed at least 19 people in cities across Ukraine, more than four years into the war with talks on ending the conflict stalled.

World Athletics on Thursday refused the applications of 11 elite athletes seeking to transfer their allegiance to Turkey in a hammer blow to the country's medal chances at the 2028 Olympics.

A South African court sentenced radical left-wing opposition leader Julius Malema to five years in jail on Thursday for firing a rifle into the air at a rally eight years ago.

Bernardo Silva will leave Manchester City at the end of the season, the Premier League club announced Thursday as they hailed his "incalculable" contribution to our "greatest sustained period of success".

Pope Leo XIV condemned "an endless cycle of destabilisation and death" on a visit Thursday to a "bloodstained" region of Cameroon that has been gripped by an English-speaking separatist conflict for nearly a decade.

A crackdown on India's performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) production -- the biggest globally -- is key to tackling the doping menace and protect the athletes, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chief Witold Banka told AFP on Thursday.

The Tokyo stock market reached a record high Thursday on heightened optimism that the United States and Iran would extend their ceasefire, hold fresh talks on ending their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil and gas traffic.

Crowds gathered for the funerals of eight children and a teacher in southern Turkey on Thursday, killed when a 14-year-old opened fire at a school in a crime that has plunged the country in to shock and the community into grief.

Ronnie O'Sullivan will face Chinese debutant He Guoqiang when he begins his bid to win an eighth World Snooker Championship title on Tuesday.