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Colombian national team captain James Rodriguez has signed a short-term contract with Minnesota United ahead of the 2026 World Cup, the MLS club announced on Friday.

Aaron Wainwright believes there is still an intense rivalry between England and Wales despite the gulf in recent results.

The United States has withheld $3.6 million in annual dues for a second consecutive year to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which says it remains financially strong despite the move.

France has detected a Russia-linked disinformation effort alleging President Emmanuel Macron's involvement with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a government authority said Friday.

The curtain will rise on the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday, with a star-studded ceremony at the San Siro stadium echoed by celebrations at Games venues across the Italian Alps and the Dolomite mountains.

President Donald Trump shared a post with a racist video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys, sparking outrage across the US political spectrum Friday before deleting it in a rare backtrack.

French food giant Danone recalled batches of infant formula in Britain, Spain, Croatia and Slovenia over the possible presence of a toxin, food safety authorities said on Friday, expanding the measure across Europe.

President Donald Trump shared a post with a racist video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys, sparking outrage across the US political spectrum Friday before deleting it in a rare backtrack.

Colombian national team captain James Rodriguez has signed a short-term contract with Minnesota United ahead of the 2026 World Cup, the MLS club announced on Friday.

UK police probing Britain's former US ambassador Peter Mandelson were searching two properties on Friday, London's Metropolitan Police said, following fresh revelations in the Epstein files.

A Russian drone blasted into an animal shelter in southern Ukraine early Friday, killing at least 10 rescue dogs and injuring multiple others, according to staff.

The United States on Friday urged three-way talks with Russia and China to set new limits on nuclear weapons, as it accused Beijing of conducting secret nuclear tests and dramatically swelling its arsenal.

Up-and-coming cyclist Paul Seixas is hoping to hit the ground running when he opens his season in the Algarve and is also dreaming of racing in the Tour de France this summer.

France has detected a Russia-linked disinformation effort alleging President Emmanuel Macron's involvement with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a government source told AFP on Friday.

European nations voted Friday to allow for chemical recycling to play a larger role in the production of plastic bottles, overcoming reservations about the energy-intensive technology.

A worshipper at the Shiite mosque in Islamabad where dozens of people were killed in a suicide blast on Friday described an "extremely powerful" explosion ripping through the building just after prayers started.

Iran on Friday said it expected to hold more negotiations with the United States, hailing a "positive atmosphere" during a day of indirect talks in Oman but warning against threats after Washington raised the spectre of new military action.

A suicide blast at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad killed at least 31 people on Friday, with 169 more wounded in the deadliest attack in Pakistan's capital since the 2008 Marriott hotel bombing.

One of the "key participants" behind the 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi that left the ambassador and three other Americans dead has been arrested, officials said Friday.

Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, sank this week, wiping out gains sparked by Donald Trump's presidential election victory in November 2024.

Mikel Arteta has apologised to Liam Rosenior after the Chelsea boss accused Arsenal of a lack of respect before their League Cup semi-final clash.

A worshipper at the Shiite mosque in Islamabad where dozens of people were killed in a suicide blast on Friday described an "extremely powerful" explosion ripping through the building just after prayers started.

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt is the favourite to win the men's Olympic downhill in Bormio on Saturday but will face a stiff challenge from teammate and reigning world champion Franjo von Allmen.

World champion ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates helped defending champions the United States take an early lead in the Olympic figure skating team event on Friday ahead of Japan and Italy.

Jeep maker Stellantis warned Friday that it would take a 22 billion euro hit after a slower take up of electric vehicles than it expected, heaping pressure on its new chief executive to navigate a chaotic transition from combustion engines.

US and European stock markets recovered Friday following a tech stocks rout triggered by growing unease about the billions being spent on artificial intelligence.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez pleaded for caution from flood-hit residents on Friday as more rain was expected to drench parts of the Iberian Peninsula already saturated by a deadly storm.

Iran on Friday said it expected to hold more negotiations with the United States after a day of indirect talks in Oman seen as a critical chance for diplomacy after President Donald Trump threatened new military action against Tehran.

A top Russian military intelligence general was shot and wounded in a Moscow apartment building on Friday, in what Russia called an assassination attempt orchestrated by Ukraine.

Chunks of broken sandstone litter Cambodia's UNESCO-listed Preah Vihear temple, whose centuries-old sandstone facades are pocked with fresh shrapnel scars after weeks of deadly border clashes with neighbouring Thailand.

Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit said Friday she "deeply regretted" her friendship with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the embarrassment it has caused the royal family.

The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will officially open with a star-studded ceremony at the San Siro stadium on Friday after US ski great Lindsey Vonn passed a crucial test of her injured knee.