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Pope Francis, battling pneumonia in both lungs, slept well and is resting, the Vatican said Thursday, after revealing the 88-year-old's condition was slightly improving.

Stock markets struggled Thursday after US President Donald Trump's latest tariffs salvo, this time against the European Union, while earnings from chip titan Nvidia failed to impress despite another record performance.

The United States has slashed its multi-year aid contracts by 92 percent, as it sought around $60 billion in savings in development and overseas humanitarian programs, the State Department said Wednesday.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen on Thursday joined Indian Premier League team Delhi Capitals as mentor for the upcoming edition of the lucrative T20 tournament.

Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was expected to make a "historic declaration" on Thursday on ending the decades long conflict between Kurdish groups and the Turkish state.

Oscar-winning US actor Gene Hackman and his long-time wife Betsy Arakawa have been found dead inside their home in New Mexico, media outlets reported on Thursday.

The EU's top team arrived in India on an "unprecedented" visit Thursday, aiming to broaden commercial and diplomatic ties and hedge against souring relations with the United States.

Central Asian countries are setting rivalries aside to build a giant hydroelectric plant originally planned in Soviet times, a bid to strengthen energy and food security and mitigate the effects of climate change.

In a city famed for graffiti and murals, rival exhibitions in Belgrade showcasing the impact of British street artist Banksy have led to a colourful debate over the commercialisation of street art.

On a patch of city land beside the sea, urban Emiratis sit beneath the shimmering skyscrapers of wealthy Dubai, revamping a camping tradition rooted in the desert.

Hamas called on Israel Thursday to enter negotiations for the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire after the group handed over the bodies of four hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Gene Hackman, who has been found dead in his home in New Mexico at the age of 95, was once voted as likely to flop in showbiz but instead went on to enjoy a storied, Oscar-winning career as an everyman actor who mined personal pain to give intense, edgy performances.

South Korea's Kim A-lim defied windy conditions at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore to lead the HSBC Women's World Championship by one stroke from England's Charley Hull after Thursday's opening round.

Nations prepared for a showdown on funding on the last day of UN nature talks in Rome Thursday, amid alarm over slow progress in the face of accelerating species loss.

Two men were publicly flogged in Indonesia's conservative Aceh province on Thursday after they were found guilty of sexual relations by a court operating under strict Islamic law.

Pope Francis, battling pneumonia in both lungs, slept well and is resting, the Vatican said Thursday, after revealing the 88-year-old's condition was slightly improving.

Israel freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners on Thursday, shortly after saying Palestinian militant group Hamas handed over coffins believed to contain the bodies of four hostages.

Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi on Thursday targeted another big scalp in the form of Australia after knocking England out of the Champions Trophy, with a semi-final spot the prize.

Japan won the SheBelieves Cup on Wednesday, Yuka Momiki and Toko Koga scoring in the 2-1 victory that ended the Americans' bid for a sixth straight title in the round-robin tournament.

At the Oscars over the years, we have seen it all with the winners' speeches, ranging from dull, endless, cringe, heartwarming or, when we're lucky, hilarious.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday accused North Korea of being behind the theft of $1.5 billion worth of digital assets last week, the largest crypto heist in history.

Hundreds of exhausted young men lie in an open-sided detention centre in a seedy Myanmar border town, sweating through thick tropical heat by day and prey to clouds of mosquitoes by night.

A Vietnamese court on Thursday sentenced a leading independent journalist to 30 months in prison over Facebook posts that criticised the government, state media said.

As a fixture of India's burgeoning craft beer scene, Varsha Bhat is a rarity twice over: first as a woman who brews alcohol, and second as a woman who drinks it.

Bayern Munich's Bundesliga clash in Stuttgart on Friday is the first stop in a season-defining fortnight for Vincent Kompany's team.

IOC presidential candidate Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior told AFP he has the experience to deal with heads of state in a rapidly changing world where previously undisputed truths such as "universality, fraternity and unity" are now disputed.

A leading domestic violence charity severed ties Thursday with Australia's National Rugby League after it invited US President Donald Trump to its season-opening games in Las Vegas this weekend.

North Korea has sent more soldiers to Russia and re-deployed several to the frontline in Kursk, Seoul's spy agency told AFP on Thursday.

Catalina Usme scored the game-winner as Colombia beat Australia 2-1 in the SheBelieves Cup on Wednesday in the curtain-raiser to the United States's clash with Japan for the tournament title.

Asian markets fluctuated Thursday as investors tried to assess US President Donald Trump's latest tariffs salvo, while earnings from chip titan Nvidia failed to impress, despite another record performance.

Shares in the Japanese owner of 7-Eleven plunged as much as 12 percent on Thursday after the convenience store giant said its founding family failed to put together a white-knight buyout.

Starved, beaten and electrocuted, Ahmed remains traumatised months after being trafficked to Southeast Asia, one of an untold number of Africans forced to work in scam centres far from home.