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Exiled Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has told AFP the forthcoming presidential election there will be a "sham" and urged dissidents to prepare for an opportunity to change their country.

Winds were expected to drop Friday around Los Angeles, bolstering a huge firefighting effort at the five major blazes wreaking havoc around America's second biggest city.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has revealed Ben Chilwell is set to end his troubled spell at Stamford Bridge as the England defender looks for a move in the January transfer window.

Ollie Lawrence said on Friday there was no cheating on his part following an incident that led to fellow England back Alex Mitchell receiving a yellow card during Bath's defeat by champions Northampton in the Premiership.

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has expressed his desire to keep talented youngsters Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho despite rumours the duo could be sold to ease the club's financial pressures.

The first symptoms of disinformation are emerging on the social media network Bluesky, with echoes of the pro-Russian "Matryoshka" campaign that flooded Elon Musk's X -- but with a few twists.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek will miss AC Milan's upcoming league fixtures with Como and Cagliari with a hamstring injury, the Serie A club said on Friday.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in Friday for a third six-year term rejected by the opposition as a "coup d'etat" achieved through election fraud and a campaign of repression.

Britain's biggest gas supplier on Friday said UK storage levels are "concerningly low" owing to high demand caused by freezing weather and after Ukraine ended Russian gas transit to Europe.

Ten people dead, 10,000 buildings destroyed, 180,000 people evacuated, $150 billion in damage.

Last year set a record for high temperatures across the mainland United States, with the nation also pummeled by a barrage of tornadoes and destructive hurricanes, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a report Friday.

World number one Jannik Sinner will have his hearing into allegations of doping at the Court of Arbitration for Sport on April 16-17, the Lausanne-based body said on Friday.

Media outlets around the world have been left scratching their heads over the future of their fact-checking operations after Meta's shock announcement that it will halt its US programme.

A judge sentenced Donald Trump to an unconditional discharge Friday for covering up hush money payments to a porn star despite the US president-elect's last-ditch efforts to avoid becoming the first felon in the White House.

Media outlets around the world have been left scratching their heads over the future of their fact-checking operations after Meta's shock announcement that it will halt its US programme.

Batoul Bsharat was playing with her eight-year-old brother Reda in their village in the occupied West Bank. Moments later an Israeli drone strike killed him and two of their cousins.

Wall Street stocks slid and the dollar climbed Friday as a blockbuster US jobs report dimmed hopes of further interest-rate cuts.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has said Rodrigo Bentancur is back home and doing fine after his concerning head injury during Wednesday's League Cup semi-final tie with Liverpool.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said Manchester United's famous "class of 92" group of former players will make "smart" decisions to help Salford City climb further up English Football League.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro is set to take the oath of office for a third six-year term Friday, shunned internationally over claims of voter fraud and repression but bolstered by a loyal military.

US job gains soared past expectations in December, according to government data released Friday, in a sign the labor market remains healthy just shortly before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration this month.

Britain's biggest gas supplier said Friday UK storage levels are "concerningly low" owing to high demand caused by freezing weather and after Ukraine ended Russian gas transit to Europe.

Fresh oil started pouring from a stricken Russian tanker in the Black Sea on Friday, said officials in Moscow, as Ukraine warned of "terrible environmental consequences" from the spill.

The weakening of Hezbollah in last year's war with Israel allowed Lebanon's long deadlocked parliament to reach consensus around a president who has the confidence of the international community.

An estimated 3.2 million children under the age of five are expected to face acute malnutrition this year in war-torn Sudan, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

England's upcoming Champions Trophy cricket match against Afghanistan should go ahead despite calls for a boycott over the Taliban's treatment of women, according to a senior British government minister.

Turkey's top diplomat ruled out any role for French troops in Syria Friday, saying Washington was its only interlocutor as US officials sought to head off Turkish military action against Kurdish fighters.

Toulouse captain Antoine Dupont on Friday "questioned the logic" behind South African sides playing in the Champions Cup as it forces teams to name second-string line-ups due to lengthy travel constraints.

The body of an Israeli hostage held captive by militants in Gaza since the October 7 attack has been identified after recovery of his remains, the military said on Friday.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot said Accrington Stanley's trip to Anfield in the FA Cup third round on Saturday will be the League Two side's "Champions League final".

Stock markets mostly retreated and the dollar steadied Friday as traders awaited key US jobs data for signals on the health of the world's largest economy and the outlook for interest rates.

From its founding in 1986, French video game maker Ubisoft has grown into a giant of the sector with operations in 20 countries and an uber popular franchise, "Assassin's Creed".