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Wall Street stocks bounced higher at the start of trading on Friday, but European stock markets retreated as traders booked profits from a positive start to 2025.

Folk legend Neil Young has had a change of heart and will now headline at the Glastonbury music festival, the singer-songwriter and the organisers said Friday.

David Castera is of an age to have experienced the Dakar Rally in Africa and South America so who better than the Frenchman to be the race director, responsible for sketching out the race route in Saudi Arabia.

Paris Saint-Germain could lift their first silverware of the season when they play Monaco in the French Champions Trophy in Doha on Sunday, with the staging of the fixture in Qatar underlining the Gulf state's influence over football in France.

Lewis Hamilton said Friday he "could not be more excited for the year ahead" as the seven-times world champion prepares for his first Formula One season with Ferrari.

Pep Guardiola admits Manchester City have to "think" about the future of injury-hit midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who is out of contract at the end of the season.

President Joe Biden on Friday announced he has blocked the controversial $14.9 billion sale of US Steel to Japan's Nippon Steel, citing a strategic need to protect domestic industry.

Three police officers will be tried in Paris for the involuntary homicide of a man who repeatedly said "I'm suffocating" during his arrest in January 2020, a source close to the case told AFP Friday.

British novelist David Lodge, who was shortlisted for the Booker Prize twice, has died at the age of 89, his publisher said on Friday.

Indonesia experienced its hottest year on record in 2024, the country's weather agency said Friday, matching several other nations which have reported similar rises in temperature.

South Africa's Henk Lategan won the Dakar Rally prologue in the cars category Friday, kicking off the sixth edition in Saudi Arabia that will stretch nearly 8,000 kilometres across 12 stages.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said Friday he was unhappy about potentially losing key midfielder Dani Olmo because of the club's dire financial state, but optimistic the situation would be resolved successfully.

Former world number one Novak Djokovic's Australian Open preparations suffered a blow Friday as he was bundled out of the Brisbane International by towering American Reilly Opelka.

Two people in India set themselves on fire Friday to protest against the disposal of hazardous waste from the decades-old Bhopal industrial disaster, local government officials said.

A popular Indian food delivery app has started offering a private ambulance service, looking to use its logistics know-how to help bolster the country's patchy healthcare system.

Mikel Arteta says Arsenal must "flip that coin" as they hunt down Premier League leaders Liverpool in a quest to be crowned champions of England after two agonising near-misses.

European stock markets retreated Friday, as traders booked profits from a positive start to 2025 and awaited a full return to business next week.

World food commodity prices declined by 2.1 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year, the FAO said on Friday, but they remain considerably higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Saydnaya prison north of the Syrian capital Damascus has become a symbol of the inhumane abuses of the Assad clan, especially since the country's civil war erupted in 2011.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka stepped up her Australian Open preparations as she overpowered Marie Bouzkova in straight sets to reach the Brisbane International semi-finals on Friday.

The European Union backs a peaceful, inclusive transition in Syria, top French and German diplomats said Friday as they visited Damascus to meet with new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Arne Slot says crisis-hit Manchester United are "much, much better" than their shocking position in the Premier League suggests as he prepares his Liverpool team for a clash against their fierce rivals on Sunday.

Britain produced its cleanest electricity on record last year with output of fossil fuels at an all-time low and renewables reaching a record-high, a study has showed.

Karolina Muchova dismantled Jasmine Paolini in straight sets to help the Czech Republic beat Italy on Friday and set up a United Cup semi-final against the United States.

Rohit Sharma's omission from the fifth Australia Test on Friday was "emotional", wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant said, as former India coach Ravi Shastri predicted the skipper will "pull the plug" on his red-ball career.

China said on Friday it would take "all necessary measures" in response to the United States announcing it was considering restrictions on commercial Chinese drones for national security reasons.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit South Korea for talks next week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday, with the country mired in political turmoil as its impeached president resists arrest.

Thick smog blanketed Hanoi on Friday, obscuring buildings and leaving nine million residents choking on toxic air as the Vietnamese capital topped a list of the world's most polluted major cities.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is due to meet the French and German foreign ministers on Friday, in the highest-level visit by major Western powers under the new authorities in Damascus.

Russian teenage talent Mirra Andreeva and men's defending champion Grigor Dimitrov reached the Brisbane International semi-finals in contrasting fashion on Friday.

A relentless Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc sliced through an Indian batting line-up missing Rohit Sharma on Friday to put Australia in a commanding position after day one of the fifth and final Test.

US President Joe Biden has decided to block the proposed $14.9 billion purchase of US Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel and will announce the move as soon as Friday, according to US media.