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Luis Rubiales' lawyer asked a Spanish court on Wednesday to acquit the ex-football chief over the kiss he gave Jenni Hermoso on the lips in 2023 that sparked global outrage.

Hamas said Thursday it was committed to honouring a truce with Israel that has come under severe strain in recent days, adding that it planned to proceed with the next hostage-prisoner swap this weekend as planned.

Digital titans including Facebook and TikTok formally pledged to ramp up the fight against disinformation in the EU, Brussels said on Thursday, just days after the new US administration condemned the bloc's online content rules.

Blindsided Europeans warned Thursday that a "dirty deal" between US President Donald Trump and Moscow on ending the Ukraine war was doomed to fail -- insisting they and Kyiv must have a seat at the negotiating table.

Managers of a chemical plant accused of knowingly contaminating the water of hundreds of thousands of people are on trial in Italy, in one of Europe's biggest environmental disaster lawsuits.

French judicial authorities have charged the president of Paris Saint-Germain football club, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, with complicity in abuse of power concerning shareholder voting at a company, a source close to the case said Thursday.

An Afghan asylum seeker was arrested after a suspected car ramming attack injured at least 28 people in the southern German city of Munich on Thursday, police said.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in London on Thursday, in the latest sign of improving ties between the two countries.

McLaren put their 2025 Formula One car through its paces at Silverstone on Thursday, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri sharing driving duties in the MCL39.

Between parked cars in a suburban street in Athens, workers fix a pump to an ancient stone well that in turn accesses an aqueduct built almost 2,000 years ago.

While NATO countries living near the Russian border pay well over two percent of their GDP on defence, those further away pay less.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will try to rekindle his bromance with Donald Trump -- and avoid the US president's wrath on tariffs and immigration -- when they meet on Thursday at the White House.

Pesticides are significantly harming wildlife across the planet, stunting growth, damaging reproduction and even causing behavioural changes in animals not meant to be targeted, according to a large-scale study published on Thursday.

Major stock markets mostly rallied, while the dollar and oil prices retreated Thursday on hopes for an end to the war in Ukraine.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has been handed a two-match touchline ban following his red card as tensions flared at the end of a fiery 2-2 draw with Everton.

British consumer goods giant Unilever on Thursday announced falling net profits for 2024, hit by exiting Russia and other restructuring costs.

Versatile forward Tadhg Beirne has signed a two-year contract extension Ireland and Munster, the Irish Rugby Football Union announced on Thursday.

French video game workers on Thursday hit the pause button in a first-ever sector-wide walkout over conditions and job cuts.

Swiss food giant Nestle reported better-than-expected annual sales on Thursday, boosting its shares after the maker of Nescafe coffee, KitKat chocolate and Purina dog food hiked prices to offset inflation.

Italy's Federica Brignone laid down a near-faultless first run to lead standings in the women's giant slalom at the World Ski Championships in Saalbach on Thursday, as American Mikaela Shiffrin opted out of defending her title.

Britain's economy surprisingly picked up at the end of last year, official data showed Thursday, relieving some pressure on the Labour government as the country faces up to US tariffs.

Donald Trump's defence chief denied Thursday the US president was betraying Ukraine by opening talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin, as blindsided European powers insisted they and Kyiv must have a seat at the table.

Reigning world and Olympic champion Marco Odermatt will look to extend the Swiss men's dominance at the World Ski Championships in the giant slalom in Saalbach on Friday.

Jonas spent more than a year trying to reach Tunisia after escaping ethnic violence in his native Nigeria, but rising anti-migrant sentiment and a government crackdown in the North African country have left him without help.

Hamas said Thursday it was committed to honouring a truce with Israel that is facing its worst crisis since it took effect, and added that mediators were pushing for hostages to be released this weekend as planned.

For the young Russians who would once have turned out to Alexei Navalny street rallies in their thousands, the opposition leader's public legacy has faded fast in the year since his death.

Footage of a seemingly confused orangutan roaming the desolate site of an Indonesian coal mine, metres from excavators, has sparked renewed concern about the future of the critically endangered species.

Palestinian sources reported progress on Thursday in efforts to salvage the ceasefire in Gaza from its worst crisis yet, with a view to ensuring that Hamas releases Israeli hostages this weekend as planned.

Britain's economy picked up at the end of last year, official data showed Thursday, relieving some pressure on the Labour government as the country faces up to US tariffs.

German lender Commerzbank said Thursday it plans to cut about 3,900 jobs, around 10 percent of its workforce, seeking to fight off pressure for a tie-up from Italian bank UniCredit.

A suspected gas explosion in a Taiwan department store killed four people and left another "without vital signs", authorities said Thursday, with videos showing large pieces of debris raining on the street.

Ahmad Habibzi pauses to pray at the top of the halfpipe hill on a mountain at the Yabuli Ski Resort in northeastern China.