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Oscar-winning British actor Maggie Smith, a star of stage and screen for more than seven decades, died in hospital in London on Friday, her sons announced, prompting a flood of tributes led by King Charles III.

A comet is expected to risk having its tail clipped on Friday by flying perilously close to the Sun, promising fireworks next month should it survive the fraught flypast.

New York Mayor Eric Adams pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of fraud and bribery in a case that marks a stunning downfall for a man once touted as a future Democratic Party star.

Liam Livingstone's stunning 62 not out took England to 312-5 in the fourth one-day international against world champions Australia at Lord's on Friday after skipper Harry Brook just fell short of completing successive hundreds.

Hurricane Helene killed at least 17 people and caused massive flooding across the southeast United States on Friday, knocking out power for millions of customers.

Nearly 3,000 people on Friday attended the funeral of a Paris student who was raped and murdered in a case that has inflamed a French debate on immigration after a Moroccan was named as the suspected attacker.

Pope Francis said Friday that the Catholic Church must "seek forgiveness" for the "scourge" of child sexual abuse, during a visit to Belgium where the clergy's dark past looms large.

Three climate activists on Friday threw soup over two Vincent van Gogh paintings at the National Gallery in London, just hours after two others were jailed for committing the same act two years ago.

Wimbledon have been given the green light to go ahead with their controversial plans to expand the historic venue for the grass-court Grand Slam.

Indian Premier League founder Lalit Modi has labelled the Hundred competition a "big fat Ponzi scheme", accusing English cricket chiefs of unrealistic financial projections.

Israel carried out air strikes on the south of Lebanon's capital Beirut that it said targeted Hezbollah's headquarters, moments after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep fighting the militant group.

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky held high-stakes talks Friday following a series of attacks by the White House hopeful on the Ukrainian president as the looming US election raises questions over long-term US support for its ally in its war with Russia.

Three Just Stop Oil (JSO) supporters on Friday threw liquid over two Vincent van Gogh paintings at London's National Gallery, just hours after two group activists were jailed for a similar act.

The death of 18-year-old Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer after a crash on Thursday at the World Junior Championships in Zurich is the latest in a long list of fatal racing accidents.

An Argentine judge has ordered the publishers of a major Spanish dictionary to remove a pejorative definition of the word "Jewish" from its listing, local media reported late Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep striking Hezbollah and fight "until victory" against Hamas, in an address to world leaders on Friday that defied calls for ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza.

Oscar-winning British actor Maggie Smith, a star of stage and screen for more than seven decades, died in hospital in London on Friday, her sons announced, prompting a flood of tributes.

A paramilitary attack on a market in the Sudanese city of El-Fasher killed 18 people, a medical source told AFP on Friday, after world leaders appealed for an end to the country's wartime suffering.

Maggie Smith, who died on Friday aged 89, was an Oscar-winning legend of stage and screen, renowned for playing wide repertoire of characters during a decades-spanning career and personifying a particular kind of English eccentricity.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he still "loves" Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola despite last weekend's bad-tempered top-of-the-table clash.

Swiss teenage cyclist Muriel Furrer died on Friday a day after suffering a serious head injury in a crash at the world championships.

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has revealed Son Heung-min is fighting to prove his fitness for Sunday's clash with Manchester United.

Oscar-winning British actor Maggie Smith, a star of stage and screen for more than seven decades, died in hospital in London on Friday, her sons announced.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said on Friday he believes honesty is the best policy as he tries to keep his bloated squad happy.

New York's scandal-plagued Mayor Eric Adams arrived in court Friday where he was due to answer multiple fraud and bribery charges that have shocked the city.

The heirs of a prolific Dutch art collector are demanding that one of the country's top museums return 25 paintings, including eight works by Rembrandt, because they are not on permanent display.

An inflation metric closely watched by the US Federal Reserve crept lower Friday, according to government data, supporting the central bank's decision earlier this month to begin cutting interest rates -- ahead of November's presidential election.

Stock markets rose Friday as slowing US and European inflation raised hopes of more aggressive interest rate cuts and China took measures to boost its struggling economy.

A UK judge on Friday jailed two climate activists who threw soup at Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" at London's National Gallery in 2022 for terms of two years and 20 months respectively.

A South African woman celebrated her 118th birthday Friday as one of the oldest people in the world with a small party at her care home.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri will miss the rest of the season due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury, manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday.

Hurricane Helene knocked out power for millions of customers across the southeast United States on Friday and left at least four dead after it slammed into the Florida coast.