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The El Nino weather pattern picked up strength over the past month and is highly likely to "rank among the largest" ever recorded when it peaks between October and December, US forecasters said Thursday.

The World Cup has sparked a surge of interest in football -- or soccer as most New Yorkers call it -- but exposed a shortage of pitches in the city for both established players and converts to the beautiful game.

Jorge Jesus is set to be appointed Portugal coach after Roberto Martinez stepped down in the wake of their World Cup exit, a source told AFP on Thursday.

Fendi celebrates the first haute couture show by newly seated designer Maria Grazia Chiuri in its home city of Rome on Thursday, along with a homage to longtime couturier Karl Lagerfeld.

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo is the "fastest growing" ever, African health authorities said Thursday, as the World Health Organization said it had killed 600 people.

Stock markets were steadier Thursday as investors rediscovered their appetite for tech stocks and largely ignored sabre-rattling between the United States and Iran.

What does a world leader do with a gun and six bullets? That was the conundrum NATO leaders faced after the Turkish president offered them each a revolver after the Ankara summit.

Hong Kong resident Joe Lam was finally able to sit with his pet poodle Glutinous Rice inside an air-conditioned cafe on Thursday, as the city allowed dogs to enter restaurants for the first time in decades.

Volkswagen workers staged protests nationwide Thursday as unions warned of "major conflict" if the struggling German car giant pushes ahead with what could be the global auto industry's biggest restructuring.

England have recalled Henry Slade for their crucial Nations Championship clash against Fiji in Liverpool on Saturday as coach Steve Borthwick bids to avoid a sixth straight defeat.

New fighting erupted between the United States and Iran hours ahead of the burial of longtime supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday, with Tehran targeting US allies in the region and American strikes hitting the perimeter of an Iranian nuclear power plant.

The world's chemical weapons watchdog reinstated Syria on Thursday, noting a "significant change in circumstances" since the fall of Bashar al-Assad and "concrete steps" to dismantle his deadly stockpile of banned substances.

Harlequins lock Guido Petti will become the sixth Argentina player to reach 100 caps when he starts against Wales in the Nations Championship this weekend in San Juan, the Argentine Rugby Union announced on Thursday.

Barry Callebaut, one of the world's biggest chocolate makers, signalled Thursday that chocoholics are starting to replenish their stocks after being stung by inflation.

French skipper Alexia Barrier is set to make history when she competes in the transatlantic single-handed Route du Rhum yacht race in November.

Two thirds of the European Union's population may have been exposed to harmful levels of ozone pollution during last month's record-breaking heatwave, a report exclusively shared with AFP warned Thursday.

Oil prices, stock markets and the dollar were steadier Thursday as investors assessed the outlook for Middle East peace efforts after the US and Iran exchanged fresh strikes.

The Russian athletics federation announced Thursday they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) challenging World Athletics extending the blanket ban on their track and field athletes.

Italy on Thursday ordered the expulsion of two Russian military attaches accused of spying, with its foreign minister condemning "serious and unacceptable acts of interference" by Moscow.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has now claimed 600 lives, figures published by the World Health Organization showed Thursday -- only three days after the figure topped 500.

German exports unexpectedly rose in May, their fourth straight monthly increase, official data showed Thursday, as Europe's biggest economy defied headwinds from the Iran war.

The United States and Iran traded new strikes on Thursday that killed several people in the Islamic republic as Iranian authorities prepared for the burial of longtime supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler, best known for her powerful, haunting love song "Total Eclipse of the Heart" has died aged 75 in hospital in Portugal, her family announced Thursday.

Thousands of fans attended a Kabul funeral Thursday for Afghan fast bowler Shapoor Zadran, who helped shape the country's early rise in international cricket.

Myanmar has appointed former North Korea coach Jorn Andersen to lead its men's national football team, the country's football federation said on Thursday.

Oil prices fell Thursday, clawing back some of the previous day's surge, as investors assessed the outlook for Middle East peace talks after the US and Iran exchanged fresh strikes and Donald Trump said their ceasefire was over.

Star fly-half Finn Russell returns to the Scotland team for a Nations Championship match against world champions South Africa in Pretoria on Saturday.

The death toll from devastating floods in southern China's Guangxi region rose to 39 on Thursday, with nine people still missing, state media reported, as residents went about cleaning up.

When reigning champion Tadej Pogacar took the race leader's yellow jersey at the Tour de France on Monday when he blitzed to victory in the third stage, it looked as though he would keep it all the way to Paris.

Italy recalled fullback Tommaso Allan and wing Louis Lynagh on Thursday for their Nations Championship match against New Zealand, two of three changes to the side that started the opening defeat to Japan.

Oil prices dipped Thursday after the previous day's surge as Donald Trump said the US ceasefire with Iran was over and ordered fresh strikes against the country following attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt admitted he was "apprehensive" Thursday after naming rookie Declan Meredith as his starting fly-half against France with Carter Gordon and Ben Donaldson both ruled out with injuries.