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The Miami Heat shrugged off the absence of star forward Jimmy Butler to crush the Chicago Bulls 112-91 in their play-in eliminator on Friday and earn a clash with the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Max Verstappen overcame early electrical gremlins to blast from fourth on the grid to an emphatic victory in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race Saturday, 13 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Max Verstappen won the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race Saturday ahead of Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez to increase his Formula One world championship lead.

Volkswagen workers in Tennessee voted decisively to become a union shop, according to election results released Friday, marking the first victory for organized labor at a foreign-owned auto plant in the American South.

When Russian troops deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh four years ago, their task was clear: keep the peace between bitter foes Armenia and Azerbaijan and prevent another war in the volatile region.

Hamas political leader Imsail Haniyeh will meet Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday with Middle East tensions at a high after Israel's reported attack on Iran and Gaza bracing for a new Israeli offensive.

Hong Kong's accounting regulator said it would start an investigation into PwC's role in auditing Chinese real estate giant Evergrande, citing the publication of a "whistle-blower report".

The Miami Heat shrugged off the absence of star forward Jimmy Butler to crush the Chicago Bulls 112-91 in their play-in eliminator on Friday and earn a clash with the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The United States agreed Friday to withdraw its more than 1,000 troops from Niger, officials said, upending its posture in West Africa where the country was home to a major drone base.

For centuries, farmers used almanacs to try to understand and predict weather patterns.

President Javier Milei's "chainsaw" approach to budget cuts have not only caused deep financial pain to many Argentines, but is also threatening the country's Oscar-winning culture scene, industry players say.

Terrorists, mafia bosses -- and Donald Trump. The common thread? When they go on trial, the jurors have such a tough task that they have to be kept anonymous for their own safety.

Thailand's Atthaya Thitikul and South Korea's Im Jinhee share the second round lead at the LPGA's Chevron Championship, the first women's major of the season, but record-hunting American Nelly Korda sits just one shot behind.

The bitcoin market on Friday engineered the "halving" of the reward for operating the cryptocurrency, a much-anticipated step designed to limit production and boost the digital money.

Waving banners and shouting "no to mining," environmental activists gathered in small boats on a lake between El Salvador and Guatemala on Friday calling for the closure of a Canadian-owned gold mine.

Masters contender Collin Morikawa shot a bogey-free five-under second round of 66 to join a four-way tie at the top of the leaderboard at the PGA Tour's RBC Heritage tournament on Friday.

Wesley Bryan held a one-stroke lead at the PGA Tour's Puntacana Championship after shooting a six-under 66 second round on Friday.

KL Rahul's solid 82 runs off 53 balls helped Lucknow Super Giants comfortably beat Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets in the IPL on Friday.

Togo lawmakers on Friday gave final approval to a constitutional reform switching to a parliamentary system that opposition parties say will allow President Faure Gnassingbe to extend his grip on power.

World number one and defending champion Iga Swiatek took her Stuttgart winning streak to 10 matches on Friday with a straight sets quarter-final victory over Emma Raducanu while title rivals Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff suffered shock defeats.

Donald Trump's unprecedented criminal trial is set for opening statements next week after final jury selection ended Friday, leaving the Republican presidential candidate facing weeks of hostile testimony that will overshadow his White House campaign.

The US House of Representatives is poised to hold a crucial vote on Saturday on a major aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan -- and a possible ban of TikTok.

Roma criticised on Friday Serie A's decision to stage the final 18 minutes of their match at Udinese, which was suspended after defender Evan Ndicka collapsed on the pitch, on April 25 as their domestic and European commitments pile up.

A soaring wave of gang violence in Haiti left 1,660 people dead and some 850 injured in the first three months of 2024, a UN report said Friday.

NATO must decide if it is Kyiv's ally, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday, urging defence ministers from the bloc's member states to step up arms deliveries to his struggling forces.

Researchers at Microsoft have revealed a new artificial tool that can create deeply realistic human avatars -- but offered no timetable to make it available to the public, citing concerns about facilitating deep fake content.

The mayor of a mining town in violence-riddled Ecuador was shot dead Friday, the second such killing in days ahead of a weekend referendum on tougher measures against organized crime, police said.

Roma's match at Udinese, which was suspended last weekend after defender Evan Ndicka collapsed on the pitch, will be finished on April 25, Serie A said on Friday.

Elon Musk on Friday came out against banning TikTok in the United States, even if it would mean less competition for his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, as the initiative sees fresh bipartisan momentum in Congress.

Thierry Neuville of Hyundai clung on to his lead in the Rally of Croatia despite a puncture as Toyota's Elfyn Evans won two late specials to draw level on time with the Belgian on Friday.

Donald Trump's unprecedented criminal trial is set for opening arguments next week after final jury selection ended Friday in proceedings overshadowed by a man setting himself on fire outside the Manhattan courthouse.

Deeper integration of the European Union's internal market could prove crucial for boosting lackluster economic growth and productivity levels in the 27-member trading bloc, a senior IMF official told AFP Friday.