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Aliens, gladiators, women on the run, and now Napoleon -- Ridley Scott is a master of the modern screen epic.

Rocked gently on his mother's knees, a fly on his nose, a baby sleeps fitfully in a tent in a barren border camp as his family prepares to leave the waypoint to rebuild their lives in Afghanistan.

Joaquin Phoenix said he was surprised to discover a version of Napoleon who was more like a soppy "teenager in love" than an all-conquering commander as he researched his epic new role.

Jimmy Butler scored 36 points to help the Miami Heat shake off a slow start and beat the Brooklyn Nets 122-115 on Thursday, pushing their NBA winning streak to seven games.

Formula One's push to conquer America enters a new phase this weekend as the sport brings its high-octane show to the neon lights of the Las Vegas strip.

Apple has coughed up another huge pile of cash to make "Napoleon", the latest epic from director Ridley Scott that hits cinemas around the world next week, with Joaquin Phoenix donning the tricorn hat of the French emperor.

"The Taste of Things" is France's entry for the Oscars, a beautifully shot homage to love and the country's gastronomic heritage with two of its biggest stars -- what's not to love?

Asian stocks fell Friday as a rally fuelled by the likely end of US interest rate hikes ran out of puff, while Alibaba dragged Hong Kong down after saying it would cancel the planned spinoff of its cloud computing arm.

Luis Diaz scored a fairytale second-half double to fire Colombia to a 2-1 upset over Brazil on Thursday, capping a roller coaster month that saw his father kidnapped by guerrillas for 12 days.

Two of French rugby's in-form sides meet in the Top 14 on Saturday as leaders Stade Francais host Racing 92, although South Africa's two-time World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi is not expected to make his debut for another week.

Life after Gareth Bale appeared bleak for Wales, but Rob Page's men have the chance of a third consecutive appearance at the European Championship in their own hands after a remarkable turnaround in Euro 2024 qualifying.

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann takes charge of his first match on home soil in Saturday's friendly against Turkey in Berlin, promising improvements in defence seven months from hosting Euro 2024.

The UN's top court will Friday rule on a long-running clash between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which Baku seized in September in a lightning offensive.

Shares in Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba tanked more than seven percent at the Hong Kong open Friday after the firm's surprise decision to call off part of its high-profile restructuring because of the US-China chip war.

Uruguay ended Argentina's 14-match unbeaten streak with a 2-0 victory over the world champions in World Cup qualifiers on Thursday as Luis Diaz scored twice to fire Colombia to an emotional 2-1 win over Brazil.

US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping made rival bids to win over Asia-Pacific allies at a summit in San Francisco Thursday, just a day after the two leaders met in a bid to reduce tensions between the superpowers.

Australia coach Graham Arnold said it has been "quite stressful" preparing to play Palestine next week against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas conflict, but hopes football can bring some joy.

Colombian singer Karol G won the coveted Album of the Year award for her LP "Manana sera bonito" at Thursday's Latin Grammy Awards, the first ever held outside the United States.

Raghad Qassem searched all over Iraq's capital Baghdad for a psychologist she could talk to about her problems, before finally settling for consultations online.

Argentina, which holds a presidential runoff on Sunday, was one of the world's richest countries a century ago.

Israeli troops carried out building-by-building searches at Gaza's main hospital, as a new communications blackout in the territory on Friday compounded fears for Palestinian civilians trapped inside the facility.

British newspaper The Guardian has removed from its website a 21-year-old message written by Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, after it was shared several million times on social media.

Argentines head to the polls Sunday in a down-to-the-wire race between two wildly different presidential candidates, with many frozen by indecision over which choice will rescue them from triple-digit inflation.

The use of stop-gap funding measures to keep the US government open amid frequent political squabbles over how to tackle rising national debt carries long-term risks for the world's largest economy.

IBM on Thursday said it has stopped advertising on X due to a report its ads were shown next to pro-Nazi posts at the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani won the American League Most Valuable Player award Thursday, becoming the first to twice claim the honor by unanimous vote.

The Public Prosecutor's Office ratcheted up a battle with incoming president-elect Bernardo Arevalo on Thursday, calling on the Supreme Court to strip him of immunity for damages resulting from a 2022 protest at a university.

Late birdies lifted Cameron Young and Davis Thompson into a share of the clubhouse lead alongside rookie Eric Cole on Thursday in the rain-disrupted first round of the PGA Tour RSM Classic.

Workers at General Motors have voted to ratify a new labor contract with sweeping pay increases, according to figures published Thursday, a landmark step after a major auto industry strike this year.

US President Joe Biden scored key wins in a long-awaited summit with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping but the stability could be short-lived with a potentially tumultuous year ahead that includes Taiwanese and US elections.

Novak Djokovic's bid for a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals title will continue after Jannik Sinner beat Holger Rune 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 and capped a perfect Thursday in which he became the first Italian to reach the semi-finals.

Hungary and Slovakia booked their tickets for Euro 2024 on Thursday while 16-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal scored again for already-qualified Spain.