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Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina urged people to vote on Thursday in a highly contested presidential election in which he is seeking a new term, and slammed an opposition call to boycott the polls.

Australia fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood took two wickets each to rip through South Africa's top order in the second World Cup semi-final on Thursday.

German industrial giant Siemens on Thursday gave a cautious sales forecast for 2024, after netting a record profit in the previous financial year driven by its digital division.

A Japanese man was arrested on Thursday after crashing a car through a barrier near the Israeli embassy in Tokyo, police said.

Spade in hand, Dutch organic farmer Piet Glas strolls off with his Jack Russell terrier Ollie to hunt mice nesting in a nearby apple orchard.

Most markets fell Thursday as investors took a breather and cashed in on a recent rally, though analysts said the outlook was bright, even as data pointed to a soft landing for the world's top economy.

Along the picturesque shores of Lake Ohrid, things have taken on a frantic pace at the Lin Hatchery in Albania's Pogradec, as a team of specialists races to release the final batch of newly spawned trout this season.

Most Asian markets fell Thursday as investors took a breather and cashed in on a recent rally, though analysts said the outlook was bright, even as data pointed to a soft landing for the world's top economy.

Fiery Australian Nick Kyrgios said he is doing everything he can to get back on court and is taking inspiration from Alexander Zverev in his recovery from serious injury.

China is "ready to be a partner and friend of the United States," President Xi Jinping told US business leaders on Wednesday, as concerns mount over the country's slowing economy.

Pedro Sanchez is poised to win the backing on Thursday of Spain's parliament for another term as prime minister, with the country divided over his decision to grant Catalan separatists an amnesty in exchange for their crucial support in a vote of confidence.

A US entertainment news site has sparked anger and drawn ridicule after an apparent K-pop blunder, posting a photo of BTS megastar Jimin instead of a Korean actress with the same name.

Dutch voters head to the polls next week for a knife-edge election that will transform the country's political landscape, with surveys showing the race is too close to call.

Formula One world champion Max Verstappen has blasted this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix as "99 percent show" and says he isn't looking forward to the race.

Indian rescuers said Thursday that a powerful new drilling machine had been deployed as efforts to free 40 workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel entered their fifth day.

Refugee goalkeeper Pyae Lyan Aung fears for his safety if he returns home to Myanmar but he says he has no regrets about raising an anti-junta salute before a game two years ago.

Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after a car crashed through a barrier near the Israeli embassy in Tokyo, local media reported.

More than half a million students in South Korea are sitting the crucial national university entrance exam on Thursday, with authorities set to take extraordinary measures including halting flights to minimise distraction.

Polls opened on Thursday in Madagascar's presidential election, which is being boycotted by most opposition candidates over concerns about the vote's integrity.

Netflix's acclaimed series "The Crown" chronicling the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, draws to a close from Thursday, focusing on a subject still highly sensitive to the British monarchy -- the death of Princess Diana.

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to restore military communications at their first summit in a year Wednesday, even as Biden went off script by saying he still considered Xi a "dictator."

Australia's online safety watchdog said Thursday it was being taken to court by Elon Musk's X in a fight over the platform's failure to outline how it combats child sexual abuse content.

Being a head of state is a busy job and family life sometimes takes a back seat. Luckily there are other heads of state on hand to remind you when you might have forgotten your wife's birthday.

Israel renewed its operation at Gaza's largest hospital Thursday, targeting what it maintains is a Hamas command centre concealed in a complex sheltering more than 2,000 civilians.

Unidentified men approach from the river.

How was the air breathed by Caesar, the Prophet Mohammed or Christopher Columbus? A giant freezer in Copenhagen holds the answers, storing blocks of ice with atmospheric tales thousands of years old.

Asian markets fell Thursday as investors took a breather and cashed in on a recent rally, though analysts said the outlook was bright, even as data pointed to a soft landing for the world's top economy.

Five-time Olympic gold medalist Elaine Thompson-Herah has split with her coach, eight months before she attempts to defend her sprint titles at the 2024 Paris Games, her agent said Wednesday.

Many in the majority-Jewish Canadian town of Hampstead worried about the potential for unrest tied to the Israel-Hamas war, but residents of the small Quebec community have been startled by the scale of the outbreak of anti-Semitic incidents in recent weeks.

After living and working in Russia for the last decade, Tajik construction worker Zoir Kurbanov recently decided it was time to head home.

US President Joe Biden hailed his "most constructive" talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday, as they agreed at their first summit in a year to restore military-to-military communications and ease tensions.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned US President Joe Biden at a summit to stop arming Taiwan, but agreed to restart high-level military-to-military talks, Beijing said Thursday.