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Asian stocks sank Thursday, extending a rollercoaster week across world markets as investors jockey for position ahead of key US jobs data and oil struggled to bounce back after hitting a five-month low.

All Blacks playmaker Beauden Barrett said Thursday that he plans to "mentally refresh" during his season-long sabbatical in Japan before returning to play for New Zealand next year.

The outcome of the most important climate negotiations in years could rest on the ambiguity surrounding one linchpin term, according to experts: "unabated fossil fuels".

Any eventual agreement on a fossil fuel phase-out at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai must take into account "different national circumstances", South Africa's environment minister Barbara Creecy told AFP.

With short films centred on poverty, migration and love, Erenik Beqiri has helped draw the global spotlight to Albania's film industry by telling stories at the heart of the country's social and economic fault lines.

Israeli troops battled Hamas militants Thursday in the heart of southern Gaza's main city where a suspected mastermind of the October 7 attacks is believed to be hiding, while pressing their offensive across the besieged territory.

Luis Suarez scored twice in his farewell match for Gremio as the Brazilian side defeated Fluminense 3-2 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

EU President Ursula von der Leyen told Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday that the bloc and its biggest trading partner must address their differences, as they began the first in-person EU-China summit in over four years.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travels to Athens on Thursday in a keenly watched visit billed as an attempted "new chapter" between the NATO allies and historic rivals after years of tension.

Chinese exports rose in November for the first time in seven months, officials said Thursday, as the country navigates a troubled recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Germany's strict constitutional debt rule faces an overhaul after a shock court ruling blew a hole in the budget and left the government scrambling to make its sums add up.

European leaders met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday for talks dominated by divisions between the bloc and its largest economic partner over everything from trade to the war in Ukraine.

Indonesian authorities on Thursday said they had ended a search and rescue mission for any hikers missing or killed after a volcano eruption over the weekend that left 23 people dead.

Asian stocks sank Thursday, extending a rollercoaster week across world markets as investors jockey for position ahead of key US jobs data, while oil struggled to bounce back after hitting a five-month low.

Israeli troops battled Hamas fighters Thursday in the heart of southern Gaza's main city where a top militant leader is believed to be hiding, while pressing their offensive across the besieged territory.

McDonald's announced an aggressive expansion roadmap Wednesday to reach 50,000 restaurants worldwide by 2027, as the chain unveiled plans to roll out CosMc's, a new network of small-format shops focused on cold beverages.

Sat in a soggy field and strapped into a virtual reality headset, Ukrainian soldier Igor was piloting a military drone test flight using a small control panel in his hands.

It has been three decades since the seminal film "Strawberry and Chocolate" generated both ovations and tears, marking a before and an after in Cuban cinema.

New York's Metropolitan Museum has pulled the curtain back on its latest blockbuster exhibit, showcasing women couturiers many of whom have been kept in the shadows of obscurity until now.

Showstopper Nick Kyrgios and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu were notable absentees Thursday from the 2024 Australian Open entry list, but Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka are set for their Grand Slam comebacks.

Australia clinched a security deal with Papua New Guinea on Thursday, bolstering ties to a key Pacific neighbour that has been courted persistently by China.

The United States is imposing sanctions on 15 Mexican individuals accused of involvement in importing fentanyl into the country, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Wednesday, as Washington seeks to further the fight against the deadly substance.

A Guyanese army helicopter with seven people on board was reported missing Wednesday near the border with Venezuela, an official said, as tensions between the two neighbors soar over a disputed oil-rich territory.

Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, 85, was freed from prison on Wednesday after a court reinstated a pardon of his 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity.

European leaders will meet their Chinese counterparts in Beijing on Thursday for talks dominated by divisions between the bloc and its largest economic partner over everything from trade to the war against Ukraine.

Three people were killed and another critically injured in a shooting at a Las Vegas university on Wednesday, police said, with the suspect also dead.

Almost half the players who started the World Cup final including All Blacks captain Sam Cane will be in action when Japan's club rugby season kicks off this weekend.

Sam Curran bounced back with a match-winning bowling display as England scored a series-levelling six-wicket victory over the West Indies in the second One Day International in Antigua on Wednesday.

Jurgen Klopp blasted an "ignorant" television presenter for making a joke about Liverpool's next game after Wednesday's 2-0 win at Sheffield United being on a Saturday lunchtime.

Aston Villa beat champions Manchester City on Wednesday to extend their remarkable winning run at home as Liverpool closed to within two points of leaders Arsenal with victory at Sheffield United.

Rising Wallabies star Mark Nawaqanitawase is set to switch codes and join rugby league powerhouse Sydney Roosters, with the winger opting Thursday against a new contract with Rugby Australia.

Pep Guardiola admitted he has to "find a solution" to Manchester City's woes after the Premier League champions crashed to a damaging 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Wednesday.