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More than two million people across the Horn of Africa have been forced from their homes by torrential rains and floods, according to an AFP tally compiled Thursday from government and UN figures.

Former New Zealand second-row Sam Whitelock said on Thursday he hopes to find a positive side to last month's Rugby World Cup final defeat after arriving at French Top 14 club Pau on a two-year deal.

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall has criticised the "shameful" treatment of Owen Farrell after the England fly-half opted to take a break from international rugby for mental health reasons.

Militant group Hamas released two more Israeli women hostages on Thursday with more Palestinian prisoners to be freed under an extended truce that has paused weeks of deadly conflict.

Visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli leaders on Thursday that a temporary truce in their war with Hamas was "producing results" and should continue.

President Joe Biden's administration on Thursday announced it would require the removal of the nation's remaining lead pipes within a decade, preventing an estimated 22 million people from potential exposure to the toxic metal in their drinking water.

Major oil-producing nations led by Riyadh and Moscow were moving towards an agreement to further slash production to prop up volatile prices, a source close to the negotiations told AFP.

Bangladesh on Thursday named batsman Najmul Hossain Shanto as the country's one-day international and Twenty20 international captain for a tour of New Zealand next month.

A drop in inflation in Europe and the United States sent stocks climbing on Thursday, boosting expectations that the US Fed and ECB may be able to soon cut interest rates.

More than 400 oil and gas projects were approved globally in the last two years despite calls to abandon all new hydrocarbon development, new figures showed as the UN COP28 climate talks opened Thursday.

Nearly 200 nations agreed Thursday to launch a fund to support countries hit by global warming, in a "historic" moment at the start of UN climate talks in the oil-rich UAE.

A key inflation measure used by the US Federal Reserve to set interest rates eased further last month amid declining energy and goods prices, according to government data published Thursday.

Russia on Thursday banned the "international LGBT movement," claiming it was an extremist group in a move that cements a long crackdown on the community as the Kremlin pushes ultra-conservative social values.

Pope Francis, who cancelled his trip to the United Nation climate talks due to flu, urged participants Thursday to reject "vested interests" and focus on the common good.

Shane MacGowan, songwriter and lead singer of Celtic folk-punk band The Pogues, has died aged 65 after a long illness, his wife announced Thursday.

The Red Cross, which has faced criticism for not doing enough for hostages and prisoners in the Gaza conflict, stresses it has no "superpowers" and relies on the warring parties for access.

Australia Test bowler Nathan Lyon has joined Lancashire for the 2024 season, the English county announced on Thursday.

The Palestinian group Hamas said its militants carried out a shooting in Jerusalem on Thursday, killing three people despite agreeing to extend for a day a truce in Gaza and to release at least 10 more Israeli hostages.

Alistair Darling, the UK finance minister when the 2008 financial crisis hit, has died at the age of 70 following a "short spell" in hospital, his family said on Thursday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday visited a frontline command post in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have been stepping up attacks after holding back a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Hamas claimed responsibility for a shooting attack in Jerusalem that killed three people on Thursday, shortly after the extension of a truce between Israel and the Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip.

Shane MacGowan, the singer-songwriter who fronted Celtic folk-punk band The Pogues, was a booze-fuelled bard who performed defiant ballads of the downtrodden and doomed.

The Emirati host of the UN climate conference said Thursday that fossil fuels must be part of any deal as the crucial negotiations on global warming opened in Dubai.

Pope Francis joked on Thursday that he was still alive, after cancelling a trip to United Nations climate talks in Dubai due to the flu, saying doctors were worried about the heat there.

French Top 14 club Stade Francais announced on Thursday they had disciplined players and coaches after a member of Pau's coaching staff was reportedly hit in the face after last weekend's game between the teams.

The RMT rail union on Thursday said its members have voted in favour of a pay deal to end more than a year of walkouts on the UK's strike-plagued rail network.

Stock markets rose Thursday before publication of key US inflation data and as investors reacted to mixed economic news out of the eurozone.

Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto hit his third Test century in four innings to put Bangladesh on course for a strong total in the second innings of the first Test against New Zealand in Sylhet on Thursday.

Uncertainty hovered over what major oil-producing nations -- collectively known as OPEC+ -- will decide on output policy as they headed into virtual meetings Thursday in a bid to halt a continuous slump in prices.

This year is set to be the hottest ever recorded, the UN said Thursday, demanding urgent action to rein in global warming and stem the havoc following in its wake.

The annual rate of inflation in the eurozone fell to a more than two-year low in November, the EU's official statistics agency said Thursday.

Israel and Hamas extended their truce by another day on Thursday as Washington's top diplomat arrived to urge a more lasting break in the devastating conflict.