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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.

Gunmen killed three people and wounded several more in Jerusalem on Thursday, Israeli police said, in an attack shortly after extension of a truce in the Israel-Hamas war.

The UN climate conference opened Thursday with nations urged to make faster cuts to planet-warming emissions and phase out fossil fuels as scepticism swirls over the oil-rich United Arab Emirates hosting the talks.

Google's position as king of the search engines is under threat like never before, but the firm's global policy chief told AFP this week it still had the edge over its AI competitors.

The German government on Thursday lost a key climate case brought by environmental groups, in an embarrassing slap down the day before Chancellor Olaf Scholz was due to travel to the COP28 climate summit.

The European Space Agency announced on Thursday that the long-delayed first launch of its next-generation Ariane 6 rocket will take place between June 15 and July 31 next year.

As global warming and prohibitive costs threaten the long-term future of the Winter Olympics, organisers know they must soften their demands in order to retain a pool of potential hosts for the decades to come.

Kazakhstan said Thursday that at least 13 people were killed in a fire that broke out at dawn in a hostel in the Central Asian country's largest city Almaty.

A German court on Thursday sentenced a Gambian man to life in prison over his participation in a death squad that assassinated opponents of former dictator Yahya Jammeh, including an AFP journalist.

Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque shared 85 runs in an unbroken third-wicket stand as Bangladesh reached 111-2 at tea on the third day of the first Test against New Zealand in Sylhet on Thursday.

China on Thursday hailed the late Henry Kissinger as an "old friend", paying tribute to a diplomat central to establishing ties between Beijing and Washington.

A 16-year-old amateur schoolgirl stole the show and a share of the lead at the Australian Open on Thursday, while in the men's event Cameron Davis was a stroke ahead after a flawless nine-under-par 63.

Chewing on psychoactive coca leaves in a traditional ritual, Colombian Indigenous leader Fabio Valencia seeks the advice of jungle spirits and ancestors about a project sold to his community as a planet-saving initiative.

Asian markets ticked higher Thursday, with focus on the release of key US inflation data that comes as traders ramp up bets the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next year.

Hours after the traumatic October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Michael and his wife knew they had to abandon their Tel Aviv home and flee to the nearest destination, Athens, for the sake of their family.

The UN's former climate chief said she was "giving up hope" that fossil fuel firms will be part of the solution to warming as pivotal COP28 talks start Thursday in oil-rich United Arab Emirates.

Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson shared a 52-run stand for the ninth wicket to give New Zealand a seven-run first-innings lead in the first Test in Sylhet on Thursday.

Starvation, torture, robbery -- young Ethiopian migrant "returnees" recount the horrors they endured on their fruitless journeys in search of a better life in the Gulf.

A truce between Israel and Hamas was extended on Thursday just before it was due to expire, the two sides announced, with mediator Qatar reporting it would continue for one day under the same conditions that saw hostages released in exchange for prisoners.

The UN climate conference opens in Dubai on Thursday with nations urged to increase the pace of action on global warming and phase out fossil fuels, amid intense scrutiny of oil-rich hosts UAE.

A truce between Israel and Hamas will continue, both sides said Thursday, moments before the deal was due to expire, though details of any official agreement remained unclear.

An Indian national has been charged with plotting to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader on US soil, the Justice Department said on Wednesday, alleging an Indian government official was also involved in the planning.

Abdullah was a well-known public figure in Afghanistan, a journalist and university lecturer respected by his readers and students.

A German court will announce on Thursday the verdict in the trial of a Gambian man accused of belonging to a death squad that assassinated opponents of former dictator Yahya Jammeh, including an AFP journalist.

The UN climate conference opens in Dubai on Thursday with nations under pressure to increase the urgency of action on global warming and wean off fossil fuels, amid intense scrutiny of oil-rich hosts UAE.

An LGBTQ couple has acquired a marriage certificate in Nepal, officials said Thursday, a first in South Asia and hailed by the pair as a win "for all".

HIV infections are soaring in the Philippines, with experts blaming online dating, poor sex education and conservative attitudes in the deeply religious country for fuelling the spread of the virus.

After three years in detention experiencing the "sea of misery" endured by women in Indian jails, one of the nation's best-known rights lawyers warns that society's prejudices are amplified behind bars.

The COP28 climate conference should aim for a complete "phaseout" of fossil fuels, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told AFP on Wednesday, warning of "total disaster" on humanity's current trajectory.

They are ambitious and relatively young leaders whose passionate views about running their large, powerful states offer contrasting ideals on how the deeply-polarized United States should be run.