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At least 26 soldiers have been killed in war-torn Syria's east, a monitor said on Friday, the deadliest in a new wave of attacks blamed on Islamic State group jihadists.

Stock markets dropped Friday after US and UK data pointed to the possibility of more interest-rate hikes this year from the Federal Reserve and Bank of England.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp confirmed on Friday the Reds have reached an agreement with Brighton for the transfer of Moises Caicedo, for a reported British record fee of £110 million ($140 million, 127 million euros).

Hospital doctors in England on Friday launched their latest walkout as the government said their strike to demand a 35-percent pay increase served "only to harm patients".

The number of new Covid-19 cases reported worldwide rose by 80 percent in the last month, the World Health Organization said on Friday, days after designating a new "variant of interest".

A new name will be engraved on the Women's World Cup after Sweden clung on to defeat the 2011 champions Japan 2-1 on Friday, with Spain awaiting in the semi-final.

Ekolu Brayden Hoapili and his girlfriend escaped the flames that destroyed the Hawaiian town of Lahaina by car, but cannot shake the images of destruction they saw in the rearview mirror.

More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Channel on small boats from France to southeast England since Britain began publicly recording the arrivals in 2018, official figures revealed on Friday.

A rubber dinghy brings back dozens of people from one of six boats the Tunisian coastguard intercepted in a 24-hour period off Sfax, a migrant launchpad for Europe.

Indonesia's government on Friday blamed a pollution spike in traffic-clogged capital Jakarta on weather patterns and vehicle emissions after the city topped global rankings four days this week.

South Africa's former president Jacob Zuma reported back to prison on Friday only to be swiftly released, in a government move lashed by the opposition as a "monumental insult" to the public.

Amanda Ilestedt scored her fourth goal of the tournament and Filippa Angeldal netted a penalty as Sweden hung on to beat Japan 2-1 on Friday and set up a Women's World Cup semi-final with Spain.

Cecelia Johnson has voted in five Liberian presidential elections and lived through two brutal civil wars, but the 65-year-old small trader says the past few years have been some of the toughest, economically, in memory.

Goalkeeper Mary Earps said the "best is yet to come" from England despite losing Lauren James for two Women's World Cup games starting with the quarter-final on Saturday against Colombia.

Equity markets mostly fell Friday as a below-forecast US inflation reading boosted hopes the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates next month but did little to dispel fears it could hike later in the year.

A terrifying wildfire that left a historic Hawaiian town in charred ruins has killed at least 55 people, authorities said Thursday, making it one of the deadliest disasters in the US state's history.

Australia skipper Sam Kerr will start against France in Saturday's Women's World Cup quarter-final if fully fit after a calf injury, coach Tony Gustavsson said.

Equity markets mostly fell Friday as a below-forecast US inflation reading boosted hopes the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates next month but did little to dispel fears it could hike later in the year.

France coach Herve Renard is confident playing against "an entire nation" will bring out the best in his team when they face Australia in the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup in Brisbane on Saturday.

Retiring Stefanie van der Gragt "deserves a statue", coach Andries Jonker said, after her career came to an end with the Netherlands' 2-1 defeat to Spain in the World Cup quarter-finals Friday.

Andries Jonker called Spain the team to beat at the Women's World Cup after his Netherlands side lost 2-1 in extra time in their quarter-final on Friday.

Tens of thousands of scouts are set to gather for a massive K-pop festival in Seoul on Friday, as South Korea seeks to salvage a problem-plagued jamboree with "the power of Korean culture".

The death toll from record-breaking rains across northern China rose to at least 78 on Friday, as authorities warned of more flooding and another storm approached the country.

Beneath the turquoise waters of Lake Ohrid, the "Pearl of the Balkans", scientists have uncovered what may be one of Europe's earliest sedentary communities, and are trying to solve the mystery of why it sheltered behind a fortress of defensive spikes.

On a bright Saturday in August almost 25 years ago, Kevin Skelton was rejoining his family shopping for new school shoes in Omagh's town centre when a massive bomb went off.

Teenager Salma Paralluelo scored an extra-time winner as Spain beat the Netherlands 2-1 to reach the Women's World Cup semi-finals for the first time Friday and a clash with Japan or Sweden.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government watered down its surprise windfall tax on banks this week after a brutal market reaction, but the damage to investor confidence was done.

With the rising profile of the women's game, rugby is showing itself to be a sport that can step away from the traditional stereotype of knuckle-dragging neanderthals.

Spain reached the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup for the first time with a 2-1 win over the Netherlands in extra time, with Sweden and Japan playing later Friday for the right to face them.

Tourists fleeing Hawaii's deadly wildfire told Thursday how they had been trapped without food and power for days, but felt lucky to be escaping somewhere that "looks like a warzone."

Teenager Salma Paralluelo hit an extra-time winner as Spain beat the Netherlands 2-1 at the Women's World Cup on Friday to set up a semi-final clash with Japan or Sweden.

California authorities took a major step forward Thursday in expanding driverless taxi services in San Francisco, giving the green light for operators Waymo and Cruise to compete with ride-share services and cabs.