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Johnson & Johnson and three large drug distributors said Friday that opioid settlements worth nearly $25 billion had garnered enough support from opposing litigants to be finalized in court.

Liton Das struck a hundred and shared a record 202-run stand with Mushfiqur Rahim to set up an 88-run win for Bangladesh in the second one-day international against Afghanistan in Chittagong on Friday.

The Russian Grand Prix scheduled for September 25 has been cancelled in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the sport's owners Formula One announced on Friday.

Ukrainian authorities said Friday that radiation levels had increased in the Chernobyl exclusion zone and warned the seizure of the nuclear plant by invading Russian troops could have "terrible consequences."

Joey Carbery gets his second successive Six Nations start for Ireland in the home game against Italy on Sunday despite talismanic fly-half and captain Johnny Sexton being fully fit after a hamstring problem.

Ukrainian forces fought off Russian troops in the streets of the capital Kyiv on Friday as President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of targeting civilians and called for more international sanctions.

A number of prominent Russians are echoing a chorus of global celebrities condemning Moscow's war on Ukraine, with some already beginning to suffer the consequences for defying the Kremlin line.

The West has agreed an onslaught of sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but resistance from key EU nations fearful of severing their power sources has resulted in them holding off on banishing Moscow from the SWIFT banking transfer system.

British Airways has suspended flights to Moscow and re-routed planes flying over Russia after Moscow banned UK carriers due to the Ukraine crisis, parent group IAG said Friday.

Somalia on Friday extended its deadline to finish voting for the lower house of parliament, the latest in a series of election delays that risk starving the country of budget funds.

England remain hopeful that Manu Tuilagi could yet feature in this season's Six Nations after the centre's latest setback in an injury-blighted career ruled him out of Saturday's match against Wales.

The Russian Grand Prix scheduled for September 25 has been cancelled in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the sport's owners Formula One announced on Friday.

Global stocks rebounded slightly Friday on bargain hunting, one day after slumping as Russia invaded Ukraine, while oil declined from 2014 peaks.

Rights groups are urging Qatar to drop a case against a Mexican World Cup employee who could be sentenced to jail and a flogging after she reported an assault and was then charged with unmarried sex.

West Ham United will play Sevilla in the last 16 of the Europa League following Friday's draw which also saw Barcelona paired with Turkish giants Galatasaray and Rangers with former European Cup winners Red Star Belgrade.

Seven people died and dozens more were injured when a 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia's Sumatra island on Friday, with residents shuttling loved ones to safety as buildings crumbled around them.

A dead man in civilian clothes lay sprawled on the sidewalk of a residential neighbourhood in northern Kyiv on Friday, as Ukrainian soldiers took up positions under the cover of a two-story building.

Beijing's anti-graft body has criticised more than 20 state banks, regulators, insurers and bad-debt managers following an investigation into corruption and financial risks, citing "many outstanding problems" in their work.

Paris will host this season's Champions League final after Saint Petersburg was stripped of the match due to Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, UEFA announced on Friday.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is "justified" and demonstrates Moscow's position as a world power, Myanmar's junta said on Friday, backing its major ally and arms supplier.

Ukrainian forces fought off Russian invaders in the streets of the capital Kyiv on Friday as President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of targeting civilians and called for more international sanctions.

Daniil Medvedev, who has become only the third Russian to be crowned men's tennis world number one, said his sport was not important given his country's invasion of Ukraine.

With Russian forces in neighbouring Syria, Washington its unswerving ally and about a million citizens with ties to the former Soviet Union, Israel is seeking a delicate balance in the Ukraine crisis.

Hong Kong prisons on Friday reported a worsening coronavirus outbreak involving more than 200 inmates at a time when hundreds of political activists and protesters are being kept behind bars.

Equities bounced back Friday from the previous day's rout with investors taking their lead from a rally on Wall Street after Washington decided against imposing the stiffest sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Protesters took to the streets of the Philippine capital on Friday as church leaders called on the faithful to prevent a return to the abuses of the Ferdinand Marcos era on the anniversary of his ouster and months before a presidential election in which his son is heavily favoured.

A bold call by South Africa to bat first in the second Test against New Zealand paid dividends Friday with the tourists 238 for three, including a maiden century to Sarel Erwee, at stumps on day one.

Marilyn Baikie's remote Inuit community has more wisdom than they could ever want about ecological grief.

Disgusted with corruption and power-hungry politicians, Nebojsa Kalamanda is already planning his exit from Bosnia, leaving behind a broken political system and a stagnant economy.

The world has a rare opportunity to clean up the planet for future generations by uniting behind an ambitious treaty to tackle plastic trash, the UN environment chief told AFP.

World number three Alexander Zverev, who was thrown out of the Mexico Open at Acapulco this week after repeatedly smashing his racquet against the umpire's chair, was fined $40,000 by the ATP on Thursday.

Rivals Singapore and Hong Kong have become pandemic polar opposites, the former opting to live with the coronavirus and reopen to the world while the latter doubles down on zero-Covid and its international isolation.