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Hotly anticipated gaming title "Elden Ring" debuts Friday, promising an intricate world crafted in collaboration with the author of "Game of Thrones," and offering high-level escapism for a crisis-hit world.

Test skipper Pat Cummins said on Friday his team were "comfortable" with security arrangements and excited by what lies ahead, as Australia prepare to jet into Pakistan on their first tour since 1998.

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.

The campaign for Brazil's October presidential elections has not yet officially started, but the candidates are already bending over backwards to woo a powerful constituency: Evangelical Christians.

At least two people died 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.

Invading Russian forces pressed deep into Ukraine as deadly battles reached the outskirts of Kyiv, with explosions heard in the capital early Friday that the besieged government described as "horrific rocket strikes".

DeMar DeRozan notched his eighth straight game with at least 35 points to power the Chicago Bulls to a 112-108 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday as the NBA returned to action after its All-Star break.

Refugees from Ukraine, including dozens of children and two women with their cats, camped overnight at a train station in neighbouring Poland after fleeing Russia's invasion on Thursday.

Australia on Friday pilloried China's failure to denounce the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as Beijing's "unacceptable" decision to ease restrictions on a key Russian export in the face of Western sanctions.

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's Sumatra island on Friday, the United States Geological Survey said, with residents sent fleeing from their homes.

In the stores and buses of Iraq masks are rare even as Covid-19 spreads widely, vaccines are viewed with suspicion and the sick see hospitals as a last resort.

Zhou Guanyu had his first official outing Thursday, on the final laps of his long journey to become the first Chinese Formula One driver.

Unbeaten France head to Murrayfield with an underdog mentality and a point to prove against bogey-side Scotland on Saturday as they continue their bid for a Six Nations Championship clean sweep.

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.

Sarel Erwee posted his maiden Test century as South Africa reached 163 for one at tea on day one of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch on Friday.

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios says he had suicidal thoughts, abused drugs and self-harmed during a dark period in his life in 2019.

Australia's rivalry with the All Blacks will be scaled back to two Tests each year from three, officials said Friday, as the Wallabies seek to play other countries.

As commodity prices soar, the Ukraine crisis has prompted demands from petroleum lobbies for a reboot of US energy policy to promote domestic oil and gas production.

Tributes flowed Friday after the shock death at 52 of Va'aiga Tuigamala, affectionately known as 'Inga the winger' to fans of both rugby union and rugby league.

"I used to repair car tires. Now I repair humans," boasts Jose Bastidas, an amputee who left his auto repair job to make artificial limbs in Venezuela, where the health system has all but collapsed.

Alex Len and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, the only two Ukrainian players in the NBA, released a statement Thursday condemning the Russian invasion of their homeland.

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has urged a US court to expedite her divorce, saying it would help husband Ye to accept the relationship is over.

Daniil Medvedev celebrated his rise to the world number one ranking with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Yoshihito Nishioka in the quarter-finals of the ATP Mexico Open on Thursday.

Japan will impose sanctions on Russia targeting semiconductor exports and financial institutions, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday after G7 leaders agreed to punish Moscow economically for invading Ukraine.

US actor and director Sean Penn is in Kyiv making a documentary about Russia's invasion, the Ukrainian president's office said Thursday.

US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced "severe" economic sanctions to make President Vladimir Putin a "pariah" for invading Ukraine, but conceded there was a lack of Western unity for enacting an even tougher measure.

Australian golf great Greg Norman has accused the PGA Tour of unfairly threatening its players in a bid to thwart a proposed Saudi-backed Super League, ESPN reported Thursday.

American Kurt Kitayama, seeking his first US PGA title, fired a six-under par 64 to seize a one-stroke lead through Thursday's opening round of the Honda Classic.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent oil prices above $100 a barrel and pummeled European equities on Thursday, while Wall Street stocks finished solidly higher after rebounding during the session.

Barcelona cruised into the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday after comfortably seeing off Napoli 4-2 to go through 5-3 on aggregate in a serious show of force.

The harsh sanctions the United States imposed on Russia Thursday cast a wide net and seek to cripple its financial and technology sectors, as well as punish the country's elites.

Barcelona's January signings shone as a 4-2 win at Napoli booked their place in the Europa League last 16, while Rangers held off a Borussia Dortmund fightback to progress after a 2-2 draw in Glasgow.