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Spurred on by World Cup 2026 fever, US President Donald Trump said Friday that American football should be renamed as the game played with a round ball, soccer, was the one true football.

A day after a peace accord aimed at ending the conflict in DR Congo was signed, fresh fighting in the east on Friday forced hundreds of civilians to flee across the border into Rwanda for safety, AFP journalists witnessed.

Holders Argentina and leading contenders Spain and England were all handed kind draws for the 2026 World Cup in a star-studded ceremony on Friday which saw US President Donald Trump receive FIFA's new peace prize.

Streaming giant Netflix said Friday it will buy film and television studio Warner Bros. Discovery for nearly $83 billion, the entertainment industry's biggest consolidation deal this decade.

The deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Friday lashed out at US sanctions, arguing they effectively put top court officials on a par with "terrorists and drug traffickers".

Crime and immigration are the issues dominating Chile's presidential election runoff -- nowhere more so than in the northern border city of Arica, where residents say fear has replaced the calm they once knew.

A policeman has been charged with aggravated assault seven years after a young woman was beaten by more than a dozen officers at a demonstration in southern France, prosecutors said on Friday.

US consumer pricing and sentiment reports released Friday pointed to lingering questions about affordability as the calendar moves towards the peak of the festive season.

The boycotts already announced by four countries over Israel's participation in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest were casting a shadow Friday over the glitzy annual TV extravaganza and its spirit of unity.

The draw for the 2026 World Cup took place in Washington on Friday, with US President Donald Trump playing a prominent part in a star-studded ceremony that will map the path to glory for contenders at the first ever 48-team finals.

US President Donald Trump became the first ever recipient of FIFA's new peace prize at the 2026 World Cup draw Friday -- a compensation gift for a leader whose dream of winning the Nobel remains unfulfilled.

The European Union hit Elon Musk's X with a 120-million-euro ($140-million) fine Friday for breaking its digital rules, sparking an angry reaction from Washington.

An advisory panel appointed by the Trump administration's vaccine-skeptic health secretary voted Friday to stop recommending that all newborns in the United States receive a hepatitis B vaccine.

Series leader Lando Norris topped opening practice at the decisive season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Friday but the McLaren driver cautioned "there’s nothing to smile about just yet".

World stock markets gave a mixed picture Friday, with sentiment underpinned by hopes for sustained US central bank rate cuts, but nagging inflationary worries sparking some pre-weekend selling.

Previously unknown volcanic eruptions may have kicked off an unlikely series of events that brought the Black Death -- the most devastating pandemic in human history -- to the shores of mediaeval Europe, new research has revealed.

Unai Emery said the visit of Premier League leaders Arsenal on Saturday will be the acid test of Aston Villa's ambitions after his side stormed up to third in the table.

Samaila Livinus has kept his grief locked inside -- trying hard to be strong while awaiting news about his five-year-old son who is among hundreds snatched from their dormitories in one of Nigeria's worst mass kidnappings.

A Hermes handbag that once belonged to Jane Birkin was sold for $2.86 million (2.45 million euros) at auction in Abu Dhabi on Friday, just months after the record-breaking sale of her first bag from the French brand, Sotheby's said Tuesday.

A year after reopening to the public, Notre-Dame cathedral has drawn more than 11 million visitors, flocking to admire its restored pale stone and minimalist furnishings after the 2019 blaze that devastated the Paris landmark.

Olympic gymnastics champion Kaylia Nemour on Friday spoke of the humiliation and violence she endured on her path to gold.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday told a United Nations Security Council delegation his country does not want war with Israel, days after civilian representatives from both sides held their first talks in decades.

The French military used anti-drone measures after five unmanned vehicles flew over a closely guarded base housing nuclear ballistic submarines, a source told AFP Friday.

Signing an accord is one thing but actual implementation of a peace deal inked Thursday in Washington to end the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) promises to be highly complex amid ongoing intense fighting.

A treasure trove of 225 funerary figurines have been discovered inside a tomb in the ancient Egyptian capital of Tanis in the Nile Delta, a rare find that has also solved a long-running mystery.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry said that Israeli forces killed a man in the northern occupied West Bank on Friday.

McLaren boss Zak Brown on Friday confirmed his team will exercise team orders to secure the drivers' title in Sunday's decisive season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix if it becomes clear during the race that only one remains a contender.

World stock markets mostly rose Friday as investors speculated that the US central bank will cut rates not just this month, but ease monetary policy again throughout next year.

Series leader Lando Norris completed a 'double top' to boost his bid for a maiden drivers' world championship ahead of title rival Max Verstappen in Friday's twilight second practice for this weekend's decisive season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Japan's Mone Chiba moved into first ahead of world champion Alysa Liu after the Grand Prix Final short programme on Friday, as a tearful Kaori Sakamoto had a night to forget.

Meta announced Friday it will integrate content from major news organizations into its artificial intelligence assistant to provide Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users with real-time information.

Manchester United great Paul Scholes says Kobbie Mainoo is "being ruined" by his lack of chances under Ruben Amorim, suggesting his best option is to leave Old Trafford.