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Rice prices in Japan soared 90.7 percent in July year-on-year, official data showed Friday, but the rate of increase slowed from previous months offering some relief for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Asian markets were mostly up Friday morning ahead of a pivotal speech by the US central bank chief, expected to shed light on possible interest rate cuts in the world's top economy.

Kevin De Bruyne will lead Napoli's Serie A title defence on Saturday when he makes his full debut at promoted Sassuolo, but the champions head into the new season rocked by a long-term injury to star striker Romelu Lukaku.

Fly-halves Handre Pollard of South Africa and Tomas Albornoz of Argentina have received rave reviews ahead of crucial Rugby Championship second-round matches on Saturday.

A crisis is never far away at Marseille but the speed at which things have unravelled for the French giants at the start of this season is unprecedented.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow on Thursday of shirking a meeting between him and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, despite US-led attempts to arrange a summit to end the war.

Decades after Pakistani troops killed his friends in Bangladesh's independence war, veteran freedom fighter Syed Abu Naser Bukhtear Ahmed eyes warming ties between Dhaka and Islamabad with cautious pragmatism.

China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, according to military documents obtained by AFP.

Rights groups are questioning a multimillion-dollar arms sale by the United States to Nigeria as security forces in the west African nation continue to be accused of killing civilians with impunity.

A curious bear on the hunt for something sweet found itself behind the counter of a California ice cream shop over the weekend.

Novak Djokovic hopes a selective approach to his scheduling will give him the best chance to win the US Open in his unrelenting pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka believes she is ready to hit her peak as she prepares to launch the defence of her US Open crown after a tumultuous season of near-misses.

Meta has made a cloud computing deal with Google worth more than $10 billion over the course of six years, a source close to the transaction told AFP Thursday.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will be aiming to write another chapter of their blockbuster rivalry when the US Open men's singles gets under way on Sunday.

Rich people are flocking to Dubai in record numbers, drawn to the desert city by its zero income tax policy and easy luxury lifestyle that has become harder to maintain elsewhere.

Japan's Akie Iwai, riding high after winning her first LPGA title in Portland, fired seven birdies in a seven-under par 65 on Thursday to seize a two-shot first-round lead at the Canadian Women's Open.

Argentine and Chilean football fans traded blame on Thursday after a pitched battle in a Buenos Aires stadium involving knives, sticks and stun grenades, which left 19 people injured, three seriously.

Some armed Palestinian groups in Lebanese refugee camps began handing over their weapons to the authorities on Thursday after reaching a deal earlier this year, with Washington hailing the move as a "historic step".

Colombian authorities said five people were killed and dozens more injured when a truck bomb tore through a busy street in the city of Cali on Thursday, deepening the country's most serious security crisis in decades.

Russell Henley rode a hot putter to a nine-under par 61 and a two-shot lead over top-ranked Scottie Scheffler on Thursday at the US PGA Tour Championship, where a star-studded field is chasing a $10 million top prize.

A divided US Supreme Court gave the Trump administration the green light on Thursday to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants linked to diversity initiatives.

Images of a fan jumping from the stands to escape a beating as bottles, rocks and seats fly through the air at a game between Chilean and Argentine clubs in Buenos Aires on Wednesday highlight the enduring problem of violence in Latin American football.

A nearly naked Lil Nas X was picked up by police Thursday after being found wandering through Los Angeles in just his underwear and a pair of white cowboy boots.

Republican-controlled Texas and Democratic-run California were set Thursday to forge ahead on creating new congressional maps, in a cutthroat struggle to tilt the outcome of next year's US midterm elections before voters even cast a ballot.

United States captain Kate Zackary has told her side to "shoot for the stars" when they begin their Women's Rugby World Cup campaign in the most daunting way possible against host nation England.

Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze appeared to be moving closer to a transfer to Arsenal worth a reported £60 million ($81 million) after the England international was left out of the Eagles' team for their European tie on Thursday.

Google will provide its Gemini artificial intelligence tools to US federal agencies practically free, the government announced Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he had ordered immediate negotiations aimed at freeing all the remaining hostages in Gaza, as Israeli troops hammered the territory's largest city ahead of a major planned offensive.

Canada's measles case count has passed 4,500, with the western province of Alberta -- which has about five million people -- recording more cases this year than the United States, figures updated Thursday showed.

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden is the hottest sprint ticket heading into next month's world championships in Tokyo, the US athlete having hit a blistering run of form at just the right time.

England's Megan Jones is preparing for a "special occasion" in the hosts' Women's Rugby World Cup opener the year after both her parents died.

Carlos Alcaraz was put on a US Open collision course with Novak Djokovic on Thursday as the draw for the men's and women's singles tournaments were revealed.

An American R&B artist will take part in Russia's revival of a song contest billed as a rival to Eurovision, which has excluded Russian singers since the Ukraine offensive, organisers said Thursday.

More than 100 football fans were in custody Thursday after Argentine and Chilean supporters fought with knives, sticks, stun grenades, and bathroom fittings during a club knock-out match near Buenos Aires.

A US court threw out Thursday a $464 million civil penalty against President Donald Trump imposed by a judge who found he fraudulently inflated his personal worth, calling the sum "excessive" but upholding the judgment against him.

Stock mostly fell Thursday ahead of a widely awaited speech on US interest rate policy, though a deal on American tariffs for a swathe of EU goods gave a late-session boost to European markets.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot said Thursday the Premier League champions will only sign the right player for the right price but refused to be drawn on the club's position regarding unsettled Newcastle striker Alexander Isak.

Big-box retailer Walmart reported solid revenue growth Thursday and said that it expects better sales and earnings for the full year, as customers feel the squeeze from higher tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

Severely malnourished children in the Gaza Strip will be "certainly condemned to death" unless aid gets to them quickly, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini warned Thursday.