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Global equities made cautious gains Thursday with Frankfurt and Paris briefly touching all-time peaks as the ECB and Britain pressed pause on rates after the Fed had sent Wall Street soaring on a pivot toward rate cuts next year.

Six football shirts worn by Argentine megastar Lionel Messi at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar have sold for $7.8 million at auction, the auction house told AFP on Thursday.

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany believes it is too early in Lyle Foster's recovery from mental health problems for him to join up with South Africa for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Rebecca Welch will become the first female referee of a Premier League match after being appointed to oversee Fulham's game against Burnley on December 23.

Juventus can go top of Serie A on Friday but coach Massimiliano Allegri still insists his side are outsiders for this season's Serie A crown.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will face no punishment from England's Football Association following his complaints about refereeing standards after a defeat by Newcastle last month.

Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper insisted on Thursday he has no need for a vote of confidence from the club's owner as he tries to lift the side out of a Premier League slump.

The European Central Bank froze borrowing costs again on Thursday and warned that the fight against inflation was not over, dousing investor hopes of early rate cuts next year.

Toulouse's Antoine Dupont said on Thursday he had kept Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care's shirt since the France captain's first Champions Cup start more than eight years ago.

Israel's defence minister warned Thursday the war with Hamas would last "more than several months" as he met a top US official amid a rift between the allies over mounting civilian casualties.

Ange Postecoglou said on Thursday he has told Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero his tackling technique will be under the microscope for the rest of the season.

European equities leapt Thursday with Frankfurt and Paris briefly striking all-time peaks, after the Federal Reserve sent Wall Street soaring on a pivot toward interest rate cuts next year.

Reims coach Will Still said on Thursday he had not met with bosses at Sunderland despite reports linking him with a move to the Championship club.

Former Grand Slam winner Yannick Noah described his appointment Thursday as captain of France's men's wheelchair tennis team at the 2024 Paris Paralympics as "a fantastic adventure".

Andy Farrell has signed a two-year contract extension too keep him as Ireland head coach until the end of the 2027 Rugby World Cup, it was announced Thursday.

The European Central Bank froze borrowing costs again on Thursday but warned that inflation could pick up again in the near term, in an apparent pushback against market hopes of early rate cuts in 2024.

Israel bombarded Gaza on Thursday in its war against Hamas militants as a top White House adviser travelled to Jerusalem with a rift growing over civilian casualties.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told AFP his company's experimental vaccine against melanoma could be available in as little as two years, in what would amount to a landmark step against the most serious form of skin cancer.

A former top commander of Russian-backed fighters in eastern Ukraine went on trial in Moscow on Thursday on charges of extremism for criticising the Kremlin's military strategy towards Kyiv.

Micah Hamilton said he had been left struggling for words following his goalscoring debut for Manchester City in the Champions League.

A Russian court on Thursday overturned its decision to fine a veteran human rights campaigner and co-chair of the Nobel-Prize-winning group Memorial, who was convicted earlier of discrediting Russian forces.

American skier Bryce Bennett was the surprise winner of the first men's World Cup downhill of the season at Val Gardena in Italy on Thursday.

French investigators are looking into the death of an actress who was one of the first to accuse film star Gerard Depardieu of sexual assault, prosecutors said this week.

The Bank of England held rates steady again Thursday with the European Central Bank expected to follow suit as inflation retreats, shifting investor attention to how fast policymakers will slash borrowing costs in 2024.

Rob Howley has been restored to Wales' coaching staff for the first time since being banned for breaching betting regulations, it was announced on Thursday.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida replaced four ministers Thursday as the unpopular leader reels from a major corruption scandal in the ruling party.

Exeter's director of rugby Rob Baxter said on Thursday England must maintain their ban on selecting overseas-based players despite the furore sparked by Henry Arundell's unavailability for the national side.

Facebook owner Meta's text-based app Threads arrived in the European Union on Thursday, months after its global launch in July, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.

An agreement to "transition away" from fossil fuels may be a landmark moment but don't expect quick changes among the major producers of the Gulf, where the deal was hammered out.

EU leaders met Thursday to boost their long-term support for Ukraine in its fightback against Russia's invasion and secure a European future, but faced a defiant challenge from Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Thursday he was open to toughening up his controversial plan to send migrants to Rwanda, which has divided his ruling Conservative party.

After COP28's landmark call for the world to move away from fossil fuels, experts say the pressure is on to fast-track -- and fund -- the global energy transition.