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Reigning French Open Iga Swiatek will attempt to become the first woman to successfully defend the title in Paris in 16 years on Saturday when she faces surprise finalist Karolina Muchova.

Mark Telea chalked up his 12th Super Rugby Pacific try this season as the Auckland Blues powered past the New South Wales Waratahs for a 41-12 win in the quarter-finals on Friday.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires has been detected thousands of kilometres away in Norway this week, the Scandinavian country's Climate and Environmental Research Institute NILU said on Friday.

Sudanese authorities loyal to the regular army have declared UN envoy Volker Perthes "persona non grata", accusing him of taking sides in nearly two months of devastating fighting with rival paramilitaries.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed former Wall Street executive Hafize Gaye Erkan as central bank governor on Friday, signalling a possible shift from his unconventional policies to fight soaring inflation.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will make a state visit to China next week, Beijing said Friday, after China expressed readiness to help facilitate Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Austria international Konrad Laimer has joined Bayern Munich on a free transfer from RB Leipzig, the Bavarian club announced on Friday.

Fighting raged Friday in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, a Russian official said, with observers seeing the combat as the possible start of Kyiv's long-expected offensive.

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic meet in a blockbuster French Open semi-final at Roland Garros on Friday in a clash which could define the balance of power in men's tennis in the seasons ahead.

Ten years after a giant inflatable yellow duck captivated crowds in Hong Kong, the art installation returned to the city's Victoria Harbour on Friday as a double-bill exhibition.

Stocks rallied again on Friday, fired by renewed optimism that the Federal Reserve will hold off lifting interest rates next week as fresh data indicated further tightening in the US labour market.

Deep in South Africa's semi-desert Karoo region, a glittery drag show in an old hilltop hotel brings a burst of weekly excitement to a sleepy conservative town.

In a remote pocket of the Brazilian Amazon under siege from illegal fishermen, poachers, loggers and drug traffickers, Indigenous people have taken it upon themselves to defend the land and its resources.

A new museum packed with hundreds of treasures collected by Spain's monarchs over the past five centuries is set to open in Madrid this month.

Carter Verhaeghe's game-winner in overtime lifted Florida to a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday as the Panthers clawed back a game in the NHL Stanley Cup final.

"It's a dream come true," said Filipina tourist Isabel Palijon, staring in wonder at a wooden pier framed by the turquoise waters of a Swiss lake and the towering Alps behind.

Scaling Everest is always dangerous, but expedition organisers have warned that a combination of extreme weather, corner-cutting on safety, and inexperienced and "impatient" foreign climbers has resulted in one of the peak's deadliest mountaineering seasons.

Huddled inside a tent in rebel-held northwestern Syria, Umm Khaled says she fears her baby will die unless she gets specialist treatment in neighbouring Turkey for a congenital heart defect.

The Sudanese government has declared United Nations envoy Volker Perthes "persona non grata", two weeks after the army chief accused him of stoking the country's civil conflict and sought to have him removed from his post.

Stocks rallied again in Asia on Friday, fired by renewed optimism that the Federal Reserve will hold off lifting interest rates next week as fresh data indicated further tightening in the US labour market.

Manchester City are huge favourites heading into Saturday's Champions League final against Inter Milan in Istanbul as Pep Guardiola's side aim to finally get their hands on the greatest prize in European club football, and complete a historic treble.

Manchester City are heavy favourites to win their first ever Champions League as the super-rich club take on one of Europe's old guard in resurgent Inter Milan.

Like mushrooms after the rain, small stores are springing up all over Havana, many run from homes or garages as the private sector finally gains a foothold in communist Cuba.

Leafing through the leather-bound menu at a classic Rio de Janeiro restaurant, the tile-floored, wood-paneled Armazem Sao Thiago, 28-year-old Paula Cardoso says something that amounts to heresy in this establishment: "I prefer QR code menus."

Donald Trump said Thursday he has been indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving office, the US ex-president's most serious legal threat yet as a firestorm of criminal investigations imperil his bid for a second White House term.

As Canada hurtles towards its worst wildfire season in history, a conspiracy theory has taken off online claiming environmentalists intentionally set some of the blazes.

Racing 92's Argentina winger Juan Imhoff says he wants to make the most of Friday's Top 14 semi-final against Toulouse to put his hand up for Rugby World Cup selection later this year.

Francesco Bagnaia approaches his home Italian MotoGP this weekend nursing a broken ankle and defending a slender lead in the world championship as Ducati eye another big pay day at their local track in the Tuscan hills.

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday told employees that while Apple's mixed reality gear may be nice, it is not his vision of the future, according to US media reports.

Donald Trump said Thursday he has been indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving office, the former US president's most serious legal threat yet as a firestorm of criminal investigations imperil his bid for a second White House term.

Canada's Corey Conners grabbed a share of the first-round lead on Thursday at the Canadian Open, where questions over the PGA Tour's stunning deal with LIV Golf's Saudi backers continued to dominate the conversation.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires triggered a fresh wave of disruption across American sports on Thursday, forcing more postponements and jeopardizing Saturday's scheduled horse racing showpiece, the 155th Belmont Stakes.