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Fresh from their brilliant performances at the World Cup, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are among the nominees for FIFA's The Best award for last year, world football's governing body announced on Thursday.

Former England batter Gary Ballance struck 30 runs on his Zimbabwe debut in a five-wicket Twenty20 victory over Ireland in Harare on Thursday and was then hailed for his "calming presence".

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Ukrainian forces defending Bakhmut and Soledar in the east would be armed with everything they need to keep Russian troops at bay in some of the bloodiest battles of the war.

US President Joe Biden said Thursday "a small number" of classified documents had been found at his private residence, prompting calls for a congressional investigation into the alleged mishandling of official papers.

Sebastien Loeb reeled off his fourth stage win in a row at the Dakar Rally on Thursday as runaway leader Nasser Al-Attiyah hailed "an amazing stage" with the Qatari closing in on his fifth title.

Valery Gerasimov, who in a surprise move was named to lead Russian troops in Ukraine after months of setbacks, has been Moscow's top general for the past decade as chief of the general staff.

The United Nations called Thursday for urgent funding to help 30 million children suffering from acute malnutrition "before it is too late" in countries being hammered by the food crisis.

France's first lady Brigitte Macron has waded into a contentious debate over school uniforms, backing their use at the very moment the far right is pushing in parliament to make a unified dress code mandatory nationwide.

The French and German foreign ministers on Thursday hailed success in implementing an Ethiopian peace agreement signed last year to end two years of brutal war, on a joint visit to Addis Ababa.

Turkey on Thursday summoned Sweden's ambassador to lodge an angry protest over a video posted by a Kurdish group in Stockholm that depicted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan swinging by his legs from a rope.

The past eight years were the hottest since records began, the United Nations confirmed Thursday, despite the cooling influence of a drawn-out La Nina weather pattern.

KL Rahul's unbeaten 64 helped India down Sri Lanka by four wickets to clinch a series victory in the second one-day international in Kolkata on Thursday.

The United States announced Thursday it was offering a reward of up to $10 million for a man described as the "terror mastermind" of a bloody hotel attack in Kenya four years ago.

A Saudi film fund announced Thursday that it is investing in Johnny Depp's new movie, a French period drama in which he plays King Louis XV.

It was an anomaly detected in the storm of a nuclear reactor so puzzling that physicists hoped it would shine a light on dark matter, one of the universe's greatest mysteries.

The Spanish Supreme Court on Thursday dropped sedition charges against former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont over a failed 2017 independence bid that sparked Spain's worst political crisis in decades.

An Iranian-British dual national sentenced to be hanged for spying for UK intelligence once held roles at the top of Tehran's defence and security establishment, Iran's state media said Thursday.

Global stock markets mostly rose Thursday as investors digested highly anticipated data showing another softening of US consumer inflation, potentially giving the Federal Reserve room to slow its interest rate hikes.

Climate activists occupied the regional office of Germany's vice chancellor Thursday in a show of support for a flagship anti-coal protest, accusing the Green party politician of betrayal.

A Chinese company presented a cloned horse to the public on Thursday that is the first of its kind born in the country and approved for equestrian sport.

Consumer inflation in the United States slipped in December to the lowest level in over a year, government data showed on Thursday, signaling the worst of red-hot price increases may be over.

Europe's largest known deposit of rare earth elements, essential for the manufacturing of electric vehicles, has been discovered in Sweden's far north, boosting Europe's hopes of cutting its dependence on China.

Borussia Dortmund and England midfielder Jude Bellingham said on Thursday he still thinks about what he could have done better to prevent England's World Cup elimination.

Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann said injured star forward Sadio Mane will "come back a bit earlier" and may figure in the Champions League last 16 clash against Paris Saint Germain.

Luke Donald, the European Ryder Cup captain, is confident that a team tournament such as this week's Hero Cup will help his players, still smarting under the heavy defeat to the United States in 2021.

The United Arab Emirates has picked the head of its national oil company as president of this year's COP28 climate talks, prompting criticism from environmental activists.

Prince Harry's autobiography "Spare" sold 1.4 million English-language copies on its first day in the UK, United States and Canada, smashing Penguin Random House's sales record, the publisher said on Thursday.

South African lock Jandre Marais said his club Bordeaux-Begles "are not on holiday" as they prepare to face the Sharks in his home country in the Champions Cup on Saturday.

The United Arab Emirates has agreed to roll over $2 billion owed by Pakistan and provide the country with an extra loan of $1 billion, Islamabad said Thursday.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan will in a speech Thursday urge the government to end a "vow of silence" on the "immense damage" to the UK economy caused by Brexit.

Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson has made no secret of his hopes of a dramatic political comeback. But the enduring "partygate" scandal threatens that, as graphic new revelations emerge.

Ukraine said Thursday its forces were fighting to retain control of Soledar in the eastern Donetsk region but cautioned it was coming up against "difficult" resistance from Russian troops.