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Syria's military began heavy bombardment of Kurdish neighbourhoods in the city of Aleppo on Thursday after warning civilians to leave on a third day of fighting.

Between US demands for its crude, tankers threatened with seizure, storage tanks at overflow risk and bewildered local authorities, the outlook for Venezuela's oil industry has never been murkier.

Stock markets pulled back Thursday as an early-year rally ran out of steam, with investors locking in profits ahead of the release of key US jobs data this week.

The US trade deficit made a sharp and unexpected pullback in October, reaching its lowest level since 2009 as goods imports dropped while President Donald Trump's tariffs took hold, government data showed Thursday.

Russia has exchanged jailed French researcher Laurent Vinatier for a Russian basketball player who was being held in France, state media reported on Thursday, citing Russia's FSB security service.

The Spanish government and the Catholic Church signed a landmark agreement Thursday to compensate victims of sexual abuse by clergy, aiming to settle what officials described as a "moral debt".

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that the United States was "breaking free from international rules" and "gradually turning away" from some of its allies.

The United States could run Venezuela and tap into its oil reserves for years, President Donald Trump said in an interview published Thursday, less than a week after toppling Nicolas Maduro.

England will limp home from Australia after a humbling 4-1 Ashes defeat but appear likely to stick with the regime of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, who have vowed to learn lessons from a painful tour.

Nobel winner and Belarusian dissident Ales Bialiatski told AFP on Thursday that it was "very important" to keep up pressure on Belarus in order to free political prisoners after his first meeting with the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Russia on Thursday slammed a plan for European peacekeepers to be deployed to Ukraine as "dangerous" and dubbed Kyiv and its allies an "axis of war", dousing hopes the plan could be a step towards ending the almost four-year-war.

Bordeaux-Begles's South African back-rower Jean-Luc du Preez says that Northampton will be desperate for revenge for last season's Champions Cup final defeat when the teams meet in the pool stage on Sunday.

Cristian Romero added to the mounting crisis at Tottenham as the Argentine appeared to take a swipe at the club's hierarchy after apologising for their latest dismal defeat.

Former Premier League referee David Coote was given a suspended prison sentence on Thursday after admitting making an indecent image of a child, with the judge describing his "spectacular fall from grace".

Security forces used tear gas and live fire to disperse protesters in Iran, rights groups said Thursday, as people angered by economic crisis kept up their challenge to the authorities and exiled opposition groups urged new protests as well as strikes.

Stock markets fell Thursday as an early-year rally ran out of steam, with investors locking in profits ahead of the release of key US jobs data this week.

Johannes Vermeer's painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring" will be displayed in Japan later this year, the Dutch Mauritshuis museum said Thursday, a rare outing abroad for one of the world's most famous artworks.

Syria's military warned civilians in two besieged Kurdish neighbourhoods in the city of Aleppo to leave on Thursday, as it prepared to conduct a fresh wave of strikes targeting Kurdish positions.

French farmers rolled into Paris on tractors Thursday in a show of anger against an EU trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur they fear will create unfair competition, as the government warned against "illegal" protest actions.

Factory orders in long-struggling Germany unexpectedly posted a sharp jump in November, boosted by higher demand for defence equipment as Europe rushes to rearm, official data showed Thursday.

Accused scam boss Chen Zhi has been extradited to China from Cambodia, Beijing confirmed on Thursday, after he was indicted by the United States over alleged multibillion-dollar fraud.

Japanese retail giant Fast Retailing lifted its 2025-26 annual net profit forecast on Thursday, buoyed by a strong performance in mainland China.

Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen announced on Thursday that she was withdrawing from the Australian Open later this month due to a lack of physical conditioning.

England's white-ball captain Harry Brook issued an apology on Thursday saying he was "deeply sorry" for an altercation at a New Zealand nightclub ahead of the Ashes.

Security forces used tear gas to disperse protesters in Iran as people angered by the economic situation in the Islamic republic kept up their challenge to the authorities and the exiled opposition Thursday urged them to step up their actions.

Equity markets mostly fell Thursday as the rally that has characterised the start of the year paused with investors looking ahead to the release of key US jobs data this week.

The England and Wales Cricket Board said it had launched an immediate and "thorough" review following the tourists' defeat in the fifth and final Ashes Test on Thursday.

Humanoid robots danced, somersaulted, dealt blackjack and played ping-pong at the Consumer Electronics Show this week, but some in the industry are impatient for them to become more useful, not just a promise of things to come.

Asian markets mostly fell Thursday as the rally that has characterised the start of the year paused with investors looking ahead to the release of key US jobs data this week.

Australia will hold a royal commission inquiry into the mass shooting that killed 15 people at Bondi Beach, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday, as he faced public demands for answers.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka accused tennis authorities on Thursday of failing to put player welfare first over what she called an "insane" tennis season.

A Cambodian bank founded by accused scam boss Chen Zhi, who has been indicted by the United States over multibillion-dollar fraud and extradited to China, was ordered liquidated Thursday, Cambodia's central bank said.