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The leaders of Britain and the United States meet Friday in Washington on whether to let Kyiv fire Western-provided long-range missiles into Russia, an option that has sent tensions soaring with Moscow.

International negotiations on money to help developing countries tackle climate change concluded without a breakthrough this week, just two months before Azerbaijan hosts the United Nations climate summit.

Mammals that can breathe through their backsides, homing pigeons that can guide missiles and sober worms that outpace drunk ones: these are some of the strange scientific discoveries that won this year's Ig Nobels, the quirky alternative to the Nobel prizes.

British entry Ineos Britannia selected Switzerland's Alinghi Red Bull Racing on Friday as their Louis Vuitton Cup semi-final opponents.

Environmental campaigners on Friday claimed a "huge victory" after a court ruling overturned a decision to allow planning permission for the UK's first deep coal mine in 30 years.

Hissing like a quiver of angry cobras, a group of young Afghan mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes shadow box in a Kabul club despite the uncertain future of the sport after a Taliban government ban on professional competitions.

Arne Slot is ready to embrace the challenge of squad rotation as the Liverpool manager steels himself for the dual demands of the Premier League and Champions League.

Hundreds of mourners, including celebrities like David Beckham, gathered in the small Swedish town of Torsby on Friday as football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was laid to rest in his hometown.

Bite-size portions of fin whale were available to sniff and taste Friday as Japan's whaling industry seeks to rekindle appetite for a traditional protein source that has fallen out of favour.

Spain tried to calm the war of words with Venezuela Friday with relations between the two countries almost at breaking point after Caracas recalled its ambassador.

Accountancy giant PwC was banned in China Friday for six months and slapped with a fine of $62.2 million over problems with its audit of beleaguered property company Evergrande.

Troubled German rail operator Deutsche Bahn announced Friday the sale of its logistics unit Schenker to Danish group DSV for 14.3 billion euros ($15.8 billion) to create a freight-forwarding giant.

Italy's financial police said Friday they have dismantled a ring trafficking counterfeit vintage video game consoles from China containing some of the most popular titles of the 1980s and 90s.

The Japanese finance ministry on Friday designated the parent company of 7-Eleven a "core" industry in a move that could make a takeover by Canadian rival Couche-Tard more difficult.

A final report has concluded that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) did not show "favouritism" towards China in the case of 23 Chinese swimmers who were cleared to compete after testing positive for a banned drug.

China said Friday it would gradually raise its statutory retirement age, as the country grapples with a looming demographic crisis and an older population.

Asian markets mostly rose Friday while the yen sat around nine-month highs and gold hit a record after another healthy day on Wall Street as investors gear up for an expected US interest rate cut next week.

Malaysian police expanded their probe Friday into a major Islamic business organisation with links to a banned sect, after hundreds of children were rescued from alleged abuse at care homes believed to be run by the group.

Australia's Fraser McReight and Hunter Paisami have returned from injury to make the squad named Friday to play New Zealand next week, as the Wallabies regroup following their thrashing in Argentina.

Lake Koronia, one of largest in Greece, is shrinking after a prolonged drought and a summer of record-breaking temperatures, leaving behind cracked earth, dead fish and a persistent stench.

What does the future hold for EU climate policies? Next week's unveiling of the new European Commission will be watched closely for clues -- at a time when defending the environment has skidded down the list of priorities in Brussels.

A Philippine pastor wanted in the United States for sex trafficking children pleaded not guilty to similar charges in Manila Friday, his lawyer said.

Boeing workers in the Seattle region overwhelmingly voted to strike Thursday, spurning a contract the embattled aviation giant characterized as a boon for manufacturing staff given the company's stressed financial condition.

Not long after Russian dissident Ilya Yashin was freed in a major prisoner swap with the West, he received a hero's welcome in Berlin, a growing centre for exiled Russian activists.

A top political opponent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was granted bail on Friday after months behind bars on accusations his party took kickbacks in exchange for liquor licences.

US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris head to key battleground states on Friday, each seeking an edge in a race where they are running neck-and-neck less than two months before voting day.

A new Javan rhino calf has been spotted in an Indonesian national park, the facility's head said Friday, further boosting hopes for one of the world's most endangered mammals after two other sightings this year.

Hundreds of villagers in Myanmar waded or swam through chin-high waters, fleeing severe floods around remote capital Naypyidaw on Friday, as Vietnam began clearing up after Typhoon Yagi.

Bayer Leverkusen go into Saturday's match at Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months.

Hansi Flick's Barcelona face Girona on Sunday in a Catalan derby aiming to secure a fifth win from five La Liga matches at the start of the season.

The one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand was washed out on Friday after five days of rain, just the eighth Test in history to be abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Sudan's priceless archaeological heritage is being stripped from museums, with looters loading statuettes and fragments of ancient palaces onto lorries, smuggling them out of the war-torn country, and selling them online.