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Asian markets were mixed Thursday after US data provided a fresh indicator that inflation was easing and Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell soothed worries around the bank's plans to cut interest rates this year.

Relief workers set aside stuffed toys, blankets and baby formula for families sheltering Thursday in an elementary school in Hualien, the epicentre of Taiwan's biggest earthquake in a quarter of a century.

Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton said Thursday that he would love to see Sebastian Vettel return to Formula One, describing the four-time world champion as an "amazing option" for Mercedes.

Taiwan rescuers worked Thursday to reach scores of people trapped in highway tunnels as engineers began a massive clear-up operation a day after the island's biggest earthquake in a quarter of a century.

James Cameron, the mastermind behind "The Terminator", "Aliens" and "Titanic", has an exhibition opening in Paris Thursday showcasing his lesser-known skills with pencil and paper.

Triple world champion Max Verstappen reiterated on Thursday that he could walk away from Formula One when his Red Bull contract expires in 2028, but insisted he was "very happy" at the team.

Peering through the window at a bustling crowd outside the Voskepar village council in northeastern Armenia, mayor Ishkhan Aghbalyan said locals are on edge over arch-foe Azerbaijan's claims to their lands.

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are set to speak on Thursday in their first phone call since an Israeli strike on a humanitarian convoy killed seven aid workers in Gaza.

Japanese football comic "Captain Tsubasa" ended its 43-year print serialisation on Thursday, but its creator said the stories that inspired Lionel Messi will continue on online.

NATO on Thursday marks 75 years since its founding with the Western alliance confronted by the urgent need to do more to help Ukraine win a war currently roiling Europe.

Shohei Ohtani smashed his first home run for the Los Angeles Dodgers to help seal a series sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 5-4 victory on Wednesday.

The world lost 10 football fields of old-growth tropical forest every minute in 2023 and despite uplifting progress in the Amazon, the picture elsewhere is less rosy, researchers said on Thursday.

Hidilyn Diaz, the first and only Olympic gold medallist from the Philippines, vowed Thursday to continue in weightlifting just hours after failing to qualify for a fifth consecutive Games.

The opening games of next year's US Major League Baseball season will be held in Japan on March 19 and 20, the Japanese baseball commissioner said.

A helicopter plucked six miners to safety from a Taiwan quarry Thursday as rescuers worked to free scores of people trapped in highway tunnels after the island's biggest earthquake in a quarter of a century.

A bemused Paris bakery owner has been besieged by smartphone-wielding youngsters over the past year, keen to snap themselves with the latest pastry craze: the crookie.

The Boston Celtics clinched the NBA's best record this season and a home-court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs on Wednesday with a 135-100 blowout over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Asian markets rose Thursday after US data provided a fresh indicator that inflation was easing and Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell soothed worries about the bank's plans to cut interest rates this year.

Racing 92's quest for a first Champions Cup title faces the hurdle of five-time winners Toulouse in the last 16 on Sunday, with Siya Kolisi's three-time runners-up expected to face France superstar Antoine Dupont in the unusual position of fly-half.

Invisible, omnipresent "forever chemicals" have been linked to a wide range of serious effects on human health, prompting growing calls for them to be banned.

Nearly six months into the Gaza war, with the families of hostages still held captive by Hamas desperate for their release, many former hostages are finding the words to describe the ordeal of captivity.

Stranded abroad by almost a year of war, Saudi Arabia's swelling Sudanese community are drawn to Riyadh's "Little Khartoum" where they can eat, pray and console each other about the conflict ravaging their country.

After his brother was murdered in anti-Muslim riots, Pervez Qureshi watched the videos he believes incited the killers, part of a wave of hatred being fomented on social media ahead of India's elections.

Inter Miami, without Lionel Messi, lost 2-1 at home to Mexico's Monterrey in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-final on Wednesday with Argentine Jorge Rodriguez scoring a superb 89th-minute winner.

Kim Sei-young birdied six of the first 10 holes on her way to a six-under par 66, grabbing a one-stroke lead after Wednesday's opening day of the LPGA Match Play tournament.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday accused the United States of building "secret military bases" in Essequibo, an oil-rich region of Guyana that Caracas claims as its territory.

A line brawl sparked the start of the NHL-best New York Rangers' home game against the rival New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, with 10 skaters fighting and eight of them ejected.

Fed up with South Korea's government and seeing little hope in the opposition, Cho Young-moon says she'll cast a protest vote in next week's elections -- for a month-old party led by a disgraced politician facing jail.

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak on Thursday, a US official said, in their first call since an Israeli strike killed seven aid workers in Gaza.

Peru's Congress on Wednesday granted a crucial vote of confidence to President Dina Boluarte's new cabinet, allowing it to proceed in office amid a scandal over the leader's luxury Rolex collection.

Lionel Messi was forced to sit out Inter Miami's CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-final first leg with Mexico's Monterrey on Wednesday as he continues to be sidelined by a hamstring injury.

Rory McIlroy said a lesson with veteran instructor Butch Harmon was a "really worthwhile trip" as he prepares for next week's Masters and another chance to complete a career grand slam.