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Chicago's White Sox and Cubs both grabbed post-season berths with wins Thursday, as did the Cleveland Guardians and San Diego Padres, as the Major League Baseball playoff brackets began to take their final shape.

The internet was disrupted in northern Ethiopia on Friday, online monitor Netblocks said, as conflict raged between the federal government and Tigray rebels, while AFP confirmed connection difficulties.

Star running back Bijan Robinson rushed for an explosive 194 yards and two touchdowns as the Atlanta Falcons thrashed the Green Bay Packers 35-14 on Thursday.

Asian markets were mixed Friday after recent oil price surges and as US and Japanese bond yields hit multi-year highs with no end in sight for the Middle East war.

Tomokazu Harimoto said Japan had overcome their inferiority complex after ending table tennis powerhouse China's 32-year run as Asian Games men's team champions in a nail-biting final.

Japanese teenager Shin Ohashi moved closer to a hat-trick of Asian Games breaststroke golds after qualifying for the 50m final on Friday, the morning after smashing the 200m world record.

A string of rape cases in India has reignited debate over women's safety and raised questions about why sweeping legal reforms and tougher punishments have failed to curb sexual violence.

With Delhi's choking haze hanging overhead, Peepal Baba presses a young tree into the earth, continuing a nearly half-century mission to restore India's vanishing green cover.

Taxi drivers in Afghanistan are turning on the tunes in their cars, defying a ban imposed by the Taliban government despite the fear of getting caught by morality police.

In a country famed worldwide for its beer, a proposed tweak to health warnings on adverts for alcoholic drinks has shaken Belgian brewers.

In a knife-edge election race, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and main rival Flavio Bolsonaro have deployed volunteer digital armies online to spread their messages and battle for voters.

Canada is answering US President Donald Trump's obsession with renaming things by unveiling a name change of its own -- Trump Avenue in Ottawa will soon be history.

Nepal's catastrophic flooding last month "was a warning to the world" about the rising dangers of climate change, Prime Minister Balendra Shah told the United Nations on Thursday, urging countries to step up to help his country adapt.

Pope Leo XIV flies to France on Friday for the Vatican's first state visit to the European nation in 18 years, with artificial intelligence and young believers near the top of his agenda.

US President Donald Trump hosted Chinese leader Xi Jinping for a lavish state dinner at the White House on Thursday, after a day of pomp and ceremony that masked deep tensions between the rival superpowers.

A bacterial infection is suspected of killing hundreds of baby whales in the southern Argentine region of Patagonia, a marine mammal expert told AFP on Thursday.

World number one Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns rallied late to give the United States a 3-2 lead over the Internationals after Thursday's opening four-ball matches at the Presidents Cup.

It is for the United States to choose whether to end its war in Iran as Tehran does not wish to continue fighting, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Fox News in an interview aired Thursday.

Movie star Susan Sarandon and "Hacks" actress Hannah Einbinder were among a reported 100 people detained by police in New York on Thursday as they broke up a protest against the Israeli prime minister.

The United Nations on Thursday passed a unanimous resolution demanding stronger action on rising sea levels, an existential threat for low-lying island nations driven by ocean warming and melting ice sheets and glaciers.

Jurgen Klopp was denied a winning start to his reign as Germany coach when Cody Gakpo scored a late equaliser to earn the Netherlands a 1-1 draw in their UEFA Nations League clash on Thursday, while reigning champions Portugal saw off Wales.

Brighton striker Malick Yalcouye made a dream debut for Ivory Coast by scoring in a 2-0 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying victory over Ghana in Bouake on Thursday.

Wealthy nations must pay for climate disasters that devastate countries that are least responsible for the crisis, yet bear its brunt, Nepal's foreign minister told AFP on Thursday.

Chicago's White Sox and Cubs both grabbed post-season berths with wins Thursday as the Major League Baseball playoff brackets began to take shape.

Dunith Wellalage took three wickets after captain Kusal Mendis hit a fine century as Sri Lanka beat England by 16 runs at Headingley on Thursday in a last-over thriller to level a three-match one-day international series.

Cody Gakpo scored in stoppage time to snatch a 1-1 draw for the Netherlands at home to Germany on Jurgen Klopp's debut in the visiting dugout in the Nations League on Thursday.

Joao Felix scored the only goal with a long-range shot as reigning Nations League champions Portugal opened their campaign with a 1-0 home win over Wales.

Stock markets mostly fell and oil prices climbed on Thursday as US Treasury bond yields hit multi-year highs, driven partly by a lack of progress in ending the Middle East war.

Dunith Wellalage took three wickets after captain Kusal Mendis hit a fine century as Sri Lanka beat England by 16 runs at Headingley on Thursday to level a three-match one-day international series at 1-1.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing a difficult reelection campaign at home, delivered a fiery UN speech Thursday assailing enemies and allies alike -- and sparking uproar in the chamber.

Guyanese President Irfaan Ali urged Venezuela before the UN General Assembly on Thursday to respect the International Court of Justice's forthcoming decision over the Essequibo region, an oil-rich territory that Caracas has claimed for decades.

Movie star Susan Sarandon and "Hacks" actress Hannah Einbinder were among people detained by police in New York as they moved in to break up a protest against Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.