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Oil prices fell Monday as Israel stepped up ground attacks on Hamas targets in Gaza but held back from a full-on incursion, fanning hopes a wider conflict can be avoided.

The Israeli army said Monday that its forces killed dozens of militants in clashes through the night in Gaza as it presses on with its military response to the October 7 Hamas attacks.

South Africa hooker Malcolm Marx will miss the upcoming Japanese club rugby season because of an injury that ruled him out of the World Cup, his team Kubota Spears said Monday.

Scrubbing carbon dioxide from the air is imperative if humanity is to limit global warming, experts say, and a California startup says it can do just that, using limestone as a carbon-sucking sponge.

The 2023 Rugby World Cup ended on Saturday as South Africa beat New Zealand by 12-11 for a record fourth title.

"Anything around the head has ramifications," said a disconsolate New Zealand captain Sam Cane of his red card for a high tackle that ruled him out of much of the Rugby World Cup final -- the problem for many is how referees interpret what is dangerous.

Defence, discipline and set-piece mastery again proved key as South Africa ran out back-to-back winners of the Rugby World Cup in France.

South Africa lifted the Webb Ellis Trophy for a record fourth title edging New Zealand 12-11 in a gripping final to bringing the curtain down on the seven week Rugby World Cup.

Banking giant HSBC said on Monday that pre-tax profit in the third quarter more than doubled to $7.7 billion, reflecting the "positive impact of a higher interest rate environment".

Top Chinese and Russian officials warned Monday that foreign forces were seeking to sow turmoil in Asia and beyond as they opened an international defence conference in Beijing.

Western Conference top seeds St. Louis City suffered a shock 4-1 defeat at home to Midwest rivals Sporting Kansas City in the opening game of their best-of-three series in the MLS playoffs on Sunday.

The UK government will welcome foreign political leaders, tech industry figures, academics and others this week for a two-day summit billed as the first of its kind on artificial intelligence (AI).

For decades heavy industry around Dunkirk in northern France has belched out millions of tonnes of climate-heating gases.

Paris, 2015 and the warnings of climate breakdown were growing ever louder.

Joel Embiid unleashed a dominant performance with 35 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, six blocked shots and two steals on Sunday in Philadelphia's 126-98 NBA rout of Portland.

Hamas said it was engaged in "heavy fighting" with Israeli troops inside northern Gaza Sunday, as besieged residents were again warned to flee southward.

Oil prices fell Monday as Israel stepped up ground attacks on Hamas targets in Gaza but held back from a full-on incursion, fanning hopes a wider conflict can be avoided.

Manchester City once feared a trip to Old Trafford but painted the town blue once more with a 3-0 victory over a demoralised United on Sunday to reassert their dominance.

Sudan's rival generals have returned to the negotiating table in Saudi Arabia, but the fighting shows no sign of easing as they wrestle to control the country's second-largest city.

Argentine Alvaro Barreal scored twice as FC Cincinnati, the top seed in Major League Soccer's playoffs, made a convincing start to their post-season push with a 3-0 win over New York Red Bulls in game one on Sunday.

Some support an Israeli invasion of Gaza, others want a prisoner swap, but relatives of dozens seized by Hamas said Sunday they were united in demanding Israel's government end their nightmare.

Evander Kane scored a goal and assisted on two others to spark the Edmonton Oilers over Calgary 5-2 on Sunday at the outdoor NHL Heritage Classic.

A free trade deal between the European Union and Australia has unravelled despite early optimism, with Canberra saying Monday it could take years until negotiations resume.

Acapulco was struggling Sunday to recover from the extraordinarily powerful Hurricane Otis, which claimed 48 lives across southern Mexico and provoked widespread power outages and criticism of the government response.

Lewis Hamilton said he felt "incredibly proud" of his Mercedes team on Sunday after bouncing back from his disqualification in Texas to finish a strong second in the Mexico Grand Prix.

A prolonged drought is shrinking livestock herds and driving beef prices to record highs in the US, even as consumption is growing stronger.

Sergio Perez said his first corner crash turned his home Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday into the saddest experience of his career.

Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka moved closer to clinching the year-end world number one ranking on Sunday by dominating Greece's Maria Sakkari in a group-stage opener at the WTA Finals.

Amine Bassi struck a 79th-minute winner as the Houston Dynamo beat Real Salt Lake 2-1 in their MLS playoffs first-round match on Sunday.

Eddie Jones declared he was "not the messiah" when he took the Wallabies head coach job 10 months ago, and his exit following a dismal World Cup campaign proved the voluble Australian was right.

Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes to lead Denver in a stunning 24-9 upset of reigning NFL champion Kansas City on Sunday while the San Francisco 49ers dropped another shocker to Cincinnati.

A Reuters journalist killed in southern Lebanon two weeks ago and others wounded in the same incident were deliberately targeted, a Reporters Without Borders investigation released on Sunday said.