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Spanish banking giant Banco Santander reported on Thursday record profits for 2022, becoming the latest European lender to get a boost from higher interest rates.

Ben White was a notable inclusion in Scotland's starting side to face England in the Calcutta Cup at Twickenham on Saturday after coach Gregor Townsend left regular scrum-half Ali Price out of his matchday 23.

Young people packing a stadium in DR Congo's capital Kinshasa erupted in joy on Thursday as Pope Francis entered in his popemobile, on the third day of his trip to the country.

Shubman Gill's prowess as an opener was never in doubt, but his first Twenty20 ton has got people talking about him as the next Virat Kohli, an all-format run machine for India.

Markets were mixed Thursday, with investors unable to maintain an early rally despite a strong lead from Wall Street fuelled by hopes the Federal Reserve's campaign of interest rate hikes could be close to an end.

Israeli warplanes struck Gaza early Thursday, drawing retaliatory rocket fire from Palestinian militants, as violence flared despite US calls for "urgent steps" to restore calm.

Under-fire Indian tycoon Gautam Adani's empire has lost more than $100 billion in value over the past week as shares in several firms plunged again Thursday, a day after the group cancelled a multi-billion-dollar public offering.

Japan's leading air carriers ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines posted net profits for the nine months to December, turning around losses as domestic and international travel resume, the companies said Thursday.

Sony upgraded its annual net profit forecasts on Thursday, saying it expects strong results in its key gaming sector as the weak yen inflates profits on products sold abroad.

Most Asian markets rose Thursday and the dollar weakened further on hopes the Federal Reserve's campaign of interest rate hikes could be close to an end after it acknowledged progress in its long-running battle against inflation.

Musa Hasahya Kasera has so many children he can't remember most of their names.

Sony upgraded its annual net profit forecast on Thursday, saying it expects strong results in its key gaming sector as the weak yen inflates profits on products sold abroad.

When Nick Hewlett, head of a London school, was told about controversial online influencer Andrew Tate by a parent, he had never heard the name.

Rescuers searched for survivors in the rubble of an apartment building in eastern Ukraine on Thursday after a Russian strike destroyed it, as Kyiv said it expected a major offensive on the first anniversary of Moscow's invasion.

Donning yellow "Bali" hats featuring a surfer as the last letter, Chinese tourists walked along the Indonesian backpacker hotspot's pristine blue waters, forgetting three years of Covid-19 misery.

Australia will erase the British monarch from its banknotes, replacing the late Queen Elizabeth II's image on its $5 note with a design honouring Indigenous culture, the central bank said Thursday.

Fiji are looking for a new head coach seven months before the Rugby World Cup after New Zealander Vern Cotter resigned on Thursday because of "personal reasons".

Pope Francis was set to address thousands of youngsters in Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday after holding an open-air mass that drew an estimated million faithful, as he pursues a landmark trip to central Africa.

Under-fire Indian tycoon Gautam Adani insisted Thursday that the fundamentals of his conglomerate were "strong" even as shares in its companies plunged again after the group cancelled a multi-billion-dollar stock sale.

Co-hosts New Zealand and Australia said Thursday they "urgently" want answers from FIFA over reports Saudi Arabia's tourist board will sponsor the 2023 Women's World Cup.

The European Central Bank is set to hike interest rates again Thursday as it pursues its inflation fight, despite tentative signs the eurozone has weathered shocks from the Ukraine war better than feared.

As Moscow's forces push to encircle the frontline hotspot of Bakhmut, the battle-scarred town's last residents say they will not budge if the Russians arrive.

The United States and the Philippines announced a deal Thursday to give US troops access to another four bases in the Southeast Asian nation, as the longtime allies seek to counter China's military rise.

Israel launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip early Thursday, which Palestinian fighters reacted to by firing rockets in the latest bout of unrest in the region.

President Vladimir Putin is set to preside Thursday over commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory at the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest in World War II.

Jayson Tatum scored 31 points as the Boston Celtics put the depleted Brooklyn Nets firmly in their place with a brutal 139-96 mauling on Wednesday.

South Korea said Thursday it had staged joint air drills with the United States featuring strategic bombers and stealth fighters, prompting Pyongyang to warn that such exercises could "ignite an all-out showdown".

A choreographed ballet of massive trucks, snowplows and snowblowers takes over the streets of Montreal whenever it snows, an enormous logistical effort with a significant environmental cost.

Warren Gatland is unlikely to produce an instant Six Nations Grand Slam in his second stint as Wales head coach as he did the first time but former back-rower Alix Popham said the team "will kick on in the right direction."

The Six Nations gets under way on Saturday, with players hoping to impress ahead of the World Cup which starts in September.

Ange Capuozzo is ready to give rugby's big boys a bloody nose as Italy prepare to take on holders France in their Six Nations opener in Rome on Sunday.

Most Asian markets rose Thursday and the dollar weakened further on hopes the Federal Reserve's campaign of interest rate hikes could be close to an end after it acknowledged progress in its long-running battle against inflation.