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Up-and-coming cyclist Paul Seixas is hoping to hit the ground running when he opens his season in the Algarve and is also dreaming of racing in the Tour de France this summer.

France has detected a Russia-linked disinformation effort alleging President Emmanuel Macron's involvement with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a government source told AFP on Friday.

European nations voted Friday to allow for chemical recycling to play a larger role in the production of plastic bottles, overcoming reservations about the energy-intensive technology.

A worshipper at the Shiite mosque in Islamabad where dozens of people were killed in a suicide blast on Friday described an "extremely powerful" explosion ripping through the building just after prayers started.

Iran on Friday said it expected to hold more negotiations with the United States, hailing a "positive atmosphere" during a day of indirect talks in Oman but warning against threats after Washington raised the spectre of new military action.

A suicide blast at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad killed at least 31 people on Friday, with 169 more wounded in the deadliest attack in Pakistan's capital since the 2008 Marriott hotel bombing.

One of the "key participants" behind the 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi that left the ambassador and three other Americans dead has been arrested, officials said Friday.

Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, sank this week, wiping out gains sparked by Donald Trump's presidential election victory in November 2024.

Mikel Arteta has apologised to Liam Rosenior after the Chelsea boss accused Arsenal of a lack of respect before their League Cup semi-final clash.

A worshipper at the Shiite mosque in Islamabad where dozens of people were killed in a suicide blast on Friday described an "extremely powerful" explosion ripping through the building just after prayers started.

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt is the favourite to win the men's Olympic downhill in Bormio on Saturday but will face a stiff challenge from teammate and reigning world champion Franjo von Allmen.

World champion ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates helped defending champions the United States take an early lead in the Olympic figure skating team event on Friday ahead of Japan and Italy.

Jeep maker Stellantis warned Friday that it would take a 22 billion euro hit after a slower take up of electric vehicles than it expected, heaping pressure on its new chief executive to navigate a chaotic transition from combustion engines.

US and European stock markets recovered Friday following a tech stocks rout triggered by growing unease about the billions being spent on artificial intelligence.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez pleaded for caution from flood-hit residents on Friday as more rain was expected to drench parts of the Iberian Peninsula already saturated by a deadly storm.

Iran on Friday said it expected to hold more negotiations with the United States after a day of indirect talks in Oman seen as a critical chance for diplomacy after President Donald Trump threatened new military action against Tehran.

A top Russian military intelligence general was shot and wounded in a Moscow apartment building on Friday, in what Russia called an assassination attempt orchestrated by Ukraine.

Chunks of broken sandstone litter Cambodia's UNESCO-listed Preah Vihear temple, whose centuries-old sandstone facades are pocked with fresh shrapnel scars after weeks of deadly border clashes with neighbouring Thailand.

Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit said Friday she "deeply regretted" her friendship with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the embarrassment it has caused the royal family.

The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will officially open with a star-studded ceremony at the San Siro stadium on Friday after US ski great Lindsey Vonn passed a crucial test of her injured knee.

All-rounder Will Jacks said Friday that under-fire England T20 World Cup captain Harry Brook had "100 percent" support from the players after going through a "tough time".

Michael Carrick will go head to head with Thomas Frank just months after interviewing the Tottenham manager for television as Manchester United seek a fourth successive Premier League win on Saturday.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell said despite the 36-14 hammering by France in their Six Nations opener he believes he has the players "to make sure that we are constantly up there at the top of world rugby".

US Vice President JD Vance and Italy's Giorgia Meloni, a fellow conservative, hailed their "shared values" on Friday ahead of the Olympics as hundreds protested against the US in Milan.

Olympic freestyle champion Mathilde Gremaud says she never lost her passion for skiing despite periods of grief and anxiety as she prepares to face Eileen Gu in a hotly anticipated slopestyle showdown.

The United States on Friday urged three-way talks with Russia and China to set new limits on nuclear weapons, after the last treaty between top nuclear powers Washington and Moscow expired.

The death toll from a landslide in Indonesia has climbed to 74, authorities said Friday, extending the search for missing people and bodies nearly two weeks since it began.

Lindsey Vonn passed a key test of her damaged knee on Friday after she completed her first downhill training run for the 2026 Winter Olympics, keeping alive her hopes of medal glory at the Milan-Cortina Games.

Austrian Daniel Hemetsberger took to Friday's third and final training run for the men's Olympic downhill looking like he had come straight from a boxing match.

A suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Pakistan's capital Islamabad killed at least 31 people on Friday, local authorities said, with a police source saying more than 130 were wounded.

Pop icon Elton John on Friday accused the publisher of two UK tabloids of "abhorrent" privacy invasions "outside even the most basic standards of human decency" as he testified at London's High Court.

Lindsey Vonn passed a key test of her damaged knee on Friday after she completed her first downhill training run for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The European Central Bank urged the European Union on Friday to swiftly press ahead with adopting a digital euro, warning that delays would leave the continent reliant on foreign "big tech" players.

England suffered a setback on the eve of their Six Nations opener against Wales after Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was ruled out with a leg muscle injury.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has urged fans to be patient with club-record signing Nick Woltemade now the rest of the Premier League is getting to know the German striker's strengths and weaknesses.

German exports to the United States plunged in 2025 amid President Donald Trump's tariff blitz, driving down the trade surplus of Europe's top economy with the crucial US market to a four-year low, data showed Friday.

Portugal ended campaigning on Friday for a presidential election this weekend amidst a battering by storms and fretting about the political whirlwind created by outspoken far-right leader Andre Ventura.

A suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Pakistan's capital Islamabad killed at least 30 people and wounded more than 130 on Friday, a police source said.

A top Russian military intelligence general was shot in a Moscow apartment building Friday and hospitalised, Moscow said, in what it said was an assassination attempt orchestrated by Ukraine.