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The UK broke the record for a June temperature for the third day in a row on Friday, the Met Office weather agency said, as a sweltering heatwave strained schools and hospitals and drove down business.

Germany saw its highest temperature ever recorded on Friday at 41.3C, according to preliminary weather service data, as the country braces for the possibility of even higher temperatures over the weekend.

More than 50,000 people were missing Friday after twin earthquakes in Venezuela, the United Nations' aid chief told AFP as international rescue teams and sniffer dogs arrived to join a desperate search for survivors.

Montpellier head coach Joan Caudullo said on Friday his side have to be "watertight" to stop Toulouse superstar Antoine Dupont having an impact on this weekend's French Top 14 final.

The death toll from twin earthquakes in Venezuela soared to 589 on Friday, with thousands more unaccounted for as international rescue teams and sniffer dogs arrived to help find survivors.

A punishing heatwave overwhelming hospitals in Europe is just the latest reminder of the deadly threat such scorching temperatures can pose to human health.

England captain Ben Stokes stepped up his impressive return to the side by reaching 250 Test wickets before Ben Duckett made New Zealand pay for dropping him with a quickfire fifty on Friday.

Europe's heatwave has smashed several temperature records, the UN's weather and climate agency said Friday, adding that it would determine the full impact once the phenomenon has ended.

The UK broke the record for its hottest-ever June day for the third day in a row on Friday, the Met Office weather agency said, as a sweltering heatwave strained schools and hospitals and drove down business.

Former Australian Open champion Madison Keys will face German veteran Tatjana Maria in the Eastbourne final after the pair benefited from their opponents' retirements on Friday.

England captain Ben Stokes stepped up his impressive return from international exile with a treble strike that took him to 250 Test wickets before New Zealand's first innings in Nottingham finally came to an end on Friday.

The death toll from twin earthquakes in Venezuela more than doubled Friday to 589, interim president Delcy Rodriguez said, as rescuers boosted by international teams raced to find survivors beneath collapsed buildings.

Montpellier head coach Joan Caudullo said on Friday his side have to be "watertight" to stop Toulouse superstar Antoine Dupont having an impact on this weekend's French Top 14 final.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli topped the times ahead of his Mercedes team-mate George Russell in Friday’s opening free practice for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka is into the first grass court final of her career after blasting past China's Wang Xinyu at Bad Homburg on Friday.

Stan Wawrinka announced Friday he will throw a farewell party for fans on December 19 in Geneva with former tennis stars Roger Federer and Andy Murray on the card of the "One last backhand" event.

The United Nations on Friday demanded independent investigations into dozens of deaths in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody since last year -- and swift action to prevent more people from dying.

Belarus will be a threat to Ukraine for as long as President Alexander Lukashenko is in power and relies on the Kremlin, the country's exiled opposition leader told AFP.

England captain Ben Stokes stepped up his impressive return from international exile with a treble strike that took him to 250 Test wickets but New Zealand kept the hosts sweating in Nottingham on Friday.

The heatwave battering Europe may have an unlikely partner-in-crime: a patch of cold ocean water south of Iceland and Greenland that can influence weather patterns over the continent.

With neither the Olympic Games nor the world championships on the summer schedule —- a first since 2020 —- US sprint star Noah Lyles is seizing the opportunity to "run as fast as possible" without worrying about peaking for a specific event and enjoying life off the track.

Japan believe they can shock Brazil in the World Cup round of 32, and former coach Philippe Troussier thinks it would be a fitting reward for their progress as a football nation.

King Charles III became the first UK monarch in history to reveal how much he has paid in taxes since acceding to the throne in 2022 - some £30 million ($39.6 million).

International search and rescue teams from at least 17 countries are being scrambled to Venezuela to help look for survivors of the devastating twin earthquakes, the United Nations said Friday.

Authorities in Russian-annexed Crimea on Friday declared an "emergency situation" in a bid to ease the fallout from increasing Ukrainian aerial attacks on the peninsula.

Japan advised more than a million people to leave their homes as two tropical storms swept towards the archipelago on Friday, with torrential rains also pounding Taiwan where at least two people have been killed.

Stock markets retreated Friday, capping a rollercoaster week for technology shares as doubts spread about the huge AI-fuelled gains for technology stocks that have propelled indexes to record territory.

As Europe seeks ways to cool down in punishing temperatures, there's no way that Alexandre Anoh is going to sleep without air conditioning in Abidjan's stifling heat.

The European Commission announced Friday that it was opening an antitrust probe into French pharmaceutical group Sanofi on suspicion it breached the bloc's competition rules in promoting a flu vaccine.

Belgium has cancelled this weekend's reenactment of Napoleon's defeat at the battle of Waterloo as the country swelters under a heatwave.

Authorities banned alcohol and major weekend festivities as a deadly European heatwave that has saturated hospitals was forecast to shift east on Friday.

A highly anticipated rematch between boxing legends Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao has been postponed indefinitely, Pacquiao's camp in the Philippines said on Friday.