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A US federal data blackout deepened Thursday as a government shutdown halted the release of third quarter GDP figures, forcing policymakers, financial institutions and business owners to continue flying blind.

Paris Saint-Germain's star young forward Desire Doue is "unavailable for a few weeks" following an injury in a Ligue 1 game, the club announced on Thursday.

Opener Phoebe Litchfield hit a sparkling century to steer Australia to a mammoth total of 338 against India in the second semi-final of the Women's World Cup on Thursday.

A South African court ruled Thursday that the 1967 death of ANC leader Albert Luthuli was due to "assault" by apartheid policemen, overturning a finding that he was struck by a train.

The European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged Thursday but warned of an "uncertain" economic outlook amid trade disputes and geopolitical tensions.

Models strutted down the runway, their beaded and sequined dresses evoking the traditional facial scarring still done in some parts of Nigeria.

Struggling Japanese carmaker Nissan said it expected to suffer an operating loss of 275 billion ($1.8 billion) in its fiscal year that ends in March as it faces further economic headwinds.

Italy's government said Thursday it would address concerns over a new bridge to Sicily, after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned a court ruling against the project as an "intolerable intrusion".

Marseille midfielder Bilal Nadir is in good health but undergoing a "full medical check-up" after collapsing off the ball during the team's Ligue 1 draw with Angers, his club said on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia declined an offer to sign Lionel Messi for a short-term stint in the Saudi Pro League before next year's World Cup, according to a senior sports official.

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, maker of weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, announced Thursday an unsolicited bid to acquire obesity treatment maker Metsera, topping an offer from US rival Pfizer which called the move "reckless".

Recording industry giant Universal Music Group said Thursday it had struck a licensing deal with AI music generation startup Udio, in an industry-first tie-up aiming to launch an AI creation platform next year.

French police have arrested five more people, including a prime suspect, over this month's daring Louvre museum robbery, the Paris prosecutor said on Thursday.

Stock markets fell Thursday as traders digested a high-stakes meeting between the US and Chinese presidents, mixed company earnings and uncertainty over further US interest rate cuts.

Major flooding that killed 10 people in central Vietnam this week also turned streets in Hoi An into canals on Thursday after a major river reached a 60-year high, authorities said.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he had ordered the Pentagon to start nuclear weapons testing "on an equal basis" to China and Russia -- an announcement made just minutes before he held a high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Saudi Arabia will no longer stage the inaugural Esports Olympics scheduled to be held in 2027, the International Olympic Committee announced on Thursday.

A rare meeting between leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping has succeeded in temporarily stabilising US-China relations, analysts said on Thursday, with the talks drawing cautious optimism on the streets of Beijing.

France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy has received a prison visit from the justice minister, a source close to the case said on Thursday, despite a prosecutor warning that it could undermine judicial independence.

The eurozone economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter of 2025, official data showed Thursday, buoyed by better-than-anticipated growth in France despite political turmoil in Europe's second-biggest economy.

Saudi Arabia will no longer stage the inaugural Esports Olympics scheduled to be held in 2027, the International Olympic Committee announced on Thursday.

The trial of three Australians accused of plotting the murder of a compatriot at a villa on the Indonesian resort island of Bali began Thursday, with all facing the death penalty.

The Dutch election climaxed in an unprecedented cliffhanger Thursday, with only a few thousand votes separating the far-right party of firebrand Geert Wilders and a pro-European centrist party.

Saudi Arabia will no longer stage the inaugural Esports Olympics scheduled to be held in 2027, the International Olympic Committee announced on Thursday.

Russia battered Ukrainian energy facilities with hundreds of drones and missiles, Kyiv said Thursday, killing two people, wounding children, and piling more pressure on Ukraine's fragile energy grid.

British oil and gas giant Shell on Thursday said its net profit rose 24 percent in the third quarter as trading margins and sales volumes improved, despite falling oil prices.

Pakistan and Afghanistan will likely hold another round of peace talks in Istanbul, a Pakistani security source told AFP on Thursday, after Islamabad's announcement that previous negotiations had failed.

From a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China to planned cooperation on ending the war in Ukraine, here's what Beijing and Washington say was achieved during Donald Trump and Xi Jinping's first face-to-face talks in six years:

Asian stock markets fluctuated on Thursday after a high-stakes meeting between US and Chinese leaders that resulted in an agreement to alleviate frictions between the world's two largest economies.

British entrepreneur Richard Branson vowed Thursday to "shake up" cross-Channel train services after regulators approved a key bid by his Virgin Group to share an east London depot with Eurostar.

Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight killed one person, wounded 17 and caused emergency power outages across the country, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday.

Asian stock markets fluctuated on Thursday after a high-stakes meeting between US and Chinese leaders that resulted in an agreement to alleviate frictions between the world's two largest economies.