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Breanna Stewart drilled 22 points as the United States launched their bid Thursday for a fourth straight women's basketball world title with an 87-72 win over Belgium, as France upset hosts Australia to ruin veteran Lauren Jackson's return.

Turkey's central bank on Thursday cut its policy rate for the second straight month despite an annual inflation rate that has reached 80 percent and is still moving higher.

The Bank of England hiked its interest rate sharply again Thursday to combat decades-high inflation but warned the UK economy was slipping into recession.

The death toll from Iran's wave of popular unrest shot up to at least 17 on Thursday as popular anger has flared over the death in custody of the young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini.

A mysterious reference on US television to an imminent Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap highlights Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's unique role as mediator and friend of both sides in time of war.

Ukrainian tycoon Viktor Medvedchuk, one of 56 prisoners handed over to Russia on Wednesday in exchange for 215 imprisoned soldiers, was seen as President Vladimir Putin's top ally in Kyiv and defended the Kremlin's interests for years.

Andrew Strauss has insisted "the status quo is not an option" as he called on county chiefs to back his reform plan for English cricket which includes cutting the number of first-class Championship matches.

Women setting their headscarves ablaze and chanting anti-regime slogans. Pictures of the leadership defaced and burned. Vehicles belonging to the security forces set on fire.

The Bank of England hiked its interest rate again on Thursday to combat soaring inflation as it warned that the UK's economy had already slipped into recession.

Roger Federer will team up with long-time rival Rafael Nadal for the final match of his glittering career, Laver Cup organisers announced on Thursday.

Iran restricted internet access Thursday after days of protests and unrest that have claimed at least 11 lives, following the death of a young woman in the custody of the morality police.

As Iranian women bare their heads and burn Islamic veils in demonstrations that have met nationwide repression, hopes and emotions are also running high among those living abroad.

MotoGP world champion Fabio Quartararo will defy pain this weekend in Japan after a nasty fall that blew the title race wide open with five grands prix to go.

Former West Ham captain Mark Noble is to return to the club as its sporting director, the Premier League strugglers announced Thursday.

Japan's finance ministry said Thursday it intervened in the currency market to bolster the yen, which has plummeted against the dollar in recent months on the widening policy gap between the US and Japanese central banks.

European stocks sank Thursday following sharp losses in Asia and on Wall Street, but the dollar spiked after the Federal Reserve signalled more hefty US interest rate hikes.

Ukrainian resilience in the face of the Russian onslaught also extends to its railways, proudly declares the head of the company that has kept trains running with nary a glitch since the war began.

France on Thursday said it would boot veteran point guard Thomas Heurtel off the national basketball team if he played for Zenit St Petersburg.

Northern Ireland now has a Catholic plurality for the first time since the UK-run province was carved out as a Protestant fiefdom a century ago, census data revealed on Thursday.

Emma Raducanu enjoyed support from the Korea Open crowd on the way to a straight-sets win over 396th-ranked Yanina Wickmayer and a place in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

The Swiss and Norwegian central banks announced hefty interest rate hikes on Thursday as global monetary policymakers ramp up the battle against runaway inflation.

China's former justice minister faces life in prison after a court handed him a suspended death sentence on Thursday for taking bribes and "bending the law".

Yuki Tsunoda will stay with AlphaTauri next season, the Italian Formula One team announced on Thursday, with its boss saying the Japanese driver "deserves a seat" in the sport.

Indonesia's central bank hiked its key interest rate for the second month in a row Thursday to combat rising inflation stoked by fuel prices and the war in Ukraine.

Japan's finance ministry said Thursday it intervened in the currency market to bolster the yen, which has plummeted against the dollar in recent months on the widening policy gap between the US and Japanese central banks.

Floyd Mayweather says that Sunday's exhibition boxing match against Japanese mixed martial artist Mikuru Asakura will be an "easy payday, easy cheque, easy opponent".

A strong earthquake jolted Mexico on Thursday, leaving two people dead as residents rushed out into the streets of the capital in the middle of the night days after another powerful tremor.

Almost 200 whales have perished at an exposed, surf-swept beach on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, where Australian rescuers were only able to save a few dozen survivors Thursday.

Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu reached the quarter-finals of the Korea Open on Thursday, beating 396th-ranked Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium in straight sets.

The yen sank to a fresh 24-year low against the dollar on Thursday, with the greenback surging to nearly 146 after Japan's central bank left its ultra-loose monetary policy unchanged, a day after the Federal Reserve ramped up interest rates and warned of more to come.

A strong earthquake jolted Mexico on Thursday, leaving one person dead as people rushed out into the streets of the capital in the middle of the night, days after another powerful tremor.

The death of about 200 pilot whales at a Tasmanian beach has renewed questions about what causes such mass strandings and whether they can be prevented.