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NIreland court orders post-Brexit port checks to resume
Northern Ireland's High Court on Friday issued an interim order suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to stop post-Brexit checks on agri-food moving to and from mainland Britain.

Liverpool still interested in Carvalho as Klopp eyes future
Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool's strategy is always to build "a team for now and tomorrow", revealing the club are still interested in Fulham teenager Fabio Carvalho after signing Porto forward Luis Diaz.

'Bruised' Root to captain England in West Indies after Ashes flop
Joe Root was confirmed as England's Test captain for next month's tour of the West Indies by interim managing director Andrew Strauss on Friday despite leading the side in a woeful 4-0 series loss in Australia.

European stocks retreat after positive start, oil surges
European equities retreated from a positive start Friday as investors await key US jobs data after being spooked by a possible eurozone interest rate hike and the crash of Facebook owner Meta's shares.

Can Hermes and Nike stop 'unauthorised' NFTs?
As digital objects in the form of NFTs have exploded in popularity and value over the past year, so too have the legal headaches and complications.

Russia wins Chinese backing in showdown over Ukraine
Russia won China's backing in its showdown with the West over Ukraine on Friday, as Beijing agreed with Moscow that the US-led NATO military alliance should not admit new members.

Salah, Mane set for Cup of Nations final showdown
Liverpool teammates Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are getting ready to face off against each other in the Africa Cup of Nations final in Cameroon this weekend after Egypt beat the hosts on penalties on Thursday to set up a clash with Senegal.

Beijing Olympics opening ceremony starts under cloud of Covid, rights fears
The opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics began on Friday as China attempted to turn the page on a troubled build-up overshadowed by human rights concerns and Covid.

Death of IS chief: what we know
A day after the death of Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi during a US raid in Syria, many questions remain on the operation and the jihadist group's future.

Hippos and humans learning to live in peace in DR Congo
Just how do you calm down a rampaging hippopotamus? Or even a herd of angry hippos.

Morocco rescuers close in on boy trapped in well
Moroccans waited anxiously Friday as rescuers with heavy diggers closed in on Rayan, a five-year-old boy trapped in a deep well for three nights.

Myanmar's Suu Kyi back in court after health no-show
Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi returned to a junta court on Friday after skipping a previous hearing because she felt unwell, a source with knowledge of the case said.

After eight years of war, Ukraine's army a tougher prospect
When he arrived at the front line as a volunteer to fight Russian-backed separatists in 2014, Pavlo Dolynskiy found Ukraine's army in a desperate state.

Lingard denies asking for time off at Man Utd after move fell through
Jesse Lingard has disputed Ralf Rangnick's claim that he requested time off to help clear his head after Manchester United blocked his move away from the club during the January transfer window.

France coach Galthie positive for Covid-19 before Six Nations opener
France head coach Fabien Galthie said on Friday he had tested positive for coronavirus, two days before hosting Italy in their Six Nations opener.

India's coronavirus death toll crosses 500,000
India's official death toll from Covid-19 passed 500,000 on Friday, although many experts believe the real figure is likely much higher.

'Bless that woman': Hondurans look to tiny icon, and a new president, for hope
Thousands of Honduran believers descended on their country's most famous religious icon Thursday, praying for an end to the Catholic nation's crippling poverty and success for their newly elected leftist leader.

Xi meets Putin as tensions rise with West
China's President Xi Jinping held his first face-to-face talks with a world leader in nearly two years on Friday, meeting Russia's Vladimir Putin who hailed "unprecedented" ties between the neighbours as tensions grow with the West.

Ahead of Beijing Games, is China really 'a winter sport country'?
Beijing says it met and even exceeded its target to make more than 300 million Chinese people winter sports enthusiasts since it won the bid to host the Winter Olympics.

Sri Lanka calls for diaspora investment on independence day
Sri Lanka marked its independence day on Friday with an appeal to its diaspora to send money home to overcome the island's worsening economic crisis and a pledge to protect foreign investments.

Nicaragua court finds activists guilty of 'conspiracy'
A Nicaraguan court Thursday found two prominent opposition figures guilty of "conspiracy," according to a human rights organization which condemned the trial as "null and void" for taking place behind closed doors.

Rohit to lead India into 1,000th ODI
India's new white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma starts his full-time ODI tenure on Sunday as his team play the West Indies in their 1,000th one-day international, the first side ever to reach the milestone.

Hong Kong activist arrested ahead of planned Olympics protest
A veteran Hong Kong activist was arrested for "incitement to subversion" on Friday ahead of a planned protest against Beijing's hosting of the Winter Olympics, hours before the opening ceremony was due to kick off.

Asian markets up as Hong Kong returns with rally, eyes on US jobs
Asian markets rose Friday as a surge in Hong Kong on its first day back from a break helped overcome a sharp drop on Wall Street, though a surprisingly hawkish tilt from the European Central Bank added fuel to fears about the removal of pandemic-era stimulus.

Canada's Parrot ready to fly at Beijing Games after cancer comeback
Canadian snowboarder Max Parrot said that chemotherapy left him "at zero percent" when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 -- now he is going for gold at the Beijing Olympics.

Kilde tops wind-swept second Olympic downhill training
Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde underlined his tag as favourite for the men's Olympic downhill by topping the second wind-swept training session on Friday.

High-flying Hawks halt Suns' 11-game NBA winning streak, Clippers hold off Lakers
The Atlanta Hawks, fueled by 43 points from Trae Young, halted the Phoenix Suns' 11-game NBA winning streak on Thursday with a 124-115 victory over the top team in the league.

'Formula One on ice': luge brings hair-raising speeds to the Olympics
The hair-raising sport of luge kicks off the sliding events at the Beijing Olympics with speeds of more than 130 kilometres (80 miles) per hour Friday making it feel "like Formula One on ice".

Pakistan paceman Hasnain suspended over illegal bowling action
Pakistan paceman Mohammad Hasnain was suspended Friday from bowling at international level after biomechanical testing confirmed his action was illegal, the country's cricket board said.

Nike sues shopping platform StockX over sneaker NFTs
Athletics giant Nike filed a lawsuit in New York on Thursday against shopping platform StockX for creating and marketing NFTs -- the tamper-proof digital property certificates -- based on the brand's products without permission.

Sailors stranded off France's La Reunion by Cyclone Batsirai saved
The crew of an oil tanker stranded near the coast of the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion after Cyclone Batsirai swept the region were rescued and brought ashore Friday, officials said.

Chen fires warning to rival Hanyu as Olympic figure skating begins
Strongly fancied Nathan Chen laid old demons to rest with a blistering start to his Olympics campaign in Beijing on Friday, as the figure skating competition kicked off.