Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the Winter Olympics on Thursday after refusing to back down over his banned helmet, which depicts victims of his country's war with Russia.
Equities mostly rose on Thursday as investors cheered a bumper US jobs report that eased concerns about the state of the world's top economy, even as they pared back their bets on Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
A French court has jailed three young men for the gang rape of an 18-year-old in 2020, after the victim's mother kept evidence in a plastic bag for year, until her daughter was ready to file a complaint.
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Sports
Dasun Shanaka blazed the fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in T20Is as the hosts piled up 225-5 against Oman in their Group B World Cup clash at Pallekele on Thursday.
February 12, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Non-alcoholic wine: a booming business searching for quality
Boulevard
February 12, 2026
Canadian figure skaters Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier put the dark times behind them with ice dancing bronze at the Winter Olympics after it had looked as if their career could be over following her cancer diagnosis.
February 12, 2026
RECENT NEWS
A Wales side low on confidence welcome an in-form France to Cardiff on Sunday in the Six Nations, with rugby in the country rarely having sunk to such troubling depths.
February 12, 2026
An All Blacks-heavy Canterbury Crusaders kick off their Super Rugby title defence against the Otago Highlanders on Friday as the southern hemisphere competition trials a raft of rule changes designed to speed up the game.
February 12, 2026
Chinese snowboarder Liu Jiayu said from hospital Thursday that she had avoided serious injury following a dramatic fall at the Winter Olympics in Italy and thanked fans for their concern.
February 12, 2026
Nature
China's emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide were "flat or falling" in 2025, analysis showed Thursday, but progress remains fragile and it is not yet clear that emissions have peaked.
February 12, 2026
RECENT NEWS
China was long a lucrative market for Germany Inc, but the Asian giant's rise in high-tech fields has put the heat on Europe's industrial powerhouse and its companies, big and small.
Four years after his Winter Games victory alongside Gabriella Papadakis, French skater Guillaume Cizeron achieved the unprecedented feat of a second Olympic ice dancing gold medal with a new partner on Wednesday.
Most equities rose Thursday as investors cheered a bumper US jobs report that eased concerns about the state of the world's top economy, even as they pared back their bets on Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
EU leaders will converge on a Belgian castle on Thursday as the bloc seeks ways to punch its economic weight on the global stage -- faced with threats from China and the United States, and hamstrung by its own divisions.
February 12, 2026
Weather
Two weeks before setting off for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics to compete as Kyrgyzstan's only alpine skier, Timur Shakirov was weaving down a slalom course in his homeland.
February 12, 2026
RECENT NEWS
A new push to lift aid sanctions on North Korea could kickstart efforts to lure Kim Jong Un into nuclear negotiations with US President Donald Trump, analysts told AFP.
The Berlin Film Festival will kick off on Thursday evening with an eclectic selection of films reflecting current upheavals, and with Wim Wenders, one of Germany's most illustrious directors, heading the jury.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te called for greater defence and AI cooperation between Taiwan and Europe, as the democratic island seeks to bolster its protection against China.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te warned that countries in the region would be China's next targets should Beijing seize the democratic island, as he insisted on the need for Taiwan to dramatically shore up its defences.
February 12, 2026
- World Cup ticket prices skyrocket on FIFA re-sale site
- 'No one to back us': Arab bus drivers in Israel grapple with racist attacks
- Venezuelan AG wants amnesty for toppled leader Maduro
- Scrutiny over US claim that Mexican drone invasion prompted airport closure
- Trump to undo legal basis for US climate rules
- Protesters, police clash at protest over Milei labor reform
- Dyche sacked by Forest after dismal Wolves draw
- France seeks probe after diplomat cited in Epstein files