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A US government funding shutdown looked increasingly certain Thursday after Senate Democrats rejected a key procedural vote to express anger over the killing of two protesters against President Donald Trump's hardline immigration crackdown.

Russia's capital Moscow has this month seen the largest snowfall in more than 200 years, Moscow State University meteorologists said on Thursday.

Their icy hunting grounds are rapidly shrinking, but polar bears in Norway's remote Svalbard archipelago have defied the odds by bulking up instead of wasting away, a study said Thursday.

US self-driving car company Waymo said Thursday it is working with UK partners to launch driverless robotaxis in London, which are expected to begin operating later this year.

Colombia has restricted the importation of drones, whose increased use by guerrilla groups in a decades-old conflict killed 20 people last year and wounded nearly 300, the government said Thursday.

A contract with American Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has triggered a barrage of criticism of French IT services company Capgemini in the wake of killings and other incidents involving US border officials.

President Donald Trump's border chief vowed Thursday to press on with the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis but said a plan to "draw down" the number of federal agents in the city is in the works.

Oil prices surged Thursday after US President Donald Trump ramped up geopolitical tensions with threats of a military strike on Iran, while safe-haven gold fell back after hitting a fresh record near $5,600.

Melania Trump on Thursday premieres her new movie promising a behind the scenes glimpse at her husband's return to power -- a documentary funded by an extraordinary multi-million-dollar deal with Amazon.

Title-holders Paris Saint-Germain and record 15-time winners Real Madrid are among the European giants who will have to come through the play-off round of this season's Champions League after missing out on direct qualification for the last 16.

Ranked number three in the world, England have most of their boxes ticked ahead of next month's T20 World Cup, with several of their batters and bowlers comfortably sitting inside the top ten of the rankings.

US senators looked likely to reject a key vote Thursday to avert another damaging shutdown in President Donald Trump's second term, with Democrats blocking funding for his immigration crackdown after the killings of two activists by federal agents.

Churches in deeply Christian Colombia have reacted angrily to assertions by President Gustavo Petro that Jesus Christ had engaged in sex.

Turkey will offer to mediate between Washington and Tehran when Iran's foreign minister visits Friday, officials said, as Ankara mulls reinforcing security along its border should the dispute escalate.

Amid a subdued atmosphere one month after the deadly fire that killed 40 young people and injured 116, the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana will host the final World Cup skiing races starting Friday before the Milan-Cortina Olympics get under way next week.

The European Union agreed Thursday to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard a "terrorist organisation" over a deadly crackdown on mass protests, sending a powerful message of condemnation to Tehran.

The Czech Republic will stop mining black coal at the end of January, closing its last mine in a switch to greener energy sources, state mining company OKD said Thursday.

Faced with political deadlock, open American meddling and the threat of war across its borders, is Iraq being dragged back to darker times after achieving hard-won stability?

Vietnam's Phan Huy became the youngest-ever designer to present a collection on the official Haute Couture calendar in Paris aged just 27 on Thursday, rounding out a week of major fashion debuts and celebrity sightings.

Oil prices surged Thursday after US President Donald Trump ramped up geopolitical tensions with threats of a military strike on Iran, while safe-haven gold soared to a fresh record near $5,600.

Denmark's foreign minister said Thursday he was "more optimistic" after technical talks kicked off with the United States over Greenland.

Phan Huy had a thrilling -- but quite stressful -- journey to making history at Paris Haute Couture Week on Thursday, where he became the youngest ever and the first Vietnamese designer to present a collection on the official calendar.

President Donald Trump's border chief vowed Thursday to press on with the federal immigration crackdown in Minneapolis while acknowledging the mission needed to improve and promising to hold agents to account.

EU foreign ministers were expected to agree Thursday to put Iran's Revolutionary Guards on the bloc's "terrorist list" after a deadly crackdown on mass protests.

Jessica Pegula called her display "shoddy" and "erratic" as her Australian Open run ended in the semi-finals to Elena Rybakina on Thursday.

The UK navy is tightening the taps on allowing alcohol at sea, the defence ministry said Thursday.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka said it would be "cool" to see Serena Williams return to tennis after the American great refused to rule it out when asked, and instead replied: "I don't know. I'm just going to see what happens."

Elena Rybakina said Thursday she was braced for another "great battle" as she plots revenge over world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a rerun of their 2023 Australian Open final.

Ireland's hopes of regaining the Six Nations title suffered a second blow in two days with veteran centre Bundee Aki suspended for their first three matches for "verbal abuse and disrespect".

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed "really good progress" on issues including visa-free travel and tariffs during talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday.

Pino Terzo Di Dio was in tears as firefighters carried his beloved parrots out of his home, which has been cordoned off as his town teeters on a cliff edge.

Gold soared to a fresh record near $5,600 on Thursday and oil prices climbed after US President Donald Trump ramped up geopolitical tensions with threats of a military strike on Iran.