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Reserve Bank chief will be Chile's new finance minister
Chile's leftist president-elect Gabriel Boric, whose victory at the polls last month unsettled the markets, on Friday named the country's Central Bank governor as his finance minister in a young, diverse and woman-majority cabinet.

Myanmar sentences lawmaker from Suu Kyi's party to death
A Myanmar military tribunal sentenced a member of Aung San Suu Kyi's ousted party to death for terror offences on Friday, the junta said in a statement.

IS attacks Syria jail, military base in Iraq in deadly escalation
The Islamic State group on Friday attacked a Syria prison housing fellow jihadists and a military base in Iraq in near simultaneous deadly operations that revived fears of an IS resurgence.

Lindelof given time off by Man Utd after break-in at home
Manchester United's Victor Lindelof will miss Saturday's match against West Ham after his wife and children were forced to hide during a "traumatic" break-in at their home while he was playing in midweek.

'Show some respect': Olympic champ lashes Melbourne crowd
Rowdy behaviour at the Australian Open came under scrutiny for a second day running Friday and again it involved Nick Kyrgios, with an Olympic champion saying the crowd lacked "respect".

French politicians worry about surge in pre-election violence
French ruling party lawmaker Pascal Bois was at home asleep a few days after Christmas when firefighters banged on his front door to tell him his garage was in flames.

Air strike on Yemen prison leaves more than 200 dead or wounded
More than 200 people were killed or wounded in an air strike on a prison and at least three children died in a separate bombardment as Yemen's long-running conflict suffered a dramatic escalation of violence on Friday.

Paris outdoor booksellers eager to turn page on Covid
The open-air booksellers of Paris, a fixture along the banks of the Seine for centuries, are seeing their numbers dwindle after two years of Covid, with stalls going empty thanks to a dearth of local and foreign customers.

Everton owner Moshiri increases stake in club
Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has ploughed another £100 million ($136 million) into the struggling Premier League club, taking his stake to 94 percent, it was announced on Friday.

Dior designer Kim Jones: 'We live in a bubble'
Kim Jones may be borrowing from Dior's most iconic female looks for his latest menswear collection but that doesn't mean he believes gender boundaries are ready to disappear yet.

'The last wave?' Spain ICU staff exhausted by Covid battle
Seemingly milder for some but still highly contagious, Omicron has filled intensive care beds again at a hospital near Barcelona where shattered staff are still fighting a virus that refuses to retreat.

UN General Assembly president to join China's Winter Olympic torch relay
China on Friday said the president of the UN's General Assembly will take part in the Winter Olympics torch relay, which organisers announced would be closed to the public because of coronavirus fears.

Lindelof given time off by Man Utd after home burgled
Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof will miss Saturday's Premier League clash with West Ham after his wife and children had to hide from burglars while the Swedish international played in a 3-1 win at Brentford on Wednesday.

US, Russia promise to work to ease Ukraine tensions in high-stakes talks
Washington and Moscow's top diplomats agreed Friday to keep working to ease tensions over Ukraine, with the United States promising a written response to Russian security demands and not ruling out a presidential meeting.

Cardiff handed Toulouse Champions Cup win after Covid-19 cases
Champions Cup holders Toulouse's home game with Cardiff this weekend has been cancelled due to coronavirus cases among the hosts' squad, tournament organisers said on Friday.

Electric Kilde fires Olympic broadside with Kitzbuehel victory
In-form Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde fired an Olympic broadside when he streaked to a "completely wild" victory in the famed World Cup downhill in Kitzbuehel on Friday.

Anisimova stuns Osaka as Nadal sends title warning
Defending champion Naomi Osaka was dumped out of the Australian Open in the third round on Friday by unseeded American Amanda Anisimova to open up the draw for title favourite Ashleigh Barty.

Afghan NGO women 'threatened with shooting' for not wearing burqa
The Taliban's religious police have threatened to shoot women NGO workers in a northwestern province of Afghanistan if they do not wear the all-covering burqa, two staff members told AFP.

England captain Farrell suffers new injury blow ahead of Six Nations
England captain Owen Farrell's prospects of featuring in the Six Nations suffered a fresh setback when club side Saracens said Friday he had sustained a fresh injury in training.

Nadal revels in 'special' return to surge into fourth round
Rafael Nadal dropped a set for the first time at this year's Australian Open but played his best match since injury to overcome Karen Khachanov and steam into the fourth round on Friday.

Bolsonaro cuts short official trip after mother dies
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro said Friday he was cutting short an official visit to Suriname and Guyana and returning home after his mother died.

UK retail sales suffer record drop on Omicron fears
British retail sales suffered a record drop in December as consumers shunned the high street due to Omicron concerns, having snapped up Christmas purchases the previous month, data showed Friday.

Pant puts best foot forward to give India hope
Rishabh Pant made a hard-hit 85 to spearhead India's bid to square the series in the second one-day international against South Africa at Boland Park in Paarl on Friday.

Anisimova soaking up the moment after Osaka upset
Unseeded American Amanda Anisimova said she was just "soaking in the moment" after stunning defending Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka in the third round on Friday.

Ghana probes massive blast after 13 killed
Ghana's government on Friday said it was investigating a massive blast involving a truck transporting mining explosives that killed at least 13 people and wounded dozens more.

Osaka says 'I'm not God' after stunning early Melbourne exit
A philosophical Naomi Osaka said Friday she "is not God" and cannot always win after the defending champion was knocked out of the Australian Open in the third round by unseeded Amanda Anisimova.

From nightmares to PTSD: Covid stokes UK health care staff crisis
Long shifts working in intensive care and the risk of catching Covid and passing it on to his wife and children left Joan Pons Laplana exhausted.

Rights groups, victims call UN to ban Bangladesh paramilitary force
Families of victims of enforced disappearances allegedly perpetrated by an elite Bangladesh paramilitary group Friday called on the UN to ban the security force from serving as peacekeepers.

Security beefed up in Pakistan capital after deadly Lahore blast
Security was beefed up across Pakistan's capital Friday, police said, a day after three people were killed and 22 wounded by a bomb in the eastern megacity of Lahore.

Zverev wants more after blasting into Australian Open last 16
World number three Alexander Zverev said Friday that he needs to play even better if he wants to go far at the Australian Open, as the German chases a maiden major crown.

Howe defends Newcastle's Saudi trip despite 'sportswashing' fears
Eddie Howe confirmed on Friday that Newcastle would travel to Saudi Arabia for a training camp despite a fresh warning from Amnesty International that the kingdom was "trying to sportswash their appalling human rights record".

Dubouloz joins mountain greats with solo climb of Grandes Jorasses
After six days and five nights fighting against the freezing wind, being "glued to the ice", barely sleeping, hardly eating, Charles Dubouloz is still on a high.