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Defending champions France are hoping Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane will be fit enough to feature in their opening World Cup match against Australia, with teammate Adrien Rabiot insisting both are "determined to play".

Protesters in Iran have set on fire the ancestral home of the Islamic republic's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini two months into the anti-regime protest movement, images showed on Friday.

Germany's biggest trade union agreed Friday to hefty wage hikes that are expected to cover almost four million workers facing soaring inflation, averting a major strike in Europe's top economy.

One of the world's first cities came close to being wiped off the map during tragic floods this summer in Pakistan. Though Mohenjo Daro survived, it has become a symbol of the threat global warming poses to humanity's cultural heritage.

FIFA's president promised the World Cup would be like "Disneyland" while rights groups say workers have been through hell, but one thing is certain -- there will never be another World Cup like Qatar 2022.

Rescuers searched for more victims on Friday after a fuel tank explosion that killed at least 11 people and caused a house to collapse in northern Iraq, according to local authorities.

The 2022 World Cup gets underway on Sunday in Qatar, with France hoping to become the first team to successfully defend the title since Brazil 60 years ago.

Swedish officials confirmed Friday that the September blasts which destroyed sections of the Nord Stream pipelines carrying natural gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea were acts of sabotage.

After a 12-year build-up engulfed by a desert storm of controversy, the World Cup finally kicks off in Qatar on Sunday with Lionel Messi aiming to crown his glittering career by winning football's greatest prize.

From subversive superheroes to sports documentaries, Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds said he is focused on exploring new forms of storytelling, as he received a prestigious film industry honor.

Australia winger Awer Mabil said Friday that France were only human as the underdogs prepared for their daunting World Cup opener against the defending champions.

The US government recommended on Thursday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was immune from legal action over the 2018 murder of a dissident journalist, according to court documents.

French President Emmanuel Macron urged an end to "confrontation" Friday as he relaunched his strategy for the Asia-Pacific region after a bitter row over a cancelled submarine contract with Australia.

Digital currencies need more regulation to stamp out funding for terror operations, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday at a major international forum to combat financing of extremist groups.

Vice President Kamala Harris told Asian leaders on Friday that the United States is committed to the region for the long haul, rejecting doubts about its engagement as China expands its clout.

Sri Lanka's World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has been ordered to pay $70,000 in a defamation case arising from a long-running feud over control of the island nation's cash-rich cricket board.

UN climate talks entered their last day Friday with rich and developing nations deadlocked over creating a fund for countries devastated by the impacts of global warming -- and the EU warning its offer was final.

Brooklyn's Royce O'Neale notched a triple-double that included the game-winning tip-in in the last second Thursday as the Nets beat the NBA's West-leading Trail Blazers 109-107 in Portland.

"We're screwed," said Alphonse Fwamba Mutombo, standing on a plot of rubble overlooking an open-cast cobalt mine in Kolwezi, southeastern DR Congo.

US Vice President Kamala Harris and leaders from Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Canada vowed to pressure North Korea as they held urgent talks Friday on Pyongyang's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Asian markets were mixed Friday as caution permeated trading floors and investors tried to gauge the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy after several officials tried to temper optimism over signs that inflation is slowing.

Nathan Hadlock moved to Portugal to escape the violence and lack of social welfare he saw in the United States, while still enjoying the sun and sea he had loved in California.

In mountains overlooking an azure lake in southeast Albania, wildlife experts are tracking the Balkan lynx as part of last-gasp efforts to save the species from extinction.

Talks at a UN climate conference enter their final day Friday, gridlocked by a make-or-break tussle between rich and developing nations over money for countries in the crosshairs of increasingly intense and costly impacts of global warming.

The Pitcairn Islands, a volcanic outcrop halfway between South America and New Zealand, is the UK's only overseas territory in the Pacific Ocean and home to only 46 people.

Uruguay's top musical export Jorge Drexler overshadowed megastar Bad Bunny's hype at Thursday's Latin Grammys, scoring seven trophies including Best Record during the gala that saw Spain's Rosalia take home the coveted top album award.

Half a century after jazz great Thelonious Monk appeared on a French television program, a new documentary revisits outtakes from the 1969 interview to cast light on the racism and exploitation of black musicians.

North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile Friday, Seoul's military said, which Japan said may have had the range to hit the US mainland.

China has granted tech giant Tencent its first licence for a video game in 18 months, ending a dry spell that had threatened its position as the world's top game maker.

Japanese inflation hit a four-decade high last month, government data showed Friday, fuelled by high energy costs and a weak yen and ramping up pressure on the central bank to move away from its ultra-loose monetary policies.

Asian markets edged up Friday, though caution permeated trading floors as investors tried to gauge the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy after several officials tried to temper optimism over signs that inflation is slowing.

Australia coach Mal Meninga has vowed that his Kangaroos side, bidding for a third consecutive title, will not take surprise finalists Samoa lightly when the two teams meet at Old Trafford on Saturday.