Heraldo de Madrid - News from Madrid, Spain, Europe and the whole world

Gregory Alldritt retained the France captaincy despite the return of Gael Fickou in the team announced by head coach Fabien Galthie on Thursday to play Australia in the Autumn Nations Series in Paris this weekend.

Gaza health authorities said fresh Israeli air strikes killed four people Thursday as Qatar, a mediator of the weeks-long ceasefire, warned that renewed attacks threatened to undermine the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas.

Experienced centre Gael Fickou returns for France against Australia in the Autumn Nations Series in Paris this weekend, having been overlooked for the win over Fiji, head coach Fabien Galthie announced on Thursday.

A court in Spain said Thursday it has ordered Facebook owner Meta to pay local media outlets 479 million euros ($552 million) in compensation for "unfair competition" plus 60 million euros in interest.

Steve Smith took a swipe Thursday at "comical" Monty Panesar after the former England spinner urged fans and players to target the stand-in Australia captain during the Ashes over his part in the 2018 "Sandpapergate" affair.

Flanker Harri Deaves will make his debut for Wales against New Zealand on Saturday as one of five changes to the side that beat Japan last week.

Scientists have discovered a giant spider web spanning about half the size of a tennis court and with some 111,000 spiders in a cave on the border between Greece and Albania.

A Chinese woman who faked Philippine nationality to become a town mayor was sentenced Thursday to life in prison on human trafficking charges, a Manila regional court said.

New Zealand coach Scott Robertson rang the changes for their Autumn Nations Series clash with Wales, bringing in 13 fresh faces to the run-on XV that lost to England last week.

Most Asian markets rallied on Thursday after blowout earnings from chip powerhouse Nvidia cooled worries over an AI bubble and overshadowed a Federal Reserve report that dealt a blow to hopes for a December interest rate cut.

Rescuers plucked stranded people from the rooftops of submerged homes as widespread flooding inundated central Vietnam, where authorities said on Thursday at least 16 people were killed.

When Liberia's government signed an agreement with a little-known Dubai company run by a royal sheikh in 2023, the "carbon credit" deal promised to protect vast tracts of forests and offset big polluters' emissions.

England captain Ben Stokes admitted Thursday beating "a seriously good" Australia will be tough but said his team was up for the challenge and had a golden opportunity to rewrite Ashes history.

Months after a deadly uprising, Nepalis are again lining up -- not to demonstrate, but to register to vote and potentially run in the election they helped bring about.

Bangladesh's Mushfiqur Rahim joined an elite club on Thursday by scoring a century in his 100th Test, achieving the feat against Ireland in Mirpur.

Shoppers could face higher prices for phones, laptops and other gadgets next year, manufacturers and analysts warn, as AI data centres hoover up memory chips used in consumer electronics.

Rescuers plucked stranded people from the rooftops of submerged homes as widespread flooding inundated central Vietnam, where authorities said Thursday at least 16 people have died.

Pacific islanders decried on Thursday a wasted chance to draw eyes to their climate troubles, after their bid to co-host next year's COP climate summit was brushed aside.

Opener Jake Weatherald and seamer Brendan Doggett will make their debuts in the first Ashes Test against England in Perth on Friday, Australia skipper Steve Smith said.

Alperen Sengun scored 28 points and Kevin Durant added 20 to lead the Houston Rockets over Cleveland 114-104 on Wednesday while reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City beat Sacramento 113-99.

A Philippine court on Thursday sentenced Alice Guo, a Chinese national who became a mayor while masquerading as a Filipina, and seven others to life in prison on human trafficking charges, state prosecutors said.

Lando Norris arrives in Las Vegas this week full of confidence after back-to-back wins and in control of the Formula One world championship race as he eyes a maiden title.

Bangladesh's police have unveiled new uniforms in a symbolic bid to signal reform and rebuild deeply eroded public trust, just weeks ahead of the first elections since a mass uprising.

Asian markets rallied Thursday after blowout earnings from chip powerhouse Nvidia cooled worries over an AI bubble and overshadowed a Federal Reserve report that dealt a blow to hopes for a December interest rate cut.

Inside a lab in the French city of Orleans, scientists are testing out the limits of molecules in our body called messenger RNA -- best known for being used in Covid-19 vaccines -- in the hopes of finding a breakthrough treatment for a particularly deadly cancer.

A South Korean ferry ran aground after the helmsman became distracted by his mobile phone, a member of the coast guard told AFP on Thursday.

Security forces were scouring western Nigeria for two dozen kidnapped schoolgirls on Wednesday, a day after gunmen stormed a church service, killing two people in an attack captured on video.

Temba Bavuma's South Africa are aiming for their first Test series victory in India in 25 years when the second match starts on Saturday in Guwahati.

Indigenous protesters at UN climate talks in Brazil have zeroed in on a major grievance: A planned railway that would stretch almost the distance from London to Berlin and cut through the Amazon rainforest.

Donald Trump signed into law on Wednesday legislation requiring the release of government records on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, spurring a showdown over whether the US president will allow full disclosure -- or return to trying to bury the case.

Denton Loudermill Jr. watched every Kansas City Chiefs game at his sister's house with his family. The Kansas native and his late father were diehard fans.

From the scrappy metal shacks packed tightly on the banks of the thin Jukskei river, the sparkly skyline of Johannesburg's richest neighbourhood less than two miles away was another world.