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Italy will face Bosnia and Herzegovina for a place at the 2026 World Cup after beating Northern Ireland 2-0 on Thursday, as Wales and the Republic of Ireland suffered agonising penalty shootout defeats in their qualifying play-off semi-finals.

Gennaro Gattuso said Thursday that Italy still have a mountain to climb with Bosnia and Herzegovina standing between the Azzurri and the World Cup finals.

Goalkeeper Matej Kovar saved two penalties in a shootout to take the Czech Republic past Ireland in their World Cup 2026 qualification play-off in Prague on Thursday.

Wales' World Cup dream was ended by defeat on penalties as Bosnia and Herzegovina set up a play-off final against Italy after coming from behind in Cardiff.

Kylian Mbappe moved to within one goal of equalling France's all-time scoring record with the opener in a 2-1 win over Brazil as two of the leading World Cup contenders faced off in a glamour friendly in the United States on Thursday.

Italy's bid to end a 12-year World Cup absence will continue after beating Northern Ireland 2-0 on Thursday to reach the play-off final.

An oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico affecting hundreds of kilometers of coastline was caused by "illegal dumping" from a ship and exacerbated by seepage from natural sources, Mexican authorities said Thursday.

Viktor Gyokeres scored a hat-trick as Sweden brushed Ukraine aside 3-1 on Thursday to set up a showdown with Poland for a spot at the 2026 World Cup.

OpenAI has put plans for a sexually explicit chatbot on hold indefinitely, the company said Thursday, amid mounting concerns about the societal and reputational risks of releasing such a product.

Ilia Malinin pulled off a stunning short programme on Thursday, a month after his Winter Olympics collapse, to boost his hopes of a third consecutive world figure skating title as Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin won pairs gold.

Jurgen Klopp believes Mohamed Salah will leave Liverpool as one of the "all-time greats", with his "unmatched numbers" likely to prove tough to top for future generations at Anfield.

World number two Jannik Sinner cruised into the ATP and WTA Miami Open semi-finals on Thursday while American fourth seed Coco Gauff powered her way to the women's final.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday pushed back his deadline for strikes on Iran's energy assets to April 6, saying it was at Tehran's request and that talks were "going very well."

South Africa said Thursday it has been excluded from the G7 summit in France in June, after initially being invited, with Pretoria first blaming US pressure on Paris before later backtracking.

Oil prices jumped and equities slid Thursday as hopes for a peace deal between the United States and Iran wavered, with US President Donald Trump threatening to "obliterate" the country even as he claimed negotiations to end the conflict were ongoing.

England manager Thomas Tuchel says he has been "a degree unfair" on Trent Alexander-Arnold after excluding the Real Madrid right-back despite naming a 35-man squad for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.

New Zealand's Lydia Ko fired a 12-under par 60 to seize a one-stroke lead over South Korea's Kim Hyo-joo in Thursday's first round of the LPGA Ford Championship.

Arctic sea ice reached its lowest level ever recorded, statistically tying last year's record, a leading US climate observatory for this geopolitically significant region said on Thursday.

The Oscars will leave Hollywood after celebrating their centenary, organizers said Thursday, as they announced a long-term deal to hold the gala in downtown Los Angeles.

US President Donald Trump denied Thursday he was desperate for a deal to end the Middle East war, insisting that Tehran was keen to come to the table despite the Islamic republic's cool response to an American peace plan.

Nigeria's Lagos state has taken out a $7.5 million flood insurance policy to cover millions of people, the Insurance Development Forum said Thursday, as the country's economic capital faces rising sea levels and floods linked to climate change.

Peruvian presidential hopefuls are touting cash bounties for killing criminals and jungle prisons encircled by Amazonian vipers as they look to tap widespread public anger over rising violence ahead of the April 12 election.

Turkey kept their hopes of a first World Cup appearance since 2002 alive as Ferdi Kadioglu scored a second-half winner in a 1-0 victory over Romania in their play-off semi-final on Thursday.

Jannik Sinner dominated Frances Tiafoe for a 6-2, 6-2 victory on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the ATP and WTA Miami Open.

The United States launched a broadside at the hamstrung World Trade Organization as its main gathering opened Thursday, while China rushed to the WTO's defence, making the case for rules-based global trade.

Ghanaians in the streets of the capital Accra were full of pride -- and already looking toward future "justice" -- Thursday after the United Nations recognised the transatlantic slave trade as "the gravest crime against humanity."

San Diego FC's billionaire owner Mohamed Mansour on Thursday said his Egyptian compatriot Mohamed Salah would be an "asset," as speculation builds over the Liverpool forward's next club.

For the first time more than half of Parmesan cheese was exported, as Italy's population declines and consumers watch their spending, producers said Thursday.

Business leaders are warning that the United States lacks the infrastructure to alleviate a global LNG shortage caused by the US-Israel war on Iran, which has kept a fifth of the world's energy supplies from leaving the Gulf.

US President Donald Trump denied being "desperate" to make a deal with Iran Thursday, as he mixed threats with diplomacy in a push to wrap up his war in the Middle East.

Washington's envoy to the UK said Thursday it would be a "big mistake" to cancel King Charles III's planned state visit to the US, following calls to abandon the trip over the Middle East war.

The International Olympic Committee's announcement on Thursday that it is reintroducing gender testing to protect the female category, after it was last used at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, raises practical, legal, ethical and scientific questions.