Monaco Journal - News from Monaco, Monte-Carlo and the world

Chinese swimming sensation Yu Zidi added to her fast-growing reputation as the 13-year-old phenomenon beat multiple Olympic medallist Regan Smith in the women's 200m butterfly in a personal-best time in Shenzhen.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and daughter Ju Ae tried out the country's new battle tank in large-scale military drills, state media reported on Friday, in the latest sign that she was being groomed as his heir.

Israel launched a new wave of strikes on Tehran on Friday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was being "decimated", and as Gulf nations faced a fresh set of attacks.

LeBron James tied the NBA record for most regular-season games played in style with a triple-double in the Lakers' win at Miami on Thursday.

China will be in a stronger position to extract concessions from Donald Trump when the US president finally visits Beijing after becoming entangled in his Middle East war, analysts say.

K-pop megastars BTS released a new album Friday billed as reflecting the maturing boy band's Korean roots and identity, as buzz built ahead of their open-air comeback concert in the heart of Seoul.

Coach Joe Montemurro told his Australia team Friday they must be adaptable and "smart" to win the Women's Asian Cup for the first time since 2010 and avenge two gut-wrenching losses against Japan in the continental final.

Victor Wembanyama's game-winner lifted the San Antonio Spurs to a 101-100 triumph over Phoenix and into the NBA playoffs Thursday as the Los Angeles Lakers kept up their postseason push with an eighth straight victory.

Beneath the powder snow at internationally popular Japanese ski resort Niseko, anxiety is mounting among residents over soaring prices and a massive influx of overseas workers.

Real Madrid have a host of brilliant players, including winger Vinicius Junior, but both he and the team as a whole must prove they can play consistently on Sunday against Atletico Madrid in a La Liga derby clash.

Harry Kane praised coach Vincent Kompany's role in Bayern Munich's evolution this campaign as a history-making season beckons for the German giants.

Paris Saint-Germain's comprehensive victory over Chelsea in the Champions League last 16 suggests they are coming back into the form which swept them to European glory last season, but they have not appeared as motivated in the chase for yet another Ligue 1 crown.

A weakened World Trade Organization will gather ministers in Yaounde next week as it seeks a road to reform, amid surging global trade tensions, US tariffs and disruptions caused by the Middle East war.

K-pop megastars BTS release an album Friday billed as reflecting the maturing boy band's Korean roots and identity, as buzz builds ahead of their open-air comeback concert in the heart of Seoul.

Relegation-haunted Tottenham face a crunch clash against fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest as the fight for Premier League survival reaches boiling point.

Coach Joe Montemurro told his Australia team Friday they must be adaptable and "smart" to win the Women's Asian Cup for the first time since 2010 and avenge two gut-wrenching losses against Japan in the continental final.

Giggles and songs ripple across a field in rural eastern Uganda where elderly women swing cricket bats as a way to reshape what ageing, health and sports can look like in later life.

When an ancient bronze statue of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius landed back on Turkish soil after decades abroad, it was more than a symbolic homecoming.

"The Bachelorette," one of America's highest profile reality TV shows, was cancelled Thursday just days before the new season was due to air, after video emerged of the show's star hurling furniture at her ex-partner, in an incident that apparently injured her daughter.

An advisory commission hand-picked by President Donald Trump has approved the design of a commemorative gold coin featuring his image, officials said Thursday, in a move slammed by Democratic opponents.

K-pop oozes with talent, flair and hard work, but the spectacularly successful South Korean music industry also has a dark side -- sometimes with tragic results.

Crude prices fell more than two percent Friday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was being "decimated" and that the war would end earlier than many feared.

Employees of a US computer company raked in billions of dollars diverting Nvidia artificial intelligence chips to China in violation of export controls, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

Iga Swiatek crashed out of the Miami Open second round Thursday as 50th-ranked fellow Pole Magda Linette fought back for a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over the six-time Grand Slam champion.

Six major international powers said Thursday they were ready "to contribute to" ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, though three stressed that any initiative would take place post-ceasefire.

A US-backed crackdown on drug cartels along the Ecuador-Colombia border has sparked accusations that security forces bombed farms, burned homes and detained and abused villagers.

Outraged EU leaders rounded on Viktor Orban after the Hungarian nationalist refused to lift his veto on funds for Ukraine's war effort at a Thursday summit, accusing him of a "gross act of disloyalty" tantamount to "blackmail."

Aziza Ahmad hasn't planned anything -- no family meal, no gifts for the children. In Lebanon, between the war and soaring prices, she said "there's nothing to celebrate" this Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan.

Basketball superstar LeBron James tied the NBA record for most regular-season games played as his Los Angeles Lakers took on the Miami Heat on Thursday.

K-pop megastars BTS release a new album Friday a day ahead of a huge comeback concert in Seoul, a record billed as reflecting the maturing boy band's "beginnings and identity".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Iran is being "decimated" and it is unclear who is in charge, even as the Islamic Republic kept up attacks on Gulf oil and gas targets that have jolted global markets.

Michael Carrick admits he doesn't know if Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt will play again this season as he struggles with a "difficult" back injury.

Nottingham Forest reached the Europa League quarter-finals after Midtjylland missed all three of their penalties in the last-16 second-leg shoot-out, while John McGinn inspired Aston Villa's 2-0 win against Lille on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both praise their relationship as excellent, but after three weeks of attacking Iran, their tactics are increasingly diverging -- the result, some experts say, of Trump's ill-defined goals.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sailed smoothly past a potential clash with Donald Trump over Iran on Thursday, though the US president whipped up a bit of a storm about Pearl Harbor.

Brazil's Flavio Bolsonaro, who plans to run for president in October elections, on Thursday called for "many, many prisons" in a speech praising the controversial security policies of El Salvador's Nayib Bukele.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that it "takes money to kill bad guys" when asked if the Pentagon had requested $200 billion in funding for the Iran war.

Energy prices soared during a volatile session Thursday, while Wall Street stocks trimmed losses after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war with Iran could finish sooner than expected.

Nottingham Forest reached the Europa League quarter-finals after Midtjylland missed all three of their penalties in the last-16 second-leg shoot-out on Thursday.