A court in Moscow on Friday began considering a lawsuit filed by the central bank against Euroclear, the Brussels-based clearing house that holds the bulk of Russian assets frozen by the European Union.

The lawsuit seeks to recover 18.2 trillion rubles ($232 billion) in damages incurred when Russia was barred from managing and disposing of its Euroclear funds and securities, the bank said. The case is being heard behind closed doors.

Torrential rains and flooding have killed more than 100 people in South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and authorities warned Friday that more severe weather was expected across several countries in southern Africa.

South Africa has reported at least 19 deaths in two of its northern provinces following heavy rains that began last month led to severe flooding.

Russia has not spared a single Ukrainian power plant from attack since its all-out invasion, Ukraine's new energy minister said Friday, as a recent escalation of aerial bombardments left hundreds of thousands of people without heat or light for days amid the coldest winter for years.

Denys Shmyhal said Russia conducted 612 attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure objects over last year. That barrage has intensified in recent months as nighttime temperatures plunge to minus 18 degrees C (minus 0.4 F).

Lens has gone from surprise front runner to serious title contender in Ligue 1.

Despite having modest resources, coach Pierre Sage has done remarkably well to keep his side ahead of defending champion Paris Saint-Germain.

Álvaro Arbeloa tried to leave his mark on Real Madrid in his first game in charge.

He got burned.

Inter Milan has a 70% chance of winning Serie A according to history.

In 63 of the 93 previous Serie A seasons, the team which topped the table at the midway point went on to claim the scudetto.

Defending champion Barcelona avoided an upset a day after Real Madrid faltered in the Copa del Rey, edging second-division leader Racing Santander 2-0 Thursday to reach the quarterfinals.

Madrid, which lost last year's Copa final to Barcelona, was eliminated by second-tier team Albacete 3-2 on Wednesday in the debut of coach Álvaro Arbeloa.

Civilians fled a Kurdish-held region of northern Syria on Friday before a deadline set by the army, which seeks to expand its control over the area after driving Kurdish forces from Aleppo.

The government is seeking to extend its authority nationwide following the ousting of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Shares slipped in Europe after a mixed session Friday in Asia, while U.S. futures edged higher.

Oil prices rebounded after dropping sharply on Thursday.

Scientists have uncovered the mummified remains of cheetahs from caves in northern Saudi Arabia.

The remains range from 130 years old to over 1,800 years old. Researchers excavated seven mummies along with the bones of 54 other cheetahs from a site near the city of Arar.