Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian superstar who was expected to deliver her nation its third straight Olympic gold medal in women's figure skating, practiced as usual on Thursday, hours after reports surfaced that she had tested positive for a banned substance.

Valieva tested positive for the heart medication before the Beijing Games, the Russian newspaper RBC reported.

Britain's top diplomat urged Russia on Thursday to defuse tensions over Ukraine and take the path of diplomacy even as thousands of Russian troops engaged in sweeping maneuvers in Belarus as part of a military buildup near Ukraine that has fueled Western fears of an invasion.

U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss again warned Russia that attacking its neighbor will "have massive consequences and carry severe costs," urging Moscow to de-escalate the tensions and abide by its international agreements that commit it to respecting Ukraine's independence and sovereignty.

Satellite photos show hundreds of people in formation at a training ground in North Korea's capital in a possible sign the country is preparing for a military parade amid heightened animosities over its recent missile tests.

The 38 North website, which specializes in North Korea studies, said the Feb. 5 imagery taken on the Mirim airfield in Pyongyang — where rehearsals for past military parades occurred — likely signals a forthcoming parade.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, in his final months in office, has expressed concern over North Korea's expanding weapons program and the possibility it could resume nuclear and long-range missile tests that would revive fears of war in the region.

Renewed tensions between Washington and Pyongyang have been a major setback for Moon, a dovish liberal and son of northern war refugees who staked his single presidential term on his ambitions for inter-Korean rapprochement.

Egypt's president has sworn in the first-ever Coptic Christian to head the country's highest court.

Judge Boulos Fahmy is the 19th person to preside over the Supreme Constitutional Court since it was established in 1969. President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi picked the 65-year-old Fahmy from among the court's five oldest of 15 sitting judges, as is prescribed by law.

Iran has unveiled a new missile with a reported range that would allow it to reach both U.S. bases in the region and targets inside its archfoe Israel.

State TV reported that the missile uses solid fuel and has a range of 1,450 kilometers (900 miles). It is called the Khaibar-buster, a reference to a Jewish castle overrun by Muslim warriors in the early days of Islam.

Out of the FA Cup, now out of the Premier League's top four.

Manchester United is going through a rough spell under Ralf Rangnick — and Cristiano Ronaldo currently isn't in good enough scoring form to get the team out of it.

The foreign ministers of Australia and Lithuania agreed Wednesday to step up cooperation on strategic challenges, in particular pressures from China.

Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis and his Australian counterpart Marise Payne met Wednesday at Parliament House.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and key allies are "voting with their feet" by flying to Australia to focus on challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, Australia's foreign minister said Wednesday, as fears rise of a Russian invasion of Ukraine on the other side of the globe.

Blinken landed in the Australian city of Melbourne on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne as well as their Indian and Japanese counterparts who form the so-called "Quad."

Can you get long COVID after an infection with omicron?

It's too early to know for sure, but many doctors believe it's possible to have long-term effects from the omicron variant of the virus.