The world is on track to add nearly two months of dangerous superhot days each year by the end of the century, with poorer small nations hit far more often than the biggest carbon-polluting countries, a study released Thursday found.

But efforts to curb emissions of heat-trapping gases that started 10 years ago with the Paris climate agreement have had a significant effect. Without them Earth would be heading to an additional 114 days a year of those deadly extra hot days, the same study found.

A record 48 teams will play in the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

On Tuesday, England became the first European team to qualify. In African qualifying, South Africa, Ivory Coast and Senegal all clinched spots. Qatar and Saudi Arabia both advanced from Asian qualifying.

Third goalkeeper Abdelhakim El Mesbahi came off the bench near the end of extra time and made the decisive save in the shootout as Morocco edged France 5-4 on penalties Wednesday to qualify for its first Under-20 World Cup final.

The Moroccans will play for the championship against Argentina, which edged Colombia 1-0 to reach its eighth final at the under-20 tournament.

The first doubts are beginning to emerge about Liverpool's Premier League title defense on the back of three straight losses.

With more hope than expectation.

The Bundesliga is waiting to see if Borussia Dortmund can mount a challenge to Bayern Munich in "der Klassiker" on Saturday.

India says it is looking to step up purchases of crude oil and natural gas from the U.S. as it diversifies its energy supplies and confronts criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump over its imports of discounted Russian oil.

Trump said Wednesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally assured him his country would stop buying Russian oil, in a move that might add to pressure on Moscow to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday called on world leaders to show responsibility as he urged the international community to focus on the multitudes across the globe who face hunger, wars and misery.

U.S. stock indexes are ticking higher on Thursday following an encouraging signal for the artificial-intelligence boom.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, though trading has been erratic this week, and stocks have repeatedly swung between gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 116 points, or 0.3%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher.

A German museum has been unexpectedly overrun by Taylor Swift fans because one of its paintings bears a striking resemblance to the opening scene of Swift's current No. 1 hit video, "The Fate of Ophelia."

Hundreds of additional visitors came to the Hessische Landesmuseum in the central German city of Wiesbaden over the weekend to admire the painting, with one family traveling from the northern city of Hamburg especially for the occasion, museum spokesperson Susanne Hirschmann told The Associated Press on Thursday.

An Israeli airstrike targeting the top leaders of Yemen's Houthi rebels in August killed the chief of staff of its military, officials said Thursday, further escalating tensions between the group and Israel even as a ceasefire holds in the Gaza Strip.

The Houthis have acknowledged the killing of Maj. Gen. Muhammad Abdul Karim al-Ghamari, who had been sanctioned by the United Nations over his role in the country's decadelong war.