Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after beating Bahrain 2-0 at Saitama Stadium on Thursday.

Second-half goals from Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo ensured the Samurai Blue secured a spot in Asia Group C's top two automatic qualification places.

Croatia contained the attacking duo of Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé in a 2-0 victory over France in the first leg of the Nations League quarterfinals Thursday.

Ante Budimir headed Croatia ahead in the 26th minute off a cross from Ivan Perišić with France goalkeeper Mike Maignan partially blocking the ball before it crossed the line.

Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood scored a hat trick of headed goals as New Zealand beat Fiji 7-0 Friday to join New Caledonia in the Oceania qualifying final for the 2026 World Cup.

New Caledonia earlier beat Tahiti 3-0 in the first semifinal in FIFA's smallest confederation.

A last-minute goal by Vinicius Júnior secured Brazil's 2-1 win over Colombia in World Cup qualifying on Thursday, helping his team and millions of fans avoid more disappointment.

A draw would have seen Brazil slump to sixth in the South American standings. Instead, Brazil moved to second spot behind Argentina after Vinicius Júnior's long-range goal.

Sudan 's military said Friday it retook the Republican Palace in Khartoum, the last heavily guarded bastion of rival paramilitary forces in the capital, after nearly two years of fighting.

The seizure of the Republican Palace, surrounded by government ministries, represents a major symbolic victory for Sudan's military against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. However, it likely doesn't mean the end of the war as the RSF holds territory in Sudan's western Darfur region and elsewhere.

Stocks are falling in morning trading and Wall Street is on track for its fifth straight weekly loss. The S&P 500 was down 0.8% Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 346 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 1%. Stocks have been broadly losing ground for weeks over uncertainty about the direction of the U.S. economy. A trade war between the U.S. and its key trading partners threatens to worsen inflation and hurt both consumers and businesses. Nike fell sharply as tariff and other concerns weighed on its financial forecast for the year. Treasury yields fell in the bond market.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.

The Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano in south-central Indonesia erupted three times into Friday, sending an ash column 8,000 meters (26,000 feet) high and prompting authorities to expand the danger zone around the volcano.

The volcano on the remote island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province has had hundreds of earthquakes and visible volcanic activity has significantly increased in the last seven days.

From the grounds of a gas-fired power plant on the eastern shores of Canada, a little-known company is pumping a slurry of minerals into the ocean in the name of stopping climate change.

Whether it's pollution or a silver bullet that will save the planet may depend on whom you ask.

Wildfires fueled by dry conditions and gusting winds burned in a few Southern states Thursday, forcing evacuations in Texas and prompting Florida officials to close part of a major highway with spring break in high gear.

A wildfire in Sam Houston National Forest near Houston prompted the evacuation of about 900 homes and closed schools. The National Weather Service issued elevated fire warnings around the nation's fourth-largest city.

Flights to and from London's Heathrow Airport were canceled Friday after a fire at a nearby substation knocked out power to Europe's busiest airport, disrupting travel plans for hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

Here's a look at what's happening and its impact on air travel.