Tropical storms pummeled the land and ravaged ecosystems. Floodwaters engulfed streets and left cars stuck in mud. And fires scorched trees and consumed houses.

Climate change, caused mainly by the use of oil, gas and coal as energy sources, hit people hard in 2025, with suffering and heartache captured by Associated Press photographers around the globe. The extreme weather events that hurt people also hurt many other living things, such as pigs, fish and cows. Lives were altered and many were taken.

Liverpool coach Arne Slot said he was having talks with Mohamed Salah on Friday after the forward's explosive outburst threw his Anfield future into doubt.

Salah said last week that his relationship with Slot had broken down after being dropped for three straight games, and that he felt like "someone doesn't want me in the club."

A national strike called on Friday by Italy's largest trade union in protest against the government's budget plans widely disrupted transportation, health and school services across the country.

The protest, which targets the 2026 budget bill proposed by the conservative government of Premier Giorgia Meloni, comes just two weeks after another general strike organized by smaller trade unions, with the same motivations.

Soccer fans have accused FIFA of a "monumental betrayal" after latest prices for World Cup tickets began to circulate on Thursday.

The governing body allocates 8% of tickets to national associations for games involving their team to sell to the most loyal fans.

This holiday season isn't quite so merry for American shoppers as large shares are dipping into savings, scouring for bargains and feeling like the overall economy is stuck in a rut under President Donald Trump, a new AP-NORC poll finds.

The vast majority of U.S. adults say they've noticed higher than usual prices for groceries, electricity and holiday gifts in recent months, according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

A group of Syrian-American Jews have registered a nongovernmental organization in Syria in a bid to restore Jewish heritage in a country where the once-sizable religious minority has shrunk to almost nothing.

"Jewish Syrians are an integral part of the Syrian fabric," Syrian Minister of Social Affairs Hind Kabawat told The Associated Press Friday. "Our country is a mosaic of all sorts of civilizations, religions, sects, and nations."

Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday hosted a U.S. envoy for talks in the Belarus capital of Minsk, the latest step in the isolated leader's effort to improve ties with the West.

Lukashenko met with U.S. special envoy for Belarus John Coale, according to state news agency Belta and the presidential press service. The press service said the talks would continue Saturday.

Germany summoned Russia's ambassador Friday following accusations of sabotage, cyberattacks and election interference, an official said.

The German government has also accused Moscow of perpetrating disinformation campaigns.

A strike called by Portugal's two main trade union confederations severely disrupted travel Thursday and forced the cancellation of many medical appointments and school classes. Government and municipal services, including trash collection, were also badly hit.

The two labor groups representing close to a million Portuguese workers say it could be the country's biggest walkout in more than 10 years as they contest the center-right government's planned changes to employment laws.

Former Iraqi President Barham Salih is on track to become the next head of the U.N. refugee agency, according to a letter from U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres shared with The Associated Press on Friday.

Salih, 65, is set to succeed longtime UNHCR veteran Filippo Grandi as the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Grandi took office on Jan. 1, 2016, and his second five-year term expires on Dec. 31. He had succeeded Guterres in the post.