Kevin Martinez has come up with a creative new way to avoid shutting his restaurant when water runs low in Cuba, a common source of frustration for the business owner -- he is digging downwards for his own source. He is not alone. u.afp.com/SCCB

Sixteen writers -- half French-speaking and half Japanese -- boarded a luxury train in Kyoto on Thursday, faced with the unusual task of collectively writing a novel in under 24 hours. u.afp.com/SCCX

A Guatemalan court has sentenced seven former police officers to up to 60 years in prison over the "extrajudicial execution" of a gay couple, killings denounced by human rights groups as a hate crime. u.afp.com/SCC7

Janith Liyanage smashed a six off the penultimate ball as Sri Lanka completed the second-highest successful run chase in ODI history, scoring 430-8 to beat England in Rawalpindi on Thursday. u.afp.com/SCCn

The World Health Organization warned on Thursday that Africa faced a "complex" Ebola outbreak after the virus crossed from east Africa to Nigeria, which has reported the first case in the west of the continent. u.afp.com/SCCs

🏠 The days of having to take out the trash or wash the dishes before leaving an Airbnb are numbered as the short-term rental platform is tightening rules on what conditions hosts may impose on guests. ➡️ u.afp.com/SCCx

🇫🇷 French authorities have imposed bans or restrictions on fresh protests springing up in the wake of demonstrations last weekend that degenerated into the country's worst street violence in years. ➡️ u.afp.com/SC9a

🌎 Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth ordered aides to fetch him a globe associated with legendary World War II General Dwight Eisenhower -- and they broke it, The Washington Post reported Thursday. ➡️ u.afp.com/SCCN

🇯🇵 Strong winds, heavy rain in Japan's Ishigaki as Typhoon Champi nears Stores are closed and people shelter from the heavy rain in Ishigaki, in Japan's Okinawa prefecture, as Typhoon Champi approaches the island.

🇻🇦 Pope warns young people afraid to make mistakes Pope Leo XIV warns that a "performance-driven culture" is leaving many young people "virtually paralysed by the fear" of making mistakes.

🇷🇺 🇺🇸 A retired US teacher freed by President Vladimir Putin after four years' detention in Russia for allegedly fighting on behalf of Ukraine has returned to the United States, his lawyer said Thursday. ➡️ u.afp.com/SCCw

🇺🇸 The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have announced a 10-year agreement for the production of 850 F-35 warplanes, underscoring Washington's long-term commitment to the high-tech stealth aircraft. ➡️ u.afp.com/SCCU

🇧🇷 Brazil's presidential candidates seek to disqualify each other Both candidates in the Brazilian election have called for the disqualification of their rivals over allegations of social media malfeasance.

🏏 An inspired Harry Brook scored the fastest double hundred in ODI history as England piled up 429-4 against Sri Lanka in the tri-series in Rawalpindi on Thursday. ➡️ u.afp.com/SC9t

🇲🇲 The son of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi told AFP she sounded "fairly healthy" after speaking to the detained ex-democratic leader on Thursday for the first time in more than five years. ➡️ u.afp.com/SC9C

🇫🇷 🐄 French health authorities said that the Shamonda virus, which usually affects livestock, had been detected in a human for the first time, in a severely immunocompromised patient who died earlier this month. ➡️ u.afp.com/SC9r

🇮🇳 India celebrates colourful Mysuru Dasara festival Thousands of Indians dressed in colourful attire march down the streets of Mysuru in southwest India for the last day of the Mysuru Dasara festival.

🇫🇷 French authorities have imposed bans or restrictions on fresh protests springing up in the wake of demonstrations last weekend that degenerated into the worst street violence in years. ➡️ u.afp.com/SC9a

🇫🇷 Paris suburban residents left stranded as metro closes amid curfew Nationwide cost-of-living protests in France devolved into clashes, vandalism of public buildings and looting over the weekend. Since then, authorities have ordered partial curfews in parts of Paris and other cities to prevent further scenes of violence, leaving some commuters stranded following public transport closures.