KHIMKI, Russia (Reuters) -U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to a drugs charge in a Russian court on Thursday but denied she had intentionally broken the law.

The Taliban and the United Arab Emirates are poised to strike a deal for the Gulf nation to run Kabul airport and several others in Afghanistan that could be announced within weeks, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

Pope Francis said he hoped that the recent sale of a luxury London building at the centre of an ongoing corruption trial meant the Vatican can see the back of financial scandals.

Ukrainian forces raised their national flag on a recaptured Black Sea island on Thursday in a defiant act against Moscow, but Kyiv lost a main international supporter after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would step down.

Boris Johnson emerged to cheers from loyal lawmakers, his staff and wife but any sign of support from allies arranged around him for his resignation speech was soon drowned out by loud boos from outside the gates of his Downing Street office.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week and there are growing signs that demand for labor is cooling, with layoffs surging to a 16-month high in June as the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary policy tightening stokes recession fears.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Transportation Department on Thursday announced it is proposing to require that state transportation agencies set new targets for reducing tailpipe emissions on the national highway system.

Even as Peru's embattled president faces fresh corruption probes from prosecutors as well as an opposition-led Congress, some lawmakers are simultaneously aiming to take down his vice president in a separate bid to weaken him, sources told Reuters.

LONDON (Reuters) -Scandal-ridden Boris Johnson announced on Thursday he would quit as British prime minister after he dramatically lost the support of his ministers and most Conservative lawmakers, but said he would stay on until his successor was chosen.

Wall Street's main indexes opened higher on Thursday as investors assessed the outlook for monetary policy amid growing concerns about an economic downturn following aggressive interest rate hikes to tackle inflation.