Israel and Hamas appear to be seriously negotiating an end to the war in Gaza and the return of Israeli captives. A leaked truce proposal hints at compromises by both sides after months of stalemated talks.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week praised Israel for offering what he described as significant concessions and saying "the time is now" for Hamas to seal the deal. Hamas leaders, meanwhile, say they are reviewing the proposal in a "positive spirit" and sending a team to Egypt in the coming days to continue the talks.

Carlos Alcaraz's bid to win a third straight Madrid Open title ended with a three-set loss to Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

The second-seeded Spaniard got off to a good start but then was outplayed by the seventh-seeded Rublev, losing 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 at the Caja Magica center court.

Kylian Mbappé was to lead an attacking trio including Ousmane Dembelé and Bradley Barcola for Paris Saint-Germain as the French champions had a full-strength squad for the Champions League semifinal first leg at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

Mbappé scored twice in both of his last two away games in the competition and was bidding to add to his 15 knockout-stage goals in away matches. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (23) has more.

The English Premier League has missed out on a bonus fifth Champions League place in next season's revamped and expanded competition.

Borussia Dortmund's 1-0 win against Paris Saint-Germain in their semifinal first leg on Wednesday confirmed Germany would join Italy in being granted an extra berth.

Chasing another Champions League crown, Real Madrid already has its fingertips on the Spanish league title.

The 14-time European Cup winner could clinch the Spanish league on Saturday when Madrid hosts Cadiz and Barcelona visits Girona if everything goes its way.

Organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest said Thursday they reserve the right to remove any Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian symbols at the show next week in Sweden.

The announcement came amid heightened tensions surrounding Israel's participation in the annual music competition over its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, now in its seventh month. Pro-Palestinian groups are expected to stage large protests in Malmo to raise awareness of their cause.

Congo is struggling to contain its biggest mpox outbreak, and scientists say a new form of the disease detected in a mining town might more easily spread among people.

Since January, Congo has reported more than 4,500 suspected mpox cases and nearly 300 deaths, numbers that have roughly tripled from the same period last year, according to the World Health Organization. Congo recently declared the outbreak across the country a health emergency.

Several flights to Dubai were cancelled and diverted Thursday, airport authorities announced, as heavy rains hit the United Arab Emirates for the second time in a month.

An airport authority spokesperson said five inbound flights were diverted overnight, while nine arriving and four departing flights were cancelled.

The European Union announced Thursday an aid package for Lebanon of 1 billion euros — about $1.06 billion — that will mostly go to boost border control to halt the flow of asylum seekers and migrants from the small, crisis-wracked country across the Mediterranean Sea to Cyprus and Italy.

The deal comes against a backdrop of increasing hostility toward Syrian refugees in Lebanon and a major surge in irregular migration of Syrian refugees from Lebanon to Cyprus.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has secured an additional $1.6 billion worth of shares in Trump Media, according to a regulatory filing this week.