Key mediator Egypt has expressed skepticism about the proposal meant to bridge gaps in cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas as more details emerged a day before negotiations were expected to resume in Cairo.

The challenges around the so-called bridging proposal appeared to undermine the optimism for an imminent agreement that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken carried into his latest Mideast visit this week.

President Joe Biden has spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the United States presses Israel and Hamas to agree to a "bridging proposal" that could lead to a cease-fire in the war in Gaza.

Hamas and Israel have signaled that challenges remain amid significant differences over the presence of Israeli troops in two strategic corridors in Gaza and other issues, dimming Biden's hopes that a deal can soon be reached. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is in Chicago this week to accept her party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention, also joined the call.

Cristiano Ronaldo is lining up for another Saudi Pro League season with the main aim of helping Al-Nassr end the dominance of Riyadh rival Al-Hilal.

Ukraine's parliament has banned the activities of religious groups tied to the Russian Orthodox Church or any other faith group supporting Russia's invasion — a measure widely seen as targeting a Ukrainian religious body, despite its claim to independence from Moscow.

The bill creates the legal tools for the government to ban the activities of any religious group deemed to be too closely connected to Russia or to support its invasion of Ukraine..

No. 1-ranked men's tennis player Jannik Sinner will be playing in the U.S. Open — which begins in New York next week — even though word just emerged that he tested positive twice in March for a banned anabolic steroid.

The Democratic National Convention transformed what should have been the driest part of the evening – the roll call – into a party Thursday, complete with lively music and several celebrity appearances.

Although the Democratic party previously held a virtual vote on Aug. 6 that made Harris the party's official nominee, they held a "celebratory" roll call vote to reaffirm her nomination. As each state called out the number of delegates who cast votes for Harris, several states boasted appearances from their famous residents and natives.

England midfielder Conor Gallagher finally completed his move to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, ending a weeks-long saga when issues arose to jeopardize his departure from Chelsea.

Chelsea wanted to sell Gallagher, an academy product and the team's vice-captain last season, to help the club meet the Premier League's financial requirements that are being more strictly applied in recent seasons.

Businesses across a variety of industries are bracing for freight trains to stop moving Thursday at both major Canadian freight railroads if they can't resolve a contract dispute with the union that represents engineers, conductors and dispatchers.

The impact will be widespread because so many companies rely on Canadian National and CPKC railroads to deliver their raw materials and finished products. Railroads carry more than $1 billion Canadian (US$730 million) worth of goods each day and delivered more than 375 million tons of freight last year.

For the first time in 12 years, Bayern Munich is not the defending champion going into a new Bundesliga season.

Bayer Leverkusen stayed undefeated last season to snap Bayern's 11-year reign as German champion and completed a domestic double by winning the German Cup to underscore its credentials as the country's best team.

Japan racked up a 621 billion yen ($4.3 billion) trade deficit in July, as prices of imports surged, according to government data released Wednesday.

Japan's imports grew nearly 17% from a year ago to 10.2 trillion yen ($70.6 billion), while exports grew 10% to 9.6 trillion yen ($66 billion), the Finance Ministry said.