Syrian President Bashar Assad has met with Iran's supreme leader in the capital Tehran and expressed his condolences over the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, state media reported Thursday.

Assad met on Thursday with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and also expressed condolences over the death of Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian who was also killed in the helicopter crash earlier this month.

Consumers' love for avocados in the United States seems to know no bounds. From 2001 through 2020, consumption of this fruit laden with healthy fats tripled nationwide, rising to over 8 pounds per person yearly.

On average, 90% of those avocados are grown in the southwest Mexican state of Michoacán. As with other foods that have become trendy, such as acai berries, or widely used, such as palm oil, intensive avocado production is causing significant environmental damage.

Between the sweat smell, fluorescent lights and omnipresent television screens, April Herring has never connected with going to the gym.

Instead, she runs, bikes, hikes, plays tennis, pickleball and football — anything to get her exercise outside as often as possible.

Barcelona has replaced Xavi Hernández with former Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick, who commanded the German team's 8-2 rout of the Catalan club four years ago.

Flick signed a two-year contract with Barcelona, which announced his hiring Wednesday just minutes after confirming that it reached an agreement to sever ties with Xavi.

Real Madrid forward Rodrygo has attracted unwanted attention just days before the Champions League final by saying he is open to leaving the Spanish powerhouse.

The Brazil international went on social media early Wednesday to reiterate his allegiance to the club and say that his words were taken out of context.

Vincent Kompany is the unlikely new coach of Bayern Munich after a lengthy search that saw the German club rejected by several top candidates.

The 38-year-old former Manchester City captain arrives at Bayern tasked with overseeing a turnaround after his predecessor, Thomas Tuchel, led the team only to a third-place finish in the Bundesliga, 18 points off champion Bayer Leverkusen.

Lionel Messi scored yet again. It was the lone real highlight for Inter Miami, as its 10-match Major League Soccer winning streak was ended by an Atlanta United side that got its first league win in nearly two months.

Saba Lobjanidze scored once in each half, Jamal Thiaré helped put the game away with a goal in the 73rd minute and Atlanta United snapped a nine-match MLS winless streak with a 3-1 victory on Wednesday night.

Shares opened higher in Europe on Thursday after a retreat in Asia as rising bond yields weighed on stock prices.

Germany's DAX edged 0.1% higher to 18,486.92 and the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.3% to 7,956.50. Britain's FTSE gained 0.3% to 8,204.61.

Police dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment Thursday at Wayne State University in Detroit, two days after the school suspended in-person classes and encouraged staff to work remotely to avoid any problems with the protesters' encampment.

Television footage showed campus police and Detroit police officers in riot gear tearing down fencing before they removed the protesters and started breaking down tents erected last week on green space near Wayne State's undergraduate library.

Lebanon's political class, fuel companies and private electricity providers blocked an offer by gas-rich Qatar to build three renewable energy power plants to ease the crisis-hit nation's decades-old electricity crisis, Lebanon's caretaker economy minister said Thursday.

Lebanon's electricity crisis worsened after the country's historic economic meltdown began in October 2019. Power cuts often last for much of the day, leaving many reliant on expensive private generators that work on diesel and raise pollution levels.