With outrageous goals flying in from all angles, Euro 2024 has started with a bang.

Could a $170 high tech football ball be to thank for this?

European markets opened higher on Thursday after a mixed day of thin trading in Asia after U.S. markets were closed in observance of Juneteenth.

In London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.2% to 8,218.75, as investors focused on a Bank of England policy rate decision due later in the day. The central bank was expected to keep its main interest rate at a 16-year high of 5.25%, even after data released Wednesday showed that British inflation fell to the central bank's 2% target in May, for the first time in nearly three years.

A state-owned Dutch company that is the biggest electricity grid operator in Germany said Thursday that talks on selling its German business to the government in Berlin have been terminated due to the administration's budget constraints.

TenneT, one of four transmission network operators in Germany, announced plans for the talks in February 2023. At the time, it said it needed a "structural solution" to funding needs for its German business as the grid is bolstered to handle the transition to renewable energy, which it put at about 15 billion euros ($16.1 billion).

The Bank of England on Thursday kept its main interest rate at a 16-year high of 5.25%, even though inflation has fallen to its target of 2%.

In a statement, some policymakers on the bank's nine-member Monetary Policy Committee voiced worries that some underlying measures of inflation, such as in the services sector, remain elevated, which could be stoked further if interest rates are cut too soon.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a series of deals with his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam on Thursday, during a state visit that comes as Moscow is seeking to bolster ties in Asia to offset growing international isolation over its military actions in Ukraine.

The two signed agreements to further cooperation on education, science and technology, oil and gas exploration and health. They also agreed to work on a roadmap for a nuclear science and technology center in Vietnam.

South Korea on Thursday condemned an agreement reached by Russia and North Korea that pledged mutual defense assistance in the event of war and said it will reconsider its policy of limiting its support to Ukraine to non-lethal supplies.

The comments by a senior presidential official came hours after North Korea's state media released the details of the agreement reached between its leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin during their summit on Wednesday in Pyongyang.

Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un say a new strategic partnership is a breakthrough, but what it means for their relationship is still uncertain.

The pact requires both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance in the event of war, according to North Korean state media. While the agreement, inked Wednesday at a summit in Pyongyang, could represent the countries' strongest deal signed after the Cold War, there are differing opinions on how strong the security commitment is.

A Swedish court on Thursday acquitted a former Syrian army general accused of playing a role in war crimes in his home country more than a decade ago.

As rocket fire from Lebanon streaked over the northern Israeli settlement of Kiryat Shmona Wednesday, the settlement’s remaining inhabitants said life there was growing intolerable after eight months of near-daily fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Booms rang out overhead and residents ran for safety. Cars lining the streets bore cracked windshields from past attacks and windows were blown out.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides has responded to unusual remarks by Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who has hinted that Cyprus would be targeted if it allowed Israel to use its air bases to attack Lebanon in the event of war.

Christodoulides said his island nation “is in no way involved” in any military operations in the region, adding that Nasrallah’s remarks “don’t in any way reflect what’s being attempted, which is to present a picture that Cyprus is involved in military operations.”