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Clashes between hooded demonstrators and police on Saturday marked the start of a party congress of Germany's far-right AfD, weeks after it scored record EU election results despite multiple scandals.

A United Nations agency said it has discovered five bombs in a wall of Mosul's iconic Al-Nuri mosque, planted years ago by Islamic State group jihadists, during restoration work in the northern Iraqi city.

A divided France braced Saturday for high-stakes parliamentary elections that could see the anti-immigrant and eurosceptic party of Marine Le Pen sweep to power in a historic first.

Iran's sole reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian and ultraconservative Saeed Jalili have qualified for a runoff presidential election after leading in the first round, an official said on Saturday.

Mongolia's ruling party emerged from this week's polls with its parliamentary majority significantly diminished Saturday, local media said, after a campaign dominated by graft fears and the state of the economy.

Superstar scrum-half Antoine Dupont was omnipresent once again as his club Toulouse claimed a third Top 14 and Champions Cup double on Friday but his mind now switches to this summer's home Olympic Games.

Mauritanians began voting Saturday to decide whether to re-elect President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani as head of the desert country, an oasis of peace in Africa's volatile Sahel region.

A Panamanian court on Friday acquitted 28 people charged with money laundering in connection with the now-defunct law firm Mossack Fonseca, the epicenter of the "Panama Papers" international tax evasion scandal.

Cricket fans across India were praying, fasting and holding fire rituals for their team to end a global title drought in the T20 World Cup final Saturday.

Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian and ultraconservative Saeed Jalili are leading in Iran's presidential election, according to early results on Saturday from the Interior Ministry.

US President Joe Biden paid tribute to LGBTQ pioneers and British music legend Elton John performed his hits as the pair inaugurated on Friday a historical site in New York City celebrating the 1969 "Stonewall riots".

So-called cannabis clubs will be allowed to sell the drug legally in Germany starting Monday, but in practice it will be some time before the associations get up and running.

Vietnam's economy grew by more than six percent in the first half of 2024, government figures showed Saturday, as analysts said more reforms are needed to further boost the economy.

Kishane Thompson won the men's 100m in 9.77secs, the fastest time in the world this year, and Shericka Jackson dominated the women's 100m final on Friday at the Jamaican Olympic athletics trials.

Three-time world champion Grant Holloway punched his ticket to the Paris Olympics on Friday in the 110m hurdles at the US trials, while Noah Lyles and Sha'Carri Richardson cruised into the 200m finals.

Simone Biles continued her march toward the Paris Olympics on Friday with a dynamic day one at the US gymnastics trials that featured brilliance and a little reminder that she's human, too.

Colombia marched into the quarter-finals of the Copa America on Friday with a confident 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in Arizona.

Mauritanians go to the polls Saturday to decide whether to re-elect President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani as head of the vast desert state, seen as a rock of relative stability in the volatile Sahel.

Giant spiky cacti tower over farmer Alcides Peixinho Nascimento, 70, one of the residents of Brazil's unique Caatinga biome who is on a mission to plant native vegetation in a bid to halt desertification.

Germany's far-right AfD kicks off a congress Saturday weeks after scoring record EU election results despite multiple scandals, with fresh mass protests expected against the anti-immigration party.

A divided France braced Saturday for high-stakes parliamentary elections that could see the anti-immigrant and eurosceptic party of Marine Le Pen sweep to power in a historic first.

Three suspected leaders of a failed coup against Bolivian President Luis Arce Bolivia were remanded in custody on Friday for six months, the country's top prosecutor said.

Working class voters in Rust Belt cities like Pittsburgh used to favor Democrats overwhelmingly, but years of economic hardship and the rise of social issues favoring Republicans have made them a swing constituency again in 2024.

Simone Biles continued her march toward the Paris Olympics on Friday with a dynamic day one at the US gymnastics trials that featured characteristic Biles brilliance and a little reminder that she's human, too.

Boeing's practice of aggressively pressuring suppliers on costs has damaged its own supply chain, contributing to the aviation giant's current woes, a top union negotiator told AFP this week.

Washington and its allies challenged North Korea at the United Nations on Friday over claims Pyongyang is breaching arms control measures by supplying weapons to Russia to use in its war in Ukraine.

Colombia marched into the quarter-finals of the Copa America on Friday with a confident 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in Arizona.

England's Aaron Rai closed with back-to-back birdies to match American Akshay Bhatia for a share of the lead after Friday's second round of the US PGA Tour Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Danish duo Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Nicole Broch Estrup combined for a 10-under-par 60 in four-balls to join a five-way tie for the lead after Friday's second round of the LPGA Great Lakes Bay Invitational.

Lionel Messi will miss Argentina's final Copa America group game against Peru after complaining of muscle tightness, team officials said on Friday.

A superb Antoine Dupont said on Friday it was "incredible" for Toulouse to secure a domestic and Champions Cup double with victory in the French Top 14 final as he scored twice in a 59-3 rout of Bordeaux-Begles

Equity markets were mixed Friday as investors assessed fallout from a bumpy US presidential debate and looked ahead to weekend elections in France that could boost the far right.