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Cupping his hands to his ears, one of the contestants in an annual competition for Turkey's most melodious religious voice leans closer to the microphone to intone a tender call to prayer.

The 150th British Open teed off on the Old Course in St Andrews on Thursday with organisers keen for the focus to remain on a historic championship despite the ongoing fallout caused by the breakaway LIV Golf series.

Red plastic embellishes the canvas of painter Saule Suleimenova, depicting the starting point of the lethal unrest that shook Kazakhstan at the beginning of the year.

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire should be available to face Melbourne Victory after missing their 4-0 thumping of Liverpool, manager Erik ten Hag said Thursday while urging his team to use their initiative.

Vulnerable Pacific islands demanded "urgent, immediate" global action on climate change Thursday, while stressing a commitment to democracy and the "rules-based" international order in the face of growing Chinese regional influence.

Chinese homebuyers in dozens of cities have stopped making mortgage payments for unfinished projects, according to data from industry groups, worsening fears of financial contagion in the country's troubled real estate sector.

Like many Spanish villages, Belchite was devastated by Spain's 1936-39 Civil War.

Ian Foster has downplayed the pressure mounting on him as New Zealand coach, saying on Thursday that all his focus is on beating an outstanding Ireland in the series-deciding third Test.

Dimuth Karunaratne's Sri Lanka will be looking to build on their winning momentum at Galle as the hosts take on Pakistan in a likely spin battle in the opening Test starting Saturday.

Sri Lanka's anti-government demonstrators were in talks Thursday to hand back official buildings they seized, protest representatives said, even as they insisted the president and prime minister both quit in the face of an economic crisis.

Versatile back Reece Hodge and young forward Harry Wilson were recalled to an injury-blighted Wallabies team Thursday among four changes for their winners-take-all third Test clash against England.

Mahmud Aguil has a comfortable house in Libya's capital Tripoli, but chronic power outages in the war-battered country and roasting summer heat now force him to sleep in his air-conditioned van.

The heatwave sweeping across southwestern Europe is expected to peak Thursday in Spain, with blistering temperatures already fueling wildfires across the Iberian Peninsula and France.

Israeli journalist Yoav Limor did not know what to expect when he travelled with a colleague this month to Saudi Arabia, a country long notorious for promoting anti-Israel sentiment in textbooks and in sermons by some imams.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has shaken up the conservative kingdom with head-spinning reforms while quashing any threats to his status since becoming de facto ruler of the world's biggest oil producer five years ago.

Germany will on Thursday remember more than 180 people killed in severe floods a year ago, as concerns mount over climate change and the country looks to overhaul its planning for future disasters.

A week of gang violence in Haiti's capital has left at least 89 people dead, a rights group said Wednesday, as soaring prices, fuel shortages and gang warfare accelerate a brutal downward spiral in the security situation in Port-au-Prince.

Asian markets fluctuated Thursday as another forecast-busting US inflation print ramped up bets on a quick series of sharp interest rate hikes that traders hope can be quickly walked back once prices are brought under control.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Thursday it had agreed with Pakistan to resume a suspended loan programme that will inject $1.17 billion into the struggling economy.

Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey was on Thursday due to make his latest British courtroom appearance after he was charged last month with sexually assaulting three men and granted unconditional bail.

US President Joe Biden will hold bilateral talks on Thursday with Israeli officials in Jerusalem, where the two allies are expected to declare a "united stand" on common foe Iran.

The 150th British Open tees off on the Old Course in St Andrews on Thursday with organisers keen for the focus to remain on a historic championship despite the ongoing fallout caused by the breakaway LIV Golf series.

A Swedish court will on Thursday render its verdict in the trial of Hamid Noury, a former Iranian prison official accused of war crimes during a 1988 purge of dissidents.

Paris's traditional Bastille Day military parade on Thursday is a salute to Ukraine, and to France's eastern European allies who are among guests of honour, officials said.

Job vacancies seem to come ten-a-penny in Keswick, a tourist town in England's picturesque Lake District, as the hospitality sector cries out for staff -- shortages which are a direct result, critics say, of the coronavirus pandemic and of Brexit.

Dogs and cats must put their rivalry aside to save a village -- and offer audiences a lesson in inclusion and diversity -- in the new animated film "Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank."

Swedish veteran Annika Sorenstam and compatriot Madelene Sagstrom grabbed a share of the first round lead at the LPGA Tour's Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational two-player team tournament on Wednesday after carding a five-under-par 65.

Norwegian hurdles king Karsten Warholm insisted Wednesday he was going to bring everything he could to the table as he battles back from injury in his quest for a third world championship gold.

Netflix will work with Microsoft to launch a cheaper subscription plan that includes advertisements, the firms said Wednesday, as the streaming giant fights to attract customers.

Track and field stars are hoping a maiden world championships on US soil will shine the light on athletes in a country where athletics is dwarfed by the big money sports of American football, basketball and baseball.

Ohio police have confirmed a 10-year-old rape victim crossed state lines to terminate her pregnancy, local media reported Wednesday, in a case drawing broad attention after the US Supreme Court overturned a federal right to abortion.

The number of unionization campaigns has jumped in the 2022 fiscal year, according to federal data released Wednesday, reflecting how the tight US labor market has created opportunity for organized labor.