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Roberto Mancini accepted boos from Italy fans as a normal part of the game but insisted there were positives to take from a 2-0 defeat to Belgium on his return as head coach.

Cities and states across the US celebrated the inaugural Dolly Parton Day on Friday -- 9/25 -- a date that recalls one of the late country icon's most beloved hits.

Zinedine Zidane's debut as France coach was overshadowed by an injury to captain Kylian Mbappe in a 1-0 win away to Turkey on Friday, while Roberto Mancini's first game back in charge of Italy ended in a 2-0 defeat to Belgium.

Carlos Alcaraz helped Europe take a 3-1 lead on the first day of the Laver Cup as the Spaniard teamed up with Jakub Mensik for a doubles victory.

Former France star Patrick Vieira debuted as Senegal coach by drawing 1-1 in Mozambique, and Nigeria survived a scare to edge Madagascar 2-1 in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying on Friday.

Six people including four tourists were missing after a building collapsed following an explosion early Friday in Athens' historic Plaka district that was probably due to a huge gas leak.

Irish rockers U2 returned to where it all started five decades ago on Friday, with surprise 50th anniversary gigs in central Dublin and at the school where the band mates met.

Kylian Mbappe scored the only goal of the game before having to come off grimacing with a knee injury as France won 1-0 in Turkey in the UEFA Nations League in new coach Zinedine Zidane's first game in charge on Friday.

Thousands of worshippers cheered Pope Leo XIV on Friday as he stepped up to pray and called those gathered at a stadium near Paris the "saints of France", after urging world peace and warning against an AI-driven "paradise of machines".

Roberto Mancini's second debut as Italy head coach ended with a barrage of boos in Rome on Friday as the Azzurri began their UEFA Nations League campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Belgium.

A US appeals court upheld on Friday the Pentagon's decision to exclude Anthropic from its supply chain, a decision taken when the AI startup refused to remove certain safeguards on its Claude model.

Former Manchester City midfielder Rodri backed the club to ultimately win a legal battle with the Premier League despite reports on Friday that the English giants have been found guilty on 114 charges.

Wall Street stocks bounced Friday to finish a volatile week on a positive note, greeting a drop in oil prices on hopes for a US-Iran agreement that could lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

California celebrated its inaugural Dolly Parton Day on Friday -- 9/25 -- a date that recalls one of the late country icon's most beloved hits.

A woman who alleged that Jay-Z raped her when she was 13 has said she made "false accusations" and never met the US rapper, according to a court filing seen Friday.

The NFL players union on Friday raised concerns over the playing surface at the Maracana Stadium ahead of this weekend's clash between the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens in Rio de Janeiro.

Former France star Patrick Vieira debuted as Senegal coach by drawing 1-1 in Mozambique, and Nigeria survived a scare to edge Madagascar 2-1 in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying on Friday.

Russian strikes on Kyiv during the day killed seven people on Friday, including a 14-year-old boy, local authorities said, as Ukraine's leader disclosed that Donald Trump had approved licences for Patriot air-defence systems.

US President Donald Trump took Chinese leader Xi Jinping to see the founding documents of American democracy on Friday, capping a state visit full of pomp and pageantry but with no major breakthroughs.

Claims that Canadian-Haitian writer Thelyson Orelien used AI tools to write his best-selling debut novel are rocking the French literary world and posing questions about how AI can be detected.

Russia is not preparing for "any kind" of conflict with Europe, President Vladimir Putin said Friday, following warnings from some European NATO members of potential Russian attacks on the alliance's territory.

Tens of thousands of French youth waved their hands in the air to Christian pop on Friday as they waited for Pope Leo XIV to lead them in prayer, after he called for peace and warned against losing humanity in an AI-driven "paradise of machines".

Donald Trump shared an image Thursday of Xi Jinping's red-carpet arrival to Washington that appears to have been altered using artificial intelligence, with an unflattering expression captured in live footage of the moment edited out.

Manchester City have been found guilty of all but one of 115 Premier League charges for breaching financial regulations, according to reports on Friday, in a ruling that will send shockwaves through English football.

Six people including three tourists were missing after an explosion early Friday in a building in Athens' historic Plaka district located just below the Acropolis.

Switzerland striker Breel Embolo has been left out of the squad for the upcoming Nations League matches after being sanctioned for using forged Covid-19 test certificates during the pandemic.

More than 40 million people in the northeastern United States braced Friday for heavy rain and strong winds as an unusually powerful storm for the season was forecast to crash into the region.

US President Donald Trump took Xi Jinping to see the founding documents of American democracy on Friday as the Chinese leader's state visit wrapped up with more pageantry but limited progress.

Ethiopian runner and course record holder Tigst Assefa said she felt ready to run "better than my best" in Sunday's Berlin marathon.

Hours after helping Eliud Kipchoge break the marathon world record in Berlin in 2018, bottle carrier Claus-Henning Schulke received a phone call from the Kenyan icon.

A US appeals court upheld on Friday the Pentagon's decision to exclude Anthropic from its supply chain, a decision taken when the AI startup refused to remove certain safeguards on its Claude model.

French hurdler Cyrena Samba-Mayela has been temporarily suspended after failing to notify anti-doping officials of her whereabouts, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced on Friday.