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Explosions heard in Saudi capital Riyadh

Several explosions were heard in Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh on Thursday, including a large blast at the city's international airport, a witness told The Associated Press, a day after the kingdom said an attack there killed one person and wounded others.

The cause of the blasts was not immediately known. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen have repeatedly claimed attacks against airports, military and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia in recent days.

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Partial building collapse in Istanbul kills 1 and traps at least 3 people

A seven-story building in Istanbul partially collapsed on Thursday, killing one person, officials said. Emergency crews were trying to reach at least three people that remained trapped inside.

The reason for the collapse was not immediately known and an investigation was underway. Rescue teams were working to reach those trapped even as there were warnings of a further collapse of the building.

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Mayor of Turkish opposition stronghold defects to Erdogan's party

The mayor of Turkey's third-largest city defected to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan 's ruling party on Wednesday, giving it the mayoralty of the opposition stronghold for the first time.

Izmir had been led by the opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, for more than two decades until Mayor Cemil Tugay joined Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, or AKP, at a ceremony at its headquarters in Ankara.

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Infantino's World Cup investment plan fallout reshapes March FIFA vote

FIFA President Gianni Infantino already is in globe-trotting campaign mode more than five months ahead of the vote when 211 member federations decide who will lead the world soccer body until 2031.

The March election comes as Infantino faces the biggest leadership crisis since he took office in 2016, triggered by backlash against his now-withdrawn plan to sell private investors a stake in the commercial rights to the World Cup and other FIFA tournaments.

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Harry Kane scores twice on record-tying 125th appearance for England

Harry Kane made a record-tying 125th appearance for England in the Nations League match against Czechia at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday — and marked the big occasion with another two goals.

The Bayern Munich striker is level with former goalkeeper Peter Shilton on the list of most caps won for England's men's team. He can break the record when England plays Croatia on Nov. 12, also at Wembley.

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Argentina bids Messi farewell in final national team match

Argentina is confronting a once-unimaginable reality: a national team without soccer great Lionel Messi.

On Tuesday, 39-year-old Messi bid farewell to international soccer after 21 years, 126 goals, two Copa América titles and a World Cup championship, scoring a penalty and setting up Argentina's other two goals for a 3-0 victory over Benin. What was otherwise an unremarkable friendly against the West African nation became a moment that this soccer-crazed country had long dreaded.

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Nations League drama: Ronaldo walkout, Israel-Ireland tensions and Zidane return

So much for international football taking a breather after the World Cup.

In fact, the recently completed window of Nations League games in Europe could hardly have been more action-packed.

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IMF chief urges countries to do more to curb debt and regulate AI

Countries both rich and poor must take faster action to cut debt and counter growing inequality as their economies weather a triple whammy from the artificial intelligence boom, heavy borrowing and shocks from wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, the head of the IMF said Wednesday.

"Some very tough political choices stare us in the face," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a speech in Singapore ahead of autumn IMF-World Bank meetings to be held in Bangkok next week.

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Iraq devalues currency as Iran war disrupts oil shipping routes

Iraq devalued its currency Wednesday, changing the official exchange rate from around 1,300 Iraqi dinars to the dollar to 1,500 dinars to the dollar.

The country's central bank said in a statement that the new exchange rate had been decided at a meeting of Iraq's Cabinet the night before "to meet the relevant financial, economic and monetary requirements."

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How Russia and the world are responding to possible case of pneumonic plague

The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that Russian authorities have reported no case of plague in a Siberian region where a woman employee of a laboratory that studies the disease died of pneumonia last week.

The comments from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus come a day after WHO said a possible case of pneumonic plague in Russia presents a "very low" risk outside the country as investigators looked into what caused her death Friday.

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