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Iraqi lawmakers on Saturday are scheduled once again to elect the country's president and try to overcome months of political paralysis, even as renewed boycott calls risk scuttling a vote.

Malta votes Saturday in general elections expected to secure another term for the government, despite concerns about corruption in a nation still rocked by the assassination of a journalist.

Will Hollywood go political about Ukraine at the Oscars on Sunday? Will director Jane Campion walk away with a golden statuette? Will records be broken?

The ballots are all in!

The following is a list of the best picture Oscar winners from the last 20 years, ahead of Sunday's 94th Academy Awards in Hollywood.

Top-ranked Jon Rahm and four-time major winner Brooks Koepka advanced to a Saturday showdown at the WGC Match Play Championship, while 49-year-old Englishman Richard Bland extended his fairytale run.

"CODA" producer Philippe Rousselet is pleased, but not surprised, that his heartwarming drama about a deaf family is now a hot favorite for best picture at the Oscars on Sunday.

The spectacular defection in Washington of the Nicaraguan ambassador to the Organization of American States while denouncing his country's "dictatorship" has revealed cracks in the leadership of President Daniel Ortega, say analysts.

Poland's Iga Swiatek clinched becoming the new world number one in women's tennis on Friday by defeating swiss Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-0 at the WTA Miami Open.

The United States called Friday for tougher international sanctions against North Korea at the UN Security Council, accusing Pyongyang of "increasingly dangerous provocations" after it test-fired its largest-ever intercontinental ballistic missile.

Ben Martin, chasing his first US PGA Tour title since 2014, fired a six-under par 66 on Friday, stretching his lead to two strokes at the PGA Corales Puntacana Championship.

West Africa's regional bloc Friday said it would maintain sanctions on Mali over the military rulers of the Sahel country delaying a return to civilian rule after a coup.

The IMF executive board on Friday approved a $44 billion loan for Argentina to help the inflation-wracked country's economy, with $9.7 billion of the funding available immediately.

Nick Kyrgios stressed Friday he's at peace with himself after a day where both sides of the Australian's character come into sharp focus at the ATP and WTA Miami Open.

Linda Fruhvirtova is only 16 years old but already dreaming of reaching the very top after producing a career-best performance Friday to stun Elise Mertens at the WTA Miami Open.

Under hazy skies and in the calm of morning, workers waited patiently in line outside the JFK8 warehouse Friday for a say on whether to establish Amazon's first US labor union.

Joshua da Silva's unbeaten maiden Test half-century in the Caribbean anchored a West Indies lower-order revival which pushed the home side ahead of England on the second day of the third and final Test on Friday.

Prolific Liverpool scorer Mohamed Salah was the architect of the only goal as Egypt edged Senegal 1-0 in Cairo on Friday in a high-profile World Cup play-off first leg.

Japan's Kaori Sakamoto on Friday added the world figure skating title to her Olympic bronze medal, capitalising on the absence of Russian rivals banned following the invasion of Ukraine.

The EU will require tech giants to drop barriers between their hugely popular messaging services to boost competition, but critics warned Friday that could come at the cost of millions of users' privacy.

Russia signaled Friday it may dial back its war aims to focus on eastern Ukraine after failing to break the nation's resistance in a month of fighting and attacks on civilians, including up to 300 feared killed in the bombing of a theatre being used as a bunker.

A black pillar of smoke from a burning military fuel storage site hangs over the sleepy Ukrainian village of Kalynivka, turning the midday sun into a pale disc.

Red Bull team chief Christian Horner on Friday backed the decision to continue with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix despite a rebel attack on a nearby oil depot, insisting: "F1 will not be bullied".

Crude prices were higher Friday and stock markets made decent gains after European countries decided against a ban on Russian oil imports over its invasion of Ukraine -- but Germany said it would slash its energy purchases from Moscow.

The Russian army is riddled with informers and using "old methods of warfare" against Ukrainian forces, the head of Ukraine's defense intelligence agency GUR said in an interview published Friday.

Pop superstar Anitta became the first Brazilian to reach the number one spot on music streaming platform Spotify Friday, with a booty-grinding hit, "Envolver," that has sparked a viral dance phenomenon.

Lewis Hamilton on Friday again used the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to spotlight the country's record on rights, adding that he had heard "mind-blowing" accounts.

The Saudi Arabian Formula One Grand Prix will continue "as planned" despite an attack by Yemeni rebels on an oil facility which set off a huge fire visible from Jeddah's street circuit.

Russia signaled Friday it may dial back its war aims to focus on eastern Ukraine after failing to break the nation's resistance in a month of fighting and attacks on civilians, including bombing a crowded theatre where officials now say up to 300 people died.

Veteran forward Islam Slimani scored five minutes before half-time to give Algeria a 1-0 win over Cameroon in Douala on Friday in the first leg of a World Cup play-off.

A Yemeni rebel attack on a Saudi oil plant set off a huge fire near Jeddah's Formula One circuit during televised practice sessions on Friday, part of a wave of assaults on Aramco facilities.

World champion Max Verstappen was upstaged by rival Charles Leclerc in Friday's practice for the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix and again criticised Netflix for 'fake drama' in the popular 'Drive to Survive' series.