France

LONDON - Serbia's highest-ranked male tennis player Novak Djokovic reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals late Monday by beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).

Djokovic won the match after an hour and 55 minutes and now has a 13-5 head-to-head record against Tsonga.

BNP Paribas pleaded guilty Monday to US criminal charges of violating sanctions on Iran and Sudan for eight years and was fined a record $8.9 billion.
      

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was being held on July 1 for questioning over suspected influence-peddling, a legal source said.

Sarkozy arrived early July 1 to be quizzed by investigators at their offices in Nanterre, west of Paris, after his lawyer was held for questioning on June 30.

Germany and France snuffed out African hopes and reached the World Cup quarter-finals on June 30 with hard-won victories over Algeria and Nigeria, while Uruguay striker Luis Suarez broke his silence to apologise for biting.

An attack on churches in northeast Nigeria blamed on Boko Haram killed more than 50 people, an official said on Monday, overshadowing festivities ahead of a last-16 World Cup match against France.

Gunmen stormed Sunday services in four villages near Chibok in Borno state where Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls on April 14.        

Lionel Messi's goals have fired Argentina into the World Cup last 16 but they will look for a better all-round performance when they meet Switzerland Tuesday.
      
The diminutive four-time player of the year has finally sparked for his country, hitting four of their six goals as Argentina qualified top of Group F.
      

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has extended the ceasefire in east Ukraine by nearly a day, or until Monday evening, following a video conference with three foreign leaders.

BELGRADE - A conference titled “Creative Europe Program 2014-2020: Serbia and the Prospects of European Cooperation” began at the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade on Monday.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said June 30 that riots following Algeria’s World Cup win on June 26 proved that French immigration policy had failed.

Delirious celebrations in France when Algeria qualified for the the second round of the World Cup turned violent in some French cities.

OBRENOVAC - The European Union will continue to assist Serbia in remedying the consequences of the May floods because solidarity is the essence of Europe, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in Obrenovac on Sunday.