AFP news

Comic-Con returns in full force to San Diego this week, where a hugely anticipated Marvel superhero film event is among the draws for tens of thousands of hyped-up fans dressed as fantasy heroes and sci-fi villains.

President Vladimir Putin held talks with Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in Moscow amid calls for Russian mediation to cool tensions between Turkey and Syria.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed Gaza ceasefire demonstrators Wednesday and called for a global alliance against the Iranian regime he accuses of funding them, as he addressed a US Congress divided by the war.

US President Joe Biden told Americans Wednesday he quit the 2024 election to unite the country, saying in a historic Oval Office speech that it was time to pass the torch to "younger voices."

The pop world has coalesced rapidly around Kamala Harris's last-minute candidacy, as the US vice president gets a boost from an online explosion of videos mixing her speeches with hit songs.

The tired troops moved through the forest in east Ukraine at dawn, imitating assault rifle fire while searching for non-existent Russians between the trees.

Rescuers aided by drones were continuing a desperate search on Wednesday for possible survivors of devastating landslides in an isolated area of southern Ethiopia that have claimed the lives of at least 229 people.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement has agreed with Hamas to form a "national unity government" in post-war Gaza, but analysts are sceptical about the significance of the Beijing-brokered deal.

Football and Rugby Sevens kick off the sport at the Paris Olympics Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony, featuring a top French star and a huge police presence for Israel's first appearance.

Earth withered through a second-straight day of record-breaking heat on July 22, the EU's climate monitor said Wednesday, as large parts of Europe, Asia and North America suffer blistering temperatures.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in southern China on Wednesday, with both sides calling for peace as Russia's war grinds on against its neighbour.

Keir Starmer faces his first House of Commons grilling as UK prime minister on Wednesday, after suspending seven of his own Labour MPs for rebelling over a controversial welfare policy.

A passenger plane crashed on take-off in Kathmandu on Wednesday, with the pilot rescued from the flaming wreckage but all 18 others aboard killed, police in the Nepali capital told AFP. Nepal has a woeful track record on aviation safety and the Himalayan republic has seen a spate of deadly light plane and helicopter crashes over the decades.

Relentless rain drenched the northern Philippines on Wednesday, triggering floods in Manila and landslides in mountainous regions as Typhoon Gaemi intensified the seasonal monsoon.

Every day in a simple temple in an Indian village, Hindu priest Subhramanya Sharma prays to his god for JD Vance to become vice-president of the United States.

For Hamed al-Rafidain, a Saudi human resources worker, an electric vehicle offers welcome savings, especially since his other car is a fuel-guzzling four-wheel drive favoured by motorists in the desert kingdom.

A rejuvenated United States team under new coach Emma Hayes are targeting a record-extending fifth women's football gold medal at the Paris Olympics but face stiff competition, not least in the shape of World Cup holders Spain and their all-star line-up.

US President Joe Biden will give what could be his final Oval Office speech Wednesday to explain why he dropped out of November's election and deny that he will spend six months as a lame duck.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will deliver a landmark speech to the US Congress Wednesday, seeking to rally support at a time of tensions between his country and its main military backer over the war in Gaza.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday will launch a new initiative against world hunger ahead of an upcoming G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro.

The EU launched an investigation on Tuesday to determine whether online food-delivery companies Delivery Hero and Glovo engaged in anti-competitive practices.

Israel swiftly condemned an agreement brokered by China Tuesday which Beijing said would bring Hamas into a "national reconciliation government" for post-war Gaza.

As Polish lawmakers debated easing stringent abortion laws, Warsaw-based lawyer Jerzy Podgorski was in court defending a man from the remote town of Pinczow charged with aiding his partner's abortion.

India's government will spend $24 billion on employment and training, it said Tuesday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks to address uneven economic growth and mollify disgruntled voters after a surprising election setback last month.

With its castle, medieval tower and river-side beach, the western Ukrainian tourist town of Starokostiantyniv doesn't seem an obvious target for Russian missile and drone strikes.

As Paris prepares for the opening ceremony of the Olympics on July 26 with what promises to be a spectacular parade of boats along the river Seine, AFP looks back at memorable Olympics curtainraisers of the past.

After winning support from Democratic party heavyweights, Kamala Harris will test her potential candidacy with voters Tuesday at a campaign rally in Wisconsin, a critical "swing state" for her likely face-off with Donald Trump.

Donald Trump constantly attacked his Democratic opponent Joe Biden over his age and fitness, but the 78-year-old Republican could find those same arguments coming back to haunt him after the president ended his reelection bid.

Several western US states including California and Utah were battling wildfires on Monday as millions of Americans in the region were once again under heat alerts.