AFP news

Olena Semykina, the owner of a village shop in east Ukraine, voted for President Volodymyr Zelensky five and a half years ago, hoping the fresh-faced political newcomer would end the fighting unleashed by Russian proxy forces in 2014.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot faces his first major test with a trip to Manchester United, while Newcastle and Tottenham also face off on Sunday hoping to dispel early season doubts over their credentials for a top-four finish.

A radical far-left politician who wants to make peace with Russia's Vladimir Putin looks set to play a key role in regional elections in the former East Germany on Sunday.

Pope Francis embarks Monday on a 12-day trip to Southeast Asia, the longest and farthest of his papacy that will challenge the 87-year-old's increasingly fragile health.

Pacific leaders endorsed a major joint policing initiative and rebuffed moves from China's allies to sideline Taiwan on Friday, as they wrapped up a regional summit in Tonga.

Typhoon Shanshan weakened to a tropical storm Friday but was still dumping heavy rains as it slowly churned through Japan, triggering transport havoc and landslide warnings, with up to six people killed.

The king of New Zealand's Maori died on Friday after heart surgery, with aides saying the beloved 69-year-old monarch, praised as a symbol of national unity, had "passed to the great beyond".

A top UN aid official on Thursday questioned "what has become of our basic humanity," as the war in Gaza rages and humanitarian operations struggle to respond.

President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday defended a decision to grant French nationality to Telegram chief Pavel Durov, who faces a possible trial related to illegal content carried on his popular messaging app.

iPhone juggernaut Apple is in talks to invest in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT and the biggest name in generative artificial intelligence, a news report said Thursday.

The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog hopes to visit Iran soon for talks with newly-elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to a confidential report seen by AFP on Thursday.

The US Army on Thursday took aim at Donald Trump's staff over a visit by the Republican presidential candidate to the country's most hallowed resting place for its war dead.

The 59-year-old Democrat insisted on CNN that she would be tough on illegal immigration and support controversial oil and gas fracking -- while sticking to her liberal background by pledging a fairer economy.

Film legend Errol Morris said the separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents by Donald Trump's US administration was "inhumane and cruel" as his new documentary about the policy premiered at the Venice Film Festival Thursday.

UK premier Keir Starmer was welcomed warmly Thursday in Paris by French leader Emmanuel Macron, as the new centre-left British government seeks to relaunch post-Brexit ties with Europe.

The United States has offered to escort Manila's resupply missions to outposts in the disputed South China Sea, the Philippine military chief said Thursday, following Beijing's intensifying efforts to block them.

Chinese tech giant Huawei said Thursday that sales surged in the first half of the year, even as it struggles under the weight of sanctions that have deprived it of technology from the United States.

Hong Kong pro-democracy news outlet Stand News and its two former chief editors were found guilty of sedition on Thursday, the first conviction of its kind since the city came under Chinese rule in 1997.

The death toll climbed Thursday as Israel pressed a large-scale military operation in the occupied West Bank for a second day, despite UN concerns it is "fuelling an already explosive situation".

Angelina Jolie returns to the limelight at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday as Maria Callas, "La Divina", whose rich voice, glamourous persona, and tragic love affair mesmerised audiences around the world.

Expectations are high that France and Serbia will sign a deal worth billions of euros to supply fighter jets to the Balkan country during a visit by President Emmanuel Macron to Belgrade that kicks off Thursday.

A Thai court on Thursday jailed a famous Spanish actor's son for life for the grisly murder of a Colombian plastic surgeon on a tropical holiday island, in a lurid case that has gripped Spain.

Juventus host struggling Roma on Sunday with their tails up and ready to show the rest of Serie A that under Thiago Motta Italy's Old Lady is fit for a league title tilt.

A sell-off in tech firms dragged Asian markets down Thursday after investors were left disappointed by earnings from chip titan Nvidia that stoked concerns about the outlook for all things artificial intelligence.

US President Joe Biden is looking forward to talks with Xi Jinping in the "coming weeks", top White House aide Jake Sullivan told the Chinese leader Thursday as they met for rare talks in Beijing.

US Vice President Kamala Harris will give her first interview Thursday since becoming the Democratic standard-bearer, after intense criticism from Republicans that she has been hiding from tough questions.

A barrage of attacks on Tim Walz fueled by misinformation over his support for LGBTQ communities has failed to dent the US vice presidential candidate's surging poll ratings, suggesting that voters are wearying of some "culture war" issues in a tight White House race.

Two months after the first Kenyan police officers arrived in Haiti, little progress has been made against the country's rapacious gangs -- and the buildup of an international policing mission appears stalled.

With the smell still lingering in its suburbs after Greece's worst wildfire this year, floods and pollution now threaten Athens, experts say.