AFP news

Five Indonesian archers who have lost an arm or a leg train together under the bright Central Javan sun, drawing their bows and closing one eye to shoot at targets as they prepare for the Paralympics in Paris this month.

A celebrated Australian penguin famous for raising chicks as part of an unlikely same-sex couple has died, a Sydney aquarium said on Thursday.

As fears mount globally about mpox, apparently simple questions such as the danger it poses and differences between variants do not have clear and simple answers.

Microsoft held its biggest video game stand ever at the sector trade show Gamescom in Germany on Wednesday, aiming to win over players after several rocky months of studio closures and rising fees.

Tearful crowds gathered on Wednesday for the funerals of hostages whose bodies were recovered this week from war-torn Gaza, with some mourners voicing anger that they were not saved.

Portugal on Wednesday appealed to EU partners for assistance in fighting a wildfire on the Atlantic island of Madeira that has raged for a week and threatened a UNESCO-listed forest.

Venezuela is at a crossroads, with the government of strongman Nicolas Maduro doubling down on his disputed reelection victory and the opposition vowing to resist "to the end."

The US jobs market was probably cooler than expected in the year through March, Labor Department data showed Wednesday, signaling weaker but still-positive growth.

President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia's economic and trade links with China are "yielding results" as he welcomed Chinese Premier Li Qiang to the Kremlin.

Hundreds of thousands of video game fans and industry figures were converging Wednesday on Germany's Cologne for the sector's biggest trade show.

Switzerland's new instant payment system will bolster the future of cashless payments in the country, the Swiss central bank said Wednesday after the scheme went live.

The co-publisher of hit Chinese video game "Black Myth: Wukong" this week sent guidelines to foreign streamers urging them against discussing politically touchy topics like Covid-19 or feminism, players said.

Former president Obama, who was greeted with rapturous applause and cheers at the packed arena hosting the party's nominating convention, said Vice President Harris would fight for Americans, and called her November poll rival Donald Trump "dangerous."

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken headed home on Wednesday after failing to secure a Gaza ceasefire, warning both Israel and Hamas his plan may be the last chance to avert a broader war.

UK government borrowing jumped by far more than expected in July, official figures showed Wednesday, stoking fresh anxiety for the new Labour government ahead of its first budget in just over two months.

Thailand on Wednesday reported a suspected first case of the new more dangerous strain of mpox, which the World Health Organization has declared a global public health emergency.

Though there are only a handful of them among thousands of delegates, the "Uncommitted Movement" delegates at the Democratic National Convention are among the most vocal.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a "return of peace" Wednesday as he left for Ukraine, weeks after Kyiv condemned him for hugging President Vladimir Putin during a visit to traditional ally Russia.

World number one Nelly Korda is hoping to rediscover her stunning early season form as the women's British Open returns to the famous old course at St. Andrews this week.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te warned Wednesday that China's "growing authoritarianism will not stop with" the island and urged democratic countries to unite to curb its expansion.

The 2024 Women's T20 World Cup scheduled for October has been moved out of Bangladesh and will instead take place in the United Arab Emirates, the International Cricket Council announced on Tuesday.

Jennifer Lopez has filed for divorce from Ben Affleck, US media reported Tuesday, two years after the Hollywood power couple officially gave love a second chance by tying the knot.

A federal appeals court on Tuesday breathed new life into a lawsuit by Chrome users who say Google gathered data even though they did not "Sync" to their accounts.

Boeing has suspended flight testing of its new 777X wide-body jet after identifying the failure of a part connecting the engine to the body of the aircraft, the latest in a long line of quality control issues for the troubled US aerospace giant.

In war-ravaged Gaza, death appears to be the "only certainty" for 2.4 million Palestinians with no way to escape Israel's relentless bombardment, a UN official said Tuesday, recounting the growing desperation across the territory.

Some are wounded, most are very young and all want to go home. The young man, who wore checked trousers and plastic slippers, said his hope was "to be exchanged and go back home -- back home to my family".

Divers and an underwater drone searched Tuesday for six people, including a British tech tycoon and international banker, believed trapped when a luxury yacht sank off Sicily.

King Charles III offered his "deepest" sympathies Tuesday as he met survivors of a devastating UK knife attack that killed three young girls and sparked nationwide anti-immigration riots.

The world's oldest person, Spain's Maria Branyas Morera, who was born in the United States and lived through two world wars, died Tuesday at the age of 117, her family said.