AFP news

Passengers and crew of a British Airways flight who were taken hostage in Kuwait in 1990 have launched legal action against the UK government and the airline, a law firm said Monday.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his new government on Sunday with the former opposition parties getting 12 out of 32 portfolios after the ruling ANC lost its outright parliamentary majority.

Mount Fuji's summer climbing season began on Monday with new crowd control measures to combat overtourism on the Japanese volcano's most popular trail.

Democratic leaders rallied Sunday behind US President Joe Biden following his poor debate performance last week, as the White House denied a report he was meeting with family to assess his candidacy.

Hurricane Beryl plowed toward the southeast Caribbean early Monday as officials warned residents to seek shelter ahead of powerful winds and swells expected from the Category 3 storm.

A bombastic Trump lashed out at his successor, calling him a failure on the economy and the world stage. Biden looked to hit back, but his delivery was faltering as he spoke rapidly in a raspy, trailing-off voice, stumbled on his words and stared open-mouthed.

Russia warned the United States on Friday its reconnaissance drone flights over the Black Sea raised the risk of "direct confrontation" between Moscow and NATO, days after the Kremlin blamed Washington for a deadly missile strike on Crimea.

Mars is bombarded with basketball-sized meteorites on a nearly daily basis, fives times more often than previously estimated, seismic recordings from a NASA spacecraft have revealed.

Historic French fashion label Lanvin has named Britain's Peter Copping, who has worked with Nina Ricci, Oscar de la Renta, Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton, as its new artistic director.

Iranians cast their ballots Friday in a presidential election marked by a lone reformist's bid to break through against a divided conservative field.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday the ruling Communist Party was planning and implementing "major" reforms, ahead of a closely watched political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda.

President Joe Biden and Republican challenger Donald Trump squared off Thursday in a debate watched by millions, and what voters saw may have sparked more questions than answers.

Donald Trump accused Joe Biden on Thursday of doing a "poor job" on the US economy and of presiding over a disastrous rise in inflation -- reflecting how rising prices and the cost of living have become key issues ahead of November's presidential election.

A former school district police chief in the US state of Texas has been charged and arrested over the response to a 2022 elementary school shooting that left 21 people dead, including 19 children, US media reported Thursday.

Euro 2024 hosts Germany come into Saturday's last 16 clash with Denmark in Dortmund hoping to have learned from Sunday's 1-1 draw with Switzerland, their final group stage match.

The US Supreme Court on Thursday rejected Purdue Pharma's $6 billion opioids settlement immunizing the Sackler family, which controlled the drugmaker, from future litigation.

Left-arm spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel took three wickets apiece as India thrashed defending champions England by 68 runs in Guyana on Thursday to set up a T20 World Cup final against South Africa.

Nike reported higher profits due to cost-cutting efforts Thursday, but shares fell sharply on the company's tepid outlook despite a hoped-for boost from the upcoming Olympic Games.

Ursula von der Leyen has navigated back-to-back crises from Covid to the Ukraine war as head of the European Commission, and stands on the verge of a no-less tumultuous second term, provided she can lock in support from EU lawmakers.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Thursday urged investors to get behind cutting-edge climate technologies he says would drive a "green industrial revolution" and a next wave of global prosperity.

The IMF said Thursday it expects the US economy to grow a bit more slowly than previously forecast, while praising the way it has remained "robust, dynamic, and adaptable to changing global conditions."

A US investigative authority sharply rebuked Boeing for sharing details about an ongoing probe of a near-catastrophic aviation incident that were not supposed to be discussed publicly.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday said the "resilient" military alliance can ride out any political changes in major powers ahead of crunch elections in the United States and France.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday signed a 10-year security pact with the European Union in Brussels, the latest deal aimed at shoring up long-term support for Kyiv in its fight with Russia.

Vienna is still the world's most liveable city for a third year in a row, while the rating of Tel Aviv in Israel slumped, according to a new survey published Thursday.

Shares in H&M slid Thursday after the world's second biggest fashion retailer warned that the conditions to meet its profitability target for this year have become "more challenging".

Joe Biden and Donald Trump square off for a historic US presidential debate Thursday, with the stage set for what could be an inflection point in the 2024 race as millions of voters tune in to the clash of rivals.

Israel said it does not want war in Lebanon but could send its neighbour "back to the Stone Age", as the UN's humanitarian chief warned such a conflict would be "potentially apocalyptic".

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is "rediscovering" life as he tastes freedom in Australia after a five-year stretch in a London high-security prison, his wife said Thursday.