AFP news

Pope Francis appealed Wednesday for religious unity to counter extremism and intolerance, as the longest tour of the 87-year-old's papacy got into full swing in Muslim-majority Indonesia.

During her final years of high school, Chinese teenager Xu Yunting found an unusual way to make some pocket money -- transforming herself into male video game characters and taking their female devotees on dates.

Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans.

Taylor Fritz and Emma Navarro reached their first Grand Slam semi-finals at the US Open on Tuesday, boosting home hopes of a double American title party this weekend.

International football returns across Europe this week, less than eight weeks after Spain edged out England in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin.

The inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster that killed 72 people in Britain's worst residential fire since World War II will on Wednesday publish its long-awaited final report.

He lauds strongmen autocrats, hangs with martial arts stars, and has no greater compliment than calling someone a "fighter."

In his new film "Queer", Daniel Craig sheds his suave 007 persona for the loneliness and anguish of a drug-addicted gay man, in a love story based on the William Burroughs novel.

The backlash to Britain's suspension of some arms exports to Israel shows the fine line the Labour government has to tread in its relations with its Middle Eastern ally.

Harrowing details emerged Tuesday at the trial of a Frenchman charged with enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his drugged wife, with her daughter temporarily leaving the courtroom as she became overwhelmed by emotion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was welcomed by honour guards and red carpets in the Mongolian capital on Tuesday on his first visit to an International Criminal Court (ICC) member since it issued a warrant for his arrest last year.

US President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris campaigned together for the first time Monday, in a public display of teamwork after she replaced him as candidate and revived Democratic election hopes.

US climate envoy John Podesta will visit China this week for talks with counterpart Liu Zhenmin, state media said Tuesday, ahead of the COP29 summit in Baku in November.

New Zealand's spy service branded China a "complex intelligence concern" Tuesday and warned the Pacific nation was vulnerable to foreign interference.

Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific said Tuesday that 15 of its Airbus A350 jets needed new engine parts after inspecting its entire fleet, which was grounded following a "first of its type" engine component failure.

The public deficit in France is at risk of reaching 5.6 percent of GDP this year and even 6.2 percent in 2025, the finance ministry has warned, as a political crisis rumbles on.

Food giant Ferrero on Tuesday announced the imminent launch of a vegan version of its popular hazelnut spread Nutella in Italy, France and Belgium, saying the move was in response to changing consumer tastes.

Overtourism, which is already causing headaches from Venice to the Italian Riviera, risks costing travellers dearly as Rome considers hiking the tourist tax to make them "more responsible" -- and raise cash.

Dozens of Ukrainians were killed on Tuesday in a Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Poltava, one of the deadliest strikes of the two-and-a-half-year war.

The UK on Tuesday said it had awarded a record 131 new green infrastructure projects in a single auction, including plans for Europe's two biggest offshore windfarms.

Concerns grew Tuesday over the chances of securing a Gaza truce, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected making any "concessions" in stalled talks towards a hostage release deal.

Asian markets retreated Tuesday as investors steel themselves for a high-stakes US jobs report at the end of the week while keeping tabs on China after fresh data stoked renewed worries over the world's number two economy.

Pope Francis arrived in Muslim-majority Indonesia on Tuesday to kick off a four-nation tour of the Asia-Pacific that will be the longest and farthest of the 87-year-old's papacy.

Along the edge of a peaceful lake in the southern US state of Georgia, a pile of sneakers forms a makeshift memorial to Laken Riley, a nursing student who was murdered nearby while out on a morning jog.

Terrified for her safety, Indian actress Sreelekha Mitra remembers pushing chairs and a sofa against her hotel door after she said an award-winning veteran director sexually harassed her.

Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who assumed Algeria's presidency during mass pro-democracy protests, is touting his achievements as he seeks another term.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday urged mainstream parties to avoid working with the far right, after record gains by the AfD in two regional polls sent alarm bells ringing a year before a general election.

A French pensioner went on trial Monday on charges of allowing scores of strangers to rape his wife after he drugged her, in a case that has horrified the country.

The British government has said it will probe surge pricing after furious Oasis fans faced huge hikes in ticket prices for the Britpop band's much-anticipated reunion.