AFP news

Unsafe pollution levels in the River Seine forced the postponement of the men's triathlon at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, as gymnastics icon Simone Biles eyed her first gold of the Games.

Equity markets were mixed Tuesday as investors jockey ahead of a slew of central bank decisions, key economic data and earnings from tech titans this week.

Some gods grant riches and others good luck, but one deity in India offers a much less nebulous fortune to his devotees: tickets to a new life in the United States.

Cash-strapped Ethiopia eased foreign exchange curbs on Monday as part of a broad economic reform package as the International Monetary Fund approved a loan to the Horn of Africa nation seeking a multibillion-dollar bailout.

After a deadly strike on civilians in the annexed Golan Heights, Israel has threatened retaliation against Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, accusing it of perpetrating the attack with an Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket -- part of its wide-ranging arsenal.

France was on Monday probing the possible involvement of ultra-left movements in attacks that paralysed the rail network at the start of the Olympic Games, as new sabotage acts affected fibre optic cables in several areas.

Venezuela's opposition declared it was the rightful victor of a presidential election as global concern poured in Monday over alleged irregularities in the re-election of strongman Nicolas Maduro.

Oscar-winner Robert Downey Jr. announced his return to the Marvel superhero films during a blockbuster Disney presentation at Comic-Con Saturday, as the company attempts to reinvigorate its all-time record-grossing movie franchise.

The US Federal Reserve may signal this week that interest rate cuts are on the way -- although it is widely expected to remain on pause until its next rate decision in September.

UN member states meet Monday seeking to finalize an international treaty on the fight against cybercrime, a text strongly opposed by an unlikely alliance of human rights groups and big technology companies.

Russia said on Monday its forces had captured the village of Vovche in eastern Ukraine, the latest in a string of frontline advances Moscow has claimed in recent weeks.

Airlines suspended flights to Lebanon on Monday as diplomatic efforts were underway to contain soaring tensions between Hezbollah and Israel after deadly rocket fire in the annexed Golan Heights.

Tennis legends Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will write probably the final page in their epic sporting rivalry Monday at the Paris Olympics, where British diver Tom Daley grabbed his fifth medal in five Games.

Sofyan Sabi's sea-dwelling community has fished beneath the waves off the Indonesian coast for centuries, but climate change and overfishing have forced him and many of his contemporaries on land to make a living.

A naturalized US citizen, Nicaraguan-born Linda Fornos believes uncontrolled immigration is harming her family's ability to care for itself, and says she will be casting her ballot for Donald Trump in November -- having voted Democrat in 2020.

Simone Biles dazzled a star-studded crowd as she returned to the Olympic stage on Sunday while Rafael Nadal set up a showdown with career-long rival Novak Djokovic.

The mastermind of the ambitious Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Sunday rejected criticism his boundary-breaking show had gone too far, saying it had created a "cloud" of love and tolerance.

The United States and Japan issued scathing verbal attacks on China and Russia on Sunday after high-level discussions on enhancing already close defence collaboration between Tokyo and Washington in an increasingly unstable region.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday vowed to "hit the enemy hard" after rocket fire from Lebanon killed 12 young people in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and again raised fears that the war in Gaza will spread.

Donald Trump labeled Vice President Kamala Harris a "crazy liberal," while she vowed to prevail over his "wild lies" as both laid out presidential campaign attack lines Saturday with just 100 days left until election day.

Cocooned in white bags and nestled in the arms of volunteers, eight young rhim gazelles -- an endangered species native to North Africa -- have been transferred to an uninhabited Libyan island.

Three of the world's top auction houses are racing to expand in Hong Kong, eager to woo young Asian buyers even as the global art market retreats from pandemic-era highs.

Only two years ago, Abdesselam Ichou began growing cannabis legally as part of Morocco's legalisation of the plant for medicinal and industrial uses in an impoverished part of the country.

Venezuelans vote Sunday between continuity in President Nicolas Maduro or change in rival Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia amid high tension following the incumbent's threat of a "bloodbath" if he loses, which polls suggest is likely.

Venezuelans go to the polls Sunday to elect a president between incumbent Nicolas Maduro and rival Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, in a tense atmosphere marked by the last-minute barring of international observers and complaints of widespread opposition repression.

Voters on both sides of the political aisle in Venezuela are convinced of victory in Sunday's presidential elections, in which incumbent Nicolas Maduro faces opposition challenger Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

LVMH's high profile and highly visible product placement in the Paris Games opening ceremony surprised marketing experts and raises the possibility it could cause problems for the International Olympic Committee with their long-term sponsors.

China grabbed the first two gold medals of the Paris Olympics on Saturday as swimming prepared to take centre stage on a rain-disrupted first full opening day of sporting action.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said an Israeli strike Saturday on a school killed 30 people, after a days-long military operation further south left around 170 dead, according to the civil defence agency.