AFP news

US wellness influencers are increasingly targeting birth control pills, pushing their followers to abandon the contraceptives with false claims about infertility and low libido that researchers say leave them vulnerable to unintended pregnancies.

Several thousand Georgians gathered outside parliament in Tbilisi Sunday night in a fresh protest against a Russian-styled "foreign agent" bill, despite government officials warning of arrests.

Lyuda Zelenskaya and Liuba Konovalova, both in their 70s, held each other through "terrifying" Russian attacks on their village near Vovchansk in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, where Russia launched a surprise ground offensive.

Russia said Sunday it had captured four more villages in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, as thousands of residents were evacuated from the offensive in an area where Russian troops had been pushed back in 2022.

Israel launched strikes on Gaza Sunday after it expanded an evacuation order for Rafah, with the United Nations warning an outright invasion of the crowded southern city risked an "epic" disaster.

More than 300 people were killed in flash floods that ripped through multiple Afghan provinces, the UN's World Food Programme said Saturday, as authorities declared a state of emergency and rushed to rescue the injured.

The Eurovision Song Contest final gets underway in Sweden's Malmo on Saturday with thousands of protesters expected to culminate a week of tensions surrounding Israel's participation during the Gaza war.

The most powerful solar storm in more than two decades struck Earth on Friday, triggering spectacular celestial light shows from Tasmania to Britain -- and threatening possible disruptions to satellites and power grids as it persists into the weekend.

The United States issued Friday a stunning criticism of Israel's use of American weapons in the Gaza war, after Israeli forces intensified operations around the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million displaced people are sheltering.

The sun-kissed beaches and turquoise waters of Mexico's Caribbean resort of Cancun attract millions of visitors, but schoolteacher Yazmin Teran is lucky if she enjoys them a few times a year.

Ukraine vowed Friday to quash a surprise Russian ground offensive, after troops launched a major cross-border assault in the Kharkiv region, looking to chalk up fresh battlefield gains with Ukraine on the back foot.

Kylian Mbappe confirmed on Friday that he will leave French champions Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, with Real Madrid widely expected to be his next destination.

In a cathedral in the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsya in front of hundreds of mourners, Nazary Gryntsevych's mother and girlfriend rested their heads on the side of his open coffin.

With Mammoth's 72 industrial fans, Swiss start-up Climeworks intends to suck 36,000 tonnes of CO2 from the air annually to bury underground, vying to prove the technology has a place in the fight against global warming.

His legacy forever defined by Brexit, Britain's former prime minister David Cameron is hurriedly restoring his reputation -- and that of UK diplomacy -- as a globe-trotting foreign secretary.

Israel launched fresh strikes in the Gaza Strip Friday after negotiators pursuing a long-stalled truce agreement left talks in Cairo without having secured a deal.

Israel qualified for this weekend's Eurovision song contest grand finale, defying thousands of demonstrators marching on Thursday in host country Sweden over the Gaza war.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign speeches claim his quelling of an insurgency in Kashmir as one of his greatest achievements, but many in the disputed region see India's election as a chance to signal their disagreement.

Hectic last-ditch talks aimed at striking a landmark global agreement on handling future pandemics rolled into the final day on Friday with a deal still up in the air.

Since the Taliban returned to power, Afghan women have been barred from going on long trips, travelling by plane or entering government buildings unless they are accompanied by a man.

Can we believe the polls? "Some of those people are going to feel over-polled.

It could be a loyal lieutenant, an ex-rival or perhaps a political newcomer, but one thing is certain: all eyes are on White House hopeful Donald Trump as he considers potential running mates.

Richard Rung recalls it vividly: German artillery firing on his landing craft, the sound of machine gun bullets striking the vessel, blood mixed with seawater on the deck, troops crying on the beach.

Stormy Daniels finished her marathon testimony at Donald Trump's hush money trial on Thursday with attorneys for the former president seeking to paint her as a greedy liar who profited from her allegations.

Days after the October 7 attack, Joe Biden walked onto the tarmac in Tel Aviv and offered a warm bear hug to Benjamin Netanyahu, a sign both of solid support for Israel and the US president's long, if not uncomplicated, relationship with the prime minister.

The Olympic torch relay began in Marseille on Thursday with the port city's football legend Basile Boli taking the flame in front of the iconic basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde before passing it on to a number of other celebrity sports stars including Ukrainian gymnast Mariia Vysochanska.

Scientists Geoffrey Hawtin and Cary Fowler, who on Thursday received the prestigious World Food Prize for "their work to preserve the world's heritage of seeds", are on a mission.

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned his nuclear forces were "always" on alert and added that Moscow would not tolerate any Western threats, during an address on the annual Victory Day parade.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hungary on Thursday seeking a "new journey" with Beijing's closest European Union ally amid divisions with the West over the Ukraine war and global trade.