AFP news

Holders Spain beat the Netherlands on penalties after a dramatic quarter-final second leg in Valencia finished 3-3 on Sunday to set up a Nations League last-four clash with France, who edged Croatia in a shoot-out after a 2-2 aggregate draw.

US and Ukrainian officials were due to meet in Saudi Arabia on Sunday for talks on how to halt the Russian invasion, a member of the Ukrainian delegation told AFP, while the Kremlin warned of "difficult negotiations" and a long journey to peace.

Oscar Piastri hailed his "mega" McLaren after winning a Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday later overshadowed by the disqualifications of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc for technical infringements.

Pope Francis was discharged from hospital Sunday after more than five weeks being treated for pneumonia, waving to cheering crowds and thanking everyone for their support.

Israel's military pressed ground operations across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, urging Palestinians to flee an offensive in Rafah city nearly a week into a renewed assault on the Hamas-ruled territory.

Living in the gutted-out eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka, Maryna has learned to recognise the sound of the devastating Russian glide bombs that have pounded her city for months.

In just a few weeks, the US tourism outlook has clouded as a result of some of President Donald Trump's policy decisions, which have angered some foreign visitors and prompted fear of a surge in prices and a stronger dollar.

Huge crowds gathered outside Istanbul City Hall late Saturday for a fourth night of protests over the arrest of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who has blasted official allegations against him as "immoral and baseless".

When fighting first gripped the Sudanese capital in April 2023, quickly overwhelming Khartoum's hospitals, Dr. Safaa Ali faced an impossible choice: her family or her patients.

Israel conducted deadly strikes on Lebanon Saturday in response to a rocket attack from across the border, as militant group Hezbollah denied responsibility for the launch.

Israel launched air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon on Saturday after intercepting cross-border rocket fire, with Lebanese state media reporting a woman was killed.

Sudan's army recaptured the presidential palace in Khartoum from the Rapid Support Forces on Friday, dealing a major blow to the paramilitaries who responded with drone attacks that killed a news crew and soldiers.

Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in Istanbul late Friday to protest the arrest of the city's opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, defying a warning from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey would not tolerate "street terrorism".

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened Friday to annex parts of the Gaza Strip unless Hamas militants release the remaining Israeli hostages held in the war-battered Palestinian territory.

A police helicopter was the only vehicle visible in the sky above Heathrow airport on Friday, as the regular drone of flights went silent after a fire at a power station shuttered Europe's busiest airport.

Ukraine hopes to secure at least a partial ceasefire at upcoming talks in Saudi Arabia, during which US officials will meet separately with Russian and Ukrainian delegations, a senior Ukrainian source told AFP on Friday.

Russia's central bank kept its key rate at 21 percent on Friday, locking in two-decade-high borrowing costs as it battles rampant inflation.

US President Donald Trump denied media reports on Friday that his billionaire ally Elon Musk would receive a "top-secret briefing" on Washington's strategy in a potential war with China.

US President Donald Trump signed an order Thursday aimed at "eliminating" the Department of Education, a decades-old goal of the American right, which wants individual states to run schools free from the federal government.

Major stock markets extended losses on Friday on heightened concerns over the potential fallout from US President Donald Trump's tariff agenda.

The days of Ronen Bar as Israel's Shin Bet chief were already numbered after Hamas's deadly attack on October 7, 2023, having hinted he would resign to take responsibility for failing to prevent it.

Britain's Heathrow airport -- Europe's busiest -- shut down early on Friday after a major fire at an electricity substation cut power to the sprawling hub, causing disruption worldwide to hundreds of flights and thousands of travellers.

Taiwan faces a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts warn, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing's infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats.

Growing up in North Korea, Hyuk's childhood was about survival. "To me, the world was just North Korea -- nothing beyond that," he told AFP. His bandmate, Seok, also grew up in the North -- but in contrast to Hyuk's hardscrabble upbringing, he was raised in a relatively affluent family, living close to the border.

"Adolescence", the Netflix hit series about a British 13-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of a horrifying crime, has intensified the anxiety of parents worried about toxic and misogynistic influences young people are exposed to online.

Last year, Saudi teacher Asaad al-Ghamdi was given 20 years in prison for criticising the government online -- one of a wave of heavy sentences that drew international condemnation.

Turkish riot police fired teargas and rubber bullets on Thursday, as demonstrators protested for a second night outside Istanbul City Hall over the shock arrest of the Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in a graft and terror probe.

Kirsty Coventry says she has "learned the best lessons by failing" and the Zimbabwean swimming great's mantra appears to have served her well after she became the first woman and African to be elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

French citizen Olivier Grondeau, detained by Iran since October 2022 on security charges but described by his family as an innocent tourist, has returned to France after being released, President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday.