AFP News

At least 15 migrants have died and dozens are missing after their boat capsized off Mauritania, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and local sources said Wednesday, the latest in a string of migrant tragedies off the coast of West Africa.

The sales rate of new family homes in the United States dipped in June, missing analyst estimates amid still elevated interest rates, according to government data released Wednesday.

Torn portraits of Bangladesh's independence hero litter a ransacked state television station -- a pointed expression of public fury against his daughter, who just witnessed the worst unrest of her premiership.

France is preparing to welcome over a hundred heads of state and government, royalty and US First Lady Jill Biden for the Summer Olympics which begin with a dazzling ceremony on the river Seine on Friday.

Germany on Wednesday banned the Hamburg Islamic Centre, an association that has been under investigation for several months over its alleged support for Lebanon's Hezbollah group and its links to Iran.

Hungary falls well short of EU democratic standards, notably on corruption, bribery, political funding, conflicts of interest and lack of media independence, according to a European Commission evaluation published Thursday.

On an improvised pitch in war-ravaged Gaza, a young player and goalkeeper block out the boisterous crowd and focus solely on the football as they square off.

Conflict, economic turbulence and extreme weather scuppered efforts to curb hunger last year, with around nine percent of the world's population affected, UN agencies said on Wednesday.

France has declared itself prepared for the deluge of Olympics visitors -- and so have Paris's drug dealers.

Italian luxury carmaker Ferrari said Wednesday its European dealers will start accepting cryptocurrency, following a similar move in the United States.

North Korean sweet wrappers and packets of crackers made at a factory once visited by leader Kim Jong Un were seen by AFP reporters on streets in the South Korean capital Wednesday.

Earth withered through a second-straight day of record-breaking temperatures on July 22, the EU's climate monitor said Wednesday, as parts of the world suffer devastating heatwaves and wildfires.

Taiwan closed schools and evacuated thousands from their homes on Wednesday ahead of Typhoon Gaemi, which authorities said could be "the strongest" to hit in eight years and has already killed one person on the island.

Denmark is waiting for Japan's extradition for the veteran anti-whaling activist Paul Watson, arrested this weekend in Greenland, before ruling on the case, the justice ministry said Wednesday.

Dozens of journalists joined marches in Kenya on Wednesday in protest at what they see as heavy-handed government tactics to stifle media freedoms, including police attacks on journalists during the demonstrations that have rocked the country for the past five weeks.

A passenger plane crashed on take-off in Kathmandu on Wednesday, with the pilot rescued from the flaming wreckage but all 18 others aboard killed, police in the Nepali capital told AFP.

Rescuers aided by drones were continuing a desperate search on Wednesday for possible survivors of devastating landslides in an isolated area of southern Ethiopia that have claimed the lives of at least 229 people.

The tired troops moved through the forest in east Ukraine at dawn, imitating assault rifle fire while searching for non-existent Russians between the trees.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement has agreed with Hamas to form a "national unity government" in post-war Gaza, but analysts are sceptical about the significance of the Beijing-brokered deal.

Football and Rugby Sevens kick off the sport at the Paris Olympics Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony, featuring a top French star and a huge police presence for Israel's first appearance.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in southern China on Wednesday, with both sides calling for peace as Russia's war grinds on against its neighbour.

Keir Starmer faces his first House of Commons grilling as UK prime minister on Wednesday, after suspending seven of his own Labour MPs for rebelling over a controversial welfare policy.

Garment factories and banks reopened in Bangladesh Thursday after authorities eased a curfew imposed to contain deadly clashes sparked by student protests over civil service employment quotas.

A passenger plane carrying 19 people crashed during takeoff in Kathmandu on Wednesday with the pilot surviving but "many" others aboard dead, police in the Nepali capital told AFP. Nepal has a woeful track record on aviation safety and the Himalayan republic has seen a spate of deadly light plane and helicopter crashes over the decades.

Relentless rain drenched the northern Philippines on Wednesday, triggering floods in Manila and landslides in mountainous regions as Typhoon Gaemi intensified the seasonal monsoon.

Staples of Austrian cooking such as schnitzel, roast pork lung and boiled beef have proved particularly vital for Gasthaus Stich, a restaurant in the village of Pfoesing.

Before the Pride parade by LGBTQ activists in the east German town of Altenburg even started, a small group had been hurling insults and flashing middle fingers at those present.

Trash-carrying balloons sent by North Korea hit the South Korean presidential compound Wednesday, security officials told AFP, prompting Seoul to mobilise chemical response teams in the escalating tit-for-tat propaganda war.

Every day in a simple temple in an Indian village, Hindu priest Subhramanya Sharma prays to his god for JD Vance to become vice-president of the United States.