AFP news

Closing arguments began Tuesday in the hush money trial of Donald Trump with the White House hopeful facing the prospect of becoming the first criminally convicted former president in US history.

Novak Djokovic begins the defence of his French Open title at a rainswept Roland Garros on Tuesday, confident his Grand Slam pedigree will help overcome his lacklustre season.

Bangladeshi weather experts said Tuesday that a deadly cyclone that carved a swath of destruction was one of the quickest-forming and longest-lasting they'd experienced, blaming climate change for the shift.

Israel again bombarded Gaza's far-southern Rafah area on Tuesday despite a global storm of outrage over a strike that set ablaze a crowded tent city, killing 45 people according to Palestinian officials.

Using a long-handled net, Ronnel Narvas scoops up discarded plastic soft drink bottles, shopping bags and palm-sized sachets as he wades through a foul-smelling tributary in the Philippine capital Manila.

The UN Security Council was set to convene an emergency meeting Tuesday over an Israeli strike that killed dozens in a displaced persons camp in Rafah, as three European countries were slated to formally recognise a Palestinian state.

After Iran mourned president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a recent helicopter crash, the nation's focus turns to an election next month for his successor, with the conservative camp seeking a loyalist to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Speeding along crumbling roads past dusty villages and herds of sheep, a team of cyclists turns heads in China's Inner Mongolia with their unusual equipment.

Whether they admit it or not, there is no doubt Real Madrid consider themselves favourites to beat Borussia Dortmund on Saturday and win a record-extending 15th Champions League trophy.

A painting by Italian master Caravaggio, once mistakenly thought to be by an unknown artist and nearly auctioned off for a song, was unveiled at Madrid's Prado Museum on Monday.

Rafael Nadal says he will be facing "one of the toughest opponents possible" when he plays Alexander Zverev in the French Open first round on Monday, after Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner eased through their openers.

Israel said it was looking into the "tragic accident" and its impact on civilians after the latest mass casualty event in the Gaza war, which has raged since October 7.

Leaders from South Korea, China and Japan reaffirmed their goal of a denuclearised Korean peninsula Monday, during a rare summit at which they also agreed to deepen trade ties.

More than 2,000 people have been buried in a Papua New Guinea landslide that destroyed a remote highland village, the government warned Monday as it called for international help in the rescue effort.

Mexico is on course to elect its first woman president this weekend, with two front-runners competing to break the highest political glass ceiling in a country with a history of gender violence and inequality.

For a decade, Park Hyeon-su lived in a windowless micro-apartment in Seoul, working double shifts and saving every penny for a deposit on a nice home.

Cricket's ability to grow its global presence beyond its heartlands, while still maintaining the quality at the highest level, will be tested over the coming month in the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States.

An intense cyclone smashed into the low-lying coast of Bangladesh on Sunday, with nearly a million people fleeing inland for concrete storm shelters away from howling gales and crashing waves.

Naomi Osaka swept to her first victory at the French Open in three years on Monday, setting up a potential showdown with world number one Iga Swiatek, as Roland Garros prepared to possibly bid farewell to Rafael Nadal.

South Africa's opposition parties mount an 11th-hour assault Sunday on the ruling ANC's 30-year-old grip on power, staging set-piece rallies three days before the general election.

Lithuania's heads of state and government faced off on Sunday in round two of the presidential election, as the Baltic nation prioritises defence and security amid fears over neighbouring Russia.

Taiwan's new president said Sunday he was still ready to work with China, despite this week's military drills around the self-ruled island.

Israel's armed forces bombarded Gaza on Sunday, but officials also said diplomatic efforts were expected to resume in coming days towards a truce and hostage release deal.

Russia bombed a hardware superstore in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Saturday, killing at least six people and wounding 40, Ukraine officials said, in an attack condemned as "vile" by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"Anora", an explicit and often hilarious story about a New York erotic dancer, won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, which also saw a first-ever win for a trans actress.

G7 finance ministers cited "progress" on Saturday in finding ways to use profits from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, envisioning a concrete proposal to present to a leaders' summit next month.

South Africa's ruling African National Congress was betting on its last major stadium rally Saturday ahead of next week's election to restore its glory and protect its unbeaten streak of post-apartheid victories.

If there's one thing the parties competing in next week's South African general election don't want to talk about, it's bussing in supporters to fill out huge stadium rallies.

China has ended two days of military drills around Taiwan that saw jets loaded with live munitions and warships practise seizing and isolating the self-ruled island.