AFP news

French forces smashed through dozens of barricades in a bid to retake the main road to New Caledonia's airport and a top official said Sunday that France would reclaim all of the Pacific territory from independence militants "whatever the cost".

When she first heard the gunshots, French tourist Anne-France Brill thought for a split second there was a celebration in the Afghan market where she and her fellow travellers stopped to buy fruit.

An Israeli strike in Gaza killed 31 people Sunday, the Palestinian civil defence agency said, as US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was visiting for talks on the brutal conflict and post-war scenarios.

Stood in the middle of a Tblisi demonstration, Russian emigre Ivan looked on with a tinge of nostalgia as thousands of Georgians protested against a highly-controversial law targeting NGOs and the media.

Saudi designer Tima Abid got her start at a time when fashion shows were taboo and tourism, apart from religious pilgrimages, was almost nonexistent in the Gulf kingdom.

Hussein Julood is taking legal action against British energy giant BP after he lost his son to leukaemia, which he alleges was caused by gas flaring at Iraq's largest oil field.

Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury by split decision to win the world's first undisputed heavyweight championship in 25 years on Sunday, an unprecedented feat in boxing's four-belt era.

The bodies of three Spanish tourists and three Afghans shot dead while visiting a market in Afghanistan were transported to the capital where multiple wounded were also treated, the Taliban government said Saturday.

The warning left Margarita Galan with no choice but to abandon her mayoral bid in a Mexican town where three candidates have already been murdered ahead of June elections.

New divisions have emerged among Israel's leaders over post-war Gaza's governance, with an unexpected Hamas fightback in parts of the Palestinian territory piling pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Heavy clashes and bombardment Saturday rocked Gaza's southern city of Rafah, witnesses said, as the Israeli military announced the first 310 pallets of humanitarian aid had entered the besieged territory via a US-built pier.

Standing on the shore of Taiwan's Kinmen island, Taiwanese tourists snap photos of the skyline of China's Xiamen city that is clearly visible across the sliver of water separating them.

At a sprawling vehicle test centre in the English countryside, a hydrogen-powered Grenadier 4x4 made by Ineos Automotive grips steep and rugged tracks, showcasing its off-road capabilities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an exclusive interview with AFP on Friday he expects Russia to step up its offensive in the northeast and warned Kyiv only has a quarter of the air defences it needs to hold the front line.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with AFP on Friday warned Russia could intensify its offensive and said Kyiv would only accept a "fair peace" despite the West's calls for a quick solution.

WADA applies the World Anti-Doping Code and the related standards in an even-handed way," he said.

Nina Kozyr looked around the courtyard of the evacuation centre in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, hoping for news of her parents.

Golf world number one Scottie Scheffler was handcuffed and arrested by police early Friday after allegedly trying to drive around traffic controls outside the PGA Championship at Valhalla.

Russian forces were pressing ahead Friday with their offensive in north-east Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin said there were no current plans to occupy Kharkiv city, the regional capital.

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday denied widespread allegations that Pyongyang is shipping weapons to Russia, calling the claim "absurd".

OpenAI will have access to Reddit data for training its artificial intelligence models and will put its technology to work on the popular discussion platform, the companies said Thursday.

The social network formerly known as Twitter has fully migrated over to X.com, owner Elon Musk said on Friday.

The sharp drop in prices for minerals critical to the green energy transition is masking a looming shortage due to inadequate investment, the International Energy Agency said Friday.

Lured by the promise of a Pacific paradise, hundreds of visitors to France's island territory of New Caledonia have found themselves trapped in a land teeming with troops trying to put down riots.

The EU on Friday told Microsoft to hand over internal documents or face fines as it examines generative AI risks on the company's search engine Bing ahead of elections.

In a hip coffee shop in Georgia's capital Tbilisi, 21-year-old Tekla Jailava is serving her last few cappuccinos before heading for a third night of protests against an anti-NGO law she fears will ruin the Black Sea country's ties with the West.

Israel lashed out Friday at South Africa's case before the UN's top court, describing it as "totally divorced" from reality, as Pretoria urges judges to order a ceasefire in Gaza.

Fighting raged Friday in Gaza after Israel vowed to intensify its ground offensive in Rafah despite international concerns for the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians in the southern city.

The Women's World Cup will take place in South America for the first time after Brazil was chosen to host the 2027 edition at a FIFA congress Friday marked by debate about the war in Gaza.