AFP news

Struggle to wrap your head around daylight savings? If the need for an "unprecedented" negative leap second was delayed, that would be "welcome news indeed," Patrizia Tavella, the head of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, which is responsible for UTC, commented in Nature.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Wednesday defended French secularism following the resignation of a Paris school principal who received death threats after asking a student to remove her Muslim veil on the premises.

President Emmanuel Macron and counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday celebrated the launch of Brazil's third French-designed submarine, which will help secure the country's immense coastline, dubbed the "Blue Amazon."

Forced to discard its most popular election candidate, and then a proxy, Venezuela's opposition unity is now on the verge of crumbling ahead of July presidential elections.

Diverted cargo and supply chain disruptions have left businesses rushing to avoid an economic hit following the collapse of a major bridge in Baltimore after it was hit by a cargo ship.

Israeli forces pounded besieged Gaza on Wednesday in the war sparked by the October 7 attack and fought Hamas around several hospitals despite a UN Security Council demand for a ceasefire.

Authorities in Baltimore were set to focus on expanding recovery efforts Wednesday after a cargo ship slammed into a major bridge, causing it to collapse and leaving six people presumed dead.

The southern Gaza Strip came under intense Israeli bombardment overnight, despite international pressure for an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territory where famine is looming.

French President Emmanuel Macron kicked off a visit to Brazil on Tuesday with the launch of a billion-euro Amazonian green investment plan alongside his counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers take center stage on Thursday as Major League Baseball's new season gets under way on US soil against the backdrop of a gambling scandal that has engulfed its brightest star.

"Twenty-three in Music City / With dreams and high-heeled boots / Singin' for a crowd of blue eyes / Will they want me too?"

Durga Phuyal had hoped to start anew when she landed in Croatia, but the Nepali migrant faced an uphill battle to adjust to life in the Balkan country.

China said it had issued a "strong" rebuke to the United States on Tuesday after Washington and two key allies accused Beijing of being behind a series of hacks into lawmakers and key democratic institutions.

Hunched in his market workshop in a northern Dakar suburb, Cheikh Lo recounted why he had pinned all his hopes on Senegal's anti-establishment president elect Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

A major bridge in the US city of Baltimore collapsed early Tuesday after being struck by a container ship, sending multiple vehicles and people plunging into the frigid harbor below.

Two UK judges delayed a decision Tuesday on whether to grant WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a last-ditch appeal against extradition to the United States, giving Washington three weeks to provide further "assurances" in the case.

Church walls crumble in India's Kandhamal district, where brutal attacks on Christians 16 years ago means many survivors still worry about their minority's place in a Hindu-majority nation.

Israeli troops battled Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, with no sign of a let-up in the war despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an "immediate ceasefire".

A decade before it hosts football's World Cup, the size of the task facing Saudi Arabia is becoming apparent, including building stadiums, hotels and transport links.

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani said Monday he had never bet on baseball or other sports, declaring himself "saddened and shocked" after accusing his interpreter of stealing from his bank account to pay off millions of dollars in gambling debts.

Ten people including a teenage girl were wounded on Monday after Ukrainian air defence systems downed two Russian missiles over the capital, sending metal debris crashing to the ground.

At the age of 44, Bassirou Diomaye Faye is to become Senegal's fifth and also youngest president after the opposition candidate's main rival Amadou Ba conceded defeat after Sunday's first round vote.

Geopolitical tensions sent oil prices climbing and weighed on equities on Monday as investors also continued to worry about prospects for interest rate cuts amid stubbornly-high inflation.

The UK on Monday accused Beijing-linked organisations of orchestrating two "malicious" cyber campaigns, calling in China's ambassador to protest and sanctioning those it branded responsible.

Boeing announced Monday a leadership shakeup headlined by the departure of CEO Dave Calhoun as the aviation giant faces heavy scrutiny following safety incidents and manufacturing issues.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is refusing to blame the Islamic State (IS) for the Moscow attack despite a claim by the extremist group, instead insinuating a link to Ukraine in an apparent bid to limit the responsibility of the Russian security services.

The Philippines said Monday it had summoned a Chinese envoy over "aggressive actions" by the China Coast Guard and other vessels near a reef off the Southeast Asian country's coast, while Beijing lodged its own complaint.

Israeli forces fought Hamas militants in besieged Gaza on Monday including around at least two major hospitals, raising fears for the patients, medics and displaced people trapped inside.

The Kremlin refused to comment Monday on the Islamic State group's claims that it was behind the deadliest attack in Russia in two decades, as rescuers searched for bodies amid the rubble of the burnt-out Moscow concert hall.