AFP news

The killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in an air strike in Tehran Wednesday came as a "thunderbolt" to war-weary Gazans, with some expressing disappointment Iran was unable to "protect him".

A South Korean Olympic sharpshooter who took silver in the women's 10-metre air pistol exploded across the internet Wednesday, crowned the Paris Games' breakout style star.

The eurozone's annual inflation rate unexpectedly edged up in July due to rising energy costs, official data showed on Wednesday, leaving it still uncertain if the European Central Bank will cut interest rates in September.

The World Bank has approved a $1.5 billion financial package to support cash-strapped Ethiopia's economic reform programme after officials loosened curbs on the local currency.

Forced to formulate a new electoral strategy less than 100 days before the US presidential election, Donald Trump will take part in two campaign events on Wednesday, with new opponent Kamala Harris in his sights.

France's Cassandre Beaugrand won the Olympic women's triathlon on Wednesday after the event finally went ahead in a huge relief for organisers.

Australian children with potentially deadly peanut allergies will be offered life-saving treatment in a nationwide programme touted as a world first.

The Bank of Japan further unwound its massive monetary easing programme on Wednesday by hiking interest rates for only the second time in 17 years and indicating plans for more if the economy performs as officials expect.

Hamas said Wednesday its political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike in Iran, where he was attending the swearing-in of the new president, and vowed the act "will not go unanswered".

The US Federal Reserve is highly unlikely to waver from its position of holding interest rates at a two-decade high on Wednesday, but could drop hints about a September start to rate cuts.

Sealed inside a habitat in Texas and cut off from the outside world for over a year, Kelly Haston was the commander of a first-of-its-kind simulation for NASA to prepare for a future mission to Mars.

Samsung Electronics Wednesday reported its fastest growth since 2010, with operating profits soaring for the second quarter, as chip prices bounce back and demand for generative AI continues to grow.

A young violinist accompanied thousands of opposition supporters belting out the Venezuelan national anthem Tuesday at a rally in Caracas, in a peaceful, but firm, rejection of an election victory claimed by strongman Nicolas Maduro.

Starbucks reported lower profits Tuesday behind broad-based sales declines, but shares rose as the company said a turnaround was on track.

US Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic election nominee, said Tuesday that Israel had a "right to defend itself" following a strike in Hezbollah's stronghold in southern Beirut.

Microsoft on Tuesday reported strong quarterly earnings but saw its shares slip on figures showing its crucial cloud computing unit did not grow as strongly as expected.

Massive explosions on the Sun have triggered warnings of geomagnetic storms that could create dazzling auroras in the northern United States, Europe and southern Australia from Tuesday night.

Protests erupted in parts of Caracas Monday against the re-election victory claimed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro but disputed by the opposition and questioned internationally, AFP journalists observed.

Britain's Labour finance minister Rachel Reeves declared Monday that the public finances face an extra GBP22-billion hole inherited from the previous Conservative administration and warned of "difficult decisions" ahead to cut spending or hike taxes.

All three of the chain's operating regions experienced comparable sales declines, a significant weakening next to the year-ago results when global comparable sales jumped nearly nine percent.

Unsafe pollution levels in the River Seine forced the postponement of the men's triathlon at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, as gymnastics icon Simone Biles eyed her first gold of the Games.

Musk reposted a manipulated Harris campaign video in which a voiceover mimicking her calls President Joe Biden senile, and declares that she does not "know the first thing about running the country," adding that as a woman and a person of color, she is the "ultimate diversity hire."

Stung by shock rulings on abortion and other topics and by a series of scandals involving the conservative-dominated court, Biden called for 18-year term limits for justices and an enforceable ethics code.

It was a record-extending eighth team title for Japan and made up for narrowly missing out to Russia for gold at the Tokyo Games. China took silver and the United States bronze, ahead of Britain.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez refused on Tuesday to answer question from a judge investigating alleged influence-peddling by his wife, a case that has put pressure on his fragile minority government.

The liberal and left-wing warping of reality -- a trend some call "BlueAnon," a play on the QAnon conspiracy cult -- is fueling information chaos on social media platforms that are already a cesspool of right-wing falsehoods.

Long in the authorities' sights, the 57-year-old former lawyer has already spent time in jail for supporting the jihadist Islamic State group.

The southern coastal state of Kerala has been battered by torrential downpours, with blocked roads into the disaster area at Wayanad district complicating relief efforts.

Spain's competition watchdog said Tuesday it had slapped online travel agency Booking.com with a record 413-million-euro fine for "abusing its dominant position" during the past five years.