AFP news

US President Joe Biden faces a critical week Monday that will test his standing at home and abroad, as moves to force him to quit his fight for a second White House term gather pace.

The euro slipped on Monday but eurozone stock markets edged up after early losses following snap French elections in which a hung parliament appeared the likeliest outcome.

Canadian writer Alice Munro's daughter said Sunday that her stepfather sexually abused her as a child and that her mother was told but stayed with him, in a damning account published after the Nobel laureate's death.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday that world powers should help Russia and Ukraine re-start direct negotiations during a visit to Beijing branded a "peace mission" by the European leader.

Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic has his sights set on reaching a seventh successive Wimbledon quarter-final on Monday.

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike won a landslide victory to secure a third term, official election results showed Monday, in a rare triumph for a woman in Japan's male-dominated politics.

Workers at South Korean tech giant Samsung began a three-day general strike over pay and benefits on Monday, the head of a union representing tens of thousands of employees told AFP, warning the action could impact memory chip production.

France on Monday was faced with a difficult battle to form a new government after parliamentary elections, called by President Emmanuel Macron to reshape the political landscape, failed to open a clear path towards a majority.

Two pistols that Napoleon Bonaparte once intended to use to kill himself were sold in France on Sunday for 1.69 million euros ($1.8 million), the auction house said, with the government insisting that they stay in the country as national treasures.

Israeli protesters marched through Tel Aviv and Jerusalem chanting "we will not give up" on Sunday, the second consecutive day of stepped-up pressure for a deal to free hostages in Gaza.

Samsung Electronics said Friday it expects second-quarter operating profits to rise more than 15-fold on-year as chip prices bounce back and demand for generative AI continues to grow.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Moscow Friday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, on a trip the EU said threatened to undermine the bloc's stance on the Ukraine war.

Catania airport on the Italian island of Sicily was closed on Friday after Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe, erupted and spewed ash into the sky, disrupting air travel.

Israel's spy chief was expected in Qatar on Friday for the latest effort to free hostages held by Hamas Palestinian militants in Gaza, almost nine months into the Israel-Hamas war.

Gatherings have been banned this weekend in the restive French Pacific territory of New Caledonia during the second round of France's parliamentary polls.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's wife arrived at a Madrid court to testify before a judge Friday as part of a preliminary corruption probe into her business ties, but the hearing was quickly suspended with a new date set for July 19.

Refugees and migrants face extreme violence, abuse and exploitation on land routes crossing Africa to get to the Mediterranean, with far more believed to be dying there than at sea, a UN-backed report said Friday.

Liz Truss, Britain's shortest-serving prime minister, suffered further political ignominy Friday when she sensationally lost her seat in parliament at the British general election.

China's AI sector showed confidence this week at a major fair in Shanghai that it would overcome restrictions imposed by the West, with companies rolling out cutting-edge products developed by a growing pool of young talent.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday makes his first visit to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, walking a fine line between maintaining a longstanding Moscow alliance while courting closer Western security ties.

US President Joe Biden is hoping a televised interview on Friday will steady his imperiled reelection bid -- but a repeat of his disastrous debate performance could be his downfall.

A record number of Cabinet ministers lost their seats on Friday in Britain's general election, leaving only a couple of obvious contenders for the party leadership if Rishi Sunak resigns.

The London stock market advanced Friday after Britain's centre-left Labour Party clinched an expected landslide election victory to end 14 years of right-wing Conservative rule.

Iranians voted on Friday in a presidential runoff election where the choice is between a reformist advocating improved ties with the West and an ultraconservative former nuclear negotiator.

Hosts Germany take on Spain in the first of two blockbuster quarter-final ties at Euro 2024 on Friday, with Kylian Mbappe's France up against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the late match.

Superstar rapper and music industry mogul Sean Combs has been sued by a former adult film star for sexual assault and sex trafficking, court filings showed.

Britain's new prime minister Keir Starmer is an ex-human rights lawyer and public prosecutor who will have to focus his relentless work ethic and methodical mind on fixing the country.

Andy Murray suffered a losing start in his farewell to Wimbledon on Thursday, weeping openly in front of his adoring fans before admitting: "I wish I could play forever."

The World Meteorological Organization, which is tracking Hurricane Beryl's deadly course through the Caribbean, told AFP that more storms with its hallmarks could be expected in the future.