WORLD

President Aleksandar Vucic told AFP on Wednesday that Serbia expects to sign a "huge" deal for French fighter jets during a visit this week from France's leader, an agreement estimated to be worth billions of dollars.

On a platform near the east Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, Anna Dvoryaninova waited for a train she never wanted to take, leaving her home behind as Russian forces push deeper into her native Donetsk region.

The Venice Film Festival kicks off Wednesday with a devilish debut of Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice" sequel and a surge of star power for the glitzy competition on the sun-splashed Lido.

Ethiopia said it has more than doubled electricity production from its controversial mega-dam on the Blue Nile after two more turbines started operations.

The Israeli army targeted four cities in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, launching a major new operation alongside its 10-month-old war in Gaza.

Children returning to school in Poland next week will find a new group of classmates -- Ukrainian children now living in the country who were not previously enrolled in the Polish education system.

Voters in two former East German states will go to the polls Sunday in what could be a bad night for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government, with the far-right AfD expected to make big gains.

One year after a bloodless military coup that overthrew Gabon's president Ali Bongo Ondimba ending 55 years of family rule, the fate of the former dynasty remains in limbo.

The Israeli military said a hostage was rescued Tuesday from a Gaza tunnel, more than 10 months after the Israeli Bedouin man was seized during the Hamas attack that triggered a devastating war. Talks aiming to secure a Gaza truce and hostage release deal, meanwhile, continued in Qatar, a US official said.

Cuba's iconic capital Havana is drowning in a sea of uncollected trash as a critical shortage of fuel and vehicle parts affects garbage collection on the island crippled by sanctions and economic woes.

A new era in European club football begins on Thursday when the draw takes place in Monaco for an expanded UEFA Champions League featuring a radically changed format.

One month after a presidential vote it claims was stolen by incumbent Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's opposition has called for mass rallies Wednesday to press for the recognition of its election "victory."

Pavel Durov, the founder and chief of Telegram, is set to learn Wednesday whether he will face charges and even be remanded in custody after his weekend arrest by French authorities over alleged violations at the messaging app.

Ahead of the draw for the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League which takes place on Thursday in Monaco, AFP Sport explains the format of the new, expanded version of Europe's elite club competition: - More clubs, no more groups - The updated version of the Champions League will see 36 clubs feature in the competition proper, an increase from 32 under the old format.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-firing of a 240mm multiple rocket launcher equipped with a new "guiding system", state media said Wednesday, as Pyongyang continues to upgrade its arsenal.

Papua New Guinea said Wednesday it supported the creation of a multinational Pacific police force, a landmark proposal pushed by Australia that could significantly blunt China's regional ambitions.

Ivan Rossomakhin was recruited from prison in 2022, committed another killing while on leave in Russia and was sent back to the frontline.

Prosecutors on Tuesday filed a revised indictment of Donald Trump, pressing ahead with bombshell charges that he tried to overturn the 2020 US election after losing to Joe Biden.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer landed in Berlin late Tuesday ahead of talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in his first bilateral trip since taking office last month.

In Manchester, the northwest English hometown of legendary rockers Oasis, fans on Tuesday were gushing about the seemingly impossible -- the band was getting back together for a worldwide tour next year.

Thousands of women and girls displaced by Haiti's gang violence are under threat from a surge in sexual assaults, the United Nations warned Tuesday, denouncing deplorable living conditions in makeshift camps.

Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia on Tuesday ignored a second summons to appear before prosecutors as part of a probe into his claim that he was the rightful victor of last month's presidential election.

The Israeli military said it rescued an Israeli hostage in Gaza on Tuesday, more than 10 months after he was seized during the Hamas attacks that sparked a devastating war.

Fosir Mia moved to Saudi Arabia thinking he would earn a handsome salary as an electrician, only to find himself hauling steel rods in harsh desert heat for paltry pay.

Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, was in stable condition and being taken to a hospital to be checked out, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The Israeli military said it rescued an Israeli hostage in Gaza on Tuesday after a "complex operation", as the Israel-Hamas war, now in its 11th month, showed no signs of abating.

The arrest of maverick entrepreneur Pavel Durov has drawn global attention to the importance of his messaging app Telegram for Russian troops and propagandists as Moscow's war against Ukraine grinds into its third year.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned Tuesday that his new government's first budget in just over two months will be "painful", asking the country to "accept short-term pain for long-term good".

President Emmanuel Macron faced an uphill battle Tuesday seeking fresh talks over a new government in France, with the political left refusing to take part after he rejected their candidate for prime minister.