An aggressive Simona Halep revived her stuttering Australian Open campaign Friday with a straight-sets demolition of Veronika Kudermetova in an ominous statement. The world number two served strongly and pierced the lines to overwhelm the 32nd s...

About 400,000 children under the age of five are in danger of dying of acute malnutrition in war-torn and impoverished Yemen, UN agencies warned Friday. They said half of those in the most vulnerable age bracket, or 2.3 million small children, are ...

Tennis's first sizeable crowds since the pandemic have been a welcome sight -- and sound -- at the Australian Open, but Melbourne's arenas will fall silent once again when fans are barred during a coronavirus lockdown from Saturday. The Australian ...

Remains of an ancient monument in west Wales indicate stones that stood at the site may have been dismantled and used to build the Neolithic standing circle Stonehenge, a new study suggested Friday. Researchers believe some stones used at Stoneheng...

With almost all the political parties behind him, Mario Draghi on Friday entered the final straight in his bid to form a new government to lead Italy through the coronavirus pandemic. The former European Central Bank chief, called in after the outg...

Dating apps are booming in lockdown -- no longer just a way of hooking up but also of simple interaction at a time when the coronavirus inflicts loneliness on millions. Rodrigo, 18, had never considered joining a dating app until the months of loc...

Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev pulled off the biggest shock of this year's Australian Open when the world number 114 blitzed eighth seed Diego Schwartzmann into submission 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 Friday with a barrage of winners. Karatsev is making his Gra...

The Australian Open endured a rocky build-up during the coronavirus pandemic and was hit again Friday as Victoria state ordered a five-day lockdown from Saturday over a new cluster in Melbourne. Here, AFP Sport looks at major problems faced by the ...

Russia's main Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was back in court Friday for allegedly defaming a World War II veteran, after being ordered to prison in another case that sparked global outrage and mass protests in his country. The hearing came a littl...

The International Criminal Court's member countries are set Friday to elect a new chief prosecutor for the war crimes tribunal, a gruelling post whose current holder is under US sanctions. Four candidates from Britain, Ireland, Italy and Spain are ...

More than six million people were ordered into a snap, five-day lockdown Friday to contain a new coronavirus outbreak in Australia's second most populous state, forcing the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne to shut fans out. The lockdo...

Lawyers for Donald Trump take the Senate floor Friday to rebut the Democratic-led impeachment of the former president for inciting insurrection, with Republican lawmakers then widely expected to vote to acquit. Democratic impeachment managers reste...

US President Joe Biden faces "serious dilemmas" in Afghanistan as a deadline to withdraw troops nears and the Taliban show no sign of ending their bloodshed, a top US official warned. The new US leader has ordered a review of the deal Washington cu...

England have left out James Anderson and Dom Bess for the second Test against India, with the visitors naming Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and paceman Olly Stone in their 12. With speedster Jofra Archer ruled out due an elbow injury, Olly,...

Japanese equality campaigners welcomed an abrupt U-turn by Tokyo Olympics organisers over their choice for a new Games chief on Friday after a sexism row, but warned more radical reform is necessary. Organisers had reportedly been set to appoint 84...