WORLD

A motorist ploughed a vehicle into a cafe terrace in Olympic host city Paris on Wednesday evening, killing one person and seriously injuring several others, officials told AFP, suggesting the incident was a traffic accident.

Joe Biden faced fresh turmoil Wednesday as a heavyweight Democrat urged him to abandon his reelection bid and a backlash grew over plans for a virtual nomination before the party conference.

Kenyan President William Ruto named Wednesday his foreign minister as "acting cabinet secretary" for all ministries, nearly a week after dismissing almost his entire cabinet in an attempt to defuse deadly anti-government rallies.

French troops are out in force around Paris's river Seine, equipped with everything from drones to dogs, as the countdown to the riverside Olympic Games opening ceremony ticks towards zero.

France's best known priest, the late Abbe Pierre, a revered and beloved champion of the homeless, has been accused of sexually assaulting several women and a girl, his charities said Wednesday.

The UK government on Wednesday announced plans to axe 92 House of Lords seats retained for hereditary lawmakers, resurrecting reform of the unelected chamber started under Tony Blair's Labour government in the 1990s.

King Charles III will outline Labour's first programme for government in a decade and half on Wednesday when the UK parliament formally reopens following the July 4 election.

Israel kept up its air strikes on Gaza Wednesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to ramp up the pressure on Hamas as hopes fade for a US-announced ceasefire plan.

One of the six foreigners found dead from suspected cyanide poisoning in a luxury Bangkok hotel likely also carried out the crime, Thai police said on Wednesday.

On a hillside near Palestinian landowner Olayan Olayan's olive groves, young Israeli settlers are hammering out a new, illegal outpost in a UNESCO-protected zone.

US Senator J.D. Vance was set to debut on the national stage Wednesday in his first address as the Republican vice-presidential nominee -- completing a meteoric rise from humble midwestern beginnings to a coveted spot on Donald Trump's ticket.

One of the six foreigners found dead from suspected cyanide poisoning in a luxury Bangkok hotel likely also carried out the crime, Thai police said on Wednesday.

Lebanese official media said separate Israeli strikes Tuesday in south Lebanon killed five people including three Syrian children, with Hezbollah announcing rocket fire at Israel in retaliation.

King Charles III will read out Labour's first programme for government in a decade and half on Wednesday when the UK parliament formally reopens following the July 4 election.

Devotees of Donald Trump have long proclaimed he was chosen by God to save the United States -- but the messianic fervor has hit new heights after the Republican presidential candidate narrowly survived an assassination attempt.

Elon Musk on Tuesday said he will move the headquarters of SpaceX and X to Texas after a California law blocked schools from forcing teachers to notify parents about changes to a student's gender identity.

Donald Trump's failed primary challengers are to take the stage Tuesday at the Republican Party convention, in a display of fealty to its all-dominant champion and now official US presidential candidate.

Jurors found a powerful US senator guilty on all counts of corruption Tuesday after gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash were found at his home, prosecutors said, sparking calls for his resignation.

Bangladesh ordered schools and universities around the country to close indefinitely on Tuesday after six students were killed in protests that prompted the mobilisation of paramilitaries to keep order.

A Kenyan court on Tuesday ordered a man who police said has confessed to murdering and dismembering 42 women to be detained for 30 days as they investigate the case.

The body of Burundi's former president Pierre Buyoya was repatriated to his home country on Tuesday, more than three years after he was buried thousands of kilometres (miles) away in Mali.

The IMF held global growth expectations for 2024 steady in a report Tuesday even as it cut forecasts for the United States and Japan, while warning of inflation risks and trade tensions ahead.

Sayuri Moreno found out while pregnant that her body was contaminated with arsenic, but could not afford doctors' advice to avoid breastfeeding and leave her home in a mining area in northern Peru.

Serbia's government on Tuesday said operations can restart at a disputed lithium mining project, days after a top court ruling overturned a 2022 cancellation of its permits.

Retail sales in the United States slipped less than analysts anticipated in June on a weaker performance in the auto and gas segments, government data showed Tuesday.

A UK judge said Tuesday he will ask prosecutors to consider perjury and forgery charges against an Australian computer scientist who falsely claimed to be "Satoshi Nakamoto", the pseudonym used by the creator of the cryptocurrency bitcoin.

The mayor of the French capital Anne Hidalgo is set to take a long-awaited dip in the Seine on Wednesday to demonstrate the river is clean enough to host the outdoor swimming events at the Paris Olympics, her office said.

Police fired tear gas at dozens of demonstrators in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Tuesday, as scattered rallies across the country called for embattled President William Ruto to step down.

The Kremlin on Tuesday gave a cautious reaction to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's apparent invitation to a future peace summit, saying that Russia first needs to understand what Kyiv means before attending talks.