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.
Durov, the 39-year-old billionaire founder of the messaging platform, was arrested at the Paris airport late on Sunday.
Pakistani forces hunted separatist militants Tuesday who killed dozens when they pulled passengers off buses, blew up a bridge and stormed a hotel a day earlier.
President Emmanuel Macron faced an uphill battle Tuesday to launch fresh talks over a new government in France, with the political left refusing to take part after he rejected their candidate for prime minister.
British rock legends Oasis announced Tuesday they will reunite for a worldwide tour starting in the UK next year, as brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher ended an infamous 15-year feud.
UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Grossi kicked off a visit Tuesday to "independently assess" conditions at Russia's Kursk nuclear plant following Ukraine's unprecedented cross-border offensive into the Russian region.
The threat of a "megaquake", a series of typhoons, and a week-long national holiday have some Japanese scrambling to buy rice -- the nation's cherished staple food -- with the government warning Tuesday against panic buying.
Retired teacher Tesha Martinez and her husband swapped their home in the bustling city for a new life in Mexico's first cohousing project for silver-haired citizens.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was due in Beijing Tuesday to meet top diplomat Wang Yi for tense talks as China was embroiled in security rows with key American allies Japan and the Philippines.
UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Grossi is to visit Russia's Kursk nuclear plant on Tuesday to "independently assess" events following Ukraine's unprecedented cross-border offensive into the Russian region.
Japan slammed on Tuesday what it called the first confirmed incursion by a Chinese military aircraft into its airspace as a "serious violation" of its sovereignty, saying it was part of a pattern by Beijing.
At least 132 people have died in war-torn Sudan as a result of flooding and heavy rains this year, the health ministry said Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday ruled out naming a left-wing government to end the country's political deadlock, saying it would be a threat to "institutional stability".
Global oil demand is unlikely to fall by 2050 despite progress on renewable energy, the US oil and gas giant ExxonMobil said Monday, pointing to rising population and demand for energy worldwide.
Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff launch their US Open title defences on Monday, Serbian superstar Djokovic aiming to follow up his emotional Paris Olympics triumph with his first Grand Slam title of 2024.
