WORLD

A treasury delegation is on its way to France to sign agreements with creditors on Wednesday, government spokesman Bandula Gunawardana said.

Behind closed doors, an Australia-US-UK diplomatic dance opened the way for a plea deal to free WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, analysts and a diplomat previously involved in the case told AFP. The 52-year-old Australian citizen walked out of his five-year visit to London's high-security Belmarsh prison on Monday after agreeing to plead guilty to a single count of revealing US national defence secrets.

Julia Avellan had been tempted to quit the cocoa business before prices unexpectedly exploded on the international market this year, bringing historic profits to Ecuador's farmers.

The European Union formally launches accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday, setting the fragile ex-Soviet states off on a long path towards membership that Russia has tried to block.

Israel kept up its bombardment of Gaza on Tuesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the "intense phase" of the war was winding down, as the United States urged its ally to avoid further escalation along the Lebanon border.

China's premier called Tuesday for countries to "oppose decoupling", as economic tensions simmer between Beijing and the European Union, a key trading partner that is preparing to impose new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles next month.

French President Emmanuel Macron and King Abdullah II of Jordan Monday called on Israel to lift all land-based "restrictions" on the delivery of aid to war-torn Gaza, the presidency said.

Julian Assange was released from prison Monday and has left Britain, WikiLeaks said, as he reached a landmark plea deal with US authorities that brought an end to his years-long legal drama.

Mongolians go to the polls Friday in parliamentary elections, with the ruling party expected to hold its majority despite voter fatigue over corruption and concern about inflation and the state of the economy.

There will be no studio audience, depriving candidates of the momentum that comes from ginning up supporters.

Suffering from gunshot wounds to the leg and buttocks, 31-year-old Olivier Vilminio sought treatment in a hospital in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince.

Kenya braced for a nationwide strike Tuesday in response to a call by youth protesters for a countrywide shutdown, as opposition to the government's proposed tax hikes gathers momentum.

AFP continues its look back at the history of the Olympics to pick out some of the legends that have lit up the Games.

Jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been fighting for years to avoid extradition from Britain in connection with the 2010 publication of thousands of US classified documents.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has agreed to plead guilty in US court to revealing military secrets in exchange for his freedom, ending his years-long legal drama, according to court documents released Monday night.

Mattia Zaccagni kept Italy's European Championship title defence alive with an incredible late equaliser in the holder's thrilling 1-1 draw with Croatia, as Spain completed a perfect group stage and showed Albania the door.

Argentina's austerity-hit economy contracted by 5.1 percent in the first quarter, the national statistics agency said Monday, driven by a slowdown in the construction and manufacturing industries.

Russian strikes on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk killed five people and wounded dozens more on Monday, the governor of the Donetsk region said.

China, despite its public alliance with Russia, is worried North Korea could be emboldened into starting a regional crisis following President Vladimir Putin's visit, a top US official said Monday.

Senior Lebanese officials on Monday defended procedures at Beirut airport during a tour for journalists and diplomats, a day after a British daily alleged Hezbollah was storing weapons at the facility.

As Russia reels from a spate of deadly shootings by armed extremists for the second time in just over three months, questions have swirled over how the Kremlin's powerful security forces failed to prevent the attacks.

The river Seine is set to be a star feature of the Paris Olympics, but heavy rain, pollution and security fears mean there is still suspense around its role just one month out from the start.

The Kremlin on Monday warned the United States of "consequences" and summoned its ambassador after Moscow said a Ukrainian strike with a US missile on Crimea killed four people.

Plumes of smoke from funeral pyres darkened the sky Monday over the Indian town at the epicentre of a poisoning by a batch of illegal alcohol that has killed 56 and hospitalised more than 100.

Attacks on churches and synagogues in Russia's Dagestan region killed 15 police officers and four civilians, officials said on Monday, stoking fears over Islamist violence in the historically restive North Caucasus.

French far-right leader Jordan Bardella said Monday his party was ready to govern as he pledged to curb immigration and tackle cost-of-living issues ahead of the country's most divisive election in decades.

Growing up in a shanty town in Kenya's capital Nairobi, Sarah Njoroge saw her parents ban her older siblings from taking part in anti-government demonstrations, fearing the bloody crackdown that would follow.

A day after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the "intense phase" of the Gaza war is winding down, the army bombed Hamas on Monday as the Palestinian militant group again demanded a permanent end to the fighting.

Paris's Moulin Rouge cabaret club, whose landmark windmill sails fell down in April, received new blades on Monday just 10 days before the Paris Olympic torch is due to pass the venue.