NASA on Sunday launched a $1.5 billion spacecraft toward the Sun on a historic mission to protect the Earth by unveiling the mysteries of dangerous solar storms.

The fight for the embattled eastern Afghan city of Ghazni entered its third day as Taliban militants and security forces engaged in heavy clashes Sunday, after Kabul vowed the city was firmly under government control.

Malians were called to the ballot box on Sunday for a presidential runoff likely to see Ibrahim Boubacar Keita return to office despite criticism of his handling of the country's security crisis.

Rafael Nadal beat Karen Khachanov 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 on Saturday to set up a final with birthday boy Stefano Tsitsipas at the Toronto Masters.

Whether by brazenly injecting sex in the public sphere, adopting gay subculture for mainstream audiences or becoming the top-selling female musician of all time, Madonna has asserted an incalculable influence.

Standing outside their yellow hut on a ridge 3,200 metres (10,500 feet) above sea level, two French gendarmes peer through binoculars at a group of foreign climbers making their way across a scree-littered stretch on what has become one of the deadliest routes to the top of Mont Blanc.

The leaders of the five states bordering the Caspian Sea meet in Kazakhstan on Sunday to sign a landmark deal on the inland sea which boasts a wealth of oil and gas reserves and sturgeon.

A key objective of President Donald Trump's trade war is to pressure Beijing to "buy American", but when it comes to millions of dollars of US meat imports, China may simply take its business elsewhere.

The final of this year's edition of Mr Gay Europe took place on Saturday in the western city of Poznan in Poland, a conservative and devout Catholic country where many do not accept homosexuality.

After his wheat crop failed and wells dried up, Ghulam Abbas sold his animals and joined thousands of other farmers migrating to cities as Afghanistan's worst drought in living memory ravages the war-torn country.

Two-time US Open champion Brooks Koepka seized a two-stroke lead after Saturday's third round of the PGA Championship while Tiger Woods charged into contention for his first major title in 10 years.

Three times he has ruled Pakistan, and three times he has been deposed. Now Nawaz Sharif, the "Lion of Punjab", is being forced to watch the triumph of his great rival Imran Khan from behind bars.

British author V.S. Naipaul, a famously outspoken Nobel laureate who wrote on the traumas of post-colonial change, has died at the age of 85.

A 29-year-old "suicidal" airport worker who commandeered an empty plane from Seattle's main airport and took it on an hour-long flight chased by F-15 fighter jets before crashing into a small island did not commit any security violations, officials said Saturday.

Nobel prize-winning British author V.S. Naipaul has died at the age of 85, his family announced on Saturday.

Two investors filed suit against Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the electric car company after he tweeted he wanted to take the firm private, causing the share price to inflate and short-selling investors to lose millions.

Teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas outlasted Wimbledon finalist Kevin Anderson on Saturday, winning 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (9/7) to reach the final of the Toronto Masters.

Pep Guardiola insists his Manchester City players should remember their all-conquering form of last season when their title defence kicks off with a testing visit to Arsenal on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump, often accused of denigrating non-white people, condemned racism Saturday as the nation marked the anniversary of deadly unrest triggered by a neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Tens of thousands gathered Saturday in the Romanian capital Bucharest for a second straight day after more than 450 people were hurt and around 30 arrested in a huge anti-corruption protest.

Monsanto's German owners insisted Saturday that the weed killer Roundup was "safe," rejecting a California jury's decision to order the chemical giant to pay nearly $290 million for failing to warn a dying groundskeeper that the product might cause cancer.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Saturday to defy US "threats" over a detained pastor, showing no signs of concessions in a bitter row that has caused the Turkish lira to crash.

Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes scored the first fifties of the match as England recovered to build a significant first-innings lead in the second Test against India at Lord's on Saturday after yet another top-order collapse.

Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler struggled to make a morning charge Saturday in the final holes of the rain-hit second round of the 100th PGA Championship.

US President Donald Trump said Saturday that he condemned racism as the nation marked the anniversary of deadly unrest triggered by a neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Three years ago, the Greek island of Lesbos found itself at the heart of Europe's greatest migration crisis since World War II.

Glyphosate, the world's most widely used herbicide and the active ingredient in Monsanto's weedkiller Roundup, is the subject of fierce controversy all across the globe and is classified by the World Health Organization as "probably" being carcinogenic.

Standing outside their yellow hut on a ridge 3,200 metres (10,500 feet) above sea level, two French gendarmes peer through binoculars at a group of foreign climbers making their way across a scree-littered stretch on what has become one of the deadliest routes to the top of Mont Blanc.

They may feel aggrieved at not obtaining an official seal of approval, but traditional Romanian dressmakers are riding a wave of demand for their folk designs after a top fashion house inadvertently showcased their craft.

After his wheat crop failed and wells dried up, Ghulam Abbas sold his animals and joined thousands of other farmers migrating to cities as Afghanistan's worst drought in living memory ravages the war-torn country.

Monsanto's German owners insisted Saturday that the weed killer Roundup was "safe," rejecting a California jury's decision to order the chemical giant to pay nearly $290 million for failing to warn a dying groundskeeper that the product might cause cancer.

Three years ago, the Greek island of Lesbos found itself at the heart of Europe's greatest migration crisis since World War II.

A row is erupting over vaccines in Italy as the country's new populist government fights to roll back a law that bans children from attending school if they haven't received a series of jabs.

Fears for more than 500 greyhounds cooped up at a shuttered racetrack in Macau have been reignited after a plan to rehome them hit red tape.

Indonesia has set aside worries about terrorism, street crime and Jakarta's notorious traffic, saying it is ready to roll for the Asian Games in a week's time.

Netflix's new series "Insatiable," hitting screens Friday, was touted by the streaming service as a dark comedy meant to spark debate on society's ills.

An outbreak of West Nile virus, which is spread by mosquitoes, has left three people dead in northeast Italy in recent days, the local health authority said Friday.

Three people have died from West Nile fever after an outbreak in Athens which has infected 60 people this year, Greek authorities said Friday, indicating they were monitoring the situation carefully.

Norway, which has one of the highest deadly drug overdose rates in Europe, will test prescribing free heroin to the most serious addicts to improve their living conditions, the government said on Friday.

When Jiang Cheng first tried a bit of concealer during his first year of university in China it gave him self-confidence and he was instantly hooked.

Salt consumption exceeds national and World Health Organization guidelines in most countries, but only the highest-sodium diets, such as in China, are linked to clear health risks, researchers said Friday.

South Korean electronics giant Samsung unveiled the new Galaxy Note 9 smartphone Thursday, its latest effort to address flagging sales of the high-functioning gadgets.

Brazil's government is contesting a court suspension of licenses for products with glyphosate, one of the most common industrial weedkillers and the subject of a high-profile US case against agrochemical colossus Monsanto.

Over the past 15 years, the United States has seen a fourfold increase in pregnant women addicted to painkillers, the latest troubling statistic in an ongoing epidemic of opioid abuse, officials said Thursday.

Most Canadians say they probably won't try cannabis and, if they already use it, won't use more of the mood-altering drug when it becomes legal, according to a survey published Thursday.

Argentina's senators on Thursday voted against legalizing abortion in the homeland of Pope Francis, dashing the hopes of women's rights groups after the bill was approved by the legislature's lower house months earlier.

Skin bleaching in Africa is gaining popularity despite many health risks.

Dr. Isima Sobande was in medical school when she first heard of mothers who bleached the skin of their babies.

Men trying to become a father the old-fashioned way are better off wearing loose underwear, according to a study published Thursday.

As Shanghai swelters under a summer heat wave, it sometimes looks as if people are dropping dead from the torrid temperatures on the city's best-known shopping avenue.

Ikea's first Indian outlet opened on Thursday, with more than 200 eager shoppers queueing in the underground car park to escape the heat as a military band played a crowd-pleasing medley inside.

Foie gras paired with wasabi, Japanese-style open kitchens and a fierce work ethic: Joel Robuchon, hailed as "chef of the century" on his death this week, drew great inspiration from Japan, where 10 establishments now bear his name.

Men trying to become a father the old-fashioned way are better off wearing loose underwear, according to a study published Thursday.

Cancer-stricken Dewayne Johnson vowed to fight to his death in a David versus Goliath court battle against agrochemical giant Monsanto, whose weed killer he blames for robbing him of his future.

Rafael Nadal beat Karen Khachanov 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 on Saturday to set up a final with birthday boy Stefano Tsitsipas at the Toronto Masters.

Two-time US Open champion Brooks Koepka seized a two-stroke lead after Saturday's third round of the PGA Championship while Tiger Woods charged into contention for his first major title in 10 years.

Australian contenders Adam Scott and Jason Day are battling in part to win the 100th PGA Championship in tribute to fellow Aussie golfer Jarrod Lyle, who died Wednesday of leukemia.

Wallabies captain Michael Hooper was Sunday included in a trimmed-down squad for the opening Bledisloe Cup clash against the All Blacks after being cleared to play following a hamstring injury.

Sloane Stephens sent defending champion Elina Svitolina crashing out of the WTA Canada tournament in Montreal on Saturday to set up a rematch of the French Open final against Simona Halep.

Teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas outlasted Wimbledon finalist Kevin Anderson on Saturday, winning 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (9/7) to reach the final of the Toronto Masters.

Pep Guardiola insists his Manchester City players should remember their all-conquering form of last season when their title defence kicks off with a testing visit to Arsenal on Sunday.

Tiger Woods charged into contention for his first major title in 10 years while two-time US Open champion Brooks Koepka seized a three-stroke lead at the turn in Saturday's third round of the PGA Championship.

Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale were on target as European champions Real Madrid defeated AC Milan 3-1 in a friendly on Saturday just four days from their UEFA Super Cup clash with city rivals Atletico.

Patrick Vieira said that his Nice side "ran out of luck" as he tasted defeat in his first league match as a coach in Europe with a 1-0 loss at home to newly-promoted Reims on Saturday.

Patrick Vieira tasted defeat in his first league match as a coach in Europe as his Nice side lost 1-0 at home to newly-promoted Reims on Saturday.

Norwegian 17-year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen and British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith swept to double gold at the European athletics championships on Saturday.

Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen, just 17, captured the European 5000m title on Saturday to add to the 1500m he won 24 hours earlier.

Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith won the 200m at the European athletics championships on Saturday to complete the sprint double.

Portuguese striker Andre Silva joined Sevilla on a season-long loan on Saturday after spending just one season at AC Milan where his chances of first-team football appeared limited after the arrival of Gonzalo Higuain from Juventus.

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa refused to label his side as promotion contenders after the Yorkshire club maintained their fine start with a 4-1 thrashing of Frank Lampard's Derby on Saturday.

Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith won the 200m at the European athletics championships on Saturtday to complete the sprint double.

World number one Simona Halep powered into the final of the WTA Canada hardcourt tournament Saturday, cruising past Australia's Ashleigh Barty 6-4, 6-1.

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri got off to a winning Premier League start as new signing Jorginho slotted home coolly from the penalty spot in a 3-0 win at Huddersfield on Saturday.

Chris Woakes continued a superb return to England duty with a maiden Test century against India at Lord's on Saturday as the home side took a firm grip on the match.

Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson failed in his bid to qualify on points for a 12th consecutive US Ryder Cup team Saturday, missing the cut at the 100th PGA Championship.

Maurizio Sarri admitted Eden Hazard needs more time to get back to his very best despite an impressive 15-minute cameo as a substitute in Chelsea's 3-0 win at Huddersfield.

England were 357 for six in reply to India's first innings 107, a lead of 250 runs, when bad light forced an early close on the third day of the second Test at Lord's on Saturday.

Spain centre-back Gerard Pique confirmed that he had ended a glittering international career on Saturday, saying that the appointment of his former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique would not change his mind.

Barcelona kick off a new season and a new era when they take on Sevilla in the Spanish Supercup in Morocco on Sunday with Lionel Messi newly installed as club captain.

Kenya ran in eleven tries to crush Tunisia 67-0 in their penultimate game of the 2019 World Cup qualifying tournament on Saturday, setting up a winner-takes-all showdown against Namibia next weekend.

Chris Woakes continued a superb return to England duty with a maiden Test century against India at Lord's on Saturday.

Whether by brazenly injecting sex in the public sphere, adopting gay subculture for mainstream audiences or becoming the top-selling female musician of all time, Madonna has asserted an incalculable influence.

The final of this year's edition of Mr Gay Europe took place on Saturday in the western city of Poznan in Poland, a conservative and devout Catholic country where many do not accept homosexuality.

Madonna remains one of the most controversial artists of all time, with the Material Girl refusing to hold back with age from the unbridled sexuality that helped make her a superstar.

British author V.S. Naipaul, a famously outspoken Nobel laureate who wrote on the traumas of post-colonial change, has died at the age of 85.

Nobel prize-winning British author V.S. Naipaul has died at the age of 85, his family announced on Saturday.

Rowdy brass bands and revellers ruled the streets of the small Serbian town of Guca on Saturday as its annual trumpet festival hit full stride with music, meat and alcohol flowing in abundance.

The Gay Games which are under way in Paris are not just a chance to celebrate sport and diversity: they offer crucial respite to gay athletes forced to hide their sexuality in their home countries.

Netflix's new series "Insatiable," hitting screens Friday, was touted by the streaming service as a dark comedy meant to spark debate on society's ills.

Turkish director and Cannes Palme d'Or winner Nuri Bilge Ceylan on Friday received an outstanding contribution award at the opening of the Sarajevo film festival.

The 1970s hit "Skiing" has topped Austria's music downloads in the current heatwave after a spat between the singer, an Austro-pop legend, and the governing far-right party.

Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich was arrested early Friday for allegedly assaulting a prostitute in Frankfurt, police said, just a week after the German national was briefly detained in Spain.

Thirty years ago an all-female folk choir set up in Bulgaria became the darling of Western audiences with its tradition-steeped a cappella singing, before the fall of communism threatened its survival.

After ordering football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to pay 18.8 million euros ($21.6 million) to settle a tax fraud claim, Spanish authorities have reduced the sum by two million euros, the El Mundo daily reported Friday.

The Slovenian-born parents of Melania Trump became US citizens at a naturalization ceremony in New York on Thursday, reportedly taking advantage of a family reunification program President Donald Trump has vehemently denounced.

Electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre, who has mounted a legal challenge after being disinherited by his Hollywood composer father, said Friday he will take his case to the European Court of Human Rights.

The death of Margot Kidder, the actress who soared to fame in the '70s playing Lois Lane in the "Superman" movies, has been ruled a suicide, a Montana coroner's office said.

A thief who pretended to be Daddy Yankee stole two million euros in jewels from the reggaeton star's hotel room safe in Spain, his representatives and local media said Thursday.

Manchester United star Alexis Sanchez announced on his Instagram account on Thursday that a film about his life is due out in Chile next year.

Indian movie star Kamal Haasan, whose latest film releases Friday, enjoys causing a stir as an actor and now he is looking to shake up Indian politics as well.

Propaganda-fuelled Soviet soldiers were ready to take on American and German armies during the 1968 invasion of former Czechoslovakia -- before they realised the "enemies" were filmmakers.

Foie gras paired with wasabi, Japanese-style open kitchens and a fierce work ethic: Joel Robuchon, hailed as "chef of the century" on his death this week, drew great inspiration from Japan, where 10 establishments now bear his name.

Organizers of the Oscars -- under fire for plummeting ratings and accused of elitism -- on Wednesday announced the creation of a new category to honor top blockbusters and said they would shorten the ceremony to attract more viewers.

"Boring bonehead questions are not cool. Next?" Tesla chief Elon Musk complained in May, shortly before shutting down questions from Wall Street.

Russian security services on Wednesday prevented Maria Alyokhina of punk protest group Pussy Riot from flying out of the country to perform at a top arts festival, she said.

American pop star Pink has been discharged from an Australian hospital after being treated for an "excruciating" gastric virus, but has cancelled another Sydney concert scheduled for Thursday while she recovers.

The long-ruling supremo of amateur boxing in Japan announced his resignation Wednesday, throwing in the towel after weeks of media frenzy over a range of scandals including bout-rigging, ties to a mobster and misusing grants.

Pop star Lady Gaga on Tuesday announced a residency in Las Vegas with twin shows to display her two sides -- extravagant and glitzy, and stripped back and jazzy.

NASA on Sunday launched a $1.5 billion spacecraft toward the Sun on a historic mission to protect the Earth by unveiling the mysteries of dangerous solar storms.

Standing outside their yellow hut on a ridge 3,200 metres (10,500 feet) above sea level, two French gendarmes peer through binoculars at a group of foreign climbers making their way across a scree-littered stretch on what has become one of the deadliest routes to the top of Mont Blanc.

The leaders of the five states bordering the Caspian Sea meet in Kazakhstan on Sunday to sign a landmark deal on the inland sea which boasts a wealth of oil and gas reserves and sturgeon.

After his wheat crop failed and wells dried up, Ghulam Abbas sold his animals and joined thousands of other farmers migrating to cities as Afghanistan's worst drought in living memory ravages the war-torn country.

Monsanto's German owners insisted Saturday that the weed killer Roundup was "safe," rejecting a California jury's decision to order the chemical giant to pay nearly $290 million for failing to warn a dying groundskeeper that the product might cause cancer.

Flash floods in Kerala have killed 37 people and displaced around 36,000, Indian officials said Saturday, after heavy monsoons led to landslides and overflowing reservoirs across the southern state.

Glyphosate, the world's most widely used herbicide and the active ingredient in Monsanto's weedkiller Roundup, is the subject of fierce controversy all across the globe and is classified by the World Health Organization as "probably" being carcinogenic.

NASA postponed until Sunday the launch of the first ever spacecraft to fly directly toward the Sun on a mission to plunge into our star's sizzling atmosphere and unlock its mysteries.

Authorities battling massive wildfires in large swathes of California issued mandatory evacuation orders and health warnings Friday over the worsening air quality as the flames grew ever closer to populated areas.

Six crows specially trained to pick up cigarette ends and rubbish will be put to work next week at a French historical theme park, its president said on Friday.

NASA counted down Friday to the launch of a $1.5 billion spacecraft that aims to plunge into the Sun's sizzling atmosphere and become humanity's first mission to explore a star.

New Zealand became the latest country Friday to outlaw single-use plastic shopping bags, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying they will be phased out over the next year as a "meaningful step" towards reducing pollution.

Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday unveiled details of plans to build a US Space Force that would become the sixth branch of America's massive military, saying the time has come to prepare for "the next battlefield."

Wildfires which have blazed along a stretch of Portugal's Algarve for a week died down on Thursday, but fears remained that winds could reignite the flames.

Icelandic conservationists have asked prosecutors to probe whether the killing of a rare hybrid whale was illegal, a lawyer said on Thursday.

After spending 15 years on Wall Street, Francois Cazalot had had enough and moved out West to become a firefighter.

US forecasters on Thursday downgraded their hurricane season predictions, saying that ocean conditions suggest it's now likely that a below-average number of storms will strike the Atlantic and Caribbean this year.

Sweden's wildfires and drought have caused the environment to become the second most important issue after immigration for Swedes before the September 9 general election, a poll showed Thursday.

The death toll from a devastating earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok jumped to 319 Thursday, as strong aftershocks triggered panic among traumatised survivors waiting for aid in the worst-hit regions.

Men trying to become a father the old-fashioned way are better off wearing loose underwear, according to a study published Thursday.

A caterpillar native to the Americas that has devastated crops across Africa has made its way to Asia, scientists in India said Thursday, warning of a threat to food security.

A rare set of teeth from a giant prehistoric mega-shark twice the size of the great white have been found on an Australian beach by a keen-eyed amateur enthusiast, scientists said Thursday.

Thousands of firefighters, backed by US troops and crews from as far away as Australia and New Zealand, made progress Wednesday in their battle with California's biggest wildfire on record -- but the weather forecast for the rest of the week is not promising, officials said.

Typhoon Shanshan clipped Japan's eastern coast on Thursday morning, sparing Tokyo but bringing heavy rain, strong winds and high waves to some areas along the Pacific coast.

As out-of-control wildfires ravage large swathes of Portugal, Spain and northern California, AFP talked to scientists about the ways in which global warming can amplify the problem.

Crews battling the biggest wildfire on record in California have made some progress but the weather forecast for the rest of the week is not promising, authorities said Wednesday.

A powerful typhoon was churning towards Japan on Wednesday, prompting the weather agency to warn of heavy rain and strong winds and forcing airlines to cancel scores of flights.