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Deer trapped by walls of flame, lizards unable to escape the heat, habitats reduced to charred wood and ash: wildlife are paying a steep price as France's forests burn.

Iran and the United States held their fire for a third consecutive day on Monday, though American ally Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted a drone attack launched by Tehran-backed groups in Iraq.

The United Nations has fast-tracked a vast antelope migration path in South Sudan onto its list of World Heritage in Danger, in the young nation's first such listing.

Chad became on Monday the latest country to announce plans to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), complaining its effectiveness was "limited and uneven" and its activities were focused on Africa.

The German government on Monday pledged tougher security laws following a deadly vehicle and machete attack blamed on a known jihadist militant near Berlin's Pride parade.

A British funeral director faced prison Monday over a scandal that saw bodies left "stored on racks" and uncremated while relatives were handed other people's ashes, sparking calls for better regulation of the industry.

Firefighters battling devastating fires in France have had to contend with a new threat: immense fire clouds that create their own wind and even lightning that can spark fresh blazes.

German authorities came in for criticism Monday for failing to prevent a deadly vehicle and machete attack on the weekend near Berlin's Pride parade, with the far-right AfD also demanding tougher action against Islamists.

Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel said he had answered a lot of questions with his impressive Tour de France showing.

Flooding from heavy monsoon rains inundated villages in eastern Pakistan, pushing residents to flee their homes by boat over fields turned into vast swathes of water on Monday.

A French off-duty policeman on Monday detained a man after he allegedly attacked and wounded three women in Paris with two kitchen knives, a minister and police said.

A Polish billionaire is paying for a giant statue of the Virgin Mary that residents of the village of Konotopie hope will put them on the pilgrimage map.

German luxury sports carmaker Porsche, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, said Monday it would cut 5,000 jobs by 2035 as part of a strategic realignment to boost competitiveness.

Spain has two crucial days in front of it to bring wildfires under control before weather conditions worsen, authorities said Monday, as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on citizens to "exercise extreme caution" ahead of a new heatwave.

Farmers and firefighters on Monday battled to contain a huge wildfire that has forced 220,000 people to flee and destroyed dozens of homes in southwest France before a new heatwave hits this week.

Global stock markets rallied and oil prices tumbled Monday as the United States and Iran paused tit-for-tat strikes, at the start of a week packed with corporate earnings and central bank decisions.

A prison guard union in Italy's southern Puglia region will ask prosecutors to investigate widespread workplace safety abuses, with temperatures inside overcrowded prisons rising above 50C, in a case the union says is a first, AFP has learned.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called on Monday for African countries to work together to manage migration, as his government faces mounting pressure over attacks on foreign nationals.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Britain on Monday to meet Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who used his first bilateral with a foreign leader to underline London's "unwavering support" for Kyiv.

UK television personality Bill Oddie, best known for his role in the TV comedy series "The Goodies" and presenter of nature programmes, has died aged 85, his agent said Monday.

The German creator of the controversial "Body Worlds" exhibitions of dissected human and animal bodies, Gunther von Hagens, has died at age 81, his family said Monday.

British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca on Monday said net profit rose in the second quarter, driven once again by strong growth in sales of its cancer drugs.

Dressed in Red Army uniforms and waving prop weapons, scores of tourists stormed a mound in southwestern China's Loushan Pass as pyrotechnics lit up the hillside in a reenactment of a historic battle.

Olympic triathlon champion Cassandre Beaugrand will not take part in next month's European championships in Birmingham, her agent said Monday.

Global stock markets rallied and oil prices tumbled Monday as the United States and Iran paused tit-for-tat strikes, at the start of a week packed with corporate earnings and central bank decisions.

Spain faces two crucial days to bring raging wildfires under control before weather conditions worsen, authorities said Monday, though they were making some progress and planned to start returning evacuees to certain areas.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who declared a national energy emergency this year, said Monday that nuclear power might hold answers for a country paying the highest electricity prices in the region.

Former Italy playmaker Andrea Pirlo, who was favoured for the national coaching post, expressed his bitterness on Monday over the debate which has led to him no longer being a candidate.

Firefighters and water-bombing aircraft battled Monday to contain a wildfire in southwest France before a new spike in temperatures, with slightly less active fire fronts than the previous day.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has hit back at World Cup critics, claiming they were "spreading hate and false rumours" and arguing the tournament delivered "only joy and happiness".

Five young Pallas's cats, dubbed the world's grumpiest feline for their sullen facial expressions, went on display at a zoo in Japan on Thursday.

Shelters in France and Spain on Monday overflowed with exhausted locals and holidaymakers forced to flee blazes so massive some were forming their own mini weather systems, as authorities warned a new heatwave was set to descend on parts of the region.