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France's rail network was paralysed Friday by coordinated acts of sabotage which knocked out most of its high-speed train services hours before the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

Major stock markets mainly rose Friday as traders looked ahead to key US inflation data that could firm expectations for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates in September.

Former US president Barack Obama endorsed his fellow Democrat Kamala Harris' bid for the White House on Friday, delivering a major boost to her campaign to defeat Donald Trump in November's presidential election.

India's Suryakumar Yadav said Friday he was not going to repeat the mistakes of his domestic captaincy ahead of his first trial as Twenty20 skipper against Sri Lanka.

An Australian swimming coach who backed a South Korean rival to beat two of his countrymen avoided being kicked out of the Olympics Friday, with officials deciding it would be too disruptive.

Arson attacks scrambled France's high-speed rail network for tens of thousands of passengers on Friday, after what officials called premeditated acts of "sabotage" just hours before the Paris Olympics opened.

US Olympic icon Allyson Felix believes Kamala Harris winning November's US presidential election would be a "monumental" moment for the country.

The Paris Olympics are a family affair for Laurent and Cecile Landi, the husband and wife coaching team that has shepherded Simone Biles back to the pinnacle of gymnastics and into a third Games.

The Olympic Games tennis tournament gets underway at Roland Garros on Saturday with Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka all in action.

"Bigger than basketball": After qualifying for the Olympics for the first time, South Sudan's basketball team are on a mission to make their troubled young country proud.

Rafael Nadal returned to training at Roland Garros on Friday after an injury scare had put his participation at the Paris Olympics in doubt.

The Paris Olympics are set to open in a spectacular and unprecedented ceremony on the river Seine on Friday but hours before the show France's rail network was paralysed by what officials said were acts of sabotage.

China and Russia's foreign ministers met their Southeast Asian counterparts Friday after vowing to counter "extra-regional forces", a day before Washington's top diplomat was due to arrive.

France's high-speed rail network was hit by arson attacks that disrupted travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers on Friday, just hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

The Saint Hilarion complex, one of the oldest monasteries in the Middle East, has been put on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites in danger due to the war in Gaza, the body said Friday.

Gymnastics has emerged as one of the showstopping Olympic sports. AFP Sport takes a look at five unforgettable moments served up by some of the world's greatest athletes on the journey to this summer's Games in Paris with action getting underway on Saturday:

Investors fought back Friday after a tech-fuelled sell-off, taking heart from forecast-beating US growth data that indicated the economy was still in rude health, but did not dent hopes for an interest rate cut.

Two rival gang leaders signed a truce to end armed conflict in Haiti's largest shantytown, a community leader said Thursday.

One of the most enduring images of Greece's summer travel brand is the world-famous sunset on Santorini Island, framed by sea-blue church domes on a jagged cliff high above a volcanic caldera.

The Philippine Coast Guard on Friday raced to offload 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil from a sunken tanker and prevent an "environmental catastrophe" in Manila Bay.

Indian soldiers and top brass gathered Friday in the remote Himalayan foothills to commemorate a battle fondly remembered among compatriots for imposing a humiliating military defeat on arch-rival Pakistan.

Mongolian herder Purev Batmunkh sighs as he picks through waste strewn across a field -- the refuse of an unsightly and deadly waste pollution problem affecting swathes of the steppe.

Through a basement door in southeastern Turkey lies a sprawling underground city -- perhaps the country's largest -- which one historian believes dates back to the ninth century before Jesus Christ.

SpaceX's stalwart Falcon 9 rocket has been cleared for launch after experiencing a rare failure earlier this month, officials said Thursday.

Authorities evacuated nearly 300,000 people and suspended public transport across eastern China on Friday, as Typhoon Gaemi brought torrential rains already responsible for five deaths in nearby Taiwan.

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman kicked off celebrations at the giant Comic-Con pop culture gathering Thursday with a special screening of "Deadpool & Wolverine," their smutty superhero mash-up movie expected to break box office records this weekend.

Taiwanese giant TSMC tumbled with several other leading chip makers Friday as traders returned from a typhoon-imposed two-day break to play catch-up with a global tech rout.

Record heavy rain forced the evacuation of thousands of people across parts of northern Japan as rivers burst their banks washing away bridges and cars, officials and media reports said Friday.

Sri Lanka's first presidential elections since an unprecedented economic crisis spurred widespread unrest will be held in September, the election commission said Friday.

Rafael Nadal will bid farewell to the Olympics on the clay courts of Roland Garros -- scene of his greatest moments -- as Novak Djokovic attempts to prevent the sun setting on tennis's golden generation.

Simone Biles headlines a US women's squad on a "redemption" mission at the Paris Olympics, where the gymnastics great is favored to add to her stash of four gold medals after a turbulent Tokyo campaign.

Thousands of athletes are set to sail through central Paris on Friday during an unprecedented and high-risk Olympics opening ceremony that will showcase the country's hugely ambitious vision for the Games.