- Seven dead in overnight Russian attacks on Ukraine
- Tehran presses on, uneasy after Israeli strikes
- Masood says Pakistan need stability after famous England win
- Iran warns will defend itself after Israeli strikes
- N.Korea involvement in Ukraine raises regional security risks: analysts
- Santner heroics seal historic New Zealand Test series win in India
- Brignone wins ski World Cup opener as Shiffrin flops
- Thitikul surges into three-way lead at LPGA in Malaysia
- Israel hits Iran military sites in retaliatory strikes
- Santner heroics seal New Zealand's first Test series win in India
- Activists say 50 killed in Sudan paramilitary attack
- Stokes says Pakistan spin duo just too good after series defeat
- Zheng to face injury doubt Kenin in Tokyo final
- Final-hole eagle puts Echavarria in driving seat in Japan
- Commonwealth agrees 'time has come' for talks on legacy of slavery
- Late Love helps All Blacks thrash Jones's plucky Japan
- Bastianini wins Thai MotoGP sprint race ahead of Martin
- New Zealand near historic Test win as India wilt in chase
- Tehran residents fear escalation after Israeli attacks
- Iran says two dead in Israeli strikes on military targets
- Pakistan thrash England to win series after Noman, Sajid heroics
- Harris, Trump barnstorm battlegrounds seeking to break deadlock
- Pakistan on brink of series win as Noman, Sajid destroy England
- India 81-1 in fight to deny New Zealand historic series win
- Georgia votes in key test for democracy, EU ambitions
- New Zealand sniff historic win as India set 359 to win Test
- End of golden era for Chinese investors in Bordeaux wine
- Freeman fairytale slam powers Dodgers to World Series win
- Bagnaia claims pole for Thailand MotoGP, title rival Martin third
- Israel hits Iran missiles, bases in retaliatory strikes
- Freeman slam lifts Dodgers over Yankees in World Series thriller
- Philippine rescuers battle floodwaters to reach stranded
- Georgia votes in crucial test for democracy, EU ambitions
- Beyonce boosts Harris at abortion rights rally in Texas
- Bidzina Ivanishvili: the tycoon ruling Georgia behind the scenes
- Myanmar's war approaches Mandalay a year after rebel offensive
- Decline of rural Japan not our fault, women say
- Suarez and Alba give Miami winning start in MLS Cup playoffs
- Turkish Cypriots caught in citizenship limbo on divided island
- Final campaigning in tight Japan election
- Cali's love motels adapt to host UN summit delegates
- World champion Sakamoto takes Skate Canada lead over Liu
- Sainz tops times as Russell crashes in Mexico GP practice
- Three moments from King Charles Pacific tour
- Commonwealth announces Ghana foreign minister as new secretary general
- Gaza ministry accuses Israel of storming hospital, reports two children killed
- King Charles III departs Samoa, wrapping Pacific tour
- G7 finalize $50 bn Ukraine loan backed by Russian assets profits
- Ex-Abercrombie CEO pleads not guilty to sex crimes
- Unfulfilled talent? Two-time champion Alonso clocks up 400th F1 race
Estanguet emotional as Olympic torch sets sail for France
The Olympic flame set sail on Saturday on its voyage to France on board the Belem, the Torch Relay reaching its climax at the revolutionary Paris Games opening ceremony along the river Seine on July 26.
"The feelings are so exceptional. It's such an emotion for me", Tony Estanguet, Paris Olympics chief organiser, told reporters before the departure of the ship from Piraeus.
He hailed the "great coincidence" how the Belem was launched just weeks after the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896.
The 19th-century three-masted boat set sail on a calm sea but under cloudy skies.
It was accompanied off the port of Piraeus by the trireme Olympias of the Greek Navy and 25 sailing boats while dozens of people watched behind railings for security reasons.
"We came here so that the children understand that the Olympic ideal was born in Greece. I'm really moved," Giorgos Kontopoulos, who watched the ship starting its voyage with his two children, told AFP.
On Sunday, the ship will pass from the Corinth Canal -- a feat of 19th century engineering constructed with the contribution of French banks and engineers.
- 'More responsible Games' -
The Belem is set to reach Marseille -- where a Greek colony was founded in around 600 BCE -- on May 8.
Over 1,000 vessels will accompany its approach to the harbour, local officials have said.
French swimmer Florent Manaudou will be the first torch bearer in Marseille. His sister Laure was the second torch bearer in ancient Olympia, where the flame was lit on April 16.
Ten thousand torchbearers will then carry the flame across 64 French territories.
It will travel through more than 450 towns and cities, and dozens of tourist attractions during its 12,000-kilometre (7,500-mile) journey through mainland France and overseas French territories in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Pacific.
The torch harks back to the ancient Olympics when a sacred flame burned throughout the Games. The tradition was revived in 1936 for the Berlin Games.
Greece on Friday had handed over the Olympic flame of the 2024 Games, at a ceremony, to Estanguet.
Hellenic Olympic Committee chairman Spyros Capralos handed the torch to Estanguet at the Panathenaic Stadium, where the Olympics were held in 1896.
Estanguet said the goal for Paris was to organise "spectacular but also more responsible Games, which will contribute towards a more inclusive society."
Organisers want to ensure "the biggest event in the world plays an accelerating role in addressing the crucial questions of our time," said Estanguet, a member of France's Athens 2004 Olympics team who won gold in the slalom canoe event.
A duo of French champions, Beijing 2022 ice dance gold medallist Gabriella Papadakis and former swimmer Beatrice Hess, one of the most successful Paralympians in history, carried the flame during the final relay leg into the Panathenaic Stadium.
Nana Mouskouri, the 89-year-old Greek singer with a worldwide following, sang the French and Greek anthems at the ceremony.
O.M.Souza--AMWN