A flotilla of ships departed from Barcelona to the Gaza Strip Sunday with humanitarian aid and activists on board in the largest attempt yet to break the long Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory by sea.

This comes as Israel has stepped up its offensive on Gaza City, limiting the deliveries of food and basic supplies in the north of the Palestinian territory. Food experts warned earlier this month that the city was in famine and that half a million people across the strip were facing catastrophic levels of hunger.

Desperate Afghans clawed through rubble in the dead of the night in search of missing loved ones after a strong earthquake killed some 800 people and injured more than 2,500 in eastern Afghanistan, according to figures provided Monday by the Taliban government.

The 6.0 magnitude quake late Sunday hit towns in the province of Kunar, near the city of Jalalabad in neighboring Nangarhar province, causing extensive damage.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China plans to accelerate the creation of a development bank and to set up an international platform for energy cooperation, announcements he made Monday at a summit that represents an emerging challenge to U.S. global leadership.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the leaders meeting in Tianjin, in northern China, for the latest annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The security forum was originally seen as a foil to U.S. influence in Central Asia. It has grown in size and influence over the years.

French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognize a Palestinian state, prompting similar moves from other Western nations, angered Israel and its U.S. ally by putting a two-state solution back at the heart of diplomatic efforts to end the devastating war in Gaza.

In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, Macron wrote that "our determination to see the Palestinian people have their own state is rooted in our conviction that lasting peace is essential to the security of the state of Israel."

Seen from the air, a Florida freshwater spring is a bit of liquid heaven, luring humans and wildlife to enjoy its aquamarine cool. With at least 1,000 of them — more than any other state — the springs serve as beaches for large swaths of central and northwestern Florida far from the ocean, with teenagers backflipping from docks and snorkelers peering into the crystalline depths.

But these treasures are under threat from agricultural pollution, rapid development and climate change.

Since sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, President Donald Trump has openly mused about sending troops to some of the nation's most Democratic cities — including Chicago and Baltimore — claiming they are needed to crack down on crime.

The threats to expand a federal intervention have legal experts and some military officials raising concerns that Trump is considering novel ways to use National Guard troops in American cities that could set up conflicts not seen since the civil rights era.

Rescuers in Pakistan raced to evacuate tens of thousands of people stranded by floods, with many left without food or medical supplies Friday as the government struggled to provide aid and prevent Lahore and other cities from deluges.

The floods in the eastern Punjab province began Monday when an abnormal amount of rain triggered sudden water releases from Indian dams on the Sutlej, Chenab and Ravi rivers. The rising floodwaters were the first to hit the region in four decades.

A move in Brazil to suspend a soybean moratorium has scientists and environmentalists warning that losing the agreement could undermine years of progress in cutting deforestation in the Amazon.

A federal judge has temporarily paused the regulator's order while the case is reviewed, keeping the moratorium in effect for now as the dispute plays out at Brazil's competition regulator, CADE, and in court.

The last photos taken by Mariam Dagga show the damaged stairwell outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip where she would be killed by an Israeli strike moments later.

Dagga, a visual journalist who freelanced for The Associated Press, was among 22 people, including five reporters, killed Monday when Israeli forces struck Nasser Hospital twice in quick succession, according to health officials.

Ronaldo is still a name above all others when attention turns to the Saudi football league's season-opening round.

Just like it was earlier this month when more than 30,000 fans turned out in Hong Kong to watch Al-Nassr defeat Al-Ittihad 2-1 in the first semifinal of the Saudi Super Cup on Aug. 19, he's part of the league's growth and marketing plans.