AFP news

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Friday for a "transitional administration" to be put in place in Ukraine and vowed his army would "finish off" Ukrainian troops, in hardline remarks as US President Donald Trump pushes for a ceasefire.

A massive earthquake Friday turned a major hospital in Myanmar's capital into a "mass casualty area", while at least three people were killed and dozens trapped in neighbouring Thailand when a skyscraper collapsed.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday warned of "severe challenges" to global trade, vowing to open the country's door "wider and wider" to foreign firms as Beijing faces down a mounting trade war with the United States.

Family and supporters of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte rallied Friday to mark his 80th birthday and protest against his detention in The Hague on a charge of crimes against humanity.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to remove "improper ideology" from the famed Smithsonian Museums -- and the National Zoo -- expanding his conservative clampdown on cultural institutions.

US Vice President JD Vance is on Friday due to tour a US military base in Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation amid President Donald Trump's bid to annex the strategically-placed, resource-rich Danish territory.

Israel's parliament on Thursday passed a law expanding elected officials' power to appoint judges, defying a years-long movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious judicial reforms that saw massive street protests.

China rebuffed on Thursday a suggestion from US President Donald Trump that he might offer to reduce tariffs on the country to get Beijing's approval for the sale of popular social media platform TikTok.

Japan's government warned Thursday of a "significant impact" on its economic ties with the United States and on global trade, after President Donald Trump announced import tariffs on cars.

North Korea sent an additional 3,000 troops to Russia this year and is still supplying missiles, artillery and ammunition to help Moscow fight Kyiv, Seoul's military said on Thursday.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot urged Beijing on Thursday to help bring Russia to talks over ending its war in Ukraine as he met Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. France and China have sought to boost ties in recent years, but Paris has also pressed Beijing on its relations with Moscow, which have strengthened since the invasion of Ukraine.

"Stop Hiring Humans" read a provocative sign at an AI conference in Las Vegas, where the impact of new artificial intelligence models on the world of work had sparked some unease.

Arsenal's women produced a thrilling fightback from a 2-0 first leg defeat to beat Real Madrid 3-0 on Wednesday and set up a Champions League semi-final with eight-time winners Lyon.

China poses the top threat to American interests and security globally and is making "steady" progress towards having the ability to seize the self-ruled island of Taiwan, an annual US intelligence report warned Tuesday.

By 2030, Coca-Cola products will account for an estimated 1.33 billion pounds (602,000 metric tons) of plastic waste entering the world's oceans and waterways each year, according to a stark new analysis published Wednesday by the nonprofit Oceana.

Britain's finance minister Rachel Reeves is set to detail billions of pounds of spending cuts in her Spring Statement on Wednesday to address the country's ailing public finances.

The United States added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist Tuesday, its Commerce Department said, in part to disrupt Beijing's artificial intelligence and advanced computing capabilities.

Houthi media in Yemen reported Wednesday at least 17 strikes in Saada and Amran, blaming the United States for the attacks.

At least 19 people have been killed in one of South Korea's worst wildfire outbreaks, with multiple raging blazes causing "unprecedented damage", the acting president said Wednesday.

A US federal judge on Tuesday set a trial date of June 23 in the Justice Department's criminal case against aircraft manufacturer Boeing over two deadly 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019.

Vice President JD Vance will visit a US military base in Greenland on Friday, adding to pressure on the autonomous Danish territory that Donald Trump wants to take over.

US President Donald Trump downplayed a growing scandal Tuesday after a journalist was accidentally added to a group chat about air strikes on Yemen, denying any classified information was shared and defending a top aide over the breach.

World Athletics said on Tuesday it had approved the introduction of a cheek swab test to determine if an athlete is biologically female.

The producers behind the "Spider-Man" and "Harry Potter" film franchises will oversee the next James Bond movie, Amazon MGM Studios announced Tuesday.

Washington and Kyiv held brief talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, a day after hours of US-Russia negotiations on halting the fighting in Ukraine ended without any breakthroughs announced.

Tesla sales plunged in the European Union in the first two months of the year, auto industry figures showed Tuesday, as Elon Musk's politics and ageing models may be turning consumers away.

Chewing gum releases hundreds of tiny plastic pieces straight into people's mouths, researchers said on Tuesday, also warning of the pollution created by the rubber-based sweet.

Samsung Electronics co-CEO Han Jong-hee, credited with boosting the South Korean tech giant's television business on the global stage, died of a heart attack Tuesday aged 63, the company said. "He died from cardiac arrest today," a Samsung spokesperson said, adding that Han was survived by his wife and three children.

Australia will build a 63,000-seat stadium and an indoor swimming venue for the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, officials said Tuesday after shelving contentious earlier plans, with The Gabba to be demolished after the Games.