AFP news

Anticorruption activists around the world have high hopes for a new US law that for the first time allows Washington to prosecute foreign officials who receive bribes.

Four Pakistan servicemen and two civilians were among 15 killed in an hours-long gun battle with Balochistan militants in the southwest of the country, the military said.

Once a byword for environmental disaster due to its heavy industry and mining, the city of Bitterfeld-Wolfen is poised to become a key site for Germany's ambitious green transition.

Retired nurse Nga put her life savings into a bond at Vietnam's SCB bank, but now cannot access her money after being caught up with tens of thousands in a multibillion-dollar scam that has shocked the nation.

One morning last October as the dawn light touched the cold hills of northern Myanmar a barrage of rockets and drones streaked through the sky and slammed into dugouts and bases housing military troops.

A judge in the US state of Delaware voided the $56 billion compensation package of Tesla chief executive Elon Musk on Tuesday, siding with a shareholder who claimed the entrepreneur was overpaid.

Turkey's parliament on Tuesday formally ousted a jailed opposition lawmaker whose election created a politically-charged standoff between the country's two top courts.

Polling as the most popular leader in Latin America -- possibly even the world -- El Salvador's Nayib Bukele has inspired calls for hard-handed tactics across a region tired of violence and losing faith in democracy.

Microsoft and Google delivered solid corporate earnings on Tuesday as the tech giants said demand for artificial intelligence services stoked revenue.

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday reported a 34.57 percent drop in operating profits for the fourth quarter of 2023, as the company struggles with weak demand for consumer devices.

More than two-thirds of musicians fear that artificial intelligence will make it impossible to make a living, according to a study by French and German music societies published Tuesday.

British MPs on Tuesday called on the music industry to clean up its act, as it laid bare a catalogue of misogyny, discrimination and sexual abuse in a damning report.

Chita Rivera, who electrified Broadway stages over six decades in shows including "West Side Story" and "Chicago" as one of the foremost entertainers of her generation, died Tuesday at age 91, her publicist said.

US President Joe Biden said Tuesday he had decided on a response to a drone strike that killed three American troops in Jordan, while insisting he did not want a wider war in the Middle East.

Google parent Alphabet on Tuesday credited artificial intelligence with helping boost profits in the final quarter of last year.

Even as her home country of Cuba crumbled around her, Elsa resisted joining the growing US-bound exodus until she felt she had no options left.

Britain's top climate change advisory body on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of creating "mixed signals and a perception of "slowing UK climate ambition", as it demanded renewed action.

A message on X asked a major French channel to verify what seemed to be a Deutsche Welle report about a Ukrainian artist who "sawed down the Eiffel Tower."

South Africa's former President Jacob Zuma was suspended from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Monday, weeks after he backed another party ahead of this year's general elections.

An Iranian and two Canadians, including a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, have been indicted for allegedly conspiring to assassinate Iranian dissidents on US soil, officials said Monday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Monday that Ukraine's gains over two years of fighting were all in doubt without new US funding, as NATO's chief visited to lobby Congress.

Police in Brazil raided the home and offices of former president Jair Bolsonaro's son Carlos on Monday as an investigation into accusations of illegal spying closed in on the far-right leader's inner circle.

Hong Kong will create its own national security law "as soon as possible", city leader John Lee said Tuesday, adding insurrection and other crimes not covered by existing legislation imposed by Beijing four years ago.

The Israeli army was preparing to shift some of its forces from the Gaza Strip to the restive Lebanese border, as international mediators pushed for a new deal to halt its war with Hamas.

Asian markets were mixed Tuesday as another record on Wall Street was unable to help extend the previous day's advance, with traders eyeing a Federal Reserve meeting, big-name earnings and key data.

French automaker Renault said Monday that it was halting the initial public offering of its EV unit Ampere, saying market conditions were unfavourable to list the company's shares.

Storied auction house Sotheby's reported on Monday that sales had dipped last year to $7.9 billion, down $100 million from the record-breaking 2022 which was lifted by pent-up demand following the pandemic.

Toyota's chairman said Tuesday he was "ashamed" of recent scandals involving subsidiaries of the Japanese auto giant, as the firm announced record vehicle sales of 11.2 million across its brands last year.

Saudi Arabia has ordered energy giant Aramco to maintain its oil production capacity at 12 million barrels per day, abandoning a planned increase, the firm said on Tuesday.