AFP news

US President Joe Biden warned Israel on Thursday that it cannot use aid as a "bargaining chip" in its fight against Hamas and called for an immediate temporary ceasefire in Gaza, where fears of a looming famine have multiplied.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Istanbul on Friday for talks with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the war against Russia and Black Sea navigation, the Turkish presidency said.

Doctors Without Borders said Thursday the Panamanian government has halted its humanitarian activities in the notorious Darien Gap after it criticized a sharp rise in sexual violence against migrants who pass through there.

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch is not giving up on love -- even at age 92.

A "mass bleaching event" is unfolding on Australia's famed Great Barrier Reef, authorities said Friday, as warming seas threaten the spectacular home to thousands of marine species.

Liverpool host Manchester City in a defining moment in the Premier League title race as Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola conclude their top-flight rivalry on Sunday.

The number of female genital mutilation survivors tops 230 million worldwide, UNICEF said in a new report Thursday, an increase of 15 percent since 2016 despite progress against the practice in some countries.

Mediators struggled on Thursday to reach a truce in Israel's war with Hamas that entered its sixth month with dozens more killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory threatened by famine.

The world's most popular AI tools are powered by programs from OpenAI and Meta that show prejudice against women, according to a study launched on Thursday by the UN's cultural organisation UNESCO.

German airline giant Lufthansa more than doubled its profits in 2023, extending a rebound from the coronavirus pandemic even as it faces fresh risks from a wave of industrial action.

US President Joe Biden faces one of the most critical moments of his political career Thursday with a State of the Union speech aimed at convincing skeptical voters the 81-year-old is fit to beat Donald Trump in November's election.

China's exports sharply accelerated in the first two months of 2024, official figures showed Thursday, providing policymakers a bright spot as they battle to revive the world's second-largest economy.

A Korean-Canadian director's debut feature film -- a quiet romance exploring time, longing and lost chances -- has arrived in South Korea for theatre release after garnering two Oscar nominations.

Rafael Nadal abandoned his planned ATP Tour comeback at the Indian Wells Masters on Wednesday, saying he was not ready for the demands of tournament tennis on the eve of his opening match in California.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi lashed out against the United States and praised his country's partnership with Russia on Thursday, in a wide-ranging press conference where he called the war in Gaza a "disgrace for civilisation".

Phone in hand, Argentina's President Javier Milei has become a social media junkie who tears into opponents, shares bizarre memes, vents and retweets with a gusto that has seen him dubbed an online "troll."

Like her ancestors before her, Emirati astronaut Nora AlMatrooshi has spent much of her life gazing up at the stars and dreaming of flying to the Moon.

Asian shares mostly gained on Wednesday after global markets fell as traders locked in profits following recent tech-driven rallies.

International mediators were set for a fourth day of talks with Hamas in Cairo on Wednesday after US President Joe Biden called on the militant group to agree a truce deal with Israel by the start of Ramadan.

OpenAI, the firm behind ChatGPT, on Tuesday denied Elon Musk's accusations of "betrayal" of its original mission and said it would push to have them dismissed in court.

The widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny called on Wednesday for Russians to stage an election day protest against President Vladimir Putin by forming long queues outside voting stations.

Scientists have developed a mathematical model that promises to optimise training for competitors in 400-metre and 1,500-metre athletics events, according to a study published Tuesday.

China's economic troubles are far from over and leaders admit the country will face an uphill struggle in hitting its goals for 2024, piling on the pressure for stimulus and reforms that experts say are needed to reverse the malaise.

Ten years after her mother disappeared on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Grace Nathan still struggles to accept that she is gone.

Clamping down harder and faster on abuses of power by the world's biggest digital companies: such is the promise of the European Union's new legal arsenal, which comes into full force from Thursday.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos took back his spot as the world's richest man on Monday, dethroning Elon Musk on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Singapore struck a deal ensuring Taylor Swift played the city-state but nowhere else in Southeast Asia, the country's prime minister said Tuesday while defending the secretive arrangement.

International mediators were with Hamas negotiators in Cairo Tuesday for talks on a truce to pause nearly five months of fighting in Gaza before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins early next week.

Former top executives of Twitter sued Elon Musk on Monday saying he has failed to pay them nearly $130 million after the billionaire took over the social media company and dismissed them.