AFP news

US retail sales accelerated more than anticipated in December, closing out a year marked by resilient consumption, government data showed on Wednesday.

India's newest airline, Akasa Air, said Thursday it has ordered 150 Boeing 737 MAX planes as it looks to bolster its fleet and kick off international operations.

Conde Nast is merging the popular digital music publication Pitchfork with the men's magazine GQ, a decision that has triggered anger over resulting layoffs and concern for the outlet's future.

Novak Djokovic has long credited a series of unusual methods for helping him become one of the greatest players ever, not least his 15-year "special relationship" with a Melbourne tree.

Carlos Alcaraz said he reached a "great level" as he booked his ticket for the Australian Open third round on Thursday after Iga Swiatek staged an astonishing comeback to stay alive.

More than a decade after Ikea tried to kick them out, the raucous Shanghai pensioners' matchmaking group that gathers weekly in the furniture store's cafeteria is still very much alive and kicking.

President Joe Biden warned Republicans Wednesday that blocking vital US military aid for Ukraine threatened the "free world" as talks with congressional leaders at the White House failed to produce a breakthrough.

Human Rights Watch called on Lebanon Tuesday to release a son of Libya's former dictator Moamer Kadhafi, saying he had been held on "spurious charges" for eight years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met North Korea's top diplomat in the Kremlin on Tuesday in the latest sign of deepening ties between the two authoritarian states.

A crowd of students runs panicked through the campus of a university in Ecuador while others block a classroom door in fear of an armed intrusion.

France will deliver to Ukraine a new batch of around 40 SCALP long-range cruise missiles as well as hundreds of bombs as Kyiv fights the Russian invasion, President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday.

China's economy last year grew at one of its slowest rates in more than three decades, official figures showed Wednesday, as it was battered by a crippling property crisis, sluggish consumption and global turmoil.

Deliveries of medicine for Israeli hostages and Palestinian civilians were expected to start arriving in Gaza on Wednesday under a deal mediated by Qatar and France, after a night of deadly bombardments in the territory's south.

Pakistan said Wednesday that Iran carried out an air strike on its territory that killed two children, after Tehran launched attacks in Iraq and Syria against what it called "anti-Iranian terrorist groups".

The huge gap between how women and men's health are treated costs $1 trillion a year worldwide, the World Economic Forum said on Wednesday.

Japan's "Moon Sniper" spacecraft will attempt a historic touchdown on the lunar surface this weekend using pinpoint technology the country hopes will lead to success where many have failed.

The rich and famous are paying top dollar for a place at this week's Davos summit but heiress Marlene Engelhorn is on the other side of the fence at the glitzy Swiss resort, demanding that they pay more in taxes.

President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday sought to breathe new life into his final term with a promise for a "stronger and fairer" France, at a rare news conference peppered with a string of announcements aimed at forging greater civic responsibility and security.

Iowa's first-in-the-nation Republican nominating contest for the US presidential election could hardly have been scripted better for Donald Trump, whose historic performance leaves his rivals fighting for scraps.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday defended his company's multi-billion-dollar investment in ChatGPT developer OpenAI after the EU and Britain launched probes into whether it resembles a merger.

The CEO of Fortnite-maker Epic Games said Tuesday the company's court battle to open up Apple's iPhone to alternative app stores was lost after the US Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Ryanair on Tuesday welcomed improved quality controls at US aircraft manufacturer Boeing and announced its own enhanced checks, after a major safety issue.

A US federal judge on Tuesday ruled against JetBlue's $3.8 billion takeover of low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines, saying that the deal would reduce competition.

Google on Tuesday confirmed it is eliminating "a few hundred" positions from its global ad team, amid a push to use artificial intelligence for efficiency and creativity.

While cyber-attacks on banks, utilities and media platforms may grab the most attention, the hacking of the British Library has led to warnings that academia has become an easy target.

Pharrell Williams brought the American West to Paris on Tuesday as he presented a collection full of cowboy hats and rhinestones for his latest show as creative director at Louis Vuitton.

Everton and Nottingham Forest could face points deductions after admitting to being in breach of the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules at the end of the 2022/23 season.

Russian 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva put her school work to one side Wednesday and instead underlined her huge potential by crushing sixth seed Ons Jabeur in under an hour at the Australian Open.

The shows were barely over in Milan but the fashion crowd had already shifted to Paris on Tuesday, with Pharrell Williams hinting at a cowboy theme for his opening day show for Louis Vuitton.