AFP news

North Korea said Wednesday it had succeeded in putting a military spy satellite in orbit after two previous failures, as the United States led its allies in condemning the launch as a "brazen violation" of UN sanctions.

The US intelligence chief secured promises from the leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to de-escalate after alarm over a surge in violence, the White House said Tuesday.

Covid-19 remains a threat as a virus variant has been spreading steadily around the globe, the World Health Organisation said Tuesday.

Eyes closed, hips swaying, retiree Polly Chan danced like no one was watching at a community centre in Hong Kong, where experts warn of a loneliness epidemic among the ballooning elderly population.

US forces carried out new strikes against two sites in Iraq early on Wednesday in retaliation for attacks by "Iran and Iran-backed groups," US Central Command said.

Israel and Hamas announced a deal on Wednesday allowing at least 50 hostages and scores of Palestinian prisoners to be freed, while offering besieged Gaza residents a four-day truce after weeks of all-out war.

Around 200 Rohingya refugees arrived in Indonesia's westernmost province by sea overnight, the United Nations refugee agency said Wednesday, taking the total arrivals in the last week to more than 1,000 members of the persecuted Myanmar minority.

Indonesia on Tuesday launched an investment plan to attract $20 billion pledged by Western nations in a renewable energy transition pact agreed last year for the archipelago to slash emissions and wean itself off coal.

Next year's 48th edition of the Copa America, featuring 10 South American nations and six North American teams, will start in Atlanta and end in Miami, organizers said Monday.

Reigning champions Italy secured their ticket for Euro 2024 on Monday after holding on for a nervy goalless draw against Ukraine in their final qualifier, while the Czech Republic and Slovenia also clinched places at next year's finals.

Tomoko Horino's neighbours gossiped when she first went out to work in patriarchal 1960s Japan, but now, at age 100, the world's oldest beauty adviser is having the last laugh.

A silk shirt with a ruffled collar that helped define late music legend Prince's distinctive style has sold for $33,000.

Countries' greenhouse gas-cutting pledges put Earth on track for warming far beyond key limits, potentially up to a catastrophic 2.9 degrees Celsius this century, the UN said Monday, warning "we are out of road".

Deep in Oman's parched interior, the ancient oasis town of Bahla abounds with myths of camel-eating, fire-mouthed hyenas and men turning into donkeys -- a reputation for magic and mystery that persists to this day.

By recruiting former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman following his surprise ouster by ChatGPT's parent company, Microsoft is hiring a tech industry star at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution.

Microsoft's hiring of ousted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Monday marks another twist in the seven-year-old partnership between the US giant and the startup that created ChatGPT. Here are key moments in the history of their partnership: - Founded as a non-profit - OpenAI is founded in 2015 by entrepreneurs and investors, including Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and Tesla chief Elon Musk.

Workers from Ford, General Motors and Stellantis ratified new contracts with hefty wage hikes, their union announced Monday, closing the books on an historic autoworkers strike at the three Detroit giants.

Britain's Conservative government this week unveils a budget update that could determine its chances of re-election -- or the size of its defeat -- with promises to reinvigorate the economy as the party lags badly in the polls.

Political veteran Joseph Boakai was on Monday declared the winner of Liberia's presidential election, beating incumbent George Weah, electoral authorities said after completing the ballot count.

Joe Biden joked about his age as he turned 81 on Monday, but the issue is no laughing matter for many voters who are worried he is too old for reelection next year.

OpenAI has gone from ruling the world of artificial intelligence with ChatGPT to chaos, its chief executive ousted seemingly for advancing too fast and too far with the risky technology.

US President Joe Biden on Monday joined Threads, Meta's social media rival to Elon Musk's X, just days after the White House blasted the tech baron for pushing anti-Semitism.

North Korea has issued formal notice of a satellite launch as early as Wednesday, Japan said, with Pyongyang's third attempt to put a military eye in the sky coming after it likely received technical help from Russia in exchange for arms transfers.

A Sino-Canadian row reared its head on Monday after one of two Canadians jailed by China for nearly three years claimed he was unwittingly used for intelligence gathering and is seeking compensation from Ottawa.

Argentine president-elect Javier Milei ran his campaign on promises to ditch the peso for the US dollar and do away with a central bank -- all in the name of subduing rampant inflation.

The presence of United Nations peacekeepers, whose shortcomings can frustrate local populations, is not a "magic wand" for conflict zones, said their leader Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who supports an expanded tool kit to protect civilians in increasingly complex territory.

Rising sea levels threaten to swamp the Maldives and the Indian Ocean archipelago is already out of drinking water, but the new president says he has scrapped plans to relocate citizens.

Elon Musk's X Corp. on Monday sued nonprofit Media Matters for driving advertisers away from the platform formerly known as Twitter by portraying it as rife with anti-Semitic content.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Tuesday a truce agreement with Israel was in sight, raising hopes that his militant group could soon release dozens of people taken hostage in the October 7 attacks.