AFP news

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held tough talks in Turkey on Monday aimed at soothing the anger of one of Washington's most strategic but difficult allies about the bloodshed in Gaza.

Israel pounded Gaza with "significant" strikes Monday as soldiers battled Hamas forces in the besieged territory, ignoring ceasefire calls by UN aid agencies who condemned surging civilian deaths in the month-long conflict.

Irish-trained Vauban heads into Tuesday's Melbourne Cup as favourite in Australia's "race that stops a nation", but faces a looming threat from in-form Gold Trip who is targeting back-to-back wins.

Team boss Toto Wolff slammed his Mercedes outfit's car and Brazilian Grand Prix performance on Sunday, claiming it was akin to a three-wheeler and "does not deserve to win" a race this year.

Nestled in the mountains of northern Lebanon, a museum dedicated to Kahlil Gibran in his hometown of Bsharre has been celebrating the centennial of "The Prophet", the renowned author's most famous work.

A new Beatles song, produced with the help of AI, is on track to be named number one on the UK's official singles chart on Sunday night, the chart company said.

Markets rallied again Monday following another strong performance on Wall Street, as below-forecast US jobs data fanned optimism that the Federal Reserve had reached the end of its interest rate hiking cycle.

Elon Musk on Saturday unveiled details of his new AI tool called "Grok," which can access X in real time and will be initially available to the social media platform's top tier of subscribers.

Whether they sell smartphones, ads or computer chips, the heavyweights of Silicon Valley have everything to prove to investors looking to see who is best placed in the race to dominate the generative artificial intelligence market.

Former president Donald Trump is expected to testify Monday in the New York civil case threatening to upend his real estate empire and deal him a damaging financial blow as he seeks to retake the White House next year.

France has recorded more than a thousand anti-Semitic acts since the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas gunmen on Israel, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Sunday.

The enemy is nearly invisible and there are no soldiers, but the Indian capital's new "Green War Room" is battling air pollution that is cutting lives of residents by over a decade.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned Friday that war between Israel and Hamas could turn into a regional conflict if attacks on Gaza continue, placing responsibility firmly on the United States.

With Israel's campaign against Hamas raging, the United States has renewed calls to work toward a Palestinian state, but few expect success now after decades of failure.

More than 60 people were killed when a shallow 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit a remote pocket of Nepal, officials said early Saturday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Jordan's King Abdullah II Saturday after leaving Israel empty-handed in his efforts to secure humanitarian "pauses" in its war to destroy Hamas.

The US Senate on Thursday approved Admiral Lisa Franchetti's nomination to lead the Navy, making her the first woman to hold the position and to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The United States and China, the world's two largest greenhouse gas emitters, will hold weekend talks in California to seek progress ahead of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, the State Department announced Thursday.

Jeering Qantas shareholders voted down a pay package for the company's top brass Friday, as the outgoing chairman apologised for a public "loss of trust" in Australia's much-loved carrier.

Danish shipping giant Maersk said Friday it would slash 3,500 jobs as net profit and revenue plunged in the third quarter due to a sharp fall in freight rates.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel Friday, an AFP correspondent travelling with him said, in a trip focused on measures to minimise harm to civilians in the war in Gaza.

From fabricated images of Donald Trump's arrest to a video depicting a dystopian future under Joe Biden, the 2024 White House race faces a firehose of tech-enabled disinformation in what is widely billed as America's first AI election.

Myanmar's junta chief said the military will strike back at ethnic armed groups waging an offensive in the north of the country, seizing towns and blocking trade routes to China, state media reported Friday.

The once bustling streets of Jerusalem's Old City have fallen eerily quiet, with the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas keeping away tourists and their much-needed cash.

US presidential elections are described as a 50-state obstacle course, but the hurdles across Donald Trump's path in the coming year look particularly daunting as a crush of court dates competes with campaign commitments in his 2024 calendar.

Under-fire Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag cannot afford another damaging defeat when his troubled side face Fulham on Saturday.

Music's glitterati will fete a new class of legends entering the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Friday, among them Missy Elliott and the late George Michael.

The owner of X Elon Musk on Thursday predicted the future with AI would be an "age of abundance" with a "universal high income" instead of a universal basic income but warned of "humanoid robots" that might chase humans.

Apple on Thursday reported that sales fell for the fourth consecutive quarter when compared to the prior year, but profit rose on the back iPhones and services.