AFP news

Leaders of nine small island states turned to the UN maritime court on Monday to seek protection of the world's oceans from catastrophic climate change that threatens the very existence of entire countries.

India hailed its "strategic" partnership with oil-rich Saudi Arabia on Monday, days after unveiling a major trade and transport route linking Europe, the Middle East and India as part of a broad alliance.

A US explorer trapped for more than a week deep in a Turkish cave with internal bleeding could be pulled to safety as early as Monday night, rescuers said.

The European Commission cut its 2023 and 2024 eurozone economic growth forecasts on Monday, with the single currency area weighed down by Germany's poor performance.

Ordinary citizens are stepping in to do their bit for victims of the deadly earthquake in Morocco, after some complained that the authorities were slow to act.

A Dutch court on Monday sentenced former Pakistan international cricketer Khalid Latif to 12 years in prison for urging the murder of anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders.

China's central bank said on Monday it would crack down on speculation that distorts the value of the yuan as the country's currency sees persistent volatility.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has announced the surprise departure of former CEO Daniel Zhang, who had been set Monday to take charge of a key subsidiary as the firm undergoes a major restructuring.

President Emmanuel Macron was in Bangladesh on Monday in a bid to "consolidate" France's Indo-Pacific strategy and counterbalance a "new imperialism" in a region where China's influence is increasingly being extended.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his G20 presidency to burnish his image at home and abroad as a steward of national power and prosperity, asserting India's place in the world ahead of general elections next year.

US President Joe Biden hailed closer ties with Vietnam on Sunday as the two countries struck a deal to deepen cooperation, including on semiconductors, but said he was not aiming to contain China.

Niger's coup leaders have accused France of gathering forces, war materials and equipment in several neighbouring West African countries with a view to "military intervention".

Thirty years after the landmark Oslo Accords, Palestinian hopes for statehood seem as remote as ever and popular frustration is rife -- nowhere more than over access to water.

Two aid workers, one Canadian and one Spanish, were killed in eastern Ukraine, hours after the Kyiv region fended another wave of drone attacks overnight.

Thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday against the hardline government's judicial overhaul, ahead of a court hearing on a major element of the controversial reforms that have split the nation.

Leaders and diplomats the world over expressed condolences and offered their support for Morocco Saturday after a devastating earthquake struck the mountains southwest of Marrakesh.

Millet crisps -- twice over -- and millet pudding: the G20 leaders were served a vegetarian gala dinner on Saturday showcasing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's favourite grain.

The United States confirmed Friday that it seized a tanker load of Iranian oil in April, just before Iran seized two vessels in the Gulf region, in the Justice Department's first official statement on the incident.

The old city, or medina, of Marrakesh is on the UNESCO World Heritage list, drawing tourists who help account for about seven percent of Morocco's economy.

Firefighters backed by the army were rescuing hundreds of people Saturday in villages in central Greece blocked off by floods that have claimed at least 10 lives.

A world facing catastrophic climate change is perilously off course in meeting goals for slashing carbon pollution and boosting finance for the developing world, according to the UN's first official progress report out Friday.

A broad alliance of states on Saturday unveiled ambitious plans to create a modern-day Spice Route linking Europe, the Middle East and India, boosting trade ties with potentially wide-ranging geopolitical implications.

More than 50 world sites hope for inclusion on the UN's coveted heritage list at a meeting opening in Riyadh Sunday, while some incumbents, including Venice and Kyiv, face the risk of a downgrade.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has stripped Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas of the French capital's highest honour after he made remarks about the Holocaust that echoed anti-Semitic tropes, her office said on Friday.

Ukraine denounced what it called "fake elections" being held by Moscow on its occupied territory Friday, while Russian air strikes across the country killed four people and wounded dozens more.

Global rice prices reached a 15-year high in August after top exporter India banned some overseas sales of the grain, the Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday.

Ukraine on Friday said four people were killed and dozens injured as Russia launched a new wave of air strikes in the centre and east of the country.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has said that he prevented a Ukrainian attack on a Russian Navy base last year by declining Kyiv's request to activate internet access in the Black Sea near Moscow-annexed Crimea.

A disgraced Turkish crypto founder who fled to Albania and his two brothers have been sentenced to 11,196 years in jail each, the Anadolu state news agency reported Friday.