AFP news

As Iranian seizures threaten oil tankers plying the Gulf, the United States is raising its military presence -- a move long demanded by Gulf Arab states who accused Washington of retreating from the region.

Gun battles between two leading armed groups in the Libyan capital Tripoli have killed 27 people and wounded 106, a toll update from the Emergency Medicine Centre said Wednesday.

The number of people known to have died in the horrific wildfire that levelled a Hawaiian town topped 100 Tuesday, the state's governor said, as a makeshift morgue was expanded to deal with the tragedy.

Asian markets fell Wednesday on concerns about the Chinese economy and after stronger-than-expected US retail sales data increased the likelihood of a further Fed rate hike.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was forced Tuesday to scrap her trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji after her plane suffered recurring technical problems, the latest in a series of incidents with the German fleet.

US consumer spending rose more than anticipated in July, according to government data released Tuesday, boosted by online spending in a show of resilience even as the economy cools.

Engineering student Somaya Faruqi had to flee Afghanistan to continue her studies after the Taliban government returned to power two years ago and banned more than 1.1 million girls and women from schools and universities.

Iranian authorities have re-arrested a journalist who interviewed the father of the woman whose custody death sparked months of protests, just two days after her release from jail, activists said on Tuesday.

Russia began testing its new digital ruble with consumers on Tuesday, in the hope blockchain technology will help it evade sanctions and tighten control over its citizens.

Rights campaigners have urged Tanzania to release three people, including a former legislator, saying they could face treason charges for criticising a deal with an Emirati company to manage the country's ports.

A court in Iran has sentenced prominent movie director Saeed Roustaee to six months' prison for the screening of his film "Leila's Brothers" at the Cannes Film Festival last year, local media reported Tuesday.

Neymar said he was relishing "new challenges and opportunities in new places" after he joined Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal Tuesday, becoming the latest big name lured to the oil-rich Gulf state.

Around 50,000 people attended Tuesday's funeral for an influential Islamist leader in Bangladesh, police said, after news of his death while he was in prison for war crimes prompted violent anti-government protests.

Russian missiles killed three people in the Ukrainian city of Lutsk early Tuesday, the latest deadly strike on the west of the country suffering an uptick in aerial attacks.

UK unemployment increased in the three months to the end of June while wages grew at record annual pace, official data showed Tuesday, as the economy struggles with high inflation.

Religious leaders and politicians in northern Nigeria have opened back-door channels in a frantic attempt to stave off military intervention in coup-stricken Niger.

Military chiefs from the West African bloc ECOWAS will meet in Ghana on Thursday and Friday to discuss possible intervention in Niger, military and political sources in the region said Tuesday.

Russia's central bank on Tuesday hiked its key interest rate from 8.5 to 12 percent, after the ruble crashed to a more than 16-month low against the dollar.

At least 35 people were killed in an explosion that created a huge fire ball at a fuel station in Russia's remote Caucasus republic of Dagestan, spurring condolences from President Vladimir Putin.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that his government was working to end ethnic clashes in the country's remote northeast that have killed more than 150 people since May.

Heady scents fill the air as skilled pickers in India pluck white jasmine before the still fresh buds are rushed for processing into a valuable ingredient for global perfumes.

China on Tuesday said it would suspend the release of youth unemployment rates, as its central bank cut a key interest rate to boost flagging growth.

Chelsea completed the signing of Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo on Monday for a reported Premier League record fee of up to GBP115 million ($146 million).

China on Tuesday released weaker than expected economic data, with slowing retail sales growth pointing to shaky consumer confidence in the world's second-largest economy.

UK jets were scrambled Monday morning to respond to two Russian bombers flying north of the Shetland Islands in Scotland, Britain's defence ministry said in a statement.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stressed Monday the need for diversified clean energy supply chains as America shifts away from fossil fuels, warning that production should not be concentrated in a few countries.

UBS will pay $1.4 billion to settle US charges that it defrauded investors in the sale of mortgage-backed securities, resolving the last big case stemming from the 2008 financial crisis, the Justice Department announced Monday.

Dinosaur-shaped balloons floated over the coffin of an eight-year-old boy in a western Ukrainian village on Monday, as mourners gathered for a final farewell after he was killed in a Russian strike involving hypersonic missiles.

Thousands of furious protesters chanting anti-government slogans marched in Bangladesh on Monday hours after a powerful jailed Islamist opposition leader died of a heart attack aged 83, officials said.