AFP news

The Taliban government said Tuesday it had released two American citizens from prison in return for an Afghan fighter held in the United States, in a deal brokered by Qatar.

A fire engulfed a hotel at a ski resort in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday, killing 10 people and injuring 32 others, the interior minister said.

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire entered a third day Tuesday, while US President Donald Trump said he doubted the fragile deal would hold.

US President Donald Trump begins his first full day in office Tuesday, riding a wave of executive orders signed just hours after his inauguration on everything from immigration to the environment and culture wars.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen declared Tuesday that Europe was ready to negotiate with US President Donald Trump but the bloc will also seek to improve ties with China and other nations as global competition heats up.

Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka suffered a scare before reaching the Australian Open semi-finals on Tuesday and a date with Coco Gauff's conqueror Paula Badosa.

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared at the Constitutional Court for the first time Tuesday, and vowed to cooperate with the judges who will decide whether to remove him from office.

The World Health Organization said Tuesday it regretted US President Donald Trump's decision -- just hours after taking power -- to withdraw his country from the UN agency, saying it hoped he would "reconsider".

The US film industry's first big gathering since fires devastated Los Angeles will begin Thursday at the Sundance festival, where highlights include a glitzy new Jennifer Lopez musical and a dark Benedict Cumberbatch drama.

At a shopping mall in Beijing, Zhang Yachun murmurs quietly to her closest confidant, a fluffy AI-powered robot whose soothing chirps remind her that she is not alone.

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol had his mug shot taken and underwent a physical check before spending his first night in jail as a criminal suspect, a prison officer said Monday.

The mother of US journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012, said on Monday in Damascus that the war-torn country's new leadership was committed to finding him.

Chinese people on the streets of Beijing said Monday they were keeping expectations low ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump, as his second White House stint could push China-US ties into a new era of uncertainty.

Bitcoin hit a record high above $109,000 on Monday as Donald Trump, who has signalled plans to deregulate the cryptocurrency sector, prepares to be sworn in as US president.

A fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war was holding Monday, following the dramatic exchange of three hostages for 90 Palestinian prisoners in an agreement aimed at ending more than 15 months of war in Gaza.

Donald Trump will be sworn in for a historic second term as US president Monday, promising a new "golden age" for America as the world braces for a return of his unpredictable leadership.

Novak Djokovic was at the centre of another Australian Open row on Monday while Jannik Sinner needed medical attention in fierce heat to battle into the quarter-finals and Iga Swiatek won easily.

Within five hours while sitting at home in India, retired professor Kamta Prasad Singh handed over his hard-earned savings to online fraudsters impersonating police.

The trial of a teenager accused of killing three young girls in a stabbing spree last year that sparked the UK's most violent riots in a decade is set to begin Monday.

Military medic Natalya carried a jug of water blessed by priests at the Sviatogirsk monastery in east Ukraine as she celebrated Orthodox Epiphany in a Russian-affiliated church, despite the war.

Exhausted Los Angeles firefighters on Sunday braced for the return of yet more dangerously strong gusts, as California's governor slammed "hurricane-force winds of misinformation" surrounding blazes that have killed 27 people.

TikTok restored service in the United States Sunday after briefly going dark, as a law banning the wildly popular app on national security grounds came into effect.

Israel's security cabinet met Friday to vote on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal that should take effect this weekend.

A Pakistan court on Friday convicted former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in a landmark graft case, sentencing Khan to 14 years in prison.

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka was pushed to the limit in setting up an Australian Open showdown with teenager Mirra Andreeva on Friday but Naomi Osaka's run ended with an injury retirement in round three.

Apple pushed out a software update on Thursday which disabled news headlines and summaries generated using artificial intelligence that were lambasted for getting facts wrong.

US President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday the ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas would have never been reached without pressure from him and his incoming administration.

China said on Friday its population fell for the third year running in 2024, extending a downward streak after more than six decades of growth as the country faces a rapidly ageing population and persistently low birth rates.

North Korea condemned on Friday joint military drills between South Korea, Japan and the United States held this week, threatening to respond by exercising its right to self-defence "more intensively".