AFP news

Army warplanes bombed the Sudanese city of El Obeid Wednesday, as the country prepared to mark two months of suffering since a power struggle between rival generals plunged the country into a devastating war.

Reporters Without Borders on Wednesday demanded that Pakistani prosecutors dismiss accusations against two journalists that could theoretically carry the death penalty, adding to US criticism of a crackdown.

Syrian refugees languishing in camps in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley for years say their hopes for the future are evaporating as their host country loses patience and international support dwindles.

China's central bank cut a key interest rate and injected $33 billion into financial markets Thursday, as data showed the world's second-largest economy was flagging.

Asian markets rose Thursday after the Federal Reserve decided against hiking interest rates and China's central bank cut borrowing costs as officials look to kickstart the struggling economy.

Macron's office said the two would speak on Friday over lunch at the president's Elysee Palace, adding that they would discuss "especially the war in Ukraine and its consequences for the rest of the world". The prince's stay in France could last some days, with MBS also due to attend a Paris summit on a New Global Financing Pact hosted by Macron on June 22-23.

Marvel Comics artist John Romita Snr, primarily known for his work on "The Amazing Spider-Man", has died, his son said Tuesday.

Israeli defence exports hit an all-time high of $12.5 billion last year, with Arab countries that recently established ties accounting for nearly a quarter of purchase contracts, officials said Wednesday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signalled Wednesday that he would let his new economic team hike interest rates to combat inflation and stabilise the lira, reversing an era of unconventional policies.

Shell plans to maintain oil production levels until 2030, the British energy giant said Wednesday, triggering an outcry from green campaigners who also slammed a big payout for shareholders.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday rebuffed growing international pressure on Ankara to ratify Sweden's NATO membership bid before the Western defence alliance meets in July.

Global oil demand could peak before the end of this decade as the energy crisis has accelerated the transition to cleaner technologies, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.

Lawmakers in crisis-hit Lebanon on Wednesday failed for a 12th time to elect a new president, with bitter divisions between the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah and its opponents marring the vote.

At least three people were killed and 13 wounded in a Russian missile attack on the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa early Wednesday, authorities said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Tuesday for maintaining but streamlining a decade-old peacekeeping mission in troubled Mali, whose military leaders have clashed with the West and turned to Russia.

A week ago, he was growing vegetables and fruit and grazing his cows. Now his land in the Mykolaiv region is deep under murky green water.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told US President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday that Western-backed Ukraine is "making progress" in its offensive to push Russia back from occupied territories.

President Vladimir Putin claimed Tuesday that Ukraine's casualties in its much-anticipated counteroffensive were ten times higher than Moscow's even as Kyiv said it was making gains and "moving forward".

Intissar was only 10 years old when she was forced to undergo genital mutilation, but 30 years later, one clinic is offering help for some of the millions of Egyptian women affected by the still-rampant practice.

Russian strikes early Tuesday on the hometown of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky killed ten people, as Moscow said it had captured Western armoured vehicles from Kyiv's forces.

Asia-focused bank giant HSBC on Monday relaunched the recently-acquired UK arm of collapsed US lender Silicon Valley Bank as part of a major push into technology and life sciences.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi began a rare diplomatic tour of Latin America on Monday with a first stop in Caracas, where he said his country and Venezuela are "friends" with "common enemies."

A team of experts last month started inspecting conditions aboard the vessel and kickstarted preparations for the operation intended to avert a major oil spill.

Semiconductors have become a flashpoint issue between the United States and China, which are locked in a fierce battle over access to chip-making technology and supplies.

Ukraine on Monday said it had retaken seven villages and made small gains in a "tough" counter-offensive against Russian forces that France said could last months.

Markets were mixed in Asia on Tuesday, with investors awaiting the release of key US inflation data later in the day that could play a big role in the Federal Reserve's keenly anticipated interest rate decision.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed former Wall Street executive Hafize Gaye Erkan as central bank governor on Friday, signalling a possible shift from his unconventional policies to fight soaring inflation.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will make a state visit to China next week, Beijing said Friday, after China expressed readiness to help facilitate Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Fighting raged Friday in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, a Russian official said, with observers seeing the combat as the possible start of Kyiv's long-expected offensive.