AFP news

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Sunday signed into law controversial judicial reforms making Mexico the world's only country to elect all its judges by popular vote.

TikTok will attempt to convince a federal court on Monday that a law requiring the video-sharing app to divest from its Chinese ownership or face a ban in the United States is unconstitutional.

Mammals that can breathe through their backsides, homing pigeons that can guide missiles and sober worms that outpace drunk ones: these are some of the strange scientific discoveries that won this year's Ig Nobels, the quirky alternative to the Nobel prizes.

Accountancy giant PwC was banned in China Friday for six months and slapped with a fine of $62.2 million over problems with its audit of beleaguered property company Evergrande.

The Japanese finance ministry on Friday designated the parent company of 7-Eleven a "core" industry, a move that could make a takeover by Canadian rival Couche-Tard more difficult.

China said Friday it would gradually raise its statutory retirement age, as the country grapples with a looming demographic crisis and an ageing population.

US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris head to key battleground states on Friday, each seeking an edge in a race where they are running neck-and-neck less than two months before voting day.

Hundreds of villagers in Myanmar waded or swam through chin-high waters, fleeing severe floods around the remote capital Naypyidaw on Friday, while Vietnam began clearing up after deadly Typhoon Yagi.

The one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand was washed out on Friday after five days of rain, just the eighth Test in history to be abandoned without a ball being bowled.

An under-strength Arsenal face a huge test of their Premier League title credentials at rivals Tottenham, while Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag desperately needs a response from his side at Southampton.

"Shogun" is tipped to become the first ever non-English-language winner of the Emmy for best drama -- the most prestigious prize at the small-screen equivalent of the Oscars -- at a glitzy ceremony on Sunday.

President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday discuss whether to let Kyiv use long-range missiles against Russia, in the two allies' likely last meeting before an election that could upend US policy on Ukraine.

Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun said Friday that "negotiation" was the only solution to conflicts such as the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, as he addressed a global gathering of military officials in Beijing.

Pope Francis wrapped up an arduous 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific on Friday, defying health concerns to connect with believers from the jungle of Papua New Guinea to the skyscrapers of Singapore.

North Korea released images of its uranium enrichment facility for the first time on Friday, showing leader Kim Jong Un touring it as he called for more centrifuges to boost his nuclear arsenal.

Apple on Thursday got a green light from US regulators to add a feature that would let upcoming AirPods Pro ear pieces be used as hearing aids, potentially disrupting that market.

Microsoft is cutting about 650 more positions from its gaming unit as it continues to tighten its belt following the blockbuster buyout of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard.

After trekking deeper into space than any humans in the last half-century, a pioneering private crew is set to make history Thursday with the first-ever spacewalk by non-professional astronauts.

Peru's former president Alberto Fujimori, who ruled his country with an iron fist and then spent 16 years in prison for crimes against humanity, died on Wednesday at age 86 in the capital Lima.

Boeing faces a potentially crippling strike in the Seattle region, depending on how 33,000 workers vote Thursday on a new contract that has angered many employees despite solid wage gains.

UniCredit is studying a takeover of Commerzbank, Chief Executive Andrea Orcel said Thursday, a day after Italy's second-largest bank surprised markets by revealing a nine-percent stake in its German rival.

A new statue of Queen Elizabeth II has met mixed reviews, with one non-plussed critic assessing that it looks more like "an old lady buying potatoes at the market" than Britain's longest-reigning monarch.

An Irish regulator helping to police European Union data privacy launched an investigation Thursday into Google's artificial intelligence development.

Japan's leadership race kicked off Thursday with a record nine candidates including the surfing son of a former prime minister and an arch-nationalist vying to be the first woman premier.

Major Japanese and American business groups have urged US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen not to succumb to political pressure when reviewing Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of United States Steel.

A hundred years after acquiring one of Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers", Britain's National Gallery in London will bring his vision to life by showcasing three works side-by-side for the first time.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday spoke to key ally Poland on ways to support Ukraine as Russian attacks and upcoming US elections raise new jitters.

Taylor Swift on Wednesday repeated her call for fans to register to vote in the US presidential election as she accepted MTV's top Video Music Award.

Israel bombed a school housing displaced Palestinians in central Gaza, which rescuers said killed 18 people, including UN staffers, while the Israeli army said it hit a Hamas control centre.