AFP news

The cash-strapped North African country is battling 10 percent inflation alongside slow growth, high unemployment and shortages of basic goods, exacerbated by the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

The talks came less than a week after the defence chiefs of Turkey and Syria held landmarks negotiations in Moscow -- the first such meeting since 2011.

The United States said Tuesday it still did not consider Nicolas Maduro to be the legitimate president of Venezuela and would maintain sanctions after the fledgling opposition dissolved its "interim government."

Here is a run-down of the countries that have imposed mandatory Covid tests and other rules on arrivals from China:

Gas exports by Russian energy giant Gazprom to the European Union and Switzerland fell by 55 percent last year, the company said Monday.

Over the past decade, Egypt has recovered about 29,000 antiquities found to have been taken abroad through illegitimate means.

This is the second time in less than seven months that Israel has hit Damascus International Airport -- where Iranian-backed armed groups and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters are present.

The football star's death sparked a global outpouring of tributes, with his native Brazil holding three days of national mourning.

Following their 2021 election victory, the Liberals quietly introduced the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act.

Huawei's chairman Eric Xu sounded a positive note in a New Year's message.

The militia said 17 of its fighters had died in Turkish chemical weapons attacks in the mountains and caves of northern Iraq.

On Saturday, Afghanistan's hardline Islamist rulers banned women from working in non-governmental organisations.

His death after a long battle with cancer was caused by "multiple organ failure," the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo said in a statement, confirming the news from the legend's family.

This year's event stretches 8,549 km over 15 days of racing, including a four-day excursion into the as yet unexplored desert dunes of the vast Rub' al-Khali, or Empty Quarter.

Paris-born activist and philanthropist Osman Kavala was sentenced to life in jail without the possibility of parole in April on the charge of trying to topple the government by financing street protests in 2013.

On Wednesday, the Ukranian army took AFP journalists on a tour in eastern Ukraine to see one of its French cannons in action.

On Monday, the country said it would bring an end to mandatory quarantine on arrival -- prompting many jubilant Chinese citizens to make plans to travel abroad.

The United States, Japan and Italy have imposed restrictions on visitors from China, and a senior US official warned that the surge increases the potential for new Covid variants to emerge.

The UAE -- like other oil-rich Arab Gulf states -- has often used the public sector as an employment vehicle for its nationals.

Women-led protests have become increasingly rare in Afghanistan since the Taliban's return -- particularly after the detention of core activists at the start of the year.

Addressing a crowd in Tehran, Raisi accused "hypocrites, monarchists and all anti-revolutionary currents".

China had abruptly reversed its strict pandemic restrictions even as a surge in infections began overtaking the country.

The incident occurred in Kafr Qassem, an Arab-Israeli city on the edge of Tel Aviv and just outside the occupied West Bank.

NATO member Turkey, which has friendly relations with both of its Black Sea neighbours, has positioned itself as a neutral player and tried to broker a truce.

The order threatened to suspend the operating licences of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that failed to implement the directive.

Several markets were closed, including Hong Kong, Sydney and Singapore, but Shanghai, Tokyo, and Seoul saw cautious gains.

Kyiv and its Western allies have accused Russia of using Iranian-made drones to carry out attacks against Ukraine.

Under the deal, the 30-year-old ex-billionaire, once touted as a possible future Warren Buffett, will be subjected to electronic monitoring.

The thin attendance of Republicans for the Ukraine leader's congressional address, and Biden's reticence to provide him powerful offensive weapons, citing allies' concerns, showed there remained limits to the support.