AFP news

A US offer to give Ukraine anti-personnel mines to help battle Russia's invasion has thrown a landmark global anti-landmine treaty into "crisis", campaigners said Friday, urging Kyiv to snub the proposal.

Taiwan said Friday it detected 41 Chinese military aircraft and ships around the island ahead of a Hawaii stopover by President Lai Ching-te, part of a Pacific tour that has sparked fury in Beijing.

Jihadists and their Turkish-backed allies shelled Syria's second city Aleppo on Friday, in a major offensive against government troops that has sparked some of the deadliest fighting the country has seen in years.

World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was reappointed Friday for a second term, in the shadow of the coming return of Donald Trump and his disdain for international trade rules.

Air pollution caused by fires is linked to more than 1.5 million deaths a year worldwide, the vast majority occurring in developing countries, a major new study said on Thursday.

Donald Trump's tariff threats have rattled foreign businesses and governments, with many fearing it could signal the opening salvo of an all-out trade war when he returns to the White House next year.

Equity markets diverged Thursday as investors brushed off a negative lead from Wall Street while welcoming a drop in Treasury yields and data showing US inflation was holding steady.

Russia's army on Thursday launched a massive attack on Ukraine's energy sector, forcing emergency power outages as temperatures dropped to freezing across the country.

Newly-crowned quadruple world champion Max Verstappen will switch his attention from the drivers' title race to the teams' contest this weekend when he leads Red Bull's unlikely bid to retain their crown at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday slammed a "despicable escalation" by Russia as he accused its military of firing cluster munitions on Ukraine's energy grid in a massive overnight attack.

A Syria war monitor on Thursday said clashes between the army and jihadists killed more than 130 combatants in the worst fighting in the country's northwest in years, as the government also reported fierce battles.

Iran is set to meet with Britain, France and Germany for talks Friday on its nuclear programme after the three governments joined with the United States to have Tehran censured by the UN atomic watchdog.

Lebanon's military deployed troops and tanks across the country's south on Thursday as a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war largely held for a second day.

The OPEC+ alliance of major oil-producing nations has postponed a weekend meeting to December 5 in what analysts said were signs of disagreement among the group over plans to increase output.

European stock markets mostly retreated Wednesday on concerns Europe could be the next tariffs target for US president-elect Donald Trump, who has announced a tough-negotiating hawk as his trade envoy.

World leaders have welcomed a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which came into force on Wednesday morning (0200 GMT).

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned Wednesday that Europe has "no time to waste" to boost its defences and competitiveness, as European lawmakers prepared to approve her new executive team to start work.

Donald Trump on Tuesday named Jamieson Greer his trade representative, a key figure in implementing the president-elect's economic agenda, particularly his plans to use tariffs to raise revenue and help bring more manufacturing to US shores.

India's Adani Group conglomerate said Wednesday it had lost almost $55 billion in a stock market rout since US prosecutors last week accused its founder and other officials of fraud.

The coming year will put incoming US President Donald Trump's geopolitical strategies to the test, as wars rage in the Middle East and Ukraine and tensions rise in Asia.

Washington's decision to give anti-personnel mines to Ukraine is the biggest blow yet to a landmark anti-mine treaty, its signatories said during a meeting.

Namibia's vice president was among the first to vote in elections Wednesday that could see her become the desert nation's first woman leader, even as her ruling SWAPO party faces the strongest challenge yet to its 34-year grip on power.

Spanish traveller Alberto Blasco Ventas looked out at Ukraine's destroyed Irpin brige, blown up to stop Russian troops in 2022 and now a hotspot for thrill-seeking tourists visiting the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Kazakhstan on Wednesday for a two-day trip aimed at shoring up ties with his Central Asian ally as tensions mount over the Ukraine war.

Russia is carrying out "genocidal activities" by laying landmines on Ukraine's territory, an official from Kyiv's defence ministry told a landmine conference in Cambodia on Tuesday.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Monday he was "optimistic" for a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon, as Middle East tensions dominated a G7 meeting near Rome.

Google and the US government faced off in a federal court on Monday, as each side delivered closing arguments in a case revolving around the technology giant's alleged unfair domination of online advertising.

Stock markets retreated and the dollar was mixed Tuesday after Donald Trump warned he would impose huge new tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada immediately on taking over as US president in January.

In the wake of ChatGPT's dramatic arrival two years ago, companies are excited about generative AI's possibilities but heading into 2025 with careful deliberation rather than rushing to transform their operations.