AFP news

US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping arrive Thursday in Lima for an Asia-Pacific summit overshadowed by the prospect of a world embroiled in trade wars under Donald Trump.

The percentage of adults suffering from diabetes across the world has doubled over the past three decades, the biggest rises coming in developing countries, a study said Wednesday.

Marco Rubio's first experiences with Donald Trump involved trading schoolyard insults, but he will now become the president-elect's face to the world -- potentially showing a more traditional, hawkish US foreign policy, especially on China.

Sri Lankans were voting in snap parliamentary elections Thursday, with new leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's party expected to secure a mandate to drive through economic reforms.

The small furry objects that are the focus of every tennis player's energy are spinning the stars at the ATP finals into a fury and leaving them deflated.

France, Italy and Portugal lead the teams attempting to secure a place in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals, while England's promotion hopes have been hit by a series of withdrawals.

US top diplomat Antony Blinken warned Wednesday that the deployment of North Korean troops alongside Russian forces fighting on the Ukrainian border demanded a "firm response".

Russia escalated its attacks on Kyiv early Wednesday, launching waves of drones and missiles in its first combined aerial assault on the capital in more than 70 days, authorities said.

Hundreds of Indonesians fled for higher ground Wednesday as they ran through disaster drills in the region worst hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami ahead of its 20th anniversary next month.

Donald Trump will make a triumphant return to the White House to meet President Joe Biden Wednesday, in the Republican's first visit since departing amid a cloud of scandal nearly four years ago.

Almost half of all warm-water species of coral are threatened with extinction -- and climate change is the chief culprit, a new report said on Wednesday.

Global leaders offered competing views on how to tackle climate change at UN-led talks Wednesday as a new report warned the world must reach carbon neutrality much sooner than planned.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is taking up golf after years away from the game to prepare for future encounters with US President-elect Donald Trump, his office said Wednesday.

France's upper house of parliament will this week debate a bill to ban children under 16 from attending bullfights, inflaming tensions and enraging aficionados of the centuries-old tradition.

When Armand Diangienda founded the Kimbanguist Symphony Orchestra -- one of the most famous in Africa -- in 1994, they had so few instruments that musicians had to share.

Airlines cancelled flights to and from the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Wednesday, leaving travellers stranded after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower miles into the sky.

Billionaire Elon Musk took a wild gamble backing Donald Trump's White House candidacy, but the bet has paid off -- at least for now -- with the US president-elect handing him an outsized role to overhaul the government.

Residents of India's capital New Delhi choked in a blanketing toxic smog Wednesday as worsening air pollution surged past 50 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily maximum.

US top diplomat Antony Blinken will meet with NATO and EU officials Wednesday to urgently discuss ramping up support for Ukraine before Donald Trump reclaims the White House -- potentially jeopardising future aid.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping headed to Peru on Wednesday, bound for a meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organisation leaders overshadowed by fears of renewed global trade tensions under Donald Trump.

The Japanese owner of 7-Eleven said Wednesday its founding family had offered a counter-bid to a takeover attempt by Canadian convenience store rival Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT).

Spain's minority left-wing government wants to galvanise its deadlocked 2025 draft budget by linking it to urgent reconstruction funds following devastating floods, sparking "blackmail" accusations from the conservative opposition.

The Philippines prepared Tuesday to evacuate potentially tens of thousands of people as the fifth major storm in three weeks bore down on the archipelago shortly after the onslaught of Typhoon Toraji.

Leading lights of the tech industry are meeting in Lisbon on Tuesday for the Web Summit, the sector's first big event since the US election, with Donald Trump's victory expected to be a key theme of their discussions.

Senior Russian official Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday told China's foreign minister Wang Yi their two countries' most urgent task should be countering "containment" by the United States, as they met for security talks in Beijing.

Once confined to rectangular screens, chirpy plumber Mario and pointy-eared Princess Zelda are popping up in theme parks and toy stores as Nintendo goes all out to win non-gamer fans.

North Korea has ratified a landmark defense pact with Russia, state media reported Tuesday, deepening security cooperation that has seen Pyongyang send thousands of troops to help Moscow fight Ukraine.

The European Union's designated foreign policy chief said Tuesday that the bloc must back Ukraine "for as long as it takes", as she and other EU heavyweights faced scrutiny by parliament.

Fighter jets and attack drones took centre stage as China's largest air show officially opened on Tuesday, an opportunity for Beijing to showcase its growing military might to potential customers and rivals alike.