AFP news

Campaign posters have sprung up across Damascus as Syria prepares to hold a parliamentary election in government-held areas on Monday that is designed to renew the ruling Baath party's grip on power.

About 52,000 years ago, the skinned hide of a Siberian woolly mammoth was exposed to conditions so frigid that it spontaneously freeze-dried, locking its DNA fragments into place.

The amount of dust in the air eased slightly in 2023, the United Nations said Friday, warning that poor environmental management was fuelling sand and dust storms.

US President Joe Biden said Thursday he is "disappointed" with the problem-plagued effort to deliver aid to Gaza via a temporary pier, which American officials say will soon permanently end.

The United States foiled a Russian plot earlier this year to assassinate the chief executive of a major German arms maker supplying weaponry to Ukraine, CNN reported on Thursday.

With Biden struggling to convince many Americans that he remains fit for office, NATO leaders have been offering him votes of confidence, however delicately, at least in part out of fear of another Donald Trump presidency.

The EU on Thursday approved Apple's offer to allow rivals access to the iPhone's ability to tap-to-pay within the bloc, ending a lengthy probe and sparing it a heavy fine.

French left-wingers attacked President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday after he called for a broad coalition government, demanding that their movement alone should propose a prime minister.

As bombs thunder in Gaza, just across the border in southern Israel truck driver Itzik waits in a barbed-wire protected parking lot for his delivery to clear inspection into the hunger-stricken territory.

Villagers in Vaideeni at the foot of Romania's Carpathian mountains are fuming at French luxury brand Louis Vuitton for "stealing" the design of their traditional blouse.

Wales coach Warren Gatland Thursday demanded more discipline in the second Test against Australia with a resurgent Wallabies expected to "go up another level" in Melbourne this weekend.

Ten-man Colombia defeated Uruguay 1-0 to reach the final of the Copa America for the first time in 23 years after an ill-tempered semi-final on Wednesday.

With Russian attacks on energy infrastructure causing power cuts, Ukraine is depending on its central and eastern European neighbours to keep the lights on.

NATO leaders on Thursday will hold talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and turn their attention to the challenge from China at a meeting with Asian partners, as they wrap up a three-day summit in Washington.

Japanese eSports gamer Mashiro is blind and often relies on a companion to get around Tokyo -- but he hopes that artificial intelligence, hailed as a promising tool for people with disabilities, can help him travel alone.

Colombia's Constitutional Court on Wednesday annulled a controversial carbon credit deal in the Amazon rainforest, which six local tribes said had been signed without their consent.

NATO countries at their summit in Washington on Wednesday came up with what alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg called a "substantial package" of support for Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden will Thursday give his first press conference since his debate disaster against Donald Trump, in a pressure-cooker moment that could seal the fate of his reelection bid.

Elon Musk on Wednesday said his Neuralink startup is "moving on" to a second test patient as its tech for linking brains and computers improves.

CNN, which has struggled amid the decline of the US cable broadcasting industry, plans to launch a new paid streaming service and to cut about 100 jobs, the company's CEO said Wednesday.

New Prime Minister Keir Starmer met President Joe Biden at the White House for the first time Wednesday with the US leader hailing Britain as a key ally on global issues including the war in Ukraine.

A pair of US astronauts stuck waiting to leave the International Space Station said Wednesday they were confident that the problem-plagued Boeing Starliner they rode up on would soon bring them home, even as significant uncertainties remain.

A Democratic senator on Wednesday called on US President Joe Biden to ditch his reelection bid, capping a brutal day that saw mounting pressure from high-profile actor and donor George Clooney and party heavyweight Nancy Pelosi.

Alec Baldwin was accused of violating basic gun safety rules and playing "make-believe" with a deadly weapon, as the Hollywood star's trial for involuntary manslaughter over a fatal shooting on the set of Western movie "Rust" began Wednesday.

The United States unveiled stricter rules Wednesday on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico, moving to prevent China-origin goods from avoiding tariffs.

NATO leaders meet Wednesday for their 75th anniversary, seeking ways to ramp up support for Ukraine as deadly Russian strikes and political uncertainties in the West stir new concerns.

Anyone expecting Joe Biden to step aside from the US presidential race without a fight had not fully considered the life story of a proud but often stubborn man.

Taiwan's defence ministry said 37 Chinese aircraft were detected around the self-ruled island Wednesday as they headed to exercises with an aircraft carrier in the western Pacific.

Hungary is raising the hackles of its EU partners with a go-it-alone diplomatic initiative on Ukraine by its prime minister, Viktor Orban, slammed by Brussels as rogue troublemaking.