AFP news

Britain's economy unexpectedly shrank in January, official data showed Friday, piling more pressure on the Labour government ahead of its Spring Statement on the economy.

German premium carmaker BMW warned Friday of continued challenges in 2025 from trade tensions and weak demand in China after reporting a plunge in profits last year.

The US government was hours from shutting down Friday as Democrats smarting over President Donald Trump's spending cuts threatened to block his federal funding plans -- although hopes were high for a resolution to the impasse.

Ireland have a glimmer of hope that they can retain their Six Nations crown on Saturday when they take on Italy in Rome, looking to bounce back from a painful defeat to title favourites France.

China urged an end to "illegal" sanctions on Iran as it hosted Iranian and Russian diplomats on Friday for talks Beijing hopes will restart long-stalled negotiations on Tehran's nuclear programme.

More than a century ago, Pablo Picasso smashed the Sacre-Coeur Basilica in Paris into a web of tangled lines on his canvas, deconstructing reality with the brushstrokes of a master cubist.

Taiwan plans to reinstate military judges to hear Chinese espionage cases and other offences involving Taiwanese service members, President Lai Ching-te said Thursday.

China called on Thursday for a "diplomatic" resolution to the Iran nuclear issue as it prepared to host diplomats from Tehran and Moscow for talks.

Pope Francis marks 12 years as head of the Catholic Church on Thursday, seemingly out of danger after a month in hospital but with his health casting a shadow over his future.

Five years on from a first wave of harassment scandals that rocked the world of gaming, multiple women working in the industry tell AFP they have seen or experienced sexism in the workplace, fearing economic hardship in the sector will lead to backsliding.

The directors of Canadian convenience store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) said on Thursday they were seeking a "friendly" buyout of 7-Eleven but lamented a lack of progress towards a deal.

The bodies of at least 25 people, including 21 hostages, killed in a train siege by separatist gunmen in Pakistan were retrieved from the site on Thursday ahead of the first funerals, officials said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet his Canadian counterpart at a G7 gathering Thursday, but discussion of American annexation threats has been ruled off-limits at talks expected to be dominated by efforts to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine.

There are growing doubts about a pledge by rich nations to provide more climate finance to poorer nations, as foreign aid budgets are slashed and the US guts environmental spending.

Intel on Wednesday announced tech industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as its new chief executive, boosting shares of the US computer chipmaker struggling to catch up in the AI race.

China-based DeepSeek shook up the world of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) early this year with a low-cost but high-performance model that challenges the hegemony of OpenAI and other big-spending behemoths.

President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday announced a wave of environmental rollbacks targeting Biden-era green policies, including carbon limits on power plants, tailpipe emissions standards and protections for waterways.

Julian Alvarez had his penalty in the shoot-out controversially disallowed as Real Madrid beat rivals Atletico to reach the Champions League quarter-finals Wednesday while Arsenal, Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund also advanced.

It was perhaps not the welcome Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin had hoped for on an annual US trip to mark Saint Patrick's Day -- a dressing down from Donald Trump on trade and tariffs.

Oil executives said Tuesday they are bullish on US petroleum investments in the emerging Trump era as some giants back away from renewable energy and beef up fossil fuel developments.

Faced by a menacing Russia and unreliable United States, the EU is pushing a mammoth plan to boost its defenses that Brussels says could unlock up to 800 billion euros ($860 billion).

A committee formed by Syria's new authorities to investigate a wave of deadly violence said on Tuesday the country was determined to "prevent unlawful revenge".

A routine crew rotation at the International Space Station has taken on unusual significance: It paves the way for a pair of astronauts stranded for more than nine months to finally come home.

A powerful new AI tool Manus is making waves in China, fuelling hopes that it could replicate the success of DeepSeek, which earlier this year rattled the global tech industry with its state-of-the-art chatbot.

If South Korea formally impeaches its suspended president over his martial law debacle, one firebrand pastor says he is ready for "revolution".

Pakistan security forces launched a "full-scale" operation on Wednesday to rescue train passengers taken hostage by militants in the mountainous southwest.

Asian equities mostly fell Wednesday as investors fret over Donald Trump's ever-changing trade policies amid increasing concern that his tariffs could send the US economy into recession.

Paris Saint-Germain held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs.

Israel said Tuesday it killed a senior Hezbollah militant responsible for drones and missiles, even as it freed Lebanese prisoners as a "goodwill" gesture to the country's new president.