AFP news

Adidas said Wednesday two employees had left the company as the German sportswear giant investigates bribery allegations in China.

Fighting raged Wednesday between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, witnesses said, as fears grow of a wider regional war drawing in Lebanese Hamas ally Hezbollah.

NATO's 32 nations on Wednesday appointed outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the alliance's next head, handing him the job at a crucial moment with Russia on the march in Ukraine and US elections looming.

South African scientists on Tuesday injected radioactive material into live rhino horns to make them easier to detect at border posts in a pioneering project aimed at curbing poaching.

Tom Maiani was behind the wheel of his car every night, all night, for two weeks in July 2023, as youths in French housing estates rioted over the police killing of an unarmed teenager of North African descent near Paris.

Iranians vote on Friday to elect a new president from six candidates, including a lone reformist who hopes he can challenge the dominance of conservatives in the Islamic republic.

Kenyan protest organisers called Wednesday for fresh peaceful marches against controversial tax hikes, as the death toll from nationwide demonstrations climbed to 13, an official from the leading doctors' association told AFP. The mainly youth-led rallies began mostly peacefully last week, with thousands of people marching across the country against the tax increases, but tensions sharply escalated Tuesday, as police opened fire on demonstrators who stormed parliament.

North Korea test-fired what appeared to be a hypersonic missile on Wednesday, but the launch ended in a mid-air explosion, an official from Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Britain will see little difference on public spending whichever of the country's main parties wins next month's general election, with state coffers strained largely by huge Covid expenditure.

Austria's highly controversial former foreign minister Karin Kneissl -- who now lives in Russia -- told AFP she feels slandered as Vienna reels from an unfolding Russian spying scandal.

Germany's Euro 2024 base camp, located in the Bavarian village headquarters of kit manufacturer Adidas, was designed to 'awaken the spirit' of their last great triumph -- the 2014 World Cup.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange returned home to Australia to start life as a free man Wednesday after admitting he revealed US defense secrets in a deal that unlocked the door to his London prison cell.

After more than thirteen years in England, including five years spent in prison, Julian Assange pleaded guilty in the Northern Mariana Islands, a far-flung US territory in the Pacific, and walked out of court a free man.

US journalist Evan Gershkovich's closed-door trial for espionage began in Russia on Wednesday, 15 months after his shock arrest on charges he, his employer and the White House reject as false.

Mass expulsions? The 78-year-old, known for his unfinished border wall project, has said he would be happy to "use the military" as part of the effort and would open detention camps to process targets for expulsion.

Ahead of their first presidential debate, Joe Biden and Donald Trump are offering sharply different visions of the US role in the world, both in style and substance.

The welcome sight of the masked Kylian Mbappe back on the pitch could not disguise another under-par performance from France at Euro 2024 which raises questions about their chances of winning the competition.

Nearly a third of all adults are not doing enough physical activity, posing a growing threat to health across the world, a major study said on Wednesday.

German auto giant Volkswagen will invest $5 billion in US electric vehicle maker Rivian and create a joint venture expected to produce technology used by both automakers, the companies announced Tuesday.

Some of the world's major music labels are suing music generation services Suno and Udio, accusing the startups of violating the copyrights of top artists to train their generative AI engines without permission.

Microsoft violated EU antitrust rules by bundling its Teams communications app with its popular Office suite, Brussels said on Tuesday, as the US tech giant vowed to do what it takes to address competition concerns.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is to be a "free man", his wife said Tuesday, once a judge signs off on a plea deal with US authorities to bring to a close his years-long legal drama.

Israeli forces on Tuesday bombarded besieged Gaza where Palestinian officials said one strike killed 10 family members of Hamas' Qatar-based political chief Ismail Haniyeh, including his sister.

When three Indonesian teen girls formed a metal band 10 years ago to sing about gender equality and peace over bone-crunching guitars and drums, they could scarcely have dreamed of one day playing at Glastonbury.

A Chinese probe carrying samples from the far side of the Moon returned to Earth on Tuesday, capping a technically complex 53-day mission heralded as a world first.

China's premier called Tuesday for countries to "oppose decoupling", as economic tensions simmer between Beijing and the West, and the European Union prepares to impose new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

Asian equities edged higher Tuesday after recent losses as investors ignored another tough day for tech titans on Wall Street that has raised concerns about a correction in markets following a string of record highs.

There will be no studio audience, depriving candidates of the momentum that comes from ginning up supporters.

Sri Lanka has finalised long-delayed debt deals with its bilateral lenders including China to meet a key condition of an IMF bailout, the government said Tuesday.