AFP news

Ethiopia said Monday it is easing foreign exchange curbs as part of a broader economic reform package, as the deeply-indebted nation awaits a multi-billion dollar bailout from international lenders.

An Indian soldier died fighting with Russian forces in Ukraine, one of his relatives said Monday, the fifth confirmed death so far of an Indian citizen in the conflict.

The foreign ministers of the United States, Japan, Australia and India on Monday expressed "serious concern" over the situation in the South China Sea in a veiled rebuke to Beijing.

Leon Marchand said he had goosebumps after romping to France's first Olympic swimming gold since 2012 in front of a packed and raucous Paris crowd on Sunday.

Finance minister Rachel Reeves will on Monday claim Britain is "broke and broken" when she reveals the findings of an assessment into the country's public finances ahead of a forthcoming budget.

A naturalized US citizen, Nicaraguan-born Linda Fornos believes uncontrolled immigration is harming her family's ability to care for itself, and says she will be casting her ballot for Donald Trump in November -- having voted Democrat in 2020.

Bangladeshi students called new street protests for Monday after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government ignored an ultimatum to release their leaders and apologise for those killed in deadly unrest.

UN member states meet Monday seeking to finalize an international treaty on the fight against cybercrime, a text strongly opposed by an unlikely alliance of human rights groups and big technology companies.

Crews continued to fight a massive fire in northern California on Sunday, as authorities in the western US state warned of increasing winds and rising daytime temperatures.

Tributes poured in on Sunday for Edna O'Brien, the radical Irish writer whose groundbreaking first novel "The Country Girls" was burned and banned in her native country, after her death at 93.

The disciplinary committee of South Africa's ruling ANC has decided to expel former president Jacob Zuma for leading a rival group into elections in May, several media reported Sunday, citing a leaked document.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday threatened to relaunch production of intermediate-range nuclear weapons if the United States confirmed its intention to deploy missiles to Germany or elsewhere in Europe.

A migrant on an overcrowded boat died on Sunday trying to cross the Channel from France to Britain but authorities said dozens on the crammed vessel refused to be rescued and carried on with the hazardous journey.

Israel vowed on Sunday to "hit the enemy hard" after rocket fire from Lebanon killed 12 young people in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and fanned fears that the war in Gaza will spread.

The 100-day sprint to the US election began Sunday, the final act of a campaign transformed by an assassination attempt and the stunning exit of President Joe Biden.

Oscar-winner Robert Downey Jr. announced his return to the Marvel superhero films during a blockbuster Disney presentation at Comic-Con Saturday, as the company attempts to reinvigorate its all-time record-grossing movie franchise.

Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of Venezuela's presidential election Sunday but the opposition and key regional neighbours immediately rejected the official results.

Reigning Ballon d'Or Aitana Bonmati scored one goal and helped create another as World Cup holders Spain beat Japan 2-1 in their first game of the women's Olympic football tournament on Thursday, while record four-time gold medallists the United States beat Zambia 3-0.

Former US president Barack Obama endorsed his fellow Democrat Kamala Harris' bid for the White House on Friday, delivering a major boost to her campaign to defeat Donald Trump in November's presidential election.

Arson attacks scrambled France's high-speed rail network for tens of thousands of passengers on Friday, after what officials called premeditated acts of "sabotage" just hours before the Paris Olympics opened.

China and Russia's foreign ministers met their Southeast Asian counterparts Friday after vowing to counter "extra-regional forces", a day before Washington's top diplomat was due to arrive.

Santorini is a key stopover of the Greek cruise experience. But with parts of the island nearing saturation, officials are considering restrictions.

Authorities evacuated nearly 300,000 people and suspended public transport across eastern China on Friday, as Typhoon Gaemi brought torrential rains already responsible for five deaths in nearby Taiwan.

Taiwanese giant TSMC tumbled with several other leading chip makers Friday as traders returned from a typhoon-imposed two-day break to play catch-up with a global tech rout.

Sri Lanka's first presidential elections since an unprecedented economic crisis spurred widespread unrest will be held in September, the election commission said Friday.

The Philippine Coast Guard on Friday raced to offload 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil from a sunken tanker and prevent an "environmental catastrophe" in Manila Bay.

World-famous stars are in line to perform at Friday's opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, which will take place along the Seine river.

US agents arrested two top leaders of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel in Texas on Thursday, the justice department said, striking a major blow to one of the most powerful and violent criminal organizations in the world.

An "out of control" wildfire has devoured up to half of the main town in western Canada's popular Jasper National Park, authorities said Thursday, with 400 foreign firefighters called in to help battle the blaze.