AFP news

Artificial intelligence aficionados are betting that the technology will help solve humanity's biggest problems, from wars to global warming, but in practice, these may be unrealistic ambitions for now.

Meghan Markle, the wife of Britain's Prince Harry, is launching a new lifestyle brand seemingly named after the couple's oceanside California home.

Italy's competition authority on Thursday fined TikTok 10 million euros (nearly $11 million), saying the hugely popular video app had failed to sufficiently protect minors.

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday urged Russians to stay the course in the face of a "difficult period", hours before polls open in a vote set to extend his hardline rule.

Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn on Thursday reported a second straight quarter of profit growth, with the Apple supplier boosted by demand for AI hardware and infrastructure.

At South by Southwest -- the gargantuan Texas festival for cinema, music and tech -- artists this year embraced virtual reality as a way to better connect with humanity, not escape it.

A first boat loaded with 200 tonnes of food aid was making slow progress towards the Gaza Strip on Thursday as efforts grew to bring more humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian territory besieged by Israel.

SpaceX plans on Thursday to attempt another launch of Starship, the world's most powerful rocket that is vital to NASA's plans for landing astronauts on the Moon later this decade -- and Elon Musk's hopes of eventually colonizing Mars.

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un drove a "new-type main battle tank" while overseeing military training exercises, state media said Thursday, as Seoul and Washington wrap joint drills to improve deterrence.

When England head to Lyon on Saturday to face France in a potential Six Nations title decider they will be shorn of four members of the side that took them to a surprise third place in the Rugby World Cup in October.

The US economy is not expected to see stagflation, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview broadcast Wednesday, adding that most forecasters expect inflation to cool as housing costs move lower.

A powerful Haitian gang leader pledged Wednesday to continue the fighting that has plunged the country into chaos, as stakeholders work toward establishing a transitional governing body to replace the outgoing prime minister.

Eight months ahead of the US presidential election, the campaign moves from the parties' nominating contests to the trench warfare of what promises to be one of the longest, most brutal head-to-head showdowns in memory.

Romania's President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday announced his candidacy to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as chief of NATO, vowing -- as a leader of a country bordering the Ukraine war -- to bring "renewal of perspective" at a crucial time for the alliance.

From its birth in a Beijing apartment 12 years ago, ByteDance grew into one of the world's biggest tech firms -- best known in most countries as the creator of TikTok.

A political transition deal in Haiti marks a key step forward for the violence-ravaged country but far more needs to be done, with some experts warning the situation could deteriorate further.

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday lauded Moscow's nuclear arsenal and warned that he was ready to deploy the weapons if Russia's sovereignty was threatened.

Beijing warned on Wednesday that a proposed ban on Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok would "inevitably come back to bite the United States".

A Spanish aid boat was en route to Gaza on Wednesday, opening a new maritime corridor intended to allow deliveries of desperately needed food to the Palestinian territory ravaged by months of war between Israel and Hamas.

For more than 20 years, Norah Jones has been the soundtrack to millions of people's lives, including some of their most intimate moments.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and Italian rival Jannik Sinner remained on course for a semi-final showdown after cruising into the last eight of the ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters on Tuesday.

The US House of Representatives will vote Wednesday on a bill that would force TikTok to cut ties with its Chinese owner or get banned in the United States.

Leonid Volkov, a close ally of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was assaulted outside his home in Vilnius on Tuesday, an incident that sparked an uproar from the Lithuanian government.

Gunmen abducted dozens of people from a northwestern Nigerian village on Tuesday, according to two local representatives and a UN source, just days after the kidnapping of more than 250 pupils from a school in the same region.

US aeronautics giant Boeing, facing increased scrutiny after a series of safety incidents and manufacturing issues, is directing employees to take "immediate actions" to improve operations, according to a message the company sent to its workforce Tuesday.

US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday a $300 million emergency weapons package to prop up Ukraine while Congress blocks further aid, as Poland's leaders visited the White House to warn of the growing threat from Russia.

Elon Musk on Monday said he would make his Grok chatbot, a rival to ChatGPT, open source as his feud with OpenAI deepens.

Wins for "Oppenheimer," live musical performances from "Barbie" and an (almost) naked John Cena helped lift Oscars ratings for a third consecutive year, early viewing figures showed Monday, as 19.5 million tuned in to watch Hollywood's big night.

Four astronauts splashed down off Florida in the Gulf of Mexico on their return to Earth early Tuesday, following a more than six-month mission on the International Space Station.