AFP news

A US official on Wednesday told the International Court of Justice there were "serious concerns" about the impartiality of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. ICJ judges are holding a week of hearings to help them formulate an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations towards UN agencies delivering aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

The eurozone economy expanded more than expected at the start of the year, official data showed on Wednesday, despite US President Donald Trump's tariffs but global trade tensions threaten more pain and near stagnation in 2025.

Germany's Mercedes-Benz and US-European group Stellantis, whose brands include Jeep, Peugeot and Fiat, joined other automakers Wednesday in suspending their annual financial guidance because of uncertainty over US tariffs.

Social media behemoth Meta unveiled its first standalone AI assistant app on Tuesday, challenging ChatGPT by giving users a direct path to its generative artificial intelligence models.

Asia's front-runner for the papacy, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines is a charismatic moderate often dubbed the "Asian Francis".

Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Wednesday after six months on the country's space station, state media footage showed, as Beijing advances towards its aim to become a major celestial power.

Israel struck Syria on Wednesday in what it called a "warning" against attacks on the Druze minority, in a military intervention that came as sectarian clashes spread near Damascus, killing 13 people.

Pakistan said on Wednesday it had "credible intelligence" that India was planning an imminent military strike and vowed to retaliate, as worries of spiralling conflict grew over a deadly attack in Kashmir.

Stocks mostly rose Wednesday ahead of key US economic and earnings reports, while traders took in their stride data showing Chinese factory activity contracted at its fastest pace for nearly two years as Donald Trump's trade war kicked in.

A police station in the historic sailors' quarter of the Belgian port of Antwerp is surrounded by sex workers' neon-lit red-light windows.

Since the start of the school year in March, Afghan boys have been required to wear new uniforms of turbans and long tunics, following an order to adopt outfits reflecting Taliban rule.

Paris Saint-Germain seized the advantage in their Champions League semi-final against Arsenal as Ousmane Dembele sealed a 1-0 win in the first leg on Tuesday.

Vietnam is set to hold its biggest celebration of the fall of Saigon on its 50th anniversary Wednesday, including Chinese troops for the first time after Xi Jinping visited to portray Beijing as a more reliable partner than Washington.

Still in pain from giving birth, a Haitian mother carrying her newborn was helped onto a migration services bus in the Dominican Republic, joining a family member who was arrested when he visited her in hospital.

Amazon on Monday launched its first batch of Project Kuiper internet satellites, marking the start of its push to rival Elon Musk's Starlink.

OpenAI announced Monday that ChatGPT is now helping users find products online, enhancing its challenge to Google amid regulatory pressure on the search giant's market dominance.

German sportswear giant Adidas on Tuesday warned that US President Donald Trump's tariffs will increase prices for its products in the United States, and the hardline trade policies could dent its ongoing recovery.

Music streaming giant Spotify on Tuesday reported a 12-percent rise in paying subscribers in the first quarter to 268 million, along with a record operating profit.

Rights group Amnesty International Tuesday accused Israel of committing a "live-streamed genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza by forcibly displacing most of the population and deliberately creating a humanitarian catastrophe.

Markets rose Tuesday following news that Donald Trump is set to let auto makers off some of his wide-ranging tariffs, boosting hopes of a less combative approach to his trade war.

India and Pakistan are exchanging fire over their de-facto border since the Kashmir attack, but in New Delhi and Islamabad political foes are coming together and looking to score points.

After 100 days of political chaos and economic shock that have sent his approval ratings tumbling, Donald Trump hopes to regain the unqualified adulation of his supporters Tuesday at one of his bread-and-butter events: a public rally.

When Burger King announced it was selling caviar with nuggets at its French restaurants on April 1, many people assumed it was an April Fool's joke.

Airlifted from Saigon as an 11-month-old baby, Odile Dussart is now back to living in the land of her birth hoping to find her biological mother.

Britain's anti-immigrant Reform UK party is seeking to prove its credentials as a credible political force at local elections this week that will test the popularity of Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Flames crackle through piles of hundreds of human skulls and thick grey smoke pours into the Thai sky in a moment as spiritually significant as it is gruesome.

On a tree-lined beach in Australia's rugged island state of Tasmania, locals discovered popcorn-sized bits of dead salmon washed up along the sand.

In a tiny studio, a former Wall Street banker and an ex-aviation executive are doing what critics say is lacking in Singapore's tightly managed media landscape -- giving opposition politicians unfiltered airtime ahead of an upcoming election.

A cold, dry part of Chile might not sound like the best place to grow rice, a famously thirsty grain that thrives in tropical conditions.