AFP news

Vast pharmaceutical factories pepper the green landscape in southern Ireland, but the wind turbines next to the plants outside Cork are in the eye of Donald Trump's global trade storm.

Smartphone buyers were cheered by shopkeepers in Jakarta on Friday after Apple's latest smartphone went on sale following a monthslong ban in Indonesia.

Britain's economy grew far more than expected in February, official data showed Friday, in a rare piece of good news for the Labour government as it grapples with unpredictable US tariffs.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), whose future is in doubt since Donald Trump returned to the White House, provides duty-free access to the United States for certain African products.

US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russia's top economic negotiator Kirill Dmitriev on Friday, state media reported, the US official's third visit to the country as Washington pushes for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

An Australian IVF clinic has admitted a mix-up led to a mother giving birth to someone else's baby.

Gaza rescuers said a pre-dawn Israeli air strike Friday killed 10 members of the same family, while the UN stated that dozens of recent Israeli attacks on the Palestinian territory had left only women and children dead.

China said Friday it would raise tariffs on US goods to 125 percent but would ignore further levies by President Donald Trump because it no longer makes economic sense for importers to buy from America.

Iran is seeking a "real and fair" agreement with the United States on its nuclear programme, a senior aide to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday, setting the stage for a diplomatic showdown this weekend in Oman.

Young Bangladeshi men desperate for work allege they have been tricked into fighting for Russia against Ukraine, with the reported death of a 22-year-old sparking a surge of worried calls.

In most places, a night at the opera conjures up images of polite audiences in eveningwear sitting upright to enjoy a bit of Bel Canto.

Fighter jets from the United States, France, Finland and Germany roar into the skies from a Dutch base as part of NATO's biggest air exercise this year.

Fans waved glow sticks at an animated character on stage, having packed a sold-out Hollywood concert hall to see their virtual idol perform -- showcasing the global ambitions of Japan's "VTuber" subculture.

Stocks and the dollar tumbled while gold hit a fresh record high as panic gripped markets again Friday after Donald Trump admitted that his global tariff blitz could see "a transition cost".

They whimper, drink from baby bottles and crawl oh so tentatively -- they look like cute white puppies, not the fruit of a daring project to resuscitate an extinct species.

Grief-stricken Dominicans on Thursday began holding funerals for loved ones who were among at least 220 people killed in a nightclub rooftop collapse, even as dozens remained unaccounted for.

Justin Rose fired a scorching seven-under-par 65 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Masters, three strokes clear of a trio led by defending champion Scottie Scheffler.

Near front lines where they once battled each other, former fighters in Lebanon's civil war now gather to bear the same message, half a century after the devastating conflict erupted: never again.

Scarlett Johansson is set to star on-screen and behind the camera at this year's Cannes Film Festival, organisers said Thursday as they unveiled the line-up of films that will compete for honours on the French Riviera.

Electricity consumption by data centres will more than double by 2030, driven by artificial intelligence applications that will create new challenges for energy security and CO2 emission goals, the IEA said Thursday.

Vietnam and the United States agreed to start negotiations on a reciprocal trade agreement, Hanoi said on Thursday, hours after Washington delayed imposing an enormous tariff on the Southeast Asian manufacturing powerhouse.

Russia and the United States exchanged prisoners on Thursday, the second such swap since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House as the two superpowers push for closer ties.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will be in Oman for breakthrough talks on Tehran's nuclear programme this weekend.

World Expo opens on Sunday with host Japan aiming to bring humanity together, despite global turmoil and tepid public enthusiasm for the six-month event showcasing innovation as well as Hello Kitty in algae form.

Sipping tea on her break outside a Samsung Electronics factory in northern Vietnam, worker Nguyen Thi Mai said she had heard about US President Donald Trump's tariffs, but hoped it would not affect business.

Asian stocks rocketed Thursday as investors breathed a huge sigh of relief after Donald Trump announced a pause on crippling tariffs on US partners, with Chinese markets even brushing off his decision to ramp up duties on Beijing to 125 percent.

Assisi has long been a place of pilgrimage, but these days the faithful come not for Saint Francis but for a tech-savvy teen soon to become the first millennial saint.

After Israel killed a string of its leaders, Hamas anointed new commanders to top ranks, this time shrouding their identities in secrecy to protect them from assassination.

US President Donald Trump abruptly paused tariffs on most countries, sparking euphoria on global markets Thursday, but upped the ante on a brutal trade war with superpower rival China.