AFP news

The United States wants to secure its supply of strategic minerals in conflict-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, hoping to challenge China's near-monopoly on the lucrative sector.

Like his father, Iraqi buffalo herder Watheq Abbas grazes his animals in Iraq's southern wetlands, but with persistent drought shrinking marshland where they feed and decimating the herd, his millennia-old way of life is threatened.

Neighbors, volunteers and parents escorted children to the first day of the new school year across Washington on Monday, vowing to protect students from Donald Trump's deportation drive.

The US government could take stakes in other companies after doing so with chipmaker Intel, President Donald Trump's top economic advisor Kevin Hassett said Monday.

Gaza's civil defence agency said five journalists were among at least 20 people killed Monday when Israeli strikes hit a hospital in the south, with Reuters, the Associated Press and Al Jazeera mourning their slain contributors.

The Venice Film Festival kicks off Wednesday, rolling out the red carpet for Julia Roberts and George Clooney in a flurry of worldwide premieres at the glitzy celebration on the sandy Lido.

The rain was relentless the night Mohammad Kaisar fled for his life from his home in Myanmar's Maungdaw township.

Aryna Sabalenka launched the defence of her US Open crown with a victory on Sunday while Novak Djokovic made a successful start to his latest bid for a record 25th Grand Slam singles title.

SpaceX canceled a planned test flight for its Starship megarocket on Sunday, saying it needed time to troubleshoot problems, in the latest setback for Elon Musk's behemoth after a series of explosive failures.

US President Donald Trump's envoy Keith Kellogg attended Ukraine's independence celebrations Sunday in Kyiv, as the push to end the war appeared to have stalled, with Ukraine and Russia trading accusations of hampering the peace efforts.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to slash consumption taxes on everyday goods could deliver billions of dollars in annual relief and boost demand in an economy bracing for painful US tariffs, experts say.

People in an Indonesian village watched as a tower of loudspeakers mounted on a truck rumbled through their usually serene home, blasting a thumping bass loud enough to crack windows.

Outside supermarkets or in festival crowds, millions are now having their features scanned by real-time facial-recognition systems in the UK -- the only European country to deploy the technology on a large scale.

Desperate Palestinians clutching pots and plastic buckets scrambled for rice at a charity kitchen in Gaza City on Saturday, a day after the United Nations declared a famine in the war-battered territory.

A wrongly deported Salvadoran man sent back to the United States during a fierce row over President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies was released Friday from prison, where he had been detained on human smuggling charges.

As helicopters dump water over burning ridges and smoke billows across the mountains of northern Spain, residents from wildfire-stricken areas say they feel abandoned by the politicians meant to protect them.

The United Nations on Friday officially declared a famine in Gaza, the first time it has done so in the Middle East, with experts warning 500,000 people face "catastrophic" hunger.

At a wine shop in Washington's Capitol Hill neighborhood, bottles sourced from Europe are becoming costlier to import -- and soon, pricier for customers to buy, the owner says -- thanks to a resident just down the road in the White House.

The United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza on Friday, blaming "systematic obstruction of aid" by Israel, hours after Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to destroy the territory's largest city.

Decades after Pakistani troops killed his friends in Bangladesh's independence war, veteran freedom fighter Syed Abu Naser Bukhtear Ahmed eyes warming ties between Dhaka and Islamabad with cautious pragmatism.

China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, according to military documents obtained by AFP. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid.

Rich people are flocking to Dubai in record numbers, drawn to the desert city by its zero income tax policy and easy luxury lifestyle that has become harder to maintain elsewhere.

The US and EU released details of a trade deal Thursday that foresees lower car tariffs but no relief for Europe's wine sector, but Brussels said it would push for further concessions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he could meet with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, but only after his allies agree security guarantees for Ukraine to deter future Russian attacks once the fighting stops.

Israel hammered Gaza City and its outskirts overnight, residents said Thursday, as the military announced it had taken initial steps in its push to capture Hamas's last major stronghold.

When software developer Rose Njeri created a pro-democracy tool to help Kenyans object to a contested finance bill, she was thrown in jail and targeted by an online smear campaign.

It has become a tradition Argentina's capital Buenos Aires: each Wednesday, baton-wielding riot police corral or confront a band of protesters brandishing signs, shopping bags and walking frames.

On the streets of Sudan's capital Khartoum, builders clear rubble from houses pockmarked with bullet holes, haul away fallen trees and repair broken power lines, in the city's first reconstruction effort since war began over two years ago.

Liverpool can expect a hostile reception when they travel to Newcastle on Monday amid their pursuit of wantaway Magpies striker Alexander Isak, while Manchester City and Tottenham face off in an early examination of their ambitions for the season.