AFP news

Pacific Island leaders endorsed a landmark regional policing plan Wednesday at a summit in Tonga, a contentious move seen as trying to limit China's security role in the region.

Hundreds of rows of gleaming panels blanket swathes of scrubby sand at sunset in a remote northern Chinese desert -- once the biggest solar farm in the world.

Children returning to school in Poland next week will find a new group of classmates -- Ukrainian children now living in the country who were not previously enrolled in the Polish education system.

In the relatively well-off city of Zwickau, in Germany's former communist east, economic uncertainty and a turbulent history have combined to drive support for the far right ahead of a key regional election.

Voters in two former East German states will go to the polls Sunday in what could be a bad night for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government, with the far-right AfD expected to make big gains.

One year after a bloodless military coup that overthrew Gabon's president Ali Bongo Ondimba ending 55 years of family rule, the fate of the former dynasty remains in limbo.

A showdown is brewing over the gender makeup of the next European Commission after member states put forward an overwhelmingly male candidate lineup -- in open defiance of EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

Among the swanky skyscrapers of India's financial capital Mumbai, hundreds of dangerously dilapidated buildings facing demolition are crowded with families risking their lives rather than braving impossibly high rents.

When the wife of Indonesian snack seller Surya asked why he stopped sending money home to his West Java village, he broke down, confessing to a gambling addiction that had cost him more than $12,000.

Prosecutors on Tuesday filed a revised indictment of Donald Trump, pressing ahead with bombshell charges that he tried to overturn the 2020 US election after losing to Joe Biden.

Iga Swiatek began her bid to capture a second US Open title with an uneven straight-sets win over lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova on Tuesday as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz take their first steps towards a potential semi-final blockbuster.

In Manchester, the northwest English hometown of legendary rockers Oasis, fans on Tuesday were gushing about the seemingly impossible -- the band was getting back together for a worldwide tour next year.

The Israeli military said it rescued an Israeli hostage in Gaza on Tuesday, more than 10 months after he was seized during the Hamas attacks that sparked a devastating war.

Fosir Mia moved to Saudi Arabia thinking he would earn a handsome salary as an electrician, only to find himself hauling steel rods in harsh desert heat for paltry pay.

President Emmanuel Macron faced an uphill battle Tuesday to launch fresh talks over a new government in France, with the political left refusing to take part after he rejected their candidate for prime minister.

UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Grossi on Tuesday warned during a visit to Russia's Kursk nuclear plant that its proximity to ongoing fighting was "extremely serious" following Ukraine's unprecedented cross-border offensive.

British rock legends Oasis announced Tuesday they will reunite for a worldwide tour, as brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher ended an infamous 15-year feud.

The arrest of maverick entrepreneur Pavel Durov has drawn global attention to the importance of his messaging app Telegram for Russian troops and propagandists as Moscow's war against Ukraine grinds into its third year.

Asian markets were mixed Tuesday following a tepid day on Wall Street as traders took a breather from a recent rally fuelled by bets on a US interest rate cut, while oil held gains from a surge caused by Middle East tensions.

US tourist David Madrigal is over the moon after paying $200 for a "vintage" console at a busy Tokyo store that is tapping into booming global demand for retro gaming kit.

Near the heavily fortified border that divides North and South Korea, a monitoring device is working 24-7 -- not tracking missiles or troop movements, but catching malaria-carrying mosquitoes that may cross the border.

Swedish football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who coached England from 2001 to 2006, died Monday at the age of 76 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, his agent said.

The boss of social media platform Telegram has been arrested in France, accused of allowing the sharing of illegal content.

North Korea has unveiled a new "suicide drone", state media said Monday, with leader Kim Jong Un overseeing a performance test of the weapons, which experts said could have come from Russia.

The Dutch data protection watchdog said Monday it hit ride-hailing app Uber with a 290-million-euro ($324 million) fine over the transfer of personal data of European drivers to US servers.

Israel's military struck the Gaza Strip on Monday a day after truce talks in Cairo coincided with a major but brief cross-border escalation involving Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

France held the Russian-born founder of Telegram Pavel Durov in custody for a second day of questioning on Monday over alleged offences related to the popular but controversial messaging app, which insisted he had "nothing to hide".

Russian missile and drone strikes battered Ukraine's power grid on Monday, killing at least four people and forcing authorities to introduce emergency blackouts.

Most Asian equity markets rose with the yen on Monday after US Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell said "the time has come" to start cutting interest rates, lining up the central bank for a move as soon as next month.