AFP news

French singer Francoise Hardy, whose crystalline voice and melancholy lyrics shot her to international stardom in the 1960s, has died at the age of 80, according to her son.

Naran Unurtsetseg became one of Mongolia's most well-known journalists by exposing sexual abuse in a Buddhist boarding school, violence in the military and by taking on some of the country's most powerful people.

Japanese 89-year-old Tomiji Suzuki started coding in retirement and is now making apps for the fast-growing elderly demographic, using ChatGPT to fine-tune his skills.

Norway's Karsten Warholm fired out a broadside at Olympic contenders in the run-in to the Paris Games by winning a third successive European title in Rome on Tuesday as a galaxy of global stars showcased some scintillating form.

Electric automaker Tesla has launched a charm offensive to try to coax shareholders to vote Thursday for billionaire CEO Elon Musk's giant pay package, after the windfall was nixed in court.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said Tuesday it had offered $10,000 in compensation to passengers who suffered minor injuries on a flight hit by extreme turbulence last month and will discuss higher payouts with those more badly hurt.

Down a Tokyo street lined with bright signs, up narrow stairs and behind a windowless door is a "snack bar" long cherished by regulars but hidden from tourists -- until now.

European equities and the euro extended a sell-off Tuesday, fuelled by EU political uncertainty, while Asian markets also took a hit as investors looked ahead to inflation data and an interest rate decision in the United States.

South Korean troops fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the border this week, Seoul's military said Tuesday, with tensions high over Pyongyang's barrage of trash-carrying balloons and the South's retaliatory loudspeaker campaign.

Malawi's Vice President Saulos Chilima was killed in a plane crash, the nation's president said on Tuesday, after searchers located the wreckage of the aircraft in a foggy forest.

The World Bank raised its global growth outlook on Tuesday on the back of resilient consumer spending in the United States, but warned that growth remains weak by historical standards.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday faced opposition alliances crystallising on left and right, after the centrist called a snap parliamentary election in the wake of a European poll defeat at the hands of the far right.

French business leaders have been pitched into fresh uncertainty by snap elections called by President Emmanuel Macron that risk strengthening the far right.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday pleaded for more air defence help to stop Russian attacks as he began an intense week of diplomatic meetings with Western partners.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have to moderate his Hindu-nationalist agenda to assuage his coalition partners, but they will likely let him press on with his foreign and economic policies, analysts say.

When Hong Kong author Kay So left her home city in 2020, she had in her luggage two short stories she had written about the huge, at times violent democracy protests that upended the city in 2019.

Behind metal fences topped with barbed wire, men play volleyball and basketball at a detention center in Texas, passing time as they wait to hear if they will be allowed to stay in the United States.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold talks with key Israeli opposition figures on Tuesday, a day after he arrived in the country to push a ceasefire plan for the war in Gaza.

When Sri Lanka's economy crashed in 2022, people sought work abroad wherever they could find it -- including ex-soldiers who joined forces fighting in Ukraine after Russia's invasion.

Israel's collective euphoria following the rescue of four hostages on Saturday stands in stark contrast with the anger of Tami Metzger, whose captive husband in Gaza was announced dead days ago.

President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that he was confident French voters would make the "right choice" in snap elections he called after the far right crushed his centrist alliance in Sunday's EU ballot.

Russia on Monday claimed the capture of another village in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, the latest in a string of gains ahead of a major Ukraine summit in Switzerland.

Microsoft's Xbox team on Sunday showcased action-packed coming video games and a new digital-only version of its console to launch by the end of this year.

Apple on Monday will attempt to persuade doubters on its AI strategy after rivals raced ahead in adopting artificial intelligence.

Europe's stock markets and the euro slid Monday after far-right parties performed well in EU elections, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to call a snap parliamentary poll and plunging the bloc into political turmoil.

North Korea has sent hundreds more trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea, Seoul's military said Monday, after Kim Jong Un's powerful sister warned of further responses if the South keeps up its "psychological warfare".

India's heatwave is the longest ever to hit the country, the government's top weather expert said Monday as he warned people will face increasingly oppressive temperatures.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Monday described the prospect of French parliamentary elections just weeks before the start of the Paris Olympics as "extremely unsettling", while the International Olympic Committee played down any direct impact on the event.

World leaders from countries around the world will gather in Switzerland this weekend to try to work out a way towards a peace process for Ukraine -- albeit without Russia.