AFP news

Japan's capital will launch its own dating app as early as this summer as part of government efforts to boost the plunging national birth rate, a Tokyo official said Tuesday.

Russia is waging an intense disinformation campaign aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the International Olympic Committee and stoking fears of violence at this summer's Paris Games, according to a new report from Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center.

Five years ago Green parties swept to their best results ever at elections for the European Union's parliament, before helping to push through a sweeping raft of landmark legislation.

A fresh offering of shares in Saudi Aramco, the Gulf kingdom's largely state-owned oil behemoth, comes at a pivotal moment for sweeping economic reforms that have struggled to lure foreign investment.

Kenyan President William Ruto told AFP on Wednesday that Africa could help decarbonise the global economy -- but developed countries need to step up with serious investment to help unlock the continent's potential.

The world has never had so many rich people and their investments in soaring stock markets have made them wealthier than ever recorded, according to a study published on Wednesday.

Australia's online watchdog on Wednesday dropped a legal effort to force Elon Musk's X to remove posts depicting the violent stabbing of a Sydney priest.

Israel's military pounded central Gaza with heavy air strikes on Wednesday as US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators planned to resume talks on a truce and hostage release deal.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party was in talks with key allies to form a government Wednesday, after failing to secure an outright majority for the first time since sweeping to power a decade ago.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday began a state visit to France marking 80 years since the World War II D-Day landings, with a new war shadowing Europe as Ukraine battles Russian invasion.

Living on canned beans and meat, the 70-year-old Egyptian has been hiding out in a Mecca apartment for weeks, hoping to evade a Saudi dragnet and perform the hajj pilgrimage illegally.

Every year, nearly 800,000 tourists wander through the alleys of Binibeca Vell, a tiny whitewashed village nicknamed "the Spanish Mykonos" for its resemblance to the famous Greek island which attracts huge crowds of visitors.

In an unassuming house on the Tunisian island of Djerba, Said al-Barouni embarked on a mission to safeguard his Muslim community's little-known heritage, using technology and AI to save age-old religious manuscripts.

It's Christmas in Ottawa, with filmmakers this spring and summer capturing couples smooching under mistletoe, reindeer running amok and Santa Claus leaving presents under evergreens lavishly decorated with lights and ornaments.

The leaders of Britain's two main political parties faced off in the first live TV debate of the general election campaign on Tuesday, a month before voters go to the polls and with predictions of a record win for the main opposition Labour party.

Novak Djokovic's worst fears materialised as a knee injury forced him out of the French Open on Tuesday, while women's reigning champion Iga Swiatek surged into the semi-finals with another ruthless display.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third-term win Tuesday was not the landslide victory he had wanted, but it still provides the mandate to power his Hindu nationalist agenda forward, analysts say.

The German far-right AfD party has "a lot in common" with the Nazis in the 1930s, according to 95-year-old Ruth Winklemann, who recalls having to hide in a shed with her mother after her father was sent to Auschwitz.

US Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Switzerland for a Ukraine peace summit, officials said Monday, with President Joe Biden opting instead to attend an election fundraiser featuring George Clooney.

Markets mostly fell Tuesday on signs of weakness in the US economy, even as the data boosted hopes for an interest rate cut, while Mumbai tumbled as it appeared India's prime minister would not win as big an election victory as expected.

President Joe Biden is expected to announce Tuesday that he will temporarily close the US-Mexican border to migrants whenever numbers of illegal crossings become excessive, in a dramatic bid to address one of his political weak spots in the reelection battle against Donald Trump.

US chip titan Intel on Tuesday struck a defiant tone in the face of strong challenges from rivals Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm, unveiling technologies it said would lead the artificial intelligence revolution.

Vote counting was underway in India's election Tuesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi all but assured victory for his Hindu nationalist agenda that has thrown the opposition into disarray and deepened concerns for minority rights.

Taiwan's new President Lai Ching-te said Tuesday that the memory of Beijing's deadly crackdown at Tiananmen Square "will not disappear in the torrent of history", in a post marking the event's 35th anniversary.

Israel on Tuesday mourned four captives reported dead in Gaza by the army amid growing doubts and international pressure over a plan for a ceasefire and hostage release deal outlined by US President Joe Biden.

Once shunned and now eagerly courted by the West, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has steered India away from its secular traditions and towards the Hindu-first politics he has championed for decades.

Euro 2024, beginning in Germany on June 14, is a mouth-watering prospect, as France and England lead the heavyweight contenders for a tournament which will be played out in some of the continent's finest stadiums across a football-mad nation.

The language sounds like something from an authoritarian state or the US anti-communist purges of the 1950s, but Donald Trump is increasingly focused on one target: "the enemy within."

Nigerian labour unions shut down the national power grid and disrupted flights on Monday as they launched an indefinite strike that closed schools and public offices after failing to reach a new minimum wage deal with the government.