AFP news

Washington's Smithsonian is a sprawling chain of museums dedicated to both celebrating and scrutinizing the American story -- and the latest cultural institution targeted by President Donald Trump's bid to quash diversity efforts.

Marwa fled Taliban rule in Afghanistan because she wanted to study, work, wear jeans and go to the park without a male chaperone.

Turkey intensified its crackdown on anti-government protests on Friday, arresting the lawyer of the jailed Istanbul mayor and targeting more journalists, as the country faces its biggest wave of unrest in more than a decade.

Donald Trump's attacks on NATO and the established world order are undermining the confidence of its allies under the US security umbrella, fuelling fears of an eventual proliferation of nuclear weapons, experts told AFP. Since his return to power in January, the US president has criticised the transatlantic alliance, reopened direct dialogue with Russia and flattered North Korea's Kim Jong-Un with warm words.

The South Sudan government said on Friday First Vice President Riek Machar was "under house arrest," two days after he was detained, as a former Kenyan premier arrived in Juba to mediate the crisis threatening to end the fragile peace deal between rival factions.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to remove "improper ideology" from the famed Smithsonian Museums -- and the National Zoo -- expanding his conservative clampdown on cultural institutions.

Auto companies once again took the brunt of the selling on another tough day for markets on Friday after President Donald Trump announced steep tariffs on vehicle imports to go with a wave of other US levies pencilled in for next week.

An Australian judge sentenced a policeman who fatally tasered a "frail and confused" 95-year-old woman to do community service rather than jail time.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday warned of "severe challenges" to global trade, vowing to open the country's door "wider and wider" to foreign firms as Beijing faces down a mounting trade war with the United States.

A woman sentenced to life in prison for murdering a Mexican-American pop star in a Texas motel was denied parole on Thursday, almost three decades after the killing.

Israel carried out air strikes in southern Lebanon Friday after its defence minister threatened Beirut over new rocket fire, rattling an already fragile truce that largely ended more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah.

Australia's competition regulator gave the go-ahead Friday for Qatar Airways to launch an alliance with Virgin Australia.

US Vice President JD Vance is on Friday due to tour a US military base in Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation amid President Donald Trump's bid to annex the strategically-placed, resource-rich Danish territory.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Friday for a "transitional administration" to be put in place in Ukraine and vowed his army would "finish off" Ukrainian troops, in hardline remarks as US President Donald Trump pushes for a ceasefire.

A powerful earthquake hit Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand on Friday, turning a major hospital in the Myanmar capital into a "mass casualty area" and trapping dozens of workers in an under-construction skyscraper in Bangkok.

China has rushed ahead in recent years as the world's forerunner in wind energy, propelled by explosive local demand as Beijing aggressively pursues strategic and environmental targets.

Since his teenage years, Koji Hayashi has dreaded one thing: his stubborn, once-vivacious mother being hanged for murder after failing to win her long campaign for a retrial.

South Korean game publisher Krafton released early access to its life simulation game "InZOI" Friday, hoping its powerful lifelike graphics will unseat the decades-long dominance of "The Sims" hit franchise.

Turkey stepped up its crackdown on both student protesters and press coverage of the mass demonstrations gripping the country on Thursday, generating defiance but also a growing sense of fear.

Myanmar's junta chief will attend a regional summit in Bangkok next week, a spokesman said Thursday, a rare foreign trip outside close allies Russia and China, as he struggles to tame a spiralling civil war.

Mohammed Hussein Mohammedie was just 19 when he left Iraq and attempted the perilous English Channel crossing in November 2021.

Emarketer on Wednesday forecast that ad revenue at X, formerly Twitter, will grow this year as brands fear retaliation by politically connected owner Elon Musk if they stay away.

North Korea sent an additional 3,000 troops to Russia this year and is still supplying missiles, artillery and ammunition to help Moscow fight Kyiv, Seoul's military said on Thursday.

Hype is growing from leaders of major AI companies that "strong" computer intelligence will imminently outstrip humans, but many researchers in the field see the claims as marketing spin.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday he would call a general election "imminently", with local media reporting the poll would be held on May 3.

Israel's parliament on Thursday passed a law expanding elected officials' power to appoint judges, defying a years-long movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious judicial reforms that saw massive street protests.

A plunge in automakers hit Asian and European equities on Thursday after Donald Trump announced painful tariffs on all imported vehicles and parts as he presses hardball trade policies many fear will spark a recession.

Wildfires in South Korea are now the largest and deadliest on record, having burned more forest and killed more people than any previous blaze, officials said Thursday, as the death toll hit 27.

Sudan's gold industry has become the lifeblood of its war, with nearly all of the trade channelled through the United Arab Emirates, enriching both the army and paramilitaries, according to official and NGO sources.