AFP news

At least 19 people have been killed in one of South Korea's worst wildfire outbreaks, with multiple raging blazes causing "unprecedented damage", the acting president said Wednesday.

Nathalie Mago's work day begins after she's tucked her three daughters into bed and flicked off the lights in their house north of the Philippine capital Manila.

In a matter of days, US President Donald Trump has extended a hand to Iran and bombed Tehran's allies in Yemen.

US President Donald Trump downplayed a growing scandal Tuesday after a journalist was accidentally added to a group chat about air strikes on Yemen, denying any classified information was shared and defending a top aide over the breach.

A Sudanese monitor accused the army on Tuesday of carrying out one of the deadliest air strikes in the country's nearly two-year war, hitting a rebel-held town in the western region of Darfur.

French star actor Gerard Depardieu, on trial for sexual assault, told the Paris court on Tuesday that he was not in the habit of "groping" women, and called the #MeToo movement a "reign of terror."

A Turkish court on Tuesday remanded in custody seven journalists for covering the mass protests that erupted following the arrest of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival, in a crackdown that has now seen more than 1,400 people arrested.

Pioneering US genetic testing company 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy and is looking for a buyer two years after hackers gained access to millions of profiles. 23andMe, which sells a mail-back saliva test to determine ancestry or certain health-related genetic traits for less than $200, said late Sunday that it had "filed a voluntary petition for reorganization" with a state bankruptcy court in Missouri.

Shakira fans flocking to see the Colombian star in concert are generating tens of millions of dollars for Mexico, according to the local chamber of commerce, underscoring the economic signicifance of major musical events.

South Korean auto giant Hyundai on Monday announced a multi-billion-dollar investment in the United States, including a new $5.8 billion steel plant.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that the number of wounded in a Russian strike on the city of Sumy Monday rose to almost 90 people, including 17 children.

Europe's main stock markets rose solidly Tuesday after a rally on Wall Street thanks to easing concerns over US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Chewing gum releases hundreds of tiny plastic pieces straight into people's mouths, researchers said on Tuesday, also warning of the pollution created by the rubber-based sweet.

Tesla sales plunged in the European Union in the first two months of the year, auto industry figures showed Tuesday, as Elon Musk's politics and ageing models may be turning consumers away.

Washington and Kyiv held brief talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, a day after hours of US-Russia negotiations on halting the fighting in Ukraine ended without any breakthroughs announced.

British energy giant Shell on Tuesday announced plans to slash costs by billions of dollars and increase shareholder returns, as it focuses on its liquified natural gas (LNG) business.

US President Donald Trump announced Monday steep tariffs on imports from countries buying Venezuelan oil and gas, a punitive measure that could hit China and India, among others, and sow fresh global trade uncertainty.

Top Trump administration officials texted a group chat including a journalist plans for strikes on Yemen's Huthi rebels, the White House said, an extraordinary security breach that shocked Washington's political elite.

On the second floor of a London furniture store, three journalists are busy finalising the latest edition of a newsletter, covering everything from local foodbank funding to a neighbourhood cafe.

At a smoke-filled warehouse in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, hundreds of young men and women, some clad in hijabs, throw their arms in the air, bouncing to British songs from the 1990s.

An Israeli air strike killed a journalist working with Al Jazeera on Monday and the military issued fresh calls to evacuate parts of Gaza's north, as Israel pressed its renewed bombardment and ground operations in the Palestinian territory.

Brazilian environmental campaigner and tribal leader Raoni Metuktire is pitting himself against the government to stop plans for an oil mega-project at the mouth of the Amazon river.

Sudan's army has recaptured the presidential palace from rival paramilitaries and is pushing ahead to wrest full control of the capital, but analysts warn that the brutal two-year war is far from over.

Israel's prime minister, pushing to dismiss internal security chief Ronen Bar, on Monday alleged an attempt to bring down his government after Israeli media reported Bar's agency spent months probing far-right infiltration of the police.

Stock markets mostly rose on Monday as worries about fresh US tariffs pencilled in for next week were tempered by hopes that US President Donald Trump was considering a more targeted approach.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) denounced on Monday the "extremely precarious" situation of Palestinians displaced by the ongoing Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank.

French actor Gerard Depardieu, who has faced a string of assault and rape allegations, goes on trial in Paris on Monday accused of sexually abusing two women during a film shoot in 2021.

Former Russian deputy defence minister Timur Ivanov appeared in court on Monday at the start of a high-profile embezzlement trial that could see him jailed for years.

Police have detained more than 1,100 people, officials said Monday -- including journalists -- since the arrest of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main rival triggered some of Turkey's worst unrest in years.