AFP news

Israel's war cabinet has discussed the next steps for negotiations towards a hostage deal and ceasefire in its war with Hamas, as concern deepens over the increasingly desperate situation faced by civilians in the devastated Gaza Strip.

In a shift from tit-for-tat tariffs and strong-arm tactics to tech restrictions and investment curbs, US policy towards China has become more targeted under President Joe Biden -- though still hardline.

"Oppenheimer" took top honors at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday, as Hollywood stars partied at their union's first prize-giving gala since staging its longest-ever strike last year.

Before the Sudanese army and paramilitary fighters turned their guns on each other last year, Ahmed used to sell one of Sudan's main exports: gum arabic, a vital ingredient for global industry.

"Dahomey", a documentary by Franco-Senegalese director Mati Diop probing the thorny issues surrounding Europe's return of looted antiquities to Africa, won the Berlin film festival's top prize Saturday.

The body of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed to his mother more than a week after he died in an Arctic prison colony, his team said on Saturday.

More than 100 people were reported killed early Saturday in overnight strikes across Gaza, as Israel's spy chief was in Paris for talks seeking to "unblock" progress towards a truce and the return of hostages held by Palestinian militants.

South Africa's ruling ANC kickstarts its election campaign Saturday for polls on May 29, facing its worst result ever amid high unemployment, a sluggish economy and a challenge from its former leader.

Ukraine on Saturday marked two years since Russia's invasion, entering a new year of war weakened by a lack of western aid while Russia is emboldened by fresh gains.

It wasn't his first choice, but Mexico is now home for Evens Luxama -- along with thousands of other Haitians forced to put their hopes of migrating to the United States on hold.

Fire crews on Friday picked through a smouldering 14-storey apartment block in Valencia, searching for bodies and clues, after an inferno ripped through the building killing at least 10 people.

US President Joe Biden on Friday announced sanctions against Russia on over 500 targets to mark the second anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, vowing sustained pressure to stop President Vladimir Putin's "war machine."

Top athletes, dignitaries and hundreds of mourners paid their last respects on Friday to Kenya's world marathon record-holder Kelvin Kiptum in the nation's athletics heartland where he was born, trained and died.

President Vladimir Putin on Friday hailed Russia's "heroes" fighting in Ukraine on the eve of the second anniversary of the Kremlin's offensive, with Moscow bolstered by gains against ammunition-starved Ukrainian troops.

Omer Sharar had just received the first delivery of his new GPS anti-jamming technology when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.

Israeli air strikes targeted homes in the southern Gaza Strip, witnesses said on Friday, adding to what aid groups describe as an increasingly hopeless humanitarian situation despite efforts towards new truce talks.

Nearly every day since her school in east Ukraine was reduced to rubble by two Russian missiles last month, Lyudmila Polovko has walked its grounds to dream of a time when children could return.

2024 will be a year of change for the world's biggest tech companies as they bow to EU rules that come into force next month, shaking up how Europeans use vastly popular platforms from Google to Instagram.

Attacks by Yemen's Huthi rebels on commercial ships in the Red Sea have sent insurance premiums surging, exacerbating costs already stretched by soaring freight rates and longer alternative trade routes.

For the first time since the Apollo era, an American spaceship has landed on the Moon: an uncrewed commercial robot, funded by NASA to pave the way for US astronauts to return to Earth's cosmic neighbor later this decade.

Tiny electric cars weave through traffic in southern China, their cheap and cheerful designs bringing a touch of colour to the EV revolution in the country's overlooked cities.

President Joe Biden had a private, emotional meeting with the widow and daughter of Alexei Navalny in California on Thursday, as his administration announced fresh sanctions against Russia over the death of the Kremlin opposition leader.

Argentine trains ground to a halt and hospitals were left running on fumes this week as austerity measures sparked mass walkouts -- even as the country boasted its first budget surplus in 12 years.

Animal activists have fashion brands squarely in their sights this Milan Fashion Week, hoping to pressure Italian brands Max Mara and Fendi to give up fur in future collections.

After the shock of Alexei Navalny's death in an Arctic prison, Russian dissidents in exile are vowing to pick up the pieces and press on with their battle against President Vladimir Putin's rule.

The chairman of the US House of Representatives committee on China said Thursday that support in his country's legislature for Taiwan was "extremely strong", after a meeting with the self-ruled island's top leadership.

Israel launched air strikes Thursday on southern Gaza's Rafah after threatening to send troops into the city, where around 1.4 million Palestinians have sought shelter from around the territory.

Mechanic Zabiullah Momand revs his sports car engine outside his garage in Afghanistan's capital Kabul before letting it settle back to a purr, the cherry red twin-turbo machine pristine in a dented Mercedes Benz skeleton.

Surrounded by fields of carrots and cabbages, workers are putting the finishing touches to a factory opening on Saturday that is a milestone for both US ally Japan and Taiwanese chip giant TSMC. The $8.6-billion facility in the southern Kumamoto region showcases TSMC's efforts to make some of its strategically crucial chips elsewhere than hotspot Taiwan, as well as Japan's push to revive its once-dominant semiconductor sector.