AFP news

Electricity consumption by data centres will more than double by 2030, driven by artificial intelligence applications that will create new challenges for energy security and CO2 emission goals, the IEA said Thursday.

Vietnam and the United States agreed to start negotiations on a reciprocal trade agreement, Hanoi said on Thursday, hours after Washington delayed imposing an enormous tariff on the Southeast Asian manufacturing powerhouse.

Russia and the United States exchanged prisoners on Thursday, the second such swap since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House as the two superpowers push for closer ties.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will be in Oman for breakthrough talks on Tehran's nuclear programme this weekend.

World Expo opens on Sunday with host Japan aiming to bring humanity together, despite global turmoil and tepid public enthusiasm for the six-month event showcasing innovation as well as Hello Kitty in algae form.

Sipping tea on her break outside a Samsung Electronics factory in northern Vietnam, worker Nguyen Thi Mai said she had heard about US President Donald Trump's tariffs, but hoped it would not affect business.

Asian stocks rocketed Thursday as investors breathed a huge sigh of relief after Donald Trump announced a pause on crippling tariffs on US partners, with Chinese markets even brushing off his decision to ramp up duties on Beijing to 125 percent.

Assisi has long been a place of pilgrimage, but these days the faithful come not for Saint Francis but for a tech-savvy teen soon to become the first millennial saint.

After Israel killed a string of its leaders, Hamas anointed new commanders to top ranks, this time shrouding their identities in secrecy to protect them from assassination.

US President Donald Trump abruptly paused tariffs on most countries, sparking euphoria on global markets Thursday, but upped the ante on a brutal trade war with superpower rival China.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored one of the great Champions League goals as Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-1 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie on Wednesday.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday floated the idea of US troops returning to Panama to "secure" its strategically vital canal, a suggestion quickly shot down by the country's government.

Britain's King Charles III told Italy's parliament Wednesday that peace is "never to be taken for granted" before ending a visit to Rome with a surprise visit to a convalescing Pope Francis.

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said Russia was "dragging" China into the war in Ukraine, as he accused Beijing of knowing that dozens of its citizens were being recruited by Moscow's army to fight.

US President Donald Trump abruptly backed down Wednesday in his global trade war with a 90 day tariff pause for most countries -- but slapped even more levies against China in what has become a brutal duel between the world's two largest economies.

Rescue workers raced Wednesday to find any remaining survivors under the rubble of a Dominican Republic nightclub, a day after the roof collapsed, killing at least 124 people in the country's worst disaster in two decades.

Germany's next leader, the conservative Friedrich Merz, vowed Wednesday to "move the country forward again" by boosting the economy and defence as he presented a deal to launch his coalition government by early next month.

Meghan Markle, the wife of Prince Harry, revealed Tuesday that she faced medical complications related to her pregnancy in the debut episode of her new podcast.

Billionaire Elon Musk blasted President Donald Trump's senior trade advisor Peter Navarro as "truly a moron" and "dumber than a sack of bricks" on Tuesday in a growing rift over the US tariff policy that has rocked the world.

Japan's famed cherry trees are getting old, but a new AI tool that assesses photos of the delicate pink and white flowers could help preserve them for future generations.

Kim Jong Un's powerful sister slammed US-led efforts to take away North Korea's nuclear weapons, saying the idea of denuclearising the country was a "daydream".

India's central bank cut interest rates in the world's fifth-largest economy on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump's tariffs kicked in and policymakers warned of "challenging global economic conditions".

Barring any eleventh-hour intervention, social media juggernaut Meta will stand trial next week facing serious US government allegations that it abused its market power to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp before they could become competitors.

The mother of an Israeli soldier held hostage in Gaza longs for her son's return, fearing that Israel's renewed bombardment of the territory puts his life at even greater risk.

Indian authorities are readying for the extradition from the United States of a man that New Delhi accuses of helping plan the 2008 Mumbai siege that killed 166 people.

Russia said Wednesday that it was waiting for "explanations" from France after a Russian government employee was detained for hours at a Paris airport in what it called a "shameful spectacle".

Gaza's civil defence agency said an Israeli strike on a residential building in Gaza City killed at least 23 people Wednesday, most of them children or women, as the military said it targeted a "senior Hamas" militant.

Customs duties, or tariffs, have become a political punching ball as the European Union prepares to respond to US President Donald Trump's recent offensive.

The dour mood at Germany's crisis-hit auto giant Volkswagen has given way to angst and fury as US President Donald Trump has escalated a trade war against friends and foes alike.