AFP news

Germany's likely next leader Friedrich Merz said Thursday urgent action was needed to boost the country's under-resourced military and ailing economy, as he defended plans for a spending bonanza during a fiery parliamentary debate.

US negotiators travelled to Russia on Thursday to present their plan for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but Moscow warned in advance it would refuse any temporary deal that gave Kyiv a "breather".

Five years on from a first wave of harassment scandals that rocked the world of gaming, multiple women working in the industry tell AFP they have seen or experienced sexism in the workplace, fearing economic hardship in the sector will lead to backsliding.

At a funeral in rural Taiwan, musicians wearing pleated mini-skirts and go-go boots march around a coffin to the beat of the 1980s hit "I Hate Myself for Loving You".

Over a year after a devastating winter wiped out virtually his entire sheep flock, herder Zandan Lkhamsuren is still reckoning with the damage wrought by Mongolia's increasingly erratic extreme weather.

Real Madrid won a dramatic penalty shoot-out against city rivals Atletico to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday, while Arsenal, Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund also advanced to the last eight.

Pope Francis, who has been in hospital since February 14 with pneumonia in both lungs, is stable and talk has turned to when he might go home.

US President Donald Trump's new tariffs on steel target a major industry that is found in everything from cars to buildings but was already facing a range of challenges.

Talks to form a new Greenland government tasked with mapping a timeline for independence from Denmark began Wednesday, a day after elections that saw support soar for a party seeking to cut ties swiftly.

Kyiv's Western allies upped the pressure on Russia on Wednesday to respond to a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire plan, after Ukraine backed the proposal aimed at ending the three-year war.

Pakistan forces launched a "full-scale" operation on Wednesday to rescue train passengers taken hostage by militants in the mountainous southwest, with security sources saying 155 had been freed in the past 24 hours.

As she watched her five-month-old son lying in intensive care, wires and tubes crisscrossing his tiny body, Uyanga cursed her hometown Ulaanbaatar and its chronic pollution.

If South Korea formally impeaches its suspended president over his martial law debacle, one firebrand pastor says he is ready for "revolution".

A committee formed by Syria's new authorities to investigate a wave of deadly violence said on Tuesday the country was determined to "prevent unlawful revenge".

Seven Argentines went on trial Tuesday accused of homicide for their alleged role in what prosecutors called the "horror theater" of football legend Diego Maradona's death four years ago.

Paris Saint-Germain held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs.

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would "probably" reconsider doubling planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, hours after announcing the sharp hike.

Faced by a menacing Russia and unreliable United States, the EU is pushing a mammoth plan to boost its defences that Brussels says could unlock up to 800 billion euros ($860 billion).

The Trump administration's sweeping foreign aid cuts will send tuberculosis cases and deaths soaring around the world, humanitarian workers have warned.

French Sunday newspaper readers woke up this past weekend to starkly different visions of their country's relationship with Russia.

Pope Francis was reported to be in good spirits on Tuesday, a day after the Vatican indicated he was out of danger and could be discharged in the near future after almost one month in hospital with pneumonia.

Fires were raging on Tuesday after a cargo ship laden with toxic materials slammed into a tanker carrying flammable jet fuel in the North Sea, as questions mounted about how the accident happened.

Ukrainian drones smashed into high-rise apartment blocks on the outskirts of Moscow in the early hours of Tuesday, with both sides saying it was the largest attack on the Russian capital of the three-year conflict.

Ukraine will present the United States on Tuesday with a plan for a partial ceasefire with Russia, hours after conducting what Moscow said was a "massive" drone attack on the capital and around the country.

Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested Tuesday in Manila by police acting on an International Criminal Court warrant tied to his deadly war on drugs.

Greenland, the Danish self-governing territory coveted by US President Donald Trump, votes Tuesday in legislative elections that could yield a timeline for independence, which is supported by a majority of the population.

Ukraine will present the United States on Tuesday with a plan for a partial ceasefire with Russia, hoping to restore support from its key benefactor, which under President Donald Trump has demanded concessions to end the three-year war.

A cargo ship ran into a US-military charted tanker carrying jet fuel in the North Sea on Monday, sparking a massive fire off the English coast and injuring more than 30 people, the tanker's operator and authorities said.

Syria's new authorities announced on Monday the end of an operation against loyalists of deposed president Bashar al-Assad, after nearly 1,000 civilians were killed in the worst violence since his overthrow.