AFP news

No corner of Earth is untouched.

The Kremlin on Saturday said a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would be possible only after both sides reach an agreement, a day after after Moscow and Kyiv held their first direct talks in more than three years, which did not result in a truce.

US President Donald Trump's claim to have helped end fighting between arch-rivals India and Pakistan has driven a wedge between him and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, analysts say.

The Israeli military announced the early stages of an intensified operation in Gaza aimed at defeating Hamas, with rescuers in the besieged Palestinian territory reporting 10 killed Saturday in fresh strikes.

In a blaze of laser lights, artists from 26 countries were preparing to rip the roof off at Saturday's Eurovision Song Contest final, the world's biggest live music television event.

The first week of testimony in the sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs included a witness core to the case: Casandra Ventura, the music mogul's ex-girlfriend who accuses him of harrowing abuse, coercion and rape.

Jihadists in northeastern Nigeria are surging -- and using social media to spread the word of their campaigns and recruit fighters.

Iran met with European powers on Friday to discuss its nuclear negotiations with Washington, while US President Donald Trump issued a new threat unless the Iranians "move quickly" towards a deal.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa travels to the United States next week to meet Donald Trump in a bid to rescue deteriorating relations with a vital and increasingly critical trade partner.

US President Donald Trump on Friday capped his Gulf tour in Abu Dhabi after signing another raft of multi-billion-dollar deals, while also securing a $1.4 trillion investment pledge from the UAE. The eye-watering amounts of money in investments were accompanied also by the lifting of decades-long sanctions on Syria and renewed optimism over an Iran nuclear deal during the multi-day trip across the Gulf.

US President Donald Trump said Friday "a lot of people are starving" in the besieged Gaza Strip, where rescuers reported more than 50 deaths in Israeli air strikes since midnight.

Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv will be in Istanbul Friday for what could be their first direct meeting on the conflict in Ukraine since 2022, but the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin leaves little hope for progress in ending the war.

Attorneys for Sean "Diddy" Combs on Thursday tried to chip away at the credibility of Casandra Ventura, the music mogul's former girlfriend, after two days of her grueling testimony in his trial on sex trafficking charges.

The US Supreme Court appeared divided on Thursday on whether federal judges have the right to issue nationwide blocks to presidential decrees, as they heard arguments about President Donald Trump's bid to scrap birthright citizenship.

Shruti Sharma tearfully hugged her family goodbye and fled her home near the contested border in Kashmir with her three children on the first night of India and Pakistan's worst conflict in decades.

Germany under new Chancellor Friedrich Merz surprised NATO allies on Thursday by signalling plans to massively boost defence spending to five percent of GDP as demanded by US President Donald Trump.

A vast bloom of toxic algae is killing more than 200 species of marine life off the southern coast of Australia, scientists and conservation groups say.

Britain's economy grew more than expected in the first quarter, official data showed Thursday, covering the period before business tax hikes and US President Donald Trump's tariffs blitz took effect.

India and Pakistan accused each other Thursday of failing to control their nuclear weapons, calling on the world to monitor their neighbour's arsenal just days after their most serious military confrontation in two decades.

Russia's former culture minister and Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky took part in failed talks with Ukraine at the start of Moscow's invasion in 2022 and has built a career promoting an ultra-patriotic version of Russian history.

The EU accused TikTok on Thursday of breaking digital rules after concluding that the Chinese-owned social media platform was not transparent enough about advertisements.

Internet giant Alibaba posted on Thursday a six percent increase in annual revenue, the latest positive sign for China's tech sector despite persisting economic uncertainties that include sluggish spending and threatened trade.

Palestinian rescuers reported 94 people killed Thursday in Israeli strikes on blockaded Gaza, where a US-backed organisation said it intends to begin distributing aid by the end of the month.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday a deal was close on Iran's nuclear programme that would avoid military action, sending oil prices tumbling as he boasted of raising "trillions of dollars" on a Gulf tour.

A Russian delegation landed in Istanbul on Thursday for the first direct peace talks with Ukraine in more than three years, Russian state media reported, but without President Vladimir Putin as many world leaders had urged.

Israel's participation in the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest has drawn protests but its competitor Yuval Raphael -- who escaped the Hamas attack on her country -- is hotly tipped to qualify from Thursday's semifinal.

Unfounded online rumours warning that a huge earthquake will soon strike Japan are taking a toll on travel firms and airlines who report less demand from worried Hong Kongers.

Taiwan will turn off its last nuclear reactor on Saturday, fuelling concerns over the self-ruled island's reliance on imported energy and vulnerability to a Chinese blockade.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is treading a fine line on UK-EU relations as hard-right populists make gains at a time when Brexit and immigration remain toxic issues in Britain.