AFP news

When he grows up, five-year-old Ahmad wants to be "stronger than Spider-Man".

Bushfires that erupted near Jerusalem were largely brought under control on Thursday, authorities said, with major roads reopened and firefighting teams still tackling lingering hotspots.

Tech giant Meta on Wednesday reported quarterly profits that were well above expectations, brushing aside market worries that its heavy investments in cloud computing and artificial intelligence would hamper growth.

Oil prices fell and stocks were mixed on Thursday in thin holiday trading, following weak US economic data that added to growth concerns.

United States officials have reached out to their Chinese counterparts for talks on vast tariffs that have hammered markets and global supply chains, a Beijing-backed outlet said on Thursday citing sources.

The estranged husband of an Australian woman accused of triple murder with a toxic mushroom-laced beef Wellington told a court on Thursday his father was "hunched" in pain before he died.

Hard-right and far-right parties are riding high in polls across Europe but their electoral success conceals divisions which could become major sources of tension if they win power, according to analysts.

Serbia's trade unions will for the first time join a protest Thursday called by student leaders, six months after the deadly train station tragedy that sparked mass demonstrations against corruption.

Rich in solar and wind power, and bulging in critical minerals for renewable energy technology, Australia touts itself as a leader in the race to net zero carbon emissions.

Centenarian Dorothea Barron recalled the wave of relief she felt when she heard World War II had finally come to an end.

Britain's two main parties are tipped to suffer losses Thursday in local elections likely to confirm the rise of hard-right populists and portend the splintering of a century-long political duopoly.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Wednesday that rapidly spreading wildfires near Jerusalem could reach the city, as he declared the situation a "national emergency".

The United States and Ukraine on Wednesday signed a minerals deal after a two-month delay, in what President Donald Trump's administration called a new form of US commitment to Kyiv after the end of military aid.

An Australian woman promised a "special meal" for her husband's family before dishing up a beef Wellington with death cap mushrooms that killed three of them, jurors heard Wednesday.

A US official on Wednesday told the International Court of Justice there were "serious concerns" about the impartiality of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. ICJ judges are holding a week of hearings to help them formulate an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations towards UN agencies delivering aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

The eurozone economy expanded more than expected at the start of the year, official data showed on Wednesday, despite US President Donald Trump's tariffs but global trade tensions threaten more pain and near stagnation in 2025.

Germany's Mercedes-Benz and US-European group Stellantis, whose brands include Jeep, Peugeot and Fiat, joined other automakers Wednesday in suspending their annual financial guidance because of uncertainty over US tariffs.

Social media behemoth Meta unveiled its first standalone AI assistant app on Tuesday, challenging ChatGPT by giving users a direct path to its generative artificial intelligence models.

Asia's front-runner for the papacy, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines is a charismatic moderate often dubbed the "Asian Francis".

Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Wednesday after six months on the country's space station, state media footage showed, as Beijing advances towards its aim to become a major celestial power.

Israel struck Syria on Wednesday in what it called a "warning" against attacks on the Druze minority, in a military intervention that came as sectarian clashes spread near Damascus, killing 13 people.

Pakistan said on Wednesday it had "credible intelligence" that India was planning an imminent military strike and vowed to retaliate, as worries of spiralling conflict grew over a deadly attack in Kashmir.

Stocks mostly rose Wednesday ahead of key US economic and earnings reports, while traders took in their stride data showing Chinese factory activity contracted at its fastest pace for nearly two years as Donald Trump's trade war kicked in.

A police station in the historic sailors' quarter of the Belgian port of Antwerp is surrounded by sex workers' neon-lit red-light windows.

Since the start of the school year in March, Afghan boys have been required to wear new uniforms of turbans and long tunics, following an order to adopt outfits reflecting Taliban rule.

Paris Saint-Germain seized the advantage in their Champions League semi-final against Arsenal as Ousmane Dembele sealed a 1-0 win in the first leg on Tuesday.

Vietnam is set to hold its biggest celebration of the fall of Saigon on its 50th anniversary Wednesday, including Chinese troops for the first time after Xi Jinping visited to portray Beijing as a more reliable partner than Washington.

Still in pain from giving birth, a Haitian mother carrying her newborn was helped onto a migration services bus in the Dominican Republic, joining a family member who was arrested when he visited her in hospital.

Amazon on Monday launched its first batch of Project Kuiper internet satellites, marking the start of its push to rival Elon Musk's Starlink.