AFP news

Hospital manager Kathrin Leffler says she worries Germany's tense pre-election debate on immigration will make it harder to recruit enough skilled workers from abroad to fill a growing labour shortage.

When Germans vote on Sunday, conservative Friedrich Merz is the strong favourite to become the next chancellor after a bitterly fought campaign roiled by the rise of the AfD, a far-right party vocally backed by Team Trump.

Real Madrid swept Manchester City aside to qualify for the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday, while Paris Saint-Germain rubber-stamped their spot in the next round by thrashing French rivals Brest.

A US federal judge peppered a top member of Donald Trump's Justice Department with questions Wednesday during a hearing over the office's extraordinary move to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.

Kylian Mbappe struck a brilliant hat-trick for Champions League holders Real Madrid in a 3-1 win over Manchester City on Wednesday, helping Los Blancos reach the last 16 with a 6-3 aggregate victory.

An Israeli group campaigning for the release of hostages described the deaths of three members of the Bibas family as "heart-shattering" Wednesday as Hamas prepared to hand over their bodies.

From Mexico's most ruthless drug cartels to Central America's most notorious street gang, these are the eight drug trafficking groups being designated terrorist organizations by US President Donald Trump's administration: - Jalisco New Generation - The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which emerged in 2010, is one of Mexico's largest, most powerful and ultra-violent criminal organizations.

There is a very small chance that an asteroid capable of taking out an entire city could strike Earth in less than eight years.

Countries bordering the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo sought to shore up defences on Wednesday as violence spreads through the region, with Burundi forced to pull back troops and Uganda securing a key city.

Wildlife rangers will Wednesday begin shooting 90 dolphins stranded on a remote Australian beach, saying the stressed creatures would be euthanised after attempts to refloat them failed.

A US judge on Tuesday declined a request to temporarily block Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from firing federal employees and accessing agency data, a victory for President Donald Trump in his bid to shrink the government workforce.

An asteroid that could level a city now has a 3.1-percent chance of striking Earth in 2032, according to NASA data released Tuesday -- making it the most threatening space rock ever recorded by modern forecasting.

European and Asian markets mostly fell Wednesday after US President Donald Trump broadened his tariff threats stoking wider trade war fears.

US President Donald Trump expanded his offensive against trading partners on Tuesday, threatening 25 percent tariffs on imported cars, and similar or higher duties on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.

EU countries on Wednesday agreed a new round of sanctions on Russia, diplomats said, as the bloc looks to keep up pressure in the face of US talks with Russia.

Tech giant Google has paid 326 million euros to Italy following an investigation into alleged unpaid taxes, Milan prosecutors said Wednesday, as they recommended criminal proceedings be dropped.

Europe is struggling to make its voice heard as the United States barrels ahead with Russia on talks to end the war in Ukraine.

Donald Trump's special envoy was in Kyiv Wednesday, saying he was there to "listen" to Kyiv's concerns, a day after the US president tore into his Ukrainian counterpart in a surprise press conference.

The world's biggest nature conservation conference resumes in Rome next week for an urgent attempt at overcoming a deadlock between northern and southern countries over funding for nature protection.

Made from solid oak using authentic Scandinavian plans, a Viking longship built by military veterans battling mental health issue is finally ready after a long labour of love.

Donald Trump's foreign aid freeze has halted vital projects in the South Pacific, aid workers and analysts say, risking lives and hurting US efforts to woo the region.

Bogus child pornography claims, fabricated support for communism and fake posts showing Elon Musk calling for his removal -- a deluge of disinformation is targeting a top judge in suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial.

Canada and the United States, whose inaugural fight-filled showdown set off emotional and political fireworks, meet for a rematch in Thursday's NHL Four Nations Face-Off tournament final.

Russia and the United States agreed Tuesday to establish teams to negotiate a path to ending the war in Ukraine after talks that drew a strong rebuke from Kyiv over its exclusion.

Hamas said Tuesday that it would hand over all six living Israeli hostages due for release under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire this week, as well as the bodies of four dead captives.

A Delta Air Lines jet with 80 people onboard crash-landed Monday at Toronto's main airport, officials said, flipping upside down and leaving at least 18 people injured but causing no deaths.

Argentine President Javier Milei on Monday denied promoting a cryptocurrency that crashed, losing investors billions of dollars and prompting a flood of complaints, as prosecutors reportedly prepare an investigation into the scandal.

Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ankara on Tuesday, as Kyiv seeks to shore up its position in response to US-Russia talks.

Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta has said it will lay an undersea cable stretching across five continents to carry data, including for developing artificial intelligence.