AFP news

More than a hundred shaven-headed men pour out of their Yangon hostel around 6 am for a day of weightlifting, karate drills, dancing and Buddhist prayer -- drug rehabilitation, Myanmar style.

South Korean anti-graft investigators asked police Monday to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, after he fended off their week-long efforts to bring him into custody over his failed martial law bid.

Exactly four years after Donald Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol, seeking to overturn his election loss, lawmakers meet Monday to certify his 2024 win, cementing the Republican's comeback from political ignominy.

Surreal narco-musical film "Emilia Perez" and actress Demi Moore were among the early winners at the Golden Globes on Sunday, where a crowded field of movies vied for glory at the year's first major showbiz awards gala.

His orange henna-dyed beard and striking eyewear would make him easy to pick out in a crowd, but Abdul Qadir Mumin has remained elusive.

Russia said Sunday that Ukraine had launched a "counterattack" in the western border region of Kursk, where Kyiv's forces began a shock ground offensive last August.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday opened a visit to crisis-riven South Korea, where he will seek delicately to encourage continuity with the policies, but not tactics, of the impeached president.

Israel pounded the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing at least 23 people according to rescuers, nearly 15 months into the war with Hamas Palestinian militants.

Nicolas Sarkozy, who ruled France as a tough-talking right-wing president from 2007 to 2012, is seen by supporters as a dynamic saviour of his country but by detractors as a vulgar populist mired in corruption.

Thousands of South Koreans braved a snowstorm Sunday to rally in support or opposition of President Yoon Suk Yeol, suspended over a failed martial law bid and resisting arrest a day before the warrant expires.

Rescuers in Gaza said on Saturday that Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory killed more than 30 people, the day after Hamas militants said peace talks were to resume.

The Islamist takeover of Syria has left Egypt apprehensive and cautiously calibrating future ties, years after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came to power by toppling the Muslim Brotherhood.

South Korean investigators attempted to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol at his residence Friday over a failed martial law bid but were blocked by his security forces.

The new US Congress was thrown into chaos on its first day Friday as rebel right-wing Republicans defied incoming president Donald Trump to block Mike Johnson from returning as speaker of the House of Representatives.

With bunches of lettuce and bucketloads of nuts, London Zoo kicked off its annual animal count Friday, coaxing everything from goats to gorillas out of their enclosures for the celebrated stocktake.

The Israeli military reported three rockets targetinh its territory on Friday from the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian rescuers said Israeli air strikes killed at least 16 people, including children.

The European Union backs a peaceful, inclusive transition in Syria, top French and German diplomats said Friday on a Damascus visit to meet with new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit accusing its digital assistant Siri of listening in on users' private conversations.

European stock markets retreated Friday, as traders booked profits from a positive start to 2025 and awaited a full return to business next week.

A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that US regulators overstepped their authority by reinstating "net neutrality" rules governing internet service providers, dealing a blow to the Biden administration.

US President Joe Biden has decided to block the proposed $14.9 billion purchase of US Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel and will announce the move as soon as Friday, according to US media.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit South Korea for talks next week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday, with the country mired in political turmoil as its impeached president resists arrest.

China said on Friday it would take "all necessary measures" in response to the United States announcing it was considering restrictions on commercial Chinese drones for national security reasons.

World food commodity prices declined by 2.1 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year, the FAO said on Friday, but they remain considerably higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo is set to publish a special God-mocking edition next week to mark 10 years since an attack on its offices by jihadist gunmen that left eight staff members dead.

Hollywood's awards season heats up Sunday at the Golden Globes, with surreal narco-thriller musical "Emilia Perez" -- about a Mexican drug lord who transitions to life as a woman -- leading the charge.

South Korean investigators sought to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol at his residence Friday over a failed martial law bid, but local media reported security forces were blocking their attempts.

Thirty-six hours after New Orleans was rocked by a terror attack, bar worker Samantha Petry wiped her tears and placed flowers Thursday on Bourbon Street, which reopened with few hints of the trauma inflicted on the iconic nightlife hub.

Investigators homed in Thursday on whether a US army veteran had accomplices when he killed at least 15 people by plowing a pickup truck -- carrying an Islamic State flag -- into a dense New Year's party crowd in New Orleans.