AFP news

Japanese electronics giant Sony is set to celebrate 30 years since it launched the PlayStation console, the little grey box that catapulted the firm into the gaming big league.

The yen rallied against the dollar and the euro also advanced versus the US unit Friday as traders reacted to news of higher inflation in Japan and the eurozone.

A US offer to give Ukraine anti-personnel mines to help battle Russia's invasion has thrown a landmark global anti-landmine treaty into "crisis", campaigners said Friday, urging Kyiv to snub the proposal.

Taiwan said Friday it detected 41 Chinese military aircraft and ships around the island ahead of a Hawaii stopover by President Lai Ching-te, part of a Pacific tour that has sparked fury in Beijing.

An Australian teenage news boss says landmark legislation barring under-16s from social media is a "really bad idea" that will stifle young people's creativity.

A crackdown on Pakistan's main opposition party that has seen dozens of leaders and lawmakers detained or driven into hiding has sent fear coursing through the movement founded by ex-PM and cricket star Imran Khan.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, reappointed on Friday as head of the World Trade Organization, hinged her leadership on breaking logjams at the sclerotic institution through craft, dynamism and sheer force of personality.

World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was reappointed Friday for a second term, in the shadow of the coming return of Donald Trump and his disdain for international trade rules.

France is to offer the world a first look inside the restored Notre Dame cathedral in Paris on Friday, over five years after the fire that ravaged the interior of the heritage landmark and toppled its spire.

Jihadists and their Turkish-backed allies shelled Syria's second city Aleppo on Friday, in a major offensive against government troops that has sparked some of the deadliest fighting the country has seen in years.

Ireland began voting Friday in a closely-fought general election with the incumbent coalition neck-and-neck with opposition party Sinn Fein after a campaign marked by rancour over housing and cost-of-living crises.

Social media giants on Friday hit out at a landmark Australian law banning them from signing up under-16s, describing it as a rush job littered with "many unanswered questions".

Chart-topping group NewJeans shocked the K-pop world with their announcement that they are quitting their label ADOR over what they described as "mistreatment".

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell will want to bow out before he takes a sabbatical with a comprehensive victory over Australia coached by former Irish handler Joe Schmidt on Saturday.

Jihadist fighters cut the Damascus to Aleppo highway on Thursday during an offensive that a monitor says killed around 200, including civilians hit by Russian air force strikes.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said Thursday that while Tbilisi remains committed to its goal of European Union membership, it will not pursue accession until 2028, accusing Brussels of "blackmail".

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier on Thursday announced a major concession in a bid to end a standoff with the opposition over the budget, which has caused jitters on financial markets and risks bringing down his minority government.

A bitterly-fought climate finance deal reached at COP29 risks weakening emissions-cutting plans from developing countries, observers say, further raising the stakes for new national commitments due early next year.

The price of Arabica coffee hit the highest level since 1977 on Wednesday, approaching a record high as drought in top producer Brazil this year hits supplies.

Donald Trump's tariff threats have rattled foreign businesses and governments, with many fearing it could signal the opening salvo of an all-out trade war when he returns to the White House next year.

Eurozone stock markets rebounded Thursday as France's political stand-off showed signs of easing, while Chinese equities fell despite reports the United States may be less stringent than feared with its curb on tech equipment to China.

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te will stop over in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during a trip to the Pacific, his office said Thursday, eliciting a fresh vow from China to "resolutely crush" any attempts for Taiwan independence.

A Syria war monitor on Thursday said clashes between the army and jihadists killed more than 130 combatants in the worst fighting in the country's northwest in years, as the government also reported fierce battles.

Iran is set to meet with Britain, France and Germany for talks Friday on its nuclear programme after the three governments joined with the United States to have Tehran censured by the UN atomic watchdog.

Chart-topping K-pop group NewJeans announced Thursday their decision to leave their label ADOR, accusing the company of "mistreatment".

With its longtime leaders dead, its military capabilities vastly diminished, and its fighters forced to retreat from southern Lebanon, Hezbollah emerges from its war with Israel facing unprecedented challenges.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday slammed a "despicable escalation" by Russia as he accused its military of firing cluster munitions on Ukraine's energy grid in a massive overnight attack.

Lebanon's military deployed troops and tanks across the country's south on Thursday as a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war largely held for a second day.

In the chaos of protests that turned Pakistan's capital into a battleground, a new figurehead has emerged: Bushra Bibi, the wife of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.