AFP news

Syria's new rulers stepped up engagement on Tuesday with countries that deemed ousted president Bashar al-Assad a pariah, with the French flag raised at the embassy for the first time in over a decade.

The head of the Russian army's chemical weapons division was killed on Tuesday in a brazen attack in Moscow claimed by Kyiv -- the most senior military figure assassinated in Russia yet as the Kremlin's campaign in Ukraine drags on.

A powerful earthquake struck the Pacific island of Vanuatu on Tuesday, smashing buildings in the capital Port Vila including one housing the US and other embassies, with a witness telling AFP of bodies seen in the city.

In the shadow of the Grand Lisboa, the Macau casino world-famous for its "golden lotus" design, fashion boutique owner Suzanne Leong wonders if the economic miracle that initially made her fortune has now cast her aside.

The successor to Thomas Bach as International Olympic Committee president must "embody the principles of justice" and that means refusing to welcome Russia back into the sporting world, Ukraine's Sports Minister Matviy Bidnyi has told AFP. Seven candidates are vying to succeed Bach in an election in March but the German will step down in June 2025 after 12 years in charge.

As Britain's new Labour government bids to reset long-fraught ties with China amid a suspected spy scandal, another issue could mar relations: Beijing's controversial plans to open the largest embassy in the UK. China has for several years been trying to relocate its embassy, currently in the British capital's upmarket Marylebone district, to a sprawling historic site in the shadow of the Tower of London.

As Germany heads for elections, its security services warn that Russia and its sympathisers may step up meddling and disinformation to boost extremist parties and sow doubt about the democratic process.

Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland quit Monday in a surprise move after disagreeing with Justin Trudeau over US President-elect Donald Trump's tariff threats.

The pack of stray dogs -- thin and rain-soaked -- yelped in fear at the roar of incoming Russian artillery fire that echoed off abandoned Soviet-era buildings and an Orthodox church in frontline Pokrovsk.

European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde said Monday eurozone policymakers would keep cutting interest rates and warned that higher US tariffs under President-elect Donald Trump could hit growth in the bloc.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday hailed his army's accelerating advance in Ukraine and praised 2024 as a "landmark" year in the course of Moscow's military offensive on its Western-backed neighbour.

Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who heads the caretaker government installed after an August revolution, said Monday that general elections would be held late next year or in early 2026.

The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to announce a quarter point cut to its key lending rate on Wednesday despite a recent uptick in inflation, in the central bank's last meeting of Joe Biden's presidency.

Germany's embattled centre-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz traded angry blows with his top rival ahead of a parliament vote Monday that was expected to trigger the process towards February 23 elections.

The five remaining members of the Australian "Bali Nine" drug ring flew home Sunday after 19 years in jail in Indonesia, ending a saga that had frayed relations between the two countries.

The EU's envoy to Syria headed to Damascus Monday to hold talks with the country's new Islamist rulers, just over a week after president Bashar al-Assad's ouster ended decades of brutal rule and civil war.

Most markets fell on Monday after an unexpected slowdown in retail sales reinforced worries about China's economy, with the latest batch of weak data compounding the disappointment of Beijing's latest stimulus pledges.

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol resisted investigators' calls on Monday for him to answer questions over his failed bid to declare martial law this month.

Drug lords like Sean McGovern, a top lieutenant of the Kinahan cartel, and Faissal Taghi -- son of the infamous head of the Dutch-Moroccan Mocro Maffia -- used to hang out and party in Dubai's glitzy hotels and restaurants without a care in the world.

Three years ago, Andrea Vanek was studying to be an arts and crafts teacher when spells of dizziness and heart palpitations suddenly started to make it impossible for her to even take short walks.

Manchester United scored two late goals on Sunday to deepen the pain for beleaguered Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola as Chelsea moved just two points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory on Sunday killed at least 40 people, including several children, an Al Jazeera TV cameraman and three rescuers.

Pope Francis celebrated mass Sunday before a congregation of thousands in Corsica, a stronghold of the Catholic faith, the first-ever trip by a pontiff to the French Mediterranean island.

The Syrian military intelligence officers who detained Ghazi Mohammed al-Mohammed told him to forget his name and who he was.

A week after a lightning offensive toppled longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, Syrians are only beginning to scratch the surface of the atrocities committed under his rule, as the country's new rulers seek to reassure the international community.

At least 14 people were killed in Mayotte when a fierce cyclone battered the French Indian Ocean territory, authorities said Sunday, with officials warning it will take days to know the full toll.

South Korea's swift rebuke of martial law and removal of President Yoon Suk Yeol from office have been hailed in the country as evidence of the strength of its young democratic institutions.

South Korean lawmakers have voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his shock decision to declare martial law last week, which plunged the country into some of its worst political turmoil in decades.

Dominant in the electric car sector, Chinese companies have been quietly consolidating their position in the lesser-watched trucking scene -- but foreign tariffs and a perceived quality gap could signal roadblocks ahead, experts warn.