AFP news

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.

At 250 metres underground, the dust is thick and oxygen is in short supply at the Mramor mine in northeastern Bosnia.

Chinese defence minister Dong Jun has been placed under investigation for corruption, according to British newspaper the Financial Times.

Ireland-based budget fashion chain Primark has been criticised for its record on workers' rights and the effect of its low-cost, high-volume model on the environment.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October last year, many home fixtures of Israel's national football team and clubs have been moved to Hungary.

Soaring prices have left a bitter taste in shoppers' mouths at a market in Bangui, as a strike by Cameroonian truckers accusing Russia's infamous Wagner mercenaries of a recent murder cuts off the Central African Republic (CAR).

Liverpool are the only team with a perfect record in this season's Champions League after beating title-holders Real Madrid 2-0 in their heavyweight clash on Wednesday, with last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund among the night's other winners.

Logistical issues meant that thousands of Namibians were still waiting to vote in pivotal presidential and legislative elections late on Wednesday as the polling stations were scheduled to close.

Russia on Wednesday said that it would expel two journalists from Germany's ARD national network in a like for like move after a Russian state broadcaster reported that its journalists had been ordered to leave Berlin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kazakhstan on Wednesday for a two-day trip aimed at shoring up ties with his Central Asian ally as tensions mount over the Ukraine war.

Paddington, the affable clumsy bear from British children's books, has transformed into an international sensation over the past decade, thanks to a clever film strategy and with the help of the royal family.

Donald Trump on Tuesday named Jamieson Greer his trade representative, a key figure in implementing the president-elect's economic agenda, particularly his plans to use tariffs to raise revenue and help bring more manufacturing to US shores.

India's Adani Group conglomerate said Wednesday it had lost almost $55 billion in a stock market rout since US prosecutors last week accused its founder and other officials of fraud.

The coming year will put incoming US President Donald Trump's geopolitical strategies to the test, as wars rage in the Middle East and Ukraine and tensions rise in Asia.

Besieged by political turmoil, Pakistan's government is turning to draconian internet censorship which threatens to cut the country off from a promising future, experts and citizens say.

Spanish traveller Alberto Blasco Ventas looked out at Ukraine's destroyed Irpin brige, blown up to stop Russian troops in 2022 and now a hotspot for thrill-seeking tourists visiting the country.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned Wednesday that Europe has "no time to waste" to boost its defences and competitiveness, as European lawmakers prepared to greenlight her new executive to start work.

Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as traders tried to gauge the economic outlook after Donald Trump picked a tough-negotiating hawk as his trade envoy the day after saying he would hit China, Canada and Mexico with hefty tariffs.

The wars in the Mideast and Ukraine-Russia have dominated world headlines in 2024 but several other conflicts are ravaging countries and regions.

Long one of the world's top sources of ocean plastic, the Philippines is hoping new legislation requiring big companies to pay for waste solutions will help clean up its act.

Ursula von der Leyen's new European Commission is expected to officially start its work next week, with the European Parliament set to give it the all-clear in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

Alcohol-free drinks are becoming ever more popular, especially with health-conscious younger people -- a trend cheered by a small German winery based in a Rhine Valley castle.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon took effect on Wednesday after more than a year of fighting that has killed thousands of people.