AFP news

Taiwanese chip giant TSMC announced a bigger-than-expected increase in net profit for the third quarter on Thursday and raised its growth forecasts for the year on "extremely robust" demand for AI technology.

The speaker of the French Senate -- the country's second most senior figure under the constitution -- said Thursday he was "astounded" by remarks attributed to Emmanuel Macron on Israel and accused the president of showing his "ignorance" of history.

The United States on Wednesday conducted multiple B-2 bomber strikes on weapons storage facilities in areas of Yemen controlled by the Iran-backed Huthi rebels, according to the US military and defense department.

Some 345,000 Gazans face "catastrophic" levels of hunger this winter due to falling aid deliveries, UN agencies said Thursday, warning of the persistent risk of famine across the Palestinian territory.

President Volodymyr Zelensky was headed to Brussels Thursday to defend his "victory plan" for Ukraine to both EU leaders and NATO defence ministers, with the outlook on the battlefield bleak in Kyiv's battle to repel the Russian invasion.

Forty years on from its 1984 release, Bronski Beat's new wave hit "Smalltown Boy" has transcended generations to become an LGBTQ anthem for young and old alike.

EU leaders will discuss tightening rules on migration as they meet in Brussels on Thursday for a summit that is set to crystallize a rightward shift in the bloc's rhetoric.

Israel's latest bombardment of Hezbollah targets caused widespread destruction in southern Lebanon, ahead of US and Israeli strikes in the wider region Thursday.

Pakistan's traditional matchmakers play a revered role in moulding daughters into potential brides, but marriage apps marketing themselves as halal are offering women a new route to finding a husband.

A bungalow where Singapore's early leaders spent long hours laying the country's foundations is under the spotlight as a bitter feud rages between former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's children.

China has reacted more robustly to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's rhetoric defending the island's sovereignty than his predecessor's, with fiery threats and war games analysts say will likely intensify.

British singer Liam Payne, a member of the best-selling boy band One Direction, died Wednesday aged 31 after plunging from the third floor of Buenos Aires hotel, police and emergency responders said.

Gulf leaders including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with European heads of state and government in Brussels Wednesday for summit talks the EU hopes could help defuse an "extremely dangerous escalation" in the Middle East.

Thomas Tuchel said he must rise to the challenge of ending England's wait for a first major trophy since 1966 as the German was unveiled as the new manager of the Three Lions on Wednesday.

The potholed streets of the Lebanese capital, sometimes plunged into darkness at night due to regular state power outages, were already busy before the displacement crisis sparked by the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk's X platform will not face the EU's stringent competition rules aimed at keeping digital markets open, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday unveiled his long-awaited Victory Plan to end Russia's invasion, rejecting any territorial concessions and urging ramped-up Western backing, including an invitation to join NATO. After pushing back Russian troops at the start of the invasion in February 2022, Kyiv is now facing mounting pressure to find an exit strategy as its troops suffer battlefield losses and Moscow intensifies its strikes on infrastructure.

Former US president Donald Trump's cryptocurrency platform had a faltering sales launch Tuesday, with only a fraction of its digital tokens that went on the market finding a buyer.

The robot artist Ai-Da, a humanoid powered by artificial intelligence, will be the first of its kind to have a painting sold at a major auction house, organisers said Wednesday.

Major Asian and European stock markets mostly fell Wednesday after concerns about the red-hot semiconductor industry fuelled a tech sell-off.

North Korea claimed Wednesday that more than a million young people had signed up for or rejoined the army this week after Pyongyang accused Seoul's military of sending drones into its airspace.

A wave of touching photos showing great moments in time is fascinating amateur historians online.

More than half of the world's electricity will be generated by low-emission sources before 2030 but the deployment of clean energy is "far from uniform" across the globe, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.

Britain's annual inflation rate fell to a three-year low in September, official data showed Wednesday, fuelling speculation that the Bank of England will resume cutting interest rates next month.

Israel conducted strikes on Wednesday targeting Hezbollah's main bastion and a city in southern Lebanon where it holds sway, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed calls for a ceasefire.

Iraqi Kurdish seamstress Sanaa will, like many other voters, boycott an election later this month, a signal of growing disillusionment with the political class that has long dominated the autonomous region.

Kylian Mbappe was "shocked" to see his name linked to a Swedish rape investigation and the Real Madrid and France star will take legal action for libel, his lawyer told AFP on Tuesday.

North Korea blew up sections of the deeply symbolic roads and railways connecting it to the South on Tuesday, Seoul's military said, adding it had conducted a "counter-fire" operation in response.

Standing in the ruins of his home, Nidal al-Arabeed took stock after more than 10 of his family members were killed by Israeli air strikes on the city of Jabalia, as the army tightened its seige on northern Gaza.