AFP news

Park Choong-kwon was once a member of an elite North Korean unit that developed long-range missiles.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was preparing Thursday to be sworn in for a third term after an unexpectedly close election that forced his party into a coalition government.

England are ready to make Euro 2024 "headlines" as the Group C favourites prepare to launch their bid for a first major trophy in 58 years.

In an electoral system in which money is the ultimate kingmaker, Donald Trump has been courting the country's billionaires -- and they have their checkbooks ready.

Starship, SpaceX's massive prototype rocket that may one day send humans to Mars, is poised for its next flight on Thursday.

Euro 2024 favourites France beat Luxembourg 3-0 in an international friendly on Wednesday with superstar striker Kylian Mbappe on the score sheet.

More than one in four children under the age of five globally live in "severe" food poverty, UNICEF has warned -- meaning more than 180 million are at risk of experiencing adverse impacts on their growth and development.

Tests on a leading AI tool allowed the creation of deceptive and incriminating images of President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, a watchdog said Wednesday, despite pledges to block fake photos of the presidential contenders ahead of elections in November.

Boeing's outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun will testify before a US Senate panel later this month to answer questions about safety and production issues at the aircraft manufacturer, the company said Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday criticised the West's delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine, arguing Moscow could arm other countries with similar weapons to attack Western targets.

Joe Biden is looking to convince voters of his leadership credentials with a striking flurry of major announcements on Gaza, Ukraine and the Mexican border, analysts say.

Apple is expected to make the case next week that it is not being left behind as tech world rivals blaze ahead with artificial intelligence.

Trump is expected to receive the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention in Milwaukee, which is to begin just four days after his July 11 sentencing in New York for his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

The director of French classic "Amelie" said he was fascinated but occasionally scared by artificial intelligence as he launched a first-ever festival for AI-generated movies on Wednesday.

Humanity now faces an 80 percent chance that Earth's temperatures will at least temporarily exceed the key 1.5-degree Celsius mark during the next five years, the UN predicted Wednesday.

A South African minister was arrested and charged with corruption on Wednesday, as his ANC party wrangles with how to form a new government after major election losses.

Living on canned beans and meat, the 70-year-old Egyptian has been hiding out in a Mecca apartment for weeks, hoping to evade a Saudi dragnet and perform the hajj pilgrimage illegally.

The next-generation Ariane 6 rocket, a crucial programme for Europe's space ambitions, is due to lift off on July 9 following years of delays, the European Space Agency said Wednesday.

Israel's military pounded central Gaza with heavy air strikes on Wednesday as US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators planned to resume talks on a truce and hostage release deal.

Italy's competition authority on Wednesday fined global tech giant Meta 3.5 million euros ($3.8 million) for a lack of transparency in its use of data and management of Instagram and Facebook accounts.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday began a state visit to France marking 80 years since the World War II D-Day landings, with a new war shadowing Europe as Ukraine battles Russian invasion.

Donald Trump faced Republican voters for the first time as a convicted felon on Tuesday during the final state primaries for the 2024 presidential nomination, where he continued to sweep up votes.

Tucked away in the basement of an old mall lies gleaming Singapore's only heavy metal bar, where music fans brush shoulder-to-shoulder with international rockers who helped pioneer the genre.

Every year, nearly 800,000 tourists wander through the alleys of Binibeca Vell, a tiny whitewashed village nicknamed "the Spanish Mykonos" for its resemblance to the famous Greek island which attracts huge crowds of visitors.

Claudia Sheinbaum's election as Mexico's first woman president has shored up the left's dominance of Latin America, a region more used to sometimes-dramatic political shifts in recent years.

Tournament hosts Germany face Hungary, Switzerland and Scotland, a set of talented if unpredictable rivals, in Group A as they bid for a record-breaking fourth Euros crown.

Pop-culture powerhouse Japan wants to expand its overseas market for video games, manga and anime fourfold to $130 billion in about a decade, the government has said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party was in talks with key allies to form a government Wednesday, after failing to secure an outright majority for the first time since sweeping to power a decade ago.

Australia's online watchdog on Wednesday dropped a legal effort to force Elon Musk's X to remove posts depicting the violent stabbing of a Sydney priest.