AFP news

Wielding a cumbersome tattoo gun with his small hands swamped in surgical gloves, nine-year-old Napat Mitmakorn expertly inks the pattern of a fanged serpent on a man's upper thigh.

A fire tore through an overcrowded nightclub packed with mostly young people in North Macedonia early Sunday, killing 59 people, apparently after on-stage fireworks at a hip-hop concert set the venue ablaze, authorities said.

South Korea's opposition party Monday urged the country's Constitutional Court to rule swiftly on suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment, saying delays were "irresponsible" and causing social unrest.

With Canada's economy and even sovereignty under unprecedented threat from its southern neighbour the United States, its new leader has embarked on a trans-Atlantic trip to strengthen ties with traditional friends France and Britain.

The race to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee is nearing the finish with Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior, Sebastian Coe and Kirsty Coventry widely seen to be clear of the remaining quartet.

Markets rose on Monday as investors welcomed Chinese plans to kickstart consumption in the world's number two economy, though worries about Donald Trump's tariffs war continue to cast a shadow over trading floors.

A pair of US astronauts stuck for more than nine months on the International Space Station will be returned to Earth on Tuesday evening, NASA said.

President Donald Trump's administration on Sunday began mass layoffs at Voice of America and other US-funded media, making clear its intent to gut outlets long seen as critical for US influence.

Colombia's defense minister on Sunday warned Donald Trump's administration against blacklisting his country for failing to curb drug exports, saying the decision would bring yet more cocaine to the United States.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he was seeking to dismiss the head of Israel's internal security agency, who swiftly called the move political and said the premier expected "personal loyalty".

US officials on Sunday vowed further strikes in Yemen until the Houthi rebels decide to end their attacks on Red Sea shipping, while also threatening action against the group's backer Iran.

The United States flew more than 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to be imprisoned in El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele said Sunday, after US counterpart Donald Trump controversially invoked wartime legislation to expel them.

The Vatican released the first photograph of Pope Francis on Sunday since his hospitalisation over a month ago, showing the pontiff celebrating mass earlier in the day from the chapel in his hospital suite.

As the Trump administration prepares for its next wave of federal layoffs, the former head of a key US climate agency spoke with AFP about its role in public safety, scientific research, and protecting the American economy.

A US judge on Thursday ordered six federal agencies to rehire thousands of probationary workers fired as part of Donald Trump's push to slash the size and scope of government.

Stargazers across a swathe of the world marvelled at a dramatic red "Blood Moon" during a rare total lunar eclipse in the early hours of Friday morning.

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's deadly war on drugs has always faced strong opposition on the home front.

France's Finance Minister Eric Lombard called the escalating US-EU trade war "idiotic" on Friday and said he would soon travel to the United States after Washington threatened huge tariffs against French wine and champagne.

UN chief Antonio Guterres met with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh Friday, some of the one million people who escaped war in neighbouring Myanmar who are now threatened by dire humanitarian aid cuts.

Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn reported on Friday a lower-than-expected net profit for 2024 as consumer electronic gadgets underperformed, although demand for its artificial intelligence servers remained robust.

Britain's economy unexpectedly shrank in January, official data showed Friday, piling more pressure on the Labour government ahead of its Spring Statement on the economy.

German premium carmaker BMW warned Friday of continued challenges in 2025 from trade tensions and weak demand in China after reporting a plunge in profits last year.

The US government was hours from shutting down Friday as Democrats smarting over President Donald Trump's spending cuts threatened to block his federal funding plans -- although hopes were high for a resolution to the impasse.

Ireland have a glimmer of hope that they can retain their Six Nations crown on Saturday when they take on Italy in Rome, looking to bounce back from a painful defeat to title favourites France.

China urged an end to "illegal" sanctions on Iran as it hosted Iranian and Russian diplomats on Friday for talks Beijing hopes will restart long-stalled negotiations on Tehran's nuclear programme.

More than a century ago, Pablo Picasso smashed the Sacre-Coeur Basilica in Paris into a web of tangled lines on his canvas, deconstructing reality with the brushstrokes of a master cubist.

Taiwan plans to reinstate military judges to hear Chinese espionage cases and other offences involving Taiwanese service members, President Lai Ching-te said Thursday.

China called on Thursday for a "diplomatic" resolution to the Iran nuclear issue as it prepared to host diplomats from Tehran and Moscow for talks.

Pope Francis marks 12 years as head of the Catholic Church on Thursday, seemingly out of danger after a month in hospital but with his health casting a shadow over his future.