AFP news

Sweden on Wednesday recorded its coldest January night in 25 years, with a reading of minus 43.6 degrees Celsius in the far north as a cold snap hit the Nordics.

Argentina's government said Wednesday that three foreigners, citizens of Syria and Lebanon, had been arrested under suspicion of planning a "terrorist act", as the country hosts a major Jewish sporting event.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will leave Thursday on his fourth crisis trip to the Middle East, an official said, as fears mount that the Israel-Hamas conflict will spiral into a regional war.

More than 50 people were reported missing Thursday as Japanese rescuers battled to reach hundreds still cut off from help three days after a devastating earthquake left at least 78 dead.

Kyiv's mobile air defences have enough ammunition to withstand a few more powerful attacks, but then will need more Western aid, a senior military commander said Wednesday.

French energy giant TotalEnergies on Thursday said it had launched a land acquisition assessment for controversial $10-billion projects in Uganda and Tanzania slammed by environmentalists.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head Thursday to the Middle East as fears mount that Israel's war in Gaza will spread across the region, following deadly blasts in Iran and the killing of a Hamas leader in Lebanon.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina still grieves the assassination of her father -- the country's founder -- nearly 50 years ago, and her government ensures the nation grieves with her.

Sierra Leone on Wednesday charged former president Ernest Bai Koroma with treason and other offences for his alleged role in what authorities have called an attempted coup on November 26, authorities said.

US automaker General Motors reported Wednesday a jump in vehicle sales for 2023, citing robust demand in a year also boosted by easing supply issues.

A US teenager has beaten classic computer game Tetris, forcing it into a game-ending glitch in a feat previously achieved only by artificial intelligence.

A New York judge on Wednesday began to unseal the identities of people linked in court documents to Jeffrey Epstein, the US financier who killed himself in 2019 as he awaited trial for sex crimes.

The Dakar Rally roars into life on Friday in Saudi Arabia with Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah seeking a sixth title and third in a row in the mythic motorsport marathon.

A new immersive Elvis Presley show will open in central London later this year, bringing the king of rock 'n' roll back to life with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), organisers said Thursday.

Twelve nations led by the United States on Wednesday jointly warned Yemen's Huthi rebels of unspecified consequences unless they immediately halt sea attacks that are increasingly disrupting global commerce.

Hospital doctors in England on Wednesday began their longest consecutive strike in the seven-decade history of Britain's National Health Service (NHS).

South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung narrowly escaped death when he was stabbed in the neck, a party lawmaker said Wednesday, as police were granted a warrant to search his assailant's property.

The case of actor Gerard Depardieu, charged with rape and facing other accusations of sexual assault, has exposed a major split in French cinema, extending into politics and wider society.

The Israeli army has said it is "prepared for any scenario" after a strike in Beirut that killed Hamas's deputy chief, stoking fears the war in the Gaza Strip could boil over into wider regional conflict.

The president of Harvard University resigned Tuesday after coming under ferocious attack over plagiarism accusations and her response to anti-Semitism on campus amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Barely 24 hours after Disney's initial copyright on Mickey Mouse expired, two new indie horror films starring the beloved character have been announced.

Asian markets fell Wednesday in line with a sell-off across most of the world as traders took their cash off the table after a blockbuster end to 2023, with eyes now on the release this week of Federal Reserve minutes and US jobs data.

Liverpool lead the way in a tantalisingly poised Premier League title race heading into 2024 with just six points separating the top five.

US car maker Tesla has lost its crown for most sales of all-electric vehicles to Chinese firm BYD, which has capitalized on Beijing's strong government support for the burgeoning sector.

Japanese rescuers scrambled to search for survivors Wednesday as authorities warned of landslides from heavy rain after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 62 people.

A Chinese exchange student who fell victim to a "cyber kidnapping" scam in which his parents were extorted for $80,000, was found alive but "cold and scared" in a tent in the Utah wilderness, police said.

Record numbers of migrants crossing the hostile Darien gap jungle in 2023 included 120,000 minors, the Panama government said Monday.

Turkey on Tuesday announced the detention of 33 people suspected of planning abductions and spying on behalf of Israel's Mossad intelligence service.

A Japan Airlines plane burst into flames on the runway of Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday after apparently colliding with a coast guard aircraft, media reports said.