AFP news

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.

Chinese internet giant Baidu has said it was cancelling the planned multi-billion-dollar purchase of livestreaming platform YY Live, partly blaming its inability to get government approval.

Shelling and missile strikes rocked the length of the Gaza Strip overnight into Tuesday, after Israel's army warned its war against the territory's Hamas rulers will last through 2024.

Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai pleaded not guilty Tuesday to "sedition" and "collusion" charges in a high-profile national security trial that could see him jailed for life.

South Korean opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck with a knife on Tuesday by a man who pushed through a crowd pretending to be his supporter, police said.

Fantasy musical "Wonka" bounced back to the top of the North American box office this New Year's weekend as an otherwise pallid film year came to an end, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.

The future of Kylian Mbappe and his protracted courtship by Real Madrid is expected to be the key theme of the transfer window that opens in Europe on Monday.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen expressed hopes on Monday for Taipei and Beijing to seek "long-term peaceful coexistence" and said future relations should be decided by Taiwan's "democratic procedures".

Israel warned its war against Hamas will continue throughout 2024 as unrelenting strikes killed two dozen people in Gaza and the Palestinian militant group fired a rocket barrage at the stroke of midnight.

Tsunami waves over a metre high hit central Japan on Monday after a series of powerful earthquakes that damaged homes, closed highways and prompted authorities to urge people to run to higher ground.

Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus was convicted on Monday of violating Bangladesh's labour laws in a case decried by his supporters as politically motivated.

Ugandan athlete Benjamin Kiplagat has been found dead in Kenya, police said Sunday, with local media reporting he had been stabbed to death.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for unity in the country in his New Year's Eve address Sunday as it prepares for the 2024 Olympic Games, after a difficult year for his government.

A rebellious teen turned "woke" family man, Denmark's future king Crown Prince Frederik is the embodiment of the country's relaxed, liberal monarchy.

Denmark's popular Queen Margrethe II, Europe's longest-serving monarch, said Sunday that she would abdicate on January 14 and pass the baton to her son Crown Prince Frederik.

Mexico's Zapatista demobilized guerrilla group prepared Sunday to mark the 30th anniversary of its pro-Indigenous, anti-capitalist uprising in an impoverished southern region where today drug traffickers are a greater foe than the military.

President Xi Jinping said Sunday the Chinese economy had grown "more resilient and dynamic" in 2023, despite financial figures continuing to disappoint as the post-Covid recovery stalls.

The UK government tried to help Greece secure the Parthenon Marbles on loan two decades ago in a bid to drum up support for London's 2012 Olympics' bid, according to files released Friday.

Britain on Thursday lifted some costly obstacles placed on school trips post Brexit -- but only for students from France as campaigners called for all EU countries to benefit.

Players at January's Australian Open will be competing for a record prize pool with organisers Friday announcing a 13 percent boost in the total purse to Aus$86.5 million (US$59.0 million).

Russia launched drone and missile strikes across Ukraine on Friday, killing at least 12 people and wounding over 70 in one of the biggest air attacks of the war.

Israel pounded south and central Gaza on Friday as Egypt was to host a high-level Hamas delegation for talks to try and end the nearly 12-week war that has devastated the besieged Palestinian territory.

Pakistan has banned New Year's Eve celebrations to show solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, the government said late Thursday, urging people to instead "observe simplicity".

Hong Kong democracy activist Tony Chung said Friday he had fled to Britain because he could no longer endure supervision from authorities, who had pressured him to become an informant and limited his work options.