AFP news

The world may cross the crucial 1.5C global warming threshold in seven years as fossil fuel CO2 emissions continue to rise, scientists warned Tuesday, urging countries at the COP28 talks to "act now" on coal, oil and gas pollution.

A UK interfaith coalition comprising religious, political and civic leaders, as well as grieving relatives of some of those killed in the Israel-Hamas war, held a vigil Sunday in London.

Bitcoin on Monday rose past $40,000 for the first time since May last year, boosted by hopes that the United States will soon allow broader trading of the world's biggest cryptocurrency.

On a sailing boat anchored off Oman's pristine Daymaniyat Islands, volunteer divers pull on wetsuits, check their scuba tanks and then take turns plunging into the clear turquoise water.

Turkey's annual inflation rate ticked up slightly in November, the state statistics agency said on Monday, showing further signs of levelling off following a series of sharp interest rate hikes.

Eleven hikers were found dead Monday and another 12 were missing after a volcano erupted in Indonesia, with rescuers racing to carry injured and burned survivors down the mountain on foot.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Saturday urged lawmakers, Silicon Valley and US allies to stop China from getting semiconductors and cutting-edge technologies key to national security.

A person known to the French authorities as a radical Islamist with mental health troubles stabbed a German tourist to death and wounded two people in central Paris on Saturday before being arrested, officials said.

Israel expanded its offensive against Hamas militants in besieged Gaza on Monday, as international concern deepened over the mounting civilian death toll in a war sparked by the October 7 attacks.

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off the coast of the southern Philippines early Monday, the United States Geological Survey said, the latest in a slew of strong quakes all concentrated in the same area.

North Korean "smuggling networks" are registering ships in Pacific nations to disguise themselves while trafficking oil, according to former United Nations sanctions experts and documents obtained by AFP. With strict sanctions limiting Pyongyang's ability to import fuel, North Korean smugglers have adopted increasingly creative methods to deceive authorities and dodge scrutiny.

Elon Musk's verbal assault on advertisers who have shunned X (formerly Twitter) threatens to sink the social network further, with the tycoon warning of the platform's demise, just one year after taking control.

They call the giant climate business expo running outside the COP28 United Nations talks in Dubai the "green zone".

Alaska Airlines announced Sunday that it would buy Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion, consolidating its position as the nation's fifth biggest carrier if it can attain regulatory approval.

Gold hit a fresh record Monday on growing optimism the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in the new year, with traders shrugging off boss Jerome Powell's attempts to temper expectations.

A Hong Kong court on Monday gave Chinese property giant Evergrande until the end of January to put together a restructuring plan, offering the embattled firm much-needed breathing room as it teeters on the brink of bankruptcy.

Rockstar Games said it will release a trailer next Tuesday for the first installment in a decade of "Grand Theft Auto," video-gaming's controversial blockbuster.

Rapid developments in artificial intelligence -- and recent turmoil at industry powerhouse OpenAI -- have brought fresh attention to a key hub of ethics research related to the technology in Montreal, led by Canadian "godfather of AI" Yoshua Bengio.

Libertarian Javier Milei stormed to election victory with wild promises of uprooting Argentina's political establishment and dramatically overhauling its ailing economy.

As global tributes to late US diplomat Henry Kissinger poured in, his death stirred fury across Southeast Asia.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday urged Turks to steer clear of pyramid schemes as a scandal raged at a top bank that allegedly defrauded celebrities and football stars of millions of dollars.

Julia Roberts, who stars in the new apocalyptic comedy-drama "Leave the World Behind", says the end of humanity would be a good time to indulge herself.

Morag, an imposing Highland cow with a caramel coat, ambles out of the main shed at Dumble Farm in northern England and stands ready to meet her guests.

Within a flat in northern Tehran, concealed from the public eye, Sean proudly showcases the tattoo motifs crafted by his students, each meticulously etched onto silicon canvases.

Tottenham's Dejan Kulusevski headed a dramatic late equaliser in a six-goal thriller at Manchester City on Sunday after Liverpool staged a sensational comeback on a breathless afternoon in the Premier League.

Reigning champions Italy were placed in the same group as Spain in Saturday's draw for Euro 2024, while France will come up against the Netherlands and England avoided any of the toughest opponents.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday urged Israel to protect civilians as it battles Hamas in Gaza, saying that shielding noncombatants is necessary for victory in the urban fight against the Palestinian militant group.

Fifty oil and gas companies representing 40 percent of global production pledged to decarbonise their operations by 2050 at the UN's COP28 climate talks in Dubai on Saturday.

If we are to save the planet, we are going to have to use energy far more efficiently.