AFP news

From Angola to Hong Kong, North Korea is rapidly shuttering its overseas embassies, as Pyongyang's economy sputters and Kim Jong Un embraces 'new Cold War' diplomacy with Russia, experts say.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a stimulus package worth more than $100 billion on Thursday as he tries to ease the pressure from inflation and rescue his premiership with his poll ratings at a record low.

Storm Ciaran battered northern France with record winds of nearly 200 km per hour killing a lorry driver as southern England remained on high alert Thursday and rail operators in several countries warned of traffic disruptions.

Hundreds more wounded and foreign passports holders hoped to escape war-torn Gaza on Thursday as Israeli forces bombed and fought intense ground battles with Hamas militants in the besieged Palestinian territory.

British energy giant Shell on Thursday said net profit rose 4.5 percent to $7 billion in the third quarter from a year earlier, as it benefits from high oil prices.

More than 165,000 Afghans have fled Pakistan in the month since Islamabad issued an ultimatum to 1.7 million people to leave or face arrest and deportation, officials said Thursday.

President Joe Biden wants Congress to quickly pass billions of dollars in new aid for both Israel and Ukraine, but the Republican-controlled lower chamber on Thursday is set to consider a bill that puts Kyiv on the back burner.

Uruguay's foreign minister resigned abruptly Wednesday, after the release of recordings in which he allegedly seeks to cover up information involving Sebastian Marset, an accused cocaine trafficker and subject of an international manhunt.

President Joe Biden, when responding to a heckler at a Minnesota campaign event Wednesday night, said he thinks there should be a humanitarian "pause" in the Israeli-Hamas war to get "prisoners" out of Gaza.

Novak Djokovic returned to the court on Wednesday, cruising past Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-2 and strengthening his hold on top spot in the rankings after his two closest rivals both lost at the Paris Masters.

The Walt Disney Company on Wednesday announced it will buy Comcast's $8.6 billion stake in Hulu, completing its takeover of the streaming service.

A portrait of English playwright William Shakespeare and a speech from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" have been sent into space in a weather balloon to mark the 400th anniversary of the publication of his first collected works.

Nearly half the world's countries are seeing the level of democracy decline, an international think tank said Thursday.

Oil-rich Gulf states have positioned themselves as both champions of climate innovation and guardians of fossil fuel interests -- a balancing act experts warn could derail action at COP28 in Dubai.

A new Beatles song produced with a little help from artificial intelligence and including the vocals of John Lennon will be released on Thursday, more than four decades after it was originally recorded as a demo.

Flags flew at half-mast in Beijing on Thursday as China prepared for the funeral of late ex-premier Li Keqiang, a reform-minded bureaucrat who was once tipped as the country's future leader but was eclipsed by Xi Jinping.

Manchester United's defence of the League Cup came to a limp end in a 3-0 home defeat by Newcastle on Wednesday as Arsenal were well-beaten 3-1 at West Ham.

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the first US citizens were able to leave the war-hit Gaza Strip after weeks of diplomacy and mounting frustration by hundreds of US citizens trapped in the conflict.

Embattled flexible workspace provider WeWork is in "selective default" after failing to meet conditions set by debt holders, ratings agency S&P said Wednesday.

While the stakes could hardly be higher for American democracy, voters are increasingly turned off by the apparently inevitable rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

Scientists proposed a novel idea on Wednesday that could solve two of the world's mysteries at once -- one that passes over our heads every night, and one that sits far below our feet.

Bitcoin's price has risen strongly in recent weeks with the United States possibly set to allow a popular type of trading in the cryptocurrency that would further normalise the asset.

Pope Francis on Wednesday said he would attend the crucial COP28 climate talks starting in Dubai on November 30, weeks after warning that time is running out to act on global warming.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Wednesday called into question the government's aim to end coal use in Europe's largest economy by 2030.

Countries including the UK, United States and China on Wednesday agreed the "need for international action" as political and tech leaders gathered for the world's first summit on artificial intelligence (AI) safety.

A horse due to take part in this week's Breeders' Cup in California died suddenly on Tuesday shortly before Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo scratched from the meeting's $6 million Classic.

The abbreviation of artificial intelligence (AI) has been named the Collins Word of the Year for 2023, the dictionary publisher said on Tuesday.

In his previous life, Luvo Maranti didn't read music and the only thing he knew about opera was who Luciano Pavarotti was.

The Israel-Hamas war has heightened the threat of attacks in the United States, raising particular concerns for the Jewish and Muslim communities, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned Tuesday.