AFP news

Workers at two of Chevron's major natural gas plants in Australia are set to go on strike next week, the US energy giant said Tuesday, threatening up to five percent of global LNG supplies.

Asian markets extended a global rally Tuesday ahead of US data this week that could be key to the Federal Reserve's decision-making on interest rates.

Toyota said Tuesday it halted operations at 12 of its 14 factories in Japan due to a system glitch, but that it did not appear to be a cyberattack.

A parasitic roundworm typically found in snakes has been pulled "alive and wriggling" from a woman's brain in a stomach-churning medical first, Australian doctors said Tuesday.

Iga Swiatek launched the defence of her US Open crown with an emphatic opening victory on Monday as Novak Djokovic eyed a return to the top of the men's world rankings on his long-awaited return to the tournament.

OpenAI on Monday said it was launching a business version of ChatGPT as its artificial intelligence sensation grapples with declining usership nine months after its historic debut.

BYD, China's leading electric carmaker, said on Monday its half-year net profit had tripled based on record demand.

Turkey said Monday that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will "soon" visit Russia for talks with Vladimir Putin on reviving a Black Sea grain deal that could be used as a springboard for broader Ukraine peace negotiations.

The French government's decision to ban schoolgirls wearing abayas -- long, flowing dresses of Middle Eastern origin -- has opened a fresh debate about the country's secular laws and the treatment of Muslim minorities.

A Swedish-Russian man arrested last year in a spectacular helicopter raid on his suburban Stockholm home was charged in Sweden on Monday with providing Western technology to Russia's military industry.

Ukraine announced Monday it had recaptured a village on the southern frontline where its forces are hoping for a breakthrough in their grinding offensive against entrenched Russian positions.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi inaugurated on Monday the last phase of the South Pars gas field, one of the world's largest natural gas condensate field and the country's biggest.

Libya's internationally recognised prime minister has sacked his top diplomat after she met her Israeli counterpart, with news of the encounter triggering protests in a country that does not recognise Israel.

Japan's prime minister hit out at Beijing on Monday over what he said were instances of stones being thrown at diplomatic missions and schools in China, following the release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Japan summoned China's ambassador on Monday to protest against a flood of nuisance calls from China to local businesses following the release of water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Eight US Marines were in hospital on Monday -- one of them in intensive care -- following a military aircraft crash in northern Australia that killed three of their comrades, authorities said.

Chinese electric car giant XPeng said Monday it would buy the EV subsidiary of ride-hailing platform Didi for more than $740 million and launch a new brand of vehicles.

Foxconn's billionaire founder Terry Gou announced Monday that he will run for president of Taiwan as an independent candidate.

Asian markets rose Monday after Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell said officials would take a careful approach regarding interest rate hikes, while Chinese shares soared after the government cut the duty on trades.

Shares in troubled Chinese property giant Evergrande plummeted more than 80 percent in Hong Kong on Monday morning after the lifting of a 17-month trading suspension.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met with her Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Monday, as Washington works to cool trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.

Tens of thousands of people rallied in Niamey Saturday in support of last month's coup, a day after the country's new military rulers gave France's ambassador to Niger 48 hours to leave the country.

Silicon Valley's favourite philosophy, longtermism, has helped to frame the debate on artificial intelligence around the idea of human extinction.

NASA and SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft blasted off on Saturday carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station.

Breakneck development of artificial intelligence risked repeating mistakes made by the tech industry at the start of the social media era, Microsoft president Brad Smith told a business forum on Friday.

Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was formally confirmed dead on Sunday following genetic analysis, investigators said, as anger and questions continued to mount over what caused his plane to crash earlier in the week.

Thousands of people demonstrated Sunday in Niger in support of last month's coup, a few hours before the deadline given to France's ambassador in an ultimatum to leave the country.

French authorities are to ban the wearing in school of abaya dresses worn by some Muslim women, the education minister said Sunday, arguing the garment violated France's strict secular laws in education.

The letters said UN experts had received information "concerning Saudi Aramco's business activities... which are adversely impacting the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change".