AFP news

Markets mostly rose Thursday on signs that more than a year of interest rate hikes around the world was subduing inflation, giving central banks room to take a softer approach to monetary policy.

Russia said Wednesday it would consider cargo ships travelling to Ukraine through the Black Sea potential military targets, following its decision to exit a landmark deal that permitted the export of grain from Ukraine.

The extreme heat in the northern hemisphere is putting an increasing strain on healthcare systems, hitting those least able to cope the hardest, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

Goldman Sachs reported a dive in profits Wednesday on weak merger and acquisition activity, but shares rallied as executives said an improvement could be near.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi granted a pardon Wednesday to researcher Patrick Zaki, state media said, a day after Zaki's three-year jail term sparked an outcry from local rights groups and Western governments.

Hundreds of Israeli activists marched from Tel Aviv towards Jerusalem on Wednesday to protest against the hard-right government's planned judicial overhaul, which they fear threatens liberal democracy.

The United States on Wednesday announced a new $1.3 billion military aid package for Ukraine featuring air defense systems, anti-tank missiles, drones and other equipment.

Ukraine expects its fight to regain land lost to the Russian invasion to be long and grinding, a senior presidential aide in Kyiv told AFP Wednesday.

The story of the invention of the atomic bomb told in the new film "Oppenheimer" is a "warning" to the world as we grapple with artificial intelligence, insists the movie's director Christopher Nolan.

Protesters set fire to Sweden's embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad early Thursday, an AFP journalist said, ahead of a planned burning of a Koran in Sweden.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ended a Gulf trip aimed at securing investments by signing agreements worth more than $50 billion in the United Arab Emirates, Emirati state media said Wednesday.

Goldman Sachs reported a steep drop in second-quarter profits Wednesday as it continued to struggle with an anemic merger and acquisition market and weakness in trading.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend a BRICS nations summit in South Africa next month, the country's presidency said on Wednesday, ending months of speculation.

Security officials shot in the air and used firehoses Wednesday to disperse dozens of Afghan women protesting against an order by Taliban authorities to shut down beauty parlours, the latest curb to squeeze them out of public life.

Indian conglomerate Tata Group announced plans Wednesday to build a GBP4 billion ($5.2 billion) electric car battery factory in Britain to supply its Jaguar Land Rover brands, bolstering the country's efforts to phase out fossil fuel vehicles.

The US Congress prepared to welcome President Isaac Herzog Wednesday for a speech celebrating 75 years of Israeli independence, as a row over anti-Semitism highlighted fissures in Democratic Party support for the Middle Eastern ally.

Arresting Vladimir Putin would amount to a declaration of war on Russia, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote in court papers released on Tuesday as the country wrangles over hosting the Russian leader.

Germany has made strides in expanding its onshore wind power capabilities this year but needs to pick up the pace to meet key targets for the decade, a sector study said Tuesday.

Human-made climate change is supercharging natural weather phenomena to drive heatwaves roasting Asia, Europe and North America that could make 2023 the hottest year since records began, scientists say.

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited gas-rich Qatar on Tuesday to wrap up a Gulf tour centred on energy security and cooperation with Tokyo's main suppliers.

Thousands of Israeli protesters crowded railway stations and blocked roads on Tuesday in the run-up to a parliament vote on the government's judicial reform agenda opponents say would "dismantle democracy".

Spain's competition watchdog said Tuesday it has slapped US tech giants Amazon and Apple with fines totalling 194 million euros ($218 million) for collusion in the sale of products.

Concerns about a possible influx of Sudanese refugees to the West are misplaced, a senior US official told AFP on Tuesday, as millions in the war-torn nation flee their homes.

Joe Biden and his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog on Tuesday discussed tensions over a controversial judicial shake-up inside Israel that the US president has branded the work of an "extremist" government.

Swathes of Europe baked Tuesday in a heatwave trailed by wildfires and health warnings, as parts of Asia and the United States also suffered under extreme weather.

David Beckham believes Lionel Messi will need time to adapt to Major League Soccer, even though the standard of play is at a "different level" from the European game.

Asian markets mostly rose Wednesday following a Wall Street rally as investors grow increasingly optimistic that the Federal Reserve will soon end its interest rate hiking cycle and the US economy will avoid a feared recession.

Iran, largely shunned by western tourists, is making a push to attract visitors from wealthy Gulf Arab states and other nearby countries to boost its sanctions-hit economy.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Doha Tuesday, the second leg of a Gulf tour after a stop in Saudi Arabia where he clinched a deal to provide drones to the kingdom.