AFP news

South Korea's spy agency said Friday it was analysing rare state media footage showing the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with two children -- saying they could be hers.

China is "determined" to continue opening up its economy to the world in 2025, a top economic planning official said Friday, as Beijing steels itself for potential trade turmoil when US President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that US regulators overstepped their authority by reinstating "net neutrality" rules governing internet service providers, dealing a blow to the Biden administration.

US Republican leader Mike Johnson was set to face down critics Friday in a vote in Congress that could see him returned as one of the country's top statesmen -- or jettisoned to the back benches and political obscurity.

South Korean investigators said Friday they expected to find more human remains as they began lifting the wreckage of the Jeju Air jet that crashed on landing last weekend killing all but two of the 181 passengers and crew aboard.

Asian markets gained on Friday, bucking retreats on Wall Street as the dollar advanced and markets reopened following the New Year's holiday.

Hollywood's awards season heats up Sunday at the Golden Globes, with surreal narco-thriller musical "Emilia Perez" -- about a Mexican drug lord who transitions to life as a woman -- leading the charge.

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit accusing its digital assistant Siri of listening in on users' private conversations.

South Korean investigators abandoned their attempt to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol at his residence on Friday over a failed martial law bid, citing safety concerns after a standoff with his security team.

The decorated US special forces soldier who blew up a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas shot himself in the head before the blast, authorities said Thursday, adding that his motivation was still "unknown."

Leading Chinese electric car maker BYD's vehicle sales surged in 2024, the company said in a statement, as the firm grows its overseas presence.

Asian stocks began 2025 mostly in the red on Thursday after worries about US interest rates, tariffs and China's economy gave Wall Street the holiday blues for a fourth straight session.

South Korean police raided the offices of Jeju Air and the operator of Muan International Airport Thursday as they step up a probe into the fatal crash of a Boeing 737-800 that killed 179 people.

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol remained defiantly inside his residence resisting arrest for a third day on Thursday, after vowing to "fight" authorities seeking to question him over his failed martial law bid.

Arsenal closed the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to six points as Gabriel Jesus extended his hot-streak in a 3-1 win at Brentford on Wednesday.

Swiss socialite Jocelyne Wildenstein, also known as "catwoman" due to her extensive plastic surgery, has died aged 79, her partner said on Wednesday.

Montenegro began three days of national mourning Thursday after a gunman went on a rampage after opening fire at a village restaurant, killing 12 people including two children.

The number of irregular migrants arriving in Britain on small boats soared in 2024, data showed Wednesday, piling pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to stem the dangerous Channel crossings.

Power was restored to most of Puerto Rico Wednesday after a major blackout plunged the island into darkness on New Year's Eve, the US territory's electric utility said.

A US Army veteran with an Islamic State flag and "hellbent" on carnage steered a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year revelers in New Orleans on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens, officials said.

Former India coach Ravi Shastri called Wednesday for a two-tier structure in Test cricket with relegation and promotion to ensure the survival of the red-ball game.

Camped on the street winding up to the residence of South Korea's impeached president, protesters direct vitriol at police and echo obscure conspiracies as investigators prepare to execute a warrant for his arrest.

Russia's gas transit to Europe via Ukraine stopped on Wednesday, Moscow and Kyiv said, ending a decades-long arrangement and marking the latest casualty of the war between the neighbours.

South Korean investigators probing a Jeju Air crash which killed 179 people in the worst aviation disaster on its soil said Wednesday they will send one of the retrieved black boxes to the United States for analysis.

From "A Farewell to Arms" to the cartoon character Popeye the Sailor, thousands of artistic works will enter the public domain in the United States on Wednesday.

Four-time major champion Naomi Osaka used a rain break to her advantage to power to a straight-sets win in the second round of the Auckland Classic on Wednesday.

Smokers in Italy's financial and fashion capital of Milan risk being fined for lighting up on city streets or crowded public areas, after the country's toughest ban comes into effect Wednesday.

Umayyad Square in Damascus hummed to the throngs of people brandishing "revolution" flags as Syria saw in the new year with hope following 13 years of civil war.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday vowed that his country would use 2025 to fight for an end to Russia's nearly three-year-long invasion by any means necessary.