AFP news

Iran's state media reported explosions in the central province of Isfahan Friday, as US media quoted officials saying Israel had carried out retaliatory strikes on its arch-rival.

Around 60 doctors in Japan have accused Google Maps of ignoring vitriolic reviews of their clinics in a class-action lawsuit touted as the first of its kind.

Ukraine said Friday that, for the first time since Russia's invasion, it had downed a Russian long-range bomber used to fire cruise missiles at cities across the war-battered country.

Kenya began three days of mourning on Friday after its defense chief and nine other senior military officers were killed in a helicopter crash, the latest accident to blight the nation's military.

Joe Biden raised eyebrows when he hinted that cannibals on the island of New Guinea may have eaten his uncle's body after he was shot down during World War II. And the White House and official records indicated Thursday that -- as with many a family legend -- the facts may indeed be a bit different.

A man suspected of aiding a plot by Russian intelligence services to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been arrested in Poland, Polish and Ukrainian prosecutors said Thursday.

The corruption investigation that sparked ex-Portuguese premier Antonio Costa's resignation last year risks collapsing after a court said there had been no indication of a crime being committed.

Meta on Thursday introduced an improved AI assistant built on new versions of its open-source Llama large language model.

Attack violent crime at its roots or go to war with powerful drug cartels?

The United States on Thursday deported more than 50 Haitian migrants, US and Haitian officials said, sending them back to a country which has been beset by spiraling gang violence in recent weeks.

Economies in the Middle East and North Africa face a "shadow of uncertainty" from ongoing tensions in the region, a senior IMF official told AFP on Thursday.

Three workers from the Philippines have died in heavy flooding in the United Arab Emirates, Filipino officials announced, as the desert country struggled on Friday to recover from record rains.

Dubai airport, one of the world's busiest, witnessed major disruption for a third straight day Thursday after the heaviest rains on record drenched the desert United Arab Emirates.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday he would host a leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Turkey this weekend.

Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC announced Thursday a nearly 9 percent increase in net profits in the first quarter of 2024, buoyed by global demand for its microchips used to power everything from mobile phones to AI technology.

Two-time world champion Kento Momota said Thursday he is retiring from international badminton aged 29, admitting he had never been the same since a serious car crash four years ago.

Social media platform X said Thursday it would work with Pakistan's government "to understand its concerns" after authorities insisted an ongoing two-month ban was based on security grounds.

The European Union must act fast or risk falling perilously behind the economies of China and the United States, EU leaders heard Thursday as they headed into summit talks on how to leverage the bloc's huge market to stem its decline.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is set to visit India as his businesses seek new markets in the world's most populous nation, with electric carmaker Tesla -- suffering a sales downturn in the United States -- reportedly scouting factory locations.

Donald Trump's unprecedented criminal trial resumes Thursday in New York with the judge seeking to complete jury selection and kick off arguments in the politically explosive case early next week.

Taiwan's incoming president Lai Ching-te has made Time Magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People of 2024", which the island hailed Thursday as a recognition of its "democratic achievements".

Indonesian rescuers raced to evacuate thousands of people Thursday after a volcano erupted five times, forcing authorities to close a nearby airport and issue a warning about falling debris that could cause a tsunami.

A Sydney bishop brutally stabbed during a live-streamed sermon said Thursday he is recovering and forgives his attacker, declaring: "You are my son."

A square scribbled on a yellowed piece of paper by Renaissance genius Michelangelo sold for $201,600 -- 33 times its estimated value, auction house Christie's said Wednesday.

The United States said Wednesday it will snap back sanctions on Venezuela's crucial oil industry after President Nicolas Maduro's government continued its repression of opponents.

The World Bank has significantly scaled up its ambition to connect Africans to the electricity grid by 2030, from 100 million to more than 250 million, the Bank's president said Wednesday.

Dubai's giant highways were clogged by flooding and its major airport was in chaos as the Middle East financial centre remained gridlocked on Wednesday, a day after the heaviest rains on record.

The United States said Tuesday it would soon impose new sanctions on Iran's missile and drone program after its weekend attack on Israel, and that it expects its allies and partners to follow with parallel measures.

A Russian strike on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv killed 13 people and wounded dozens more on Wednesday, as Kyiv sounded the alarm over shortages in its air defence capabilities.