NEWS

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te will stop over in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during a trip to the Pacific, his office said Thursday, eliciting a fresh vow from China to "resolutely crush" any attempts for Taiwan independence.

A Syria war monitor on Thursday said clashes between the army and jihadists killed more than 130 combatants in the worst fighting in the country's northwest in years, as the government also reported fierce battles.

Donald Trump on Tuesday named Jamieson Greer his trade representative, a key figure in implementing the president-elect's economic agenda, particularly his plans to use tariffs to raise revenue and help bring more manufacturing to US shores.

Germany's former chancellor Angela Merkel gives a spirited defence of her 16 years at the helm of Europe's top economy in her memoir "Freedom", released in 30 languages on Tuesday.

Australia's proposal to ban under-16s from social media platforms is "rushed", social media companies claimed Tuesday, expressing "serious concerns" about potential unintended consequences.

The planned reopening of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant is praised as a boon for Pennsylvania and a boost for AI, but it is loathed by residents still haunted by a near-catastrophic meltdown there in 1979.

Iran said Friday it would launch a series of "new and advanced" centrifuges in response to a resolution adopted by the UN nuclear watchdog that censures Tehran for what the agency called lack of cooperation.

A staggering 281 aid workers have been killed around the world so far this year, making 2024 the deadliest year for humanitarians, the UN aid chief said Friday.

A second young Australian tourist died in a Thai hospital on Friday, bringing the death toll related to suspected methanol poisoning during a night out in a Laos backpacker hotspot to six.

China's President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Brazil Wednesday, fresh off a warm reception at summits of the G20 and APEC groups, both held under the cloud of Donald Trump's White House return.

Russia on Wednesday accused the US of prolonging the "war in Ukraine" by stepping up weapons deliveries to Kyiv ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House.

European powers and the United States have submitted a resolution censuring Iran for its poor cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, diplomats told AFP on Wednesday, as Tehran warned of a "proportionate" response if it passes.

State-sponsored hackers were leveraging AI's popularity to infiltrate computer systems of businesses and organizations and then sitting dormant to remain undetected, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) said in a report.

Japan and Britain have agreed to hold regular high-level talks on economic security, Tokyo said Tuesday after the two countries' leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

G20 leaders met in Rio de Janeiro on Monday for talks on climate change, ongoing wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon, and more, at a forum that highlighted differences between world powers but also delivered some successes.

Donald Trump's allies voiced vehement criticism Monday of President Joe Biden's decision to let Ukraine use US-supplied long-range missiles for attacks inside Russia, accusing him of a dangerous escalation.

European powers -- backed by the United States -- are pushing ahead with a plan to censure Iran for its poor cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog at a board meeting starting Wednesday, diplomats told AFP. Tensions between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have repeatedly flared since a 2015 deal curbing Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanction relief fell apart.

Thousands of NATO soldiers are taking part in large-scale artillery exercises in Finland's Arctic this month, seen by some as a signal to neighbouring Russia over its war on Ukraine.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for Beijing and Berlin to develop ties with a "strategic" and "long-term" perspective Tuesday as he met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Rio de Janeiro, state media said.

The UN's climate chief told countries at the deadlocked COP29 summit on Monday to "cut the theatrics" as pressure mounts on G20 leaders to deliver a breakthrough.

More than a year of clashes that recently escalated into war have cost Lebanon more than $5 billion in economic losses, with actual structural damage amounting to billions more, the World Bank said on Thursday.

Air strikes hit the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Thursday after an Israeli warning to evacuate parts of the Hezbollah bastion, AFPTV images showed.

Israel's warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, a special UN committee said Thursday, accusing the country of "using starvation as a method of war".

Chinese leader Xi Jinping headed to Peru on Wednesday, bound for a meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organisation leaders overshadowed by fears of renewed global trade tensions under Donald Trump.

Billionaire Elon Musk took a wild gamble backing Donald Trump's White House candidacy, but the bet has paid off -- at least for now -- with the US president-elect handing him an outsized role to overhaul the government.

Global leaders offered competing views on how to tackle climate change at UN-led talks Wednesday as a new report warned the world must reach carbon neutrality much sooner than planned.

US top diplomat Antony Blinken warned Wednesday that the deployment of North Korean troops alongside Russian forces fighting on the Ukrainian border demanded a "firm response".

Several Australian airlines on Wednesday cancelled their flights to and from the Indonesian resort island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower miles into the sky.

North Korea has ratified a landmark defence pact with Russia, state media reported Tuesday, deepening security cooperation that has seen Pyongyang send thousands of troops to help Moscow fight Ukraine.