AFP news

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele is all but guaranteed a resounding victory in elections Sunday, with his no-holds-barred war on gangs having earned him approval ratings hovering around 90 percent.

Lewis Hamilton, who rose from modest circumstances to win a record-equalling seven Formula One driver's titles, is hedging his bets as he plans to continue his career into his 40s.

"Chavez lives, damn it!" At 16:25 every day a soldier shouts out: "Chavez lives, damn it!"

The mass 1944 breakout of Allied prisoners of war from the notorious Stalag Luft III camp was famously immortalised by Hollywood.

France's leading farming unions called Thursday to end nationwide roadblocks over pay, tax and regulation after securing promises of financial assistance and other help from the government.

The holding in detention by Thai authorities of an anti-war Russian rock band has exposed how criticising President Vladimir Putin can be fraught with danger even outside the country.

Mediators pushed on with efforts for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire as fighting raged on in the besieged Gaza Strip on Thursday, deepening a dire humanitarian crisis.

EU leaders on Thursday piled pressure on Viktor Orban to drop his veto on 50 billion euros in aid for Ukraine, as the unpredictable Hungarian leader once more took centre stage at a crunch summit in Brussels.

Brandishing an oversized arrow and rallying support in Pakistan's northern tribal region, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari claims he is the only candidate pointing a way out of polarised politics ahead of next Thursday's election.

Myanmar on Thursday entered its fourth year since a coup ended a short-lived dance with democracy, with the embattled junta warning it will do "whatever it takes" to crush opposition to its rule.

The leader of Hamas was expected in Cairo on Thursday for talks on a proposed truce in Gaza, as Israel kept up its offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.

Sudan's nine-month-old war has so far largely spared the country's east.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele's war on gangs is credited with slashing homicide rates and restoring security and dignity to citizens of what was once one of the world's most dangerous countries.

Musicians and critics alike have long accused Grammy voters of ignoring the work of female artists -- but this year, it's highly probable that women will take home the night's top prizes.

A simple hangout spot for young people when it arrived on the scene 20 years ago, Facebook has since become a battle-hardened behemoth with an insatiable appetite for your attention.

Russia and Ukraine traded hundreds of prisoners of war on Wednesday, just a week after Moscow said Kyiv had shot down a plane carrying captured Ukrainian soldiers to an exchange.

French police arrested dozens of people on Wednesday as tensions escalated to new levels at protests by farmers in search of better conditions that have spread to other European countries.

Former international cricket star Imran Khan had vowed to lead the country a second time after being ousted as prime minister in 2022, but two lengthy prison sentences in a week have put paid to his chances -- for now at least.

Kosovo may be on the verge of a fresh crisis after the government threatened to ban the use of Serbian money this week, with a chorus of Western countries warning it could ignite a firestorm.

While most of the world treats Afghanistan's Taliban government as a pariah, China is growing diplomatic and economic links -- and Kabul is happy for the attention.

Israel's army has begun flooding Hamas's network of tunnels as intense fighting rages in Gaza, with the UN warning of the potential "collapse of the humanitarian system" in the territory after a funding row hit its Palestinian aid agency.

One morning last October as the dawn light touched the cold hills of northern Myanmar a barrage of rockets and drones streaked through the sky and slammed into dugouts and bases housing military troops.

Retired nurse Nga put her life savings into a bond at Vietnam's SCB bank, but now cannot access her money after being caught up with tens of thousands in a multibillion-dollar scam that has shocked the nation.

The US Federal Reserve is almost certain to hold its key lending rate steady for a fourth consecutive meeting Wednesday, as inflation continues to inch closer towards its long-term target of two percent.

US President Joe Biden said Tuesday he had decided on a response to a drone strike that killed three American troops in Jordan, while insisting he did not want a wider war in the Middle East.

Polling as the most popular leader in Latin America -- possibly even the world -- El Salvador's Nayib Bukele has inspired calls for hard-handed tactics across a region tired of violence and losing faith in democracy.

Chita Rivera -- a singer, dancer and actress who lit up Broadway stages over six decades in such shows as "West Side Story" and "Chicago" as one of the foremost entertainers of her generation -- died Tuesday, her publicist said.

Protests by angry farmers spread across Europe on Tuesday as the French government scrambled to placate agriculture workers who have blocked motorways and launched convoys of tractors toward Paris.

US immigration reform has become the focus of a high-stakes political battle, with President Joe Biden and Donald Trump locking horns over one of the hottest issues of the 2024 election.