AFP news

A Hong Kong court on Tuesday jailed all 45 defendants convicted of subversion in the city's largest national security trial, with "mastermind" Benny Tai receiving the longest term of 10 years.

As the massive trial of the "Hong Kong 47" democracy campaigners ended on Tuesday, an acquitted member of the group watched from the sidelines and felt the weight of his freedom upon him.

On a mountain slope in south Lebanon, agricultural worker Assaad al-Taqi is busy picking olives, undeterred by the roar of Israeli warplanes overhead.

The cold corridors of South Africa's once-mighty Komati coal-fired power plant have been quiet since its shutdown in 2022 in what was trumpeted as a pioneering project in the world's transition to green energy.

The world's richest man, Elon Musk, has been an ever-present sidekick for President-elect Donald Trump since the US election at the start of the month.

Hong Kong's largest national security trial will draw to a close on Tuesday, with dozens of the city's most prominent democracy campaigners set to be sentenced for subversion, a charge that can carry up to life imprisonment.

Permission from Washington for Ukraine to strike Russian territory with American-supplied long-range missiles may have come too late and hedged with too many restrictions to slow Moscow's advance, experts warn.

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Monday the world faces "a new period of major changes" as G20 leaders met in Brazil two months before Donald Trump returns to the White House.

A quietly growing belief in Silicon Valley could have immense implications: the breakthroughs from large AI models -- the ones expected to bring human-level artificial intelligence in the near future -- may be slowing down.

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.

US President-elect Donald Trump tapped Republican Brendan Carr, an Elon Musk-backed critic of big tech, to lead the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), calling him a "warrior for Free Speech" in a statement on Sunday.

European and Asian stock markets traded mixed Monday following a pre-weekend retreat on Wall Street as investors scaled back bets on US interest-rate cuts, fearing Donald Trump's policies could reignite inflation.

The late Quincy Jones was posthumously awarded an honorary Oscar at an emotional and star-packed Hollywood gala on Sunday that also handed golden statuettes to the producers of the James Bond movie franchise.

US and Philippine defence chiefs signed an agreement Monday on sharing classified military information and technology, as the long-time treaty allies deepen cooperation in a bid to counter Chinese influence in the region.

Floodwaters hit hundreds of houses in the northern Philippines on Monday after water released from a dam following Typhoon Man-yi caused a major river to break its banks.

The Kremlin accused US President Joe Biden on Monday of escalating the war in Ukraine by allowing Kyiv to use long-range missiles supplied by Washington to strike targets inside Russia.

India's capital New Delhi switched schools to online classes Monday until further notice as worsening toxic smog surged past 60 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily maximum.

An Indigenous lawmaker was censured by Australia's parliament Monday for heckling King Charles about the legacy of European settlement during his October visit to Canberra.

Schools in Beirut were closed on Monday after Israeli strikes on the Lebanese capital killed six people including Hezbollah's spokesman, the latest in a string of top militant targets slain in the war.

Mashudu Mashau says it takes about two minutes to catch a penguin, a task he does weekly to investigate sightings of injured or sickly seabirds.

Ukrainian studio GSC will on Wednesday release a long-awaited sequel to its hit S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video game, fine tuned during the Russian invasion which forced many of its staff to leave the country.

In what claims to be the only woman-run cafe in the capital of Indonesia's most conservative province, owner Qurrata Ayuni says she and her baristas provide an alternative to rowdy, smoke-filled male haunts.

Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal will cap his emotional farewell from tennis at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga this week even if he admits he may not make it onto the courts.

Beneath the blazing Egyptian sun, crowds at the Giza Pyramids gazed up at the ancient wonders, but some had their eyes peeled for a new attraction.

Senegal began counting votes Sunday after parliamentary elections in which the new government is aiming for a resounding majority to deliver the ambitious reform agenda that swept it to power eight months ago.

War, interrogations and a journey lasting days are not enough to stop Anna visiting her parents and beloved little brother in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.

Around 1,500 supporters of Russia's exiled opposition marched Sunday through central Berlin -- led by Yulia Navalnaya and chanting "No to war!"

Russia on Sunday pummelled Ukraine with one of the largest barrages of the grinding near-three-year war, Ukrainian officials said, forcing power cuts with fears of a precarious winter to come.

Israel issued evacuation orders Sunday for parts of south Beirut where it is targeting Hezbollah militants, hours after the Iran-backed group said it fired on several Israeli military bases around the coastal city of Haifa.