AFP news

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Friday for a "transitional administration" to be put in place in Ukraine and vowed his army would "finish off" Ukrainian troops, in hardline remarks as US President Donald Trump pushes for a ceasefire.

A powerful earthquake hit Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand on Friday, turning a major hospital in the Myanmar capital into a "mass casualty area" and trapping dozens of workers in an under-construction skyscraper in Bangkok.

China has rushed ahead in recent years as the world's forerunner in wind energy, propelled by explosive local demand as Beijing aggressively pursues strategic and environmental targets.

Since his teenage years, Koji Hayashi has dreaded one thing: his stubborn, once-vivacious mother being hanged for murder after failing to win her long campaign for a retrial.

South Korean game publisher Krafton released early access to its life simulation game "InZOI" Friday, hoping its powerful lifelike graphics will unseat the decades-long dominance of "The Sims" hit franchise.

Turkey stepped up its crackdown on both student protesters and press coverage of the mass demonstrations gripping the country on Thursday, generating defiance but also a growing sense of fear.

Myanmar's junta chief will attend a regional summit in Bangkok next week, a spokesman said Thursday, a rare foreign trip outside close allies Russia and China, as he struggles to tame a spiralling civil war.

Mohammed Hussein Mohammedie was just 19 when he left Iraq and attempted the perilous English Channel crossing in November 2021.

Emarketer on Wednesday forecast that ad revenue at X, formerly Twitter, will grow this year as brands fear retaliation by politically connected owner Elon Musk if they stay away.

North Korea sent an additional 3,000 troops to Russia this year and is still supplying missiles, artillery and ammunition to help Moscow fight Kyiv, Seoul's military said on Thursday.

Hype is growing from leaders of major AI companies that "strong" computer intelligence will imminently outstrip humans, but many researchers in the field see the claims as marketing spin.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday he would call a general election "imminently", with local media reporting the poll would be held on May 3.

Israel's parliament on Thursday passed a law expanding elected officials' power to appoint judges, defying a years-long movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious judicial reforms that saw massive street protests.

A plunge in automakers hit Asian and European equities on Thursday after Donald Trump announced painful tariffs on all imported vehicles and parts as he presses hardball trade policies many fear will spark a recession.

Wildfires in South Korea are now the largest and deadliest on record, having burned more forest and killed more people than any previous blaze, officials said Thursday, as the death toll hit 27.

Sudan's gold industry has become the lifeblood of its war, with nearly all of the trade channelled through the United Arab Emirates, enriching both the army and paramilitaries, according to official and NGO sources.

In a sweltering factory in Lesotho, rows of workers hunch over thrumming sewing machines churning out piles of jeans for the global market from a country that US President Donald Trump has mocked as unknown.

Booing crowds, a man jabbing his finger and swearing -- it is not easy these days for some Republican members of Congress as they face their constituents in town halls dominated by rage over President Donald Trump's radical cost-cutting policies.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday is to host European leaders including President Volodymyr Zelensky for a summit aimed at boosting Ukrainian security ahead of any potential ceasefire with Russia.

From a gated community for her Zoroastrian faith in Pakistan's megacity Karachi, 22-year-old Elisha Amra has waved goodbye to many friends migrating abroad as the ancient Parsi community dwindles.

US President Donald Trump's homeland security chief on Wednesday visited the mega-prison in El Salvador where hundreds of Venezuelan migrants have been deported under contested legal grounds.

US President Donald Trump has announced steep tariffs on auto imports and parts, provoking threats of retaliation from trading partners ahead of further promised trade levies next week.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday warned Russia was still showing a "desire for war" despite efforts to forge a ceasefire in Ukraine, ahead of a summit aimed at boosting Ukrainian security under a potential truce brokered by the United States.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Wednesday to seize parts of Gaza if Hamas did not release hostages, while the militant group warned they would return "in coffins" if Israel did not stop bombing the Palestinian territory.

Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan arrived at Khartoum's presidential palace on Wednesday, declaring the capital "free" of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after nearly two years of war.

Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro to stand trial on charges of plotting a coup after losing elections in 2022.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken Turkey closer to autocracy with the arrest of the elected mayor of Istanbul, but the scale of the ensuing protests could yet shake his grip, analysts say.

The producers behind the "Spider-Man" and "Harry Potter" film franchises will oversee the next James Bond movie, Amazon MGM Studios announced Tuesday.

Signal is an end-to-end encrypted messaging app that is considered one of the most secure in the world by security professionals, but was never intended to be the go-to choice for White House officials planning a military operation.