AFP news

On a lush green hilltop on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, Carmela Keren Yakuti proudly shows off her home in Dovev, which she fled more than 16 months ago over fears of a Hezbollah attack.

Pope Francis's condition remained stable but complex on Friday as he battles pneumonia in hospital, the Vatican said, a day after releasing an audio message in which the 88-year-old sounded weak and breathless.

Britain and Japan stressed the importance of free trade in talks in Tokyo on Friday amid an escalating battle of tit-for-tat tariffs between the United States and other countries under President Donald Trump.

Donald Trump on Friday hosts top cryptocurrency players at the White House, a political boost for an industry that has struggled to gain legitimacy -- and where the Republican president faces conflict of interest concerns.

A Syrian war monitor said Friday said that security forces "executed" 52 members of the Alawite minority, a day after deadly clashes with gunmen loyal to toppled president Bashar al-Assad.

The unearthing of a 500-kilogram World War II bomb near tracks outside Paris on Friday halted traffic and stranded thousands of passengers in one of the biggest rail disruptions in the French capital in years.

Troubled Australian casino operator Star Entertainment said Friday it is trying to sell its stake in a major resort to raise desperately needed cash.

Violent winds toppled power lines Friday as a tropical cyclone inched towards Australia's eastern coast, swelling rivers, sparking evacuation orders and leaving 80,000 homes without electricity.

China's retaliatory tariffs against US farm produce from corn to chicken are designed to hurt Donald Trump's voter base, but remain restrained enough to allow room for the adversaries to hash out a trade deal, analysts say.

Fierce fighting between Syrian security forces and gunmen loyal to deposed ruler Bashar al-Assad killed 48 people on Thursday, a war monitor said.

Global sea ice cover fell to a historic low in February when the world continued to experience exceptional heat and temperatures reached 11 degrees Celsius above average near the North Pole, Europe's climate monitor said on Thursday.

Christie's first auction of art made by artificial intelligence (AI) ended Wednesday with mixed results, providing scant clues as to the future of the new and controversial medium.

El Salvador's San Sebastian river has no fish. In the community of Santa Rosa de Lima, a two-hour drive from the capital San Salvador, wastewater still flows directly into the San Sebastian river from a nearby hill where a gold mine operated for 100 years until 2006.

Asian stocks climbed on Thursday as investors welcomed US President Donald Trump's auto tariff delay and were expecting China to announce a large stimulus package.

China vowed to fight a trade war with the United States "to the end" on Thursday, as tariffs from Washington buffeted the global economy and threatened to hit Beijing's lagging growth.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged "no pause" in pressure on Russia to halt its "terror" after a Russian missile strike on a hotel in his hometown killed four civilians.

The Japanese owner of 7-Eleven announced on Thursday a raft of new measures to fend off a takeover by a Canadian rival, including a huge share buyback and an IPO of its US unit.

The shock entrance of DeepSeek in the race to develop advanced artificial intelligence has put the world on notice as to China's innovation prowess, a high-ranking Beijing official said Thursday.

For three years, the Kremlin saw the United States as its biggest enemy, accusing US President Joe Biden of prolonging the Ukraine conflict by supplying weapons to Kyiv.

Hamas said Thursday that Donald Trump's threats would encourage Israel to disregard the fragile ceasefire, after the US president said that unless hostages are freed, the people of Gaza would be "DEAD".

European Union leaders will hold emergency talks in Brussels on Thursday, gathering as the Trump administration upends traditional alliances and retracts wartime backing of Ukraine.

Automakers received temporary reprieve Wednesday from US President Donald Trump's tariffs targeting Canada and Mexico, as concerns mounted over consumer impacts and talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yielded no immediate breakthrough.

Ukraine said on Wednesday it planned to hold new talks with the United States after Washington suspended its intelligence sharing, delivering a fresh blow to Kyiv as it battles Russia's invasion.

Israel's new military chief Eyal Zamir said his country's mission to defeat Hamas remained unfinished as he took office Wednesday, with uncertainty hanging over the fragile Gaza ceasefire.

China set an ambitious annual growth target of around five percent on Wednesday, vowing to make domestic demand its main economic driver as an escalating trade war with the United States hit exports.

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky has told him Kyiv was ready for talks with Russia and the finalization of a US minerals deal, days after the pair's explosive White House meeting.

Germany is set to rearm in a way not seen since World War II after likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said his government would vastly increase defence spending.

Apple said on Monday it will spend more than $500 billion in the United States over the next four years and hire 20,000 people, with President Donald Trump quickly taking credit for the announcement.

After a humbling election defeat for Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his Social Democrats (SPD), the party looked to collect itself on Monday in preparation for a potential new role as the junior partner in a conservative-led government.