AFP news

Major arms exporter South Korea is not ruling out providing weapons directly to Ukraine, President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday, signalling a possible shift in Seoul's stance on the issue.

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca said Thursday that the head of its China operations had been detained, after reports the firm was under investigation for potentially illegal data collection and drug imports.

The UK government announced sanctions on Thursday against three private mercenary groups operating in Africa with links to the Kremlin, including Wagner group successor Africa Corps.

Australia's prime minister on Thursday vowed to ban children under 16 from social media, saying the pervasive influence of platforms like Facebook and TikTok was "doing real harm to our kids".

Asian equities mostly rose Thursday, while the dollar held gains and bitcoin hit a fresh record as markets try to ascertain the consequences of a second Donald Trump presidency after he pledged to cut taxes and ramp up tariffs with an eye on China.

Germany enters a period of political uncertainty Thursday after its fragile three-party ruling coalition collapsed on the same day Donald Trump won the US election.

Israel launched fresh strikes on south Beirut early Thursday, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president-elect Donald Trump spoke about the "Iranian threat".

Ireland meet New Zealand on Friday at Lansdowne Road in a rematch of last year's epic Rugby World Cup quarter-final which dashed Irish dreams of lifting the trophy.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday amid a deep coalition crisis that he will seek a vote of confidence in January that would pave the way for early elections by March.

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been dubbed the "Scholzomat" for a dry personal style bordering on the robotic, but also hailed as a safe pair of hands leading a country that values stability.

Hezbollah said Wednesday that tens of thousands of its militants were ready to fight Israel, adding that the US election result would have no bearing on the war in Lebanon.

Donald Trump's victory has left Mexico bracing for potential trade tensions, tariffs and mass migrant deportations that experts say could pose a major test of relations between the closely connected neighbors.

The PlayStation 5 Pro hits shops on Thursday with a price tag that has raised eyebrows among gamers, but growing sticker shocks in the tech industry have yet to deter consumers.

Donald Trump's victory in US presidential elections has sparked anxiety on the streets of Kyiv at a decisive moment of the war as Ukrainian defences buckle under mounting Russian pressure.

Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 US presidential election is likely to usher in a raft of economic changes at home and abroad, touching everything from foreign trade to the independence of the US central bank.

US allies at NATO scrambled Wednesday to put a brave face on the return of Donald Trump to the White House amid fears the unpredictable Republican could upend European security and pull the plug on Ukraine support.

With the return to the White House of Donald Trump, the United States and the world are set for a major new shakeup as the nationalist president turns the page on four years of nurturing allies and confronting foes.

Donald Trump touted his ability to "get away with it" as a defining theme of his life story when he first ran for president in 2016 -- boasting that he could shoot someone on New York's Fifth Avenue without losing a single vote.

Donald Trump has won the US presidential election, media said Wednesday, defeating Kamala Harris in a stunning political comeback that will send shock waves across the world.

The dollar surged and bitcoin hit a record high Wednesday as traders bet on a victory for Donald Trump as he picked up key swing states needed to take the White House, ramping up bets on fresh tax cuts, tariffs and rising inflation.

Talent, discipline and a desire to please leader Kim Jong Un have helped propel North Korea's youth footballers to two Women's World Cup crowns in a matter of weeks, experts say.

Sold by her family as a teenager, Zarin was beaten, drugged and repeatedly gang-raped -- just one of many thousands of young women trafficked in India.

Viktor Gyokeres scored a hat-trick as Ruben Amorim's Sporting stunned Manchester City with a 4-1 win in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Liverpool trounced Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan beat holders Real Madrid in Spain.

The first polls closed Tuesday in the volatile White House race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump as a divided nation anxiously awaited the result of one of the tightest elections in US history.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired defence minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday after public differences over the ongoing war in Gaza, replacing him with former top diplomat Israel Katz.

German police on Tuesday arrested eight suspected members of a far-right militant group that had trained for what they expected would be the collapse of state order, prosecutors said.

Michelin factory workers burnt tyres in western France on Tuesday and vowed to stage a strike after the tyre company said it would close two plants by early 2026 over collapsing sales.

The wives and girlfriends of dozens of men on trial in France accused of raping another woman while she was drugged by her husband have reacted with anger and disbelief, although some say they will stand by the accused.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations on Monday accused Turkey of "malice," after Ankara submitted a letter signed by 52 countries calling for a halt in arms deliveries to Israel over the war in Gaza.