AFP news

Syrian rebel commander Hassan Abdel Ghani sought to reassure religious minorities on Saturday after Islamist-led fighters snatched key cities and swathes of territory from government control.

In 1973, when Shin Jae-hyung was a teenager, he was out in the streets being teargassed, fighting against South Korea's then-military dictator Park Chung-hee.

German campaigners are pushing for reform to remove legal hurdles for women seeking an abortion, with emotions running high on the issue as the country heads for early elections.

A string of rape and assault allegations against the son of Norway's future queen have plunged the royal family into its "biggest scandal" ever, wrapping up an "annus horribilis" for the monarchy.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has staggered from one crisis to another since winning power but he topped it all this week by declaring martial law and sending troops and helicopters to parliament.

South Korea's embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol apologised but stopped short of resigning Saturday over his declaration of martial law, with a vote to impeach him hours away and mass street protests planned in Seoul.

Notre Dame will formally reopen Saturday five years after the Paris cathedral was devastated by fire, with US president-elect Donald Trump among world leaders there to celebrate its remarkably rapid restoration.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad oversaw a merciless crackdown on a pro-democracy revolt that morphed into one of the bloodiest wars of the century.

Thousands of defiant pro-EU protesters in Georgia staged a fresh rally Friday after the prime minister claimed victory in a "battle" against the opposition, amid a deepening post-electoral crisis.

Romania's constitutional court on Friday cancelled the country's presidential election following allegations of Russian interference in favour of the far-right frontrunner, just two days ahead of the run-off.

A US judge rejected a criminal settlement with Boeing over the 737 MAX crashes on Thursday, slamming diversity policies at the aviation giant and the Justice Department that made him "skeptical" of a fair outcome.

Europe's new Vega-C rocket launched Thursday from French Guiana and put a satellite into orbit in its first takeoff since a failed flight two years ago.

The World Bank announced Thursday that it had raised close to $24 billion to provide loans and grants for some of the world's poorest nations, which it can leverage to generate a record $100 billion in total spending power.

Asian markets mostly fell Friday at the end of a volatile week, with South Korean stocks and the won still under pressure with the president's job hanging by a thread as he faces impeachment.

Harrison Ford was de-aged last year for "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" on the big screen, and video game makers are pulling the same trick for the whip-cracking hero's latest outing on the small screen.

When he attends the re-opening ceremony of Notre Dame on Saturday, Macron can boast that this target has been met, dispelling the doubts of many who argued that the half decade goal was wildly ambitious.

Mask-wearing arsonists set a synagogue ablaze in a pre-dawn attack Friday in the Australian city of Melbourne, police said, sparking widespread condemnation.

Lawmakers camping out in parliament, hundreds of thousands of protestors expected outside, a landmark vote to impeach the president over martial law -- South Korean democracy faces its "most critical moment", opposition leader Lee Jae-myung told AFP Friday.

Key figures in South Korea's failed martial law bid share one key connection: they are all graduates of a prestigious, all-boys school in Seoul.

Rebel forces pressing a lightning offensive in Syria aim to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad's rule, their Islamist leader said in an interview published on Friday.

Indonesian fruit seller Budi was seeking better prospects when he signed up for an IT job in Cambodia.

South Korea's ruling party chief demanded Friday that President Yoon Suk Yeol be removed from office after his abortive attempt to impose martial law, warning there was a "significant risk" he could try to subvert civilian rule again.

President Emmanuel Macron on Friday was to hold talks with political factions as he seeks to name a new prime minister and find a way out of France's political crisis.

Thousands rallied across Georgia on Thursday for a second week of pro-EU protests, after the prime minister threatened to "eradicate" the country's "liberal-fascist" opposition.

Amnesty International accused Israel Thursday of "committing genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the war last year, saying its new report was a "wake-up call" for the world.

OpenAI and military defense technology company Anduril Industries said Wednesday that they would work together to use artificial intelligence for "national security missions."

In a year set to be declared the hottest on record, natural disasters caused $310 billion in economic losses globally in 2024, as climate change increasingly takes its toll, Swiss Re said Thursday.

A new artificial intelligence-based weather model can deliver 15-day forecasts with unrivaled accuracy and speed, a Google lab said, with potentially life-saving applications as climate change ramps up.

Syrian government forces were locked in heavy fighting around the central city of Hama on Thursday, trying to halt an advance of Islamist-led rebels, a war monitor said.