AFP news

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who came out of hiding to lead a demonstration in Caracas Thursday, was briefly detained after the rally according to her team -- reigniting international condemnation of Maduro's alleged vote steal and cowing of critics.

Kyiv has been rocked by reports that hundreds of troops deserted the unit -- most before being sent into conflict and a handful while undergoing training in France.

The Pakistan International Airlines flight took off from Islamabad around 1240 pm (0740 GMT) heading for Paris, AFP journalists saw, becoming the only carrier to offer a direct route to and from the European Union.

Barely two weeks before Trump's return to the White House, Zuckerberg dropped a bombshell Tuesday by pulling the plug on fact-checking at Facebook and Instagram in the United States -- and indicated changes could be coming to Europe too.

Officials announced the probe in July after Brussels began looking into whether Chinese government subsidies were undermining European competition.

The body of Bedouin Arab hostage Youssef al-Zayadna was found as international mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States kept up a push for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

They have gathered above Santa Monica Canyon, near the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood where devastating flames first broke out among multi-million dollar mansions on Tuesday.

The procession to the Philippine capital's Quiapo Church, which started before dawn after an open-air mass, was expected to swell to more than two million participants from across the heavily Catholic country, church officials said.

Security forces barred supporters from going to Maputo's international airport to meet Venancio Mondlane as he landed, with at least one person shot and wounded at one of the barricades, an AFP photographer said.

A report saying the president-elect was considering declaring a national economic emergency to provide legal cover to impose tariffs on all imported goods added to the sense of uncertainty on trading floors.

HMPV stands for "human metapneumovirus" and generally causes a mild infection of the upper respiratory tract.

Blinken had been expected to remain in Italy through the weekend to join President Joe Biden but the outgoing US leader scrapped his trip, which was to include an audience with Pope Francis, to address wildfires sweeping Los Angeles.

The comments contrast with the response of some European leaders on Wednesday to Trump refusing to rule out using economic or military force to acquire Greenland.

The Chinese electric vehicle market has witnessed explosive growth in recent years, driven in part by generous subsidies from Beijing.

The preliminary estimate by the Rhodium Group, an independent research organization, found a net fall of just 0.2 percent in economy-wide emissions.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to announce a substantial new military aid package for Kyiv at the 25th such talks at Ramstein Air Base that will include representatives from some 50 countries.

In April 2023, the firm's first spacecraft made an unsalvageable "hard landing", dashing its ambitions to be the first private company to touch down on the Moon.

Australia -- which has been at the forefront of efforts to rein in social media giants -- was worried about a surge of false information spreading on social media, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.

Little has gone right for Milan this season, with supporters demanding American owners RedBird sell the club as inconsistent performances and results left one of Italy's footballing giants miles off the title pace.

XPeng's "flying car" and TCL's AI-enhanced television were just a few of the products offered by Chinese companies that have won attention at CES, the annual Las Vegas tech confab.

Deschamps, 56, led France to World Cup glory in Russia in 2018 and guided them to the final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar where they lost to Lionel Messi's Argentina on penalties.

Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg announced the company was going to "get rid" of its third-party fact-checkers in the United States, in a sweeping policy shift that analysts saw as an attempt to appease US President-elect Donald Trump.

An Islamist-led offensive ripped through Syria from the north and into Damascus on December 8, bringing to a sudden end five decades of rule by the Assad clan.

Last time out, Durban's Sharks were hammered at Leicester while Cape Town-based Stormers were humiliated at Harlequins.

If successful, it would mark only the second time an American robot has touched down on the lunar surface since the end of the Apollo era.

The Magpies have never previously won the competition and have had to wait since 1969 to celebrate any major trophy.

He took over from Laurent Blanc in 2012 and has taken France to three major finals in total, losing the Euro 2016 final to Portugal and the 2022 World Cup showpiece to Argentina.

Facebook parent Meta's move into fact-checking came in the wake of Trump's shock election in 2016, which critics said was enabled by rampant disinformation on Facebook and interference by foreign actors, including Russia, on the platform.

The financial incentives for people dropping off weapons at collection points in churches were published late Monday in the country's official gazette.