AFP news

Israeli forces battled Hamas militants amid the ruins of the heavily-bombed Gaza Strip on Tuesday as the war raging for almost three months piled new miseries on Palestinians in the besieged territory.

Turkey on Tuesday announced the detention of 33 people suspected of planning abductions and spying on behalf of Israel's Mossad intelligence service.

Britain's former prime minister Tony Blair has strongly denied an Israeli media report linking him to talks last week about the resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza in other countries.

Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus was convicted on Monday of violating Bangladesh's labor laws in a case decried by his supporters as politically motivated.

President Xi Jinping said Sunday the Chinese economy had grown "more resilient and dynamic" in 2023, despite financial figures continuing to disappoint as the post-Covid recovery stalls.

DR Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi has won a second term in office after elections described as chaotic, and is now set to cement his authority in the impoverished central African nation.

German police arrested three people on Sunday over an alleged attack plot targeting the cathedral in Cologne on New Year's Eve.

A rebellious teen turned "woke" family man, Denmark's future king Crown Prince Frederik is the embodiment of the country's relaxed, liberal monarchy.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for unity in the country in his New Year's Eve address Sunday as it prepares for the 2024 Olympic Games, after a difficult year for his government.

The PGA Tour worked Sunday to extend a deadline into 2024 for finalizing a merger agreement with Saudi Arabian investors, tour commissioner Jay Monahan calling talks "active and productive."

Ugandan athlete Benjamin Kiplagat has been found dead in Kenya, police said Sunday, with local media reporting he had been stabbed to death.

Fantasy musical "Wonka" bounced back to the top of the North American box office this New Year's weekend as an otherwise pallid film year came to an end, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.

The future of Kylian Mbappe and his protracted courtship by Real Madrid is expected to be the key theme of the transfer window that opens in Europe on Monday.

Seconds after ringing in the new year on a lively street in Tel Aviv, some young Israelis found themselves running for cover while others kept the party going with a shrug as missile defence systems intercepted a barrage of rockets overhead.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen expressed hopes on Monday for Taipei and Beijing to seek "long-term peaceful coexistence" and said future relations should be decided by Taiwan's "democratic procedures".

Israel warned its war against Hamas will continue throughout 2024 as unrelenting strikes killed two dozen people in Gaza and the Palestinian militant group fired a rocket barrage at the stroke of midnight.

Tsunami waves over a metre high hit central Japan on Monday after a series of powerful earthquakes that damaged homes, closed highways and prompted authorities to urge people to run to higher ground.

The UN human rights chief said Thursday he was "deeply alarmed" by the string of attacks on villages in central Nigeria which left nearly 200 dead, according to local authorities.

Chinese tech giant Huawei said Friday it "weathered the storm" of US sanctions as it announced a rise of almost nine percent in revenues in 2023, a year that saw it shock Washington with the release of a high-end smartphone.

Venezuela's state oil company said Thursday that an oil spill at a refinery on the country's western coastline was no longer "active" and that more than 80% of the affected area had been cleaned up.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday ordered more than 5,600 military personnel to participate in a "defensive" exercise near the border with Guyana, in response to Britain sending a warship to the area.

Arsenal missed out on the chance to return to the Premier League summit on Thursday, losing 2-0 to West Ham as Tottenham went down in a six-goal thriller at Brighton.

The US state of Maine on Thursday blocked former president Donald Trump from its Republican presidential primary ballot, the second state to disqualify him over his role in the January 2021 assault on the US Capitol.

Asian stocks were mixed on Friday, with no major movers on the last trading day of the year, closing out a period that has seen gains boosted by investors' expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate cut as early as March.

Israel pounded south and central Gaza on Friday as Egypt was to host a high-level Hamas delegation for talks to try and end the nearly 12-week war that has devastated the besieged Palestinian territory.

An award-winning architect in Bangladesh, one of the nations most at risk from flooding driven by climate change, has developed an ingenious two-floor housing solution to help people survive what scientists warn is a growing threat.

Pakistan has banned New Year's Eve celebrations to show solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, the government said late Thursday, urging people to instead "observe simplicity".

Russia launched drone and missile strikes across Ukraine on Friday, killing at least 12 people and wounding over 70 in one of the biggest air attacks of the war.

Drinkers are getting into something of a fizz over Turkish sparkling wine.