AFP news

The Ukrainian government is "very concerned" by the call from sports federations and National Olympic Committees to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at next year's Paris Olympics, its acting sports minister has told AFP. Matviy Bidnyi said Kyiv was concerned that the move gave the impression that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) "does not want to demonstrate the necessary leadership in the matter of Olympic fairness and justice."

A much-anticipated US approval of wider bitcoin trading has helped the world's biggest cryptocurrency reach 20-month heights, risking however pain for new investors unaccustomed to its volatility.

A huge blast at an explosives depot in Seychelles on Thursday injured 66 people and brought down buildings, prompting the country's "shocked" president to declare a state of emergency.

The US state of New Mexico filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Facebook and Instagram of being a "breeding ground" for predators who target children.

Proposed high-speed rail lines in the western United States moved a step closer to reality Tuesday with the announcement of $6 billion in government grants.

Global equities rose Wednesday with Frankfurt striking a record peak, as investors tracked resurgent hopes of interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will join a video summit later Wednesday with the leaders of the G7, chair Japan said, hours after unexpectedly skipping a virtual meeting with US senators.

Israeli forces battled Hamas militants in Gaza's main southern city on Wednesday in some of the most intense combat of the nearly two-month war sparked by the October 7 attacks.

The last hiker missing after a volcano eruption in Indonesia was found dead Wednesday, rescuers said, raising the death toll to 23 three days after the disaster.

Airlines should carry a record number of passengers next year as the sector puts the Covid-19 pandemic behind it, the industry's top trade association said Wednesday, although profitability remains a concern.

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are living in "utter, deepening horror", the UN human rights chief said Wednesday, as he pleaded for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Britain on Wednesday announced a fresh round of sanctions against Russia's "war machine" in Ukraine, as David Cameron headed to Washington for his first visit as foreign secretary.

Guyana said Tuesday it will approach the UN Security Council for help if Venezuela makes any moves on a disputed oil-rich region following a referendum Caracas says bolstered its claim to it.

Washington is facing an increasingly complex and dangerous crisis resulting from the Israel-Hamas war, which has sparked repeated militant attacks and drawn US military attention and assets back to the Middle East.

Humanity faces an "unprecedented" risk from tipping points that could unleash a domino effect of irreversible catastrophes across the planet, researchers warned Wednesday.

Millions of video game fans got their first glimpse Tuesday of "Grand Theft Auto VI", after a trailer landed on YouTube promising the first woman lead character and a 2025 release date for the latest instalment of one of the world's biggest entertainment franchises.

Banque Pictet et Cie will pay nearly $123 million under a deferred prosecution agreement in which the private bank admitted to helping US taxpayers evade $50.6 million in taxes, US officials announced Monday.

The US Supreme Court appeared divided on Monday as it heard a challenge to Purdue Pharma's $6 billion opioids settlement immunizing the Sackler family that controlled the drugmaker from future litigation.

Canada's public broadcaster on Monday announced it would cut 600 jobs, or 10 percent of its workforce, as it confronts financial challenges sparked by a drop in television ad revenues and competition from digital news outlets.

The Premier League announced on Monday it had agreed a record GBP6.7 billion ($8.45 billion) domestic television rights deal for a four-year period starting from the 2025/26 season.

The death toll from a volcano eruption in Indonesia has risen to 22 after nine more bodies were discovered, a search and rescue agency official said Tuesday.

Hollywood on Tuesday anxiously waited to learn if actors have approved their union's hard-fought deal with studios, or if an entertainment industry still reeling from months-long strikes could be plunged back into turmoil.

A record almost 2,500 fossil fuel lobbyists have been accredited for UN climate talks in Dubai, as negotiators wrestle with calls to end all new oil, gas and coal projects to curb global warming, campaign groups said Tuesday.

Major stock markets diverged Tuesday, with analysts warning November's rally fuelled by bets on interest rate cuts may have gone too far.

Chest-high water surged down the streets of India's southern city Chennai on Tuesday, with eight people killed in intense floods as Cyclone Michaung made landfall on the southeast coast.

Ratings agency Moody's on Tuesday downgraded the outlook on China's credit rating to "negative" from "stable" on the back of rising debt in the world's second-largest economy.

A Nigerian army drone targeting armed groups killed at least 85 civilians by mistake in northwest Kaduna State, causing outrage over one of the country's deadliest military bombing accidents.

A daredevil YouTuber who deliberately crashed his plane to boost the number of viewers on his channel and then lied about it to investigators has been jailed for six months after reaching a plea deal, US authorities said Monday.

The White House issued a dire warning Monday that US aid for Ukraine will run out by the end of the year, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin could win the war if Congress fails to agree fresh funding.