AFP news

Some of the miners who stayed underground for more than two days in a standoff between rival South African labour unions began returning to the surface Wednesday, their representatives and police said.

Europe's main stock markets slid in subdued trade Wednesday, but Asia rallied after China unveiled plans for $137 billion in extra debt to boost infrastructure spending.

Tokyo's rebranded auto show returns this weekend just as China looks set to overtake Japan as the world's biggest car exporter after Toyota, Nissan and others got stuck in the electric vehicle slow lane.

Hong Kong leader John Lee said Wednesday the semi-autonomous city would create its own national security law in 2024, four years after Beijing imposed sweeping legislation aimed at silencing dissent.

Kenya's central bank chief has said that the country's currency, currently trading at record lows, has been overvalued for several years.

Hoang Thi Minh Hong had worried for months she could become the next environmental activist swept up in Vietnam's crackdown, so she closed her NGO and began keeping a low profile.

China will send its youngest-ever crew of astronauts to the Tiangong space station this week, officials said Wednesday, as Beijing pursues plans for a manned mission to the Moon by the end of the decade.

The candidates for next year's Indonesian presidential election were set Wednesday, with septuagenarian former special forces general Prabowo Subianto and his running mate, the president's son, seen as the frontrunners.

The raging war between Israel and Hamas is already battering the economies of nearby countries, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund told a Saudi investor forum on Wednesday.

Five Myanmar nationals asked the Philippines on Wednesday to investigate alleged war crimes committed by 10 serving or former members of Myanmar's military against the mainly Christian Chin minority.

Japan's top court said on Wednesday that obliging transgender people to be sterilised in order to change their legal gender was unconstitutional.

US President Joe Biden hosts Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for a lavish state visit Wednesday where their focus on China risks being overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Melting glaciers, unbearable heat and space junk: a month before crunch climate talks in the United Arab Emirates, a UN report published Wednesday warns about irreversible impacts to the planet without drastic changes to connected social and physical systems.

Russia claimed Wednesday it was exhausting Ukraine's army, 20 months into a conflict in which neither side has made recent significant gains.

The main UN aid agency in besieged Gaza warned it will have to stop operations by the end of Wednesday because it is running out of fuel, as Hamas said overnight Israeli strikes killed at least 80 people.

Iran and Russia on Monday denounced European and US interference in tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan at a meeting in Tehran aimed at finding a solution without the West.

Police in Panama fired teargas Monday at protesters burning tires and blocking roads to protest a contract allowing a Canadian company to continue operating Central America's biggest copper mine.

From bank profits to migrants, Giorgia Meloni's Italian government has been active on numerous fronts in its first year in office, but many measures seem more designed for show than lasting change.

Asian markets recovered ground on Tuesday with traders weighed down by unpredictability over the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and key earnings and economic data releases expected later in the week.

The United States accused Iran on Monday of "actively facilitating" attacks on US forces in the Middle East as it confirmed it had sent a small number of military advisors to Israel.

China's top diplomat will pay a rare visit to Washington this week, the United States announced Monday, paving the way for a potential visit by President Xi Jinping aimed at keeping tensions in check.

Three separate armed attacks in Mexico on Monday left at least 24 people dead, including a dozen police officers, authorities said about the latest violence to hit regions plagued by drug trafficking.

The world is "failing" on a pledge to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030, with global losses increasing last year, a group of NGOs and researchers warned Tuesday.

In the middle of the shrunken Mississippi, a barge drags a giant metal-edged suction head along the riverbed to remove sediment from shipping lanes.

Liberal politician Maria Corina Machado held an overwhelming lead Monday in the opposition's presidential primary contest, but it remained unclear if her candidacy to oppose President Nicolas Maduro in next year's elections will clear a major legal hurdle.

Economic powerhouse Taiwanese companies based in China may be forced to relocate if they feel "unjustly pressured," the island's vice president warned Tuesday after Chinese authorities launched a probe into tech giant Foxconn.

The war between Israel and Hamas could deal a heavy blow to the global economy, banking titans told a glitzy investment forum in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Eurozone business activity slumped at a faster pace in October, resulting in job losses, a closely watched Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) survey put out by S&P Global showed Tuesday.

Music streaming giant Spotify on Tuesday said it registered 26 percent growth in active users for the third quarter as it reported a rare quarterly profit.