AFP news

Standing beside his cargo of Thai fruit and furniture, truck driver Ko Cho steels himself for a journey to Myanmar's Yangon that will demand bribes, dodging landslides and navigating a raging civil war.

From fake accounts impersonating journalists to war-themed video games fueling false narratives, tech platforms are struggling to contain a tsunami of misinformation around Palestinian-Israeli hostilities after rolling back content moderation policies.

Israel kept up its deadly bombardment of Hamas-controlled Gaza Tuesday after the Palestinian militant group threatened to execute some of the around 150 hostages it abducted in a weekend assault if air strikes continue without warning.

Rescue workers scrabbled through rubble Tuesday for villagers buried in their homes by a series of earthquakes that killed more than 2,000 people in rural western Afghanistan, but hope of finding survivors was fading fast.

Israel's army declared Monday it had regained control of southern areas near the Gaza Strip on the third day of gruelling gun battles to dislodge holdout Hamas fighters whose surprise attack the shocked nation has likened to 9/11.

Despite mounting efforts to limit climate change, the OPEC oil cartel said Monday it expects demand for crude to continue to grow for the next two decades.

At a mostly empty clinic catering to HIV patients, staff monitor CCTV footage for potential spies, reflecting the fear among Ugandan health workers following the adoption of a controversial anti-gay law.

A landslide caused by heavy rainfall has killed at least 23 people in Cameroon's capital Yaounde, firefighters said on Monday, as they searched for more victims.

The Nobel prize in economics was on Monday awarded to American economist Claudia Goldin for her research helping understand the role of women in the labour market.

The conflict between Israel and Hamas militants is making a global impact with Britain, Canada, France and Germany among nations stepping up security around potential Jewish targets and pro-Palestinian demonstrations erupting in cities across the world.

President Joe Biden ordered US ships and warplanes to move closer to Israel in a show of support on Sunday, while sending fresh military aid after attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Fifty years after the original, newly released "The Exorcist: Believer" topped the North American box office this weekend with an estimated $27.2 million in ticket sales, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday.

The race to replace the ousted Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives intensifies this week amid questions over whether anyone is capable of unifying the chaotic party's warring factions.

The IMF and World Bank gather in Morocco Monday for their first annual meetings on African soil in 50 years, under pressure to reform to better aid poor nations blighted by debt and climate change.

Oil prices rallied while the dollar and yen advanced Monday after Hamas launched a shock attack on Israel at the weekend, sparking fresh concerns about tensions in the Middle East.

Asian finance hub Hong Kong halted trading at its stock exchange on Monday and closed schools, after Typhoon Koinu generated torrential rainfall overnight.

After four failed bids in the recent past, Turkey is finally set to be awarded the hosting rights for a major international football tournament this week when UEFA decides where Euro 2032 will be staged.

The economics prize closes the prestigious Nobel awards season on Monday, with specialists on credit, the job market or inequalities expected to be among the contenders.

China's top diplomat said Monday he hoped Washington and Beijing could manage their differences "more rationally" as he met with visiting senior American lawmakers.

Afghan villagers and volunteers on Monday helped dig for survivors of a series of earthquakes that killed more than 2,000 people, as aid began trickling into the devastated region.

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to imprisoned activist Narges Mohammadi for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran, many of whom are removing their hijabs despite a harsh crackdown.

Former president Donald Trump shared classified information about US nuclear submarines with an Australian businessman shortly after he left office, in a meeting at his Florida private members club Mar-a-Lago, US media said Thursday.

The Venezuelan prosecutor's office said Thursday it had issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Juan Guaido and would ask for Interpol's help in his apprehension.

Ex-international football star George Weah is running for a second term as Liberia's president in elections on Tuesday, with peace and development among voters' main concerns.

Advance ticket sales for the movie of Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour have topped $100 million worldwide, theater operator AMC said Thursday, making it the best-selling feature-length concert film in history.

US market regulators on Thursday asked a judge to order Elon Musk to comply with a subpoena to answer questions about his purchases of Twitter shares last year.

A group of high-profile activists including Hillary Clinton, Malala Yousafzai and Gloria Steinem have signed a call for the United Nations to criminalize gender apartheid, according to a letter sent to member states Thursday.

An attack Thursday on a Syrian military academy killed 112 people, a war monitor said, with state media blaming "terrorist organisations" for the drone strike in government-held Homs.

New Zealand handed defending champions England a nine-wicket thrashing at the Cricket World Cup on Thursday at the start of a marathon tournament likely to dictate the event's status in the future of the sport.