AFP news

Russia said Thursday that it plans to raise defence spending by almost 70 percent next year, funnelling massive resources into its Ukraine offensive to fight what it calls a "hybrid war" unleashed by the West.

Celebrated British-Irish actor Michael Gambon, best known for playing Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight "Harry Potter" films, has died in hospital aged 82, his family announced Thursday, prompting a flood of tributes.

Nagorno-Karabakh's long and bloody dream of independence ended on Thursday with a decree declaring that the ethnic Armenian statelet in Azerbaijan "ceases to exist" at the end of the year.

Their language was salty and the message was clear: game developers believed their livelihoods were under threat and they were not going to accept it.

Late-night talk shows, a mainstay of the US TV schedule, will be back on the air within a week, hosts said Wednesday, after leaders of the Writers Guild of America called off a paralyzing strike.

Gang-plagued Haiti is sinking further into bloodshed and lawlessness, the United Nations chief warned in a report Wednesday, urging the international community to provide security and financial aid to the troubled Caribbean nation.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Wednesday began hearing a case brought by six Portuguese youths against 32 nations for not doing enough to stop global warming, the latest bid to secure climate justice through the courts.

No matter the distance or the weather, Jane Christensen was determined to see the giant pandas before they left Washington.

Next week's Nobel Prize announcements will celebrate a string of groundbreaking achievements, but with conflicts raging around the globe, experts solicited about possible Peace Prize winners are scratching their heads.

The artificial intelligence revolution is fully underway, but soaring demand for its most crucial component has startups scratching their heads on how they can deliver on AI's promise.

European maritime companies are ditching their old ships for scrap on Bangladeshi beaches in dangerous and polluting conditions that have killed workers pulling them apart, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

North Korea has enshrined its status as a nuclear power in its constitution, with leader Kim Jong Un calling for more modern atomic weapons to counter the threat from the United States, state media reported Thursday.

Burkina Faso's military government said Wednesday it had foiled a coup attempt the previous day, almost a year after the country's leader came to power in a coup himself.

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said the tech giant is putting artificial intelligence into digital assistants and smart glasses as it seeks to gain lost ground in the AI race.

Orthodox Ethiopians on Wednesday marked the beginning of Meskel, one of the holiest celebrations in the Christian tradition followed in this devout nation riven by ethnic and political violence.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday offered an "unreserved" apology in parliament after the legislature publicly -- if unwittingly -- celebrated a Ukrainian World War II veteran who'd fought alongside the Nazis.

France's ambassador to Niger landed in Paris on Wednesday, after weeks of tensions with the post-coup regime in the West African country who demanded his expulsion.

Poland's agriculture minister said on Wednesday that his country remained open to a Ukrainian proposal for a grain import licensing system, adding that the thorny issue would be discussed in the coming weeks.

Armenia said Wednesday that more than a third of Nagorno-Karabakh's population has fled the enclave since Azerbaijan crushed the rebels' decades-long fight for an independent state last week.

Cryptocurrency firm Binance said on Wednesday it was selling its Russia business, months after reports suggested US authorities were investigating possible sanctions violations.

Britain on Wednesday authorised oil and gas production in its largest undeveloped field to boost energy security, one week after diluting net zero targets, triggering more condemnation by green groups.

The billionaire boss of beleaguered Chinese property developer China Evergrande is being held by police, a report said Wednesday, as the debt-ridden company grapples with severe financial difficulties.

At least 100 people were killed and more than 150 injured when a fire broke out during a wedding at an event hall in the northern Iraqi town of Hamdaniyah, according to an initial tally released early Wednesday.

The blockbuster soccer video game franchise from Electronic Arts, no longer linked to FIFA, will allow mixed-gender lineups in fantasy matches that have triggered sexist pushback even before the Friday release.

The value placed on startup OpenAI has rocketed to between $80 billion and $90 billion in talks with potential investors, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

World Bank President Ajay Banga said Tuesday that he is working to reform "dysfunctionality" among the leadership of the development lender, and pledged to refocus its mission to better address the challenges posed by climate change.

The speaker of Canada's parliament resigned on Tuesday, days after he singled out a Ukrainian veteran who apparently fought for the Nazis during World War II for a standing ovation during a visit by Ukraine's leader.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday against a new atomic arms race bringing the threat of "annihilation" to the world, as North Korea charged that its peninsula was on the brink of nuclear war.

A continuous stream of vehicles crept along the only road out of Nagorno-Karabakh towards Armenia, carrying tens of thousands of refugees now faced with an uncertain future.