AFP news

More than 200,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Myanmar after an alliance of ethnic minority groups launched an offensive against the military last month, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

The European Commission on Wednesday lowered its eurozone growth forecast for 2023 and 2024, saying the high cost of living and interest rates were weighing on consumers and businesses.

Bangladesh garment factories reopened Wednesday as hundreds of thousands of workers returned to key manufacturing hubs after days of violent protests demanding a near-tripling of the minimum wage.

Former US president Donald Trump faced a furious backlash Monday over Veteran's Day weekend remarks branding his political opponents "vermin," as leading scholars and President Joe Biden accused him of parroting Hitler and Mussolini.

US President Joe Biden urged Israel on Monday to protect Gaza's main hospital as heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas raged around the complex.

Argentina's annual inflation rate has hit 143 percent, the statistics agency announced Monday, just days before a presidential election in which the dire state of the economy will be a deciding factor.

Leaders of Asia-Pacific economies want to boost output with an eye on issues like reducing inequality and protecting the environment, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday.

Dominica is set to create the world's first sperm whale reserve, designating a swath of ocean where large ships and commercial fishing are restricted and visitors can swim alongside the gentle marine giants.

Stock markets struck a mixed note Tuesday as caution prevailed before key US inflation data, which could spell major implications for the Federal Reserve's interest-rate plans.

President Joe Biden's administration signaled Monday it would postpone a draft of an Asia trade pact that had been set to be unveiled at a summit in San Francisco, after facing domestic criticism.

A humble restaurant on a Beijing street serving up a hearty dish of pork liver, lungs and intestines was once the site of an unconventional China-US rapprochement.

More than a hundred rescuers in northern India struggled for a third day on Tuesday to save dozens of workers trapped underground after the road tunnel they were building collapsed.

Gaza's main hospital has been forced to bury scores of dead patients in a mass grave, its director said Tuesday, as US President Joe Biden pressed Israel to protect the complex trapped in fierce combat.

New use of landmines, including extensive deployment by Russia in Ukraine, drove a global rise of new casualties from the weapons in 2022, a monitor said on Tuesday.

The world is "failing to get a grip" on climate change, the UN warned Tuesday, as an assessment of current climate pledges shows only minor progress on reducing emissions this decade.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday called for pressure on the United States to stop Israel's offensive in Gaza, but said there would be no agreement unless Washington accepted the enclave as Palestinian land.

Described as egocentric and manipulative, Peter Nygard built Canada's largest womenswear maker -- and on Sunday he was convicted of using that status to sexually assault women and girls.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made an entry into the halls of global music with a song featuring him and his passion for millet nominated for a Grammy.

The United States will treat Russia as a full participant in this week's Asia-Pacific summit in San Francisco, despite US efforts to isolate Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, a senior official said Sunday.

Novak Djokovic will finish the year as world number one for a record-extending eighth time after beating Holger Rune 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (1/7), 6-3 in his opening match at the ATP Finals on Sunday.

President Joe Biden, eager to showcase US leadership in the face of Beijing and Moscow, this week leads another major summit, but this time the guests will include not only allies but Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Major ports handling 40 percent of Australia's freight trade have reopened, operator DP World said Monday, three days after they were crippled by a cyberattack.

The latest negotiations towards a global treaty to combat plastic pollution open in Nairobi on Monday, with tensions expected as nations tussle over what should be included in the pact.

Asian and European stock markets climbed Monday as traders awaited this week's key US inflation data, with traders still concerned the Federal Reserve could lift interest rates again.

US Senator Tim Scott announced Sunday that he is withdrawing from the US presidential race, saying voters had given him a clear message of "not now."

More children in South Asia are struggling due to severe water scarcity made worse by the impacts of climate change than anywhere else worldwide, the United Nations said Monday.

Hundreds of alleged members of the 'Ndrangheta -- Italy's most powerful organised crime group -- and their white-collar collaborators face sentencing this week following a historic, nearly three-year trial.

US and South Korean defence chiefs on Monday updated a key military agreement against nuclear-armed North Korea for the first time in a decade as they hailed their "stronger than ever" alliance.

The hospitals in northern Gaza have been forced out of service amid fuel shortages and intense combat, with the death toll inside the territory's largest facility rising, the Hamas-run health ministry said Monday.