AFP news

Russia said on Friday it had scuppered Kyiv's military objectives for 2025 just after President Vladimir Putin issued a warning to the West by test-firing a new intermediate-range missile at Ukraine.

South Sudan security forces were investigating Friday a shootout at the home of the troubled nation's powerful former spy chief Akol Koor, who was sacked almost two months ago amid rumours of a coup plot.

The US decision to send landmines to Ukraine is "not justifiable", aid groups have told AFP, highlighting the long-term impact on civilians of the internationally banned weapons supposed to help slow Russia's advance.

US chipmaking behemoth Nvidia said Wednesday it made a $19 billion profit on record high revenue last quarter as demand continued for its hardware to power artificial intelligence.

The legislation would force social media firms to take steps to prevent those under 16 years of age from accessing platforms such as X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.

England international Lucy Bronze struck with a volley in the second minute at Stamford Bridge and Dutch midfielder Wieke Kaptein's header doubled Chelsea's lead midway through the first half.

The decline is occurring so quickly it can't be properly monitored, making it impossible "to put in place the necessary actions to slow it down," he told AFP.

The UN climate summit is scheduled to conclude on Friday but the latest draft deal released by hosts Azerbaijan was spurned by rich and poor countries alike.

The $2.9 billion loan secured early last year required Colombo to sharply raise taxes, remove generous energy subsidies and agree to restructure more than 50 loss-making state enterprises.

One strike on a residential area near the Kamal Adwan hospital in the territory left "dozens of people" dead or missing, the facility's director Hossam Abu Safiya told AFP.

A fresh banana taped to a wall -- a provocative work of conceptual art by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan -- was bought for $6.2 million on Wednesday by a cryptocurrency entrepreneur at a New York auction, Sotheby's announced in a statement.

The US government late Wednesday asked a judge to order the dismantling of Google by selling its widely used Chrome browser in a major antitrust crackdown on the internet giant.

The tycoon -- a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- oversees a vast conglomerate encompassing coal, airports, cement and media operations.

Since July, North Korea has been broadcasting the noises for huge chunks of almost every day from loudspeakers along the border.

Russia on Wednesday accused the US of prolonging the "war in Ukraine" by stepping up weapons deliveries to Kyiv ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House.

The seminal 1954 painting had been valued at $95 million, and the previous record for a work by Magritte (1898-1967) was $79 million, set in 2022.

The 38-year-old was beaten in the opening singles rubber of the quarter-finals as Netherlands defeated Spain 2-1 to reach the final four.

Xi has said he would seek to "further enhance" ties with Brasilia when he meets counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, host of the G20 summit that closed in Rio Tuesday.

Some 500-600 staff in cognac's home Charente region in southwestern France were protesting at an experimental plan to export the drink in vats, rather than bottles, which will be subject to additional taxes estimated at 35 percent, France's CGT and FO unions said.

Eight art conservators are painstakingly removing multiple layers of varnish from Rembrandt's masterpiece depicting Amsterdam's civil guard on patrol.

The unassuming Botswanan, 21, was one of the standout performers in Paris this year, becoming the first African to win the men's 200m and silver in the 4x400m relay.

Traders were treading carefully this week amid uncertainty after Trump's re-election and as he picks his cabinet, with several China hawks up for key positions fanning worries of another trade war between the economic superpowers.

The latest draft of the resolution demands "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" in the war between Israel and Hamas and "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages."

India's embarrassing 3-0 defeat to New Zealand last month was marked by repeated batting collapses, with mainstays Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma a shadow of their former selves.

The efforts are led by a commission established under the Ministry of Information and Culture soon after the Taliban swept to power in 2021 and implemented their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or sharia.

Last week, citizens in Peru were outraged by a non-dated video on Tiktok in which a woman at the tourist site took ashes from a plastic bag and threw them in the air, then hugged another woman.

Winnie Byanyima, head of UNAIDS, demanded on X on Tuesday that the government of Uganda "release my husband Dr. Kizza Besigye from where he is being held immediately".

The 10-trillion-yen package, which lawmakers could approve this week, is also seen as preparation for an uncertain world as fears grow of a potential Chinese invasion of chip powerhouse Taiwan.

Antitrust officials with the US Department of Justice declined to comment on a Bloomberg report that they will ask for a sell-off of Chrome and a shake-up of other aspects of Google's business in court Wednesday.