AFP news

Bangladesh firefighters said Friday that glaring safety lapses were responsible for a Dhaka restaurant blaze that killed 46 people, with more deaths likely among those rushed to hospital in critical condition.

Global tech bosses, industry titans, Bollywood stars, pop icons and politicians are also due for the three-day gala celebrations hosted by billionaire tycoon Mukesh Ambani.

Ties between the two Koreas have been in a deep freeze as Pyongyang accelerates its weapons development programmes and Seoul ramps up military cooperation with Washington and Tokyo.

The statement did not provide a reason for the unexpected move, just saying it wanted to "wish him all the best for the forthcoming new chapter in his life."

A closing conference previously scheduled for 1000 GMT on Friday was pushed back by three hours, as trade ministers negotiated agreements on fisheries and agriculture with new draft texts on the table after all-night talks.

Electronic Arts on Wednesday said it is cutting about 5 percent of its workforce, as belt tightening continues in the video game and tech industries.

The nation's highest court scheduled arguments in the high-stakes case for the week of April 22 and said Trump's federal election interference trial would remain on hold for now.

Meeting his South Korean counterpart in Washington, Blinken said that the summit was "near and dear to the heart of President Biden."

India's entertainment market is already one of the world's biggest, with the merger expected to further shake up the multi-billion-dollar industry.

Liverpool made a pre-tax loss of GBP9 million ($11.4 million) last season as increased commercial income failed to offset a drop in media and matchday revenues, the club's latest accounts revealed on Thursday.

Zuckerberg is on a mini-tour of Asia that has included a stop in Japan, plus a three-day visit to Seoul where he met business leaders from electronics giants Samsung and LG. He heads to India next.

In a defiant speech in Moscow, the Russian leader said his soldiers were advancing in Ukraine and warned the West of "tragic consequences" for any country that dared to send troops to Kyiv.

In an extraordinary public revelation, Australia's director-general of security Mike Burgess said a spy team from an unidentified country had cultivated and recruited a former Australian politician.

Kylian Mbappe will face former club Monaco for the final time as a Paris Saint-Germain player on Friday, provided coach Luis Enrique selects his star player.

Meta has reaped rich financial rewards by selling user data to advertisers, but its business model has pitted the US tech giant against EU regulators over data privacy.

Global tech CEOs, industry titans, Bollywood stars, pop icons and politicians are expected to jet in Friday for the main three-day celebrations hosted by billionaire tycoon Mukesh Ambani, who is building a sprawling Hindu temple complex for the event.

The junta-led government has accused the party of being responsible for a deadly attack overnight on Tuesday to Wednesday on the offices of the internal security agency.

The Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Slovak prime ministers spoke one day after French President Emmanuel Macron refused to rule out the dispatch of Western ground troops to Ukraine "to ensure that Russia cannot win this war".

Qatar has played a key mediation role since the Gaza war erupted in October and international diplomatic efforts have intensified in recent days to halt hostilities for the Ramadan Muslim holiday.

It was her first Spain press conference since she spoke on the eve of the semi-final against Sweden in Auckland, New Zealand in August.

The Ukraine war could take center stage at the meeting, with G7 countries due to meet on the sidelines to discuss shoring up Western support against Russia's invasion.

The bag belonged to an engineer from Paris City Hall, the police said, confirming a report by BFM television, adding that he had put the bag in the luggage compartment above his seat.

The vote comes amid mounting economic difficulties in Iran, which has also been grappling with the aftershocks of mass protests triggered by the 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini.

The country has one of the world's longest life expectancies and lowest birth rates, a combination that presents a looming demographic challenge.

The controversy emerged within weeks of Google's high-profile rebranding of its ChatGPT-style AI to "Gemini", giving the app unprecedented prominence in its products as it competes with OpenAI and its backer Microsoft.

The iPhone maker had dedicated nearly 2,000 employees to its secretive car development program, Bloomberg reported, but faced an increasingly competitive electric vehicle (EV) sector.

Zuckerberg is on a mini-tour of Asia that includes stops in Japan, India and South Korea, where he travelled on Tuesday night.

Vodafone, which previously rejected offers from French billionaire Xavier Niel's Iliad group, said it has "engaged extensively with several parties to explore market consolidation in Italy".

The Gaza war's reported Palestinian death toll neared 30,000 Wednesday as fighting raged in the Hamas-run territory despite mediators insisting a truce with Israel could be just days away.