AFP news

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will try to build on the momentum from Europe's success in agreeing new aid for war-torn Ukraine when he heads to Washington this week, where President Joe Biden is struggling to overcome opposition to a US package.

The 14-time Grammy winner this month kicks off the Asia-Pacific leg of her "Eras" world tour with dates in Japan, Australia and, in March, Singapore.

Sales grew in the first three quarters for major releases including the new Zelda game, the company said, while the Super Mario movie helped sell games from the Mario franchise.

UBS chief Sergio Ermotti hailed the group's position nearly a year after it was strongarmed by Swiss authorities into a takeover aimed at averting a wider financial crisis.

Cannabis was taken off the list of banned narcotics in June 2022 under the previous government, which included the pro-legalisation Bhumjaithai party.

Footage on Indian television showed a tower of flame after the explosion at the firecracker plant, with dozens of ambulances sent and army helicopters called in to evacuate the wounded.

The OECD now expects a 2.9 percent expansion, up from 2.7 percent in its previous forecast in November, as it sharply lifted the outlook for the United States, the world's top economy.

Nearly 205 million people are eligible to cast their ballots in the February 14 vote that will determine the successor to popular two-term President Joko Widodo, who is barred from running to lead the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation again.

The New York bid held off a strong challenge from Dallas to secure the July 19 game, the culmination of the expanded 48-team tournament being co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.

The national security supplemental provides for $118.3 billion in total funding, including $60 billion to support war-torn Ukraine, matching the White House's request, and $14.1 billion in security assistance to Israel, according to a summary released by Senate Appropriations Committee chair Patty Murray.

A new study presenting "climate simulations to anticipate worst-case heatwaves during the Paris 2024 Olympics" has focused minds after it warned that the French capital faced a not insignificant risk of record-breaking high temperatures.

On his fifth trip to the region since Hamas's October 7 attack that triggered the war, Blinken is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt and Qatar.

After a year of shattering records, including staging the first billion-dollar-tour ever, music's reigning deity made history yet again Sunday, winning a fourth Grammy for Album of the Year, the most by any artist.

The robocall urged New Hampshire residents not to cast ballots in the Democratic primary last month, prompting state authorities to launch a probe into possible voter suppression.

Yonhap news agency reported that the court said it did "not recognise intention to harm shareholders" through the merger, which critics had claimed was bad value and done mostly to ensure a smooth third-generational power transfer to Lee, a scion of Samsung's founding family.

To date there have been 112 confirmed deaths, but the government expects the toll to swell in the South American country's worst tragedy since a 2010 earthquake and tsunami.

Yang -- who also goes by the pen name Yang Hengjun -- was born in China in 1965 and became an Australian citizen in the early 2000s. He grew a readership in exile as the author of novels that drew on his experiences in his homeland.

The US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank (ECB) and others have held interest rates elevated in recent months in an attempt to bring inflation back down toward target, following a post-pandemic surge in prices.

The sale marks a milestone in Indian purchases of American weapons after New Delhi's historic reliance on arms from Russia, which have been increasingly controversial due to sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

Meta and Amazon on Thursday blew through expectations in their latest quarterly results as Big Tech continued to impress Wall Street.

The iPhone maker reported revenue was up slightly from the same quarter a year earlier, as money brought in from services and digital content set a new record.

Vision Pro's release by the world's most iconic device maker is a major milestone for the lovers of virtual or augmented reality, who see the technology as the next chapter in online life after the smartphone.

In recent weeks, Kim has declared South Korea his country's "principal enemy", jettisoned agencies dedicated to reunification and outreach, and threatened war over "even 0.001 mm" of territorial infringement.

Ukraine dragged Russia before the International Court of Justice only a few days after the invasion, seeking to battle its belligerent neighbor on all fronts, legal as well as diplomatic and military.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said 105 people were killed overnight, while the Hamas press office reported Israeli air and artillery bombardment around Khan Yunis -- southern Gaza's main city and the focus of recent fighting.

if Labor defeats the governing Conservatives by a majority at this year's nationwide vote, its leader Keir Starmer will replace Rishi Sunak inside 10 Downing Street within hours.

The world's second-largest economy last year saw some of its slowest growth in decades, as a debt crisis in the property sector added to geopolitical tensions and weakening global demand.

A proposal to free the hostages in exchange for a pause in Israel's offensive in the Palestinian territory is being studied by Hamas leaders after it was thrashed out by Israel, Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

The Verdi services trade union called on more than 90,000 workers at over 130 local companies operating buses, trams and underground services to join the walkout in an escalating dispute over pay and working conditions.