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After months of blackout, Iran gives internet to select few
After months under a near-total internet blackout during the Middle East war, Iranian tech worker Amir-Hassan was finally able to get back online, but only through a privileged service that has sparked public criticism.
Lebanon, Israel to hold new talks in US as ceasefire nears end
Lebanon and Israel are to hold new peace talks in Washington starting Thursday, as their latest ceasefire -- considered to still be in place despite hundreds of deaths in Israeli strikes -- nears its end.
US renews offer of $100 mn to Cuba if it cooperates
The United States on Wednesday renewed an offer of $100 million in aid for Cuba, pressuring its longtime nemesis to cooperate as it weathers an economic crisis that includes prolonged blackouts.
Israel hammers Lebanon with strikes, killing 22
Lebanon's health ministry said 22 people including eight children were killed on Wednesday as Israel intensified strikes on the country, with several deadly raids hitting south of Beirut.
Trump and Xi set for high-stakes talks in Beijing
US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are set to tackle thorny issues dividing the two superpowers when they meet in Beijing on Thursday, with Iran, trade and Taiwan on the cards.
Iran holds World Cup send-off for national football team
Iran held a send-off ceremony Wednesday for the national football team as it prepared to play in the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
US races to secure rare earths to rebuild depleted arsenal
The United States is working hard to create a supply chain for rare earths -- metals needed to replenish its military arsenal amid the conflict in Iran -- that does not depend on China, the sector's global leader.
Ex-Nicaragua guerrilla believes Ortega-Murillo days numbered
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's co-leader and wife Rosario Murillo will lose power once her ageing husband dies, ex-guerrilla commander Monica Baltodano told AFP in an interview from exile in Costa Rica.
Berlin launches scheme to swap trash for treats
One man's trash is another man's treasure and under a new scheme launched in Berlin on Wednesday, residents and visitors alike will be encouraged to collect rubbish in return for various rewards.
US Senate backs Trump on Iran war despite deadline lapse
US senators on Wednesday narrowly rejected a resolution curbing President Donald Trump's power to wage war on Iran -- their first vote on the conflict since a 60-day deadline expired for the White House to seek formal authorization.
Nations drawing down oil stocks at record pace: IEA
Countries are tapping into oil inventories and strategic reserves at a "record pace" due to the "unprecedented" supply disruptions caused by the Middle East war, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.
Strong US economy's resilience to shocks tested by Iran war
If you look at the numbers, the United States economy seems to be doing surprisingly well despite massive successive shocks from the pandemic, Ukraine war, tariffs, and now the Iran war energy crunch -- but economists warn that resilience is precarious.
Gunshots at Philippine Senate as lawmaker wanted by ICC holds out
Multiple gunshots sent Philippine senators into hiding in their offices late Wednesday, AFP journalists said, as a legislator wanted by the International Criminal Court has sought refuge in the building.
Warsh set to take over a divided Fed facing Trump assaults
The US Senate is expected to confirm Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chairman on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump applies unprecedented pressure on the central bank to cut rates despite stubbornly high inflation.
Shots heard at Philippine Senate as lawmaker wanted by ICC holds out: AFP
Multiple gunshots were heard late Wednesday inside the Philippine Senate, where a senator wanted by the International Criminal Court has sought refuge, AFP journalists said.
Africa must drop 'victim mentality': mogul Tony Elumelu
Africans should welcome all foreign investors and put colonial hang-ups behind them, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist Tony Elumelu told AFP.
'Ungovernable' Britain? Once-stable politics in freefall
For years, under long-serving leaders such as Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, the worst mid-term challenge a British prime minister might face was a rowdy jeering in parliament.
Besieged Starmer seeks to heal Labour divisions in King's Speech
King Charles III will on Wednesday outline UK leader Keir Starmer's next legislative plans, during a pomp-filled ceremony that could have huge repercussions for the embattled prime minister's future.
Trump vows to push Xi to 'open up' China at superpower summit
US President Donald Trump said he would ask Xi Jinping to "open up" China to American firms as he headed to Beijing on Wednesday for a high-stakes summit that will also bring up the Iran war.
'Not my son's fault': The women bearing the children of Sudan's war rapes
The baby bouncing on Nesma's lap has his mother's smile and her curious eyes, but nothing she says of the three paramilitary fighters who gang raped her two years ago in Sudan's capital.
Tens of thousands demonstrate in Argentina over Milei university cuts
Tens of thousands of Argentines took to the streets Tuesday in Buenos Aires to protest libertarian President Javier Milei's deep cuts to the budgets of public universities, according to AFP reporters.
Rubio, with new Chinese name, heads to Beijing despite sanctions
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was heading Tuesday to Beijing with President Donald Trump despite being under Chinese sanctions -- a breakthrough apparently made possible after China changed his name's transliteration.
Trump announces departure of food and drug regulation chief
President Donald Trump said Tuesday his US Food and Drug Administration chief, Marty Makary, is leaving his post, a departure that follows weeks of political tumult at the powerful agency.
Former Ecuadoran top diplomat enters race for UN chief
Ecuadoran former foreign minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa has become the fifth candidate to enter the race for the next head of the United Nations, the UN General Assembly spokesperson told AFP on Tuesday.
'Shame on Hollywood': Cannes-winning writer rails at stance on Gaza
Hollywood should be ashamed of the way it has treated stars like Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo for opposing Israel's war in Gaza, a member of the Cannes Film Festival jury said Tuesday, with big studios conspicuously absent this year.
UK PM Starmer defiant as calls to quit grow
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his top team Tuesday that he was getting on with governing the country, defying mounting calls from ministers and MPs to step down.
Kremlin says no 'specifics' on ending Ukraine war despite Putin's words
The Kremlin said Tuesday there was no concrete plan to end the Ukraine war, days after Russian leader Vladimir Putin had suggested Europe's worst conflict since WWII could be winding down.
Australia's economy 'hostage' to Mideast war: treasurer
Australia will avoid recession even if a prolonged Middle East war pushes the oil price to $200 a barrel, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Tuesday, outlining a national budget "heavily hostage to events overseas".
WHO chief says 'work not over' after hantavirus evacuation
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday "our work is not over" to contain hantavirus after evacuations from a cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak of the illness.
UK PM Starmer defiant as quit calls grow
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his top team Tuesday that he was getting on with governing, defying mounting calls from ministers and MPs to step down.
Russia, Ukraine end US-brokered truce with fresh attacks
Russia ended a three-day ceasefire with Ukraine on Tuesday by launching a wave of more than 200 attack drones that damaged energy facilities and apartment buildings, killing one person, Ukrainian officials said.
Over 370 Afghan civilians killed in Pakistan conflict in three months: UN
At least 372 Afghan civilians were killed in conflict between government forces and Pakistan in the first three months of the year, the United Nations reported on Tuesday, with more than half the deaths attributed to airstrikes on a drug rehab facility in Kabul.