BUSINESS

Fatou Fall defiantly faced the ocean and sadly laid a flower on Mbao beach near Senegal's capital Dakar in memory of her husband -- one of many who left on perilous clandestine crossings for Europe but never returned.

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group was threatening another key town in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, as the United Nations top rights body said it would launch an investigation into alleged violations and abuses during the deadly clashes gripping the African nation.

Venezuela on Friday slammed the US seizure of one of its government planes as "brazen theft" and branded President Donald Trump's top diplomat a "thief" as Washington renewed its hard line on Nicolas Maduro's regime.

An Italian support group for victims of clerical sex abuse launched a network Friday to help affected families, whom it said were often shunned by their communities in the mainly Catholic country.

The EV maker sold 63,238 of its cars in January, compared to 71,447 vehicles it sold in the same month in 2024.

The United States added fewer jobs than expected in January while unemployment ticked down, government data showed Friday, marking resilience in the labor market heading into President Donald Trump's new term.

US President Donald Trump's decision to slap sanctions on the International Criminal Court, set up to rule on humanity's worst crimes, sent shock waves around the world.

The United Nations warned Friday that the worst may be yet to come if the violence engulfing the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo spreads throughout the wider region.

Tracey, an American fighting in Ukraine, got angry at social media posts from his friends back home calling for Washington to cut its support to Kyiv.

A project manager in Belarus's once-flourishing tech industry, Andrei Dorin admits his sector is in "crisis".

US President Donald Trump's plan to take over Gaza will imperil attempts to forge landmark ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel and fuel anti-American sentiment in the oil-rich kingdom, analysts said.

Three former employees at London's Harrods store have accused another brother of its late boss Mohamed Al-Fayed of sexual assault, after hundreds of similar claims were made against the tycoon, the BBC reported Thursday.

Most Asian equities advanced Friday as investors head into the weekend awaiting the release of US jobs data, while traders kept a nervous eye on Washington as the Trump administration presses ahead with a hardball trade agenda.

Hollywood star Jesse Eisenberg, who played Mark Zuckerberg in 2010 hit "The Social Network", told AFP the Facebook owner had evolved from having "a sense of righteousness" into "somebody obsessed with power".

E-commerce giant Amazon reported strong earnings Thursday but, like its big tech peers Microsoft and Google, saw its stock price fall on concerns over high AI investment costs.

A new contingent of Kenyan police officers arrived in Haiti on Thursday to bolster a UN-backed security mission, AFP journalists observed, as the United States reiterated its support but called for a "new direction."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday supervised the seizure of a second aircraft belonging to Venezuela's leftist government in less than a year, showing a hard line despite nascent diplomacy.

McDonald's Shamrock Shake is back and marks its annual return with a special reunion to support a meaningful cause.

Mexican armed troops guard the fence snaking along the US border as part of a deal with President Donald Trump, who delayed tariffs on Mexico in exchange for increased efforts against illegal migration and fentanyl smuggling.

Under Armour's second-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings report show signs of improvement despite an 11% revenue decline to $1.4 billion.

ChatGPT developer OpenAI on Thursday said it will allow some European customers to store and process data from conversations with its chatbots within the European Union, rather than on its infrastructure in the United States or elsewhere.

Panama on Thursday rejected the United States' claim of securing free passage for its government vessels through the Panama Canal, while bowing to US pressure to quit a key Chinese project.

French cosmetics giant L'Oreal said Thursday its profits rose last year despite the declining Chinese market and it made bullish statements about its hopes for 2025.

Sweden's Volvo Cars, owned by China's Geely Group, said Thursday that annual profits rose in 2024 despite a final quarter slowdown but that the outlook for this year is tougher.

US President Donald Trump's trade envoy nominee Jamieson Greer told his confirmation hearing Thursday that universal tariffs should be "studied and considered" as a potential way to reverse offshoring and deficits.

Yum Brand is betting big on artificial intelligence to as it hopes to move 100% of its sales to digital.

The company's CEO said 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada "would have a huge impact on our industry."

Yum Brands reported strong fourth-quarter and full-year results, fueled by Taco Bell's value-driven menu.

The freeze in aid funding by Donald Trump's new US administration has left humanitarian workers seeing a large proportion of their budget cut off and fearing millions will be affected as programmes are suspended.