AFP News

A French court on Friday was expected to deliver a verdict against eight people charged in connection with the jihadist beheading of schoolteacher Samuel Paty in 2020, a murder that horrified France.

Russia's central bank kept interest rates at 21 percent on Friday despite surging inflation, a surprise decision that follows criticism from the country's political and business elite over the effects of higher borrowing costs on the economy.

President Emmanuel Macron faced accusations of racism Friday over an alleged comment on problems in French hospitals which the Elysee strongly denies he made.

Switzerland's financial regulator was ineffective in tackling the scandals at Credit Suisse, where executive mismanagement scuppered the bank and nearly triggered a global financial crisis, a Swiss inquiry concluded Friday.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was defiant Friday as he arrived for the verdict in his long-running trial for blocking a migrant rescue ship at sea, for which he risks six years in jail.

Malaysia announced on Friday it has agreed to launch a new search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared 10 years ago in one of aviation's greatest enduring mysteries.

China has lifted a ban on imports of Australian live rock lobsters, Canberra said Friday, demolishing the final barrier in a broader, multibillion-dollar trade war between the countries.

Workers at Starbucks will walk off the job Friday in three US cities in a strike their union threatened could spread around the country in the busy run-up to Christmas.

Taiwanese lawmakers tackled and doused each other with water on Friday as President Lai Ching-te's party tried to block the passage of bills they say could harm the self-ruled island's "democratic system".

Lyubov Voronova still remembers a time before the war when the Oskil river flowing by her east Ukraine home was an idyll where families would swim, picnic and make memories.

From great leaps in artificial intelligence to the heroic defendant in a mass rape trial that shocked France, here are the stories of five people who made their mark on 2024: - Gisele Pelicot: anti-rape icon - Gisele Pelicot, 72, was at the centre of a mass rape trial in France which resonated around the world, becoming an icon for women in the fight against sexual violence.

From Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to British actress Maggie Smith and US music titan Quincy Jones, here are some of 2024's most notable deaths.

US diplomats have arrived in Syria to speak directly to the new Islamist-led rulers, hoping to encourage a moderate, inclusive path and to find clues on missing Americans, the State Department said Friday.

Lacador, a small bar in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, has got its uptown funk on following a surprise visit by US pop hitmaker Bruno Mars.

In Pakistan's largest city, cars inch forward in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Rescuers say they have expanded a search for survivors in quake-rocked Vanuatu to "numerous places of collapse" beyond the stricken capital, as the reported death toll climbed to 10.

Equities fluctuated Friday and the dollar maintained its gains against its peers as investors assessed the fallout from the Federal Reserve's outlook for interest rate cuts and possible impact of Donald Trump's presidency on the economy.

From an anonymous office in a New Delhi mall, matrimonial detective Bhavna Paliwal runs the rule over prospective husbands and wives -- a booming industry in India, where younger generations are increasingly choosing love matches over arranged marriage.

Donald Trump's imminent return to the White House and uncertainty about his policy proposals has begun weighing on the US Federal Reserve, raising concerns of a reckoning between the central bank and the president-elect.

On Bethlehem's Manger Square, Christmas decorations and pilgrims are notably absent for a second wartime festive season in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city.

Japanese inflation accelerated in November, with prices rising 2.7 percent on-year partly because of higher energy costs, government data showed Friday.

The United States has redefined what qualifies as "healthy" food for the first time in 30 years, striking items like white bread from the list while welcoming nutrient-rich options such as eggs and salmon, officials said Thursday.

Manchester City travel to Aston Villa on Saturday desperately seeking to halt their dramatic slide while Chelsea have the chance to go top of the Premier League, if only briefly.

Australia said Friday it has agreed to help boost Solomon Islands' police force with a finance and training package for the Pacific nation, which has fostered close ties with China.

The United Arab Emirates, under fire in Washington, has promised the United States not to arm paramilitaries in Sudan's brutal civil war, US lawmakers said Thursday.

Elon Musk's role in wrecking a bipartisan Congress deal to avert a US government shutdown has underlined his extraordinary influence over the Republican Party and the incoming administration of Donald Trump.

The United States on Thursday announced $200 million of new funding for the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, bringing Washington's commitment to $2.3 billion, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday.

The man accused of gunning down a US insurance executive on the streets of Manhattan appeared in front of a judge Thursday to face federal charges including murder.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will preside over a day of celebrations in Macau and inaugurate the city's new leader on Friday to mark 25 years since the former colony was returned to China.