Geneva, Switzerland -- The world urgently needs to find a global approach on regulating artificial intelligence, the United Nations' top tech chief said this week, warning that fragmentation could deepen risks and inequalities. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, head of the UN's International Telecommunications Union (ITU) agency, told AFP she hoped that AI...

Paris, France - France's foreign minister has called the CEO of Spanish airline Vueling to demand an "explanation" after dozens of French teenagers, all Jewish, were removed from a flight this week, Paris said on Saturday. During an incident on Wednesday, the Spanish airline said it had asked the adolescents...

The humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory has gravely deteriorated in recent days, with international NGOs warning of soaring malnutrition among children.

Syrian diplomatic source said Saturday that a US-mediated meeting with Israeli officials in Paris this week sought to "contain the escalation" after recent sectarian violence in southern Syria prompted Israeli intervention.

The US president argued that the Palestinian militant group was not ready to hand over the remaining captives in Gaza because "they know what happens after you get the final hostages".

China's Premier Li Qiang warned Saturday that artificial intelligence development must be weighed against the security risks, saying global consensus was urgently needed even as the tech race between Beijing and Washington shows no sign of abating.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli military operations killed at least 23 people on Friday across the Palestinian territory, with another five killed in an overnight air strike.

When both governments and international institutions are explicitly warning businesses about geopolitical risks, traditional corporate approaches to navigating international relations are no longer sufficient. The solution isn't merely better government relations or enhanced risk management; it's the emergence of an entirely new C-suite role: the Chief Geopolitical Officer (CGO), he...

Q2 net profit fell by 18% to $637 million.

"The negative statements of the US envoy Witkoff run completely counter to the context in which the last negotiations were held, and he is perfectly aware of this, but they come to serve the Israeli position," said Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim.

London, United Kingdom -- New UK age verification measures to prevent children accessing harmful online content came into force on Friday, with campaigners hailing them a "milestone" in their years-long battle for stronger regulations. Under the new rules, to be enforced by Britain's media watchdog, websites and apps hosting potentially...

United Nations, United States -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday slammed the international community for turning a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinians starving in the Gaza Strip, calling it a "moral crisis that challenges the global conscience." "I cannot explain the level of indifference and inaction we...

Chinese Premier Li Qiang dismissed EU fears over Beijing's allegedly excessive subsidies to its industry, telling the bloc's leaders "we can't afford it" in markedly candid remarks during a tense summit.

The US special envoy for Syria said he held talks with Syrian and Israeli officials in Paris on Thursday on de-escalating sectarian violence in Syria.

At least 142 countries now recognise or plan to recognise Palestinian statehood, according to an AFP tally -- though Israel and the United States strongly oppose the move.

Iran on Thursday reaffirmed its right to enrich uranium, saying it was "unshakable", on the eve of key talks with European powers threatening to reimpose nuclear sanctions.

The court said climate change was an "urgent and existential threat" and countries had a legal duty to prevent harm from their planet-warming pollution.

Total income rose by 12 percent in the same period.

Mediators have been shuttling between Israeli and Hamas delegations in Qatar for more than two weeks, but the indirect talks have so far failed to yield an elusive truce.

The Harburg Group -- led by American Ben Harburg -- said it had "officially completed the 100 percent acquisition of Al Kholood Club, of the Saudi Pro League, as part of the groundbreaking privatization initiative of Saudi Vision 2030."

Ukraine said it hoped the two countries would discuss the release of prisoners and lay the ground for a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

New Delhi, India - India has pushed hundreds of ethnic Bengali-speaking Muslims into Bangladesh without due process, Human Rights Watch said Thursday, accusing the government of flouting rules and fuelling bias on religious lines. The Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long taken a hardline stance on...

Hamas confirmed on Thursday that it has responded to an Israeli proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, after more than two weeks of indirect talks in Qatar have failed to yield a truce.

Dubai, UAE — DP World Trade Finance has mobilized more than US$1 billion in working capital to support businesses across emerging markets, significantly narrowing the global trade finance gap and ensuring uninterrupted movement of goods through some of the world’s most difficult economic environments. This was achieved through a combination...

Q2 pre-tax net profit increases by 14 percent.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- A Saudi delegation of over 100 investors arrived in Damascus on Wednesday ahead of a conference aimed at securing billions of dollars in deals to help rebuild war-battered Syria. The kingdom has been one of the major backers of the new Syrian government that seized power...

The 25-page "America's AI Action Plan" outlines three aims: accelerating innovation, building infrastructure, and leading internationally on AI. Overall, the administration frames AI advancement as critical to maintaining economic and military supremacy.

Washington, United States - President Donald Trump sought Tuesday to distract from the growing furor over his administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal by pushing extraordinary claims that Barack Obama tried to mount a coup. The accusations, delivered in the Oval Office, followed a surprise announcement that Trump's...

US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday a "massive" trade deal with Japan, cutting a threatened 25-percent tariff to 15 percent ahead of an August 1 deadline.

The UN said on Tuesday that Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid since the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operations in late May

Hussein al-Sheikh, vice-president of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), on Tuesday said he met the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, in the occupied West Bank.

Bulk of funds to go into a Virginia manufacturing center.

Abu Dhabi, UAE --  Renewables maintain their cost leadership in global power markets, IRENA’s new report on Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2024 confirms. The report confirms that renewables maintained their price advantage over fossil fuels, with cost declines driven by technological innovation, competitive supply chains, and economies of scale....

Sydney, Australia -- Humans beat generative AI models made by Google and OpenAI at a top international mathematics competition, despite the programs reaching gold-level scores for the first time. Neither model scored full marks -- unlike five young people at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), a prestigious annual competition where...

Gaza's population of more than two million people is facing severe shortages of food and other essentials, with residents frequently killed by Israeli forces as they try to collect humanitarian aid at a handful of distribution points.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Israeli military had entered the UN agency's staff residence, forced women and children to evacuate on foot, and handcuffed, stripped and interrogated male staff at gunpoint.

US President Donald Trump was "caught off guard" by Israeli strikes in Syria last week, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Monday, adding that he discussed the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iran is scheduled to meet Britain, France and Germany in Istanbul on Friday, to discuss its nuclear programme, with Tehran accusing European powers of scuppering a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

Paris, France - Since at least the time of the ancient Egyptians, people across the world have gazed up in awe at Betelgeuse, one of the brightest stars blazing in the night sky. Now astronomers have discovered that this red supergiant, known to many as the hunter's shoulder in the...

Moscow, Russia -- Russia has showcased what it calls the biggest drone factory in the world, broadcasting rare footage from inside a plant assembling the deadly attack drones it fires at Ukraine on a daily basis. Moscow has launched record numbers of drones at Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, escalating...

"The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths," the signatories, including Britain, France, Australia, Canada and 21 other countries, plus the EU, said in a statement.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia -- The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has added  CStar Line's new Far East-Red Sea service (FRS1) to Jeddah Islamic Port to enhance the port's competitiveness, expand its maritime network, boost operational efficiency, and solidify its position as a strategic logistics hub on the Red Sea. The FRS1...

UNRWA said that shortages in the Palestinian territory had caused food prices to increase by 40 times, while the aid stockpiled in its warehouses outside Gaza could feed "the entire population for over three months."

Washington, United States - Donald Trump's past ties with Jeffrey Epstein are under scrutiny after the US president slammed a Wall Street Journal report that he sent a lewd letter to the infamous sex offender as "fake news." AFP looks at the pair's relationship as the Trump administration also faces...

As malnutrition surges in war-torn Gaza, tens of thousands of children and women require urgent treatment, according to the UN, while aid enters the blockaded Palestinian territory at a trickle.

Tehran, Iran - Iranian authorities have urged residents to limit water consumption as the country grapples with severe shortages amid an ongoing heatwave, local media said Sunday. Water scarcity is a major issue in Iran, particularly in arid provinces in the country's south, with shortages blamed on mismanagement and overexploitation...

Iran's air defence network includes systems like the domestically built Bavar-373 and Khordad-15, designed to counter missiles and aircraft, in addition to Russia's S-300 air defense systems installed in 2016.

Rabat, Morocco -- Tens of thousands of Moroccans demonstrated Sunday in the capital Rabat against the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, calling for the reversal of the kingdom's normalization deal with Israel. Protesters gathered in the city center, brandishing Palestinian flags and placards calling for the free flow...

Berlin, Germany -- Britain, France and Germany are planning to hold fresh talks with Iran on its nuclear programme in the coming days, a German diplomatic source told AFP on Sunday. The European powers, known as the E3, "are in contact with Iran to schedule further talks for the coming...

Washington, UAE -- Global gas flaring surged for a second year in a row, wasting about $63 billion in lost energy and setting back efforts to manage emissions and boost energy security and access. Flaring, the practice of burning natural gas during oil extraction, reached 151 billion cubic meters (bcm)...