The Annual Meeting on Cybersecurity, held jointly with the Global Future Councils, focused on strengthening global cooperation to enhance digital trust, resilience and collective readiness for emerging threats.

Under the deal pushed by US President Donald Trump and aimed at ending the two-year Gaza war, Israel was to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned. In the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, AFP journalists saw morgue workers unloading refrigerated trucks, parked alongside...

Washington, United States -- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent slammed Beijing's rare earth export curbs Wednesday as "China versus the world," vowing that Washington and its allies would "neither be commanded nor controlled." "This should be a clear sign to our allies that we must work together, and work together we...

Dubai, UAE--Ten transformative technology solutions could change the way the world powers homes, grows food and secures freshwater, according to a new World Economic Forum report released today. Many of these critical technologies already exist but remain underused. Unlocking their potential as practical, scalable solutions to pressing climate challenges will...

Trump's comments came the day after he swung through the Middle East to celebrate the Gaza ceasefire deal, with questions swirling about the next phases of the agreement between Israel and Hamas.

For many Palestinians rebuilding their homes and lives amid Gaza's rubble, the sight of the Hamas forces was reassuring. Many said they felt protected from thugs and thieves.

As part of Trump's plan to end the Gaza war, Hamas on Monday freed the last 20 surviving hostages it held after two years of captivity in Gaza.

Doha, Qatar -- A Hamas source close to the group's negotiating committee told AFP on Sunday that it will not participate in post-war Gaza governance, as world leaders prepare to converge on Egypt for a Gaza peace summit. The source's comments come days after an Israel-Hamas ceasefire came into effect,...

Beijing, China -- China accused the United States of "double standards" on Sunday, after President Donald Trump threatened an additional 100 percent tariff on the world's second-largest economy. Trump reignited his trade war with China on Friday, accusing Beijing of imposing "extraordinarily aggressive" new export curbs relating to rare earths....

Tunis, Tunisia -- Activists in Tunisia on Sunday called for the closure of facilities at a chemical factory in Gabes, in the country's south, amid protests by local residents over dozens of cases of poisoning linked to the site. In a petition over the fertilizer plant, 25 associations, including the...

Sydney, Australia -- Australian airline Qantas said Sunday that data from 5.7 million customers stolen in a major cyberattack in July had been leaked online. "Qantas is one of a number of companies globally that has had data released by cyber criminals following the airline's cyber incident in early July,...

As part of the deal's first phase, Hama will free the captives, 20 of whom Israel believes are still alive, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians held by Israel in its jails.

The announcement comes soon after President Donald Trump signed an executive order vowing to defend the Gulf Arab state against attacks, following Israeli air strikes targeting Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital Doha.

After two years of brutal war, the families of Israel's remaining hostages in the territory were also hoping the truce -- pushed by US President Donald Trump -- would hold.

Both sides have responded positively to Trump's plan, which calls for a ceasefire, the release of all the hostages held in Gaza, Hamas's disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the territory.

On the second anniversary of the Hamas October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Antonio Guterres decried a "humanitarian catastrophe on a scale that defies comprehension".

Behind closed doors and under tight security, negotiators will speak through mediators shuttling back and forth, only weeks after Israel tried to kill Hamas's lead negotiators in a strike on Qatar.

Foreign ministers of several countries, including Egypt, said the talks were a "real opportunity" to achieve a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire.

Dhaka, Bangladesh -- Bangladesh's defense force said it has deployed warships and patrol aircraft as part of a special surveillance operation to protect a prized fish from illegal fishing during its spawning season. The herring-like hilsa, Bangladesh's national fish and a much-loved delicacy in West Bengal in neighboring India, return...

Damascus, Syria -- Syria will select members of its first post-Assad parliament on Sunday in a process criticized as undemocratic, with a third of the members appointed by interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. The assembly's formation is set to consolidate the power of Sharaa, whose Islamist forces led a coalition that...

The increase was less than many analysts expected, with the cartel seeking to avoid pressuring prices amid weak demand. OPEC+ expects global oil demand to increase by 1.3 million barrels a day in 2025.

"If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Stockholm, Sweden -- Some Nobel laureates were straight-A students from the get-go. But others AFP spoke to recounted how they cut class, got expelled, and had doubts about their future. Perhaps the most illustrious Nobel Prize winner, Albert Einstein, was once a mediocre student at Zurich Polytechnic School, now ETH...

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- The Carrefour name has disappeared from storefronts in some Arab countries, with pro-Palestinian shoppers and activists hailing the shift as a victory for their boycott of brands perceived as being linked to Israel. The French multinational has long been in the crosshairs of Palestinian supporters, who...

Turkey called the interception "an act of terrorism," and on Thursday said it had opened an investigation after Israeli forces arrested Turkish citizens on board the flotilla.

Washington, United States -- The United States will regard "any armed attack" on Qatari territory as a threat to Washington and will provide the Gulf Arab state with security guarantees, the White House said, after an Israeli strike on the country last month. "In light of the continuing threats to...

Israeli forces killed at least 46 people, including 36 in Gaza City. The deceased include two aid workers southwest of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.

The plan calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, a disarmament of Hamas and the gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

He repeated "very confident" when asked if all parties were on board with the 21-point plan to end the nearly two-year war, free hostages held by Hamas and disarm the Palestinian armed groups.

Tehran, Iran -- As United Nations sanctions returned in full force on Sunday, Iranians felt the strain deepen, with prices soaring and the rial sinking to new lows. For Helia, a 33-year-old graphic designer in Tehran, the impact was already visible: the price tag on the furniture for her new...

The meeting comes days after Trump unveiled a 21-point plan aimed at ending the war in the Palestinian territory during discussions with Arab and Muslim leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Paris, France -- Saudi side Al Ittihad sacked manager Laurent Blanc on Sunday in the wake of a 2-0 defeat to Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr. Blanc's assistant Hassan Khalifa will take over as caretaker coach until further notice, Al Ittihad announced on social media with the club third in the...

A statement from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and the Thousand Madleens to Gaza (TMTG) said they intended to "break the illegal Israeli blockade" to deliver aid to the Palestinian territory.

The sanctions, three months after Israel and the United States bombed Iran, bar dealings related to Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missiles program and are also expected to have wider effects on its troubled economy.

Beijing, China -- The world's highest bridge opened to traffic in China on Sunday, state media said, capping an engineering feat three years in the making and snatching the record from another bridge in the same province. The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge towers 625 metres (2,051 feet) above a river...

Tehran, Iran -- Iran and Russia signed a $25 billion deal to build nuclear power plants in the Islamic republic, Iranian state media reported Friday, just hours ahead of the likely return of sweeping UN sanctions on Iran. "A deal for the construction of four nuclear power plants with a...

While several companies including Alstom and Opodo had been removed from the non-exhaustive database, major firms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Motorola Solutions and TripAdvisor remained on the list.

Abbas, who addressed UN General Assembly by video after the US took the unusual step of denying him a visa to come to New York, appealed for full global support for a state in the face of Israeli annexation threats.

Paris, France -- Meta said Thursday it was activating so-called "teen accounts" with additional protections for adolescent Facebook and Messenger users worldwide, months after their deployment in major English-speaking countries. "We’ve placed hundreds of millions of teens in Teen Accounts across Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger, and now we’re expanding them...

"Sports must reject the perception that it is business as usual," the eight independent UN experts the in a statement. "National teams representing States that commit massive human rights violations can and should be suspended."

The Global Sumud Flotilla, also carrying prominent pro-Palestinian advocates including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, set sail for Gaza earlier this month from Tunisia after repeated delays.

Paris, France -- No stranger to ire from oil-producing nations, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is facing pressure from the Trump administration over its globally-respected reports that predict a dwindling in fossil fuel demand. The United States, the world's biggest oil producer and a major contributor to the Paris-based IEA,...

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- India skipper Suryakumar Yadav again refused to shake hands with Pakistan's Salman Agha as he won the toss and elected to field in their Super Four contest of the Asia Cup on Sunday. The two neighbors come into the key match of the regional tournament...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The UAE Cyber Security Council has cautioned that social engineering remains the most common tool used by cybercriminals, featuring in nearly 98 percent of cyberattacks. The warning came during the sixth week of the Council’s Cyber Pulse initiative, a 52-week campaign designed to strengthen digital literacy...

Portugal was also to recognize Palestinian statehood, as Israel came under huge international pressure over the war in Gaza where the UN has declared famine and Israel continues to block aid.

Washington, United States -- The White House issued a major clarification Saturday to its new H-1B visa policy that had rattled the tech industry, saying a $100,000 fee will be a "one-time" payment imposed only on new applicants. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in announcing the major fee increase on...

The United Kingdom has historically been a staunch supporter of Israel but has shifted position as Israel has intensified the Gaza offensive triggered by Hamas's unprecedented 2023 attack.

Still heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels, Japan has declared offshore wind energy a "trump card" in its drive to make renewables its top power source by 2040, and reach carbon neutrality a decade later.

Saudi Arabia has spent months courting Syria's new leaders, aiming to draw closer a country long dominated by Iran and Russia.

Britain, France and Germany are signatories to a 2015 deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) intended to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.