AFP News Agency

04/02/2025

Scotland is not planning to ban cats, the leader of the devolved government insisted Monday, after welfare experts gave ministers pause for thought in a new report. https://u.afp.com/SZFZ

03/02/2025

Czech Anna Adamova is still haunted more than three decades after she was forced into a sterilisation that she says irreparably damaged her life. https://u.afp.com/SZyF

03/02/2025

Fans have waited more than eight years for the new instalment in heavyweight strategy game Civilization, with the release of the seventh instalment on February 11 promising to get budding philosopher-kings thinking more about the consequences of their actions. https://u.afp.com/SZyy

03/02/2025

Elon Musk's aides have taken control of the US Treasury Department's payments system -- which manages trillions of dollars of transactions each year -- sparking alarm among critics. https://u.afp.com/SZyH

03/02/2025

Chinese tourist spot goes viral with staged rural scenes

A wizened farmer leads a buffalo into a misty clearing in the banyan trees in Xiapu, eastern China. The scene is idyllic, but entirely fabricated. The region's popularity has soared among city dwellers nostalgic for an idealised agrarian past and able to look past the artificial creations.

Xiapu appears in hundreds of thousands of TikTok and Red Note posts.

03/02/2025

The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan are looking to capitalise on the country's rich mineral resources by courting local and foreign investors and securing a crucial revenue stream -- though experts warn of the risks of cutting corners.

03/02/2025

Congolese civilians flee refugee camps as Rwanda-backed M23 take control of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Thousands of people who had settled in camps for internally displaced people on the outskirts of the city say they have no choice but to head back home. "We carry our burdens on our backs, living in constant fear, without peace," says one woman.

03/02/2025

Rubio lays down ultimatum to Panama over canal.

The US Secretary of State threatened action against Panama if it does not make immediate changes to reduce Chinese influence on the canal, but the country's leader insisted he was not afraid of a US invasion and offered talks.

Full story: https://u.afp.com/SZHk

🎥 Protesters gather outside Panama's presidential palace as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with President Jose Raul Mulino to press President Trump's demand that the US take back control of the Panama Canal.

03/02/2025

Football-playing robots among technology displayed at Chinese AI fair.

Football-playing robots, a God of Wealth that answers questions, and robodogs that respond to touch: an AI-themed robot temple fair in a Beijing shopping mall drew large crowds during China's week-long Lunar New Year holidays.

03/02/2025

Beyonce wins top country album honors at Grammys.

Beyonce on Sunday won the Grammy for the year's best country album for her culture-shaking "Cowboy Carter," a record that served as an indictment of the Nashville-centered industry long accused of sidelining Black artists.

It was the second prize of the night for the most decorated artist in Grammys history, with four more opportunities to go at the marquee music awards gala in Los Angeles, including the top album and record prizes that have eluded her.

Full story: https://u.afp.com/SZHU

03/02/2025

Musk calls USAID a "criminal organization", as Trump says the agency is "run by radical lunatics" and he is considering its future.

The assault on the agency tasked with humanitarian relief overseas marks a significant new front in Trump's move to give unprecedented power to Musk to upend government departments.

Full story: https://u.afp.com/SZHo

02/02/2025

In 2024, southbound migrants from Canada to the United States numbered 21,000 -- a drop in the ocean compared to the 1.5 million intercepted on the US border with Mexico.

Now, they've found themselves at the center of a massive trade war.

Read more: https://u.afp.com/SZr4

02/02/2025

The Lac du Der, south of France's champagne capital of Reims, was once just a passing glimpse for thousands of cranes flying from Scandinavia in search of sunshine, but with global warming the French reservoir has become an attractive winter retreat.

The Lac du Der was once just a passing glimpse for hundreds of thousands of cranes flying from Scandinavia in search of sunshine, but with global warming the French reservoir has become an attractive…

02/02/2025

🇬🇷 Schools on the Greek tourist island of Santorini will remain closed on Monday, after a series of tremors in the sea around Santorini and surrounding islands, civil protection authorities announced.
Full story: https://tinyurl.com/4axahtkv

02/02/2025

⚽ Udinese fans stopped a train carrying rivals from Venice on Saturday, in an ambush that caused several injuries after a match between the two Italian clubs, reports said Sunday. The AGI news agency reported that six people were injured and 11 arrested.
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/22ub8xze

02/02/2025

Can Beyonce finally win the Grammy for Album of the Year? Will The Beatles win thanks to AI? Here are five things to watch for at Sunday's Grammy Awards.

Read more here: https://u.afp.com/SZDo

01/02/2025

Half a century after her death, Umm Kulthum's singular voice still echoes through busy streets in Egypt, across time-worn cafes in Iraq, and in millions of homes from Morocco to Oman.

Read more here: https://u.afp.com/SZRe

01/02/2025

A humanoid robot gyrates to pulsing music at a shopping mall in Beijing, part of an exhibition harnessing artificial intelligence to enhance the flavor of China's biggest annual festival.

Read more here: https://u.afp.com/SZDq