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Global trade unions urge UK to resolve rail strike row
International transport trade unions on Friday urged London to negotiate a swift end to Britain's biggest rail strike in over 30 years, on the eve of the latest walkout.
US Supreme Court ends constitutional right to abortion
The US Supreme Court on Friday ended the right to abortion in a seismic ruling that shreds half a century of constitutional protections on one of the most divisive and bitterly fought issues in American political life.
Prince Charles says Commonwealth nations free to chart own course
Prince Charles told Commonwealth leaders Friday that the choice to become a republic or abandon the queen as head of state was theirs alone, and expressed "personal sorrow" at Britain's legacy of slavery.
Ukraine forces to retreat from battleground city
Ukrainian forces will retreat from Severodonetsk after weeks of fierce fighting over the key city, a senior Ukrainian official said Friday, in a major boost to Russia's goal of seizing a swathe of eastern Ukraine.
Johnson in crisis after Tories crushed in UK parliamentary votes
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Friday refused to bow to renewed demands to quit, after his Conservatives suffered two crushing defeats in Westminster elections and a staunch ally resigned.
How credible are Ukraine's battlefield statistics?
While the outcome of the conflict sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine remains unclear, there is no doubt that Kyiv has already emerged as the undisputed victor in the information war.
Ousted Myanmar leader Suu Kyi's solitary confinement: what we know
One of the Myanmar military's first moves during its coup last year was to place Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's de facto civilian leader and a democracy figurehead who has spent decades battling military rule, under house arrest.
EU top diplomat bids to 'reverse tensions' on surprise Iran visit
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is set to travel to Tehran on Friday for a surprise visit that could breathe new life into stalled talks on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Markets rise as recession talk tempers rate hike expectations
Stocks rose in Asia on Friday following another rally on Wall Street as investors try to process central bank moves to fight soaring inflation and the growing possibility that those measures will induce a recession.
Ukraine forces to retreat from battleground city: governor
Ukrainian forces will retreat from Severodonetsk in the face of a brutal Russian offensive that is reducing the battleground city to rubble, a senior Ukrainian official said Friday.
In Ukraine, war raises spectre of devastating Stalin-era famine
For Maria Goncharova, a 93-year-old survivor of the devastating famine that hit Ukraine in the 1930s, Russia's invasion has awoken fears that the nightmare of starvation could happen again.
Three dead after fresh Ecuador protest clashes, despite govt concession
Police in Ecuador's capital fired tear gas on Thursday to disperse Indigenous protesters who tried to storm congress, as the country's crippling cost-of-living demonstrations left another three dead, according to a rights group.
Singapore eases movement curbs for migrant workers
Migrant workers in Singapore no longer need special permission to leave their dormitories from Friday, after two years of coronavirus curbs, but campaigners criticised the decision to maintain some "discriminatory" restrictions.
EU grants Ukraine candidate status as fighting rages in east
EU leaders granted "candidate status" to Ukraine in its bid to join the bloc, as tensions deepened over Russian gas supplies and Moscow's forces closed in on key cities.
Johnson's Tories crushed in twin UK parliamentary by-elections
Beleaguered British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered two crushing parliamentary by-election defeats on Friday, including in a southwest English seat previously held by his ruling Conservatives for over a century.
Asian markets rise as recession talk tempers rate hike expectations
Stocks rose in Asia on Friday following another rally on Wall Street as investors try to process central bank moves to fight soaring inflation with the growing possibility that those measures will induce a recession.
Swimming and surfing, Gazans savour a cleaner sea
Palestinians in the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip are rediscovering the pleasures of the Mediterranean Sea, after authorities declared the end of a long period of hazardous marine pollution.
World leaders seek united front for Ukraine as war rages on
World leaders including US President Joe Biden will seek to close ranks at back-to-back summits from Sunday on offering emphatic support to help Ukraine repel Russian invaders as the relentless war puts international unity to the test.
Weakened Scholz seeks to seize G7 opportunity
The last time Germany hosted a G7 summit, then-chancellor Angela Merkel produced a series of viral images with Barack Obama, clinking giant mugs in a traditional Bavarian beer garden and communing against a verdant Alpine backdrop.
Brazil's Lula holds wide lead over incumbent Bolsonaro: poll
Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva maintains a comfortable lead over incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro, and could possibly win in the first round of voting this October, according to a poll published Thursday.
Mexican president under pressure over priest murders
The murders of two priests this week in Mexico have put President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on the defensive over his government's failure to significantly reduce violent crime.
Venezuela sentences mutiny officers to up to 15 years jail
Venezuela has sentenced 24 military police officers who mutinied during anti-government protests in 2019 to as much as nearly 16 years in prison, a human rights activist said Thursday.
Clashes, tear gas, even as Ecuador protesters win government concession
Police in Ecuador's capital fired tear gas Thursday to disperse Indigenous protesters who tried to storm congress on the 11th day of crippling demonstrations over fuel prices and living costs.
US Supreme Court on guns: what happens next?
The US Supreme Court ruling in the most important gun rights case in more than a decade does not mean a New Yorker can now openly carry an AR-15 rifle into a movie theater.
US justice officials describe Trump's 'brazen' manipulation
Lawmakers investigating last year's attack on the US Capitol on Thursday laid out Donald Trump's "brazen" efforts to recruit the Justice Department into his scheme to overturn his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden.
Apple, Android phones targeted by Italian spyware: Google
An Italy-based firm's hacking tools were used to spy on Apple and Android smartphones in Italy and Kazakhstan, Google said Thursday, casting a light on a "flourishing" spyware industry.
Ecuador protesters win concession in standoff with government
Indigenous protesters won a concession from the Ecuadoran government Thursday on the 11th day of crippling demonstrations over fuel prices and living costs that have claimed three lives.
Tunisia ex-PM Jebali arrested: lawyer
Tunisian police on Thursday arrested former prime minister Hamadi Jebali, an ex-senior figure in the Ennahdha party which is the nemesis of current President Kais Saied, Jebali's lawyer said.
Road shelled as Russian forces battle for devastated Ukraine city
Driving out of the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk Thursday, AFP journalists twice had to jump out of cars and lie on the ground as Russian forces shelled the city's main supply road.
Venezuela opposition wife at White House after summit sidelining
The wife of Venezuela's opposition leader met at the White House on Thursday with President Joe Biden, after he declined to invite him to an Americas summit.
War in Ukraine: from Russia's invasion to EU candidacy
Russia invaded Ukraine in the early hours of February 24, setting off the worst conflict in Europe in decades.
Life on pause in Ecuadoran capital gripped by protests
Quito is a city beleaguered -- its shops shuttered and streets empty of all but thousands of Indigenous protesters clamoring for a better life, and the police and soldiers keeping them in check.
Journalists killed, wounded in Ukraine honoured in Kyiv
Journalists killed or wounded during Russia's invasion of Ukraine were honoured Thursday in an exhibition in Kyiv, months into Moscow's war.
Life on pause in Ecuadoran capitol gripped by protests
Quito is a city beleaguered -- its shops shuttered and streets empty of all but thousands of Indigenous protesters clamoring for a better life, and the police and soldiers keeping them in check.
Fed chief says pandemic aid not primary driver of US inflation
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday downplayed the idea that government pandemic aid was the key factor fueling US inflation, instead blaming a confluence of global issues including the war in Ukraine.
Euro retreats as recession prospects grow
The euro retreated against the dollar Thursday as economic data pointed to increased prospects of recession in Europe.
Death toll rises with no end in sight for Ecuador protests
The death toll from 11 days of Indigenous demonstrations in Ecuador over fuel prices has risen to three, a rights group said Thursday, after another protester died in clashes with police.
Old friend blames UN, Belgium for killing of Congolese hero Lumumba
Belgium and the United Nations are to blame for failing to prevent the assassination of Congolese independence hero Patrice Lumumba, an 89-year-old former friend has told AFP.
Israel thanks Turkey for thwarting Iranian assassination plot
Israel's incoming prime minister on Thursday thanked Turkey for thwarting an Iranian assassination plot against its tourists in Istanbul that prompted an urgent call for the Jewish state's citizens to return home.