Showing 1 - 10 of 387
China sets lowest growth target in decades
AFP, Published on 05/03/2026
» BEIJING - China set its annual growth target at between 4.5% and 5% on Thursday, its lowest figure in decades but at the centre of plans to tackle sluggish consumption and a flagging property market.
Taliban ‘beard police’ pursue Afghan barbers
AFP, Published on 19/02/2026
» KABUL - Barbers in Afghanistan risk detention for trimming men’s beards too short, they told AFP, as the Taliban authorities enforce their strict interpretation of Islamic law with increasing zeal.
Canada launches huge defence plan to curb reliance on US
AFP, Published on 18/02/2026
» MONTREAL - Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday launched a multi-billion dollar plan to strengthen the Canadian military and rely less on the United States.
China issues 73 life bans, punishes top football clubs for match-fixing
AFP, Published on 29/01/2026
» BEIJING - China's football association issued lifetime bans to 73 people, including former national team head coach Li Tie, and punished 13 top professional clubs for match-fixing and corruption, it said Thursday.
EU opens probe into Musk's Grok over sexual AI deepfakes
AFP, Published on 26/01/2026
» BRUSSELS (BELGIUM) - The EU on Monday hit Elon Musk's X with an investigation over AI chatbot Grok's generation of sexualised deepfake images of women and minors, in the latest step of an international backlash against the tool.
Uganda votes under internet blackout and police crackdown
AFP, Published on 15/01/2026
» KAMPALA - Uganda was on edge as it headed for elections on Thursday, with President Yoweri Museveni expected to extend his 40-year rule amid an internet shutdown and a police crackdown on the opposition.
West Bank Bedouin community driven out by Israeli settler violence
AFP, Published on 14/01/2026
» RAS 'EIN AL 'AUJA (PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES) - With heavy hearts, Bedouins in a West Bank village dismantle their sheep pens and load belongings onto trucks, forced from their homes in the Israeli-occupied territory by rising settler violence.
Saudi strikes Yemen after separatist leader skips talks
AFP, Published on 08/01/2026
» ADEN - A Saudi-led coalition struck the home province of Yemen's UAE-backed separatist leader on Wednesday, after he failed to show up for talks in Riyadh and was kicked out of the country's presidential body.
Israel says it 'will enforce' ban on 37 NGOs in Gaza
AFP, Published on 01/01/2026
» JERUSALEM - Israel said on Thursday that 37 international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in Gaza had not complied with a deadline to meet "security and transparency standards," in particular disclosing information on their Palestinian staff, and that it "will enforce" a ban on their activities.
Have Iran's authorities given up on the mandatory hijab?
AFP, Published on 18/12/2025
» PARIS — Women swaying to dance music at a disc jockey (DJ) set, strolling without headscarves through cutting-edge art exhibitions and in coffee shops showing off trendy styles that could have come from the streets of Europe.