BEIJING (AFP) -- Former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin died Wednesday at the age of 96, state media reported, hailing him as a great communist revolutionary who helped quell the 1989 pro-democracy protests. Jiang took power in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, in which the military used deadly force to end the uprising, and led China towards its emergence as a global economic powerhou...

WASHINGTON -- Twitter's owner Elon Musk has pledged the platform will not become a "hellscape," but experts fear a staff exodus following mass layoffs may have devastated its ability to combat misinformation, impersonation and data theft. Twitter devolved into what campaigners described as a cesspit of falsehoods and hate speech after recent layoffs cut half the company's 7,500 staff and fake ac...

LONDON -- Daniel Craig and co-stars of "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" lauded Angela Lansbury on Sunday as the whodunit sequel in which the late actress makes a cameo closed the London Film Festival. Craig said 96-year-old Lansbury -- who died Tuesday, after becoming a household name through playing a writer-detective in "Murder, She Wrote" -- had been "in my life all my life." "I mean, my ...

London (AFP) – Son Heung-min struck twice as Tottenham bolstered their bid to reach the Champions League last 16 with a 3-2 win against Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday. Antonio Conte's side fell behind to Daichi Kamada's early strike at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. But Son equalised with a composed finish and Harry Kane converted a penalty as the England captain bagged his first Champions Le...

MARSEILLE -- A festival dedicated to James Joyce's novel "Ulysses" is touring 18 European cities, with artists and writers linking the work to contemporary issues such as immigration. "Ulysses," published in 1922, counts among the 20th century's key novels, and its centenary has already sparked much celebration in Joyce's native Ireland. But Liam Browne, co-artistic curator of "Ulysses European...

MYKOLAIVKA, Ukraine -- Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that Lyman, a key town located in one of four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia, had been "cleared" of Moscow's troops. The latest development in Ukraine's weeks-long counter-offensive against Moscow's invasion comes as Russia pushed forward with finalising the annexation of captured Ukrainian territories despite condemn...

LONDON -- Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest on Monday, after a state funeral attended by leaders from around the world and a historic last ceremonial journey through the packed streets of London. Huge crowds gathered in near silence to watch as the queen's flag-draped coffin, topped with the Imperial State Crown, her orb and sceptre, was carried slowly to a gun carriage from parliament's W...

BALLATER -- Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history and an icon instantly recognisable to billions of people around the world, died at her Scottish Highland retreat on Thursday. She was 96. The eldest of her four children, Charles, Prince of Wales, who at 73 is the oldest heir apparent in British history, became king immediately. Royal officials confirmed he is now kn...

Mykolaiv -- It's an opening night like no other at Mykolaiv's theatre, with the audience ushered down into an underground shelter this week for the first performance since war broke out. "We need this place to fight on the cultural front too," says artistic director Artiom Svytsoun. The tiny underground stage and the minimalist set provide "a form of 'art therapy'" for the people who have staye...

WASHINGTON -- Republican scion Liz Cheney's primary defeat to a hardline Trumpist rival underlines the dramatic shift the party has undergone under the former president as he pulls it away from mainstream conservatism towards the politics of personality. The congresswoman's loss to Harriet Hageman on Tuesday -- ending her hopes of seeking a fourth term in her safe Wyoming seat -- was a definitiv...

BEIJING (AFP) -- China’ thunderous response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit brought cross-Strait tensions to their highest level in years and sparked an outpouring of nationalist zeal online, but the mood on the streets in mainland China is a little more circumspect. Enraged by Pelosi’s trip, Beijing last week launched some of its largest-ever military drills encircling the islan...

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -- Uber on Friday said it will let drivers in the United States see trip details before deciding whether to accept them -- a new feature long sought by drivers. A common lament by drivers at the app-summoned ride platform has been that they have to accept a request before learning where trips will take them, or how profitable they will be. "Our new trip request screen makes ...

AFP -- North Korea reported zero fever cases on Saturday for the first time in more than two months since it confirmed its first Covid-19 infections in May. "There were no new fever patients reported" over a 24-hour period from Thursday evening, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, marking the first time the isolated country had reported no new cases since it began tallying numbers in ...

AFP -- Elon Musk on Friday filed claims against Twitter as he fights back against the tech firm's lawsuit demanding he be held to his $44 billion buyout deal. Musk's counter-suit was submitted along with a legal defense against Twitter's claim that the billionaire is contractually bound to complete the deal he inked in April to buy Twitter, the Chancery Court in the state of Delaware said in a n...