TOKYO (AFP) -- President Joe Biden arrived Sunday in Japan for the second leg of an Asia trip underlining US commitment to the region but overshadowed by concern that North Korea will test a nuclear weapon after ignoring Washington‘s attempt at outreach. Biden, making his first trip to Asia as president, flew from South Korea into Yokota Air Base outside Tokyo, where he will meet with Japan’s Pr...

JENIN, Palestinian Territories -- Veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh was shot dead Wednesday as she covered an Israeli army raid on Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. The Qatar-based TV channel said Israeli forces shot Abu Aqleh, 51, deliberately and "in cold blood" while Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said it was "likely" that Palestinian gunfire killed her. Abu...

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced its biggest rate hike since 2000, with a half percentage point increase as it works to crush soaring US inflation. With inflation at the highest rate in four decades, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sent a message directly to the American people, expressing concern for the pain caused by rising prices, and pledging to use all available...

PARIS -- Young, pro-European and unfailingly ambitious, Emmanuel Macron is the first French president to serve a second term in 20 years, giving him a historic opportunity to leave his mark. The 44-year-old, who came to power as France's youngest ever president, secured victory promising more pro-business and welfare reforms but with a "new method" that is expected to be less top-down. He had b...

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis on Sunday called for peace in Ukraine during this "Easter of war" as he delivered the traditional Easter Sunday Urbi et Orbi address on St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. "May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged," the pontiff said. "Our eyes, too, are incredulou...

PARIS (AFP) -- Scientists have discovered microplastics in human blood for the first time, warning that the ubiquitous particles could also be making their way into organs. The tiny pieces of mostly invisible plastic have already been found almost everywhere else on Earth, from the deepest oceans to the highest mountains as well as in the air, soil and food chain. A Dutch study published in the...

GENEVA (AFP) -- Gilbert Houngbo, the former prime minister of Togo, was on Friday elected the next head of the International Labour Organization, and will become the first African to lead the UN agency. After two rounds of voting, the ILO's governing body elected the 61-year-old to succeed British trade unionist Guy Ryder, who steps down at the end of September, after 10 years in the job. "You ...

MOSCOW (AFP) -- President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday Russia will only accept payments in rubles for gas deliveries to "unfriendly countries", which include all EU members, after Moscow was hit by unprecedented sanctions over Ukraine. "I have decided to implement a set of measures to transfer payment for our gas supplies to unfriendly countries into Russian rubles," Putin said during a televis...

KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine accused Russia Thursday of bombing a theatre that was sheltering more than 1,000 civilians in the city of Mariupol, after US President Joe Biden branded Vladimir Putin a "war criminal." The latest assaults on civilians across Ukraine came as President Volodymyr Zelensky made a searing appeal for help to the US, which responded by pledging $1 billion in new weapons to figh...

A landmark UN report warned on Monday that time had nearly run out to ensure a "liveable future" for all, detailing a horrifying "atlas of human suffering" and warning that far worse was to come. Species extinction, ecosystem collapse, insect-borne disease, deadly heatwaves and megastorms, water shortages, reduced crop yields -- all are measurably worse due to rising temperatures, the Intergover...

KYIV (AFP) -- A huge Russian military convoy was massing on the outskirts of Ukraine's capital Tuesday as fears grew the invading forces were set to launch devastating assaults aimed at taking control of Kyiv and other major cities. Satellite images showed a long build-up of armoured vehicles and artillery starting 29 kilometres (18 miles) north of the city, as Moscow defied mounting global pres...

KYIV (AFP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that his nuclear forces were on alert sparked outcry in the West as the invading troops faced stiff resistance on Monday. The UN General Assembly will hold a rare emergency session Monday to discuss the conflict, which has claimed dozens of lives and raised fears that it will displace millions of people. Ukraine has also said it had ...

GLGL o1468 DGT/AFP-VR02----- u i Ukraine-Russia-conflict 02-24 0080 URGENT Russian army says Moscow-backed Ukraine rebels advancing MOSCOW, Feb 24, 2022 (AFP) - The Russian army said Thursday that Moscow-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine are advancing and have gained territory after the Kremlin launched an attack on the country. Military spokesperson Igor Konashenkov told state t...

A South Korean diplomat was injured after being attacked by an "unidentified man" in New York, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. The man was randomly attacked on a Manhattan sidewalk, according to a report in the New York Post, which said he was "slugged in the face". Seoul confirmed that a diplomat at the country's United Nations mission had been injured. "A diplomat affiliated to the U...

Galloping through forest atop a white horse, Kim Jong-un stars in a new North Korean propaganda video that touts his economic leadership but ignores a recent spate of sanctions-busting missile launches. Pyongyang started the year by conducting a record seven weapons tests, including firing its most powerful missile since 2017, raising fears Kim could restart long-range or nuclear testing. But t...