Half a dozen cruise ships have been stranded for up to nine months off Cyprus, looming large over a fishing village on the holiday island hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Cyprus was quick to impose a stringent lockdown last March, shutting its air ...

Hong Kong may be in its worst recession in years but its luxury property market is still thriving after a five-bedroom apartment broke records with its $59 million price tag. While there have been more expensive properties sold in Hong Kong, the 3,...

Gunmen believed to belong to a criminal gang have kidnapped hundreds of schoolboys from their hostels along with some teachers in central Nigeria, an official and a security source told AFP Wednesday. 

Cambodia's government moved to exert near-total control over the country's online life Wednesday, setting up a national internet gateway which activists say will stifle freedom of expression and block content via a China-style firewall. Cambodia ha...

Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison was under mounting pressure Wednesday after a former government staffer who said she was raped in parliament accused the government of revealing sensitive details of the case. Critics have demanded an overhau...

Novak Djokovic has won eight Australian Open titles but will step into unknown territory on Thursday when he faces a Russian qualifier "with nothing to lose" in the first men's semi-final. The world number one, who has been hampered by an abdominal...

China last year overtook the United States as the EU's biggest trading partner, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said Monday. 

An attempt by Taiwan to secure five million doses of coronavirus vaccine failed at the last minute because of "political pressure", Taipei's health minister said Wednesday, raising fears China could be creating roadblocks for the inoculation drive. ...

An initial batch of 1,000 coronavirus vaccine doses donated by Russia will enter Gaza on Wednesday, Israel's defence ministry told AFP, after it had blocked a shipment earlier this week. The Sputnik V doses were "being transferred from the Palestin...

Libyans marked the 10th anniversary Wednesday of the start of the uprising that toppled longtime ruler Moamer Kadhafi, ending decades of dictatorship but throwing the country into violent chaos. In western Libya, festive crowds gathered in public s...

Japan's Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto has been chosen as the top candidate to replace Tokyo 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori after he resigned over a sexism row, reports said Wednesday. The panel charged with selecting Mori's replacement met for a second...

French baguettes, the grey zinc rooftops of Paris and the wine festival in Arbois are all competing this year for a place on the UNESCO heritage list. French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot will choose between the three bids in March and submit h...

Former South African cricket captain Faf du Plessis announced Wednesday he had retired from Test cricket with immediate effect. Du Plessis, 36, said in a statement on his Instagram account that he would continue to be available for one-day and Twen...

Sri Lankan authorities Wednesday agreed to save the world's only known wild specimen of a species of tree that was due to be chopped to clear the way for a four-lane expressway. The Sri Lanka Legume (Crudia zeylanica) -- a flowering tree from the l...

Tennis superstars Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams will play each other for just the fourth time on Thursday with a place in the Australian Open final at stake. Here, AFP Sport recalls their three previous meetings, including a US Open final remembe...