By AFP/Axl HERNANDEZA cold, dry part of Chile might not sound like the best place to grow rice, a famously thirsty grain that thrives in tropical conditions.But a new strain of the world's favorite cereal developed by scientists in the drought-plague...

By AFPThe UN rights chief called on countries to halt a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza, where a total Israeli blockade on aid is pushing the Palestinian territory towards a collapse of critical life-saving support."As the complete blockade of ass...

By AFP/Issam AHMEDPresident Donald Trump's administration has fired the authors of the United States' premier climate report, a move scientists said threatens to derail a key assessment vital to preparing for global warming.In an email sent to contri...

By AFP/Djallal MALTIInterconnected electricity networks -- the cornerstone of the European system and designed to improve security of supply -- made it possible to contain the massive power outage on the Iberian peninsula."The grids are interconnecte...

By AFP/Anuj CHOPRAFrom slashed federal funding for disinformation research to the closure of a key agency combating foreign influence operations, the United States has dismantled vital guardrails against falsehoods within President Donald Trump's fir...

By AFP/Richard CARTERA top Palestinian official told the International Court of Justice Monday that Israel was blocking humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza as a "weapon of war", at the start of a week of hearings at the UN's top court.Israel is...

By AFP/Tolera FIKRU GEMTALella Mesikir built a huge following with online posts about gender rights in Ethiopia but says a lack of local language content moderation has forced her to flee into exile.Analysts say social media in countries like Ethiopi...

By AFP/Kelly MACNAMARAMajor economies are overstating how much carbon their forests can absorb in a climate accounting fudge that could allow them to use even more fossil fuels, new research said last Thursday.The assessment singled out Brazil and Au...

By AFP/Youssef al-HassounaAt the break of dawn, 10-year-old Youssef al-Najjar races barefoot, clutching a battered pot, to a community kitchen in Gaza City, only to find hundreds of others already queueing."People push and shove out of fear of missin...

By AFPA South Sudan opposition lawmaker on Sunday accused President Salva Kiir's government of preparing a "genocide" of his rival Riek Machar's Nuer community by classifying their homelands as "hostile".Months of clashes between Kiir's forces and th...

By AFPThe World Health Organisation said on Monday it wanted a code of conduct to bar medical workers from performing female genital mutilation (FGM).Issuing fresh guidelines on how to halt FGM, the UN health agency highlighted the important role pla...

By AFPThe United Nations expressed deep alarm on Monday at reports that US strikes on Yemen killed scores of people at a migrant detention centre in a stronghold of the Houthi rebels.The US military has hammered the Iran-backed Houthis with near-dail...