By AFP/Bruno KALOUAZIn a remote town in southern Kyrgyzstan, teacher Nur Akhmatov watched workers building a library, conference hall and women's sports centre -- construction mostly funded by Kyrgyz emigrants sending money home from Russia.The proje...

By AFP/Joris BOLOMEYCovered in black soot, the workers zigzagged from one machine to another in the searing African sun.But the charcoal they were making is known as "green", and backers hope it can save impoverished Chad from rampant deforestation.C...

By AFP/Guillaume LAVALLÉEAt a church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hundreds of people gathered recently for a weeknight charity fundraiser hosted by a celebrity guest.The venue was not announced in advance due to security concerns, and attendance co...

By AFPUN chief Antonio Guterres said Thursday the United Nations is facing unprecedented attacks on its founding principles, as it marks 80 years since the organization's charter was created."Today, we see assaults on the purposes and principles of t...

By AFP/Pauline Froissart with Alice HackmanEurope's top rights court on Thursday condemned France over its police discriminating against a young man during identity checks, in the first such ruling against the country over alleged racial profiling.Ri...

By AFP/Célia LEBURIsrael has acknowledged being hit by more than 50 missiles during the 12-day war with Iran, but the true extent of the damage may never be known due to stringent press restrictions.Such regulations are nothing new in Israel, where a...

By AFP/Hillary ORINDEGlobal fragmentation is fuelling unprecedented turmoil and disproportionately harming poorer nations, South Africa's foreign minister warned Thursday, urging a united G20 response for peace.Ronald Lamola made the remarks to dozen...

By AFPAfrica must take charge of its development through trade and investment, a senior World Trade Organization official said Thursday, warning that rising defence budgets in donor countries will further squeeze aid.The global economy has been on a...

By AFPThe human rights picture in Belarus is "dire" and getting worse, the UN's top rights body heard Thursday in a grim update revealing systematic rights violations.Ruled by President Alexander Lukashenko since 1994, Belarus has outlawed all genuin...

By AFPUN climate chief Simon Stiell urged countries on Thursday to accelerate negotiations ahead of the COP30 in Brazil as there was a lot left to be done.Speaking after two weeks of technical talks in Bonn, Stiell closed the annual climate diplomacy...

By AFP/Julie EzvanThe first time Barney Casserly used ketamine at a UK music festival he thought he had found "nirvana". Five years later he died in agony, leaving behind devastated parents and friends."I would never, ever have imagined that this wou...

By AFPSpanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday became the most prominent European leader to describe the situation in Gaza as a "genocide", as rescuers in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory said Israeli forces killed 65 people.After more t...