Dutch say won't participate in 'no longer' neutral Eurovision
Kenyans get creative to join manga cosplay craze
Kenyan farmers turn to bugs as organic demand grows
Pant, Jurel half-centuries take India past 400 in Sri Lanka Test
Economy
'His feet are his pillars': Nepal para swimmer gives all for Asian glory
Every morning Harka Man Gharti slices into the blue water of a swimming pool in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, chasing a dream that stretches far beyond its 25 metres.
Politics
Migrants, rescue ships face threats, harassment at sea: aid group
A leading aid group said Monday that migrants crossing the Mediterranean and rescue ships that help them face increasing levels of threat and harassment from Libyan groups.
Last news
Philippines says crew hurt, vessels damaged by China Coast Guard
The Philippines said Tuesday that China Coast Guard vessels caused two collisions with Philippine vessels and water cannoned a boat, leaving four crew injured during a resupply mission in the South China Sea.
Chinese legislators kick off annual gathering in chilly, grey Beijing
China's parliament opened its annual meeting with subdued pageantry on Tuesday as sleet and cloudy skies left delegates shivering under umbrellas.
Organised backlash unravels progress in women's rights: research
Conservative counter-campaigns are unravelling global advances in women's rights, the latest "backlash" in a series dating to the 1980s, activists and experts warned ahead of International Women's Day on Friday.
Supercharged EU armed - at last - to take on tech titans
Clamping down harder and faster on abuses of power by the world's biggest digital companies: such is the promise of the European Union's new legal arsenal, which comes into full force from Thursday.
Climbers to pay $13 fee on popular Mount Fuji trail
Hikers using the most popular route to climb Japan's Mount Fuji will be charged $13 each from July, with numbers capped to ease congestion and improve safety, a regional official said Tuesday.
Women battle on for equality in top business jobs
More women are taking top management jobs but inequality persists, with men still dominating business leadership roles, research showed ahead of International Women's Day on March 8.
Bairstow under pressure in 100th Test after lean India series
Struggling England batsman Jonny Bairstow looks to be fighting to save his Test career when the fifth and final match against India begins in Dharamsala on Thursday.
Maldives signs China defence deal as India prepares exit
The Maldives has signed a "military assistance" deal with China after ordering Indian troops deployed in the small but strategically-placed archipelago to leave, officials said Tuesday.
Bezos dethrones Musk to reclaim title of world's richest man
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos took back his spot as the world's richest man on Monday, dethroning Elon Musk on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Iran executed 834 people last year, highest since 2015: rights groups
Iran executed a "staggering" total of at least 834 people last year, the highest number since 2015 as capital punishment surged in the Islamic republic, two rights groups said Tuesday.
Scientists develop mathematical model to optimise elite athletes' performance
Scientists have developed a mathematical model that promises to optimise training for competitors in 400-metre and 1,500-metre athletics events, according to a study published Tuesday.
Trade, submarines feature at ASEAN talks in Australia
Australia unveiled plans to ramp up investment in Southeast Asia on Tuesday, setting aside US$1.3 billion to bolster trade in a region of rising economic might.
Football star Kerr pleads not guilty to racially aggravated offence
International women's football star Sam Kerr is facing trial in England after pleading not guilty to a racially aggravated offence against a London police officer, prosecutors said.
S. Korea begins licence suspension process against striking doctors
South Korea said Tuesday it would start notifying striking trainee doctors that their medical licences would be suspended, as it moves to punish medics who have quit hospitals in protest at training reforms.
California man first in US charged with smuggling greenhouse gases
A California man has become the first person in the United States charged with illegally smuggling greenhouse gases into the country, officials said Monday.
Singapore PM defends exclusive deal to lure Taylor Swift
Singapore struck a deal ensuring Taylor Swift played the city-state but nowhere else in Southeast Asia, the country's prime minister said Tuesday while defending the secretive arrangement.
China's key objectives for 2024
Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered the country's annual government work report on Tuesday, laying out the ruling Communist Party's key aims for the year ahead.
Philippine Coast Guard says ship damaged in collision with Chinese vessel
The Philippine Coast Guard said one of its ships was damaged Tuesday in a collision with a China Coast Guard vessel during a resupply mission to Filipino troops on a remote outpost in the South China Sea.
S. Korea Methodists excommunicate pastor over gay rights
South Korea's Methodist Church has excommunicated a pastor for advocating gay rights, according to a church verdict obtained Tuesday by AFP.
Diplomatic push for Israel-Hamas ceasefire intensifies
International mediators and Hamas delegates were in Cairo Tuesday for talks to try to secure a pause in the war in Gaza ahead of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Asian markets mostly down as China sets 5% growth goal
Asian markets largely fell on Tuesday after China set a five percent annual growth target and Wall Street shares dropped ahead of the release of key US economic indicators.
Vietnam property tycoon on trial in $12.5 billion fraud case
A top Vietnamese property tycoon went on trial Tuesday along with dozens of others, accused of embezzling $12.5 billion in the country's biggest ever fraud case.
China sets ambitious 5 percent growth target for 2024
China set on Tuesday a growth target of around five percent for 2024, an ambitious objective analysts said would be a challenge to meet given the severe headwinds battering the world's second-largest economy.
Macron heads to Prague for talks on arms for Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Prague on Tuesday to clarify his country's standpoint on a Czech plan to buy weapons outside Europe for war-ravaged Ukraine.
Football star Kerr charged with 'racially aggravated offence'
Chelsea and Australia women's football superstar Sam Kerr has been charged with a "racially aggravated offence" after a dispute involving a London police officer, the Metropolitan Police said Tuesday.
Brazil sinks its teeth into mango-inspired ballgame
A childhood pastime of kids tossing mangoes to each other in the Amazon has transformed into a proper sport in Brazil, even finding a place among the vaunted beach games played in Rio de Janeiro.
China's leaders set five percent growth goal for 2024
China on Tuesday set a growth target of five percent, in line with last year's GDP but a far cry from the double-digit expansion that for years drove the world's second-largest economy.
US president's annual address an exhausting 'Super Bowl,' speechwriters say
When US President Joe Biden gives his State of the Union speech on Thursday, it will be the culmination of three months' intensive work for his speechwriters.
Gaza detainees released by Israel 'traumatized,' report abuse: UNRWA
Gazans detained by Israeli forces are coming back "completely traumatized" upon release and reporting abuses while in captivity, the head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency said Monday.
'Powerful and free': Black figure skaters take to the ice in New York
One by one, a line of young African American and biracial women dressed in ball gowns took to the ice in New York's Central Park to the soundtracks of "Barbie" and "Wonder Woman."
Indigenous Bolivian women take up taekwondo against gender-based violence
A violent attack by would-be robbers steered Bolivian Lidia Mayta towards the martial art of taekwondo. Three years later, she helps train other Indigenous women to defend themselves against rampant gender-based violence in the South American country.
China's leaders set five percent growth goal, raise military budget in 2024
China will on Tuesday set a goal of five percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth and raise the military budget by over seven percent in 2024, an official copy of a government work report seen by AFP showed.