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A joke about his mother's reaction to air raids gets a laugh of recognition for Anton Boldyrev as the young Ukrainian comedian performs stand-up at a Kyiv club.

As Asia's "Quad" powers search for ways to define the group, Japan's foreign minister has offered a model -- The Beatles.

Jean Bosco Nsengimana spent his teens working as a bike courier to take care of his struggling family, never imagining that he would one day win the Tour du Rwanda.

A sweet doughy treat from Britain has become a beloved part of Zimbabwe's national cuisine, where despite the country's colonial past, mothers and chefs alike now claim the pastry as their own.

In the 37 years since the last coal pit closed in Whitehaven, the once-proud mining town on northwest England's remote Cumbrian coast has hit on hard times.

Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne held their nerve on a viciously turning Indore pitch to guide Australia to a nine-wicket victory Friday and only their second Test win in India since 2004.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Friday he saw a "small improvement" in diplomacy with Moscow after a Group of 20 meeting that saw rare US-Russia talks.

The United States, Japan, India and Australia expressed concern Friday over the militarisation of waters around China on the heels of a flare-up in tensions between Washington and Beijing.

German airline giant Lufthansa said Friday it returned to annual profit in 2022 after two years of losses, its fortunes lifted by rebounding demand as economies reopened after Covid shutdowns.

"Never get mad," and don't deploy technical jargon: girding for battle after recent election setbacks, Republicans this week unveiled to diehard activists what they consider foolproof strategies for winning back the White House and other political posts next year.

UN countries will try to overcome their differences on Friday to finally agree a treaty to protect the high seas, a fragile and vital treasure that covers nearly half the planet.

A US jury on Thursday found lawyer Alex Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife and son on their hunting estate.

Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne held their nerve on a viciously turning Indore pitch to guide Australia to a nine-wicket victory Friday and only their second Test win in India since 2004.

A global conference to save the world's oceans kicked off Thursday in Panama with urgent calls to adopt an international protection treaty, along with billions of dollars in US and EU pledges for research, monitoring and conservation.

After a series of rapid passes and powerful jumps, Irene Tan slams the ball into a trampoline-like "rebounder" to score a point.

For over two years, Chinese tattoo artist Song Jiayin has interviewed her female clients and posted the results online recording the memories, hopes and fears of hundreds of women in ink and video.

A Cambodian court on Friday sentenced top opposition leader Kem Sokha to 27 years in jail for treason, in a case rights groups say is politically motivated.

The Pacific nation of Vanuatu was under a state of emergency Friday, after two earthquakes and two cyclones hit in as many days.

A Barcelona side galvanised by a gutsy victory over Real Madrid can take a significant step towards the Spanish title with a win over Valencia on Sunday at Camp Nou.

Mahbouba Seraj is a rare dissenting voice in Afghanistan, but the veteran activist has begun to doubt whether the world is listening when she speaks out against the Taliban government's abuses.

China will likely set one of the country's lowest growth goals in decades at the annual National People's Congress next week, experts told AFP, hit by long-running property woes, a sluggish global economy and geopolitical tensions.

A skyscraper under construction in the heart of Hong Kong's historic shopping and tourist district was left scorched on Friday by a massive fire, with authorities saying the blaze had been largely extinguished.

Asian markets on Friday tracked a Wall Street rally after a top Federal Reserve official said he would back a small interest-rate hike at its next meeting but hinted at a possible summer pause to see how tighter policy has impacted inflation.

The world cannot recover from a spate of crises if its poorest nations are forgotten, the UN envoy for the least developed countries told AFP ahead of a key summit.

US President Joe Biden hosts German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Washington on Friday for talks on charting the way ahead in their support for Ukraine, after friction over tank deliveries to Kyiv.

Venezuela has its very own caped superhero. He wears a red construction helmet and his weapon is his iron fist. Called "Super-Bigote," he is created in the image of President Nicolas Maduro.

Kylian Mbappe will lead Paris Saint-Germain into their meeting with Nantes on Saturday looking for the goal that will put him out on his own as the club's all-time top scorer as they get ready for a season-defining trip to Bayern Munich.

Ciryl Gane described Saturday's UFC heavyweight title fight against Jon 'Bones' Jones in Las Vegas as "the biggest fight" of his career and insisted he would "give a good fight" against arguably the biggest name in the MMA world.

US conservatives reprised some of their greatest hits on the opening day of their annual conference Thursday, as they offered multiple "culture war" grievances that framed government as the biggest threat to the American way of life.

Some send divers in speed boats, others dispatch submersible robots to search the seafloor, and one team deploys a "mud missile" -- all tools used by scientists to scour the world's oceans for the next potent cancer treatment or antibiotic.

A US jury on Thursday found disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife and son on their hunting estate in a trial that has drawn global attention.

Bike technology has become so important to elite road racing teams that the sport has, one rider said, "become like Formula One".