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China confirms Xi to attend G20 summit, meet Biden
Xi Jinping will attend the G20 summit in Indonesia next week and meet his US counterpart Joe Biden, Beijing's foreign ministry confirmed on Friday, in their first in-person talks since the Chinese president sealed a historic third term as leader last month.
UK economy contracts in third quarter
Britain's economy shrank in the third quarter, official data showed Friday, likely confirming it is already in a recession forecast to last some time.
SoftBank posts Q2 net profit after Alibaba share sales
Japan's SoftBank Group on Friday posted a net profit in the second quarter, partly thanks to gains from its recent reduction of its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
Finland's foresters decry 'unfair' EU climate plans
Standing next to a freshly-cut clearing the size of seven football fields, Finnish forest engineer Matti Jappila pointed to growth rings in an up to 300-year-old tree stump.
Kim Engelbrecht, Emmy-nominated actor celebrates S.African roots
Heads turn and jaws drop when South African actor Kim Engelbrecht walks down a Cape Town street.
'Threat multiplier': How climate change affects health
Deadlier than Covid, or even rivalling cancer? Researchers have been increasingly attempting to calculate the effect climate change will have on health if the world does not act quickly to reduce carbon emissions.
Paul Allen's art collection sells for record $1.6 billion
An auction of paintings and sculptures from the collection of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen fetched a record $1.6 billion over two days, Christie's auction house said on Thursday.
Record-breaking women's Rugby World Cup shows 'people waking up'
The curtain comes down Saturday on a women's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand which has smashed records and been declared a milestone in the growth of the sport.
Repeat hacks highlight Australia's cyber flaws
Inadequate privacy safeguards and the stockpiling of sensitive customer information have made Australia a lucrative target in the eyes of foreign hackers, cybersecurity experts told AFP following a series of major data breaches.
China's Singles Day shopping spree enters final stretch
China's Singles Day shopping bonanza entered its final stretch Friday, with all eyes on whether sales can top a record one trillion yuan ($140 billion) despite the country's struggling economy.
China eases Covid measures, cutting quarantine and scrapping flight bans
China announced the relaxation of some of its hardline Covid-19 restrictions on Friday, cutting the quarantine period for inbound travellers from 10 days to eight and scrapping snap closures of flight routes.
'Dangerous' England face Pakistan in World Cup final but rain threatens
Skipper Jos Buttler believes an "incredibly dangerous" England will be hard to beat in Sunday's Twenty20 World Cup final, but Pakistan say they have "all bases covered" -- and then there's the threat of rain.
Hun Sen hands out Cambodian-made watches to summit VIPs
World leaders attending a summit in Phnom Penh will receive Cambodian-made watches from host Hun Sen, a noted fan of luxury timepieces.
Australia blames Russian hackers for medical data theft
Russian hackers carried out a cyberattack on a major Australian healthcare company that breached the data of 9.7 million people, including the country's prime minister, police said Friday.
Piece of Challenger space shuttle found off Florida coast
Divers searching for a World War II-era aircraft near the Bermuda Triangle have found a piece of an entirely different sort of vessel: part of the US Challenger space shuttle that exploded soon after takeoff in 1986.
Bong! Big Ben's back in Britain
Getting up close to Big Ben requires earplugs, and ear defenders over them to be safe. When the 13.7-tonne bell sounds, the vibration hits you in the chest.
Japan govt backs major firms in next-gen chip project
The Japanese government will pour half a billion dollars into a new project to develop and make next-generation microchips, chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Friday.
Domenicali defends Formula One races in World Cup hosts Qatar
Formula One boss Stefano Domenicali has defended the sport's presence in Qatar, telling AFP that the sport is an "accelerator for change".
Germany hand US women first home defeat in five years
Paulina Krumbiegel scored in the 89th minute to lift Germany to a 2-1 victory over the United States on Thursday, handing the women's World Cup champions a first home defeat in more than five years.
ASEAN leaders struggle for answers to Myanmar crisis
The escalating crisis in Myanmar was set to dominate summit talks Friday between Southeast Asian leaders struggling to find a way to calm the bloodshed in the junta-ruled country.
Turkish journalist on Erdogan's wishlist worries about future in Sweden
A Turkish journalist exiled in Stockholm is increasingly worried he will be used as a bartering chip after Turkey's president singled out his extradition as key to approving Sweden's NATO bid.
Banned from education, 'idle' Afghan girls are married off
Thirteen-year-old Zainab should have been shopping for a new school uniform this autumn but, with no prospect of girls' schools reopening in Afghanistan, she was instead forced to pick out a wedding dress.
Flowery facelift for heart of revolt in Iraqi capital
Three years ago, Fadel Abbas marched with tens of thousands of fellow Iraqis chanting for the "fall of the regime" in Baghdad's Tahrir Square, meaning "liberation" in Arabic.
Players torn between club and country with 'one eye' on World Cup
As Sadio Mane limped off early in Bayern Munich's routine Bundesliga win over Werder Bremen on Tuesday, the nation of Senegal held its breath.
Asian shares surge as investors cheer slower US inflation
Asian markets surged on Friday after a bumper session on Wall Street as lower US inflation dimmed expectations of more aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes.
Qatar robo-jockey camel races hope to draw World Cup crowd
Sitting in a white all-terrain truck, Nasser al-Marri watched his remote-controlled camel race across the Qatar desert and insisted that his sport makes football pale in comparison.
Biden faces high expectations at UN climate talks
US President Joe Biden flies into UN climate talks in Egypt on Friday armed with major domestic achievements against global warming but under pressure to do more for countries reeling from natural disasters.
Tunisia's Ghannouchi in court over 'money-laundering'
The speaker of Tunisia's dissolved parliament and arch-rival of President Kais Saied appeared in court on Thursday as part of a case involving money-laundering and "incitement to violence".
World Cup fitness fears steal Premier League spotlight
With the World Cup just days away, the Premier League pauses after this weekend's action, leaving international managers a bag of nerves as they anxiously await fitness reports on their stars.
Owen Farrell wants England to 'let go' against Japan
England captain Owen Farrell has urged his side to shed their fear of failure when they try to revive their November campaign against Japan at Twickenham on Saturday.
Hurricane causes only minor damage to Artemis rocket
After initial visual inspections, NASA said on Thursday that its new mega moon rocket apparently suffered no major damage after Hurricane Nicole hit Florida.
Climate change escalates risk of conflict, demands on US forces
The fallout from climate change threatens to fuel conflicts around the world, adding to the suffering caused by the direct effects of a rapidly warming planet.