BUSINESS

Leading Venezuelan opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa was arrested Friday on charges of conspiring to sabotage upcoming parliamentary and regional elections that the opposition has vowed to boycott.

The Justice Department said Friday it reached a preliminary agreement with Boeing to settle a long-running criminal probe into deadly 737 MAX crashes, drawing condemnation from some crash victim families.

Anthropic launched its latest Claude generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) models on Thursday, claiming to set new standards for reasoning but also building in safeguards against rogue behavior.

US President Donald Trump on Friday threw his support behind a new "partnership" between US Steel and Japan's Nippon Steel, sending the American firm's share price skyrocketing on hopes of an end to the long-running saga over foreign ownership of a key national asset.

German police on Friday said they had arrested a woman after at least 17 people were injured in a knife attack at the main station in the northern city of Hamburg.

A judge suspended Friday the Trump administration's move to block Harvard from enrolling and hosting foreign students after the prestigious university sued, calling the action unconstitutional.

Argentine "Rita Lopez," 84, keeps her US dollars hidden in an empty pea can in the kitchen.

A retailer in the UK has suspended in-store sales of Labubu toys amid rising concerns over public safety and staff threats, following reports of global thefts and queue violence tied to the sought-after collectibles.

South Africa's government is moving towards easing its black ownership laws in the telecoms sector -- a policy change that would smooth the way for Elon Musk's Starlink to enter the local market.

President Donald Trump ratcheted up the US trade war on Friday, threatening to impose a new 25 percent levy against Apple, and a 50 percent tariff on the European Union.

Germany's Friedrich Merz urged Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday to support a Ukraine ceasefire push and discussed thorny economic ties, in the leaders' first call since Merz became chancellor.

Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus "needs to remain" in office as interim leader to ensure a peaceful transition of power, a cabinet member and special adviser to Yunus said Friday.

The banning of fugitive ex-leader Sheikh Hasina's party offers a sliver of justice for Bangladeshis demanding she face trial for crimes against humanity but also raises concerns about the inclusivity of elections.

British right-wing newspaper The Telegraph has agreed a takeover by US investment group RedBird Capital Partners, ending a two-year saga marked by UK government intervention over press freedoms.

Germany's economy grew more than previously thought at the start of the year, as its exports surged before US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs, official data showed Friday.

French maitre d'hotel Jean-Francois Pomares says he never has time to see a film at the Cannes Festival, but he has met many of its stars over the years including a young Sharon Stone.

Japanese inflation spiked at a two-year high in April, data showed Friday, as rice prices almost doubled, turning focus on the central bank as it mulls more interest rate hikes amid Donald Trump's trade war.

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that he had again pressed US President Donald Trump on tariffs, in a phone call ahead of fresh talks on easing the levies.

Southeast Asian leaders will express deep concern over US President Donald Trump's tariff blitz when they meet at a summit Monday, warning that the unilateral move posed huge challenges to economic growth and stability in the region, according to a draft statement seen by AFP. Trump's tariffs has roiled global markets and upended international commerce, and left leaders from the 10-member ASEAN bloc scrambling for ways to limit the fallout on their trade-dependent economies.

A highly anticipated White House report outlining Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s agenda devotes significant space to raising alarm over vaccines, while touching on environmental and nutrition concerns that remain at odds with broader administration actions.

Asian equities stabilised Friday following the previous day's US bond-fuelled sell-off with traders tracking a slight pullback in Treasury yields as Donald Trump's signature tax-cutting budget passed a key congressional vote.

An Australian firm's production of a heavy rare earth, a first outside of China, is a "major milestone" in diversifying a critical supply chain dominated by Beijing, experts say.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday will host a private event for hundreds of top investors in his crypto memecoin, with leaders of the Democratic opposition blasting it as "an orgy of corruption."

The US State Department said Thursday that Chevron must wrap up operations in Venezuela next week as scheduled, contradicting an envoy who told a podcast differently after Caracas freed an American.

G7 finance leaders played down their differences Thursday, despite turmoil from US President Donald Trump's wide-ranging tariffs, and sought common ground on Ukraine as talks in Canada entered the final hours.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's "dictatorship" is doomed, exiled novelist Sergio Ramirez has told AFP, predicting the population will eventually rebel against the elderly ex-guerrilla.

Tech giant Xiaomi unveiled a new advanced in-house mobile chip on Thursday, a significant milestone for the company as Chinese firms shift resources towards home-grown technology against a bleak international trade backdrop.

Fifty-five men were arrested in France this week as part of an operation to dismantle a suspected paedophile ring operating via the Telegram messaging app, authorities said Thursday.

Whether or not Russia and Ukraine peace talks actually take place at the Vatican, the mere suggestion it could play host reflects a fresh diplomatic impetus under new pope Leo XIV. Fresh from his election as the first US pope in history, Leo offered last week to mediate between leaders of countries at war.