03 March 2026
Kart-e-Char, Kabul, Afghanistan

AFP

Articles by AFP

Vietnamese caught in Japan’s illegal worker crackdown

CryptoJanuary 8, 2026

Japan is grappling with an ageing population, one of the world's lowest birth rates and labour shortages across industries - Copyright Getty Images North America/AFP DAVID MCNEW For a decade, Vietna…...

‘Troubled and dangerous times’: Trump seeks 50pc hike in US defence budget for 2027 to $1.5 trillion

BusinessJanuary 8, 2026

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he wanted to increase the US defence budget by half next year to a giant $1.5 trillion to deal with “troubled and dangerous times”. Trump has frequently emp...

Rubio says US plan for Venezuela is stability, recovery, then transition

NewsJanuary 7, 2026

The United States has a three-step plan for Venezuela that will begin with stabilising the country after US forces seized leader Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, ensuring that US oil companies have access ...

Iranian president orders security forces not to crack down on protesters, distinguish them from rioters

BusinessJanuary 7, 2026

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday ordered security forces not to crack down on economic protests, drawing a distinction between peaceful demonstrators and armed “rioters”. Pezeshkian’s s...

‘I don’t’: AI wedding vows fall foul of Dutch law

NewsJanuary 7, 2026

A Dutch court broke the hearts of a couple after ruling that their marriage, whose wedding vows were drafted with the help of artificial intelligence, was not valid. The couple thought they had sealed...

Iranian president orders security forces not to crackdown on protesters, distinguish them from rioters

BusinessJanuary 7, 2026

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday ordered security forces not to crack down on economic protests, drawing a distinction between peaceful demonstrators and armed “rioters”. Pezeshkian’s s...

Iranian president orders security forces not to crackdown on peaceful protesters, distinguish them from rioters

BusinessJanuary 7, 2026

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday ordered security forces not to crack down on economic protests, drawing a distinction between peaceful demonstrators and armed “rioters”. Pezeshkian’s s...

Bethell slams maiden century to give England glimmer in final Ashes Test

NewsJanuary 7, 2026

Jacob Bethell fulfilled his rich potential with a chanceless maiden Test century Wednesday as England built a fragile 119-run second-innings lead with two wickets remaining to give themselves a glimme...

UN accuses Israel of West Bank ‘apartheid’

HealthJanuary 7, 2026

The United Nations on Wednesday said decades-long discrimination and segregation of Palestinians by Israel in the West Bank were intensifying, and called on the country to end its “apartheid system”. ...

Hospital sources say 4 killed in airstrikes on Yemen; separatist leader skips talks

NewsJanuary 7, 2026

At least four civilians were killed in coalition strikes in Yemen on Wednesday, two hospital sources told AFP, as the force raided the home province of a separatist leader and was kicked out of the pr...