BUSINESS

Alex Batty, a British teen who went missing six years ago and was found this week in southwest France, boarded a plane home on Saturday, the Toulouse public prosecutor told AFP. The 17-year-old boarded a KLM flight to the UK via Amsterdam, "accompanied by British police officers", said assistant prosecutor Antoine Leroy.

With nearly 130 hostages still held by Hamas 10 weeks after its unprecedented attack on Israel, AFP has taken a focused look at the lives of two women among the captives.

Kuwait saw a quick transition to a new emir on Saturday following the death at 86 of Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah after three years in power.

A UK destroyer has brought down a suspected attack drone in the Red Sea, defence minister Grant Shapps said Saturday, amid rising maritime tensions in the region.

A Vatican court delivers its verdict on Saturday in a historic trial focused on an opaque London property deal, with a once-powerful cardinal among 10 defendants facing jail for alleged financial crimes.

DR Congo's democracy has been backsliding ahead of elections this month, according to rights defenders, as prominent journalists languish in prison and the murder of an opposition politician remains unsolved.

Israel said its troops had killed three Gaza hostages after mistaking them for a threat, with the armed forces expressing "deep remorse" over a "tragic incident" that sparked protests in Tel Aviv.

Two of the world's largest shipping firms, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, said Friday they were suspending passage through a Red Sea strait vital for global commerce, after Yemeni rebel attacks in the area.

Canada's print media will receive nearly two-thirds of an annual Can$100 million (US$75 million) payment from Google to the country's news outlets in exchange for distribution of their content, the federal government announced Friday.

Turkish Airlines said on Friday it has decided to purchase more than 200 Airbus aircraft -- with the option for over 100 more -- in the coming decade as it seeks to become the world's largest carrier.

The civil suit, filed in a New York court by attorneys that include human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, references a $778 million US Department of Justice.

Mexico's Maya tourist train glided into action on Friday, promising prosperity for one of the country's poorest regions, but tainted by allegations of environmental devastation.

Turkish Airlines said on Friday it has decided to purchase more than 200 Airbus aircraft -- with the option for over 100 more -- in the coming decade as it seeks to become the world's largest carrier.

Yemen's Huthi rebels struck a cargo ship in the Red Sea on Friday, causing a fire on deck in the latest of a near-daily series of attacks in the commercially vital waterway.

A UK judge ruled Friday that Prince Harry was a victim of phone hacking by journalists working for Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), and awarded him GBP140,600 ($179,600) in damages.

Bradley Cooper said transforming into the legendary composer Leonard Bernstein for his new film "Maestro", released on Netflix on December 20, forced him to grow up.

"Fake Congolese" or "candidate of the aggressor country" -- some of the accusations being bandied around on social media in a bid to ruin reputations in the run-up to DR Congo's presidential vote.

One person was drowned and another seriously hurt overnight from Thursday to Friday when a boat carrying dozens of migrants trying to reach the English coast capsized in the Channel, French maritime authorities said.

Microsoft has seized the websites of a Vietnam-based group it alleges sold millions of fake accounts to cybercriminals who used them for ransomware attacks, identity theft and other scams around the world.

US autonomous driving venture Cruise announced Thursday it will eliminate roughly a quarter of its workforce as it slows commercialization to address safety issues.

Asian markets built on the previous day's rally Friday as investors recalibrated their outlook for the new year after the Federal Reserve indicated it will cut interest rates.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told AFP his company's experimental vaccine against melanoma could be available in as little as two years, in what would amount to a landmark step against the most serious form of skin cancer.

The Bank of England held rates steady again Thursday with the European Central Bank expected to follow suit as inflation retreats, shifting investor attention to how fast policymakers will slash borrowing costs in 2024.

Facebook owner Meta's text-based app Threads arrived in the European Union on Thursday, months after its global launch in July, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.

A top EU court rejected Thursday Brussels' appeal against a ruling blocking its bid to force Luxembourg to recover 25 million euros ($272-million) in back taxes from Amazon.

The European Central Bank and the Bank of England were on Thursday expected to pause rates again as inflation retreats, while markets cheered the US Federal Reserve's clear signal that it would start slashing borrowing costs in 2024.

A Russian court began on Thursday hearing the appeal of Oleg Orlov, a veteran human rights campaigner and co-chair of the Nobel-Prize-winning group Memorial, who has been convicted of discrediting Russian forces.

Asian markets rallied Thursday and the dollar extended losses after the Federal Reserve indicated it will begin cutting interest rates next year.

Robinson Flores, a Venezuelan who has been living in Essequibo for years, has no time for politicians fighting over the disputed oil-rich region run by Guyana.