BUSINESS

The Colombian government will hold fresh peace talks with one of the main dissident FARC guerrilla groups still active in the country, according to a document released Friday.

The dismissal of Ukraine's popular army chief Valery Zaluzhny spread anger and dismay across the war-torn country on Friday -- from the streets of Kyiv to the frontline.

An all-European quartet of astronauts, including Turkey's first, splashed down off the Florida coast on Friday morning, completing Axiom Space's third private mission to the International Space Station.

Icelanders were working Friday to get hot-water supplies fixed in thousands of houses a day after a third volcanic eruption in two months, as experts said the tremors had eased.

Prince Harry on Friday settled a long-running legal claim against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), nearly two months after a UK judge ruled he had been a victim of phone hacking by its tabloid titles.

French luxury giant Hermes posted on Friday record annual sales and net profit, with plans to reward all employees worldwide with a bonus following strong growth in every region last year.

From Greece to Italy, France, and Germany, tractors have become the farmers' "weapons" of a "war" against Brussels and national governments, protesting EU and domestic policies threatening their livelihood.

An Australian man went on trial in London this week over his claims of inventing bitcoin -- not the first time someone has been linked to being the cryptocurrency's enigmatic creator.

Indonesia's presidential candidates are posting light content on social media in a push to appeal to young voters, dressing up like Tom Cruise in "Top Gun", organising dance contests or forgetting to turn off a livestream.

The risk of a "major miscalculation" in the Middle East is growing by the day as the war between Israel and Hamas rages on, Comfort Ero, president of the Crisis Group NGO, told AFP. Ongoing conflicts across the globe, from Sudan to Ukraine, are also creating a bleak geopolitical landscape.

OpenAI chief Sam Altman is seeking to raise trillions of dollars to reshape the global semiconductor industry, and has held talks with potential investors including the UAE government, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Asian markets were mixed in holiday-thinned trade Friday as investors struggled to build on another record-setting day on Wall Street, with focus on the upcoming release of key US inflation data.

A long-awaited report cleared President Joe Biden of any wrongdoing in his mishandling of classified documents Thursday but dropped a political bombshell by painting the Democrat as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."

Farmers blocked roads across Spain for the third day running Thursday in protest over heavy regulation and cheaper imports, with the main farmers' unions joining the demonstrations for the first time.

General Valery Zaluzhny, who led the Ukrainian army throughout Russia's invasion, is revered by many Ukrainians as the man who thwarted Moscow's plan to seize Kyiv.

While many entrepreneurs focus primarily on building their businesses and maximizing profits, a select few are dedicated to creating a positive impact in their communities.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin accused the United States of "interfering" in their countries' affairs during a telephone call on Thursday, the Kremlin said.

French luxury giant Kering on Thursday reported a drop in 2023 earnings but vowed to press on with its investment strategy to put flagship brand Gucci "back on track".

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday give his most important state of the nation address in an election year when his ruling party risks losing its parliamentary majority for the first time.

Shares in shipping giant Maersk dived on Thursday after it warned of an uncertain 2024 earnings outlook linked to an oversupply of container vessels and Yemeni rebel attacks in the Red Sea.

"The instructions were very clear: when you see a thief, you chase him until you arrest him and you beat him up brutally," says Daniel Kamau Wainaina, a former security guard on a Kenyan pineapple plantation owned by US food giant Del Monte.

The Containerized Freight Index has more than doubled since the beginning of October 2023, from 850 to 2,179 points. It increased 419 points or 24% since the beginning of 2024 alone.

British consumer goods giant Unilever on Thursday said its net profit dropped 15 percent last year to 6.5 billion euros ($7 billion) as sales flattened as the group hiked prices.

Kering, whose other houses include Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta, reported a 17 percent drop in net profit to 2.98 billion euros ($3.2 billion).

Chinese consumer prices fell in January at their quickest rate in more than 14 years, data showed Thursday, piling pressure on the government for more aggressive moves to revive the country's battered economy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered troops to prepare to enter the overcrowded Gazan city of Rafah, even as a new round of talks aimed at securing a truce with Hamas were set to open Thursday in Cairo.

Chinese consumer prices fell in January at their quickest rate in more than 14 years, data showed Thursday, as the country's leaders struggle to revive buying sentiment in the world's second-biggest economy.

Most Asian stocks rose Thursday following another record on Wall Street, with strong earnings, a resilient US economy and Chinese moves to boost the country's markets playing up against fading hopes for an early Federal Reserve interest rate cut.

Conflict between M23 rebels and government forces is intensifying in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's Masisi territory, local sources said, with six killed on Wednesday and many more injured.