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Ferrari eyes electric future with solar-powered factory
Italian luxury carmaker Ferrari on Friday inaugurated a new solar-powered factory at the group's historic Maranello site, where its much anticipated wholly electric car should be produced from 2026.
Namibian court strikes down law criminalising same-sex relationships
A top Namibian court on Friday struck down colonial-era laws criminalising same-sex relationships in a "historic" verdict against a pushback on LGBTQ rights in southern Africa.
One killed in Kenya protests amid calls for national strike
A man died on the sidelines of mass demonstrations by Kenyan youth against proposed tax hikes, police said Friday, with protesters calling for a national strike in the coming week.
Death toll in south China flooding jumps to 38: state media
The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in southern China's Guangdong province this week rose sharply to 38 on Friday, state media reported.
'Bodies on the ground': Pilgrims recount hajj heat horrors
After years of failing to secure a hajj visa, Yasser finally concluded he had no choice but to perform the holy pilgrimage illegally, a move he has now come to regret.
Spain's amnesty for separatists bogged down in legal wrangles
Three weeks after it was approved by Spain's parliament, an amnesty law for Catalan separatists involved in a botched 2017 secession bid is entangled in legal wrangling and has yet to benefit anyone.
Colombia sex tourism boom lures foreigners seeking underage girls
At night, sex workers take up their positions in the Colombian city of Medellin, where a tourism boom has led to a rise in prostitution that is dragging in underage girls.
Saudi hajj pilgrims' deaths highlight how extreme heat kills
More than 1,000 people have died at this year's hajj pilgrimage in extreme heat in Saudi Arabia, an AFP tally showed on Thursday.
Anti-Semitism fears stalk Jewish voters' choice in France
Left-leaning Jewish associations and individual voters in France are struggling to make a choice ahead of snap parliamentary polls, with the far right expected to make massive gains and the hard left mired in allegations of anti-Semitism.
Iraqis flock to river or ice rink to escape searing heat
In the sizzling Baghdad heat, Mussa Abdallah takes to the Tigris river during the day to cool off, while others opt for ice skating to escape the relentless temperatures.
Death toll tops 1,000 after hajj marked by extreme heat: AFP tally
The death toll from this year's hajj has exceeded 1,000, an AFP tally said on Thursday, more than half of them unregistered worshippers who performed the pilgrimage in extreme heat in Saudi Arabia.
Israel-Hezbollah tensions drive fears of widening Gaza war
Fears of a regional war rose Thursday after Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement said none of Israel would be spared in a full-blown conflict, and Israel said it had approved plans for a Lebanon offensive.
Rebel Spanish nuns declare schism with Vatican over property deal
A community of nuns in a 15th century convent in northern Spain has split with the Roman Catholic Church because of a property dispute and doctrinal wrangling that has seen them join up with a renegade priest.
One year on, Honduras prison massacre survivors still reeling
Samantha still does not know how she survived the slaughter of 46 fellow inmates in a brutal gang battle at Honduras's only women's prison a year ago.
French boys charged with rape of 12-year-old Jewish girl
The gang rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl sparked nationwide outrage in France with President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday condemning the "scourge" of anti-Semitism after two 13-year-old boys were charged.
Hezbollah threatens Israel after military says Lebanon offensive ready
Hezbollah on Wednesday said all of Israel would not be spared in the event of war, after Israel said it had approved a plan for a Lebanon offensive, stoking fears that the Gaza war will spread.
French court sentences man over Banksy stencil theft
A French court Wednesday handed a man a two-year suspended jail sentence for using a bucket truck to steal a Banksy stencil from the back of a parking sign in Paris.
Stonehenge monument sprayed orange in UK climate protest
UK police arrested two people on Wednesday after environmental activists sprayed an orange substance on Stonehenge, the renowned prehistoric UNESCO world heritage site in southwest England.
Defying Lula, Brazil's Congress advances conservative agenda
Brazil's majority conservative Congress has scored a series of victories in recent weeks, advancing bills on touchy cultural battles like abortion, traditional family values and gun use.
UK police arrest pair after Stonehenge sprayed with orange substance
UK police arrested two people on Wednesday after environmental activists sprayed an orange substance on Stonehenge, the renowned prehistoric UNESCO World Heritage Site in southwest England.
Loved ones search for missing pilgrims after hajj heat deaths
Friends and family of missing hajj pilgrims searched hospitals and pleaded online for news on Wednesday, fearing the worst after hundreds died during the annual rites in Saudi Arabia.
Chad ammo depot blaze kills nine, wounds dozens
A fire that tore through a huge military ammunition depot in Chad's capital N'Djamena killed at least nine people and wounded dozens more, officials said Wednesday, warning the toll could rise.
Fighting in Gaza's Rafah as tensions soar on Israel-Lebanon border
Israeli air strikes and clashes between troops and Palestinian militants rocked Gaza on Wednesday, as Israel's army warned it had readied an "offensive" against the Lebanese Hezbollah movement on the country's northern front.
Central China farmers face crop failures in 'withering' drought
Farmer Bao Mingchen gestured to a dry pipe where water typically irrigates a patch of crops, the soil now cracked under a drought hitting China's vast agricultural hinterland.
Shootings, raids as global drug gangs hit Spain's Costa del Sol
Heavily armed police officers wearing face masks entered a luxury home at daybreak last week in Spain's southern Costa del Sol to arrest a 40-year-old suspected drug trafficker.
Deadly fire at military ammunition depot in Chad's capital
A deadly fire erupted late Tuesday at a huge military ammunition depot in Chad's capital N'Djamena, causing weapons to fire into the air, the government and witnesses said.
Chinese 'underground bankers' launder Sinaloa drug money: US
The US Justice Department on Tuesday accused Chinese "underground bankers" of helping Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel launder more than $50 million in drug trafficking proceeds.
'Dandy' Pharrell Williams kicks off Paris Fashion Week for Vuitton
Paris Fashion Week kicked off on Tuesday with hip-hop mogul Pharrell Williams playing on the language of one-world unity as he staged his latest branding event for Louis Vuitton at the UNESCO headquarters.
Nintendo surprises fans by announcing new 'Zelda' game
Nintendo surprised fans on Tuesday by announcing a new chapter in its 40-year-old "Zelda" saga, one of the Japanese video game giant's biggest cash-cows.
Justin Timberlake arrested, charged with drunk driving outside NYC: media
Pop star Justin Timberlake was arrested and arraigned Tuesday on charges of driving while intoxicated in a chic town east of New York City, local media reported.
Four dead, over a dozen missing as extreme weather hits China
At least four people were killed when record rains hit parts of southern China, state media reported Tuesday, while more than a dozen were missing even as the north baked under some of its highest temperatures this year.
Who will represent Afghanistan at the Paris Olympics and how?
A gender-balanced team of three men and three women will represent Afghanistan in Paris next month in a symbolic move for the first summer Olympics since the Taliban surged to power.