Hong Kong (AFP) Mar 6, 2026 - Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai will not appeal against the national security conviction for which he was jailed for 20 years last month, his legal team said on Friday without providing a reason.
New York (AFP) Mar 6, 2026 - Four years ago, NASA purposely smashed a spacecraft into a small asteroid to see if they could deflect it - a test to prove humanity could protect Earth from threatening space rocks.
Paris, France (AFP) Mar 6, 2026 - Planet Labs PBC, a leading provider of high resolution images taken from space, said Friday it would hold back for 96 hours images of Gulf states targeted by Iranian drone attacks.
Washington, United States (AFP) Mar 6, 2026 - Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei has said the company has 'no choice' but to challenge in court the Pentagon's formal designation of the artificial intelligence firm as a risk to US national security.
Beijing (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - China set its lowest annual growth target in decades on Thursday, at 4.5-5 percent, as the government outlined plans to tackle sluggish consumption and a flagging property market.
Beijing (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - China has told its largest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing unidentified sources, as the war in the Middle East risks an energy supply crunch.
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - A group representing Chinese companies slammed an EU plan to bolster the bloc's industries against fierce competition from China on Thursday, labelling it a shift towards protectionism that could affect trade cooperation between the two giants.
Paris, France (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - Cancelled flights, postponed trips and a great deal of uncertainty: the war in the Middle East is casting a long shadow over the tourism outlook for a region that has become a prized destination for travellers worldwide.
Tokyo (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - A Japanese startup's third attempt to put a satellite in orbit failed on Thursday after its rocket spiralled back to Earth shortly after take-off.
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Thursday the bloc was looking to help Gulf nations fend off Iranian drone strikes, but warned supplies of relevant kit might be limited.
Beijing (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - China announced a seven percent boost to its defence budget for 2026 on Thursday as it steadily increases spending to counter the United States and enforce its claims over Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Manila (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - Philippine authorities have apprehended three defence personnel who allegedly spied on behalf of China in what the country's security agency has described as a 'serious national security matter', its spokesman said Thursday.
Tehran (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - Fresh blasts were reported in Iran's capital on Thursday as Tehran said it had targeted Kurdish groups in Iraq and warned 'separatist groups' against action in the widening war.
Beirut, Lebanon (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - Israeli strikes killed eight people in Lebanon on Thursday as Israel renewed its evacuation call for vast areas of the country's south, long a stronghold of Hezbollah.
Istanbul (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - A ballistic missile launched from Iran and heading towards Turkish airspace via Iraq and Syria was destroyed by NATO air defence systems, Turkish officials said Wednesday.
Galle, Sri Lanka (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - A second Iranian warship was heading towards Sri Lanka's territorial waters Thursday, a day after a US submarine destroyed an Iranian frigate, killing at least 84 sailors, a minister told parliament.
