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.
Beijing (AFP) Mar 6, 2026 - China's leaders are 'clearly aware' of challenges facing growth, the head of the country's top economic planning body said on Friday, vowing to boost sluggish domestic consumption.
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.
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.
Rome (AFP) Mar 6, 2026 - Italy is once again challenging the EU's green transition, pushing for an overhaul of the bloc's carbon trading scheme and changing the way the tool operates to try to cut electricity bills.
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.
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.
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.
Rome (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - Italy will send air-defence assistance to Gulf countries hit by Iranian strikes launched in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Thursday.
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 - Israel on Thursday launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran, which stepped up its attacks on Gulf nations Qatar and Bahrain, as the Middle East war spread throughout the region and beyond.
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 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.
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.
London (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - Britain's defence minister John Healey arrived in Cyprus Thursday, following a drone strike on a UK air base on the Mediterranean island.
Seoul (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw tests this week of his country's naval destroyer, claiming Pyongyang is in the process of 'arming the Navy with nuclear weapons', state media reported Thursday.
