Taipei (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - Taiwan's main opposition party said Thursday it will back more than $11 billion in special funding for US weapons purchases and left the door open to more acquisitions, but insisted it will not write a 'blank cheque' for the government.
Colombo (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 - Nearly 150 people were missing and several dead after an Iranian warship sank Wednesday off Sri Lanka following what crew members reported as an explosion, officials said.
Yangon, Myanmar (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 - Snaking queues of vehicles waited in Myanmar for shrivelling petrol supplies on Wednesday, with some gas stations shuttered as fuel stocks dried up due to the war in the Middle East.
Tehran (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 - Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday they had total control of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global energy transit, as Israel launched a new wave of strikes on the Iranian capital.
Washington, United States (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 - President Donald Trump and his team scrambled Tuesday to reclaim the narrative on why he decided to attack Iran, after his top diplomat suggested the US struck only after learning of an imminent Israeli strike.
Beirut, Lebanon (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 - Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it targeted northern Israel's Haifa naval base on Tuesday in response to the Israeli military's ongoing strikes against the Iran-back movement's strongholds in Lebanon, including the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Rafah, Egypt (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 - More than 100 aid trucks crossed the Egyptian side of Gaza's Rafah border crossing on Tuesday, two sources told AFP.
Paris, France (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 - France said Wednesday it is planning a meeting of G7 finance ministers on the Middle East crisis for early next week, as the war fuels fears for the global economy.
Walldorf, Germany (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 - Europe should focus on competing in industrial AI, a top executive at German software giant SAP said, as the continent plays catch-up in the race for the cutting-edge technology against the United States and China.
Kinshasa (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 - An armed attack on the headquarters of Upemba National Park in southeastern DR Congo has killed five staff members, the state-run body that manages it said Wednesday.
Beijing (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 - China began the first of its 'Two Sessions' meetings on Wednesday, a grand political theatre during which it will outline its annual growth target and defence budget, as well as its roadmap for the next five years.
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 - The European Commission said Wednesday it was 'ready' to defend EU interests after President Donald Trump threatened to sever trade with Spain for refusing to allow US use of its bases to attack Iran.
Geneva (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 - Suspected widespread use of AI to select targets and launch attacks on Iran raises many questions, and fears that human control of war machinery could be slipping, a leading expert said Wednesday.
Washington, United States (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 - Recycled images, video game footage passed off as missile strikes, and AI-generated combat visuals: the US-Israeli assault on Iran has unleashed a torrent of online disinformation that analysts are calling a war of narratives.
Washington, United States (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 - A coalition spanning US conservative figure Steve Bannon, progressives, labor unions and faith groups announced Wednesday a joint declaration of principles on artificial intelligence, framing the effort as a pushback against what they called Silicon Valley's reckless deployment of AI.
Saint-Cloud, France (AFP) Mar 4, 2026 - France's Dassault Aviation on Wednesday accused Airbus, which represents Germany and Spain in the multibillion-euro FCAS warplane programme, of seeking to sabotage the project.
