French prosecutors demanded Wednesday that far-right leader Marine Le Pen receive a jail sentence and be banned from public office for five years over charges she embezzled European Parliament funds. The prosecution made the request in a Paris court where Le Pen and other defendants from her National Rally party are on trial accused of creating fake jobs ...

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake thanked voters Friday for delivering his leftist coalition a landslide victory in snap parliamentary elections that repudiated establishment parties blamed for triggering an economic crisis.Dissanayake, a self-avowed Marxist, swept September presidential elections on a promise to combat graft and recover stolen ...

Hundreds of people fled Friday as Typhoon Man-Yi bore down on the Philippines, threatening yet more destruction even as rescuers tried to reach people stranded on rooftops by the last tropical cyclone.Five major storms have battered the archipelago nation in the last three weeks, killing at least 163 people and prompting the United Nations to request $32.9 ...

Political science student Saul Lara awakes around 4:00 am to begin his long journey -- over two hours by motorcycle taxi and crowded metro -- from the outskirts of Mexico City to school.The tiring commute illustrates the hardships brought by a crippling housing crisis in the Mexican capital, which has particularly impacted young people.As well as studying, ...

Juan Luis Guerra was the big winner of Thursday's Latin Grammys gala that saw the Dominican take home both the coveted best record and best album prizes thanks to his his fusion hit "Mambo 23" off "Radio Guira."It was the 25th anniversary of the awards show that was this year held in Miami's Kaseya Center after last year's journey to Spain, the first time ...

The EU fined online giant Meta almost 800 million euros on Thursday for breaching antitrust rules by giving users of its Facebook social network automatic access to classified ads service Facebook Marketplace.The European Commission said the US tech titan also abused its dominant position by imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads ...

Renowned British sculptor Antony Gormley has told AFP of his concern over the "uglier sides" of China's state control but says artistic engagement with the historic and cultural powerhouse is crucial.The artist most famous for his vast 'Angel of the North' roadside statue in northeast England championed art as a force for fostering cross-societal ...

A man with explosives died Wednesday trying to enter Brazil's Supreme Court in what appeared to be a suicide, officials said."This citizen approached the Federal Supreme Court, tried to enter, failed, and the explosion happened at the entrance," Brasilia governor Celina Leao told reporters.Early indications are that this was a suicide, and no one else was ...

Britain's head of state King Charles III turns 76 on Thursday, still in the grip of cancer treatment but with his passion for work undimmed by what his son and heir Prince William called a "brutal" year.Charles paused royal duties in February after he was diagnosed with an undisclosed cancer. Two and a half months later at the end of April he was back at ...

Nine-hour prayer sessions, live-streamed speaking in tongues, bowing before a Buddhist altar 108 times: South Korean parents are turning to God as students sit a crucial exam Thursday.The "Suneung" university entrance exam is a major event in the education-obsessed South, and officials take extreme measures, from rescheduling flights to pausing ...

Typhoon Usagi slammed into the Philippines' already disaster-ravaged north on Thursday, as authorities rushed to evacuate thousands of people from flood-prone areas.The fifth storm to strike the country in just three weeks, Usagi made landfall in the town of Baggao in Cagayan province at 0530 GMT, packing winds of 175 kilometres (109 miles) an hour, the ...