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Global stock markets slid on Friday as investors grow concerned about the economic outlook for next year and a looming US government shutdown.
A Madrid court sentenced ex-IMF chief and Spanish economy minister Rodrigo Rato to more than four years in prison for tax crimes, money laundering and corruption, it said Friday.
US lawmakers raced Friday to prevent a government shutdown due to bite within hours, after Donald Trump and Elon Musk sabotaged a bipartisan agreement that would have kept the lights on well beyond Christmas.
Russian missiles targeted Kyiv at sunrise on Friday, killing at least one person and damaging six diplomatic missions and a university in the centre of the Ukrainian capital.
Serbia's government closed schools early for Christmas Friday just as teachers and pupils were set to join nationwide protests over the collapse of a train station roof that killed 15 people last month.
Russia's central bank kept interest rates at 21 percent on Friday despite surging inflation, a surprise decision that follows criticism from the country's political and business elite over the effects of higher borrowing costs on the economy.
Switzerland's financial regulator was ineffective in tackling the scandals at Credit Suisse, where executive mismanagement scuppered the bank and nearly triggered a global financial crisis, a Swiss inquiry concluded Friday.
Taiwanese lawmakers tackled and doused each other with water on Friday as President Lai Ching-te's party tried to block the passage of bills they say could harm the self-ruled island's "democratic system".
Lyubov Voronova still remembers a time before the war when the Oskil river flowing by her east Ukraine home was an idyll where families would swim, picnic and make memories.
From great leaps in artificial intelligence to the heroic defendant in a mass rape trial that shocked France, here are the stories of five people who made their mark on 2024:
US diplomats have arrived in Syria to speak directly to the new Islamist-led rulers, hoping to encourage a moderate, inclusive path and to find clues on missing Americans, the State Department said Friday.
Australia said Friday it has agreed to boost Solomon Islands' police force with a finance and training package for the Pacific nation, which has fostered close ties with China.
French President Emmanuel Macron extended his visit to cyclone-devastated Mayotte on Friday after angry residents vented exasperation and despair over the scale of the disaster.
Investigators probing suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over his foiled martial law bid on Friday ordered him to appear before the country's corruption watchdog on Christmas Day -- after he snubbed a previous summons this week.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday presided over the inauguration of new Macau leader Sam Hou-fai, capping off a three-day visit as the former Portuguese colony marks 25 years since being returned to China.
Egypt adopted its first-ever asylum law this week, but it has sparked concerns among human rights groups who warn it takes a "security-focused approach" that could undermine refugee protections.
Australia said Friday it has agreed to help boost Solomon Islands' police force with a finance and training package for the Pacific nation, which has fostered close ties with China.
The United Arab Emirates has informed the United States that it will not arm paramilitaries in Sudan's brutal civil war, US lawmakers long critical of the Gulf power's role quoted the White House as saying on Thursday.
The US House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly rejected a Republican-led funding bill aimed at averting a government shutdown, with federal agencies due to run out of cash on Friday night and cease operations starting this weekend.
El Salvador will privatize or close the cryptocurrency wallet "Chivo" created by President Nayib Bukele when he made bitcoin legal tender in 2021, an official said Thursday.
The United Arab Emirates, under fire in Washington, has promised the United States not to arm paramilitaries in Sudan's brutal civil war, US lawmakers said Thursday.
Elon Musk's role in wrecking a bipartisan Congress deal to avert a US government shutdown has underlined his extraordinary influence over the Republican Party and the incoming administration of Donald Trump.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will preside over a day of celebrations in Macau and inaugurate the city's new leader on Friday to mark 25 years since the former colony was returned to China.
The IMF and Argentina have begun negotiations over a new loan agreement as the current program draws to a close, a spokesperson for the international financial institution confirmed Thursday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday voiced hope that President-elect Donald Trump will pick up his work to normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, acknowledging a historic deal will not happen under Joe Biden's administration.
The United States on Thursday announced $200 million of new funding for the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, bringing Washington's commitment to $2.3 billion, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.
In the villages above the Syrian port city of Tartus they once hailed the sons who died fighting in Bashar al-Assad's service as martyrs.
French President Emmanuel Macron promised to "rebuild" Mayotte as distraught and angry local people jeered and shouted out their grievances during his visit to the cyclone-devastated Indian Ocean archipelago on Thursday.
Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels said Israeli air strikes on Thursday killed nine people, after the group fired a missile toward Israel, badly damaging a school.
The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution on Thursday asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to assess Israel's obligations to assist Palestinians, amid accusations the Israeli government systematically hinders Gaza aid.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday he needed both Europe and the United States on board to secure a durable peace, as he huddled with EU leaders at their final summit before Donald Trump's inauguration.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was to return to Brasilia on Thursday and his regular duties, after getting the go-ahead from his doctors following emergency head surgery, officials said.