World

Conservative Charlie Sykes joined the chorus of voices furious over Donald Trump trying to turn the Russian arrest of a Wall Street Journal reporter into a political issue that he said could actually hurt the situation.

Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia in March 2023 on accusations that he was a U.S. spy. On Thursday, Trump claimed he will be released immediately if he is elected in November.

George Lucas told Cannes on Friday how he had to sneak into his own first premiere at the French film festival and explained why "Star Wars" movies have always been for kids.

The 80-year-old legendary filmmaker also responded to criticism of a lack of diversity in his movies, and reflected on making cult classics in the 1970s.

Switzerland's foreign minister on Friday returned to her Iraqi counterpart three important Mesopotamian objects seized during a criminal procedure, the Swiss government said.

During a ceremony at the culture ministry in Bern, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider handed over a partial statue and two Mesopotamian reliefs to Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.

Maria Paez feels relieved after receiving a package of food items including eggs, ham, and yogurt from her children in Miami -- bought online and shipped to Havana.

These days, with a severe economic crisis and food shortages, Cubans abroad increasingly prefer to send care packages to family back home, rather than cash transfers.

A Paris court ruled Thursday that X needed to provide French media with information about how much money it makes from publishing their content as part of a legal battle over rights payments.

A dozen media outlets including Le Monde, Le Figaro and AFP are seeking payment of so-called neighboring rights. The EU created in 2019 the form of copyright that allows print media to demand compensation for using their content.

Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof arrived at the Cannes Film Festival Thursday after his dramatic escape from his homeland after being sentenced to eight years in prison.

"I can't believe I'm standing here," AFP journalists heard him telling officials in the Palais des Festivals, where the world's biggest film festival is being held.

In whale-motif jacket, shirt and tie plus a whale-shaped hat, Hideki Tokoro shows off Japan's new whaling "mothership", the Kangei Maru -- slicing blades, butchery deck, freezers and all.

"(Whales) eat up marine creatures that should feed other fish. They also compete against humans," said Tokoro, the president of whaling firm Kyodo Senpaku, touting an industry argument long rejected by conservationists.

A controversial South Korean DJ "monk" will avoid a ban in Singapore by performing in the city-state without his robe or any religious references, a nightclub hosting him said Thursday.

Youn Sung-ho, who goes by the moniker NewJeansNim, is a comedian-turned-musician credited with reviving Buddhism's popularity among young South Koreans -- even as his performances have ruffled feathers regionally.

Nepal's Phunjo Lama smashed the record Thursday for the fastest ascent of Everest by a woman, conquering the world's highest mountain in 14 hours and 31 minutes.

Climbers usually take days to reach the top of the 8,849-meter (29,000-foot) mountain, spending nights on its different camps to rest and acclimatise.

The UN General Assembly will vote Thursday on establishing an annual day of remembrance for the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, despite furious opposition from Bosnian Serbs and Serbia.

The resolution written by Germany and Rwanda -- countries synonymous with 20th century genocides -- would make July 11 International Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide.

U.S. director Sean Baker feared "Anora", his free-wheeling sex farce which is currently the toast of the Cannes Film Festival, would be too controversial.

But the rave response to his movie about a sex worker marrying into money lays bare our endless fascination with the world's oldest profession, he told AFP.