US businesses in Hong Kong fear mainland Chinese internet curbs and want local authorities to commit to the free flow of information, the head of the city's American Chamber of Commerce said Monday. Hong Kong has long marketed itself as an internat...

Tokyo Olympics sponsor Toyota won't run any TV ads during the Games or send executives to the opening ceremony, an official told AFP on Monday, as the coronavirus-hit event struggles for public support. The world's biggest automaker is a major spon...

Muslim pilgrims ascended Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat on Monday in the high point of this year's hajj, being held in downsized form and under coronavirus restrictions for the second year running. Just 60,000 people, all citizens or residents of Saud...

Tokyo Games organisers insisted Monday that the Olympic Village is "a safe place to stay", as fears of a coronavirus cluster emerged just days before the opening ceremony. Two South African footballers and a video analyst tested positive for the co...

The last time Abdul Rasheed's family saw him alive was in May, when the young Pakistani left for Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban. He returned home last week in a cardboard coffin. The militant group is waging an offensive across Afghanistan's ...

The Great Barrier Reef's outlook remains "very poor" despite coral recovery over the past year, Australian government scientists said Monday, just days before a UNESCO ruling on the site's world heritage status. The United Nations cultural agency r...

From his shock detention to an audacious escape from Japan, the rollercoaster saga of former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn made headlines around the world. As a Tokyo court sentences a US father-son duo to jail for helping Ghosn flee, here are the key d...

Recent Olympics have been wracked by controversy, cost blowouts and coronavirus chaos but the residents of Brisbane, strongly tipped to host the 2032 Games, look ready to welcome the event with open arms. The sun-drenched Australian city appears al...

A Japan court on Monday sentenced an American father-son duo who helped former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn flee the country to between 20 months and two years in prison. The sentence is the first handed down in Japan in the Nissan saga, which began w...

Team USA got back on track as they came from behind to beat reigning world champion Spain 83-76, in their final exhibition game before heading to Tokyo for the Olympic men's basketball tournament. Damian Lillard scored a team-high 19 points and Kev...

Australia's two largest cities are set to stay under tight Covid-19 restrictions as Melbourne on Monday extended a five-day snap lockdown designed to curb a virulent outbreak. "These restrictions simply cannot end at midnight tomorrow night," Victo...

The cardboard beds at the Tokyo Olympic Village are "sturdy", organisers reassured on Monday, after a report warned they weren't strong enough for sex. Irish gymnast Rhys McClenaghan filmed himself jumping repeatedly on a bed to prove the point, af...

Asian markets sank Monday following big losses on Wall Street as inflation worries and the spreading Delta virus variant fuel worries about the global recovery, while oil prices also sank after top producers reached a deal to hike output. Hong Kong...

Graced with rolling vineyards, bountiful big game, the iconic Table Mountain, endless sandy beaches and vast cultural riches, South Africa would have expected to cash in on a post-virus travel boom. But a week of violent rioting and looting risks d...

After the Tour de France wound up in Paris on Sunday, AFP Sport takes a brief look at some of the stars that lit up the 2021 edition. Tadej Pogacar -- A calm, articulate athlete who describes himself as "a good boy from a good family taking no sh...