KOUROU, French Guiana (AFP) -- Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket successfully blasted off for the first time on Tuesday, releasing satellites into orbit and restoring the continent's independent access to space. European space efforts have suffered a series of blows, including four years of delays to Ariane 6, that have robbed the continent of its own way to launch missions into space for the past year. But with the successful inaugural flight of Europe's most powerful rocket yet, Euro

South Korea's ranking in terms of its competitiveness relative to other countries rose by eight places to reach the highest level for the country ever in 2024 on improved business efficiency and infrastructure, a report showed. The country ranked 20th in terms of global competitiveness among 67 countries surveyed in 2024 compared with 28th the previous year, according to the report by the International Institute for Management Development released by the Finance Ministry here. IIMD, a bus

The entertainment giant Paramount will merge with Skydance, closing out a decades long run by the Redstone family in Hollywood and injecting desperately needed cash into a legacy studio that has struggled to adapt to a shifting entertainment landscape. It also signals rise of a new power player, David Ellison, the founder of Skydance and son of billionaire Larry Ellison, the founder of the software company Oracle. Shari Redstone's National Amusements has owned more than three-quarters of Pa

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Russia on Monday, as the Indian leader treaded a fine line between maintaining a longstanding relationship with Moscow and courting closer Western security ties. The visit is Modi's first since Russia launched its campaign in Ukraine and since he was returned to power last month as leader of the world's most populous country. "I look forward to reviewing all aspects of bilateral cooperation with my friend President Vladimir Putin and sharing

PARIS -- France faced potential political deadlock after elections on Sunday threw up a hung parliament, with the left alliance unexpectedly taking the most seats but no group winning a majority. Voters delivered a major setback for Marine Le Pen's nationalist, euroskeptic National Rally, which opinion polls had predicted would win the second-round ballot but ended up in the third spot, according to pollsters' projections. The results were also a blow for centrist President Emmanuel Macron, who

President Joe Biden on Friday battled to put down an uprising among some Democrats pushing him to abandon his reelection campaign after a poor debate performance, vowing that "I'm staying in the race." In a fiery speech to supporters in Wisconsin and in an ABC News interview , Biden argued he is the best Democratic candidate to prevent Republican Donald Trump from regaining the White House in the Nov. 5 election. Biden's halting performance at his debate with Trump on June

Keir Starmer set to work as Britain's new leader Friday, speaking with other world leaders and appointing his ministerial team after his Labor party's landslide general election victory ended 14 years of Conservative rule. Starmer named Rachel Reeves the UK's first woman finance minister and appointed David Lammy as foreign secretary following his election win to become center-left Labor's first prime minister since Gordon Brown in 2010. Flag-waving crowds of cheering Labor a

A Japanese hairstylist has been sentenced to 17.5 years in prison and 20 strokes of the cane in Singapore for what the judge described as a “brutal and cruel” assault and rape of a drunk student five years ago, his lawyer said Thursday. Kita Ikko, 39, pleaded guilty Monday to one charge of rape, one charge of sexual assault by penetration, and one charge of making an obscene film, defense lawyer Adrian Wee told The Associated Press. The Kyodo News Agency cited the Japanese Embassy in

BEIJING -- China's President Xi Jinping said he supports Kazakhstan joining the BRICS bloc, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday, as the group of developing nations mulls further expansion to rival a Western-dominated world order it sees as outdated. Speaking to the press alongside Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev following a meeting in the Central Asian state's capital, Xi encouraged Kazakhstan to "play the role of a middle power on the international stage and make its

AMSTERDAM -- Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof gave his first speech to parliament on Wednesday, pledging that he will work hard at one of his new goverment’s main aims: reducing immigration. “The biggest of those concerns is asylum and migration. That is the crux of the matter, no matter how you look at it,” said Schoof , who is not a member of any of the four parties that make up the coalition government. Schoof formally took the reins from long serving prime minister Mark Rut

A recent CBS/YouGov poll reveals that more than 70 percent of US registered voters believe President Joe Biden should not seek reelection in November. The survey, conducted with 1,130 registered voters nationwide June 28-29, showed that 72 percent think Biden should not run for president, compared to 28 percent who believe he should. The poll, released on Sunday, followed the first 2024 presidential debate between President Biden and former President Donald Trump on Thursday. When asked about

NUR SHAMS, Palestinian Territories -- Palestinian officials said an Israeli raid Monday killed a woman and a child in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, where a militant was killed the day before. The Israeli military, whose forces struck the same refugee camp on Sunday, did not immediately comment on the latest deaths. The Palestinian health ministry said in a statement that the woman and the child were killed in Nur Shams camp, near the northern West Bank town of Tulkarm. Four other peo

The head of the Gaza Strip's biggest hospital said on Monday after being freed from more than seven months of detention that he had been "tortured" by Israel. Al-Shifa hospital director Mohammed Abu Salmiya was among more than 50 Palestinians released and returned to Gaza for treatment, according to an Israeli minister and a medical source in the besieged territory. Salmiya said he was put through "severe torture" during his detention, which left him with a broken thumb.

After President Joe Biden's shaky performance at the debate with former President Donald Trump on Thursday night, some Democrats openly questioned whether he should be replaced as their candidate for the 2024 election. There is a process for doing so, but it would be messy. For answers on how that would work, Reuters spoke to Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, a Democratic National Committee member, and author of the book "Primary Politics" ab

A fired-up Joe Biden came out swinging Friday as he tried to make up for a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump, insisting he was the right man to win November's US presidential election. Biden's appearance at a campaign rally in the battleground state of North Carolina came amid rumblings in his alarmed Democratic Party about replacing the 81-year-old as their nominee -- and shortly before the nation's most influential newspaper urged him to step aside. "I don&