AFP

Agence France-Presse

A chef cooking eels in a restaurant of Hiranuma eel farm

Japan's eel delicacy faces global conservation pressure

At an eel restaurant near Tokyo, four friends sit down to eat a Japanese delicacy now the subject of a heated international debate as its numbers decline.

News Lens • 21 Nov

Miss Mexico wins Miss Universe contest after insult drama

Miss Mexico was crowned Miss Universe in Thailand, strutting to victory after staging a walkout when an organiser of the beauty pageant chastised her among several dramatic missteps before the final round.

World • 22 Nov

Sanae Takaichi, newly-elected leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party speaks

Japan's $135bn stimulus plan fiscally 'responsible'

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi insisted that a $135 billion stimulus package approved today was fiscally responsible and that she would reduce the country's colossal debt burden.

Business • 21 Nov

Emergency crews battling a fire that broke out at a pavilion inside the venue of the COP30

Fire forces evacuation at COP30 climate talks

A fire erupted in a pavilion of the UN climate talks in Brazil, forcing panicked delegates to run for the exits and interrupting negotiations.

World • 20 Nov

France's chief of the defence staff Fabien Mandon

Anger after French army's 'prepare to lose child' warning

France's top military leader is facing accusations of warmongering after warning that the country must be ready to "lose its children" against the background of the threat posed by Russia.

Europe • 20 Nov

A Ukrainian flag is seen attached to a burned car at the site of a heavily damaged residential building following Russian air strike in the city of Ternopil

What do we know about the US plan to end Ukraine war?

The United States has presented a plan to Ukraine with a list of sweeping concessions Kyiv could make to potentially end the war with Russia, a proposal that appears to echo many of Moscow's maximalist demands.

World • 20 Nov

Giant spider web found in Greek-Albanian border cave

Scientists have discovered a giant spider web spanning about half the size of a tennis court and with some 111,000 spiders in a cave on the border between Greece and Albania.

News Lens • 20 Nov

A combination of pictures of Zohran Mamdani and US President Donald Trump

Mamdani to meet President Trump in Washington

US President Donald Trump said he will host New York's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani for a meeting tomorrow, after strongly criticising the 34-year-old self-described Democratic Socialist during his recent campaign.

US • 20 Nov

Donald Trump standing in front of an American flag

Trump set to sign bill forcing release of Epstein files

A bill requiring the release of US government records on Jeffrey Epstein heads to Donald Trump for his signature this evening, spurring a showdown over whether the US president will allow full disclosure - or return to trying to bury the case.

US • 19 Nov

Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien wears Lacoste outside the Lacoste show during the Womenswear Fall/Winter 2025/2026

Vietnam beauty queen jailed for fibre gummy fraud

A court in Vietnam has sentenced a former beauty queen to two years in jail for falsely promoting gummies as rich in fibre on her social media channels, state media reported.

News Lens • 19 Nov

wire

AFP