- Noel wins season-opening slalom in Levi as Hirscher struggles
- Tough questions for England as Springboks make it five defeats in a row
- Russia pounds Ukraine with 'massive' attack in 'hellish' night
- McIlroy clinches Race to Dubai title with DP World Tour Championship win
- Glastonbury 2025 tickets sell out in 35 minutes
- 迪拜棕榈岛索菲特美憬阁酒店: 五星級健康綠洲
- The Retreat Palm Dubai MGallery by Sofitel: Пятизвездочный велнес-оазис
- New Zealand win revives France on their road to 2027 World Cup
- The Retreat Palm Dubai MGallery by Sofitel: A five-star wellness Oasis
- Israel hits Gaza and Lebanon in deadly strikes
- Power cuts as Russian missiles pound Ukraine's energy grid
- Denmark's Victoria Kjaer Theilvig crowned Miss Universe 2024
- Dutch police use hologram to try and decode sex worker's murder
- Israel bombs south Beirut after Hezbollah targets Haifa area
- Biden in historic Amazon trip as Trump return sparks climate fears
- India hails 'historic' hypersonic missile test flight
- Israel orders Beirut residents to flee after Hezbollah targets Haifa area
- Davis, LeBron power Lakers over Pelicans as Celtics win in OT
- Trump and allies return to New York for UFC fights
- Hong Kong political freedoms in spotlight during bumper trial week
- Debt-saddled Laos struggles to tame rampant inflation
- Senna, Schumacher... Beganovic? Macau GP showcases future F1 stars
- India's vinyl revival finds its groove
- G20 tests Brazil's clout in Lula 3.0 era
- Over 20,000 displaced by gang violence in Haiti: UN agency
- Famed gymastics coach Bela Karolyi dies
- 'Break taboos': Josep Borrell wraps up time as EU's top diplomat
- Climate finance can be hard sell, says aide to banks and PMs
- Trump revives 'peace through strength,' but meaning up to debate
- New York auction records expected for a Magritte... and a banana
- Egypt's middle class cuts costs as IMF-backed reforms take hold
- Beirut businesses struggle to stay afloat under Israeli raids
- Dupont lauds France 'pragmatism' in tight New Zealand win
- Swiatek leads Poland into maiden BJK Cup semi-final
- Trump taps fracking magnate and climate skeptic as energy chief
- West Indies restore pride with high-scoring win over England
- Hull clings to one-shot lead over Korda, Zhang at LPGA Annika
- Xi tells Biden ready for 'smooth transition' to Trump
- Trump nominates fracking magnate and climate skeptic as energy secretary
- Tyson says 'no regrets' over loss for fighting 'one last time'
- Springboks' Erasmus hails 'special' Kolbe after England try double
- France edge out New Zealand in Test thriller
- Xi tells Biden will seek 'smooth transition' in US-China ties
- Netherlands into Nations League quarter-finals as Germany hit seven
- Venezuela to free 225 detained in post-election unrest: source
- Late Guirassy goal boosts Guinea in AFCON qualifying
- Biden arrives for final talks with Xi as Trump return looms
- Dominant Sinner cruises into ATP Finals title decider with Fritz
- Dinosaur skeleton fetches 6 million euros in Paris sale
- Netherlands-Hungary Nations League match interrupted by medical emergency
Migration, mega-fines and Barbie: 2023 in records
Sizzling temperatures, millions fleeing their homes, multitudes flocking to a movie about a doll -- 2023 was another year of extremes.
AFP looks at 10 standout numbers:
- The great displacement -
The number of people around the world displaced by conflict or humanitarian crises was already at a record high before the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7, adding to the misery.
By the end of September, 114 million people had been driven from their homes by wars in Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo and a humanitarian crisis in Taliban-run Afghanistan, among other factors, according to UN refugee agency the UNHCR.
They have since been joined by at least 1.9 million Gazans.
- Hot as hell -
One heat record after another tumbled in 2023, which is on course to be the hottest year on record, according to the European Union's climate monitor Copernicus.
The northern hemisphere had its hottest summer ever and temperature records were also smashed in the southern winter, with the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires experiencing its warmest August 1 on record at 30 degrees Celsius.
- Rugby glory -
Defending champions South Africa won a nail-biting final 12-11 against New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup, to claim a record fourth title and seal the growing role of rugby -- once the sport of the white minority under apartheid -- as a unifying force in multiracial South Africa.
"People who are not from South Africa don't understand what it means for our country. It is not just about the game. Our country goes through such a lot," captain Siya Kolisi said.
- Indians outnumber Chinese -
India overtook China to become the world's most populous country in mid-2023, accounting for nearly 1.43 billion of Earth's eight billion humans, according to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
After peaking in 2022 at 1.426 billion, China's population has started to fall for the first time in six decades. By 2100 its population might be only half that of India, experts say.
- Fossil fuel frenzy -
Bad news for the climate: global consumption of coal, the dirtiest of all fossil fuels, hit an all-time high of 8.5 billion tonnes in 2023, the IEA energy watchdog said.
But for the first time ever, nations participating in the UN's annual climate summit agreed to "transition away" from coal, oil and gas.
- Billion-dollar Barbie -
Cinemas got a much-needed post-pandemic boost when Greta Gerwig's blockbuster "Barbie" hit theatres worldwide with Margot Robbie as Mattel's iconic doll.
The film hit the billion-dollar box office mark faster than any film in Warner Bros.' 100-year history and made Gerwig the highest-grossing woman director ever.
- Tennis titan -
Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic continued his age-defying heroics by adding three more Grand Slams to his collection -- the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open -- giving him a record 24 men's singles titles, ahead of Spain's Rafael Nadal on 22.
He is now joint record-holder for men and women with Australia's Margaret Court who won 24 singles Grand Slams in the 1960s and 1970s.
- Mercury mania -
A record 2,000 bidders from 61 countries registered to take part when the piano that Queen frontman Freddie Mercury used to compose almost all of his greatest songs, and the original manuscript for "Bohemian Rhapsody", went under the hammer in London in September.
The baby grand was snapped up for over £3 million as part of the mega-auction of Mercury memorabilia that included items as diverse as a moustache comb and the door to Mercury's garden.
- Facebook mega-fine -
The European Union this year ratcheted up its battle with Big Tech over privacy and other breaches.
Facebook was hit with a record penalty of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in Ireland for illegally transferring personal data between Europe and the United States, in breach of EU rules requiring Europeans to consent to the ways in which their data is used.
- A dog's (very long) life -
Beloved Portuguese sheepdog Bobi had barely time to wag his tail over being ordained the world's oldest dog by the Guinness World Records in February when he was called to the canine everafter.
The purebred Rafeiro -- a dog with a typical life expectancy of 12-14 years -- lived to the ripe old age of 31 years and 165 days, with his owners crediting his longevity in part to his "human" diet.
D.Johnson--AT