AFP news

At the Port of Los Angeles, the frenetic choreography of cranes unloading containers from Asia has slowed to a tiptoe, and the noise of the busiest docks in the US is quieting.

Australians began voting Saturday in a bitterly contested general election, deciding a contest shaped by living costs, climate anxiety and US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Germany's domestic intelligence service on Friday designated the far-right AfD party as an extremist group, handing authorities greater powers to monitor it and fuelling calls for it to be banned.

Prince Harry said Friday he wanted to reconcile with Britain's royal family, but was "devastated" at losing a court battle over his security that meant he could not return to the country with his family.

Syria's Islamist rulers on Friday denounced an air strike near the presidential palace as a "dangerous escalation", as Israel called it a "clear message" not to harm the Druze minority.

The massive EU fine against TikTok on Friday marks the latest setback for the popular Chinese-owned social media platform, which has more than one billion users.

Firefighters installed the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel on Friday which will emit white smoke to signal the election of a new pope as preparations proceed just five days before cardinals gather for the conclave.

In signing a minerals deal, Ukraine has found a new way to tie the United States to its future, but it remains to be seen if it can guarantee long-term support from mercurial President Donald Trump.

Apple on Thursday reported first-quarter profit above expectations but warned that US tariffs could cost the company and were disrupting its supply chain.

European and Asian markets rose on Friday, tracking Wall Street gains, as China said it was considering a US offer to negotiate steep tariffs.

Media rights group RSF warned Friday about "an alarming deterioration in press freedom" in the United States under President Donald Trump as well as "unprecedented" difficulties for independent journalists around the world.

Hong Kong's economy grew by 3.1 percent in the first quarter of the year, the city's government said Friday, though it warned US tariffs had heightened "downside risks" in the global economy.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to cut public funding for NPR and PBS, accusing the news outlets of being biased in his latest attack on traditional media.

TikTok was hit with a massive EU fine of 530 million euros ($600 million) Friday, accused of sending personal data of Europeans to China and failing to guarantee it was shielded from access by Chinese authorities.

On a torn-up road near the refugee camp where she once lived, Saja Bawaqneh said she struggled to find hope 100 days after an Israeli offensive in the occupied West Bank forced her to flee.

An Australian woman accused of murdering three people by dishing up a toxic mushroom-laced beef Wellington never asked after her dying guests' wellbeing, her husband told a court Friday.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he has a "mountain to climb" in elections Saturday, despite leading the opinion polls, in a contest swayed by living costs and Trump tariffs.

Bangladesh's Islamists are readying to make political gains after being crushed for years by the government that was overthrown in a mass uprising last year, rallying hardline loyalists for eagerly anticipated elections.

Liverpool have wrapped up the Premier League title and the three relegated teams know their fate but the fight for the top five is reaching a climax.

With their sleek curves and chrome grilles, the classic American cars on sale at Yosuke Fukuda's yard ooze Californian cool but on Japanese roads new US vehicles are a rare sight -- much to President Donald Trump's annoyance.

Stung by the rocketing price of eggs -- and US supermarkets rationing a basic breakfast staple -- Yong-mi Kim decided to get some chickens to secure her own supply in southern California.

Syrian Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri on Thursday condemned what he called a "genocidal campaign" against his community after two days of sectarian clashes left 102 people dead.

Sales of Tesla cars in France plunged 59 percent in April, piling on more bad news for the electric vehicle company run by Elon Musk, the billionaire advisor to US President Donald Trump.

When he grows up, five-year-old Ahmad wants to be "stronger than Spider-Man".

Bushfires that erupted near Jerusalem were largely brought under control on Thursday, authorities said, with major roads reopened and firefighting teams still tackling lingering hotspots.

Tech giant Meta on Wednesday reported quarterly profits that were well above expectations, brushing aside market worries that its heavy investments in cloud computing and artificial intelligence would hamper growth.

Oil prices fell and stocks were mixed on Thursday in thin holiday trading, following weak US economic data that added to growth concerns.

United States officials have reached out to their Chinese counterparts for talks on vast tariffs that have hammered markets and global supply chains, a Beijing-backed outlet said on Thursday citing sources.

The estranged husband of an Australian woman accused of triple murder with a toxic mushroom-laced beef Wellington told a court on Thursday his father was "hunched" in pain before he died.