AFP news

Tesla electric car sales in Europe plunged in the first three months of the year, industry data showed Thursday, in a fresh blow to its boss Elon Musk who has been criticised for his work in US President Donald Trump's administration.

President Donald Trump's various U-turns are leaving Americans disillusioned -- especially after he was elected on vows of guaranteeing economic prosperity.

Stock markets were mostly lower on Thursday as China poured cold water on US President Donald Trump's comments talking up the prospects of a deal to end their trade war.

As Russian missiles rained on Kyiv overnight in Moscow's biggest attack on Ukraine's capital in months, Anna Balamutova grabbed her children and ran to a shelter, saying they were saved by a "miracle".

Germany's economy is expected to post zero growth in 2025, outgoing Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Thursday, blaming US President Donald Trump's trade policy.

Australia will stockpile critical minerals in a new strategic reserve, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday, as nations scramble to source rare earths and coveted metals outside China.

India has hit Pakistan with a raft of mostly symbolic diplomatic measures after a deadly attack it blames on its arch-rival, but analysts warn a military response may yet come.

In 2010, Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson said he was not ready to become pope -- and that the Catholic Church might not be either.

Thousands of people gathered Thursday for a glimpse of Pope Francis's body on the second day of public tributes, after St Peter's Basilica stayed open almost all night to accomodate the crowds.

A "massive" Russian missile attack on Kyiv on Thursday killed at least nine and wounded dozens in one of the deadliest strikes on the Ukrainian capital since Moscow launched its invasion more than three years ago.

With its cobbled market square and gold-domed churches, the Russian town of Vereya bears few scars of the Ukraine offensive announced by President Vladimir Putin three years ago.

In a small church tucked into a side street in northern China's Hebei province, a group of around 10 people gathered for their weekly meeting, the day after Pope Francis died aged 88.

Just under five months into her job as the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas admits it has been a rollercoaster start as US President Donald Trump has turned the global order on its head.

A year ago Zhang Chundong helped the firm he manages expand into Vietnam, part of a wave of Chinese businesses to choose the booming manufacturing hub since the trade war of US President Donald Trump's first term.

After decades spent pruning thorny bushes and working arduous harvests, Khalaf Allah al-Talhi has perfected the art of capturing the fragrant aroma of the desert rose in a bottle.

OpenAI is ready to buy Chrome if Google is forced to sell its popular browser as part of antitrust trial, a top executive testified Tuesday, according to media reports.

China said on Wednesday the door was "wide open" for trade talks with Washington, a day after US President Donald Trump signalled the possibility of a "substantial" lowering of tariffs on Beijing.

President Donald Trump's top diplomat Marco Rubio on Tuesday unveiled a restructuring of the US State Department that will cut positions and scale back human rights offices, saying the "bloated" organization was ideologically out of sync with the administration.

Elon Musk will significantly scale back his Trump administration work in May to focus on Tesla, the billionaire announced Tuesday as the electric vehicle maker reported a 71 percent drop in first-quarter profits.

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he had no plans to fire the Federal Reserve chief, in apparently conciliatory remarks after berating him and triggering market turmoil.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi hosted the opening meeting of an "anti-Christian bias" task force Tuesday, as the government pressed federal workers to inform on work colleagues engaging in discriminatory behavior.

Prosecutors will begin to make their case against disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein to a majority-women jury on rape and sex assault charges Wednesday as opening statements begin in his retrial.

Ahead of his lying-in-state, Pope Francis's body was made ready to withstand Rome's warm spring weather with a temporary embalming and a touch of make-up, an expert told AFP. The body of the 88-year-old, who died on Monday, will be on display for three days in Saint Peter's Basilica from Wednesday before his funeral on Saturday.

The EU on Wednesday slapped Apple and Meta with 700 million euros in fines for breaking digital competition rules, risking the wrath of US President Donald Trump.

Gaza's civil defence agency on Wednesday said its crew recovered charred bodies from a school-turned-shelter for displaced people, as Israeli strikes killed 17 people in the Hamas-run territory since dawn.

Equities rallied with Wall Street on Wednesday after Donald Trump said he had "no intention" of firing the head of the Federal Reserve and that eye-watering tariffs on China would be slashed drastically.

Envoys from Washington, Kyiv and European nations gathered for talks in Britain on Wednesday amid a new US push to end Russia's war in Ukraine, where a brief Easter truce was shattered by fresh air strikes.

Pope Francis's coffin began its transfer to St Peter's Basilica Wednesday for three days of lying in state, with thousands of well-wishers gathering to pay their respects to the leader of the world's Catholics before he is laid to rest.

Every morning the Congolese city of Bukavu, now under the control of the Rwanda-backed M23 movement, counts its dead.