AFP news

From holding back investments to considering moving abroad, businesses in the United States are bracing for more economic turbulence as the presidential campaign kicks into high gear -- with fresh tariffs rolled out and promises of more.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wants to bring back US manufacturing and lower costs, relying on tariffs to boost US coffers and exert pressure on other countries -- but the reality is less straightforward.

Alex Salmond, who died on Saturday aged 69, was for years the figurehead of Scottish independence, a wily political operator who divided opinion as he took the nationalist movement from the political fringes to the mainstream.

As Israel undertakes its fourth ground offensive in southern Lebanon in 50 years, its troops again face rocky terrain mined with explosives and full of hiding places that previous generations of soldiers have battled over.

Just like the dwindling group of survivors now recognised with a Nobel prize, Hiroshima's residents hope that the world never forgets the atomic bombing of 1945 -- now more than ever.

Hezbollah said it launched a salvo of missiles at an Israeli military base on Saturday, as Israeli troops battled militants in Lebanon and Gaza on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

China said Saturday it would issue special bonds to help its sputtering economy, signalling a spending spree to bolster banks, shore up the property market and ease local government debt as part of one of its biggest support packages in years.

Donald Trump painted an apocalyptic picture of a country being "occupied" by hordes of criminal foreigners in a campaign speech Friday as he escalated his efforts to make November's US election about a migrant crime wave that isn't happening.

With his no-holds-barred embrace of Donald Trump, Elon Musk is not only backing the former president's bid to return to the White House but also signaling his own ambition to command the world stage on his terms.

The death toll from Hurricane Milton rose to at least 16 on Friday, officials in Florida said, as residents began the painful process of piecing their lives and homes back together.

Scientist Jim Wild has travelled to the Arctic Circle numerous times to study the northern lights, but on Thursday night he only needed to look out of his bedroom window in the English city of Lancaster.

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese group of atomic bomb survivors who are advocating for "a world free of nuclear weapons".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Pope Francis Friday to help bring back Ukrainians taken captive by Russia, as he toured European capitals seeking more support ahead of a tough winter.

Lebanese Christian Joseph Jarjour was hoping for a peaceful retirement at home in south Lebanon, but has instead found himself caught in the crossfire of the Israel-Hezbollah war.

The Nobel Peace Prize was on Friday awarded to the Japanese anti-nuclear group Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha.

The United States and its allies clashed on Friday with Russia and China at a summit in Laos dominated by disputes on maritime claims and Ukraine.

Bangladesh's top Islamist politician says he supports the extradition of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina to face trial for crimes against humanity in the same tribunal that convicted his colleagues.

Israel appeared to target Hezbollah's security chief in air strikes on Beirut that killed 22 people, in the deadliest raid on the centre of Lebanon's capital since the Israel-Hezbollah war began.

Chinese shares sank Friday at the end of a volatile week as traders prepare for a highly anticipated briefing where it is hoped authorities will outline fresh fiscal stimulus to add to a raft of measures unveiled last month.

An Iraqi professor leading a group of students on a walking tour of Baghdad's historic centre invites them to stop and admire a centuries-old stone wall erected to shield the city from Mongol invaders.

Tesla fans were kept waiting on Thursday for the unveiling of Elon Musk's robotaxi, years after the brash billionaire first promised a car that could drive itself.

Former US President Barack Obama lashed out at "crazy" Donald Trump Thursday and urged voters to back Kamala Harris as he brought his star power to the 2024 election campaign trail for the first time.

Donald Trump has been lashing out against Kamala Harris incessantly on Truth Social as next month's US presidential election nears -- mirroring his rally broadsides but in increasingly vulgar and vindictive terms that cater to his most uncompromising supporters online.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, as part of a European tour aimed at securing more Western support before the presidential election in the United States.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te vowed Thursday to "resist annexation", as China exerts growing military and political pressure on the self-ruled island it claims as part of its territory.

Rescuers in Gaza said Israel conducted a deadly air strike Thursday on a school housing families displaced by the war, though the Israeli military said it was a Hamas command centre.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos challenged Chinese Premier Li Qiang over recent clashes in the South China Sea at regional summit talks on Thursday as fears grow that conflict could erupt in the disputed waterway.

Rafael Nadal on Thursday announced he will retire after the Davis Cup finals in November, ending a career which brought 22 Grand Slam titles, global respect and inspired epic, iconic rivalries with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Two months into Ukraine's offensive on Russian territory, questions are growing in Ukrainian ranks over the long-term strategy as Russian troops advance steadily in other areas.