AFP news

Thousands of Amazon workers on Thursday launched what they called the "largest strike against Amazon in US history" seeking to maximize pressure on the retail behemoth at the height of the holiday shopping season.

Elon Musk's role in wrecking a bipartisan Congress deal to avert a US government shutdown has underlined his extraordinary influence over the Republican Party and the incoming administration of Donald Trump.

Beatles drummer Ringo Starr was a surprise guest at the final gig of former band-mate Paul McCartney's London tour, with the pair reuniting to play some of the Fab Four's greatest hits.

President Emmanuel Macron faced accusations of racism Friday over an alleged comment on problems in French hospitals which the Elysee strongly denies he made.

Switzerland's financial regulator was ineffective in tackling the scandals at Credit Suisse, where executive mismanagement scuppered the bank and nearly triggered a global financial crisis, a Swiss inquiry concluded Friday.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was defiant Friday as he arrived for the verdict in his long-running trial for blocking a migrant rescue ship at sea, for which he risks six years in jail.

Taiwanese lawmakers tackled and doused each other with water on Friday as President Lai Ching-te's party tried to block the passage of bills they say could harm the self-ruled island's "democratic system".

Malaysia announced on Friday it has agreed to launch a new search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared 10 years ago in one of aviation's greatest enduring mysteries.

US diplomats have arrived in Syria to speak directly to the new Islamist-led rulers, hoping to encourage a moderate, inclusive path and to find clues on missing Americans, the State Department said Friday.

Workers at Starbucks will walk off the job Friday in three US cities in a strike their union threatened could spread around the country in the busy run-up to Christmas.

Rescuers say they have expanded a search for trapped survivors in quake-rocked Vanuatu to "numerous places of collapse" beyond the capital on Friday, after the death toll climbed to at least 10.

European stock markets slid for a second session running Friday and the dollar dropped as investors grow concerned about the economic outlook for next year.

Investigators probing suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over his foiled martial law bid on Friday ordered him to appear before the country's corruption watchdog on Christmas Day -- after he snubbed a previous summons this week.

Donald Trump's imminent return to the White House and uncertainty about his policy proposals has begun weighing on the US Federal Reserve, raising concerns of a reckoning between the central bank and the president-elect.

On Bethlehem's Manger Square, Christmas decorations and pilgrims are notably absent for a second wartime festive season in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city.

Manchester City travel to Aston Villa on Saturday desperately seeking to halt their dramatic slide while Chelsea have the chance to go top of the Premier League, if only briefly.

El Salvador will privatize or close the cryptocurrency wallet "Chivo" created by President Nayib Bukele when he made bitcoin legal tender in 2021, an official said Thursday.

European and Asian stock markets slid Thursday following sharp losses on Wall Street as the Federal Reserve signalled fewer cuts to US interest rates next year.

Overseas rescuers joined a hunt for survivors in the rubble of shattered buildings in earthquake-struck Vanuatu on Thursday, with officials saying the toll of nine dead is set to rise.

Major US weapons manufacturers including Boeing and Lockheed Martin, along with Europe's Airbus and Chinese firms, put their wares on show at an arms fair in Hanoi Thursday as Vietnam looks to diversify its defence supplies away from Russia.

A court on Thursday sentenced a French man to the maximum term of 20 years jail for committing and orchestrating the mass rapes of his now former wife Gisele Pelicot with dozens of strangers he recruited online.

Human Rights Watch on Thursday accused Israel of committing "acts of genocide" in the Gaza Strip by damaging water infrastructure and cutting off supplies to civilians, calling on the international community to impose targeted sanctions.

At least 100 North Koreans deployed to support Russia's war effort in Ukraine have been killed since entering combat in December, South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters Thursday.

In his first post-election news conference, President-elect Donald Trump vowed to "straighten out" the "corrupt" US press.

Concerns are growing in the UK as tech billionaire Elon Musk takes an increasingly close interest in Britain's political scene, appearing to cosy up to hard-right firebrand lawmaker Nigel Farage.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold his annual end-of-year press conference Thursday, almost three years into his Ukraine offensive and two days after a Kyiv-orchestrated killing of a general on the streets of Moscow.

Liverpool moved into the League Cup semi-finals as the holders won 2-1 against managerless Southampton, while Gabriel Jesus ended his goal drought with a hat-trick in Arsenal's 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

As the US Supreme Court considers whether to uphold a law that could get TikTok banned in the United States, here is a look at the rise of the video-snippet social app.

US President-elect Donald Trump urged Republican lawmakers Wednesday to scupper a cross-party deal to avert a fast-looming US government shutdown, as the White House accused him of "playing politics."