WORLD

European leaders converge on Budapest Thursday for two days of high-level talks that will seek to rise to the challenges posed by Donald Trump's return to the White House -- but also risk exposing the continent's fault lines.

Opinion polls underestimated the level of Donald Trump's support for the third US presidential election in a row, predicting a neck-and-neck race with Kamala Harris when in the end the Republican edged the vice president across battleground states.

A wildfire fanned by powerful winds was burning out of control near Los Angeles on Wednesday, with scores of residents ordered to evacuate and some taken to the hospital.

US Vice President and defeated Democratic candidate Kamala Harris promised a peaceful transfer of power to Donald Trump on Wednesday in a defiant concession speech that urged supporters to "keep fighting" for their ideas.

In the 2020 US presidential election, Fox News triggered controversy by calling the state of Arizona for Joe Biden days before competitor outlets deemed it safe to do so.

US President-elect Donald Trump can seize untrammeled power in Washington should his Republicans gain full control of Congress, a feat his party may well achieve as it leads the race for the House of Representatives.

Donald Trump's victory in US presidential elections has sparked anxiety on the streets of Kyiv at a decisive moment of the war as Ukrainian defences buckle under mounting Russian pressure.

Far from Republican festivities as Donald Trump claimed US election victory, residents of a sleepy Indian village celebrated that their descendant would be the next "Second Lady", hoping to benefit from her success.

For the second time in eight years, a woman has won the Democratic nomination for US president, only to come up short in a campaign where gender was a central issue.

A Dutch court on Wednesday upheld a government ban on sweet flavors for e-cigarettes, arguing they encouraged young people to smoke.

Donald Trump has won the US presidential election, media said Wednesday, defeating Kamala Harris in a stunning political comeback that will send shock waves across the world.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will host dozens of European leaders in Budapest later this week boosted by his "dear friend" Donald Trump's US election victory, but with relations with other EU states increasingly strained.

The mood at US election watch parties shifted significantly as results began to show a swing towards Donald Trump in a number of key states early Wednesday.

Snow has finally fallen on Mount Fuji, photographs shared by local authorities and residents showed Wednesday, after the Japanese mountain's longest-ever stint with bare slopes.

Bomb threats targeted scores of polling places in several battleground states on a tense US Election Day, with authorities pointing toward suspected Russian involvement.

Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv late Tuesday to protest the sacking of defense minister Yoav Gallant, calling on his successor Israel Katz to prioritize a hostage deal to return the captives still held in Gaza.

Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza told AFP on Tuesday that whoever emerges victorious in the US presidential election must end the conflict in the territory, which has taken an appalling human toll.

US tech giant Meta illegally harvested sensitive data including on sexual orientation from nearly a million South Korean Facebook users and shared it with advertisers, Seoul's data watchdog said Tuesday.

American voters deliver their verdict Tuesday after an extraordinarily turbulent election that will either make Kamala Harris the first woman president in US history or deliver Donald Trump a comeback that sends shockwaves around the world.

Myanmar's embattled junta chief arrived in China Tuesday -- his first reported visit since leading a coup in 2021 -- but analysts say the invitation is only a lukewarm endorsement from his key ally and could backfire.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Tuesday he was "fully confident" the country would hit its economic goals this year, lauding recent stimulus measures and suggesting there was still room for more.

North Korea fired a salvo of short-range ballistic missiles early Tuesday, Seoul's military said, Pyongyang's second launch in days and just hours before Americans vote for a new president.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations on Monday accused Turkey of "malice," after Ankara submitted a letter signed by 52 countries calling for a halt in arms deliveries to Israel over the war in Gaza.

Lawmakers grilled the first four would-be members of the next European Commission on Monday, with a personal tale of bereavement bringing unexpected poignancy to the start of hearings to confirm Ursula von der Leyen's top team.

For many Moldovans, President Maia Sandu, who won re-election on Sunday, has become a symbol of change as she seeks to chart a new pro-European path for the former Soviet republic.

Ukrainian soldier Anton Sushko, severely wounded, thought he was finally safe when he spotted a rescue team after crawling for hours through the battlefield in eastern Ukraine.

Bitter rivals Kamala Harris and Donald Trump embark on a final frenzied campaign blitz Monday with both hitting must-win Pennsylvania on the last day of the tightest and most volatile US presidential election in memory.

World leaders kick off UN climate talks next week, days after a knife edge US election that could send shockwaves through global efforts to limit dangerous warming.

China's top lawmakers gathered Monday to hash out a major stimulus package that analysts say could grow even bigger if former US president Donald Trump wins the White House this week.