AFP News

Pro-Palestinian protests that have rocked US campuses for weeks were more muted Friday after a series of clashes with police, mass arrests and a stern White House directive to restore order.

International Criminal Court prosecutors warned on Friday against "individuals who threaten to retaliate" against the tribunal or its staff, saying such actions might constitute an "offence against its administration of justice".

Surrounded by glass-fronted display cabinets filled with shimmering gold bracelets and necklaces at London's Pakeeza Jewellers store, manager Zahid Khan laments the impact of record-high prices of the precious metal.

A second week of sometimes heated witness testimony wraps up Friday in the New York trial of Donald Trump, accused of covering up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

The High Court ruled Friday that the UK government had acted unlawfully when it approved elements of its plans to meet net-zero targets based on "vague and unquantified" information.

South Korean semiconductor giant SK Hynix said Friday its entire 2024 production of high-end memory chips was sold out and most of next year's line was gone too, reflecting the huge demand for cutting-edge AI hardware.

US job growth came in markedly below analyst expectations in April while unemployment crept up, government data showed Friday, signaling that the labor market is cooling.

French President Emmanuel Macron will next week make a new push to try and dissuade China's Xi Jinping from supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine but is unlikely to make a breakthrough on ending the conflict during the visit, observers say.

Germany and the Czech Republic on Friday blamed Russia for a series of recent cyberattacks, prompting the European Union to warn that Moscow would face consequences for its "malicious behaviour in cyberspace".

Turkey said Thursday it was suspending all trade with Israel until it allows aid to enter Gaza unhindered during its offensive against Hamas militants in the territory.

A rocket carrying the Chang'e-6 lunar probe blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in southern China's Hainan province just before 5:30 pm (0930 GMT), AFP journalists near the site said.

Police entered Paris' Sciences Po university on Friday to remove dozens of students staging a pro-Gaza sit-in in the entrance hall, AFP journalists saw, as protests fire political debate about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Work has begun in a small Japanese town to erect a barrier blocking views of the country's most famous sight, Mount Fuji, after locals complained of bad behaviour by photo-hungry tourists.

Torrential rains have lashed much of East Africa, triggering flooding and landslides that has destroyed crops, swallowed homes, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

Arsenal resume their quest for Premier League glory against Bournemouth this weekend knowing they have no margin for error with Manchester City hot on their heels.

The lawyer who negotiated a hush money payment from Donald Trump to porn star Stormy Daniels was grilled on Thursday by the former US president's defense attorney, who suggested his activities bordered on "extortion."

Zay Yar Tun fills his truck with water for delivery to refugees in the parched hills of war-ravaged eastern Myanmar, where a heatwave is adding to the misery of life in displacement camps.

Hamas says it is considering in a "positive spirit" a Gaza truce deal, while the UN warned rebuilding the devastated Palestinian territory would require efforts not seen since World War II. After months of stop-start negotiations, Hamas has sounded an optimistic tone about the latest hostages-for-ceasefire proposal, raising hopes an agreement may soon be reached -- even as medics in the besieged strip reported fresh strikes on Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah on Friday.

Xi Jinping heads to Europe on Sunday to defend China's "no limits" alliance with Russia, first to key Ukraine backer France, then to Serbia and Hungary, which have close ties to the Kremlin.

Sipping champagne and nibbling fried dumplings, Shanghai's rich and influential posed by Louis Vuitton signs at a runway afterparty -- a lavish affair designed to win customers in China's crucial market.

Hong Kong led another rally across Asian markets Friday thanks to a surge in tech giants, while the yen extended gains against the dollar on revived hopes for US interest rate cuts.

China is set Friday to launch a probe to collect samples from the far side of the Moon, a world first as Beijing pushes ahead with an ambitious programme that aims to send a crewed lunar mission by 2030.

The iconic Nina Ricci, Paco Rabanne and Jean-Paul Gaultier labels make their market debut Friday as Spanish fashion and beauty group Puig begins trading on the Madrid stock exchange.

Israel's Iron Dome defence system has long shielded it from incoming rockets.

Illegal immigration on the US southern border is a top talking point among Republican politicians, but some are taking it a step further by promoting disinformation about non-citizens voting in the presidential election.

Joe Biden broke his silence Thursday on the student protests against Israel's war with Hamas but the US president faces a difficult balancing act to avoid hurting his reelection chances against Donald Trump.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Georgia on Thursday in a fresh night of protests against a "foreign influence" bill likened to Russian laws silencing dissent.

Apple on Thursday said its quarterly profit ebbed but topped market forecasts as it announced an unprecedented $110 billion share buyback.

President Joe Biden broke his virtual silence Thursday on the nationwide Gaza campus protests, saying the United States was not authoritarian but insisting "order must prevail."