- Brazil's top court takes on regulation of social media
- Thousands still queuing to vote after Namibia polls close
- Trump taps retired general for key Ukraine conflict role
- Canadian fund drops bid for Spanish pharma firm Grifols
- Argentine ex-president Fernandez gives statement in corruption case
- Mexico says Trump tariffs would cost 400,000 US jobs
- Car-centric Saudi to open first part of Riyadh Metro
- Brussels, not Paris, will decide EU-Mercosur trade deal: Lula
- Faeces, vomit offer clues to how dinosaurs rose to rule Earth
- Ruby slippers from 'The Wizard of Oz' up for auction
- Spain factory explosion kills three, injures seven
- US Fed's favored inflation gauge ticks up in October
- Defence lawyers plead to judges in French mass rape trial
- US says China releases three 'wrongfully detained' Americans
- New clashes in Mozambique as two reported killed
- Romania officials to meet over 'cyber risks' to elections
- Chelsea visit next stop in Heidenheim's 'unthinkable' rise
- Former England prop Marler announces retirement from rugby
- Kumara gives Sri Lanka edge on rain-hit day against South Africa
- Namibia votes with ruling party facing toughest race yet
- Spurs goalkeeper Vicario out for 'months' with broken ankle
- Moscow expels German journalists, Berlin denies closing Russia TV bureau
- Spain govt defends flood response and offers new aid
- France says Netanyahu has 'immunity' from ICC warrants
- Nigerian state visit signals shift in France's Africa strategy
- Stock markets waver as traders weigh Trump tariffs, inflation
- Tens of thousands in Lebanon head home as Israel-Hezbollah truce takes hold
- Opposition candidates killed in Tanzania local election
- Amorim eyes victory in first Man Utd home game to kickstart new era
- Fresh fury as Mozambique police mow down protester
- Defeat at Liverpool could end Man City title hopes, says Gundogan
- Indonesians vote in regional election seen as test for Prabowo
- Guardiola says no intent to 'make light' of self harm in post-match comments
- New EU commission gets green light to launch defence, economy push
- Opposition figures killed as Tanzania holds local election
- Taiwan Olympic boxing champion quits event after gender questions
- European stocks drop on Trump trade war worries
- Volkswagen to sell operations in China's Xinjiang
- FA probes referee David Coote over betting claim
- Serbia gripped by TV series about murder of prime minister
- Putin seeks to shore up ties on visit to 'friendly' Kazakhstan
- New EU commission pushes for defence and economy spending
- Plastic pollution talks must speed up, chair warns
- Pakistan web controls quash dissent and potential
- 1,000 Pakistan protesters arrested in pro-Khan capital march
- ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Myanmar junta chief
- Philippine VP's bodyguards swapped out amid investigation
- EasyJet annual profit rises 40% on package holidays
- Ukraine sees influx of Western war tourists
- Greeks finally get Thessaloniki metro after two-decade wait
Pop-up concerts try to soothe anxious voters as US goes to polls
An enthusiastic DJ blared out pop tracks Tuesday, urging voters to bop along with dancers in multi-colored sequined shorts -- one small effort outside an Arizona polling station to soothe Election Day nerves running high across the United States.
"I definitely think there's a lot of anxiety around the election," said Elyssa Bustamante, who was producing the event in the key swing state's largest city, Phoenix, along with organization Joy to the Polls.
"Dancing definitely takes away the stress," she told AFP.
Clad in all pink at her stage in Phoenix's central park, the 36-year-old Bustamante called out frequent reminders to young people from the nearby university.
"Polls close at 7:00 pm, make sure you get your vote in!" she shouted.
Very few people leaving the nearby voting location stopped to enjoy the impromptu concert.
But several at least raised a smile -- an all-too-rare sight in an unprecedented presidential campaign that has seen rival candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris accuse each other of imperiling the future of US democracy.
On the Republican side, Trump has survived two assassination attempts, and frequently uses extremely violent rhetoric about immigrants.
Democrat Harris reminds voters the right to abortion is on the line with this election.
As an antidote to these anxieties, music "is a universal language," said Bustamante.
"You might be on two different sides of the aisle... music brings people together," she added. "It doesn't divide us. And so I think we need to use it as a tool."
- 'Positivity' -
Bustamante and her team have been travelling round Phoenix staging mini-concerts.
They hope to offer moments of lightness in Arizona, where the build-up to the election has been especially tense.
The "Grand Canyon State" has become a hotbed of election conspiracies since Trump lost to Joe Biden here in 2020 by fewer than 10,500 votes.
That year, armed demonstrators protested for several nights in front of a county election center in central Phoenix, where ballots were being counted.
This time around, the center has been fortified with concrete barriers and high wire fence, and authorities are on high alert.
Last week, a man was charged with terrorism after shooting at a Democratic Party office in Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix. No one was hurt.
"It's nerve wracking to wonder what's going to happen at the polls because of stories like that," Samuel Pena, a 40-year-old DJ, told AFP.
He too travels around Phoenix in a small music truck, part of a separate initiative called DJs at the Polls.
The group is operating in 20 different states across the country on election day, he said.
Pena said he would be remaining cautious and alert Tuesday, DJing with "my back against the wall... because of these stories."
The election "is stressful for whatever side you're on," he said. "So we're just trying to create positivity for whoever wants to participate and vote."
J.Bergmann--BTB