POLITICS & POLICY

Israel conducted deadly strikes on Lebanon Saturday in response to a rocket attack from across the border, as militant group Hezbollah denied responsibility for the launch.

Israel launched air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon on Saturday after intercepting cross-border rocket fire, with Lebanese state media reporting a woman was killed.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened Friday to annex parts of the Gaza Strip unless Hamas militants release the remaining Israeli hostages held in the war-battered Palestinian territory.

Ukraine hopes to secure at least a partial ceasefire at upcoming talks in Saudi Arabia, during which US officials will meet separately with Russian and Ukrainian delegations, a senior Ukrainian source told AFP on Friday.

US President Donald Trump denied media reports on Friday that his billionaire ally Elon Musk would receive a "top-secret briefing" on Washington's strategy in a potential war with China.

A total of 766 submissions have been made to the Trump administration's review of "unfair trade practices," with U.S. industry groups pushing for more favorable trade rules from President Donald Trump.

Growing up in North Korea, Hyuk's childhood was about survival. "To me, the world was just North Korea -- nothing beyond that," he told AFP. His bandmate, Seok, also grew up in the North -- but in contrast to Hyuk's hardscrabble upbringing, he was raised in a relatively affluent family, living close to the border.

"Adolescence", the Netflix hit series about a British 13-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of a horrifying crime, has intensified the anxiety of parents worried about toxic and misogynistic influences young people are exposed to online.

French citizen Olivier Grondeau, detained by Iran since October 2022 on security charges but described by his family as an innocent tourist, has returned to France after being released, President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday.

US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an order Thursday aiming to dismantle the Department of Education, fulfilling a long-held goal of American conservatives.

The suspension of research grants affects six universities -- Monash University, ANU, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, University of New South Wales, and University of Western Australia.

The race to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee reaches a climax on Thursday with Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior, Sebastian Coe and Kirsty Coventry believed to be neck and neck but clear of the remaining quartet.

For the past two months, Elsie has been receiving daily calls from desperate children surviving on HIV treatment whom she is not allowed to help.

The race to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee reaches a climax on Thursday with Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior, Sebastian Coe and Kirsty Coventry believed to be neck and neck but clear of the remaining quartet.

Mervin Yamarte's family in Venezuela thought the 29-year-old -- arrested by US authorities amid President Donald Trump's migrant crackdown -- would be put on a deportation flight home.

On March 11, a formal complaint was submitted to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, urging the Trump administration to take strong action against Australia's "damaging pricing policies."

Russia represents a threat for all European nations -- regardless of how far they lie from Moscow, EU chief Antonio Costa told AFP ahead of a leaders' summit on Thursday.

Hamas said it remained open to negotiations while calling for pressure on Israel Wednesday to implement a Gaza truce after its deadliest bombing since the fragile ceasefire began in January.

Donald Trump's rumbling conflict with the judiciary burst into open confrontation on Tuesday as Supreme Court Justice John Roberts issued a rare public rebuke of a US president over his call for the impeachment of a federal judge.

Young, urban women in Afghanistan are increasingly ditching the all-enveloping blue burqa with a face mesh that has become a symbol of the Taliban's oppression of women.

Malaysia is making great strides in its effort to become a major player in the global semiconductor industry as it looks to capitalise on a surge in demand driven by the AI explosion but analysts warn it faces headwinds.

Hungarian lawmakers passed a bill on Tuesday aimed at banning Budapest's annual Pride march, the latest in a series of measures under Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government, which critics say curtail the rights of the EU country's LGBTQ community.

Hit by massive funding cuts and a crackdown on student protesters, Columbia University is under fire from US President Donald Trump, putting the world of higher education on tenterhooks.

A motorbike rider inches slowly over bumpy terrain deep in Cambodia's Virachey national park, carefully adjusting the basket strapped behind him.

Israel on Tuesday unleashed its most intense strikes on the Gaza Strip since a January ceasefire, with rescuers reporting 220 people killed, and Hamas accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of deciding to "resume war" after a deadlock on extending the truce.

Dressed in a floral shawl, Benji Dezaval carefully places hallucinogenic mushrooms on the tongues of the faithful of his Colorado "psychedelic church," as if they were communion wafers.

For Volodymyr Zelensky, his Oval Office clash with Donald Trump was a stark demonstration of how important personal ties with Donald Trump will be to his chances of ending the war with Russia on acceptable terms.

In a war-ravaged neighbourhood of Sudan's capital Khartoum, the stench from a gaping sewage pit is unbearable as Red Crescent workers pull a bloated body from deep underground.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump will speak by phone on Tuesday, as one US official expressed hope the two could agree a Ukraine ceasefire within "weeks".