POLITICS & POLICY

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned his nuclear forces were "always" on alert and added that Moscow would not tolerate any Western threats, during an address on the annual Victory Day parade.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hungary on Thursday seeking a "new journey" with Beijing's closest European Union ally amid divisions with the West over the Ukraine war and global trade.

One of Malaysia's top football clubs has pulled out of Friday's season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country.

Israel shelled Rafah on Thursday as US President Joe Biden offered his starkest warning yet over the conduct of its war against Hamas, vowing to cut off arms transfers if an offensive into the southern Gaza city goes ahead.

Sudanese shop owner Ishaq Mohammed has been trapped in his home for a month, sheltering from violence in El-Fasher, the last major city in the country's vast Darfur region not under paramilitary control.

North Macedonia appeared to be on a collision course with its EU neighbours Greece and Bulgaria, as the nationalist opposition swept parliamentary and presidential elections on Wednesday.

The icy peaks of Jargalant Mountain are supposed to belong to snow leopards, whose numbers have dwindled to fewer than 1,000 in Mongolia, but hard-pressed herders are increasingly pushing into the vulnerable animals' traditional habitat.

Israel struck targets in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after seizing the main border crossing with Egypt, where negotiators were working to make good on their "last chance" to cement a ceasefire deal.

Americans Harold Terens and Jeanne Swerlin promise their courtship is "better than Romeo and Juliet": He is 100, she's 96, and they marry next month in France, where the groom-to-be served during World War II. US Air Force veteran Terens will be honored on June 6 at a commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, the historic Allied operation that changed the course of the war.

Rescue workers reported on Tuesday making contact with 11 people under the rubble in a race to save dozens still unaccounted for after a building collapsed in the South African city of George killing at least seven.

The killing of the brilliant young AFP journalist Arman Soldin on the front lines in Ukraine one year ago remains a uniquely traumatic event for all of us.

War veterans, soldiers and dignitaries gathered in Vietnam's Dien Bien Phu on Tuesday to mark the 70th anniversary of the battle that ultimately brought an end to the French empire in Indochina.

Israel carried out strikes on the Gazan city of Rafah overnight as it sought to put "pressure" on Hamas ahead of talks in Egypt on Tuesday aimed at sealing a truce proposal endorsed by the militants.

Columbia University, the epicenter of US student protests against the war in Gaza, on Monday canceled its main graduation ceremony, as colleges seek to contain the demonstrations that have rocked campuses for weeks.

Aimee Dupre had always kept silent about the rape of her mother by two American soldiers after the Normandy landings in June 1944.

Palestinian civilians in the southern Gazan city of Rafah voiced despair on Monday as Israel dropped fliers urging them to evacuate for their own "safety" ahead of a long-threatened ground invasion.

Israel's military on Monday called for the evacuation of Palestinians from eastern Rafah, ahead of a long-threatened ground invasion of the southern Gaza city, the prospect of which has triggered widespread global alarm.

Surveys predict Europe's far right will surge in EU elections next month, giving it more influence in Brussels politics even if mainstream players will still have greater weight.

French President Emmanuel Macron was on Monday set to warn Chinese leader Xi Jinping against backing Russia in the conflict over Ukraine but also seek to enlist his help in finding an end to the war.

Panamanians voted Sunday in presidential elections featuring a crowded field of eight candidates led by the protege of a former head of state convicted of corruption.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday arrived in France on a state visit hosted by Emmanuel Macron where the French leader will seek to push his counterpart on issues ranging from Ukraine to trade.

Hamas said its delegation was heading to Cairo on Saturday to resume Gaza truce talks, as the United Nations warned that Israel's threatened assault on the city of Rafah could produce a "bloodbath".

Britain's Labour party on Friday urged beleaguered Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call a general election, after making huge gains in English polls that included a seat in parliament.

Donald Trump was facing a backlash Thursday after declining to pledge he will accept the results of the 2024 presidential election if he loses, as he repeated his false claims that he was cheated in the 2020 vote.

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.

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

Dozens of overturned tents, "Free Palestine" signs strewn on the lawn, keffiyehs and flashlights discarded in haste: not much of the pro-Palestinian protest encampment was left Thursday morning at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Vape makers want flavored nicotine vapes for adults needing to quit cigarettes aiming to support prescription-only rules. Health experts worry about dangers, calling for strict regulations to stop youth vaping.

Wearing a bulletproof vest and with a gun strapped to his waist, Constable Lennie McCloskey opens his folder and looks through the court orders: eleven evictions to be carried out today.