POLITICS & POLICY

Truck driver Lee Seung-joo was driving through South Korea's Andong mountains when the wildfires hit, engulfing the area in flames and turning it into "a literal hell".

The world's longest-serving death row prisoner, Iwao Hakamada, won compensation from Japan this week after almost five decades in jail -- and he owes his freedom to a judge with steely determination.

US President Donald Trump downplayed a growing scandal Tuesday after a journalist was accidentally added to a group chat about air strikes on Yemen, denying any classified information was shared and defending a top aide over the breach.

A Sudanese monitor accused the army on Tuesday of carrying out one of the deadliest air strikes in the country's nearly two-year war, hitting a rebel-held town in the western region of Darfur.

French star actor Gerard Depardieu, on trial for sexual assault, told the Paris court on Tuesday that he was not in the habit of "groping" women, and called the #MeToo movement a "reign of terror."

In his fourth budget, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has also introduced new measures to strengthen economic resilience and competitiveness, recognizing the growing global risks from trade wars and geopolitical tensions.

Top Trump administration officials texted a group chat including a journalist plans for strikes on Yemen's Huthi rebels, the White House said, an extraordinary security breach that shocked Washington's political elite.

An Israeli air strike killed a journalist working with Al Jazeera on Monday and the military issued fresh calls to evacuate parts of Gaza's north, as Israel pressed its renewed bombardment and ground operations in the Palestinian territory.

Brazilian environmental campaigner and tribal leader Raoni Metuktire is pitting himself against the government to stop plans for an oil mega-project at the mouth of the Amazon river.

According to the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), which represents nearly 2 million workers, one-third of all workers could face negative consequences from a blanket return-to-office policy.

Israel's prime minister, pushing to dismiss internal security chief Ronen Bar, on Monday alleged an attempt to bring down his government after Israeli media reported Bar's agency spent months probing far-right infiltration of the police.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) denounced on Monday the "extremely precarious" situation of Palestinians displaced by the ongoing Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank.

Australia's army has received its first delivery of a "game changer" mobile long-range US rocket system, the government said Monday.

Holders Spain beat the Netherlands on penalties after a dramatic quarter-final second leg in Valencia finished 3-3 on Sunday to set up a Nations League last-four clash with France, who edged Croatia in a shoot-out after a 2-2 aggregate draw.

US and Ukrainian officials were due to meet in Saudi Arabia on Sunday for talks on how to halt the Russian invasion, a member of the Ukrainian delegation told AFP, while the Kremlin warned of "difficult negotiations" and a long journey to peace.

Israel's military pressed ground operations across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, urging Palestinians to flee an offensive in Rafah city nearly a week into a renewed assault on the Hamas-ruled territory.

Living in the gutted-out eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka, Maryna has learned to recognise the sound of the devastating Russian glide bombs that have pounded her city for months.

Huge crowds gathered outside Istanbul City Hall late Saturday for a fourth night of protests over the arrest of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who has blasted official allegations against him as "immoral and baseless".

When fighting first gripped the Sudanese capital in April 2023, quickly overwhelming Khartoum's hospitals, Dr. Safaa Ali faced an impossible choice: her family or her patients.

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.