POLITICS & POLICY

When Kristal Lee and her husband bought a house in Gaston County, North Carolina two years ago, they envisioned a "forever home".

Once confined to jail over the killings of hundreds under his watch, former Colombian general Henry Torres now spends his days planting trees and otherwise free.

Gunmen attacked a prison van at a motorway toll in northern France on Tuesday, killing at least two prison officers and freeing a convict who had been jailed last week.

Georgia's parliament on Tuesday adopted a controversial "foreign influence" law that has sparked weeks of mass protests against the measure, which Brussels has warned would undermine Tbilisi's European aspirations.

Israeli troops fought Hamas militants in multiple battles across the Gaza Strip, forcing new waves of Palestinian mass displacement, as Israel marked a sombre Independence Day on Tuesday.

Russia's offensive around Ukraine's Kharkiv likely aims more at presenting Kyiv with a strategic quandary over where to deploy its already stretched forces than taking the major city, experts say.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Tuesday in Kyiv on an unannounced visit to assure Ukraine of continued American support and the flow of much-needed weapons as Russia presses on with its new offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

New Caledonia's high commissioner said Tuesday that shots had been fired at security forces during a night of riots in the French Pacific territory that saw vehicles torched and shops looted.

An area of Jerusalem's national military cemetery, where soldiers killed in Gaza are buried, was on Monday filled with mourners and emotion as Israel marked a painful Memorial Day.

Donald Trump's one-time fixer and the star prosecution witness in the ex-president's criminal trial testified Monday that he lied and bullied to help his former boss hide "catastrophic" revelations of a tryst with a porn actress.

Russia pummelled towns and villages in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region on Monday, days after launching a surprise ground offensive over the border that has forced thousands to evacuate.

Hundreds of young Georgians crowded outside parliament on Monday ahead of a third straight night of protests against a "foreign influence" bill that has split the Caucasus country and triggered international condemnation.

India's six-week election resumed Monday including in Kashmir, where voters were expected to show their discontent with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cancellation of their disputed territory's semi-autonomy and the security crackdown that followed.

Israel battled Hamas in Gaza on Monday, including in far-southern Rafah, despite US warnings against a full-scale invasion of the crowded city and of the threat of post-war "anarchy" across the Palestinian territory.

US wellness influencers are increasingly targeting birth control pills, pushing their followers to abandon the contraceptives with false claims about infertility and low libido that researchers say leave them vulnerable to unintended pregnancies.

Several thousand Georgians gathered outside parliament in Tbilisi Sunday night in a fresh protest against a Russian-styled "foreign agent" bill, despite government officials warning of arrests.

Lyuda Zelenskaya and Liuba Konovalova, both in their 70s, held each other through "terrifying" Russian attacks on their village near Vovchansk in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, where Russia launched a surprise ground offensive.

Russia said Sunday it had captured four more villages in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, as thousands of residents were evacuated from the offensive in an area where Russian troops had been pushed back in 2022.

Israel launched strikes on Gaza Sunday after it expanded an evacuation order for Rafah, with the United Nations warning an outright invasion of the crowded southern city risked an "epic" disaster.

Reece Kershaw's reappointment as Commissioner of the AFP is a testament to his dedication to public safety and his thirty-year career in law enforcement.

Ukraine vowed Friday to quash a surprise Russian ground offensive, after troops launched a major cross-border assault in the Kharkiv region, looking to chalk up fresh battlefield gains with Ukraine on the back foot.

Israel launched fresh strikes in the Gaza Strip Friday after negotiators pursuing a long-stalled truce agreement left talks in Cairo without having secured a deal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign speeches claim his quelling of an insurgency in Kashmir as one of his greatest achievements, but many in the disputed region see India's election as a chance to signal their disagreement.

Hectic last-ditch talks aimed at striking a landmark global agreement on handling future pandemics rolled into the final day on Friday with a deal still up in the air.

Since the Taliban returned to power, Afghan women have been barred from going on long trips, travelling by plane or entering government buildings unless they are accompanied by a man.

Can we believe the polls? "Some of those people are going to feel over-polled.

It could be a loyal lieutenant, an ex-rival or perhaps a political newcomer, but one thing is certain: all eyes are on White House hopeful Donald Trump as he considers potential running mates.

Richard Rung recalls it vividly: German artillery firing on his landing craft, the sound of machine gun bullets striking the vessel, blood mixed with seawater on the deck, troops crying on the beach.

Stormy Daniels finished her marathon testimony at Donald Trump's hush money trial on Thursday with attorneys for the former president seeking to paint her as a greedy liar who profited from her allegations.