POLITICS & POLICY

As air raid sirens rang out on the morning of October 7, Bilha Inon and her husband Yakovi sheltered in the safe room of their home in Netiv Haasara in southern Israel.

Millions displaced and on the brink of famine. More than 8.5 million have had to flee their homes to seek safety elsewhere in Sudan or across borders in neighbouring countries.

Myanmar junta troops have withdrawn from their positions in a major trade hub near the Thai border following days of clashes, an ethnic armed group said Thursday, in a further blow to the embattled military.

Bad weather delayed the start of the 88th Masters at Augusta National on Thursday with world number one Scottie Scheffler and second-ranked Rory McIlroy scheduled to tee off in a dream first-round pairing.

Thai armoured cars patrolled the town of Mae Sot Wednesday as the deep boom of artillery thundered across the border in Myanmar, where the junta and an ethnic armed group fought for a second day near a vital trade hub.

Israeli strikes hit Gaza on Wednesday as Muslims marked the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan and after US President Joe Biden labelled Israel's approach to the war a "mistake".

EU lawmakers will vote Wednesday on a vast overhaul of the bloc's asylum policies that would harden border procedures for irregular arrivals and require all member countries to pitch in.

US President Joe Biden issued some of his sternest criticism yet of Israel's war on Hamas, calling its approach a "mistake" as the country faces a Wednesday court deadline to prove it is not throttling aid to hunger-stricken Gaza.

Arsenal rescued a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich as Leandro Trossard's late leveller stopped Harry Kane making a triumphant return to north London in Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg.

South Koreans began voting Wednesday in parliamentary elections seen as a referendum on President Yoon Suk Yeol after a polarising campaign focused largely on resentment, personalities -- and onions.

Israel bombed targets in Gaza on Tuesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the army will destroy Hamas despite ongoing Cairo talks towards a ceasefire and hostage deal.

Hamas said Tuesday it was considering a new framework for a truce proposed during the latest round of negotiations in Cairo, as Palestinians returning to southern Gaza confronted the extent of destruction left after Israeli troops' withdrawal.

The European Union is open to the idea of sending asylum-seekers to outside countries, even if it is not willing to go quite as far as following Britain and its plans to fly irregular migrants to Rwanda.

Israeli leaders were preparing Monday for military operations in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where most of the Palestinian territory's population has fled after six months of fighting.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Premier Li Qiang sounded a hopeful tone on US-China cooperation on Sunday, though the American policymaker noted both sides cannot shy away from tough conversations.

The Israel-Hamas war that has devastated the Gaza Strip entered its seventh month on Sunday, with talks towards a truce and hostage release deal expected to resume in Cairo.

The war between Israel and Hamas entered its seventh month on Sunday as US and other negotiators were expected to join the protagonists in Cairo in a renewed push for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

From India and South Korea to Croatia and North Macedonia, fact-checking organizations battling an ever-rising tide of misinformation in a major election year are buffeted by legal threats, harassment and funding shortfalls.

Ecuador was lambasted across Latin America on Saturday after security forces stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest graft-accused former vice president Jorge Glas, who had been granted political asylum there.

The World Health Organization said on Saturday that Gaza's largest hospital had been reduced to ashes by Israel's latest siege, leaving an "empty shell" with many bodies.

Sitting in a steamy kitchen, Ukrainian soldier Anton was ready to go on a new rotation to defend Chasiv Yar, a strategic town for troops fighting for control of the eastern Donbas region.

American and Israeli negotiators were expected in Cairo over the weekend for a renewed push to reach a ceasefire-hostage deal in a war that has raged for nearly half a year.

President Joe Biden has stood firmly by Israel amid months of mounting domestic and international outcry over the humanitarian toll in Gaza, but the killing of seven aid workers in an Israeli strike seems to have brought him the closest yet to a breaking point.

The UN Human Rights Council on Friday demanded a halt in all arms sales to Israel, highlighting warnings of "genocide" in its war in Gaza, which has killed more than 33,000 people.

Ukraine said Friday that it had destroyed at least six Russian military planes at a Russian airbase, as the head of an eastern Ukrainian town said it was under "constant fire" by advancing Russian troops.

Rescuers freed nine people trapped in a winding cave in Taiwan's mountainous east on Friday, while locating two others who were feared dead, as they searched for those still missing after the island's biggest earthquake in 25 years.

Asian stocks tumbled Friday and oil extended the previous day's surge on worries that Israel's war with Hamas could widen to a regional conflict with Iran as both sides ratcheted up tensions.

The staggering suffering, death and destruction of six months of war since Hamas's October 7 attack has widened the gulf between Israelis and Palestinians, leaving both feeling that the prospect of peace is ever more elusive.

James Cameron, the mastermind behind "The Terminator", "Aliens" and "Titanic", has an exhibition opening in Paris Thursday showcasing his lesser-known skills with pencil and paper.