POLITICS & POLICY

The limited nature of Israel's reported strike on Iran and the restrained immediate Iranian reaction shows both sides, in particular Tehran, are looking to de-escalate after weeks of tensions but the situation remains dangerously explosive, analysts say.

Startled by nighttime pounding on his door, American political strategist Rick Wilson walked out in his underwear to find policemen with guns drawn.

The United States on Thursday spoiled a long-shot Palestinian bid for full United Nations membership, vetoing a Security Council measure despite growing international distress over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

A leading contender to become the Solomon Islands' next prime minister has vowed to rip up a security pact with China, as the Pacific nation began counting votes Thursday in a pivotal general election.

Some 20,000 protesters rallied in Georgia on Wednesday after lawmakers advanced a controversial "foreign influence" law that opponents say will undermine Tbilisi's longstanding European aspirations.

The Republican leader of the US House of Representatives on Wednesday announced a weekend vote on massive new military aid including some $61 billion in long-delayed support for Ukraine, as well as billions for Israel and Taiwan.

Israel faced pressure from its allies on Wednesday to refrain from striking back at Iran for its unprecedented missile and drone attack as Washington and Brussels vowed to ramp up sanctions against the Islamic republic.

India's opposition faces huge challenges as their loose coalition of more than two dozen parties take on the juggernaut of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party.

Solomon Islanders began voting Wednesday in an election that could reshape regional security, with citizens effectively choosing if their Pacific nation will deepen ties with China.

The judge in Donald Trump's historic criminal trial warned the Republican presidential hopeful against intimidating jurors on Tuesday as six panelists were chosen with unexpected speed following questioning by both sides.

Israel and Iran traded threats after Tehran's first ever direct attack on its arch foe sharply heightened Middle East tensions and as the Gaza war ground on with no truce in sight.

Gulf states are grappling with the widening Middle East conflict as hostilities between Iran and Israel threaten their security and ambitious plans to reshape their economies.

Israel's armed forces chief has vowed to respond to Iran's unprecedented attack against the country, even after appeals for restraint poured in from world leaders fearing wider regional conflict.

Orange lava bubbles and pops, occasionally spewing large fountains from a volcano that has been erupting for a month in Iceland, the second-longest eruption since the region's volcanic activity reawakened in March 2021.

India begins voting Friday in a six-week election, with Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory all but assured, raising concerns for the health of the world's largest democracy.

France and its allies on Monday drummed up aid pledges of over two billion euros ($2.1 billion) for Sudan a year after civil war erupted sparking one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

Israel launched dozens of air strikes on Gaza overnight, Hamas said Monday, as the army said it will not be distracted from the war after Iran's unprecedented attack heightened fears of wider conflict.

Donald Trump goes to court Monday as the first US ex-president ever to be criminally prosecuted, a seismic moment for the United States as the presumptive Republican nominee campaigns to re-take the White House.

Iran on Sunday urged Israel not to retaliate militarily to an unprecedented attack overnight, which Tehran presented as a justified response to a strike that destroyed its consulate building in Damascus earlier this month.

Troop reinforcements from Israel's ally the United States headed to the region on Saturday, with fears of wider war growing more than six months into Israel's battle against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

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.