International News

The Israeli military has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage who had been held in Gaza since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday, as further Israeli airstrikes killed 15 people according to local medics.

Russia attacked the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv at night with drones, missiles and guided bombs, killing at least three people and injuring 22, including a one-and-a-half-month-old baby, the city mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said on Saturday.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man mistakenly deported from Maryland to El Salvador by the Trump administration, was flown back to the United States to face criminal charges of transporting illegal immigrants within the US, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Friday.

Bangladesh will hold a national election in the first half of April 2026, its de facto premier said on Friday, after a period of interim unelected government since student-led unrest in 2024 toppled then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

US President Donald Trump threatened to cut off government contracts with billionaire Elon Musk's companies, while Musk suggested Trump should be impeached, beginning an all-out brawl on social media.

An ongoing eruption at central Guatemala's Fuego volcano has caused over 700 people living in nearby communities to evacuate, the country's disaster agency CONRED said on Friday.

Ten Palestinians were killed by Israeli tank fire in Gaza on Friday, local health authorities said, as a US group handing out aid in the enclave said all its distribution sites were closed until further notice.

Israeli air strikes pummelled the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital late on Thursday, sending thousands of people fleeing on the eve of Eid Al Adha.

Russia launched an intense missile and drone barrage at the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Friday killing three people, Ukrainian officials said, as powerful explosions reverberated across the country.

Police in India's tech capital of Bengaluru have arrested four people, including an official of a top cricket franchise, in connection with a stampede during a trophy celebration that killed 11 people and injured 47, media reported.

A US and Israeli-backed organisation distributing aid in Gaza said on Thursday it was reopening two distribution sites a day after shutting them following a series of deadly shootings close to its operations.

Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru have pledged one million Indian rupees (AED42,803) to each family of the 11 fans who died in a crowd surge outside the team's home stadium on Wednesday during celebrations following their maiden IPL title.

President Donald Trump's administration announced on Thursday its nomination for the next top US general in Europe and said the US military officer would also assume the traditional role of Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to further talks between the countries to hash out differences on tariffs that have roiled the global economy, according to US and Chinese summaries of their phone call on Thursday.

Former Zambian President Edgar Lungu died on Thursday at the age of 68 at a medical centre in South Africa, his political party the Patriotic Front said.

A private company distributing aid in Gaza, backed by the US and Israel, had yet to reopen its distribution sites in the enclave by mid-morning on Thursday, a day after shutting them following a series of deadly shootings close to its operations.

US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday banning the nationals of 12 countries from entering the US, saying the move was needed to protect against "foreign terrorists" and other security threats.

Israel's military recovered the bodies of two hostages, Judi Weinstein-Haggai and Gad Haggai, who were held by Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.

The US on Wednesday vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution that demanded an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and unhindered aid access.

A Milan-bound Ryanair flight was forced to make an emergency landing in southern Germany because of heavy turbulence from a thunderstorm late on Wednesday, with police saying nine passengers were injured.

A Russian drone attack damaged apartment buildings in Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv, injuring 17 people, while killing 5 and injuring 6 in the northern town of Pryluky on Thursday.

A member of Israel's right-wing coalition threatened to quit the cabinet on Wednesday and support an opposition motion to dissolve parliament tabled for next week, piling pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

At least 11 people died on Wednesday in a crowd surge outside a cricket stadium in the Indian city of Bengaluru where fans were celebrating Royal Challengers Bengaluru's first Indian Premier League title win, authorities said.

Israel has carried out its first airstrikes in Syria in nearly a month, saying it hit weapons belonging to the government in retaliation for the firing of two projectiles towards Israel and holding interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa responsible.

The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) will not give out any aid on Wednesday as it presses Israel to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its distribution site.

Thousands of people were evacuated from central Cologne in western Germany on Wednesday following the discovery of three wartime bombs, in what the city authority called the largest such operation since the end of World War II.

South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae-myung pledged on Wednesday to raise the country from what he described as the near destruction caused by a martial law attempt and revive a struggling economy facing global protectionism.

The family of the Egyptian national charged with tossing gasoline bombs at a rally in Colorado was taken into federal custody on Tuesday and could be quickly deported, officials said.

Ukraine's SBU security service said on Tuesday that it had hit the road and rail bridge linking Russia and the Crimean peninsula below the water level with explosives.

At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near a food distribution site in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, health officials said, in a third day running of chaos and bloodshed to blight the aid operation.

Russia told Ukraine at peace talks on Monday that it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on its army size, according to a document reported by Russian media.

Portuguese police have launched a new search for Madeleine McCann in Portugal's Algarve region where the British three-year-old disappeared in 2007, following a request from German authorities, the country's investigative Judicial Police (PJ) said on Monday.

Over 200 prisoners escaped in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi late on Monday after they were permitted to leave their cells following a series of earthquake tremors, local officials and police said.

An Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives with a meal laced with poisonous mushrooms wept as she was questioned over expletive-laden messages about the victims on Tuesday, in a case that has captivated the country.

A suspect in an attack on a pro-Israeli rally in Colorado that injured eight people was being held on Monday on an array of charges, including assault and the use of explosives, in lieu of a $10-million bail, according to Boulder County records.

A second round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine ended barely an hour after they began in Istanbul on Monday, Turkish officials said, a day after a massive Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's nuclear-capable strategic bombers.

Nationalist opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki narrowly won Poland's presidential election, results showed on Monday, delivering a big blow to the centrist government's efforts to cement Warsaw's pro-European orientation.

Israeli fire killed at least three Palestinians and wounded dozens of others near an aid distribution site operated by the US-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, local health authorities said on Monday.

At least eight people have been injured after a 45-year-old man threw incendiary devices at demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, during a rally held to remember Israeli hostages held in Gaza, authorities said.

Russian and Ukrainian officials are due to sit down on Monday in Istanbul for their second round of direct peace talks since 2022 with no sign they are any closer to an agreement, one day after Kyiv struck some of Moscow's nuclear-capable bombers.

At least 34 people have died in India's northeastern region after heavy floods caused landslides over the last four days, authorities and media said on Monday, and the weather department predicted more heavy rain.

Polish nationalist opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki won the second round of the country's presidential election with 50.89 per cent of the votes, the electoral commission said early on Monday on its website.

Ministers from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Palestine and Arab League have reiterated a call to halt the Israeli aggression on Gaza and step up efforts to urge more countries to recognise the State of Palestine.

More than 500 hundred people were arrested by police during the Champions League final celebrations in France, and two people were reported dead and 192 injured, the interior ministry said on Sunday.

An Israeli attack near an aid distribution point run by a private US-based group killed at least 31 people in Gaza on Sunday, local health authorities said, as Hamas and Israel exchanged blame over a faltering effort to secure a ceasefire.

At least seven people were killed and 69 injured when a highway bridge collapsed onto railway tracks, derailing an approaching train in Russia's Bryansk region late on Saturday.

Authorities in Indonesia continued to search for those trapped in the rubble after a rock collapsed at a quarry at Cirebon in West Java province, killing 19 people and injuring eight more.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned on Saturday that the threat from China was real and potentially imminent as he pushed allies in the Indo-Pacific to spend more on their own defence needs.

The situation in Gaza is the worst since the war between Israel and Hamas began 19-months ago, the United Nations said on Friday, despite a resumption of limited aid deliveries in the Palestinian enclave where famine looms.

Flooding in Nigeria's Niger State this week has killed 151 people and forced several thousand from their homes, an emergency official told Reuters on Saturday.

Germany will decide whether or not to approve new weapons shipments to Israel based on an assessment of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in an interview published on Friday.

A US plan for Gaza on Friday proposes a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 28 Israeli hostages in the first week, in exchange for the release of 1,236 Palestinian prisoners and the remains of 180 Palestinians.

Saudi Arabia's defence minister delivered a blunt message to Iranian officials in Tehran last month: take President Donald Trump's offer to negotiate a nuclear agreement seriously because it presents a way to avoid the risk of war with Israel.

A British man appeared in court on Friday charged with causing grievous bodily harm after a car ploughed into a crowd of Liverpool football fans injuring almost 80 during this week's Premier League title victory parade.

Ukraine wants to see a document setting out Russia's proposals for a peace deal before it sends a delegation to Istanbul for bilateral talks, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Friday.

Two days after the latest in a string of test-flight setbacks for his big new Mars spacecraft, Starship, Elon Musk said on Thursday he foresees the futuristic vehicle making its first uncrewed voyage to the red planet at the end of next year.

Israel's government has approved 22 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, its finance minister said on Thursday, a move that could deepen divisions with some allies who have threatened sanctions over such moves.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is expected to announce further changes to his Cabinet on Thursday, his office said, following his call for all department secretaries to submit "courtesy" resignations as he looks to reinvigorate his government.

A United Nations warehouse in Gaza was broken into on Wednesday as aid trickles into the Palestinian enclave on the brink of famine and the US readies new terms for a possible truce between Israel and Hamas.

Billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced he is stepping down from his role in the Trump administration after a tumultuous period working to restructure the federal government.

South Koreans began turning out in record numbers for early voting on Thursday in the country's snap presidential polls set to take place next week, election commission data showed, as both of the leading candidates cast their ballots.

President Donald Trump's administration has ordered its missions abroad to stop scheduling new appointments for student visa applicants as the State Department prepares to expand social media vetting of foreign students.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy landed in Berlin on Wednesday for talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, his office said, part of a diplomatic drive to end the war in Ukraine, Europe's deadliest since World War Two.

Germany's foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, threatened unspecified measures against Israel on Tuesday and said Berlin would not export weapons used to break humanitarian law.

An explosion at a chemical plant in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong killed at least five people, with 19 injured and six missing, the state-run Xinhua agency said late on Tuesday.

The work of a US-backed private humanitarian organisation tasked with distributing aid in Gaza is a distraction from what is needed, such as the opening of crossing points, a UN spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Nepali Sherpa guide Kami Rita scaled Mount Everest for the 31st time on Tuesday, breaking the record he set last year.

A car ploughed into a crowd of Liverpool fans during a parade celebrating their side's Premier League soccer title on Monday, hospitalising 27 people, with two seriously injured.

Russian drone attacks injured three people in Ukraine's south and southeast overnight, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

The head of a US-backed foundation set to supply aid in Gaza quit unexpectedly on Sunday, a day before the group was due to begin operations, as an Israeli airstrike on a school building killed dozens of Palestinians sheltering inside.

US President Donald Trump said he is considering more sanctions on Moscow after Russia launched 367 drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities overnight, including the capital Kyiv.

Primary school teachers in Bangladesh joined public sector workers in protests against the interim government on Monday amid growing discontent and political uncertainty in the South Asian country.

An Israeli strike on a school housing displaced people in Gaza killed at least 20 people and injured dozens, according to local authorities.

Russia and Ukraine completed the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each on Sunday, the Russian Defence Ministry and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, in the largest such swap since the war began three years ago.

North Korea has detained shipyard officials responsible for a recent major accident during the launch of a new warship, state media said on Sunday.

Russian forces launched a barrage of 367 drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities overnight, including the capital Kyiv, in the largest aerial attack of the war so far, killing 13 people and injuring dozens more, officials said.

Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 307 of their service personnel on Saturday on the second day of a prisoner exchange that, when completed, is set to be the largest such swap in the three-year war between the two countries. U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the prisoner swap - which should see 1,000 prisoners released on each side over three days - could herald a new phase in stop-start efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. Saturday's swap was announced by Russia's defence ministry, and separately by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a post on social

French police were investigating a possible arson attack as being the main cause for a power outage which hit the Alpes-Maritimes region in southern France on Saturday, including Cannes which is hosting its world-famous annual film festival.

Russia launched dozens of attack drones and ballistic missiles at Kyiv overnight in one of the biggest combined aerial attacks on the Ukrainian capital of the three-year war, damaging several apartment buildings and injuring at least 15 people.

Rescuers on Friday pulled out all 260 mine workers who had been stuck for more than 24 hours in an underground shaft in South Africa, the mine's operator said.

The Trump administration issued orders on Friday that it said would effectively lift sanctions on Syria, after President Donald Trump this month pledged to unwind the measures to help the country rebuild after a devastating civil war.

Eighteen people were injured in a knife attack in Hamburg station on Friday evening, Germany's Bild newspaper reported, and local police confirmed they had arrested the suspected assailant.

Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners on Friday and said they would free more in the coming days, in what is expected to be the biggest prisoner swap of the war so far.

Harvard University sued the Trump administration on Friday over its decision to revoke the Ivy League school's ability to enrol foreign students, ratcheting up White House efforts to conform practices in academia to President Donald Trump's policies.

Pakistan and India have extended airspace restrictions for each other's aircraft in tit-for-tat moves, both countries said on Friday, amid continuing diplomatic tensions between the neighbours after a brief military conflict this month.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the leaders of France, Britain and Canada of wanting to help Hamas after they threatened to take "concrete action" if Israel did not stop its latest offensive in Gaza.

US President Donald Trump's administration revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students on Thursday, and is forcing current foreign students to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status, while also threatening to expand the crackdown to other colleges.

Bangladesh's de-facto prime minister has threatened to step down if political parties cannot agree on reforms that citizens await with growing impatience, a top student leader has said, deepening uncertainty in the wake of deadly protests last year.

The body of a man was found in a car trapped in floodwaters in Australia's southeast on Friday, raising the death toll to four, after three days of incessant rain cut off entire towns, swept away livestock and destroyed homes.

Britain signed a deal on Thursday to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after a London judge overturned a last-minute injunction and cleared the way for an agreement the government says is vital to protect the nation's security.

The CIA said its security personnel took a person into custody early Thursday after an engagement outside the intelligence agency's headquarters.

Two Israeli embassy staff were killed in a shooting while attending an event at a museum in Washington DC on Wednesday night, and a suspect is in custody, officials said.

Emergency services were on high alert in Crete on Thursday after a 6.1 magnitude quake hit off the Greek island, causing tremors felt across Turkey and Israel.

Flash flooding on Australia's southeast coast has killed two people and cut off towns, isolating tens of thousands of residents, as officials on Thursday warned more downpours were expected over the next 24 hours.

Israel allowed 100 aid trucks carrying flour, baby food and medical equipment into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the Israeli military said, as UN officials reported that distribution issues had meant that no aid had so far reached people in need.

US President Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday with explosive false claims of genocide and land seizures during a tense White House meeting.

European countries on Thursday condemned an incident where Israeli soldiers fired near a diplomatic delegation in the occupied West Bank, with Italy and France both summoning Israeli ambassadors to explain what happened.

Unidentified gunmen shot dead a former Ukrainian politician on Wednesday outside a school in a wealthy suburb of Madrid, Spain's Interior Ministry said.

Russia said on Wednesday that its air defences had shot down at least 232 Ukrainian drones, including some approaching Moscow where the capital's airports were briefly shut down to ensure the safety of flights.

At least three children were among five people killed when a bomber targeted an army school bus in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, a government official said on Wednesday.

Russia on Wednesday rejected Ukrainian and European accusations it was trying to drag out the peace process around Ukraine, but said that no decision had yet been made on a venue for talks when asked if they could be hosted by the Vatican.

Palestinians in Gaza were left waiting for the promised arrival of food on Wednesday despite mounting international and domestic pressure on the Israeli government to allow more aid to reach a population on the brink of famine after an 11-week blockade.

Heavy rain in Australia's southeast triggered flash flooding and cut off entire towns on Wednesday, stranding some residents on the roofs of their homes, as authorities issued snap evacuation orders with rivers staying above danger levels.

Members of the World Health Organisation (WHO) adopted an agreement on Tuesday intended to improve preparedness for future pandemics following the disjointed global response to COVID-19, but the absence of the US cast doubt on the treaty's effectiveness.

The United Nations has received permission from Israel for about 100 more emergency aid trucks to enter Gaza, though the first supplies to have entered in weeks remained under Israeli control, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The leaders of Britain, Canada and France threatened sanctions against Israel on Monday if it does not stop a renewed military offensive in Gaza and lift aid restrictions, piling further pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The New Zealand government on Tuesday deferred a vote over the rare suspension of three Indigenous lawmakers from parliament for performing a haka, the Maori ceremonial dance, during the reading of a contentious bill last year.

Temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius scorched parts of northern and central China on Tuesday with authorities issuing heat warnings and offering aid to farmers to protect food production.

US President Donald Trump said his call with Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Monday went very well and that Moscow and Kyiv would immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire and end to the war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday Israel would control the whole of Gaza despite mounting international pressure that forced it to lift a blockade on aid supplies which has left the enclave on the brink of famine.

Former US President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, his office said in a statement on Sunday.

Romania's centrist Bucharest mayor, Nicusor Dan, won the country's presidential election on Sunday in a shock upset over a hard-right, nationalist rival who had pledged to put Romania on a path inspired by US President Donald Trump's politics.

Pope Leo XIV formally began his reign on Sunday by calling for unity, vowing to preserve the Catholic Church's heritage and not rule like "an autocrat".

Indonesia raised the alert level of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki to the highest after it erupted eight times over the weekend, its volcanology agency has said.

The Israeli military said on Sunday it had begun "extensive ground operations" in northern and southern Gaza, stepping up a new campaign where Palestinian health authorities said Israeli strikes killed at least 130 people overnight.

At least 17 people died when a fire broke out due to a short circuit in a building in the Indian city of Hyderabad on Sunday, officials said.

A Mexican Navy sailing ship festooned with lights and a giant flag crashed into the landmark Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday night, shearing the top of its masts, killing two people and injuring 17 others, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.

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Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, will be boarding Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity and blasting off to space on Sunday.

Singapore is reviewing penalties for violent offences following an outcry over a 12-day prison sentence for a student who strangled his girlfriend until she blacked out.