NEWS

A staggering 281 aid workers have been killed around the world so far this year, making 2024 the deadliest year for humanitarians, the UN aid chief said Friday.

A second young Australian tourist died in a Thai hospital on Friday, bringing the death toll related to suspected methanol poisoning during a night out in a Laos backpacker hotspot to six.

China's President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Brazil Wednesday, fresh off a warm reception at summits of the G20 and APEC groups, both held under the cloud of Donald Trump's White House return.

Russia on Wednesday accused the US of prolonging the "war in Ukraine" by stepping up weapons deliveries to Kyiv ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House.

European powers and the United States have submitted a resolution censuring Iran for its poor cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, diplomats told AFP on Wednesday, as Tehran warned of a "proportionate" response if it passes.

State-sponsored hackers were leveraging AI's popularity to infiltrate computer systems of businesses and organizations and then sitting dormant to remain undetected, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) said in a report.

Japan and Britain have agreed to hold regular high-level talks on economic security, Tokyo said Tuesday after the two countries' leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

G20 leaders met in Rio de Janeiro on Monday for talks on climate change, ongoing wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon, and more, at a forum that highlighted differences between world powers but also delivered some successes.

Donald Trump's allies voiced vehement criticism Monday of President Joe Biden's decision to let Ukraine use US-supplied long-range missiles for attacks inside Russia, accusing him of a dangerous escalation.

European powers -- backed by the United States -- are pushing ahead with a plan to censure Iran for its poor cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog at a board meeting starting Wednesday, diplomats told AFP. Tensions between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have repeatedly flared since a 2015 deal curbing Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanction relief fell apart.

Thousands of NATO soldiers are taking part in large-scale artillery exercises in Finland's Arctic this month, seen by some as a signal to neighbouring Russia over its war on Ukraine.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for Beijing and Berlin to develop ties with a "strategic" and "long-term" perspective Tuesday as he met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Rio de Janeiro, state media said.

The UN's climate chief told countries at the deadlocked COP29 summit on Monday to "cut the theatrics" as pressure mounts on G20 leaders to deliver a breakthrough.

More than a year of clashes that recently escalated into war have cost Lebanon more than $5 billion in economic losses, with actual structural damage amounting to billions more, the World Bank said on Thursday.

Air strikes hit the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Thursday after an Israeli warning to evacuate parts of the Hezbollah bastion, AFPTV images showed.

Israel's warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, a special UN committee said Thursday, accusing the country of "using starvation as a method of war".

Chinese leader Xi Jinping headed to Peru on Wednesday, bound for a meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organisation leaders overshadowed by fears of renewed global trade tensions under Donald Trump.

Billionaire Elon Musk took a wild gamble backing Donald Trump's White House candidacy, but the bet has paid off -- at least for now -- with the US president-elect handing him an outsized role to overhaul the government.

Global leaders offered competing views on how to tackle climate change at UN-led talks Wednesday as a new report warned the world must reach carbon neutrality much sooner than planned.

US top diplomat Antony Blinken warned Wednesday that the deployment of North Korean troops alongside Russian forces fighting on the Ukrainian border demanded a "firm response".

Several Australian airlines on Wednesday cancelled their flights to and from the Indonesian resort island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower miles into the sky.

North Korea has ratified a landmark defence pact with Russia, state media reported Tuesday, deepening security cooperation that has seen Pyongyang send thousands of troops to help Moscow fight Ukraine.

Senior Russian official Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday told China's foreign minister Wang Yi their two countries' most urgent task should be countering "containment" by the United States, as they met for security talks in Beijing.

New Zealand's prime minister delivered a historic apology Tuesday to victims abused in state care, acknowledging the "unimaginable pain" suffered within children's homes and psychiatric hospitals.

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Lebanon's health ministry said an Israeli strike on Sunday killed 23 people, including seven children, in the village of Almat north of the capital Beirut.

The Kremlin on Monday denied a US media report that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US president-elect Donald Trump shared a call about the Ukraine conflict.

Air alerts wailed across Ukraine early Monday as Russian strikes killed at least six people, a day after record drone attacks by both sides and US president-elect Donald Trump reportedly urging Russia's Vladimir Putin not to escalate the conflict.

Russian bombardments of Ukrainian cities overnight killed at least one person and wounded more than three dozen more authorities said on Friday, as Moscow escalated its bombing campaign of civilian hubs.