POLITICS & POLICY

A military parade and planned balcony appearance by the royal family on Monday kicked off four days of UK celebrations marking 80 years since the end of World War II. King Charles III, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and thousands of spectators watched as NATO personnel from the US, France and Germany, along with a small number of Ukrainian troops, joined a military procession that began with Winston Churchill's 1945 victory speech, voiced by actor Timothy Spall.

Catholic cardinals will enter into conclave this week to choose a new pope, with the Church's 1.4 billion members holding their breath over an uncertain outcome.

Throughout the campaign, Labor repeatedly drew parallels between Dutton's policies and those of U.S. president, criticizing him for embracing Trump-style rhetoric and approaches.

Israel's security cabinet approved the expansion of military operations in Gaza including the "conquest" of the Palestinian territory, an official said Monday, after the army called up tens of thousands of reservists for the offensive.

US President Donald Trump said in remarks airing Sunday that he does not know whether he must uphold the US Constitution, the nation's founding legal document.

As dusk falls, some 500 Indigenous people stand in formation in Lauca Ene, a hamlet in central Bolivia, and raise their spears to the cry of "Long live Evo Morales!"

Israel was issuing orders to call up tens of thousands of reservists ahead of an expanded offensive in Gaza, Israeli media reported Saturday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked truce mediator Qatar.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed a three-day truce ordered by Russian leader Vladimir Putin as theatrics but said Kyiv was ready for a full ceasefire.

Singaporeans cast their votes Saturday in an election where Prime Minister Lawrence Wong faces his first major test against a rejuvenated opposition in uncertain economic times for the trade-centred nation.

On India's heavily fortified border with arch-rival Pakistan, residents of farming villages have sent families back from the frontier, recalling the terror of the last major conflict between the rival armies.

At the Port of Los Angeles, the frenetic choreography of cranes unloading containers from Asia has slowed to a tiptoe, and the noise of the busiest docks in the US is quieting.

Prince Harry said Friday he wanted to reconcile with Britain's royal family, but was "devastated" at losing a court battle over his security that meant he could not return to the country with his family.

Syria's Islamist rulers on Friday denounced an air strike near the presidential palace as a "dangerous escalation", as Israel called it a "clear message" not to harm the Druze minority.

Firefighters installed the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel on Friday which will emit white smoke to signal the election of a new pope as preparations proceed just five days before cardinals gather for the conclave.

In signing a minerals deal, Ukraine has found a new way to tie the United States to its future, but it remains to be seen if it can guarantee long-term support from mercurial President Donald Trump.

Media rights group RSF warned Friday about "an alarming deterioration in press freedom" in the United States under President Donald Trump as well as "unprecedented" difficulties for independent journalists around the world.

Hong Kong's economy grew by 3.1 percent in the first quarter of the year, the city's government said Friday, though it warned US tariffs had heightened "downside risks" in the global economy.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to cut public funding for NPR and PBS, accusing the news outlets of being biased in his latest attack on traditional media.

On a torn-up road near the refugee camp where she once lived, Saja Bawaqneh said she struggled to find hope 100 days after an Israeli offensive in the occupied West Bank forced her to flee.

Liverpool have wrapped up the Premier League title and the three relegated teams know their fate but the fight for the top five is reaching a climax.

Stung by the rocketing price of eggs -- and US supermarkets rationing a basic breakfast staple -- Yong-mi Kim decided to get some chickens to secure her own supply in southern California.

When he grows up, five-year-old Ahmad wants to be "stronger than Spider-Man".

Hard-right and far-right parties are riding high in polls across Europe but their electoral success conceals divisions which could become major sources of tension if they win power, according to analysts.

Serbia's trade unions will for the first time join a protest Thursday called by student leaders, six months after the deadly train station tragedy that sparked mass demonstrations against corruption.

Centenarian Dorothea Barron recalled the wave of relief she felt when she heard World War II had finally come to an end.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Wednesday that rapidly spreading wildfires near Jerusalem could reach the city, as he declared the situation a "national emergency".

An Australian woman promised a "special meal" for her husband's family before dishing up a beef Wellington with death cap mushrooms that killed three of them, jurors heard Wednesday.

Israel struck Syria on Wednesday in what it called a "warning" against attacks on the Druze minority, in a military intervention that came as sectarian clashes spread near Damascus, killing 13 people.

Pakistan said on Wednesday it had "credible intelligence" that India was planning an imminent military strike and vowed to retaliate, as worries of spiralling conflict grew over a deadly attack in Kashmir.