POLITICS & POLICY

Decked out with fake crystal chandeliers and velvet sofas, cosmetic surgery clinics in Afghanistan's capital are a world away from the austerity of Taliban rule, where Botox, lip filler, and hair transplants reign.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday discussed the Gaza war with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Israel's strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar caused US unease and threatened to derail already flailing attempts to reach a ceasefire.

In removing Indonesia's finance minister and U-turning on protester demands, the leader of Southeast Asia's biggest economy is scrambling to restore public trust while seizing a chance to install loyalists after deadly riots last month, experts say.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said eliminating Hamas leaders would end the war in Gaza, as top US diplomat Marco Rubio said hours ahead of his visit to Israel that its strike against Hamas in Qatar would not derail their alliance.

Clashes erupted on Saturday as more than 100,000 people turned out in central London for a rally organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, with police arresting nine people after facing "unacceptable violence" trying to control the crowds.

Moscow said Friday that peace talks with Ukraine were on "pause" as US President Donald Trump again warned he was fast running out of patience with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Donald Trump's obsession with winning the Nobel Peace Prize next month may have hit a hitch -- the stubborn independence of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which insisted to AFP that it cannot be swayed.

Brazil's Supreme Court on Thursday sentenced firebrand ex-president Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for coup plotting at the end of a landmark trial that divided the nation and drew US fury.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday urged Europe to assert its independence in a "hostile" world, as she condemned Russia's drone intrusion in Poland and pushed for tougher action against Israel over Gaza.

Israel's military said Tuesday it will act with "great force" in Gaza City and told residents to leave as it stepped up a deadly assault on the Palestinian territory's largest urban centre.

A year after it was inaugurated, Indonesia's would-be new capital Nusantara attracts tourists and construction workers, but most of its architecturally arresting presidential palace and freshly built avenues sit silent.

An Israeli strike flattened a high-rise in Gaza City on Saturday -- the second in as many days -- after the military warned people to flee south to a "humanitarian zone" ahead of a planned offensive to capture the area.

The Israeli military destroyed a high-rise in Gaza City on Friday, shortly after announcing it would target tall buildings identified as being used by Hamas ahead of its planned seizure of the urban hub.

Teenage girls are hiring themselves out as hitwomen in Sweden's organised crime wars, keen to prove they are more deadly and ruthless than young men, prosecutors say.

More than two dozen countries have pledged to join a force to deploy in Ukraine after any eventual peace deal with Russia, aiming to deter Moscow from again attacking its neighbour, leaders announced Thursday.

The Israeli military on Thursday said it controls 40 percent of Gaza City, the largest urban centre in the Palestinian territory which it is preparing to conquer after nearly two years of devastating war.

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have been recorded on a hot mic discussing how organ transplants and other medical advances could let humans live past 150 years -- or even become immortal.

One of thousands of public servants in Gaza's Hamas-run government, Karim, a public works ministry employee, received what seemed like an ordinary message on his phone: an invitation "for a coffee".

Bitter debate about immigration in the United Kingdom has triggered a new trend of flying English and British flags in a vivid show of patriotism spearheaded in part by far-right figures.

Israel estimates that its imminent offensive on Gaza City would displace one million Palestinians, a senior military official said Wednesday, as Gaza's civil defence reported dozens killed across the territory.

Rescue teams struggled Wednesday to reach survivors as night approached days after a powerful earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, as access to remote areas remained obstructed.

A gut-wrenching film premiering at the Venice Film Festival Wednesday about a five-year-old girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last year gives a "voice" to Palestinian victims of the war, its director said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's Vladimir Putin are expected to flank President Xi Jinping at a massive parade in Beijing on Wednesday morning, in a historic moment capping a week of diplomatic grandstanding against the West.

A fresh 5.2-magnitude earthquake hit the east of Afghanistan on Tuesday, jolting a region still struggling with the aftermath of a powerful quake at the weekend that killed 1,400 people.

Israel intensified its military build-up on Tuesday as reservists began responding to call-up orders ahead of a planned offensive to capture Gaza City, nearly two years into a devastating war.

Premier League clubs demonstrated their awesome financial power during the summer transfer window, spending more than GBP3 billion ($4 billion) on new signings.

Government gestures to calm deadly protests in Indonesia have done little to address the economic inequality and hardship fuelling the unrest, leaving deep resentment to linger and flare up again, experts say.

Thousands rallied across Indonesia Monday as the military was deployed in the capital after six people were killed in nationwide protests sparked by anger over lavish perks for lawmakers.

A gunman on the run in the bush in Australia after being accused of killing two officers was being aided by locals, police said Monday, as the manhunt entered its seventh day.