POLITICS & POLICY

Making his debut as the top US diplomat, Marco Rubio has conducted most business entirely in Spanish, forging quick bonds with Latin American leaders.

Cocaine "is no worse than whisky" and is only illegal because it comes from Latin America, said Colombian President Gustavo Petro during a live broadcast of a government meeting.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday seeking to ban transgender athletes from participating in women's sports, in his latest move targeting transgender people since returning to office.

At first glance, it's a happy image -- hundreds of smiling faces torn from newspapers and pasted into a frame.

Israel's defence minister ordered the army on Thursday to start making preparations to allow for "voluntary" departures from the Gaza Strip, after US President Donald Trump floated a proposal to move Palestinians out of the territory.

At an open-cast mine, Abdullahi Ibrahim Danjija carefully chisels away at a hunk of whitish rock before stuffing a sack with the pieces which break off the walls.

The US Treasury said Tuesday that Elon Musk's government reform team can read data from its highly sensitive payment system but not alter it, after Democratic lawmakers raised the alarm over the move and called for an investigation.

The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying he was ready for direct talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as "empty words".

Beijing accused the United States Wednesday of "suppression" after its postal service said it was suspending parcels from China and Hong Kong, a move that could hit e-commerce giants Temu and Shein.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Palestinians would "love" to leave their embattled homeland in Gaza and live elsewhere if given an option.

Philippine lawmakers on Wednesday voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte, who has fallen out spectacularly with the country's leader, paving the way for a Senate trial that could see her removed from office.

The leaning minaret of Mosul in northern Iraq has been restored using its original brickwork, years after it was reduced to rubble under Islamic State group rule.

Around 10 people were killed on Tuesday in a shooting at an education centre in Sweden, including the suspected gunman, with the Swedish prime minister branding it the "worst mass shooting" in the country's history.

The US government's giant humanitarian agency closed its headquarters to staff Monday amid moves by Elon Musk, the world's richest person and President Donald Trump's controversial aide, to seize control in actions decried by critics as "plain illegal."

Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Monday moved to force through France's budget without a vote but looked certain to keep his job -- for now -- thanks to support from the Socialists in the bitterly divided parliament.

Mexican agricultural and auto-parts producers called Sunday for "dialogue" to head off the trade war prompted by US President Donald Trump's decision to impose 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada.

The World Health Organization's chief hit back Monday at US President Donald Trump's reasons for pulling the United States out of the WHO -- and again urged Washington to reconsider.

Whenever Sema Genc enters a room, the first place she looks is the ceiling: would it hold up in an earthquake, or would she be trapped under the rubble again?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to begin talks Monday on brokering a second phase of the ceasefire with Hamas, his office said, as he visits the new Trump administration in Washington.

US President Donald Trump has slapped new tariffs on Chinese goods, partly in response to Beijing's alleged role in a deadly opioid epidemic in the United States.

Once famed as an industrial powerhouse that produced some of the world's finest steel, Rotherham is now known as the epicentre of the UK grooming scandal, leaving the town angry, ashamed and needing answers.

EU leaders huddle Monday with Britain's prime minister and the head of NATO to discuss efforts to boost Europe's defences faced with an aggressive Russia -- as Donald Trump demands America's allies spend much more.

Elon Musk attacked the US Agency for International Development, calling it a "criminal organization" on Sunday, as Donald Trump said the agency was "run by radical lunatics" and said he was considering its future.

Steven Nelson has spent more than a dozen years on Death Row in Texas and is to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday for the murder of a pastor that he insists he did not commit.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that Americans may feel economic "pain" from his tariffs on key trading partners, but argued it would be "worth the price" to secure US interests.

President Donald Trump announced broad tariffs Saturday on major US trading partners Canada, Mexico and China, claiming a "major threat" from illegal immigration and drugs -- a move that sparked promises of retaliation.

In Uganda, millions of schoolchildren have benefitted from a universal education program backed by the United States.

Russia fired dozens of missiles and drones at Ukraine overnight and early Saturday, killing 15 people, Kyiv said.

Artillery shelling and air strikes killed at least 56 people across greater Khartoum on Saturday, according to a medical source and Sudanese activists.