POLITICS & POLICY

Rescuers braved aftershocks to scour the devastated city of Mandalay for survivors on Monday, after a massive earthquake killed at least 1,700 people in Myanmar and at least 18 in neighbouring Thailand.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday offered to let Hamas leaders leave Gaza but demanded the group abandon its arms, as his country kept up its bombardment of the Palestinian territory.

A bitter boardroom row at an African charity Prince Harry founded and then quit escalated Sunday after its chairperson accused the prince of "bullying" and being involved in a "cover up".

Turkey's opposition on Sunday worked to keep up the momentum of the protest movement triggered by the arrest of Istanbul's mayor after a giant weekend rally, with a Swedish reporter the latest detained in a government crackdown.

Residents scoured collapsed buildings Sunday searching for survivors as aftershocks rattled the devastated city of Mandalay, two days after a massive earthquake killed at least 1,700 people in Myanmar and at least 17 in neighbouring Thailand.

Sky-high tobacco prices in Australia have created a lucrative black market, analysts say, sparking a violent "tobacco war" and syphoning away billions in potential tax revenue.

Exhausted, overwhelmed rescuers in Myanmar's second-biggest city pleaded for help Saturday as they struggled to free hundreds of people trapped in buildings destroyed by a devastating earthquake.

Waving flags and chanting slogans, hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators rallied in Istanbul Saturday calling for democracy to be defended after the arrest of mayor Ekrem Imamoglu which sparked Turkey's worst street unrest in over a decade.

The death toll from a huge earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand passed 700 on Saturday, as rescuers dug through the rubble of collapsed buildings in a desperate search for survivors.

Marwa fled Taliban rule in Afghanistan because she wanted to study, work, wear jeans and go to the park without a male chaperone.

Turkey intensified its crackdown on anti-government protests on Friday, arresting the lawyer of the jailed Istanbul mayor and targeting more journalists, as the country faces its biggest wave of unrest in more than a decade.

Donald Trump's attacks on NATO and the established world order are undermining the confidence of its allies under the US security umbrella, fuelling fears of an eventual proliferation of nuclear weapons, experts told AFP. Since his return to power in January, the US president has criticised the transatlantic alliance, reopened direct dialogue with Russia and flattered North Korea's Kim Jong-Un with warm words.

The South Sudan government said on Friday First Vice President Riek Machar was "under house arrest," two days after he was detained, as a former Kenyan premier arrived in Juba to mediate the crisis threatening to end the fragile peace deal between rival factions.

An Australian judge sentenced a policeman who fatally tasered a "frail and confused" 95-year-old woman to do community service rather than jail time.

Israel carried out air strikes in southern Lebanon Friday after its defence minister threatened Beirut over new rocket fire, rattling an already fragile truce that largely ended more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Friday for a "transitional administration" to be put in place in Ukraine and vowed his army would "finish off" Ukrainian troops, in hardline remarks as US President Donald Trump pushes for a ceasefire.

A powerful earthquake hit Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand on Friday, turning a major hospital in the Myanmar capital into a "mass casualty area" and trapping dozens of workers in an under-construction skyscraper in Bangkok.

Since his teenage years, Koji Hayashi has dreaded one thing: his stubborn, once-vivacious mother being hanged for murder after failing to win her long campaign for a retrial.

Turkey stepped up its crackdown on both student protesters and press coverage of the mass demonstrations gripping the country on Thursday, generating defiance but also a growing sense of fear.

Mohammed Hussein Mohammedie was just 19 when he left Iraq and attempted the perilous English Channel crossing in November 2021.

North Korea sent an additional 3,000 troops to Russia this year and is still supplying missiles, artillery and ammunition to help Moscow fight Kyiv, Seoul's military said on Thursday.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday he would call a general election "imminently", with local media reporting the poll would be held on May 3.

Israel's parliament on Thursday passed a law expanding elected officials' power to appoint judges, defying a years-long movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious judicial reforms that saw massive street protests.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday is to host European leaders including President Volodymyr Zelensky for a summit aimed at boosting Ukrainian security ahead of any potential ceasefire with Russia.

From a gated community for her Zoroastrian faith in Pakistan's megacity Karachi, 22-year-old Elisha Amra has waved goodbye to many friends migrating abroad as the ancient Parsi community dwindles.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday warned Russia was still showing a "desire for war" despite efforts to forge a ceasefire in Ukraine, ahead of a summit aimed at boosting Ukrainian security under a potential truce brokered by the United States.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Wednesday to seize parts of Gaza if Hamas did not release hostages, while the militant group warned they would return "in coffins" if Israel did not stop bombing the Palestinian territory.

Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan arrived at Khartoum's presidential palace on Wednesday, declaring the capital "free" of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after nearly two years of war.

Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro to stand trial on charges of plotting a coup after losing elections in 2022.