POLITICS & POLICY

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.

As Australia gears up for the next election, younger generations, including Gen Z and millennials, are set to outnumber baby boomers for the first time.

China remains the main threat to the United States globally but of increasing concern is its closer cooperation with Russia, Iran and North Korea, said an annual US intelligence report released Tuesday.

Truck driver Lee Seung-joo was driving through South Korea's Andong mountains when the wildfires hit, engulfing the area in flames and turning it into "a literal hell".

The world's longest-serving death row prisoner, Iwao Hakamada, won compensation from Japan this week after almost five decades in jail -- and he owes his freedom to a judge with steely determination.

US President Donald Trump downplayed a growing scandal Tuesday after a journalist was accidentally added to a group chat about air strikes on Yemen, denying any classified information was shared and defending a top aide over the breach.

A Sudanese monitor accused the army on Tuesday of carrying out one of the deadliest air strikes in the country's nearly two-year war, hitting a rebel-held town in the western region of Darfur.

French star actor Gerard Depardieu, on trial for sexual assault, told the Paris court on Tuesday that he was not in the habit of "groping" women, and called the #MeToo movement a "reign of terror."

In his fourth budget, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has also introduced new measures to strengthen economic resilience and competitiveness, recognizing the growing global risks from trade wars and geopolitical tensions.

Top Trump administration officials texted a group chat including a journalist plans for strikes on Yemen's Huthi rebels, the White House said, an extraordinary security breach that shocked Washington's political elite.

An Israeli air strike killed a journalist working with Al Jazeera on Monday and the military issued fresh calls to evacuate parts of Gaza's north, as Israel pressed its renewed bombardment and ground operations in the Palestinian territory.

Brazilian environmental campaigner and tribal leader Raoni Metuktire is pitting himself against the government to stop plans for an oil mega-project at the mouth of the Amazon river.

According to the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), which represents nearly 2 million workers, one-third of all workers could face negative consequences from a blanket return-to-office policy.

Israel's prime minister, pushing to dismiss internal security chief Ronen Bar, on Monday alleged an attempt to bring down his government after Israeli media reported Bar's agency spent months probing far-right infiltration of the police.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) denounced on Monday the "extremely precarious" situation of Palestinians displaced by the ongoing Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank.

Australia's army has received its first delivery of a "game changer" mobile long-range US rocket system, the government said Monday.

Holders Spain beat the Netherlands on penalties after a dramatic quarter-final second leg in Valencia finished 3-3 on Sunday to set up a Nations League last-four clash with France, who edged Croatia in a shoot-out after a 2-2 aggregate draw.

US and Ukrainian officials were due to meet in Saudi Arabia on Sunday for talks on how to halt the Russian invasion, a member of the Ukrainian delegation told AFP, while the Kremlin warned of "difficult negotiations" and a long journey to peace.

Israel's military pressed ground operations across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, urging Palestinians to flee an offensive in Rafah city nearly a week into a renewed assault on the Hamas-ruled territory.

Living in the gutted-out eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka, Maryna has learned to recognise the sound of the devastating Russian glide bombs that have pounded her city for months.

Huge crowds gathered outside Istanbul City Hall late Saturday for a fourth night of protests over the arrest of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who has blasted official allegations against him as "immoral and baseless".

When fighting first gripped the Sudanese capital in April 2023, quickly overwhelming Khartoum's hospitals, Dr. Safaa Ali faced an impossible choice: her family or her patients.

Israel conducted deadly strikes on Lebanon Saturday in response to a rocket attack from across the border, as militant group Hezbollah denied responsibility for the launch.

Israel launched air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon on Saturday after intercepting cross-border rocket fire, with Lebanese state media reporting a woman was killed.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened Friday to annex parts of the Gaza Strip unless Hamas militants release the remaining Israeli hostages held in the war-battered Palestinian territory.

Ukraine hopes to secure at least a partial ceasefire at upcoming talks in Saudi Arabia, during which US officials will meet separately with Russian and Ukrainian delegations, a senior Ukrainian source told AFP on Friday.