POLITICS & POLICY

Truckloads of food reached hungry Gazans on Monday after Israel promised to open secure aid routes, but humanitarian agencies warned vast amounts more were needed to stave off starvation.

Tadej Pogacar completed a supreme performance to win the Tour de France in a rainy Paris on Sunday, crushing his rivals to collect a fourth title.

US President Donald Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen prepared to meet Sunday in Scotland in a push to resolve a months-long transatlantic trade standoff that is going down to the wire.

New Zealand sheep farmers are fighting to stop the loss of pasture to fast-spreading pine plantations, which earn government subsidies to soak up carbon emissions.

Mervin Yamarte left Venezuela with his younger brother, hoping for a better life.

The United Nations and NGOs are warning of an imminent famine in the Gaza Strip -- a designation based on strict criteria and scientific evidence.

Taiwan's main opposition protested on Friday ahead of unprecedented recall elections targeting its lawmakers that could tip the balance of power to President Lai Ching-te's party.

Aid groups warned of surging numbers of malnourished children in war-ravaged Gaza as a trio of European powers prepared to hold an "emergency call" Friday on the deepening humanitarian crisis.

Iranian diplomats met counterparts from Germany, Britain and France on Friday for renewed nuclear talks, amid warnings that the three European powers could trigger "snapback" sanctions outlined under the 2015 deal.

US President Donald Trump was due to arrive in Scotland on Friday for a mix of diplomacy, business and leisure, with a huge security operation swinging into place and protests planned near his family-owned golf resorts.

Far-right MAGA influencers are treading a tightrope as outrage escalates over the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein: they are caught between a fired-up base demanding more information and President Donald Trump, who is eager to turn the page.

Hamas said on Thursday that it had responded to an Israeli proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, as pressure mounted for a breakthrough to end almost two years of devastating conflict that has triggered a humanitarian crisis.

Ukraine on Wednesday proposed direct talks within weeks between its President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's Vladimir Putin, but Moscow tempered prospects for progress at a fresh round of talks in Istanbul on Wednesday.

More than 100 aid organisations and human rights groups warned on Wednesday that "mass starvation" was spreading in Gaza, as the United States said its top envoy was heading to Europe for talks on a possible ceasefire and aid corridor.

AFP journalists in the Gaza Strip said Tuesday that chronic food shortages are affecting their ability to cover Israel's conflict with Hamas militants.

Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary frontman of heavy metal group Black Sabbath, died on Tuesday at the age of 76, his family said, just weeks after he gave an epic farewell concert.

Tears of joy and relief flowed freely Tuesday as Venezuelan Maikel Olivera returned home to his mother's embrace after surviving four months of "real hell" in a Salvadoran prison.

The generation of Cambodians who may find themselves in the firing line when the country introduces military conscription is split between quiet pangs of anxiety and proud proclamations of patriotism.

Ahmed Raza is invisible in the eyes of his government, unable to study or work because, like millions of other Pakistanis, he lacks identification papers.

The ceasefire that ended Iran's 12-day war with Israel has held for nearly a month without incident, but many Iranians remain uneasy, struggling with uncertainty as fears of another confrontation linger.

More than two dozen Western countries called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza on Monday, saying that suffering there had "reached new depths" as Israel's military expanded its operations to the central city of Deir el-Balah.

Gloria Cuevas thought she would live forever in her pink, century-old house on Puerto Rico's west coast -- but then her landlord decided to transform the home into an Airbnb.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians trying to collect humanitarian aid in the territory's north on Sunday, killing 67 people and wounding dozens more.

Gaza's civil defence agency said on Saturday that Israeli fire killed 39 people and wounded more than 100 near two aid centres, in the latest deaths of Palestinians seeking food.

Syrian interior ministry forces began deploying in Sweida on Saturday under a US-brokered deal intended to avert further Israeli military intervention in the Druze-majority province.

Brazilian police raided Jair Bolsonaro's home Friday, as a judge imposed further restrictions on the far-right former leader while he stands trial on coup charges that have vexed US president and ally Donald Trump.

Two of the most senior Christian leaders in Jerusalem travelled to Gaza on Friday after Israeli fire killed three at the Palestinian territory's only Catholic church, provoking international condemnation.

Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith.

An Israeli strike on Gaza's only Catholic church killed three people on Thursday, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said, as Israel said it "never targets" religious sites and regretted any harm to civilians.