WORLD

Starmer, 61, will attend NATO's 75th anniversary summit in the US capital on his debut foreign trip since becoming British leader last Friday.

The rare day-time Russian barrage came as President Volodymyr Zelensky was due in Warsaw, the Polish government said, before he flies to the NATO summit in Washington.

The three countries formed a "Confederation of Sahel States" at a meeting on the eve of the Economic Community of West African States leaders' summit, marking another test for the bloc they declared they were splitting from earlier this year.

US President Joe Biden faces a critical week Monday that will test his standing at home and abroad, as moves to force him to quit his fight for a second White House term gather pace.

The Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) was finalized in Manila, where Japanese Defence Minister Minoru Kihara and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa are holding talks with their Philippine counterparts Gilberto Teodoro and Enrique Manalo.

The US National Hurricane Center said in its latest update that winds were reaching 70 miles (110 kilometers) per hour as the tropical storm approached and was forecast to regain hurricane status before hitting the Texas coast.

Milei, who has snubbed a meeting of the Mercosur South American bloc that will be attended by Bolsonaro's leftist successor Luis Inacio Lula da Silva in Paraguay on Sunday, traveled to Brazil instead for a weekend meeting of the CPAC conservative group.

The protesters took to the streets of the coastal city after reports last month of an Israeli ship's docking in Tangier port.

The outcome of the legislative elections, called by Macron three years ahead of schedule in a bid to reshape the political landscape, leaves France without any clear path to forming a new government three weeks before the Paris Olympics.

This week's summit in Washington will look, without saying so explicitly, to "Trump-proof" NATO by expanding the role of the alliance itself -- especially in supporting Ukraine, whose fight against Russia has drawn skepticism from the Republican candidate.

The unannounced visit comes a day before NATO is due to hold a summit to mark its 75th anniversary, with setbacks in Ukraine set to dominate discussions, and follows Orban's surprise trips to Russia and Ukraine in the past week.

Nearly 30,000 migrants have been declared dead or missing attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in the past decade.

Last month, a Madrid court summoned Begona Gomez to testify on July 5 "as an investigated party" as part of a judicial inquiry into "the alleged offences of corruption in the private sector and influence peddling".

While the United Nations and others have long raised concerns about conditions for Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, rights groups say legal changes since the Gaza war erupted have aggravated the situation.

France is on tenterhooks ahead of Sunday's run-off vote, with centrist and left-wing forces hoping to prevent the anti-immigration far right from winning an absolute majority in the National Assembly.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday ordered his spy chief to Qatar for talks with mediators on a Gaza war ceasefire that could see Hamas militants release hostages seized in the October 7 attacks, sources said.

Keir Starmer's Labor party overturned more than a decade of SNP domination by winning a majority of Scottish seats as it rode to power in Westminster.

Polls opened Friday for Iran's runoff presidential election, the interior ministry said, pitting reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili in the race to succeed Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a May helicopter crash.

In the week since his debate against Donald Trump -- their first head-to-head of the 2024 election cycle -- 81-year-old Biden has failed to quell panic among his Democratic Party.

Nine members of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's top team failed to be re-elected, beating the previous high of seven who lost out in 1997, as the ruling Conservatives suffered a mauling at the hands of the main opposition Labor party.

Russia is a key supplier of cut-price oil and weapons to India, but its isolation from the West and growing friendship with China have impacted its time-honored partnership with New Delhi.

The Iran-backed militant group said its latest attack, which followed the launch of over 100 rockets the previous day, was in response to Israel's killing of a senior Hezbollah commander.

On Israel's northern front, Lebanon's Hezbollah said it fired 100 rockets at Israeli targets in retaliation for a strike that killed a senior commander, heightening fears of full-scale war between the longtime foes.

Israel confirmed that it was "evaluating" Hamas "comments" on a deal to free its hostages in the Palestinian territory and would reply.

At an initial meeting, the two sides agreed on a "willingness" to work together to "improve relations," President Nicolas Maduro's top negotiator Jorge Rodriguez announced on X.

Biden's dismal performance in last week's debate with Donald Trump has triggered panic in much of the Democratic Party as people question whether Biden is physically and mentally able to beat Trump and serve another four years.

More than 3,500 acres (1,400 hectares) of grass and woodland have been consumed since Tuesday when a blaze erupted just outside Oroville.

The US Army said in April it had deployed the Mid-Range Capability missile system which can fire the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile in the northern Philippines.

Thousands of trainee doctors stopped working in February, protesting against government plans to increase medical school quotas which they say will affect the quality of specialist education.