WORLD

Demonstrators and police clashed Tuesday in Panama as protests over a copper mine spilled into their fifth day, with President Laurentino Cortizo vowing he would prosecute acts of "vandalism."

Hong Kong leader John Lee said Wednesday the semi-autonomous city would create its own national security law in 2024, four years after Beijing imposed sweeping legislation aimed at silencing dissent.

Kenya's central bank chief has said that the country's currency, currently trading at record lows, has been overvalued for several years.

Hoang Thi Minh Hong had worried for months she could become the next environmental activist swept up in Vietnam's crackdown, so she closed her NGO and began keeping a low profile.

The candidates for next year's Indonesian presidential election were set Wednesday, with septuagenarian former special forces general Prabowo Subianto and his running mate, the president's son, seen as the frontrunners.

The raging war between Israel and Hamas is already battering the economies of nearby countries, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund told a Saudi investor forum on Wednesday.

Five Myanmar nationals asked the Philippines on Wednesday to investigate alleged war crimes committed by 10 serving or former members of Myanmar's military against the mainly Christian Chin minority.

Japan's top court said on Wednesday that obliging transgender people to be sterilised in order to change their legal gender was unconstitutional.

US President Joe Biden hosts Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for a lavish state visit Wednesday where their focus on China risks being overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Russia claimed Wednesday it was exhausting Ukraine's army, 20 months into a conflict in which neither side has made recent significant gains.

The main UN aid agency in besieged Gaza warned it will have to stop operations by the end of Wednesday because it is running out of fuel, as Hamas said overnight Israeli strikes killed at least 80 people.

Iran and Russia on Monday denounced European and US interference in tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan at a meeting in Tehran aimed at finding a solution without the West.

Police in Panama fired teargas Monday at protesters burning tires and blocking roads to protest a contract allowing a Canadian company to continue operating Central America's biggest copper mine.

From bank profits to migrants, Giorgia Meloni's Italian government has been active on numerous fronts in its first year in office, but many measures seem more designed for show than lasting change.

The United States accused Iran on Monday of "actively facilitating" attacks on US forces in the Middle East as it confirmed it had sent a small number of military advisors to Israel.

China's top diplomat will pay a rare visit to Washington this week, the United States announced Monday, paving the way for a potential visit by President Xi Jinping aimed at keeping tensions in check.

Three separate armed attacks in Mexico on Monday left at least 24 people dead, including a dozen police officers, authorities said about the latest violence to hit regions plagued by drug trafficking.

The world is "failing" on a pledge to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030, with global losses increasing last year, a group of NGOs and researchers warned Tuesday.

In the middle of the shrunken Mississippi, a barge drags a giant metal-edged suction head along the riverbed to remove sediment from shipping lanes.

Liberal politician Maria Corina Machado held an overwhelming lead Monday in the opposition's presidential primary contest, but it remained unclear if her candidacy to oppose President Nicolas Maduro in next year's elections will clear a major legal hurdle.

The war between Israel and Hamas could deal a heavy blow to the global economy, banking titans told a glitzy investment forum in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Argentina is heading to a runoff presidential election race between Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who has overseen record inflation, and the chainsaw-wielding, TikTok-savvy outsider Javier Milei.

It was a sight that stopped traffic. - 'Not romantic at all' - But several locals in the Carpathian Mountains told AFP they were alarmed by increased bear sightings.

A first anniversary in office is normally a moment for a leader to celebrate, but Britain's Rishi Sunak hits the milestone this week with a mountain to climb to retain power in a general election expected next year.

When police in Belarus began knocking on doors and interrogating citizens suspected to have taken part in pro-democracy rallies three years ago, Maxim Isayev knew he could never go back.

Aboriginal Australian leaders ended their vow of silence on Monday to denounce millions of their compatriots for rejecting a landmark push for Indigenous rights, saying that the referendum result would be "etched into Australia's history forever".

Manila said Monday that Chinese vessels "intentionally hit" Philippine boats at the weekend, escalating a diplomatic row over two collisions in the South China Sea.

A Russian court on Monday ordered Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva detained until December 5, after prosecutors said she had failed to register as a "foreign agent".

Under the roar of military aircraft, workers were rushing to offload supplies at Egypt's El Arish airport as aid trickles into the stricken Gaza Strip after more than two weeks of war with Israel.