WORLD

The conflict between Israel and Hamas militants is making a global impact with Britain, Canada, France and Germany among nations stepping up security around potential Jewish targets and pro-Palestinian demonstrations erupting in cities across the world.

President Joe Biden ordered US ships and warplanes to move closer to Israel in a show of support on Sunday, while sending fresh military aid after attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The race to replace the ousted Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives intensifies this week amid questions over whether anyone is capable of unifying the chaotic party's warring factions.

Oil prices rallied while the dollar and yen advanced Monday after Hamas launched a shock attack on Israel at the weekend, sparking fresh concerns about tensions in the Middle East.

Asian finance hub Hong Kong halted trading at its stock exchange on Monday and closed schools, after Typhoon Koinu generated torrential rainfall overnight.

The economics prize closes the prestigious Nobel awards season on Monday, with specialists on credit, the job market or inequalities expected to be among the contenders.

China's top diplomat said Monday he hoped Washington and Beijing could manage their differences "more rationally" as he met with visiting senior American lawmakers.

Afghan villagers and volunteers on Monday helped dig for survivors of a series of earthquakes that killed more than 2,000 people, as aid began trickling into the devastated region.

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to imprisoned activist Narges Mohammadi for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran, many of whom are removing their hijabs despite a harsh crackdown.

Former president Donald Trump shared classified information about US nuclear submarines with an Australian businessman shortly after he left office, in a meeting at his Florida private members club Mar-a-Lago, US media said Thursday.

The Venezuelan prosecutor's office said Thursday it had issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Juan Guaido and would ask for Interpol's help in his apprehension.

A group of high-profile activists including Hillary Clinton, Malala Yousafzai and Gloria Steinem have signed a call for the United Nations to criminalize gender apartheid, according to a letter sent to member states Thursday.

An attack Thursday on a Syrian military academy killed 112 people, a war monitor said, with state media blaming "terrorist organisations" for the drone strike in government-held Homs.

A Russian strike killed at least 51 people gathered for a wake in northeastern Ukraine Thursday, provoking outrage from Western leaders for what the UN warned could be a war crime.

The United States said Thursday it would resume limited food assistance in Ethiopia, delivering to some one million refugees, but will keep most operations suspended after concerns of systematic diversion of aid.

US President Joe Biden on Thursday defended plans to extend the border wall with Mexico, saying he didn't think such barriers worked but that he was bound by laws introduced under Donald Trump.

Russian mercenary group Wagner in 2022 signed a contract with a Chinese firm to acquire two satellites and use their images, aiding its intelligence work as the organisation sought to push Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to a document seen by AFP. The contract was signed in November 2022, over half a year into Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in which the Wagner group under its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin was playing a key role on the battlefield.

President Joe Biden admitted Wednesday he was worried that political turmoil in Washington could threaten US aid to Ukraine, urging Republicans to stop their infighting and back "critically important" assistance for Kyiv.

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund will tackle the thorny issue of institutional reform at their upcoming annual meetings in Morocco next week.

Indian rescue teams searched on Thursday for 102 people missing after a devastating flash flood triggered by a high-altitude glacial lake burst killed at least 14, officials said.

Pope Francis warned Wednesday the world "is collapsing" due to global warming, urging participants of the upcoming COP28 climate talks to agree to binding policies on phasing out fossil fuels.

A trio of US-based researchers on Wednesday won the Nobel Chemistry Prize for developing tiny "quantum dots" used to illuminate TVs and lamps, hours after a prematurely sent statement revealed their names.

More than a thousand migrants rode atop a freight train to the edge of the US border on Tuesday after dodging authorities on a 10-day journey through Mexico.

Visiting Washington on Tuesday, President-elect Bernardo Arevalo of Guatemala said he is confronting a concerted effort to keep him from taking power after his upset election win.

Indian anti-terror police said Tuesday they had arrested two people linked to a news website and raided the homes of 44 others, in a case reportedly connected to alleged Chinese funding.

Republican Kevin McCarthy rode the tiger of far-right US politics led by Donald Trump to achieve his dream of becoming House speaker early this year.

Kevin McCarthy was axed Tuesday as speaker of the US House of Representatives in a brutal, historic rebellion by far-right Republicans accusing him of a string of broken promises and furious at his cooperation with Democrats.

Pope Francis opens a major congress on the future of the Catholic Church Wednesday marked by tensions with conservatives on issues such as the treatment of divorcees and LGBTQ believers.

Facing grueling conditions worthy of a Dantean hell, up against soaring walls of blistering flames, thousands of firefighters mobilized throughout the Canadian summer.