WORLD

The Russian central bank said it would meet on Tuesday to discuss its key rate, after the ruble slid past 100 against the dollar Monday, its lowest level in over sixteen months.

The African Union on Monday held talks on the Niger crisis as the country's post-coup rulers showed defiance yet also pointed to diplomacy for a potential solution.

French authorities said on Monday one person could still be missing after six migrants died when their boat sank in the Channel as they tried to cross to England from France.

The West African bloc ECOWAS is mulling military intervention to restore Niger's elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, after he was detained by members of his guard on July 26.

The Ukrainian military on Monday said it had pushed Russian forces out of pockets of territory along front lines in the east and south of the country, building on a gruelling counter-offensive launched two months ago.

The airport at Catania in Sicily, a top Italian tourist destination, has halted all flights after a new eruption at nearby Mount Etna, its operator said Monday.

China on Sunday vowed "resolute and forceful measures" over a weekend trip by Taiwan Vice President William Lai to the United States.

A shooting Sunday at a Shiite Muslim shrine in Iran's south killed at least one person and wounded eight others, state media reported, revising down a previous toll of four fatalities.

The French and English coastguard said two people were still missing late Saturday after this latest disaster, when the boat carrying more than 60 people capsized.

Rescue ship Ocean Viking has saved more than 600 migrants adrift in the Mediterranean over the last two days, the organisation that runs it, SOS Mediterranee, said on Friday.

Thousands of supporters of Niger's coup leaders gathered on Friday near a French military base on the outskirts of the capital Niamey, AFP reporters saw.

Russia on Friday said it had improved its fighting positions around the northeast Ukraine town of Kupiansk, where its advance has prompted Ukrainian officials to urge residents to evacuate.

Out of work as fighting rages between the forces of rival generals, many Sudanese have been forced to find creative ways to support themselves and their families.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali on Sunday said it had brought forward its withdrawal from a base in the north of the country due to deteriorating security conditions.

Niger's military regime vowed late Sunday to prosecute ousted president Mohamed Bazoum for "high treason" and slammed West African leaders for imposing sanctions on the country.

Fears for Niger's detained president mounted on Friday, a day after West African leaders declared they would muster a "standby" force in their efforts to return him to power.

More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Channel on small boats from France to southeast England since Britain began publicly recording the arrivals in 2018, official figures revealed on Friday.

A rubber dinghy brings back dozens of people from one of six boats the Tunisian coastguard intercepted in a 24-hour period off Sfax, a migrant launchpad for Europe.

The number of new Covid-19 cases reported worldwide rose by 80 percent in the last month, the World Health Organization said on Friday, days after designating a new "variant of interest".

Many are also worried about possible electoral violence in the West African nation, which suffered back-to-back civil wars between 1989 and 2003 that left more than 250,000 people dead.

The death toll from record-breaking rains across northern China rose to at least 78 on Friday, as authorities warned of more flooding and another storm approached the country.

US consumer inflation inched up in July, government data showed Thursday, rebounding slightly for the first time in around a year and weighing on policymakers as they mull further interest rate hikes.

Linda Yaccarino, CEO of social media platform X, said Thursday that the company formerly known as Twitter is "close" to breaking even and is hiring to beef up a staff slashed by owner Elon Musk.

Ukraine urged civilians near the northeastern front line to evacuate on Thursday as Russia ramped up an assault to capture territory already seized once during the conflict.

Russia is launching its first mission to the Moon's surface in nearly 50 years on Friday, hoping to reclaim prestige in space despite military and diplomatic setbacks at home over the Ukraine conflict.

Brushfires on the west coast of Hawaii's Maui island -- fueled by high winds from a nearby hurricane -- broke out Tuesday and rapidly engulfed the seaside town of Lahaina.

Russia launched its first probe to the Moon in almost 50 years on Friday, a mission designed to give fresh impetus to its space sector, which has been struggling for years and become isolated by the conflict in Ukraine.

Four months into a battle both believed they would win, Sudan's army has lost its grip on Khartoum to paramilitaries, who are unable to declare victory and instead are accused of waging war on civilians.

At least 36 people have died after a fast-moving wildfire turned a historic Hawaiian town to ashes, officials said Wednesday, as visitors asked to leave the island of Maui found themselves stranded at the airport.