International news

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that a US-backed ceasefire in Gaza was not at risk after Israel launched airstrikes in the enclave, which killed 26 people in response to the killing of an Israeli soldier.

One person was killed on India's eastern coast after Cyclone Montha made landfall around midnight, with heavy rain and gusty winds also damaging crops and utility poles, officials said on Wednesday.

Floods triggered by record heavy rains have killed at least nine people and left five others missing in central Vietnam, the government said on Wednesday.

Hurricane Melissa churned toward Cuba's second-largest city with the force of a powerful Category 4 storm on Tuesday, hours after making landfall in neighbouring Jamaica as the strongest-ever cyclone on record to hit that Caribbean island nation.

The Arab League has warned against the escalation of wars in the region and the continued practices of the Israeli occupation in the Arab territories in posing a real threat to the region's development and human resources.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he had ordered the military to "carry out powerful attacks" in Gaza after accusing Hamas of violating a ceasefire agreement in the Palestinian territory.

At least 20 people, including two police officers, were killed in a large-scale operation against organized crime in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, days before the Brazilian city is set to host major events related to the COP30 global climate summit.

Hurricane Melissa was expected to bring catastrophe as it makes landfall in Jamaica with storm surges, flash floods and landslides in the worst storm to hit the Caribbean island this century, a U.N. weather official said on Tuesday.

Ukraine is ready for peace talks but will not withdraw its troops from additional territory first as Moscow has demanded, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Heavy rains over the past days have caused serious flooding in central Vietnam, especially in top tourism destinations Hue and Hoi An, the government said in a report on Tuesday.

Talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Istanbul to broker a long-term truce have ended without a resolution, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, a blow for peace in the region after deadly clashes this month.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will nominate US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday, following a signed agreement between the two nations to secure the supply of critical minerals and rare earths.

Two workers were killed and another injured in an explosion at the recently reopened Polymetals Resources-owned Endeavor silver, zinc and lead mine in Australia on Tuesday, forcing the temporary suspension of operations.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed grave concern about the worsening conflict in Sudan and called for the safe delivery of humanitarian aid on Monday, a UN spokesperson said.

Another United Nations staff member has been detained in Yemen, bringing the number of the world body's employees apprehended in recent days to six, a UN spokesperson said on Monday.

Cameroon's President Paul Biya, the world's oldest serving ruler, secured an eighth term in office on Monday, vote results showed, as the main opposition challenger who has also claimed victory reported gunfire near his home.

US President Donald Trump received a royal welcome on Monday in Japan, the latest leg of a five-day Asia trip which he hopes to cap with an agreement on a trade war truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that Washington does not view a strike that Israel said targeted a member of IJ group in Gaza as a violation of a US-backed ceasefire.

US President Donald Trump on Monday ruled out running for the vice presidency in the 2028 US election, an approach some of his supporters have floated to allow the Republican president to serve an additional term in office.

Two mountaineers have died in Nepal after separate expeditions to the Ama Dablam mountain in the Himalayas, hiking officials said on Monday.

India moved 50,000 people to relief camps on Monday as it began evacuations a day before Cyclone Montha, intensifying over the Bay of Bengal, is set to bring strong winds and heavy rains to its east coast, officials said.

Argentine President Javier Milei's party cruised to victory in midterm legislative elections as voters handed him a mandate to keep pushing through his radical overhaul of the economy despite widespread discontent with his deep austerity measures.

Afghanistan and Pakistan officials will meet in Istanbul on Monday for a third day of talks after failing to clinch a lasting peace, three sources familiar with the matter said, as US President Donald Trump repeated an offer to mediate.

Hurricane Melissa has developed into a Category 4 hurricane heading towards Jamaica and Cuba and is expected to bring catastrophic floods, landslides and storm surges to the region, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Sunday.

More than 8,000 flights were delayed across the US on Sunday as air traffic controller absences continued to disrupt travel and a federal government shutdown reached its 26th day.

NATO member Lithuania closed Vilnius Airport and Belarus border crossings on Sunday after several objects, identified as likely helium balloons, entered its airspace, the National Crisis Management Centre said, the fourth such incident this week.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel would determine which foreign forces it would allow as part of a planned international force in Gaza to help secure a fragile ceasefire under US President Donald Trump's plan.

Two suspects in the brazen daylight heist of some of France's crown jewels from the Louvre were arrested in Paris on Saturday evening and are being questioned, Le Parisien newspaper reported on Sunday, citing sources close to the investigation.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for new strong sanctions against Russia and its allies after Russian drones killed three and injured 31, including six children, in an overnight air attack on Kyiv.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said on Sunday it was withdrawing from Turkey as part of a disarmament process it is coordinating with the government, and pressed Ankara for concrete measures to move the process along.

Israeli forces carried out a "targeted strike" on an individual in central Gaza who was planning to attack Israeli troops, Israel's military said on Saturday.

The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia signed an enhanced ceasefire deal on Sunday in the presence of US President Donald Trump, who intervened in July to bring an end to their deadly five-day border conflict.

Thailand's Queen Mother Sirikit, who brought glamour and elegance to a postwar revival in the country's monarchy and in later years, would occasionally wade into politics, has passed away at the age of 93, the Thai Royal Household Bureau said on Saturday.

The Louvre has transferred some of its most precious jewels to the Bank of France, according to French radio RTL, after an audacious daylight heist last week exposed the famed museum's security vulnerability.

Two people were killed and 13 others injured in Kyiv after Russian missiles and drones hit sites in Ukraine overnight, including infrastructure and energy sites, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.

Thailand's prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul will travel to Malaysia on Saturday to sign a ceasefire deal with Cambodia and meet with US President Donald Trump, but will cut short his attendance at the ASEAN Summit there due to the death of the Thai Queen Mother Sirikit.

Britain's medicines regulator said on Friday it had made the world's largest seizure of unlicensed weight-loss medicines, dismantling a factory that made jabs labelled as containing the ingredient in Eli Lilly's Mounjaro.

US President Donald Trump will test his deal-making capabilities on a trip to Asia, a region battered by his hardball trade policies, while doubts hang over his highly anticipated meeting with China's Xi Jinping.

The ringleader of an arson attack on Ukraine-linked businesses in London last year was on Friday jailed for 17 years for what prosecutors described as "a sustained campaign of terrorism and sabotage on UK soil".

Britain on Friday urged fellow allies of Ukraine to reach a deal to use frozen Russian assets to strengthen its hand for any future peace talks, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in London for talks with those allies.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the United States and others must do more to push Israel to stop violating the Gaza ceasefire agreement, including the possible use of sanctions or halting arms sales.

European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to meet Ukraine's "pressing financial needs" for the next two years but stopped short of endorsing a plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund a giant loan to Kyiv due to concerns raised by Belgium.

With many Washington tourist spots closed due to the US government shutdown, some visitors instead are checking out an unexpected and divisive new attraction in the nation's capital: President Donald Trump's surprise demolition of the White House's East Wing.

Police arrested a man who pointed a knife at them in front of the US embassy in Tokyo on Friday, local media reported, as Japan ramped up security ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit in three days' time.

A fire sparked by a fuel leak following the collision of a private bus and a motorcycle on the route between India's southern tech cities of Bengaluru and Hyderabad killed at least 20 people on Friday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that moves by Israel's parliament toward the annexation of the West Bank could threaten President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza, which has yielded a shaky ceasefire so far.

Nearly 700 foreigners have fled Myanmar and crossed into Thailand, the Thai army said on Thursday, following a military operation against the Chinese-backed KK Park, a notorious cybercrime compound.

The United States hit Russia's major oil companies with sanctions on Wednesday and accused the Russians of a lack of commitment toward ending the war in Ukraine, as Moscow conducted a major training exercise involving nuclear arms.

European leaders aim to put on a show of support for Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Brussels on Thursday after a rollercoaster few days that saw US President Donald Trump announce and then back away from plans to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate virtually in the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, ruling out a possible meeting with US President Donald Trump and indicating New Delhi and Washington may not be close to sealing a trade deal.

Tens of thousands of Viktor Orban supporters marched in Budapest on Thursday to show support for the nationalist premier on a key Hungarian anniversary, as he faces the most acute threat to his 15-year rule from a pro-EU opposition party ahead of 2026 elections.

The Louvre's cameras failed to detect burglars in time to prevent their audacious daylight heist of some of France's crown jewels, the museum's director said on Wednesday, amid growing anger directed at officials over major security lapses.

The United Nations' top legal body, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), on Wednesday gave an advisory opinion saying that Israel is under the obligation to ensure the basic needs of the civilian population in Gaza are met.

Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine killed six people, including two children, and forced power outages nationwide, officials said on Wednesday, as plans for a summit of Russian and US leaders were shelved after Moscow rejected a ceasefire.

The Louvre in Paris reopened on Wednesday, three days after thieves made off with historic jewellery worth an estimated 88 million euros ($102 million) in a spectacular heist that has raised urgent questions over security lapses at the museum.

More than 100,000 New Zealand teachers, nurses, doctors, firefighters and support staff walked off the job on Thursday demanding more money and resources for the public sector in a sign of growing discontent with the country's centre-right government.

Russia said on Wednesday that it was still preparing for a potential summit between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, though no date had been set and that Putin - like Trump - did not want to waste his time.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he had communicated to Hamas that the group must disarm or it will be forced to.

A road accident involving two buses on one of Uganda's busiest highways killed at least 63 people and left others injured, police said on Wednesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to discuss a possible export deal at Swedish defence industry group Saab on Wednesday, said Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who will join him at the factory.

Wild, hot winds swept across Australia and New Zealand on Wednesday, fuelling wildfires and sending spring temperatures soaring past 40 degrees Celsius in parts of Sydney.

North Korea fired what appeared to be multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, a week ahead of a key Asia-Pacific leaders' meeting in South Korea.

The United States increased pressure on Hamas on Tuesday to disarm in the next phase of an already fragile Gaza ceasefire as President Donald Trump pushed to cement an end to the devastating conflict.

US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Israel on Tuesday, as Washington tries to stabilise the first, shaky, phase of the Gaza ceasefire and push Israel and Hamas towards the harder concessions asked of each side in coming talks.

The UN World Food Programme said on Tuesday that supplies into Gaza were ramping up after the US-brokered ceasefire but were still far short of its daily target of 2,000 tonnes because only two crossings are open, and none to the famine-hit north of the enclave.

Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi was elected Japan's first female prime minister on Tuesday, shattering the nation's glass ceiling and setting it up for a forceful turn to the right.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived at La Sante prison in Paris on Tuesday to start a five-year sentence for conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya, in a stunning downfall for a man who led the country between 2007 and 2012.

Fifteen UN staff have been imprisoned in their own compound in the Yemen’s capital Sanaa since an incursion by the Houthi authorities on Saturday.

Air quality in India's capital New Delhi deteriorated to hazardous levels on Tuesday with readings the highest in the world, according to Swiss group IQAir, partly due to the use of firecrackers during Diwali, the festival of lights.

US envoys met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday aiming to corral Israel and Hamas to get the Gaza ceasefire plan back on track after an explosion of violence over the weekend that threatened to derail the week-old truce.

France will review the protection of cultural sites across the country and beef up security if needed, officials said on Monday as a manhunt was under way for the four people who staged an audacious daylight robbery at the Louvre museum.

Iraq has banned US user-generated videogame platform Roblox due to concerns over child abuse, the government said, joining other countries in cracking down on virtual worlds.

Two Hong Kong airport security staff were killed early on Monday after a cargo plane skidded off the runway on landing, collided with their security patrol vehicle and pushed it into the sea, the city's airport operator said.

The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Monday welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Indonesian students protested in Jakarta on Monday as President Prabowo Subianto completed a year in office, two months after violent demonstrations nationwide, with one expert faulting the government on grounds of openness and public participation.

Ukraine is preparing a contract to buy 25 Patriot air defence systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, in what would be a huge boost to Kyiv's abilities to defend against Russia's aerial bombardments.

Centrist Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia's presidential runoff on Sunday, defeating conservative rival Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, as the country's worst economic crisis in a generation helped propel the end of nearly two decades of leftist rule.

The Israeli military said on Sunday a ceasefire in Gaza had resumed after an attack killed two of its soldiers and prompted a wave of airstrikes that Palestinians said killed 26 people.

The Israeli military launched an attack on Gaza on Sunday, media reported, dimming hopes that a week-old US-mediated ceasefire would lead to lasting peace in the enclave as Israel traded blame with Hamas.

Thieves in balaclavas broke into Paris' Louvre museum on Sunday, using a crane to smash an upstairs window, then stealing priceless objects from an area that houses the French crown jewels before escaping on motorbikes, officials said.

Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to an immediate ceasefire during talks in Doha, both sides said on Sunday, after a week of fierce border clashes, the worst violence between the South Asian neighbours since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.

Egypt will host an international conference in November to outline the cost and time involved in rebuilding what was destroyed by the war in Gaza.

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice as the two sides continued to trade blame over ceasefire violations.

Flights have resumed at Bangladesh's main airport in Dhaka, airport officials said, six hours after a fire in the cargo section delayed flights and halted operations on Saturday.

Flights out of Bangladesh's main airport were delayed or diverted on Saturday after a major fire broke out in the cargo terminal, officials said.

Afghanistan and Pakistan will hold peace talks in Doha on Saturday, both sides said, after the South Asia neighbours extended a ceasefire following a week of fierce border clashes.

Britain's Prince Andrew said on Friday he would give up using his title of Duke of York following years of criticism about his behaviour and connections to the late US convicted financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Chen Ning Yang, one of the world's most renowned physicists and a Nobel Prize winner, died at 103 of illness in Beijing on October 18, state news outlet Xinhua said on Saturday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to the White House on Friday looking for weapons to keep fighting his country's war with Russia, but met an American president who appears more intent on brokering a peace deal than upgrading Ukraine's arsenal.

The Trump administration will freeze a further $11 billion worth of infrastructure projects in Democratic states due to the ongoing government shutdown, White House budget director Russell Vought said on Friday.

Dozens of mourners were injured on Saturday at a memorial service for Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga as crowds swelled, with some in critical condition taken to a nearby hospital following the death of two people and 160 injured on Friday.

Bangladesh's ambitious 'July Charter' for state reform, drafted after last year's deadly student-led uprising, was backed by the majority of political parties on Friday, but a signing ceremony was marred by street violence and boycotted by a key group.

US President Donald Trump will discuss the possible supply of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday but the surprise announcement of a new US-Russian summit cast doubt over the prospect.

The UN World Food Programme said on Friday it has brought about 560 tonnes of food per day on average into Gaza since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect, but that still fell short of the scale of need in the enclave.

Madagascar's coup leader Colonel Michael Randrianirina was sworn in as president on Friday to cheers, blaring trumpets and raised swords, days after taking control of the island nation in the wake of youth-led protests that forced out his predecessor.

India has refused the request from pharmaceutical companies  to extend a year-end deadline to upgrade manufacturing facilities, four sources said, amid public anger over the deaths of 24 children who consumed locally-produced cough syrup.

At least one person was killed and dozens of police officers injured in widespread protests overnight in Peru against President Jose Jeri, who assumed power just days ago, the state ombudsman's office said on Thursday.

Venezuela has asked the United Nations Security Council to determine that deadly US strikes on vessels off its coast are illegal and issue a statement backing Venezuela's sovereignty, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday.

Labour unions filed a lawsuit against the US government on Thursday, alleging that the Trump administration violated the First Amendment rights of people who are legally in the country by searching their social media for specific viewpoints, including criticism of Israel.

Israel said on Thursday it was preparing for the reopening of Gaza's Rafah crossing with Egypt to let Palestinians in and out, but set no date as it traded blame with Hamas over violations of a US-mediated ceasefire.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that Islamabad was ready to hold talks with Afghanistan to resolve their conflict, as a temporary ceasefire that halted days of fierce fighting between the former allies largely held.

Kenyan security forces fired in the air and lobbed tear gas to disperse thousands of mourners on Thursday at a stadium where deceased opposition leader Raila Odinga's body was on view.

Russia launched a barrage of more than 300 drones and 37 missiles to target infrastructure across Ukraine in overnight attacks on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived the first of two no-confidence votes in parliament on Thursday, after winning crucial backing from the Socialist Party thanks to his pledge to suspend President Emmanuel Macron’s contested pension reform.

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that he authorised the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, marking a sharp escalation in US efforts to pressure President Nicolas Maduro's government.

Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a 'temporary ceasefire' on Wednesday, Islamabad said, after an airstrike and ground fighting sent tensions between the South Asian neighbours soaring, killing more than a dozen civilians.

US President Donald Trump signed an order on Wednesday directing the Pentagon to ensure military personnel are paid despite the federal government shutdown, the White House said.

The detonation of explosive devices on two bridges in Ecuador early on Wednesday was retaliation for a major military operation against illegal miners, the country's interior minister said.

Five days after historic floods that killed at least 66 people and affected 100,000 homes, Mexico is still scrambling to get help to the worst-hit communities and locate 75 missing people amid criticism of the government’s handling of the crisis.

Aid trucks rolled into the Gaza border on Wednesday awaiting entry as Israel resumed preparations to open the main Rafah crossing, with an official announcing that 600 aid trucks would be allowed inside after Hamas handed over more bodies of dead hostages.

Fresh fighting broke out on Wednesday along the volatile Pakistan-Afghanistan border, killing more than a dozen civilians and troops to shatter a fragile peace after weekend clashes that killed dozens.

Toxic gas and a locked door that barred access to a roof were responsible for most of the deaths in a devastating fire in a Bangladesh garment factory and an adjoining chemical warehouse, a fire official said on Wednesday.

Kenya's veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, who was imprisoned while fighting one-party autocracy and ran five times unsuccessfully for the presidency, has died at the age of 80, sources close to him said on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on Wednesday with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who on a working visit to Moscow, the Kremlin said.

A vehicle exploded outside a shopping mall in Ecuador's largest city, Guayaquil, killing one person and injuring several others, the country's prosecutor's office said on Tuesday.

Israel restricted aid into Gaza and kept the enclave's border shut on Tuesday while re-emergent Hamas fighters demonstrated their grip by executing men in the street, darkening the outlook for US President Donald Trump's plan to end the war.

An explosion at a farmhouse in northern Italy during a police raid killed three Carabinieri officers and injured 12 others, Italy's fire service said on X on Tuesday.

A fire broke out at a garment factory in Bangladesh and a chemical warehouse adjacent to it on Tuesday, killing at least 16 people and wounding one, with the death toll expected to rise as rescue efforts continued, officials said.

Israel's military said it opened fire on Tuesday to remove a threat posed by suspects who approached its forces in the northern Gaza Strip, and health authorities in the enclave said at least six Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire.

An army commander who led a mutiny in Madagascar said on Tuesday the military had taken power after President Andry Rajoelina was impeached by lawmakers and forced to flee the country following weeks of youth-led protests.

The Arab Parliament has welcomed the signing of the Gaza Ceasefire Agreement at the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit, calling it a historic step towards ending the two-year war and bringing peace to the region.

Greek ships remained in port and train services were halted as workers walked off the job on Tuesday to protest against planned labour reforms that include the extension of working hours in the private sector.

Around 6,000 students in Malaysia have been infected with influenza and some schools have been closed for the safety of children and staff, an education ministry official said.

At least 14 people were killed after a gold mine collapsed in El Callao municipality in southern Venezuela following heavy rains in the area, emergency officials said on Monday.

Mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey signed on Monday with US President Donald Trump a document on the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza on Monday under a ceasefire deal and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees, as US President Donald Trump told Israel's parliament that peace had arrived in the Holy Land.

Two trains collided in eastern Slovakia on Monday, derailing an engine and a carriage and injuring at least 66 people, emergency medical services and police said.

Hamas forces have killed 32 members of "a gang" in Gaza City in a security campaign launched after a ceasefire came into effect on Friday, while six of its personnel were also killed in the violence, a Palestinian security source said on Monday.

Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt won the 2025 Nobel economics prize for their work on how innovation and the forces of "creative destruction" can drive economic growth, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on Monday.

US President Donald Trump will say in a speech before Israel’s parliament that countries working together toward peace under the Gaza agreement represents an "incredible triumph for Israel and the world".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend Monday's summit on ending the Gaza war in Egypt, his office said, after Cairo had earlier announced he would take part.

Pakistani troops were on high alert on the country's border with Afghanistan on Monday after fierce weekend fighting between the two sides left dozens dead and drew the attention of US President Donald Trump, who said he could help end the conflict.

India's financial crime-fighting agency is searching seven sites on suspicion of money-laundering by Sresan Pharma, the cough syrup maker linked to the deaths of several children over the last month, a source told Reuters on Monday.

At least 42 people were killed in a bus crash in a mountainous region of northern South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement on Monday.

Alphabet-owned Google on Monday said it would be "extremely difficult" for Australia to enforce a law prohibiting people younger than 16 from using social media, warning that the government's initiative would not make children safer online.

At least 44 people were killed in Mexico after days of heavy rains and flooding, the government said on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump will address Israel's parliament on Monday as a fragile Gaza ceasefire he helped to broker enters a fourth day before heading to Egypt for the 'peace summit'.

Dozens of fighters were killed in overnight border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, both sides said on Sunday, in the most serious fighting between the neighbours since the Taliban came to power in Kabul.

European Union member countries began rolling out a new entry and exit system on Sunday at the bloc’s external borders, electronically registering non-EU nationals' data.

Egypt has announced that a peace summit will take place this Monday in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh.

Thousands of Palestinians streamed north along the coast of Gaza on Saturday, trekking by foot, car and cart back to their abandoned homes as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appeared to be holding.

The UN children's charity UNICEF has called for all crossings for food aid into war-shattered Gaza to be opened, saying children in the territory were especially vulnerable because they have gone without proper food for long periods.

President Donald Trump has blamed Democrats for his decision to lay off thousands of workers across the US government as he followed through on his threat to cut the federal workforce during the government shutdown.

Heavy rainfall in Mexico has left at least 27 people dead and more missing, authorities said on Friday, as downpours triggered several landslides, cut off power in some municipalities and caused rivers to burst their banks.

Multiple people are dead and several others are unaccounted for after a blast in Tennessee at a military explosives company, US media outlets reported on Friday, citing local officials.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for fighting dictatorship in the country and dedicated the award in part to US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly insisted he deserved it.

Israeli troops began pulling back from some parts of Gaza on Friday under a ceasefire deal with Hamas, and some residents returned to shattered neighbourhoods amid confusion over when hostilities will be suspended after two years of warfare.

Two powerful offshore earthquakes struck off the southern Philippines on Friday, killing at least seven people, while towns near the epicentre suffered structural damage and authorities warned of strong aftershocks.

The White House on Friday criticised the Nobel Prize committee's decision to award the peace prize to a Venezuelan opposition leader instead of US President Donald Trump.

Large parts of Kyiv were plunged into darkness in the early hours of Friday after Russian drones and missiles struck Ukrainian energy facilities, cutting power and water to homes and halting a key metro link across the Dnipro river.

India on Friday upgraded ties with Afghanistan's Taliban administration, giving a boost to the diplomatically isolated group, by announcing it would reopen its embassy in Kabul that was shut after the Taliban seized power in 2021.

The United States will deploy up to 200 troops to Israel to establish a task force to support stabilization efforts in Gaza, but no Americans are expected to be deployed into the Palestinian enclave, officials said on Thursday.

The United States' closest European and Arab partners met in Paris on Thursday to work out how to shape Gaza's post-war future, hours after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire and prisoner-hostage swap proposed by US President Donald Trump.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the Gaza hostages should be released on Monday or Tuesday and that he hopes to attend a signing ceremony in Egypt.

Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature, the award-giving body said on Thursday, "for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art".

The foreign minister of European Union member state Malta said on Thursday that he had nominated US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Israelis and Palestinians rejoiced on Thursday after a ceasefire and hostage deal was announced under the first phase of US President Donald Trump's initiative to end the war in Gaza.

Palestinians and the families of Israeli hostages broke into wild celebrations on Thursday after news of a pact between Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza.

Indian police have arrested the owner of Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, the cough syrup company linked to the deaths of at least 17 children in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

French President Emmanuel Macron will appoint a new prime minister in the next 48 hours, his office said on Wednesday, adding that a majority of lawmakers were against holding a snap parliamentary election amid France's worst crisis in decades.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has officially inaugurated the Navi Mumbai International Airport — a state-of-the-art greenfield airport.

Scientists Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi won the 2025 Nobel chemistry prize for developing a new form of molecular architecture, yielding materials that can help tackle challenges such as climate change and lack of fresh water.

Some Indian pharmaceutical firms failed to follow rules that every batch of medicinal ingredients is tested, the country's drug regulator said on Wednesday, after deaths in the past month of 17 children linked to toxic cough syrups.

Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, will be boarding Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity and blasting off to space on Sunday.

Singapore is reviewing penalties for violent offences following an outcry over a 12-day prison sentence for a student who strangled his girlfriend until she blacked out.