POLITICS

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led hundreds of Israelis into the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem Tuesday and performed prayers marking a Jewish holiday, sources said.

Iran on Tuesday rejected Western calls to stand down its threat to retaliate against Israel for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran late last month.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro called Monday for the state to use an "iron fist" after deadly protests in response to his July reelection, which has been dismissed at home and abroad as a sham.

The leaders of Tanzania's main opposition party Chadema have been released on bail, a party spokesman said on Tuesday, after they were detained in a mass roundup ahead of a youth day rally.

Venezuela's opposition called Sunday for worldwide protests on August 17 to show support for its claimed victory in last month's election over President Nicolas Maduro, who was declared the winner.

Tanzanian police have detained leading opposition figures including Chadema party leader Freeman Mbowe and his deputy Tundu Lissu and rounded up several hundred youth supporters on the eve of a planned rally, a move condemned by rights activists on Monday as "troubling".

Pacific nation Kiribati will begin voting in a general election this week, a poll that will test the strengthening ties between China and the government of the climate-threatened archipelago.

US President Joe Biden, in his first TV interview since withdrawing from the election, has said he acted under pressure from fellow Democrats and out of a determination to see Donald Trump beaten.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on Sunday condemned what he called "illegal and reckless" actions by China's air force last week against a Filipino military plane patrolling over a disputed South China Sea reef.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and his newly named interim government set out Friday to restore "law and order" after a student-led uprising and deadly mass protests forced predecessor Sheikh Hasina into exile.

The US ambassador to Japan skipped a ceremony on Friday marking the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in protest at Israel not being invited.

India's foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar leaves Friday on his first trip to the neighbouring Maldives since Male expelled dozens of Indian soldiers and shifted to become closer to China.

Kamala Harris does not support an arms embargo on US ally Israel, a top aide said Thursday, in one of the first substantive statements on her Gaza war policy since her July entry to the 2024 White House race.

Donald Trump on Thursday voiced frustration at the independence of the Federal Reserve and suggested that the US president should have "at least a say" over the course of monetary policy.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro suspended access to the social media site X on Thursday, as he faced renewed pressure from a trio of friendly Latin American nations to release data proving his claimed reelection was valid.

Donald Trump proposed three September debates against Kamala Harris Thursday as he sought to wrest back some of the attention lavished on his rival since her blockbuster entry into the US presidential election.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview published Thursday that he was "sorry" that Hamas was able to carry out its October 7 attack, without explicitly taking responsibility.

A top Spanish judge demanded explanations on Friday from police and government as to how fugitive Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont was able to return to Spain despite a pending arrest warrant and vanish again.

Carles Puigdemont, the former leader of Catalonia who fled Spain over his role in a failed 2017 independence bid for the wealthy region, returned to Spain on Thursday after seven years on the run despite a pending arrest warrant but promptly disappeared again.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus hailed Bangladesh's "second independence" as he returned Thursday to lead his country back to democracy after a student-led uprising ended the 15-year rule of Sheikh Hasina.

US President Joe Biden warned that he was "not confident at all" of a peaceful handover of power to Kamala Harris if Donald Trump loses November's election, in an extract of a CBS interview broadcast Wednesday.

Tunisian President Kais Saied sacked his prime minister Ahmed Hachani without explanation on Wednesday and replaced him with social affairs minister Kamel Madouri, according to a statement from his office.

Standing on a balcony of the presidential palace, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro bellowed to a crowd of supporters: "Let's get them!"

"Say no to WhatsApp!" "WhatsApp is being used to threaten Venezuela and so I'm going to delete my WhatsApp from my phone forever."

Kamala Harris made her debut Tuesday with new White House running mate Tim Walz, who unleashed a stinging rebuke of their Republican rival Donald Trump, questioning his commitment to the country and skewering his record in office.

Bangladesh's Nobel-winning microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus will lead an interim government after mass protests forced longtime prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee, the presidency announced Wednesday.

The UK government said on Tuesday that 6,000 specialist police officers were ready to deal with far-right rioting that broke out following the murder of three children, triggering a week of violence.

A Polish man accused of punching Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told a Copenhagen court on Tuesday he doesn't recall hitting her because he was under the influence of alcohol.

Student leaders in Bangladesh demanded on Tuesday that Nobel winner Muhammad Yunus lead a caretaker government, a day after the military took control as mass demonstrations forced longtime ruler Sheikh Hasina to flee the country.