POLITICS

You might argue it's a cruel joke no matter what side of American politics you fall on: Donald Trump sent a message to supporters Monday that appeared to announce he was suspending his reelection campaign, but it turned out to be an April Fools' fundraising bid.

Peru's prosecutor's office on Sunday ordered President Dina Boluarte to present any Rolex watches in her possession, after a raid on her home and office as part of a corruption probe.

South Africa's electoral officials said Thursday that they had excluded former president Jacob Zuma from May elections, further stoking tensions in the run-up to the polls.

President Ferdinand Marcos said Thursday the Philippines will not be "cowed into silence" by Beijing after confrontations in the South China Sea that injured Filipino troops and damaged vessels.

Venezuela's main opposition coalition said Tuesday it had managed to register a proxy candidate to face off against President Nicolas Maduro in the country's July elections -- but not the one it wanted.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister said Monday that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has requested a summit with her brother, adding a meeting was unlikely without a policy shift by Tokyo.

Simon Harris, who is set to become Ireland's youngest ever prime minister after being appointed party leader on Sunday, will be hoping his social media skills and fresh face can save his party's flagging fortunes as elections loom.

Venezuela on Thursday faced a rising tide of international criticism over its arrest of two top aides to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, a rival to President Nicolas Maduro.

Donald Trump is up against a fast-approaching deadline to secure a half-billion dollar bond as he appeals his financial fraud case, facing possible bankruptcy or the seizure of his assets if he fails.

Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont is to unveil Thursday his plans for Catalonia's snap May election, a move that could bring forward his return home after years of self-imposed exile.

The United Kingdom and Australia inked a new defense agreement in Canberra on Thursday, as they try to boost a fledgling nuclear-powered submarine program with the United States.

US President Joe Biden unveiled almost $20 billion in grants and loans Wednesday for Intel's domestic chip-making plants -- his administration's biggest investment yet in the sector as he takes on China's chip dominance and sells his economic achievements over election rival Donald Trump.

Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto has been elected president of the world's third-biggest democracy, the elections commission said Wednesday, beating two rivals who have vowed to file legal complaints about the vote.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to return Wednesday to the Middle East in a new bid to secure a truce in the Israel-Hamas war.

China and Australia claimed to have stabilised long-strained relations after talks in Canberra on Wednesday, despite tensions over a high-profile prisoner, trade and China's crackdowns in Hong Kong and elsewhere remaining evident.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a successful test of a solid-fuel engine for a "new-type intermediate-range hypersonic missile", Pyongyang's state media said Wednesday.

US President Joe Biden accused election rival Donald Trump of despising Latinos as the incumbent visited the battleground states of Nevada and Arizona on Tuesday, seeking to shore up support from the crucial demographic himself.

Argentina's President Javier Milei has slashed public spending but 100 days into his presidency social tensions are simmering and he is still battling to pass his flagship economic reforms.

Donald Trump faced having assets seized in a humiliating blow to his carefully cultivated image as a self-made tycoon as his lawyers acknowledged Monday he doesn't have the cash to appeal a $464 million fine for fraudulently inflating his wealth.

Friends and allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin were quick to congratulate him on his election win but Western leaders denounced what they called an illegal election.

Russia's election commission on Monday hailed what it said were "record" results for President Vladimir Putin, guaranteeing the former spy a fifth term in office after a vote that featured no credible opposition.

Fighting disinformation including AI-enabled content is a "vital" national security interest and diplomatic priority for the United States, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday at a democracy summit in Seoul.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a rare visit to New Zealand on Monday, stressing the need to work with "friends" in the face of the "tumultuous international situation".

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said Thursday that his country has stored more than $400 million in bitcoin in an offline "cold wallet" as the cryptocurrency forges new record highs.

The US ambassador to China said Friday that Beijing's position on a potential TikTok ban in the United States was "supremely ironic" given the ruling Communist Party's censorship of online platforms within its borders.

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday urged Russians to stay the course in the face of a "difficult period", hours before polls open in a vote set to extend his hardline rule.

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un drove a "new-type main battle tank" while overseeing military training exercises, state media said Thursday, as Seoul and Washington wrap joint drills to improve deterrence.

Eight months ahead of the US presidential election, the campaign moves from the parties' nominating contests to the trench warfare of what promises to be one of the longest, most brutal head-to-head showdowns in memory.

Romania's President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday announced his candidacy to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as chief of NATO, vowing -- as a leader of a country bordering the Ukraine war -- to bring "renewal of perspective" at a crucial time for the alliance.