WORLD

Hours of heavy rain caused large volcanic rocks to roll down one of Indonesia's most active volcanos into two districts on Sumatra island Saturday evening, while flooding inundated roads, homes and mosques.

No damage or casualties were immediately reported but images showed a column of ash soaring into the sky on Halmahera island in North Maluku province.

Since winning office last year, President Mohamed Muizzu has reoriented the atoll nation -- known for its upmarket beach resorts and celebrity vacationers -- away from traditional benefactor India and towards Beijing.

Clashes also raged in northern and central areas of the besieged Gaza Strip, AFP correspondents and witnesses said, as Israel prepared to mark a somber Independence Day, beginning Monday night, more than seven months into the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack.

Since the Taliban returned to power, Afghan women have been barred from going on long trips, travelling by plane or entering government buildings unless they are accompanied by a man.

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi and struggling US rival Novavax announced Friday an alliance to sell a Covid vaccine and develop another that combines with a flu shot.

India's top court on Friday ordered a jailed opponent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be released on bail, allowing him to campaign in an ongoing national election.

Britain has emerged from a short-lived recession with better-than-expected growth in the first quarter, official data showed Friday, boosting embattled Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before this year's general election.

Israel launched fresh strikes in the Gaza Strip Friday after negotiators pursuing a long-stalled truce agreement left talks in Cairo without having secured a deal.

Panama will deport US-bound migrants who enter the country through the notoriously dangerous stretch of jungle known as the Darien Gap, president-elect Jose Raul Mulino said Thursday.

Using virtual reality headsets, students at a Hong Kong university travel to a pavilion above the clouds to watch an AI-generated Albert Einstein explain game theory.

After a US veto foiled the Palestinians' drive for full UN membership, the General Assembly is expected on Friday to grant them some additional rights in the global body -- a symbolic win that has already irked Israel.

Donald Trump's defense attorney and Stormy Daniels went head to head on Thursday during cross-examination of the porn star's blistering testimony, the line of questioning occasionally meandering into the bizarre and even earning a critique afterward from the judge.

It could be a loyal lieutenant, an ex-rival or perhaps a political newcomer, but one thing is certain: all eyes are on White House hopeful Donald Trump as he considers potential running mates.

Donald Trump's youngest son, who is still at high school and largely shielded from the public eye, will debut on the political stage in July as a delegate at the Republican Party convention.

The Olympic torch relay began in Marseille on Thursday with football legend Basile Boli taking the flame in front of the iconic basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde, a day after it made a spectacular entrance by sea.

Tourists have a few more days to snap Mount Fuji at a popular vantage point after Japanese authorities said Thursday that the construction of a barrier has been delayed.

Smoke rose from strikes on Gaza's crowded southern city of Rafah Thursday after US President Joe Biden vowed to cut off artillery shells and other weapons supplied to Israel if a full-scale offensive into the city goes ahead.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held a rare press conference Thursday, admitting "shortcomings" after his party's recent electoral defeat, and laying out policies on issues from the country's low birthrate to Russia's war in Ukraine.

Canada offered hope for thousands of undocumented migrants with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promising a major regularization program.

Latin America and the Caribbean had their warmest year on record in 2023 as a "double-whammy" of El Nino and climate change caused major weather calamities, the World Meteorological Organization said Wednesday.

North Macedonia appeared to be on a collision course with its EU neighbours Greece and Bulgaria, as the nationalist opposition swept parliamentary and presidential elections on Wednesday.

Former Fiji prime minister Frank Bainimarama was sentenced Thursday to one year in prison for perverting the course of justice, with a judge finding he used his political clout to shut down a police investigation.

Ukraine on Wednesday warned of possible power shutdowns across the country after a "massive" wave of Russian missiles and drones targeted the battered Ukrainian energy system.

Israel bombarded the overcrowded Gaza city of Rafah, where it has launched a ground incursion, as talks resumed Wednesday in Cairo aimed at agreeing the terms of a truce in the seven-month war.

The United States paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over fears it would invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, an official said Tuesday, marking the first time in the conflict that President Joe Biden has squeezed military aid to the key US ally.

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic reaffirmed his strong support for China's sovereignty over Taiwan Wednesday as he gave a lavish welcome to President Xi Jinping, who is seeking to deepen political and economic ties with friendlier countries in Europe.

Washington is redoubling efforts to disrupt irregular migration, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday at regional talks in Guatemala, as the hot-button issue looms large once again over US elections in November.

Protests by students demanding universities sever ties with Israel over the Gaza war spread across western Europe on Tuesday, sparking clashes and dozens of fresh arrests.