WORLD

NATO leaders gather Tuesday in Washington for a summit aimed at showing resolve against Russia and support for Ukraine -- but the meeting is set to be overshadowed by US President Joe Biden's fight for political survival.

Russia launched dozens of missiles at cities across Ukraine on Monday in an attack that killed at least 20 people people and smashed into a children's hospital in Kyiv, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was due to arrive in Russia on Monday, as the Indian leader treaded a fine line between maintaining a longstanding relationship with Moscow and courting closer Western security ties.

Hurricane Beryl made landfall Monday in the southern US state of Texas, where some residents were evacuated over warnings of flooding and power outages.

Boeing said Monday it had reached a deal with the US Department of Justice over two fatal 737 MAX crashes, which court papers show would see the aviation giant plead guilty to fraud.

When NATO leaders welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to their summit in Washington this week, they will reaffirm that Kyiv will one day become a member and vow to keep arming its troops.

US President Joe Biden faces a critical week Monday that will test his standing at home and abroad, as moves to force him to quit his fight for a second White House term gather pace.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday that world powers should help Russia and Ukraine re-start direct negotiations during a visit to Beijing branded a "peace mission" by the European leader.

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike won a landslide victory to secure a third term, official election results showed Monday, in a rare triumph for a woman in Japan's male-dominated politics.

France on Monday was faced with a difficult battle to form a new government after parliamentary elections, called by President Emmanuel Macron to reshape the political landscape, failed to open a clear path towards a majority.

Israeli protesters marched through Tel Aviv and Jerusalem chanting "we will not give up" on Sunday, the second consecutive day of stepped-up pressure for a deal to free hostages in Gaza.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Moscow Friday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, on a trip the EU said threatened to undermine the bloc's stance on the Ukraine war.

Catania airport on the Italian island of Sicily was closed on Friday after Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe, erupted and spewed ash into the sky, disrupting air travel.

Israel's spy chief was expected in Qatar on Friday for the latest effort to free hostages held by Hamas Palestinian militants in Gaza, almost nine months into the Israel-Hamas war.

Gatherings have been banned this weekend in the restive French Pacific territory of New Caledonia during the second round of France's parliamentary polls.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's wife arrived at a Madrid court to testify before a judge Friday as part of a preliminary corruption probe into her business ties, but the hearing was quickly suspended with a new date set for July 19.

Refugees and migrants face extreme violence, abuse and exploitation on land routes crossing Africa to get to the Mediterranean, with far more believed to be dying there than at sea, a UN-backed report said Friday.

Liz Truss, Britain's shortest-serving prime minister, suffered further political ignominy Friday when she sensationally lost her seat in parliament at the British general election.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday makes his first visit to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, walking a fine line between maintaining a longstanding Moscow alliance while courting closer Western security ties.

US President Joe Biden is hoping a televised interview on Friday will steady his imperiled reelection bid -- but a repeat of his disastrous debate performance could be his downfall.

A record number of Cabinet ministers lost their seats on Friday in Britain's general election, leaving only a couple of obvious contenders for the party leadership if Rishi Sunak resigns.

The London stock market advanced Friday after Britain's centre-left Labour Party clinched an expected landslide election victory to end 14 years of right-wing Conservative rule.

Iranians voted on Friday in a presidential runoff election where the choice is between a reformist advocating improved ties with the West and an ultraconservative former nuclear negotiator.

Britain's new prime minister Keir Starmer is an ex-human rights lawyer and public prosecutor who will have to focus his relentless work ethic and methodical mind on fixing the country.

The World Meteorological Organization, which is tracking Hurricane Beryl's deadly course through the Caribbean, told AFP that more storms with its hallmarks could be expected in the future.

While Americans were celebrating the July 4 holiday with fireworks and feasts, President Joe Biden on Thursday continued to face explosive fallout from his debate against Donald Trump that has left many Democrats hungry for a replacement.

Lebanon's Hezbollah said it launched more than 200 rockets and explosive drones at Israeli military positions on Thursday as tensions have soared amid the almost nine-months-old war raging in Gaza.

The European Union on Thursday slapped extra provisional duties of up to 38 percent on Chinese electric car imports because of "unfair" state subsidies, despite Beijing's warnings the move would unleash a trade war.

Torrential rains and surging rivers across northeast India and neighbouring Bangladesh have killed at least nine people, disaster officials said Thursday, with more than three million people affected.