WORLD

The Philippines and China agreed on Tuesday to "de-escalate tensions" over the South China Sea, Manila said, following a violent clash in the disputed waters last month.

Democrats shocked by Joe Biden's dismal debate performance urged the US president Tuesday to be transparent about his mental fitness as he faced the first call from his own side to drop out of the election.

The UN humanitarian coordinator for Gaza said Tuesday that 1.9 million people -- 80 percent of the territory's population -- were now displaced, adding she was "deeply concerned" by reports of new evacuation orders for Khan Yunis.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander swore in former spy chief Dick Schoof as new prime minister Tuesday, at the head of a right-wing coalition cabinet with a mission to implement the country's "strictest-ever" immigration policy.

Uber driver Hussein Khalil was battling traffic in Beirut when he found himself in the Gaza Strip -- according to his online map, anyway -- as location jamming blamed on Israel disrupts life in Lebanon.

Israeli forces carried out deadly strikes Tuesday on southern Gaza and battled militants after the army again ordered Palestinians to leave areas near the besieged territory's border with Israel and Egypt.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Ukraine on Tuesday for a surprise visit to the war-torn country by the EU and NATO's most vocal critic of Western support for Kyiv.

Raped by her husband on her wedding night aged 17, Divya described her repeated suffering -- an all-too-common account in India, permitted by a terrifying colonial-era legal loophole.

US President Joe Biden's son Hunter is suing right-wing Fox News for airing nude images of him in a miniseries that he claims amount to "revenge porn," court documents showed Monday.

Jose Raul Mulino was sworn in Monday as Panama's new president, with the right-leaning leader pledging to make his Central American country no longer a "transit" point for US-bound undocumented migrants.

The Brazilian Amazon recorded 13,489 wildfires in the first half of the year, the worst figure in 20 years, satellite data revealed Monday.

Taliban authorities were told women must be included in public life, UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo said on Monday as she defended a decision to sideline civil society groups at official talks in Doha.

Hurricane Beryl was Tuesday hurtling towards Jamaica as it strengthened into a record top-level Category 5 storm after sweeping across several islands in the southeastern Caribbean.

The US Supreme Court on Monday sidestepped a ruling on the constitutional validity of a pair of Republican-backed laws that imposed restrictions on social media content moderation, sending legal challenges backed by tech platforms to lower courts for review.

President Joe Biden warned Monday that the US Supreme Court's landmark ruling on presidential immunity sets a "dangerous precedent" that Donald Trump would exploit if elected in November.

Israeli forces struck southern Gaza's main city Monday after a rocket barrage claimed by militant group Islamic Jihad, and as shelling and fighting raged on across the besieged Palestinian territory.

Hungary takes over the EU's rotating presidency on Monday, promising to be an "honest broker" despite widespread concerns over what critics see as an authoritarian, Russia-friendly government.

Eight years after Britain voted for Brexit, businesses still lament economic fallout caused by the country's departure from the European Union, with little prospect of change after this week's election.

The US Supreme Court is expected to rule Monday on the most highly anticipated decision of its term -- a ruling "for the ages" on whether Donald Trump, as a former president, is immune from prosecution.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his allies were on Monday beginning a week of intense campaigning ahead of the second round of legislative elections to prevent the far right from taking an absolute majority and control of government in a historic first.

Ferocious storms and torrential rains that lashed France, Switzerland and Italy this weekend have left at least seven people dead, local authorities said on Sunday.

Passengers and crew of a British Airways flight who were taken hostage in Kuwait in 1990 have launched legal action against the UK government and the airline, a law firm said Monday.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his new government on Sunday with the former opposition parties getting 12 out of 32 portfolios after the ruling ANC lost its outright parliamentary majority.

Mount Fuji's summer climbing season began on Monday with new crowd control measures to combat overtourism on the Japanese volcano's most popular trail.

Democratic leaders rallied Sunday behind US President Joe Biden following his poor debate performance last week, as the White House denied a report he was meeting with family to assess his candidacy.

Hurricane Beryl plowed toward the southeast Caribbean early Monday as officials warned residents to seek shelter ahead of powerful winds and swells expected from the Category 3 storm.

A bombastic Trump lashed out at his successor, calling him a failure on the economy and the world stage. Biden looked to hit back, but his delivery was faltering as he spoke rapidly in a raspy, trailing-off voice, stumbled on his words and stared open-mouthed.

Russia warned the United States on Friday its reconnaissance drone flights over the Black Sea raised the risk of "direct confrontation" between Moscow and NATO, days after the Kremlin blamed Washington for a deadly missile strike on Crimea.

Iranians cast their ballots Friday in a presidential election marked by a lone reformist's bid to break through against a divided conservative field.