WORLD

G7 leaders were set to agree on a new $50-billion loan for Ukraine as they gathered Thursday for a summit in southern Italy, using the profits from frozen Russian assets.

Israeli helicopters struck Gaza's Rafah on Thursday, residents said, with Hamas militants reporting street battles in the southern city after top US diplomat Antony Blinken said a truce was still possible.

Staff at Kyiv's beloved puppet theatre had prepared for months to launch their latest premiere in early June.

Donald Trump returns to Washington on Thursday to rally support from Republican lawmakers and the business community following his historic criminal conviction in his New York hush money trial.

When US President Joe Biden meets world leaders at a lavish Italian resort this week he will be shadowed by an invisible and, for now, uninvited guest: Donald Trump.

The European Union threatened on Wednesday to hit Chinese electric car imports with additional tariffs of up to 38 percent from next month following an anti-subsidy probe, a move that risks triggering a trade war.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said he was seeking an alliance against political extremes in snap elections, adding he aims to keep the far right from succeeding him in 2027 when he steps down.

Deadly fighting rocked Gaza on Wednesday as US top diplomat Antony Blinken on a Middle East tour pushed for an elusive truce and hostage release deal to end the war raging since October 7.

The world is likely to have a major surplus of oil by 2030 as production is ramped up while the clean energy transition tempers demand, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.

Pope Francis will address G7 leaders on Friday on artificial intelligence, an unprecedented appearance that reflects the Vatican's growing interest in the new technology, its risks and rewards.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's battle with migrant rescue charities is increasingly ending up in court, with judges often siding with NGOs but not yet calling the law into question.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban agreed on Wednesday that Budapest would "not block" the defence alliance from contributing more to Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion.

The Hong Kong government said Wednesday it had cancelled the passports of six democracy activists who fled to the United Kingdom, calling them "lawless wanted criminals".

Partisan websites masquerading as media outlets now outnumber American newspaper sites, a research group that tracks misinformation said Tuesday, highlighting a local news crisis in a year of high-stakes elections.

Ahead of the first summit on peace in Ukraine, Kyiv said Tuesday it wanted Russia to attend a second summit, to receive an internationally agreed roadmap towards ending the conflict.

Malawi's Vice President Saulos Chilima was killed in a plane crash, the nation's president said on Tuesday, after searchers located the wreckage of the aircraft in a foggy forest.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday pleaded for more air defence help to stop Russian attacks as he began an intense week of diplomatic meetings with Western partners.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will promise voters "financial security" and tax cuts when he unveils his Conservative party manifesto on Tuesday, following a disastrous week that even led to rumours he might quit.

French President Emmanuel Macron was to face journalists' questions Tuesday after calling risky snap elections that could result in a far-right surge in parliament.

When Hong Kong author Kay So left her home city in 2020, she had in her luggage two short stories she had written about the huge, at times violent democracy protests that upended the city in 2019.

Behind metal fences topped with barbed wire, men play volleyball and basketball at a detention center in Texas, passing time as they wait to hear if they will be allowed to stay in the United States.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed on with a Middle East crisis tour Tuesday to promote a Gaza ceasefire plan as fighting rocked the Palestinian territory and a blast killed four Israeli soldiers.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said Tuesday it had offered $10,000 in compensation to passengers who suffered minor injuries on a flight hit by extreme turbulence last month and will discuss higher payouts with those more badly hurt.

Jordan hosts a summit Tuesday on the urgent humanitarian response for Palestinians enduring more than eight months of devastating war in Gaza, where the United Nations has warned of looming famine.

Montreal-area resident Zachary Siciliani discovered recently that his car had simply disappeared -- likely in one of a rash of vehicle thefts in Canada.

Donald Trump was interviewed by New York's probation service on Monday ahead of his sentencing next month for concealing hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

The Baltimore shipping lane blocked for more than two months after a cargo ship collided with a major bridge in March, sending it crashing into the water, fully reopened on Monday, authorities said.

Jury deliberations began on Monday in the trial of Hunter Biden on federal gun charges, a historic first criminal prosecution of the child of a sitting US president.

The United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted a US-drafted resolution supporting a ceasefire plan in Gaza, as Washington leads an intense diplomatic campaign to push Hamas to accept the proposal.