WORLD

Taiwan thanked the United States on Thursday for approving the sale of equipment and parts for F-16 fighter jets, saying it would help the island defend itself against China.

A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted three times on Thursday, belching an ash tower five kilometres into the sky and spewing lava against a backdrop of lightning, according to the Geological Agency.

A hospital in central Gaza said Thursday at least 37 people were killed in Israeli bombardment overnight of a UN-run school which the Israeli military said housed a "Hamas compound".

Park Choong-kwon was once a member of an elite North Korean unit that developed long-range missiles.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was preparing Thursday to be sworn in for a third term after an unexpectedly close election that forced his party into a coalition government.

In an electoral system in which money is the ultimate kingmaker, Donald Trump has been courting the country's billionaires -- and they have their checkbooks ready.

More than one in four children under the age of five globally live in "severe" food poverty, UNICEF has warned -- meaning more than 180 million are at risk of experiencing adverse impacts on their growth and development.

Tests on a leading AI tool allowed the creation of deceptive and incriminating images of President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, a watchdog said Wednesday, despite pledges to block fake photos of the presidential contenders ahead of elections in November.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday criticised the West's delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine, arguing Moscow could arm other countries with similar weapons to attack Western targets.

Joe Biden is looking to convince voters of his leadership credentials with a striking flurry of major announcements on Gaza, Ukraine and the Mexican border, analysts say.

Trump is expected to receive the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention in Milwaukee, which is to begin just four days after his July 11 sentencing in New York for his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

A South African minister was arrested and charged with corruption on Wednesday, as his ANC party wrangles with how to form a new government after major election losses.

Living on canned beans and meat, the 70-year-old Egyptian has been hiding out in a Mecca apartment for weeks, hoping to evade a Saudi dragnet and perform the hajj pilgrimage illegally.

The next-generation Ariane 6 rocket, a crucial programme for Europe's space ambitions, is due to lift off on July 9 following years of delays, the European Space Agency said Wednesday.

Israel's military pounded central Gaza with heavy air strikes on Wednesday as US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators planned to resume talks on a truce and hostage release deal.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday began a state visit to France marking 80 years since the World War II D-Day landings, with a new war shadowing Europe as Ukraine battles Russian invasion.

Donald Trump faced Republican voters for the first time as a convicted felon on Tuesday during the final state primaries for the 2024 presidential nomination, where he continued to sweep up votes.

Claudia Sheinbaum's election as Mexico's first woman president has shored up the left's dominance of Latin America, a region more used to sometimes-dramatic political shifts in recent years.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party was in talks with key allies to form a government Wednesday, after failing to secure an outright majority for the first time since sweeping to power a decade ago.

Australia's online watchdog on Wednesday dropped a legal effort to force Elon Musk's X to remove posts depicting the violent stabbing of a Sydney priest.

The world has never had so many rich people and their investments in soaring stock markets have made them wealthier than ever recorded, according to a study published on Wednesday.

India's Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his allies were heading for victory in the country's general election count on Tuesday, but with a reduced parliamentary majority as the opposition surpassed expectations.

Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hunkered down Tuesday as he prepared to go head-to-head with Labour opposition leader Keir Starmer in the first televised debate of the UK general election campaign on the back foot.

The Israeli ambassador to Japan has not yet been invited to Nagasaki's annual peace ceremony, said city officials who instead sent the embassy a letter calling for a Gaza ceasefire.

The Philippine military said Tuesday that Chinese boats illegally "seized" food and medicine airdropped to a Filipino outpost in the South China Sea.

US President Joe Biden is expected to announce steps Tuesday to close the Mexican border to asylum seekers when numbers surge, in a bid to tackle a key weak spot in his election battle with Donald Trump.

Opening arguments are to be held on Tuesday in the trial of Hunter Biden on gun charges, the first ever prosecution of a child of a sitting US president.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Cambodia on Tuesday in an effort to reset ties with the staunch China ally.

Israel on Tuesday mourned four hostages confirmed dead inside war-torn Gaza as Western and Middle East powers threw their support behind a truce deal outlined by US President Joe Biden.