WORLD

From the hatch of a US aircraft, the destruction wrought by months of war on the Gaza Strip stretched out below in grey piles of debris along the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean.

Russians started voting on Friday in a three-day presidential election set to hand hardline leader Vladimir Putin another six-year term as fresh attacks bring the raging conflict in Ukraine further into Russian territory.

A missile strike damaged a merchant ship in the Red Sea off Yemen, marine security monitors said Friday, as the country's Iran-backed Houthi rebels threatened to expand their months-long harassment campaign which has disrupted global trade.

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said Thursday that his country has stored more than $400 million in bitcoin in an offline "cold wallet" as the cryptocurrency forges new record highs.

The US ambassador to China said Friday that Beijing's position on a potential TikTok ban in the United States was "supremely ironic" given the ruling Communist Party's censorship of online platforms within its borders.

Italy's competition authority on Thursday fined TikTok 10 million euros (nearly $11 million), saying the hugely popular video app had failed to sufficiently protect minors.

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday urged Russians to stay the course in the face of a "difficult period", hours before polls open in a vote set to extend his hardline rule.

A first boat loaded with 200 tonnes of food aid was making slow progress towards the Gaza Strip on Thursday as efforts grew to bring more humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian territory besieged by Israel.

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un drove a "new-type main battle tank" while overseeing military training exercises, state media said Thursday, as Seoul and Washington wrap joint drills to improve deterrence.

The US economy is not expected to see stagflation, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview broadcast Wednesday, adding that most forecasters expect inflation to cool as housing costs move lower.

A powerful Haitian gang leader pledged Wednesday to continue the fighting that has plunged the country into chaos, as stakeholders work toward establishing a transitional governing body to replace the outgoing prime minister.

Eight months ahead of the US presidential election, the campaign moves from the parties' nominating contests to the trench warfare of what promises to be one of the longest, most brutal head-to-head showdowns in memory.

Romania's President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday announced his candidacy to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as chief of NATO, vowing -- as a leader of a country bordering the Ukraine war -- to bring "renewal of perspective" at a crucial time for the alliance.

A political transition deal in Haiti marks a key step forward for the violence-ravaged country but far more needs to be done, with some experts warning the situation could deteriorate further.

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday lauded Moscow's nuclear arsenal and warned that he was ready to deploy the weapons if Russia's sovereignty was threatened.

Beijing warned on Wednesday that a proposed ban on Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok would "inevitably come back to bite the United States".

A Spanish aid boat was en route to Gaza on Wednesday, opening a new maritime corridor intended to allow deliveries of desperately needed food to the Palestinian territory ravaged by months of war between Israel and Hamas.

The US House of Representatives will vote Wednesday on a bill that would force TikTok to cut ties with its Chinese owner or get banned in the United States.

Leonid Volkov, a close ally of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was assaulted outside his home in Vilnius on Tuesday, an incident that sparked an uproar from the Lithuanian government.

Gunmen abducted dozens of people from a northwestern Nigerian village on Tuesday, according to two local representatives and a UN source, just days after the kidnapping of more than 250 pupils from a school in the same region.

US aeronautics giant Boeing, facing increased scrutiny after a series of safety incidents and manufacturing issues, is directing employees to take "immediate actions" to improve operations, according to a message the company sent to its workforce Tuesday.

US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday a $300 million emergency weapons package to prop up Ukraine while Congress blocks further aid, as Poland's leaders visited the White House to warn of the growing threat from Russia.

A Spanish charity ship taking food aid to Gaza left the Mediterranean island of Cyprus on Tuesday in an attempt to open a maritime corridor to the war-ravaged and besieged Palestinian territory.

US President Joe Biden hosts Poland's President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the White House Tuesday to try to reassure key NATO ally Warsaw of Washington's support after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Haiti's prime minister agreed late Monday to step aside as armed gangs plunge his country into anarchy, as he accepted a regional push for a transition that sets the stage for international intervention.

A US delegation on religious freedom said Monday it cut short its visit to Saudi Arabia after one of its members was asked to remove his Jewish head covering, or kippah.

Weapons imports to Europe nearly doubled over the past five years, partly due to the war in Ukraine, while exports from Russia halved, researchers said on Monday.

Gaza's deadliest war showed no signs of abating as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began Monday amid a gruelling humanitarian crisis that has pushed much of the territory to the brink of starvation.

Britain's royal family faced mounting pressure on Monday to explain how an official photo of Catherine, Princess of Wales had been altered, after AFP and other agencies withdrew the image.