WORLD

Russia said on Sunday it had downed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and the Crimea peninsula in attacks that damaged two office towers in the capital and briefly shut an international airport.

They have known each other for decades, rubbing shoulders at countless international events, but there is little love lost between US President Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu as the Israeli prime minister faces a full-blown crisis over a contested judicial reform.

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets Saturday to protest the government's decision to forge ahead with its judicial reform package despite widespread opposition.

Bangladesh police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse stone-throwing crowds blockading major roads in the capital Dhaka on Saturday in the latest protest demanding the prime minister's resignation.

The leader of Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement on Saturday stepped up his attacks against the region's long-marginalised LGBTQ community.

A Russian missile struck an apartment block in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Friday, Kyiv officials said, injuring at least nine people including two children.

Australian police said Saturday that debris had been found from an Australian military helicopter that crashed into the Pacific Ocean, but there was still no sign of four missing crew members after a night and day's search.

Despite the military intervention in Ukraine and efforts by the West to paint Russia as a pariah state, Moscow can still count on support from several African, Latin American and Asian governments, including that of heavyweight China.

Most delegations were led by their environment and climate change ministers, while the US delegation was headed by Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. Also at the talks is Emirati oil boss Sultan Al Jaber, who will lead the upcoming COP28 talks in the United Arab Emirates starting in late November.

Nearly all the workers lost their houses, the accountant and vet disappeared along with their families, but after the deadly earthquake that devastated Turkey's Hatay province, "the silk of peace" is helping make new connections.

The United Nations said Thursday it was deeply concerned for the safety of hundreds of migrants stranded in Tunisia following their removal to remote parts of the North African country.

The Ukrainian crew of the Gepard is rather proud of the four Russian drones and two missiles daubed in white on the armoured chassis of their German-made anti-aircraft tank.

French beauty products giant L'Oreal said Thursday it managed double-digit revenue growth in the first half of the year although sales stagnated in Asia.

G20 environment ministers in India readied a fresh bid on Thursday to strike deals tackling climate change, days after heavy criticism for failing to agree on cutting fossil fuel use. Among those at the Chennai meeting is Sultan Al Jaber, president of the upcoming COP28 climate summit who also heads the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

Thousands of Shiite Muslims marched through Indian-administered Kashmir's largest city Thursday for a major religious procession permitted in the restive territory for the first time since a ban was imposed decades ago.

The North African country has become a major gateway for irregular migrants and asylum-seekers attempting the perilous sea voyage in often rickety boats in the hope of a better life in Europe.

Nearly 100 pilot whales have died after beaching in Western Australia, wildlife officials said Thursday, following desperate rescue attempts.

China said Thursday it opposed "malicious hype" concerning this week's removal of foreign minister Qin Gang, as it continued to avoid questions about the senior diplomat's disappearance.

"The UAE has joined the Global Biofuel Alliance, which was established by India, the United Kingdom and the United States of America with the aim of developing and promoting the use of sustainable biofuels," the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Suhail Bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei said.

Neckties worn by men were a sign of the Christian cross, a senior Afghan Taliban official said Wednesday, adding they should be eliminated.

Mass protests and strikes rocked Israel this week in the face of the hard-right government's decision to push through a controversial legal reform weakening the powers of the Supreme Court.

US President Joe Biden's son Hunter pleaded not guilty to minor tax offenses Wednesday as a deal with federal prosecutors crumbled in a Delaware court.

Turkey's leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday spoke in Ankara with the Palestinian president and the head of Hamas in the run-up to a crucial meeting of Palestinian factions set for the weekend.

Sara Khadem, the Iranian chess player who fled to Spain after competing in an international tournament without wearing a mandatory hijab, was on Wednesday granted Spanish nationality, a government minister announced.

African migrants pleaded to be saved from a desert zone between Libya and Tunisia on Wednesday, weeks after Tunisian authorities allegedly dumped dozens of them there with nothing.

Internet privacy company Proton announced Wednesday a new VPN Observatory, tracking demand for its services to detect attacks on free speech in countries like Russia and Iran before they hit the headlines.

Haunted by previous failures in Haiti and worried about getting stuck in a deadly quagmire, the international community is reluctant to answer a UN call for a special intervention force, experts say.

China's foreign minister Qin Gang was removed from office on Tuesday, state media reported, after disappearing from the public eye for a month with little explanation from the ruling Communist Party.

Ever since Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin staged a mutiny in Russia last month, questions have been raised over the future of his group in Africa, the cradle of its wealth and notoriety.