WORLD

Ordinary citizens are stepping in to do their bit for victims of the deadly earthquake in Morocco, after some complained that the authorities were slow to act.

A Dutch court on Monday sentenced former Pakistan international cricketer Khalid Latif to 12 years in prison for urging the murder of anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders.

"We are adding a new dimension to our ties in tune with changing times. For India, Saudi Arabia is one of our most important strategic partners," Indian Prime Minister Modi said during the meeting.

President Emmanuel Macron was in Bangladesh on Monday in a bid to "consolidate" France's Indo-Pacific strategy and counterbalance a "new imperialism" in a region where China's influence is increasingly being extended.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his G20 presidency to burnish his image at home and abroad as a steward of national power and prosperity, asserting India's place in the world ahead of general elections next year.

US President Joe Biden hailed closer ties with Vietnam on Sunday as the two countries struck a deal to deepen cooperation, including on semiconductors, but said he was not aiming to contain China.

Niger's coup leaders have accused France of gathering forces, war materials and equipment in several neighbouring West African countries with a view to "military intervention".

Thirty years after the landmark Oslo Accords, Palestinian hopes for statehood seem as remote as ever and popular frustration is rife -- nowhere more than over access to water.

Two aid workers, one Canadian and one Spanish, were killed in eastern Ukraine, hours after the Kyiv region fended another wave of drone attacks overnight.

Thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday against the hardline government's judicial overhaul, ahead of a court hearing on a major element of the controversial reforms that have split the nation.

Leaders and diplomats the world over expressed condolences and offered their support for Morocco Saturday after a devastating earthquake struck the mountains southwest of Marrakesh.

Millet crisps -- twice over -- and millet pudding: the G20 leaders were served a vegetarian gala dinner on Saturday showcasing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's favourite grain.

The United States confirmed Friday that it seized a tanker load of Iranian oil in April, just before Iran seized two vessels in the Gulf region, in the Justice Department's first official statement on the incident.

The old city, or medina, of Marrakesh is on the UNESCO World Heritage list, drawing tourists who help account for about seven percent of Morocco's economy.

Firefighters backed by the army were rescuing hundreds of people Saturday in villages in central Greece blocked off by floods that have claimed at least 10 lives.

A world facing catastrophic climate change is perilously off course in meeting goals for slashing carbon pollution and boosting finance for the developing world, according to the UN's first official progress report out Friday.

A broad alliance of states on Saturday unveiled ambitious plans to create a modern-day Spice Route linking Europe, the Middle East and India, boosting trade ties with potentially wide-ranging geopolitical implications.

More than 50 world sites hope for inclusion on the UN's coveted heritage list at a meeting opening in Riyadh Sunday, while some incumbents, including Venice and Kyiv, face the risk of a downgrade.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has stripped Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas of the French capital's highest honour after he made remarks about the Holocaust that echoed anti-Semitic tropes, her office said on Friday.

Ukraine denounced what it called "fake elections" being held by Moscow on its occupied territory Friday, while Russian air strikes across the country killed four people and wounded dozens more.

Ukraine on Friday said four people were killed and dozens injured as Russia launched a new wave of air strikes in the centre and east of the country.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has said that he prevented a Ukrainian attack on a Russian Navy base last year by declining Kyiv's request to activate internet access in the Black Sea near Moscow-annexed Crimea.

G20 leaders began to descend on New Delhi Friday, hoping to make progress on trade, climate and a host of other global problems despite the Chinese and Russian presidents skipping the summit.

A policeman waves reporters away from a desert prison in Xinjiang, part of a network of detention facilities transformed by China's shifting policies in the northwestern region.

Homes of people who went missing in China's crackdown on its Muslim minorities stand locked and silent in Xinjiang's rural heartland.

Russia "must stop" its blockade of Ukrainian seaports after pulling out of a United Nations and Turkey-mediated deal to ensure grain shipments, European Council president Charles Michel said Friday.

G20 leaders meet this weekend during what is likely the hottest year in human history, but hopes are slim that the divided grouping can agree ambitious action on the crisis.

President Joe Biden arrives in Vietnam on Sunday on a mission to bolster US influence, but the heavy emphasis on countering rival China will likely confine human rights concerns to the margins.

"We both want to make COP28 a success and I look forward to our continued cooperation. We will work across the board to reinforce UAE-EU relations," European (EU) Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen said.