Global military expenditure saw its steepest increase in over a decade in 2023, reaching an all-time high of $2.4 trillion as wars and rising tensions fuelled spending across the world, researchers said Monday.

The newly approved aid, totaling billions of dollars, marks a significant gesture of support from the United States to bolster the security and stability of both nations.

The decision by the US House of Representatives to earmark $61 billion in long-delayed aid for Ukraine shows the country will not become "a second Afghanistan," President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday.

Despite gloomy weather, Ukrainians in the capital Kyiv were cheerful and cautiously optimistic on Sunday after their biggest ally Washington approved $61 billion in new war-time aid.

Russia said Sunday its forces had gained territory near the key battleground town of Chasiv Yar in east Ukraine, highlighting the pressure facing Kyiv as it gears up to receive $61 billion in new US aid.

Women journalists face greater threats online in the course of their work, and the trend is increasing, one expert told an international conference in Italy this weekend.

The US House of Representatives approved a bill Saturday that would force the wildly popular social media app TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or be shut out of the American market.

The vote, which commenced ahead of schedule, saw 210 Democrats and 101 Republicans supporting the measure, while 112 Republicans dissented.

US lawmakers have approved new funding to provide Ukraine with desperately needed military aid, but their months-long delay in doing so was costly, undermining Kyiv's fight against invading Russian forces.

Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives on Saturday quickly passed two key aid bills to counter China and bolster Taiwan while also threatening a ban on TikTok if it fails to divest from Beijing.

At least three electrical substations and a fuel storage base were reported to be struck, resulting in ignited fires at various sites.

Ukraine launched a wave of drones at Russia in the early hours of Saturday, setting a fuel depot ablaze, officials said, as both sides accused each other of deadly attacks on civilians.

EzyGain revolutionizes rehabilitation with its interconnected devices and immersive software, assisting individuals to take control of their recovery journey from care settings to homes.

When Russian troops deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh four years ago, their task was clear: keep the peace between bitter foes Armenia and Azerbaijan and prevent another war in the volatile region.

Terrorists, mafia bosses -- and Donald Trump. "I got indicted more than Alphonse Capone," he proudly told a rally in October, referring to the murderous boss of a Prohibition-era crime gang.

The US House of Representatives is poised to hold a crucial vote on Saturday on a major aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan -- and a possible ban of TikTok.

Elon Musk on Friday came out against banning TikTok in the United States, even if it would mean less competition for his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, as the initiative sees fresh bipartisan momentum in Congress.

The House Rules Committee advanced a set of foreign aid bills, overcoming resistance from some Republicans with crucial support from Democrats.

Russian strikes on Ukraine in the early hours of Friday killed at least eight people, including two children, as Kyiv said it shot down a Russian strategic bomber for the first time.

Ukraine said Friday that, for the first time since Russia's invasion, it had downed a Russian long-range bomber used to fire cruise missiles at cities across the war-battered country.

The move comes as the House of Representatives is gearing up for a vote on a bill, which would compel the Chinese internet company ByteDance to divest its popular video app TikTok, or else face a ban in the U.S.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe's decision to award prize money to Olympic gold medallists may have been welcomed by athletes but the move has upset some of his fellow federation bosses and surprised seasoned observers of the Games.

The US House of Representatives on Saturday will vote on a major aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and on a possible ban of TikTok.

International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday drew attention to the suffering in Yemen and Sudan, both plagued by civil wars and often overshadowed by the plight of other countries.

Russia said Thursday that fresh US aid for Ukraine will not change the dynamics on the battlefield, as Washington gears up for a crucial weekend vote on long-stalled military funding for Kyiv.

On Day 195 of the war in Gaza, a key intelligence officer within Hamas was killed by the Israeli army as the world moves to sanction Iran for its aerial attacks toward Israel over the weekend that shook the global community.

The pair, identified only as Dieter S. and Alexander J., were arrested in Bayreuth in the southeastern state of Bavaria on Wednesday, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

Rescuers were removing mountains of rubble on Thursday from the site of a lethal Russian missile strike on Ukraine's historic city of Chernigiv, where at least 18 people were killed in an attack that has prompted fresh pleas for allies to boost Kyiv's overstretched air defense systems.

The European Union's economy is falling further behind China and the United States, a major headache that will dominate leaders' talks on Thursday as they discuss how to stem the bloc's economic decline and bounce back.

The vote -- set for Saturday -- could finally get much-needed help to outgunned Ukrainian forces as they battle Russian invaders, and President Joe Biden swiftly called for Congress to pass the package.