WORLD

Thousands of Georgians rallied in the capital Tbilisi on Sunday to mark independence day, with many expressing fear the government's coming "foreign influence" law will draw them closer to Russia and derail their dream of joining the EU. The law, which targets NGOs and media outlets receiving funding from abroad, is expected to be passed by legislators next week despite it being vetoed by the country's pro-EU president and condemned by Western governments.

South Africa's opposition parties mount an 11th-hour assault Sunday on the ruling ANC's 30-year-old grip on power, staging set-piece rallies three days before the general election.

Israel's armed forces bombarded Gaza on Sunday, but officials also said diplomatic efforts were expected to resume in coming days towards a truce and hostage release deal.

More than 670 people are believed to have died after a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea, a UN official told AFP on Sunday as aid workers and villagers braved perilous conditions in their desperate search for survivors.

Lyudmila went through "all the stages of depression" after her husband, an officer in the Russian army, died in Ukraine in September 2022.

Lithuania's heads of state and government face off on Sunday in round two of the presidential election, as the Baltic nation prioritises defence and security amid fears over neighbouring Russia.

Nearby tribal violence has complicated recovery efforts at a catastrophic landslide in Papua New Guinea, aid workers said Sunday, as the search continued for hundreds of villagers feared dead under the rubble.

Emmanuel Macron on Sunday embarks on the first state visit to Germany by a French president in a quarter century, seeking to ease recent tensions and also warn of the dangers of the far right ahead of EU elections.

US rapper Nicki Minaj was detained at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on suspicion of possessing soft drugs before being released with a fine, Dutch media reported Saturday.

Burkina Faso's military regime, in power since a 2022 coup, will extend its rule for five years under an accord adopted during national consultations on Saturday, the talks' chairman said.

Sean Baker, who won the Cannes Film Festival's top prize on Saturday, has spent a career chronicling the lives of sex workers and porn stars.

He perfected his trade in Iran's prisons, and now Mohammad Rasoulof has received a special jury prize at Cannes, confirming him as one of the world's most powerful and fearless filmmakers.

Russia on Saturday bombed a hardware superstore in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, killing two people and wounding more than 30, Ukraine officials said, in an attack condemned as "vile" by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

At least 16 people were killed, most of them children, when a fire broke out at a packed amusement park arcade in India on Saturday, officials said.

An end to corruption, drug-related violence and pollution are some of the hopes and dreams of millions of young Mexicans preparing to vote in their first presidential election.

Tens of thousands of people wearing yellow T-shirts crowded Africa's biggest stadium Saturday, as the ruling but troubled African National Congress threw its last campaign bash before South Africa's tightest election in decades.

If there's one thing the parties competing in next week's South African general election don't want to talk about, it's bussing in supporters to fill out huge stadium rallies.

China has ended two days of military drills around Taiwan that saw jets loaded with live munitions and warships practise seizing and isolating the self-ruled island.

G7 finance ministers are expected Saturday to agree a broad plan to use interest from frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, paving the way for a potential agreement among leaders next month.

The 77th Cannes Film Festival draws to a close Saturday after a politically charged edition full of blood and feminism.

Israel bombed the Gaza Strip, including Rafah, on Saturday, a day after the top UN court ordered it to halt military operations in the southern city as efforts get underway in Paris to seek a ceasefire in the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack.

The Berrio family moves around their home on raised planks, upon which their beds and furniture have been raised, to avoid the knee-high, murky waters that have invaded their modest brick house.

A Ukrainian pilot project to compensate women raped by invading Russian soldiers could offer a roadmap for dealing with wartime sexual violence, says a Nobel Prize winner and expert on conflict atrocities.

Rescue teams arrived at the site of a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea's remote highlands Saturday, helping villagers search for hundreds of people feared dead under towering mounds of rubble and mud.

Leading French conductor Francois-Xavier Roth is suspending his performances after a media report accused him of sending sexually explicit messages and pictures to musicians, an orchestra and concert venue said Friday.

Thousands took part in a new rally in the Georgian capital on Friday against a controversial anti-NGO law, as the country's parliament said it would start proceedings next week to override a presidential veto.

The shouts ringing out from the makeshift baseball court on the ship's deck are a far cry from the desperation of a few days ago, when the players were plucked from the often fatal waters of the Mediterranean.

Switzerland's foreign minister on Friday returned to her Iraqi counterpart three important Mesopotamian objects seized during a criminal procedure, the Swiss government said.

Tens of thousands of Taiwanese protesters rallied day and night outside parliament on Friday, as lawmakers inside traded insults, blows and theatrics over a series of bills to expand the legislature's power.