WORLD

"Dollars, selling dollars!" "The amnesty dollars aren't yours (don't belong to the state) and you have to pay back the IMF dollars," he said.

A Madrid court sentenced ex-IMF chief and Spanish economy minister Rodrigo Rato to more than four years in prison for tax crimes, money laundering and corruption, it said Friday.

Beatles drummer Ringo Starr was a surprise guest at the final gig of former band-mate Paul McCartney's London tour, with the pair reuniting to play some of the Fab Four's greatest hits.

El Salvador will privatize or close the cryptocurrency wallet "Chivo" created by President Nayib Bukele when he made bitcoin legal tender in 2021, an official said Thursday.

Russian missiles targeted Kyiv at sunrise on Friday, killing at least one person and damaging six diplomatic missions and a university in the centre of the Ukrainian capital.

France's new Prime Minister Francois Bayrou was Friday racing to name by Christmas at the latest a government to lead the country out of its political crisis but with no sign of an end to months of tensions that have rattled President Emmanuel Macron.

US lawmakers raced Friday to prevent a government shutdown due to bite within hours, after Donald Trump and Elon Musk sabotaged a bipartisan agreement that would have kept the lights on well beyond Christmas.

President Emmanuel Macron faced accusations of racism Friday over an alleged comment on problems in French hospitals which the Elysee strongly denies he made.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was defiant Friday as he arrived for the verdict in his long-running trial for blocking a migrant rescue ship at sea, for which he risks six years in jail.

China has lifted a ban on imports of Australian live rock lobsters, Canberra said Friday, demolishing the final barrier in a broader, multibillion-dollar trade war between the countries.

Taiwanese lawmakers tackled and doused each other with water on Friday as President Lai Ching-te's party tried to block the passage of bills they say could harm the self-ruled island's "democratic system".

Lyubov Voronova still remembers a time before the war when the Oskil river flowing by her east Ukraine home was an idyll where families would swim, picnic and make memories.

From Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to British actress Maggie Smith and US music titan Quincy Jones, here are some of 2024's most notable deaths.

Lacador, a small bar in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, has got its uptown funk on following a surprise visit by US pop hitmaker Bruno Mars.

Rescuers say they have expanded a search for survivors in quake-rocked Vanuatu to "numerous places of collapse" beyond the stricken capital, as the reported death toll climbed to 10.

Equities fluctuated Friday and the dollar maintained its gains against its peers as investors assessed the fallout from the Federal Reserve's outlook for interest rate cuts and possible impact of Donald Trump's presidency on the economy.

From an anonymous office in a New Delhi mall, matrimonial detective Bhavna Paliwal runs the rule over prospective husbands and wives -- a booming industry in India, where younger generations are increasingly choosing love matches over arranged marriage.

The United States has redefined what qualifies as "healthy" food for the first time in 30 years, striking items like white bread from the list while welcoming nutrient-rich options such as eggs and salmon, officials said Thursday.

Manchester City travel to Aston Villa on Saturday desperately seeking to halt their dramatic slide while Chelsea have the chance to go top of the Premier League, if only briefly.

Australia said Friday it has agreed to help boost Solomon Islands' police force with a finance and training package for the Pacific nation, which has fostered close ties with China.

The United Arab Emirates, under fire in Washington, has promised the United States not to arm paramilitaries in Sudan's brutal civil war, US lawmakers said Thursday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will preside over a day of celebrations in Macau and inaugurate the city's new leader on Friday to mark 25 years since the former colony was returned to China.

A man was crushed to death by an 184-foot Christmas tree.

A stampede at a school funfair in the southwestern Nigerian city of Ibadan has killed 35 children and seriously injured six others, police said on Thursday.

In the villages above the Syrian port city of Tartus they once hailed the sons who died fighting in Bashar al-Assad's service as martyrs.

55 US-bound migrants have died and 180 children have been abandoned this year while crossing the treacherous Darien jungle from Colombia, Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino said Thursday.

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution on Thursday asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to assess Israel's obligations to assist Palestinians, amid accusations the Israeli government systematically hinders Gaza aid.

Silence fell in the courtroom after a French judge delivered his verdict on Thursday, finding all 51 defendants guilty in the mass rape trial that has horrified the country.

A European operation has spared revelers a potential food poisoning nightmare before Christmas, seizing 30 tons of mollusks illegally fished in polluted waters and arresting 62 suspects, authorities said on Thursday.