WORLD

The US Supreme Court ruled on Friday that a ban introduced by ex-president Donald Trump's administration on bump stocks -- devices which allow semi-automatic rifles to fire like a machine gun -- is unconstitutional.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow would only halt its offensive on Ukraine if Kyiv effectively surrenders by pulling its troops out of the east and south and dropping its bid for NATO membership.

When Andrey Kozlov saw his mother after being rescued from eight months of captivity in Gaza, the Russian-Israeli fell to his knees while she hugged him.

Israeli strikes hit Gaza on Friday as truce talks with Hamas militants failed to progress and tensions surged on Israel's northern border with Lebanon.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Friday he supported "dialogue, not confrontation" during a visit to New Zealand where he stirred up hope of new trade avenues.

Grieving families kept a solemn vigil in the terminal of an Indian airport on Friday as the bodies of dozens of migrant workers killed in a Kuwait building fire returned home.

Leading left-wing French politician Raphael Glucksmann on Friday threw his weight behind a new coalition of the left in the run-up to historic elections, while far-right powerhouse Marine Le Pen pledged a "national unity government" if her party wins the snap polls.

Pope Francis on Friday clowned around with over 100 top global comedians including Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Rock and Jimmy Fallon before leaving to address a summit of G7 leaders in Italy.

China has organised seminars and training courses for officials in African and Latin American countries, aimed at promoting its single-party system and President Xi Jinping's worldview, a report said this week.

The offer, equivalent to $750 million, comes weeks after Paris said it would not allow the French company's strategic activities from being taken over by foreign actors.

It looks like the lair of a Bond villain: behind armoured doors, buried underground below the Louvre in Paris, lies one of the most high-tech art labs in the world.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in New Zealand's northern hub of Auckland on Friday, stirring up hope of new trade avenues among the country's business leaders.

Switzerland is undertaking a major security operation around this weekend's summit on Ukraine, aiming to ward off not only physical threats but also cyberattacks and misinformation.

The IMF executive board voted Thursday to approve a payout of almost $800 million for Argentina as it continues a program of drastic economic reforms under its libertarian president, Javier Milei.

With internet-connected sleep monitors, robotic arms and calorie-counting cafeteria plates, China's elder care industry is hoping automation will provide the solution to an ageing population and a shrinking workforce.

More than a million Muslim pilgrims were in Mecca Friday for the start of a hajj pilgrimage held against the grim backdrop of the Gaza war and in exhausting summer heat.

Two cruise missiles launched by Yemen's Huthi rebels struck a bulk cargo carrier in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, severely injuring a sailor who was evacuated by American forces, the US military said.

The UN Security Council on Thursday demanded an end to the siege of El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region, where fighting between government and paramilitary forces has provoked a humanitarian crisis.

Russians on the streets of the capital shrugged off new US sanctions on dollar and euro trading Thursday, claiming they had no need for Western currencies in their heavily targeted economy.

To house the thousands of soldiers tasked with keeping the Paris Olympics safe, France is building the largest army camp its mainland has seen since World War II, at breakneck pace.

Britain's Labour party launched a "manifesto for wealth creation" Thursday, pledging to get the economy firing again if it wins power in next month's election after 14 years in opposition.

European stock markets faltered Thursday following mixed showings by Asia and on Wall Street, as traders reacted to US Federal Reserve signals that it plans only one interest-rate cut this year.

French right-wing parties were mired by infighting Thursday as campaigning intensified for snap elections called by President Emmanuel Macron, but his government faces a more unified challenge from the left.

Israeli helicopters struck Gaza's Rafah on Thursday, residents said, with Hamas militants reporting street battles in the southern city after top US diplomat Antony Blinken said a truce was still possible.

Kenya's finance minister is due to present Thursday the East African economic powerhouse's biggest ever budget, alongside a contentious finance bill that contains a raft of new or increased taxes.

Facilities at Gordonstoun School in northeast Scotland include a climbing wall, rifle range and a five-hole golf course, while pupils can even avail themselves of bagpipe lessons.

Staff at Kyiv's beloved puppet theatre had prepared for months to launch their latest premiere in early June.

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken said Wednesday that a truce and hostage release deal to end the Gaza war was still possible, wrapping up a Middle East tour as deadly fighting rocked the Palestinian territory.

Haiti's Prime Minister Garry Conille said Wednesday that greater security and a crackdown on corruption would be priorities for his newly installed government in the troubled Caribbean nation.