WORLD

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Thursday for a peace conference on the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas as he addressed Arab leaders and diplomats at a forum in Beijing.

A bid for wholesale reform of New Zealand rugby's governing body was rejected by heartland unions on Thursday, threatening to throw the game into disarray in the rugby-mad nation.

A Hong Kong court found 14 people guilty of subversion on Thursday in the biggest case against pro-democracy campaigners since China imposed a national security law to crush dissent.

Almost every Indian meal requires an onion -- one of the cooking essentials along with sugar and lentils that sweet-talking politicians use to curry favour with their voters by lowering costs.

Novak Djokovic believes he's moving in a "positive direction" as he targets a place in the last 32 of the French Open on Thursday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will on Thursday address Arab leaders and diplomats at a forum in Beijing, seeking to deepen ties with the region and speak with a "common voice" on the conflict in Gaza.

A Hong Kong court will convene Thursday morning to deliver verdicts in the city's biggest case against pro-democracy campaigners since China imposed a national security law to crush dissent.

Brazil has recalled its ambassador to Israel, a diplomatic source told AFP Wednesday, ratcheting up tensions between the two countries over Israel's war in Gaza.

The remains of Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the first king of Bulgaria following five centuries of Ottoman rule, were repatriated from Germany Wednesday to be interred in a family mausoleum, 76 years after his death.

The move by Spain, Ireland and Norway to recognise the State of Palestine will give a major boost to the cause, the Palestinian Authority's health minister said Wednesday, urging other European countries to follow suit.

President Xi Jinping told his Egyptian counterpart on Wednesday that China was "deeply pained" by the "extremely severe" situation in Gaza, as Beijing hosts Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and several other Arab leaders.

Twelve New York jurors were to begin deliberating Wednesday on whether to convict Donald Trump in the first ever criminal trial of a former US president -- with their decision potentially upending the November election in which the Republican seeks a return to power.

Investigators on Wednesday raided the home and offices of an EU parliamentary staffer as Belgium probes claims that Russia paid far-right lawmakers -- including Germany's embattled Maximilian Krah -- to spread Kremlin propaganda.

The European Union on Wednesday announced the creation of an "AI Office" of tech experts, lawyers and economists to regulate artificial intelligence under a sweeping new law.

The expected meeting between the United States' Lloyd Austin and China's Dong Jun at the Shangri-La Dialogue will be the first substantive face-to-face talks between their countries' defense chiefs in 18 months.

Haiti's transitional government council on Tuesday named a new prime minister to lead the violence-hit Caribbean nation, council members said, choosing Garry Conille, who briefly served in that role from 2011 to 2012.

Colombia's congress passed a bill Tuesday banning bullfighting, a controversial yet popular pastime in the South American country with hundreds of events drawing thousands of spectators every year.

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte was questioned by prosecutors Tuesday over the shuttering of a police unit that had searched her house in a corruption case.

Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be prosecuted for insulting the monarchy, the attorney general's office said Wednesday, over comments he made almost a decade ago.

Israel carried out fresh strikes on Wednesday in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where its forces are battling Hamas militants, after the UN Security Council met to discuss a deadly attack that sparked global outcry.

Supplies of food and medicine were beginning to arrive at the scene of a deadly landslide in Papua New Guinea Wednesday, with aid workers discovering children rendered mute by the shock of the disaster.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Moldova on Wednesday with plans to show robust support for the frontline country's Western aspirations amid alarm over Russian gains elsewhere.

US President Joe Biden has no plans to change his Israel policy following a deadly weekend strike on Gaza's Rafah -- but is not turning a "blind eye" to the plight of Palestinian civilians, the White House said Tuesday.

Countries aired stark differences Tuesday on where to go next in trying to strike a global agreement for handling future pandemics, after missing a deadline to finalise a deal.

President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that there would be "serious consequences" if Western countries allowed Ukraine to use their weapons to strike targets in Russia, as sought by Kyiv.

Dutch right-wing coalition parties on Tuesday nominated former security chief Dick Schoof as their preferred candidate to become the Netherlands' next prime minister.

Closing arguments began Tuesday in the hush money trial of Donald Trump with the White House hopeful facing the prospect of becoming the first criminally convicted former president in US history.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday urged US leader Joe Biden to attend a June peace summit in Switzerland, as he accused Russia's Vladimir Putin of trying to derail the gathering.

Georgian lawmakers geared up on Tuesday to overturn a presidential veto and push through a controversial "foreign influence" bill that opponents say will place onerous restrictions on foreign-funded NGOs and derail the country's path to the European Union.