WORLD

The Israeli army launched Monday an operation around Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, with witnesses reporting air strikes on the devastated neighbourhood where it is located.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a rare visit to New Zealand on Monday, stressing the need to work with "friends" in the face of the "tumultuous international situation".

It's a task of grave importance, but there's nothing to stop New Zealanders having a laugh as they work on DIY caskets in the country's "coffin clubs".

Palestinians "need the bombs to stop," Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Sunday as he made an impassioned plea for a ceasefire in Gaza, speaking during a St Patrick's Day reception at the White House.

North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Monday, Seoul's military said, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited South Korea to meet top officials and attend a democracy summit.

Putin asserted that his victory in the election would enable Russia to enhance its strength and effectiveness.

The agreement would be distributed over a span of four years and is partially intended to enhance border controls.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced the interception of 35 Ukrainian drones, with four of them located in the Moscow region.

Earlier, Israel's ruling Likud party too had responded to Schumer. Defending the prime minister, the party stated Israel was "not a banana republic".

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israeli troops would pursue a planned ground offensive in southern Gaza's Rafah that has spurred fears of mass civilian casualties.

The EU chief and five European leaders visited cash-strapped Egypt on Sunday to announce a 7.4-billion-euro financial package focussed on boosting energy trade and stemming irregular migrant flows to the 27-member bloc.

Queues formed outside Moscow polling stations on Sunday as some voters heeded a call by supporters of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny to cast protest votes in Russia's presidential election.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Sunday in South Korea on the first stop of a brief Asia tour also including the Philippines, as Washington moves to reinforce ties with two key regional allies.

Memories of the UK's once-mighty mining industry are fading but 40 years after an epoch-defining strike, Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band still embodies the close ties that once bound the community.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has over the past two decades built up a system of domestic repression and confrontation with the West that is almost certain to guarantee a fifth term in office on Sunday.

Kremlin critics called for massive protests at Russian polling stations on Sunday for the final day of a presidential election that is guaranteed to cement Vladimir Putin's hardline rule.

Senegal's charismatic opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and his coalition's presidential candidate flew to the south of the country Saturday, pressing on with their election campaign less than two weeks before the vote.

To the sound of Russian pop music blasting from speakers at the polling station, Eduard Ishnazarov cast a ballot for the only candidate he thought could deliver peace: Vladimir Putin.

WCK, the charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, released a statement that its team unloaded the aid in Gaza.

A half-century ago, two skinny brothers named Walter and Arturo Perez started lifting stones in their rural Nicaraguan town; now they are local legends and TikTok sensations known as the "Hercules brothers" and the "Bodybuilding Grandfathers."

A second ship loaded with aid for Gaza could depart as early as Saturday, Cyprus said, as the first vessel returned from the war-ravaged territory after successfully delivering its cargo.

In the shadow of the war raging in Gaza, record numbers of Palestinian detainees are filling Israeli prisons, where they face "systemic abuse" and torture, rights advocates warn, calling for international action.

Ukrainian bombardments killed two people in a Russian border region on Saturday, its governor said, on the second day of presidential elections in Russia guaranteed to cement Vladimir Putin's hardline rule.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un oversaw paratroop drills aimed at showing his soldiers' ability to occupy an "enemy region at a stroke", state media said Saturday, days after the most recent annual US-South Korean military exercise.

The United Nations called Friday for Sudan's warring factions to provide unimpeded access for desperately needed aid as the spectre of famine looms after nearly a year of conflict.

Apple reaches a $490 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit accusing CEO Tim Cook of misleading shareholders about declining iPhone demand in China.

Haitians were waiting nervously Friday for the naming of a transitional governing body that they hope will begin restoring stability to the country wracked by gang violence.

The Irish premier's annual Saint Patrick's Day visit to the White House is normally a joyful affair -- but this year the war in Gaza cast a shadow darker than a rainy Dublin sky.

A satin leopard headscarf framing her face, 23-year-old Russian ballerina Nadezhda walked away from the electronic booth after voting for the first time, but without much enthusiasm.