WORLD

While the frontline on land has remained largely static, Ukraine has destroyed a number of Russian warships in the Black Sea, crucial victories at a moment when Western support for Kyiv's fight against the invasion is wavering.

Israel's army alleged on Thursday that bodies of hostages could be held at a hospital in southern Gaza, after troops entered the facility which medics say has been "besieged" for a month.

The European Commission on Thursday cut both its growth and inflation forecasts for the eurozone in 2024, as it warned geopolitical tensions spelled rising uncertainty for the single-currency area's economy.

Ukraine has rushed soldiers to the embattled eastern town of Avdiivka, surrounded on three sides by Russian forces, where the military said the situation was "extremely critical".

All three major economic sectors contracted in the fourth quarter: Services (-0.2%), production (-1%), and construction (-1.3%). This resulted in an overall GDP growth of only 0.1% for the entire 2023.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday a delay in passing new US aid for Ukraine was already hurting Kyiv's forces on the battlefield against Russia.

Albanese, who met Haydon at a Melbourne business dinner in 2020, is believed to be the first Australian prime minister to get engaged while in office.

Israel's vow to push ahead with a "powerful" operation in Gaza's Rafah was met with a growing chorus of international condemnation Thursday, with leaders warning against catastrophic consequences for the 1.5 million Palestinians trapped there.

It's Day 132 of the war in Gaza – eyes are on Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, as the Israeli army said its ground forces are operating inside the medical facility "at this time." Over in the Arabian Sea, the U.S. military announced that a U.S. Coast Guard cutter seized over 200 packages of Iranian weapons for delivery to Yemeni rebel Houthis late in January.

The annual security gathering in Munich brings together military elite from around the world and is seen as a barometer of transatlantic relations. It starts on Friday.

Bangkok city employees have been told to work from home to avoid harmful air pollution, as a layer of noxious haze blanketed the Thai capital on Thursday.

Excited crowds pose with lengthy red chains of firecrackers hoisted on towering tripods along Macau's waterfront, revelling in the final hours of the Lunar New Year holiday before igniting the fuses.

Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto on Thursday looked set to become the new president of the world's third-largest democracy, likely avoiding a runoff vote against election rivals who have yet to concede.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated a major Hindu temple and the first in Abu Dhabi while on a two-day visit to the Gulf emirate.

In freezing Antarctic waters, amid bobbing chunks of floating ice, the hums, pitches and echoes of life in the deep are helping scientists understand the behavior and movements of marine mammals.

The United States is facing a new and "serious" national security threat, top officials warned Wednesday, with two media outlets reporting it involves a Russian attempt to build a space-based nuclear capability.

Argentina's monthly inflation slowed slightly in January, but the prices of key goods and services rose 254 percent year-on-year, the statistics agency said Wednesday.

Nine people, seven of them civilians, were killed on Wednesday in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon, official sources said, while the Israeli army said it lost a soldier in cross-border rocket fire.

Rocio San Miguel, the Venezuelan lawyer and human rights activist whose arrest has prompted an international outcry, is a woman renowned for standing up to the country's secretive and powerful military.

US Treasury Department suggests that while dollar alternatives are emerging, they do not currently pose a major threat in illicit finance activities.

In an Argentine soup kitchen, empty plastic containers are piling up from hungry visitors, and the cooks are worried their limited supply of pasta will not be enough to fill them.

Senegalese President Macky Sall held a cabinet meeting on Wednesday facing international and national calls to re-schedule a postponed presidential election and resolve the grave political crisis.

The United Nations' rights office in Colombia urged the government Wednesday to guarantee the election of a new attorney general "without interference" after a bumpy process that has sparked political turmoil.

British annual inflation steadied last month, official data showed Wednesday, but prices still rose at double the Bank of England's target rate, adding to uncertainty over the timing of an interest-rate cut.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in Cairo on Wednesday that they were turning a "new leaf" in their relations after over a decade of estrangement.

Researchers are still discovering how smoking continues to harm people's health even years after they quit, with a new study on Wednesday revealing tobacco's lasting effect on the immune system.

Prabowo Subianto is accused of rights abuses while serving as a military chief during the dying days of the Suharto dictatorship a generation ago, but now appears headed for a convincing win in Indonesia's presidential election.

Pakistan's newly declared coalition government echoes the 2022 alliance that ousted Imran Khan, analysts say, demonstrating the military's enduring influence, but also Khan's unspent opposition power.

Britain's main Labour opposition vowed Wednesday to act decisively over allegations of anti-Semitism, after suspending a second prospective MP over "unacceptable comments" about Israel.