WORLD

Turkey's competition authority has launched an investigation into Spotify for anti-competitive practices as a deputy minister demanded legal action over "provocative" playlists allegedly offensive to the president's wife and disrespectful of Islam.

Britain reestablished full diplomatic relations with Syria on Saturday, more than a decade after cutting ties, as Foreign Secretary David Lammy met the country's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus.

Wimbledon top seed Jannik Sinner crushed Pedro Martinez to reach the last 16 without losing a set on Saturday while title rival Novak Djokovic targets his 100th victory at the tournament.

Rescue teams in Pakistan worked in searing heat and humidity on Saturday to recover residents trapped under the rubble of a building that collapsed, killing 16 people.

Russia's decision to formally recognise the Taliban government has been seen as an opening for a stronger economy by some Afghans, while others were sceptical that it would improve their lot.

Bosnian authorities on Friday dropped an arrest warrant against Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik after he agreed to be questioned over accusations of making secessionist moves in the divided Balkan nation.

At least 13 people were dead after flash flooding hit south-central Texas early Friday, officials said, with more than 20 girls at a summer camp still unaccounted for.

British pop legends Oasis kicked off a hotly anticipated worldwide reunion tour in Cardiff on Friday, commencing an unlikely comeback few thought possible nearly 16 years after last performing together.

Mohamed Salah said the death of Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota in a car crash had left him "frightened" to return to the club as devastated fans swarmed to Anfield to pay their respects.

Hamas said Friday it was holding consultations with other Palestinian groups on a proposed truce with Israel, in a possible sign that it was preparing for negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire.

The Tour de France sets off Saturday with superstar Tadej Pogacar and his rival Jonas Vingegaard sharing top billing with the magnificent 3,338-kilometre route itself.

A five-storey building collapsed in Pakistan on Friday, killing at least seven people and injuring eight, officials said, with rescuers searching through the rubble for trapped victims.

Two-time champion Jonas Vingegaard said he was feeling stronger than ever Friday and confident of winning another Tour de France as tensions mount on the eve of the start.

Russia launched its largest-ever drone and missile attack on Ukraine overnight on Friday just hours after a telephone call between US and Russian presidents ended without any breakthrough.

US President Donald Trump will sign his flagship tax and spending bill Friday in a pomp-laden Independence Day ceremony featuring fireworks and a flypast by the type of stealth bomber that bombed Iran.

A North Korean civilian voluntarily crossed the heavily mined land border between the two countries, aided by the South's military in a delicate 20-hour operation, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday.

The United States and Colombia called home their respective envoys on Thursday in an apparent acceleration of worsening ties, against the backdrop of an alleged plot against Colombia's leftist leader.

Afghanistan's government said on Thursday that Russia had become the first country to officially recognise its rule, calling it a "brave decision".

Even for a man who once boasted that his supporters would get "tired of winning," US President Donald Trump is on a roll.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday secured a major political victory when Congress narrowly passed his flagship tax and spending bill, cementing his radical second-term agenda and boosting funds for his anti-immigration drive.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin told US President Donald Trump by telephone on Thursday that Moscow will not "give up" on its aims in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 69 people on Thursday, including 15 in a strike on a school sheltering Palestinians displaced by the war nearing its 22nd month.

The US trade deficit widened more than expected in May, with both imports and exports declining as US President Donald Trump's tariffs sent shock waves through the economy and snagged supply chains.

Mali's military authorities on Thursday granted the junta chief a five-year presidential mandate, renewable "as many times as necessary" and without election.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday said a multi-billion-dollar mega-dam on the Blue Nile that has long worried neighbouring countries is complete and will be officially inaugurated in September.

US lawmakers teed up a final vote on Donald Trump's marquee tax and spending bill for early Thursday after a bruising day of Republican infighting that threatened to derail the centerpiece of the president's domestic agenda.

China's first domestically built aircraft carrier sailed into Hong Kong on Thursday, just days after the city marked 28 years under Chinese rule.

Hindus began a vast month-long pilgrimage in contested Indian Kashmir on Thursday, with many of the faithful starting from near the site where a deadly April attack triggered conflict with Pakistan.

When an Indonesian mother dropped off her daughter at school in May, she did not expect her to become violently sick after eating lunch from the government's new billion-dollar free meal programme.