WORLD

A Syria war monitor reported on Saturday that more than 300 civilians from the Alawite minority have been killed in recent days by security forces and their allies, as authorities clash with militants loyal to the former government of Bashar al-Assad.

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was released from detention Saturday after a court voided his arrest on procedural grounds -- but he remains under investigation over his declaration of martial law.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a project to build a nuclear-powered submarine, state media reported Saturday, saying that "radically" boosting the navy was a key part of Pyongyang's defensive strategy.

US President Donald Trump imposed vast tariffs this week on key partners Canada and Mexico, roiling cross-border ties before offering temporary relief to manufacturers -- but with more levies kicking in next week, the respite may be fleeting.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Friday endorsed an Arab League counter-proposal to US President Donald Trump's controversial plan to take over Gaza and displace its residents, two ministers told AFP. The decision by the 57-member grouping came at an emergency meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, three days after the Arab League ratified the plan at a summit in Cairo.

A measles outbreak in the southwestern United States has killed two people and infected more than 200, prompting a top health agency to issue a travel warning.

Turkey, with NATO's second-largest army and a Black Sea coastline, is looking to play a key role in Europe's security after Washington's pivot away from the region.

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell flagged high uncertainty Friday surrounding President Donald Trump's economic policies and their effects, but maintained that the central bank need not rush to adjust interest rates.

In their home in war-devastated Gaza City, Iman Farhat and her husband cherish the "paradise" brought by their newly-adopted baby, one of many orphans in the Palestinian territory after more than 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Friday announced a slew of measures aimed at boosting his country's defence, including a possible exit from a landmark anti-mines treaty and large-scale military trainings for men.

Before it could cast its first gold bar, Amaroq had to build a port and housing, repair a road, and ship over equipment -- a logistical nightmare highlighting the complexities of mining in inhospitable Greenland.

Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa on Friday announced a preemptive amnesty for security forces fighting drug cartels in the violence-wracked port of Guayaquil, where 22 people were killed in clashes between rival gangs.

France's defence minister is to hold talks next week with counterparts from Britain, Germany, Italy and Poland to discuss support for Ukraine, an aide said on Friday.

The son of jailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai has called for an urgent meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying he was "desperate" as his father's defence drew to a close in a high-profile trial.

Iran will not resume negotiations with the United States on its nuclear programme while President Donald Trump applies his "maximum pressure" policy, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told AFP on Friday.

US President Donald Trump said he has written to Iran pressing for talks on preventing the development of nuclear weapons, warning it faces possible military action if not.

Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik on Friday called on ethnic Serbs to quit the federal police force and courts and join the government of the deeply divided country's Serb statelet.

Sri Lanka signed a deal with Japan Friday to restructure $2.5 billion in loans, marking the first agreement with bilateral creditors who had pledged debt relief to the cash-strapped nation last year.

Pope Francis marked three weeks battling double pneumonia in hospital on Friday, reported by the Vatican to be "stable" but sounding weak and breathless in his first audio message.

On a lush green hilltop on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, Carmela Keren Yakuti proudly shows off her home in Dovev, which she fled more than 16 months ago over fears of a Hezbollah attack.

A South Korean court cancelled the arrest warrant of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday, but he remains behind bars with the prosecution likely to appeal.

Four years after the death of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, seven healthcare professionals will go on trial next week accused of negligence during his final days.

China's foreign minister on Friday vowed Beijing would "firmly counter" US pressure, after Donald Trump heaped tariffs on Chinese goods and torched off a trade war between the world's two largest economies.

President Donald Trump on Thursday renewed doubts over his commitment to the NATO alliance, saying countries that are not spending adequately on their militaries do not deserve defense.

Four years after Argentina became the first big Latin American country to legalize abortion, women are finding it hard to access terminations due to President Javier Milei's "chainsaw" economics and anti-feminist diatribes, critics say.

Guyana on Thursday sought relief from the UN's highest court after Venezuela said it would hold elections in the oil-rich Essequibo border region that both neighbors lay claim to.

President Donald Trump boasts he has brought illegal border crossings into the United States to record lows, but experts say the reasons for the drop go beyond his hardline anti-immigration stance.

The daughter of convicted French rapist Dominique Pelicot said Thursday she had filed a complaint against her father accusing him of sexual abuse, after he was jailed for repeatedly sedating and raping her mother Gisele Pelicot along with dozens of strangers.

Albanian authorities said Thursday they were moving to shut down TikTok in the coming days, following through on a ban announced in December.