WORLD

Hundreds of Muslim men set fire to churches and vandalised Christian homes during a rampage in eastern Pakistan on Wednesday, officials said, after Christians were accused of blasphemy.

Scores of migrants, many of them children and a pregnant woman, arrived in small boats on England's south coast on Wednesday, undeterred by the dangerous Channel crossing from France which claimed at least six lives over the weekend.

Moscow's Luna-25 lander was successfully placed in the Moon's orbit Wednesday, the first such Russian mission in almost 50 years, space agency Roscosmos announced.

Iceland's meteorological office on Wednesday declared that the volcanic eruption near the country's capital Reykjavik was officially over as no activity had been observed for 10 days.

The agreement between Washington and Tokyo is set to be formalized on the sidelines of the upcoming trilateral summit involving the United States, Japan, and South Korea.

The German government approved a draft law Wednesday legalising the purchase and possession of small amounts of cannabis for recreational use, despite criticism from opposition politicians and judges.

Seventeen troops died in a jihadist ambush in Niger, the government said, in a reminder of the nation's deep security crisis as its military rulers face off against neighbours determined to reverse last month's coup.

Kenya's debt level has reached record highs despite President William Ruto's vow to tame the country's appetite for loans, treasury figures show.

Britain's annual inflation rate dropped sharply in July to a 15-month low, official data revealed Wednesday, off the back of lower energy prices and in line with economists' expectations.

Hong Kong's stock exchange operator reported a "strong" first-half net profit of HK$6.31 billion ($807 million) on Wednesday, up 31 percent on the same period last year despite IPO activity being impacted by "global market fragility".

A "spy" helicopter and warnings they are entering "the jungle" are a taste of the national fervour England must overcome when they face Australia in the Women's World Cup semi-finals in Sydney on Wednesday.

For desperate Syrians, a WhatsApp message saying "I want to go to Europe" can be all they need to start a treacherous journey to Libya and then across the Mediterranean.

A spate of violent muggings by machete-wielding thieves in Indonesia has drawn coded calls from prominent politicians for them to be killed-on-sight by police, in comments condemned by rights groups as condoning extrajudicial murders.

Jordan Evoy's escape from wildfires raging in Canada's far north was the "scariest moment" of his life as flareups closed roads, forcing him to backtrack to catch a military flight out in the Northwest Territories' largest ever evacuation.

Engineering student Somaya Faruqi had to flee Afghanistan to continue her studies after the Taliban government returned to power two years ago and banned more than 1.1 million girls and women from schools and universities.

Iranian authorities have re-arrested a journalist who interviewed the father of the woman whose custody death sparked months of protests, just two days after her release from jail, activists said on Tuesday.

Russia began testing its new digital ruble with consumers on Tuesday, in the hope blockchain technology will help it evade sanctions and tighten control over its citizens.

Argentina has been left reeling by the surprise surge of political outsider Javier Milei to the front of the race ahead of October presidential elections.

Flooding in China's rice fields is expected to result in lower yields that will then drive global prices up and affect food security in rice importing countries.

Rights campaigners have urged Tanzania to release three people, including a former legislator, saying they could face treason charges for criticising a deal with an Emirati company to manage the country's ports.

Surrounded by flames on Hawaii's scenic Lahaina boardwalk with cars exploding in the heat around her, Annelise Cochran decided jumping into the sea was her only choice.

Around 50,000 people attended Tuesday's funeral for an influential Islamist leader in Bangladesh, police said, after news of his death while he was in prison for war crimes prompted violent anti-government protests.

The number of people not working in the UK due to chronic illnesses has soared since the pandemic, putting pressure on the British economy, analysts said on Tuesday.

Russia's central bank on Tuesday hiked its key interest rate from 8.5 to 12 percent, after the ruble crashed to a more than 16-month low against the dollar.

India has increased force levels and assumed a military posture designed to anticipate and deter Chinese aggression at their shared border.

Russian missiles killed three people in the Ukrainian city of Lutsk early Tuesday, the latest deadly strike on the west of the country suffering an uptick in aerial attacks.

Military chiefs from the West African bloc ECOWAS will meet in Ghana on Thursday and Friday to discuss possible intervention in Niger, military and political sources in the region said Tuesday.

Religious leaders and politicians in northern Nigeria have opened back-door channels in a frantic attempt to stave off military intervention in coup-stricken Niger.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was forced Tuesday to scrap her trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji after her plane suffered recurring technical problems, the latest in a series of incidents with the German fleet.