WORLD

Dutch authorities said on Sunday they believed an explosion and inferno that caused an apartment block to collapse killing at least five people was a criminal act.

Brandishing the flag of the opposition, dozens of Syrian refugees in Iraq's Kurdistan region on Sunday celebrated the fall of Bashar al-Assad, dubbing the Syrian president's fall a victory for the "revolution".

Reda al-Khedr was only five when his mother escaped the siege of Homs in 2014.

Donald Trump doubled down Sunday on hard-line campaign pledges to impose trade tariffs and carry out mass deportations, while dangling the idea that the United States could withdraw from NATO. In his first formal television interview -- and just six weeks before he takes office -- Trump again signaled that US support for Ukraine will scale back, saying he will "probably" cut the aid helping Kyiv repel the Russian invasion.

Former president John Mahama, Ghana's main opposition leader, tried twice before to win back the country top post.

Ghana's ruling New Patriotic Party candidate, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, on Sunday conceded defeat in the country's presidential election after failing to shake off widespread frustration over the struggling economy.

Ghana's opposition on Sunday claimed provisional results showed its candidate John Mahama winning the weekend presidential election, though electoral authorities said they were still collating the official tallies.

US president-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is keen on a "deal" to end the war with Russia, after the pair met in Paris to discuss the future of the conflict.

Romanians on Sunday protested outside a voting station near Bucharest together with far-right presidential frontrunner Calin Georgescu after a top court scrapped the scheduled run-off vote after allegations of Russian interference.

Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic, known for works that push her body and her audience to extreme limits, is these days inviting people to decompress by taking a break from digital overload.

Newly restored Notre Dame cathedral is set to hold its first service for the public on Sunday after a historic re-opening ceremony that saw firefighters, builders and artists celebrated for their work saving the 12th-century masterpiece.

Taylor Swift's record-shattering "Eras Tour" is set to end on Sunday in Vancouver with the final performance of a cultural phenomenon that has easily become the highest-grossing musical tour in history.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday called a deliberately lit fire in a Melbourne synagogue an act of "terrorism" and warned about the "worrying rise in anti-Semitism" in Australia.

South Korea's former defence minister was arrested Sunday, local media reported, a day after President Yoon Suk Yeol survived an impeachment vote over his calamitous attempt to impose martial law.

Qatar's prime minister said on Saturday that momentum had returned to talks aimed at securing a truce and hostage exchange deal in Gaza following Donald Trump's election as US president.

More than 13 years since Bashar al-Assad's security forces opened fire on protesters demanding democratic reforms, the Syrian president's grip on power may finally be weakening.

Yemen's warring parties and beleaguered people cannot wait indefinitely for a roadmap to peace before the country slips back to war, the UN special envoy told AFP. Hans Grundberg insisted it was "still possible" to solve the conflict in impoverished Yemen, where Iran-backed Huthi rebels control much of the country.

With Donald Trump, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and dozens of other world leaders in town Saturday for the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral, Emmanuel Macron has succeeded in making Paris the capital of international diplomacy for the day.

Gasps of frustration. A gasp of disappointment rippled through the crowd when a special probe bill to investigate suspicions surrounding First Lady Kim Keon Hee was struck down.

Georgian police said on Saturday they arrested dozens of people during a crackdown on pro-EU protesters who rallied Friday for a ninth consecutive day against the government decision to shelve talks on joining the bloc.

A three-storey apartment block in The Hague partially collapsed Saturday after a fire and explosion, firefighters said, with first responders searching for people under the rubble.

In 1973, when Shin Jae-hyung was a teenager, he was out in the streets being teargassed, fighting against South Korea's then-military dictator Park Chung-hee.

US president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday landed in Paris on his first international trip since his election win, preparing for a day of intense diplomacy before attending the reopening ceremony for the Notre Dame cathedral restored after the 2019 fire.

Romanian police raided houses on Saturday linked to a probe into alleged irregularities in the first-round presidential election win of far-right outsider Calin Georgescu, a day after the top court cancelled the imminent run-off.

A string of rape and assault allegations against the son of Norway's future queen have plunged the royal family into its "biggest scandal" ever, wrapping up an "annus horribilis" for the monarchy.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has staggered from one crisis to another since winning power but he topped it all this week by declaring martial law and sending troops and helicopters to parliament.

Ghana's vice president and former central banker Mahamudu Bawumia faces off against opposition ex-president John Mahama on Saturday in a closely fought election to decide on the country's new president.

Pope Francis will on Saturday create 21 new cardinals from five continents, including bishops from Algiers, Tehran, Tokyo and Abidjan -- many of whom may one day help choose his successor.

South Korea's embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol was set to address the nation Saturday ahead of an impeachment vote in parliament and major protests calling for his departure.