WORLD

People forced to flee their homes by massive wildfires tearing through Los Angeles were taking turns to patrol their streets to ward off looters on Thursday.

Maria Corina Machado, a 57-year-old engineer with rock-star appeal, became the fearless figurehead of Venezuela's opposition after being barred from challenging strongman Nicolas Maduro in elections last July.

The chairman of Larsen & Toubro has ignited debate on social media for advocating a 90-hour work week for employees.

Film and television stars are among hundreds of people who have lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires that have ravaged parts of the world's showbiz capital.

The BepiColombo flew just 183 miles above the planet's surface on its sixth and final flyby before going into orbit next year

Poland's government said Thursday it would grant free access to Israeli officials wanting to attend the 80th anniversary of the Auschwitz-Birkenau liberation despite an arrest warrant for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The U.S. Department of State has announced a new $500 million military assistance package to bolster Ukraine's defense against Russia.

Opponents of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro took to the streets Thursday in a last-ditch protest against his swearing-in for a third six-year term as president.

France on Thursday charged the founder of an adult website used to commit sexual offences, including by a French man who recruited dozens of strangers to rape his heavily sedated wife, prosecutors said.

Mexico's government plans to offer up to $1,300 for people who hand in firearms including machine guns and assault rifles under a citizen disarmament program aimed at reducing violent crime.

Shell-shocked Los Angeles residents on Thursday surveyed the devastation from wind-whipped fires that have engulfed entire neighborhoods and claimed at least five lives, as forecasters warned of further dangerous conditions.

Chinaese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday pledged Beijing's full support and military aid for the world's poorest continent as he wrapped up his Africa tour in Nigeria.

Italy's far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said on Thursday Elon Musk's political interventions only caused outrage because he wasn't left-wing -- and that foreigners had been interfering in Italian politics for years.

A Chinese company is under fire for allegedly forcing staffers to swallow burning cotton buds, following the revelation of an employee who called out the "unreasonable" team-building activity.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Thursday refused to condemn president-elect Donald Trump's Greenland ambitions while insisting that the US acquiring the self-governing Danish territory is "not going to happen".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading on Thursday to Rome for talks with European counterparts on bringing stability to Syria in the face of flare-ups with Turkey, capping what is likely his final trip.

Jimmy Carter was to be honored Thursday with a state funeral at Washington's National Cathedral, amid a groundswell of tributes honoring the 39th US president and the last from the so-called Greatest Generation.

Sergio Conceicao has brought back the feelgood factor to AC Milan as the seven-time European champions host Cagliari on Saturday still on a high from a dramatic Italian Super Cup triumph over local rivals and Serie A kings Inter Milan.

The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, begins in Melbourne on Sunday and promises to be jam-packed with plotlines.

Reports that cases of a flu-like virus called HMPV are rising in China have sparked concern, but experts have dismissed fears that the situation is comparable to the beginnings of Covid-19 five years ago.

Hundreds of thousands of Catholic pilgrims swarmed the streets of Manila in search of a miracle Thursday, straining to reach a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ in an annual display of religious fervour.

Lebanese lawmakers are expected to finally elect a president Thursday after more than two years of deadlock, in a much-needed step to help lift the war-battered country out of financial crisis.

The United States has withheld a dues payment of $3.6 million to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for not conducting an independent audit of operations, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said Wednesday.

Lucas Bergvall condemned Liverpool to only their second defeat this season as the teenager's late strike earned Tottenham a controversial 1-0 win in the League Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday.

Scores of thousands of Catholic pilgrims swarmed the streets of Manila in search of a miracle Thursday, straining to reach a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ in an annual display of religious fervour.

Gunfire erupted Wednesday evening inside the presidency in Chad's capital N'Djamena, with tanks and a heavy security presence on the streets, according to AFP reporters on the scene and security sources.

Dozens of evacuated Los Angeles residents stared incredulously at the thick cloud of black smoke blotting out the sun, scarcely able to believe the scale of the wildfires, and fearing that their homes could be destroyed next.

Israel's minister of defense, Israel Katz, announced the death of two Israeli hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that its troops had recovered the body of a hostage in Gaza and brought it back to Israel following a "complex and difficult operation".