Senators voted 13-1, with six Duterte allies abstaining, that the constitutionally required two-thirds guilty verdict by "all members of the Senate" refers only to those "capable of participating".

At least four senators loyal to the vice president, including two now in jail, are now absent from the impeachment proceedings.

On Wednesday, presiding judge Senator Francis Escudero said the decision, which effectively lowers the number of guilty votes needed from 16 to 14, would be treated as the "controlling ruling" going forward.

"While the chair takes exception to this decision, the chair nonetheless accepts it as a judgment of this court and is bound to give it effect," said Escudero, who was the sole "no" vote.

Duterte's lawyers can still appeal the lower threshold at the Supreme Court.

"We accept the decision without waiving our right to go up to the Supreme Court.... From today until the (verdict), many things can still happen," said Duterte defence counsel Michael Poa.

Vice presidential spokesperson Paolo Panelo called Wednesday's vote an attempt at "changing the constitution".

"Their aim is to manufacture a conviction. They cannot get 16, so they want to lower (it) to convict VP Sara," he said.

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on May 11 on allegations of graft, corruption, bribery and an alleged assassination plot against one-time ally President Ferdinand Marcos.

Should the Senate find her guilty, she will be stripped of the vice presidency and permanently barred from elected office.

Two of Duterte's allies are currently in prison on corruption charges and another is hiding while sought on an International Criminal Court warrant.

A fourth, who is out of the country seeking medical treatment, is under investigation.

But they are not alone. Five other senators in the Duterte camp are currently the subject of government probes.

Cleve Arguelles of pollster WR Numero told AFP ahead of the vote that "given the pressure Malacanang (the presidential palace) appears to be exerting on Duterte allies in the Senate, the working expectation is that the administration will continue trying to secure 16 votes".

Arguelles added he believed there was a "strong likelihood" that number could be reached even if the lowered threshold made it unnecessary.

Marcos has repeatedly denied having any influence on the impeachment process.

Attacks on commercial vessels have multiplied in recent months as Russia and Ukraine seek to damage each other's export revenues, with the war now into its fifth year.

"The enemy targeted a commercial cargo ship sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda," the head of the Odesa region, Oleg Kiper, said.

"The captain of the ship, a Ukrainian citizen, was killed."

The ship was sailing on the Black Sea when it came under fire, the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority said.

At least 226 civilian and commercial vessels have been hit on the Black Sea since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Turkey's IMEAK chamber of shipping said.

Seventy percent -- or 163 attacks -- took place in the first eight months of this year.

Turkey has sent a proposal to Russia and Ukraine to end strikes on civilian ships but the two foes have failed to act on it.

South Korea and Japan said Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast Sunday, condemning the launches as threats to regional peace and security.

North Korea did not identify the weapon, saying only that its missile bureau had "successfully tested a new type of weapon" in a demonstration of "ultra-modern defence technology".

Analysts said the weapon appeared to be an upgraded version of North Korea's Hwasongpho-11Ma-1 hypersonic short-range ballistic missile.

With a range of 450 to 600 kilometres (around 280-370 miles), the hypersonic missile is "designed to strike key military facilities across the Korean peninsula within an extremely short period of time", Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.

Images released by Pyongyang's state media showed leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Ju Ae watching a screen displaying what appeared to be the missile's flight path, labelled "Hwasongpho-11Ma-1 flight trajectory".

The North Korean leader warned this week that the weapon's advances would give adversaries "an incurable headache and a very cruel and unavoidable blow", according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

Despite long-running UN sanctions, North Korea has enshrined its status as a nuclear-armed state in law, with its leaders repeatedly declaring its atomic arsenal permanent and irreversible.

North Korea has also secured critical backing from Russia alongside its traditional ally China, leaving fewer incentives for it to engage in renewed diplomacy with Washington.

"North Korea may be talking up its own capabilities, but it has clearly reached the point where it can launch weapons of this calibre," Ahn Chan-il, a researcher originally from North Korea, told AFP.

"I believe these tests are less about upgrading its own military capabilities than testing weapons produced by its defence industry to meet Russia's wartime demand."

Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, North Korea has become a key ally of the Kremlin, sending troops to support Moscow's war effort in return for economic benefits and military technology, analysts say.

Hong Sung-pyo, senior researcher at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for Military Affairs, said that if used against South Korea, the hypersonic weapon would pose a serious threat.

"But a single successful test is not enough to prove its capabilities. If deployed operationally, however, it would be extremely difficult to defend against," he told AFP.

"Because it manoeuvres as it descends during the terminal phase of flight, it is harder to track and intercept than a conventional ballistic missile -- particularly at hypersonic speeds."

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the region, fought a devastating civil war with the federal government in 2020-2022 that killed some 600,000 people, according to African Union estimates.

Sporadic clashes in recent months have raised fears of a return to war.

"While we were on our way to the airport for work, our supervisor called the driver and told him that the airport had been taken over by Tigray forces. Since there were no flights, he told us to return home," an employee at Alula Aba Nega Airport in the Tigrayan capital Mekelle told AFP.

The information was confirmed by a foreign security source based in Ethiopia.

A small number of federal police guard the airport, and their condition was unknown.

Flight Radar, an air traffic tracker, showed that Wednesday morning's flight between Mekelle and the federal capital, Addis Ababa, had been cancelled.

On Sunday, the TPLF was announced as a member of a new alliance of anti-government armed groups from across the country.

Ethiopia faces myriad insurgencies, including in its most populous regions, Oromia and Amhara.

The TPLF ruled the whole of Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018 before being sidelined with the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, eventually triggering the civil war.

The Pretoria Peace Agreement ended the war and maintained an uneasy calm until late 2025, when clashes resumed.

The federal government has since launched multiple drone strikes in Tigray and massed troops at the regional border.

Rights groups have accused the TPLF of a campaign of forced recruitment this year as it prepares for renewed conflict.

The region has not recovered from the last war, with around one million people still displaced and many aspects of the peace agreement still unfulfilled.

Ethiopian authorities have accused the TPLF of allying with neighbouring Eritrea, as well as Ethiopian armed groups.

The federal government has a significant military advantage, having ramped up production of military drones since the last conflict.

"There was fire and smoke, the blast lifted us up and threw us left and right, it was very powerful," said Ahmet Ozlu, 40, one of five fishermen on board the Turkish-flagged Duru 67 that was hit by a drone off Crimea on June 5.

Such attacks on commercial vessels have multiplied in recent months as the Russia-Ukraine war has spilled into the Black Sea, with Turkish ships increasingly in the firing line.

A fire broke out and the boat began taking on water, so the fishermen rushed to the bridge where they found their captain and childhood friend Cuneyt Varlik, 45, lying in a pool of his own blood, his carotid artery severed by shrapnel.

Putting out a distress call, they waited bleeding and terrified as the boat sank lower until they were rescued an hour later.

"We thought we were going to die. And we were terrified of another strike," said Ozlu, who suffered extensive shrapnel injuries.

The attack was never claimed but the Turkish coastguard told them it was a Ukrainian drone which hit them "by mistake", he said.

"We never thought Ukraine would hit us because our flag was raised. We are civilians, our boat doesn't carry weapons," said his older brother Mehmet Ozlu, 53, who suffered extensive internal and external injuries.

Both deeply traumatised, neither brother has been back out to sea due to their injuries, Mehmet explained while helping mend nets in the northeastern port of Trabzon.

"I still ask myself why Ukraine hit people like us, Turkish civilians. As a state, they owe us an answer and compensation because this has ruined my and my children's future," he said.

- 'Impossible to work' -

Despite its ties with both Russia and Ukraine, Turkey has been infuriated by the violence, accusing the warring sides of "attacking all commercial shipping without distinction".

"The recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea are unacceptable, regardless of who is responsible for them," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

Since the start of the war, 226 civilian and commercial vessels have been attacked in the Black Sea, the vast majority this year, Turkey's Chamber of Maritime Commerce (IMEAK) says.

"The fact that 163 -- more than 70 percent -- were targeted in the first eight months of 2026 clearly shows the gravity of the situation," IMEAK chairman Tamer Kiran said on August 27.

Of that number, 22 Turkish-owned vessels were attacked in the preceding two months, he said. Four more have been hit since then, industry sources say.

One was the MV Reyhan Sari that was attacked on July 22 after collecting a shipment of Russian coal, killing one and wounding three.

"It's impossible to work in the Black Sea, especially now," said Enes Torun, 21, who is studying to become a captain and was sleeping when the first drone hit, shrapnel tearing into his body.

"It was a bad experience for me so early in my career," said Torun who is healing physically but struggling with PTSD and hasn't returned to the sea.

"Last year, I went to Ukraine when the war wasn't this intense, but now being in the Black Sea means accepting the possibility of death."

Earlier this month, a Turkish defence source said "almost 90 ships" were hit in August, with a Turkish diplomat telling AFP last week Ankara had reached out with a fresh proposal.

Confirming the approach, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the sides had come back with "demands and positions that are difficult to reconcile".

The Turkish Maritime Workers' Platform has accused Russia and Ukraine of blatant disregard for civilian lives.

"Both states are disregarding the lives of seafarers solely to undermine each other's economic interests," spokesman Ahmet Baran Can told AFP.

Torun said many sailors were refusing Black Sea jobs.

"If the ship gets hit, the shipowner gets insurance money, and if it doesn't, he earns 10 times what he'd get in Europe. But we're the ones on board who get hit."

- Deep unease -

Observers say Turkey has limited options as the Black Sea conflict enters "a very escalated phase".

"Russia and Ukraine are doing everything to deny the Black Sea to each other's vessels and ready to target non-belligerents so the other side cannot gain any advantage by using Turkish ships," said Serhat Guvenc, an international relations expert at Kadir Has University.

"The Ukrainians are not happy with Turkish reluctance to stop vessels from the so-called ghost fleet.. so they are probably trying to show them the cost of inaction."

Although Ankara has been reluctant to curtail Moscow's access to Turkish vessels, that could change if the attacks worsened, he predicted.

Despite the dangers, many Black Sea residents have little choice but to keep working, where fishing is a mainstay of the regional economy, explained Mustafa Yilmaz, local leader of the neighbourhood where the Duru 67 fishermen live.

But whenever they go out, they are anxious about being hit or inadvertently netting potentially dangerous war debris -- drones, bombs or grenades -- often carrying live payloads.

"You go out at night wondering if you'll hit something. It's really tough."

Critics say Najib should remain behind bars, while supporters have rallied around the former leader and launched a campaign to help him pay a fine tied to his transfer to house arrest.

Najib, 73, was jailed in 2022 for his role in one of the largest-ever global plunders of a sovereign wealth fund, the now-defunct 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

On Friday, King Sultan Ibrahim granted Najib's request to complete the remainder of his six-year sentence under house arrest -- provided he pays a 50-million-ringgit ($12 million) fine.

Najib is also appealing a separate 15-year prison term in another 1MDB-related case.

Prosecutors say about $4.5 billion was siphoned from the state fund in the 2010s, triggering investigations from Malaysia to the United States.

The scandal helped bring down the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), ending the party's six-decade grip on power in 2018.

Yet Najib remains a popular figure among his base and UMNO's grassroots supporters.

- 'Mockery of the law' -

"How can a convicted felon with more cases awaiting trial be allowed house arrest?" said James Chow, a 49-year-old entrepreneur.

"It's a waste of time and money and a mockery of the law," he told AFP.

Shyam Priah, 52, chief executive of a non-profit organisation, said she respected the king's "constitutional prerogative to grant a pardon".

But she questioned efforts to raise money for Najib's fine.

"Seeing ordinary Malaysians being mobilised to contribute 10 ringgit towards a 50 million ringgit fine for a former prime minister raises a bigger question for me about our priorities as a society," she told AFP.

"Ten ringgit can mean a meal for someone who is struggling," she said.

But Najib's supporters welcomed the king's decision.

"The supporters who love Najib have been looking forward to the moment he would be granted house arrest," Radiaa Rashid, 68, told AFP.

"We miss Najib Razak. Even though he can't be released, at least he'll be at home with his family, with his grandchildren and children," said supporter Suzzalina Anura, 43.

Local media reported donations topped one million ringgit by Monday after the campaign was launched, although some critics responded by contributing as little as one sen (0.01 ringgit) in protest.

- 'Difficult position' -

The episode has also highlighted UMNO's ongoing struggle to balance loyalty to its former leader with efforts to move beyond the scandal before the next general elections due by February 2028.

Bridget Welsh, an expert on Malaysian politics at the University of Nottingham Malaysia says UMNO's fundraising initiative has put the party in a "difficult position".

On one hand, the party must show support for Najib and reassure traditional supporters. On the other, it must appeal to younger voters who tend to have a far harsher view of corruption.

"The house arrest serves to build party unity, but it comes at the cost of outreach for the party, as it speaks to the legacy baggage the party still carries," she told AFP.

She said fundraising "within some traditional supporters... is seen as important given that Najib's accounts are believed to be frozen".

Yet the campaign risked pushing away younger voters and those in the political centre.

"With younger voters and those in the middle ground, this is alienating, seen as a party not willing to admit mistakes," Welsh said.

The men, from Sri Lanka's minority Muslim community, were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole by the Colombo High Court on Tuesday after a five-year trial.

Suicide bombers struck three luxury hotels and three churches on April 21, 2019, killing 279 people including 45 foreigners. Investigators blame the attack on a homegrown Islamist extremist group.

Court officials said the convicts got sentences ranging from 200 to 260 years, with an average of 220 years each. The judgement ran over 3,000 pages.

Defence lawyer Kaneel Maddumage said they would appeal the convictions as well as the record terms in the Supreme Court.

"Some of the defendants are not represented by counsel,but I requested on behalf of all the convicts that they be provided with copies of the proceedings to file their appeals," Maddumage said.

The High Court ruled that 14 of the accused were guilty of all charges, including murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possessing firearms under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

A 15th defendant was found guilty of only some of the charges. Nine others were acquitted.

The men were accused of aiding and abetting the suicide bombers who carried out the violence, which was the worst ever terror attack against civilians in Sri Lanka.

Among those convicted on all charges was Mohamed Naufar, whom prosecutors identified as the ringleader who provided support to the eight-member suicide squad that carried out the bombings.

It was the first criminal prosecution directly linked to the coordinated bombings, though a former police chief and an ex-security chief were sentenced to death in July for criminal negligence.

They were accused of failing to prevent the attacks despite prior intelligence warnings.

"The victims, including a pregnant woman, were gathered at a house shortly before 11:00 pm (2100 GMT Tuesday) when armed assailants reportedly entered the premises and opened fire," Thamsanqa Ntuli, the premier of KwaZulu-Natal province, of which Durban is the main city, told AFP, adding that two people survived the attack.

Like thousands of people in Gaza, Arafat chose to risk living in an apartment building damaged during nearly three years of war between Israel and Hamas, with countless Israeli airstrikes on the Palestinian territory.

"We were forced to live here because we had nowhere else to go. All of our homes were destroyed, our land was razed and we have nothing left," said Arafat, 47.

According to the UN, 84 percent of all structures in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed by October 2025, and Gaza's civil defence says 2,000 buildings across the territory are at risk of collapse.

Last week, 21 people including 12 children died in Gaza City after a six-storey building that local authorities said had been hit repeatedly by Israeli airstrikes collapsed. Israel denied having struck the building.

Arafat lives with her six daughters and husband in their old apartment building in Gaza City's Al-Shati Refugee Camp, which they left at the height of the war that began in October 2023 with Hamas's massive attack on Israel.

The family returned after an October 2025 ceasefire, which has reduced but not ended Israeli strikes. They found that their four-storey building, in which 30 people now live, had collapsed inward at the ground floor, the result, she said, of an Israeli ground operation in the area.

Like most buildings in Gaza City, the windows were blown away by blasts, with makeshift bedsheets spread across the frames providing little privacy.

As she spoke, Arafat illustrated her building's slant by leaving a water bottle sideways on the floor, only for it to quickly roll away to the other end of the room.

While no territory-wide estimate exists, Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, said last week that people across Gaza were living in "hundreds of damaged and unsafe shelters".

- 'Where can we go?' -

"Where can we go? Even though this house is dangerous," Arafat said. "We have been terrified ever since we heard about houses collapsing. The danger has become even greater" than we thought.

Gaza City municipal staff patrol the streets to identify buildings at risk of collapse and mark them with stencils.

"These homes pose a genuine threat to the lives of the displaced persons sheltering inside them, as well as to residents in the vicinity and those in nearby displacement camps," said Hosni Muhanna, a Gaza City spokesman.

But Muhanna knows that people are likely to remain in these buildings for lack of better options.

"Thousands of displaced people are forced to seek shelter in these dilapidated buildings which are on the verge of collapse to escape the hardships of displacement camps that offer no protection against the summer heat or winter cold."

Most residents of Gaza were displaced at least once during the war, and many of them remain in enormous camps for the displaced, in tents provided by humanitarian organisations or in improvised shelters.

- Stalled reconstruction-

With diseases such as the skin infection impetigo rampaging through certain camps due to the lack of waste disposal and general overcrowding, many Gaza residents have found it safer to take the risks of moving into the damaged buildings.

And with Gaza's economy in tatters, many remain dependent on aid, which Israel has allowed into Gaza with restrictions since the declaration of the US-brokered ceasefire in October 2025.

But Israel has kept carrying out airstrikes, and has restricted the entry of a range of equipment that it says could also have military use, but which Gazans and international NGOs say are needed for the territory's vast reconstruction needs.

These can include large machinery needed to clear rubble from the site of destroyed buildings, or spare parts and lubricants needed to keep other tools running, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in August.

With the ceasefire process stalled for months, reconstruction efforts planned under the ceasefire have yet to begin.

According to a joint assessment published by the United Nations, World Bank and European Union in April, Gaza will require $71.4 billion in recovery and reconstruction spending over the next decade.

"We're afraid a wall or the roof might fall on us, so we huddle together, afraid that one of us might get hurt," Arafat said.

AI has become a major topic at the UN General Assembly after incidents of the technology falling out of the control of humans and warnings by company insiders drew global alarm and calls for better government supervision of the industry.

Speaking to the assembly, Trump stood by his firm opposition to regulating AI, while arguing the word "artificial" undersold the technology and voicing hope the rest of the world would adopt the new term.

Super Intelligence "sounds much better" and "it's much more accurate," he said.

The rebrand is the latest in a series of renamings pursued by the Trump administration, which changed the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" via executive order last year and, in August, renamed Lake Ontario "Lake America" amid a trade dispute with Canada.

The US leader also compared the warnings of AI safety advocates to warnings about climate change, whose human causes are affirmed by the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community.

"The United States totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control... artificial intelligence," he said.

"Every major new technology brings challenges, and superintelligence is no exception," he added.

"The very same people who said we'll all be dead in 12 years because of global warming... are now saying that AI is going to kill us all, that robots are going to attack us, and that everything is going to be a total disaster."

Ahead of the UN assembly, leaders of more than 20 mostly European countries urged binding safety measures for advanced AI, warning that the technology's development could outpace the ability to control it.

AI superpowers China and the United States did not endorse the idea.

- 'Vassals' -

Speaking at the UN meeting, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Britain would launch an effort to establish global AI standards during its 2027 G20 presidency, while announcing an AI defense partnership with Washington to detect cyberattacks on critical infrastructure.

"We will work towards agreeing a single set of global principles and standards to ensure the transparency and access we need to increase our preparedness and to ensure that AI development is safe," he said.

He earlier revealed London plans to use Britain's role as host of the Group of 20 next year to push for a "single set of global principles and standards" around AI.

French President Emmanuel Macron proposed building AI technology independent from the great powers.

"I don't want anyone to become the vassal of one of the great powers," Macron told the UN General Assembly, apparently in reference to China and the US.

"Our investment capabilities must be pooled to build a cutting-edge open-source AI model, which we will share. We should not depend on somebody else."

The US-based AI giants themselves are increasingly asking for global coordination on AI safety, with OpenAI's Sam Altman set to address the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

Anthropic chief Dario Amodei and Hugging Face co-founder Clement Delangue will also participate remotely, a French official said Tuesday.

France, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, initiated the meeting and believes AI's threat to international peace and security has not been sufficiently discussed at the UN.

UN chief Antonio Guterres, meanwhile, called for the US and China to start a dialogue on the technology's future akin to US-Soviet engagement at the height of the Cold War.

"Governments with the greatest AI capabilities have the greatest responsibilities to humanity, to establish channels for dialogue," Guterres said in his address to the assembly.

"At a pivotal moment during the Cold War, strategic rivals came to recognize the need to manage shared existential risks."

China and the US are currently discussing creating a communication channel for AI concerns in anticipation of a Washington summit meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

The findings follow a similar assessment by the United Nations and come ahead of a global summit in Armenia where nations will review progress toward the biodiversity targets.

The "30x30" goal was the centrepiece of a landmark pact reached in 2022 by nearly 200 nations that was informally dubbed the "Paris Agreement for nature".

But rhetoric had not been followed by action, said a report by environmental groups Campaign for Nature and Together for the Ocean.

"Governments have already demonstrated that rapid progress is possible, but the world is not yet on track to achieve 30 percent coverage," Campaign for Nature director Brian O'Donnell told reporters.

If governments delivered their commitments in full, the amount of land and inland waters designated as protected or conserved could reach 27 percent by 2030, the report said.

But oceans might only reach 12 percent coverage by the end of the decade.

In a statement last month, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN treaty that oversees the global nature goals, also warned that countries were off track.

- Missing money -

Money for conservation is one of the biggest barriers.

The report's authors estimated that between $100 billion and $180 billion was needed every year to reach the 2030 target -- but annual spending lagged at roughly $24 billion.

"The gap is particularly stark for the ocean, where approximately $16 billion is needed annually but only an estimated $1.8 billion is currently spent," the report said.

Much of the funding would be needed in developing countries, which host many of the world's richest ecosystems but lack the means to properly defend these biodiversity hotspots.

O'Donnell said governments would need to dig deeper into their budgets but could also legislate to require that polluting industries -- such as fossil fuel and mining companies -- contribute to conservation.

"They're not going to do that voluntarily," he said.

He said the 30x30 goal "remains achievable" but not without a big lift.

"We don't want to sugarcoat this and say, this will not be without a challenge," he said.

The biodiversity pact committed nations to halting and reversing nature loss by 2030, including by meeting the 30x30 target, cutting pollution and restoring ecosystems.

The UN biodiversity summit in Yerevan, starting October 19, is the first time nations will address the progress shortfall and discuss how to get the targets back on track.

State broadcaster IRIB posted a video clip of Pezeshkian exiting a plane with a caption saying that the Iranian president has arrived at a New York airport. This is the first time that a leader whose country is at war with the United States sets foot on American soil to address a UN gathering, analysts say.

Several US officials attended the meeting in addition to Trump, a White House official said, including top advisor Stephen Miller, chief of staff Susie Wiles, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

No further details of the meeting were immediately available.

Rodriguez, who was set to address the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, is the first Venezuelan head of state to visit since deposed president Nicolas Maduro was captured in a US military raid in January.

Rodriguez was Venezuela's vice president under Maduro, but has thus far cooperated with Washington's demands, including granting US access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves, the largest in the world.

Trump mentioned Venezuela during his address at the UN on Tuesday, saying: "When you add the United States and Venezuela together, we have more than 60 percent of the oil in the world."

"To the victor belong the spoils," he added.

AI-created ads -- placing politicians in fictitious situations -- have proliferated ahead of the November elections, a largely unregulated form of political communication that is increasingly being adopted despite a broader backlash against the technology.

Earlier this month, Republican Senate nominee in Texas, Ken Paxton, posted an AI-generated ad on X depicting his Democratic rival James Talarico saying: "Look, I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity."

The lifelike clip shows Talarico writing "let there be six genders" in a Bible with multicolored crayons. Overlaid text reads: "James Talarico wrong for Texas" and "wrong for America," while a QR code seeks donations for Paxton.

Talarico condemned the ad, saying "they are lying about a candidate in this race" and that he favored a ban on deepfakes in political campaigns.

"These AI deepfake ads don't add anything to our civic discourse," he told NBC News. "They don't do anything to elucidate the choice that's in front of voters."

The ad came a few weeks after a conservative nonprofit aligned with President Donald Trump released another AI clip depicting Talarico parodying Julie Andrews's character in the hit classic Sound of Music, dressed in a jumper-style bodice and skirt and singing "My favorite things."

- 'Erodes trust' -

The proliferation of AI ads in US federal, state and local elections comes against the backdrop of declining trust in the technology.

"The concern might be not that people believe the ads but the ads and general AI slop content risk people doubting everything," Sarah Kreps, director of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University, told AFP.

"People might just dismiss real content as another deepfake, which erodes trust, causing voters to tune out rather than dig deeper for authenticity."

The Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks election ad spending, has identified at least 164 political ads nationwide so far this year that were "generated or enhanced through the use of AI." It estimates that the ads cost just under $80 million.

That tally of ads -- sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats and splashed across airwaves and social media -- was an undercount.

The group said it was difficult to definitively know whether AI tools had been used in some ads, especially as there were no federal mandates that political ads carry an AI disclaimer.

"Just the knowledge that the tech has become good enough to deceive the average viewer combined with the fact that it is being used in election communication is enough to undermine voters trust in the broader election communication ecosystem," Ilana Beller, from the nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen, told AFP.

- 'Modern political cartoon' -

However, cheap and widely available AI tools help save on the often exorbitant costs of producing ads.

"There's no need to pay for a camera crew or hire actors to create good-looking content on a short timeline. They also open the door to creativity -- no special effects editors required," Isabel Linzer, from the nonpartisan Center for Democracy & Technology, told AFP.

In many cases, Linzer said, satirical or humorous AI ads serve as "the modern political cartoon."

"A worthy question is whether using AI in political ads is a stunt that will boost a candidate through generating substantial free media attention," she added.

The AI-generated ads could help candidates with goals such as fundraising and mobilizing supporters, but there is scant evidence that they influence how people vote, said Scott Babwah Brennen, director of the Center on Technology Policy at New York University.

"Much of this does seem to be effective in gaining attention, though it is unclear if that will translate into electoral success," Babwah Brennen told AFP.

"As public sentiment grows against AI, it is possible that AI-generated negative attack ads could backfire -- that is decreasing assessments of the producer of the ad."

"It's going to be a long-term, fantastic relationship," Trump said at a signing ceremony on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

"This is tremendous for Europe and for the United States and for everybody," he added.

Under the 10-page pact, the United States will build two military bases in southern and eastern Greenland.

These will be established in Narsarsuaq in the south of the island and Mestersvig in the east, in addition to the Pituffik base it already operates in the north.

The deal also reaffirmed "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark" while recognizing Greenland's "right to self-determination."

Since returning to the presidency in January 2025, Trump repeatedly insisted that the United States needed control over Greenland for security reasons, alarming NATO ally Denmark and sparking fierce pushback from the alliance.

Greenland, which lies on the shortest route for missiles between Russia and the United States, represents a highly strategic location for Trump's desired "Golden Dome" defense shield.

It also has untapped rare earth deposits and could be a critical player as melting polar ice opens up new shipping routes.

- 'Peace of mind' -

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her country "stands in a better place than we did yesterday" with the agreement.

"As everyone knows, we live in uncertain times," she told reporters after signing the deal.

"I hope the agreement will bring more peace of mind in Greenland, because it has been a tough time," she said.

Earlier, she told Trump that his message has been clear: "You don't want adversaries to come too close."

"I fully agree, and with this deal, they are not," she added.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen added that Greenland matters for North American security and for transatlantic security.

"This agreement reflects that we understand our responsibility and act accordingly," he added.

He later said that while the pact is a step in a good direction, "back home we need to rebuild trust, and that will be a process for us."

In Copenhagen, 40-year-old barber Gavin Sharpe told AFP: "It's just the same situation."

He believes that Trump's messaging was meant to win over US voters, adding that "I think it is exactly the same deal they had before."

The agreement blocks non-NATO, non-EU countries from strategic sectors in Greenland, in an attempt to bar US adversaries China and Russia from gaining a foothold in the Arctic.

Such parties will generally not be allowed "control, significant influence, or access to non-public information that may constitute a threat to national security or public order" within sensitive sectors.

EU chief Antonio Costa welcomed the deal on Tuesday as a "positive step for transatlantic cooperation and Arctic security."

"The EU stands ready to continue working closely with Greenland, Denmark and our transatlantic partners for a peaceful, secure and prosperous Arctic," Costa posted on X.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz similarly expressed support for the deal.

The agreement also stipulates that Greenland, home to 57,000 inhabitants, must continue to abide by the agreement even if it obtains independence from Denmark.

It should also remain in or join NATO "if necessary."

Under a 1951 defense pact updated in 2004, Washington was already able to ramp up its military presence on the island provided it informed Denmark and Greenland in advance.

Relations between India and Canada effectively collapsed following the 2023 killing near Vancouver of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Sikh activist who campaigned for a breakaway state called Khalistan.

Canada's then-prime minister, Justin Trudeau, publicly accused India of involvement in the assassination, a charge denied by New Delhi. Both sides expelled a string of diplomats in 2024.

Carney, who replaced Trudeau last year, has pushed for a reset, arguing that Canada needs access to the enormous Indian market as part of its effort to diversify its trade relationships and reduce dependence on the United States.

Speaking to reporters at the United Nations on Tuesday, Carney said: "We are making good progress in our trade negotiations with India. It is an exceptionally important relationship on many, many levels."

Carney said he and Modi had targeted the middle of December to finalize a new trade deal, adding "I very much look forward to hosting him."

Carney has faced pressure over what critics call his softer stance toward Modi's government, which Trudeau said bore direct responsibility for the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.

Carney visited India in March, saying Canada wanted a "strategic partnership" with "the fastest-growing major economy and a powerhouse of global commerce and technology."

The makeshift altar will host the head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics as he holds a giant open-air mass on the Place de la Concorde and adjoining Champs-Elysees this weekend.

The event is just one on a busy agenda for the first US pontiff, whose paternal grandmother was born in France, as he makes a four-day visit from Friday to the historically Catholic but increasingly non-religious nation.

Leo will address a wide range of thorny issues during his trip, ranging from clerical sexual abuse and the dangers of artificial intelligence to the migration crisis and peace in Europe.

Only around five percent of France's 69 million residents go to Catholic church regularly, a survey last year found, in a deeply secular country that has enshrined the right to abortion in the constitution and approved assisted dying for some patients.

But while infant christenings have dwindled in recent years, adult baptisms are on the rise, with thousands choosing to embrace the faith.

"For the past 40 to 50 years, France has essentially been a kind of advanced laboratory for what is happening to Catholicism in Western -- or at least European -- democracies," Francois Mabille, director of the Geopolitical Observatory of Religion, told AFP.

"That shift from a Catholicism passed down through generations to one based on personal commitment is probably something that interests the pope," he said.

Pope John Paul II travelled to France eight times between 1980 and 2004, while Pope Benedict XVI officially visited once in September 2008.

Pope Francis made three visits -- to Strasbourg, Marseille and the island of Corsica -- but none were state trips.

- Paris -

On Friday, President Emmanuel Macron will greet the pope at the Elysee palace after meeting him earlier this year at the Vatican.

Leo comes to France as the eurozone's second-largest economy gears up for presidential elections next year to replace Macron, with the far right eyeing its best chance yet at seizing power.

The pope will then head to the UNESCO headquarters, where it is thought he will speak about artificial intelligence, after earlier this year issuing a call to "disarm" AI to "prevent it from dominating humanity".

A short popemobile drive away, he will attend a ceremony at Notre Dame, the storied cathedral ravaged by a fire in 2019.

Pope Francis had declined an invitation to its reopening in late 2024, when high-profile guests included then US president-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.

In the evening, Leo will pray with tens of thousands of young Catholics aged 17 to 35 in a stadium outside Paris.

On Saturday, he is to meet migrants before holding the giant afternoon mass from Place de la Concorde. Around 600,000 people have already signed up.

- Lourdes -

On Sunday, the pope will be in Lourdes, a town at the foot of the Pyrenees in southwestern France, where, according to Catholic tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared in a grotto in 1858 to a poor peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous.

Leo is to hold Sunday mass in a field near the grotto, which has become a pilgrimage site for Christians worldwide seeking healing.

But he will also speak privately with seven victims of clerical sex abuse, including a now 80-year-old former student of a nearby Catholic boarding school rocked in recent years by allegations of mass physical and sexual abuse.

- Metz -

For the last leg of his trip, on Monday, Leo will celebrate mass in the northeastern city of Metz near the German border, a rare part of France where some priests are still on the state payroll.

At a time of strained transatlantic ties and as Russia's invasion of Ukraine grinds on in its fifth year, Leo is expected to make a speech about peace in Europe. EU heads of state and government have been invited to attend, a French presidential source has said.

The pope will also meet representatives of the country's main faiths -- Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Orthodox Christian and Buddhist -- to sign a peace declaration.

The agreement was signed during a visit to the violence-plagued central American country by nine prosecutors from different US federal districts.

The investigators met with President Bernardo Arevalo, who has made the fight against corruption a key tenet of his mandate, and senior security and justice officials.

Jorgan Andrews, Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Guatemala City, told a press conference that the two countries would "prosecute drug traffickers, their allies, and those who provide them protection, including narco-politicians."

Guatemalan politics is under close US scrutiny over allegations of links between senior officials and businesspeople with criminal groups and drug traffickers.

In August, the US embassy warned that Washington would show "zero tolerance" towards "drug traffickers and those who provide them with political cover" ahead of elections next year.

Andrews said that the alliance with Arevalo's government aimed to curb the flow of narcotics into the United States and strengthen Guatemala's ability to investigate cases that will be tried in US courts.

Guatemalan Attorney General Gabriel Garc­a Luna called the agreement "historic."

Garcia Luna's predecessor, Consuelo Porras, was sanctioned by the United States for alleged corruption and anti-democratic practices.

She had tried to prevent Arevalo from taking office in 2024.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took part in a meeting with Trump's roving envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Trump's carrot-and-stick approach began with a bombastic speech to the UN General Assembly in New York focused heavily on his stalled, unpopular war against the Islamic Republic.

"I have a big decision to make -- will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country?" the 80-year-old said in his speech, during which all but one member of the Iranian delegation walked out.

"Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival?"

Trump said he believed Iran would make a deal immediately after November's midterm elections -- in which Republicans face losing control of Congress due largely to the conflict's drag on the US economy.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is slotted to address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

Just after his speech, Trump revealed that Iranian and US representatives had met for three hours on the sidelines of the UN gathering.

"They had a very good meeting, a very productive meeting -- they have another one scheduled in the very near future," Trump told reporters as he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump later added while meeting Gulf leaders at the UN that "I think there's a lot of momentum for them to make a deal, that's what we're hearing from everybody."

Iranian media reported that Araghchi gave Witkoff conditions for reopening the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway.

According to the state news agency IRIB, Araghchi said Tehran's demands included "the immediate lifting of the (US) naval blockade, the prompt payment of all Iranian assets that have been frozen, and an end to the war on all resistance fronts."

Witkoff, in an X post Tuesday evening, said mediators "shuttled between the two sides throughout the day."

"They successfully completed a round of discussions that we hope will prove constructive and promising," he said, adding "the mediators will continue their work."

- Ukraine talks -

Tuesday's talks were believed to be the first in-person discussions between Iranian and US officials since US Vice President JD Vance met senior Tehran officials in Switzerland in June.

Trump promised when the US and Israel launched the war on February 28 that it would be over in four or five weeks, but the conflict is grinding on more than six months later.

A ceasefire in April quickly broke down and negotiations have since stalled, with Iran refusing to cede control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has sought to justify the economic pain of high fuel prices caused by the war amid mounting voting anger, saying that Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

Despite the belligerent tone of much of his speech, Trump portrayed himself as a peacemaker who was acting in America's interests, declaring: "While others have ignored threats, I have confronted them."

Yet Trump's meeting with Zelensky underscored that he is still to secure a deal to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a war that he once claimed he could settle in 24 hours.

Trump insisted he was working with both sides to end the war, despite little evidence of Russian President Vladimir Putin being open to any settlement.

"It's going to happen, I think, more quickly than people understand," Trump said in his UN speech.

Zelensky later told journalists that Ukraine was ready to halt strikes on Russian energy sites if Moscow agrees to do likewise, after Trump called on him to stop hitting diesel refineries.

While at the UN, Trump also signed a security deal with Greenland and Denmark which has -- for now at least -- cooled his calls for seizing the autonomous Danish territory.

The pact will see the United States build two military bases in southern and eastern Greenland and bars non-NATO powers from establishing any military presence on the arctic island.

"It's going to be a long-term, fantastic relationship," said Trump, whose territorial claims to Greenland since his return to power have deeply alarmed traditional US allies.

In their first acknowledgement of disruption, Iranian media reported late Tuesday that flights to the Iraqi and Omani capitals would be cancelled the following day, but other routes would be unaffected.

The new measures, announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday, follow earlier aviation sanctions as well as his threat of an "economic D-Day" meant to force the Islamic republic into submission, after military means of ending the Middle East war stall.

It remained unclear what their full impact would be, as the Iranian aviation sector has already been targeted for years by various sanctions.

The Tasnim news agency cited a civil aviation spokesman as saying that "Baghdad and Muscat airports will no longer accept Iranian flights" starting Wednesday.

"Other international flights, including Istanbul, will operate as scheduled and as usual, and at present there are no problems with these flights," Tasnim reported.

According to Tasnim, Iran's aviation authorities are in talks to reroute Baghdad flights to Najaf, a major destination for Iranian pilgrims.

Earlier in the day, flag carrier Iran Air said it had "not received any notification or official instruction from the civil aviation authorities of Turkey, the Republic of Azerbaijan, or Iraq".

On Monday, however, Georgia barred Iranian carriers, while the airline Mahan, a private Iranian operator, said it suspended service to Turkey at the request of its government.

The Iraqi government has not publicly announced plans to enforce a ban, but several sources, including a senior government official, told AFP that Baghdad would comply with the US measures.

Iraq is a top destination for Iranian airlines, mainly transporting pilgrims between holy sites.

The prospect of a suspension of flights between the two countries has sparked concerns from some Iraqi travel agents.

In Najaf, home to one of the most revered Shia Muslim shrines, travel agent Haidar Shamaa said "most travel companies in the city depend on booking flights" to Iranian airports.

Several travel agencies said panicked clients were calling for updates and that they were considering switching to land routes, though that would mean much longer journeys for travellers.

Announcing the expanded measures on Monday, Bessent had said "all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world".

"If they land, you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets or you will be knocked out of the dollar system," he added.

The restrictions further complicate the ability of Iranians to travel abroad or return to their country.

They have also drawn protest from China, a major trade partner of Iran, which said it "opposes illegal unilateral sanctions that lack a basis in international law or authorisation from the UN Security Council".

Polling stations are set to open at 08:00 am (0800 GMT) and close at 07:00 pm, with preliminary results to be announced later at night.

Nearly 16 million Moroccans have registered to elect 395 members of the House of Representatives.

Turnout, especially among the youth, will be one of the key tests of the vote, as only a slim four percent of those signed up are aged 18 to 24.

Morocco's prime minister is appointed by the king from the party that wins the most seats. Then the premier forms a government for a five-year term, but the monarch retains control of major policy decisions.

Rising unemployment, higher prices, inequality and distrust of politicians are at the heart of the election campaign.

The vote comes less than two months after a mass rush of mainly young Moroccan migrants into the neighbouring Spanish enclave of Ceuta.

The migration crisis, which heightened tensions between Rabat and Madrid, has not been a central campaign issue, but parties have focused on promises to improve Moroccans' quality of life.

- Salary increases -

Opinion polls are banned under the electoral law, but observers put the National Rally of Independents (RNI) -- currently heading the governing coalition -- among the favourites.

Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch led his party's campaign, although he has stepped down as head of the RNI, which will exclude him from heading the next government if his party wins the most seats.

Akhannouch has defended his government's record -- including expanding social security coverage -- and promised the RNI would do more should it be re-elected.

"We have done quite important work within the government," he said at a recent rally.

"We carried out reforms in education and health, we increased salaries... we were there when (Moroccans) needed us".

The wealthy businessman has nevertheless faced repeated accusations of conflicts of interest involving his company Afriquia, Morocco's leading fuel distributor.

Akhannouch has also faced widespread calls for his resignation from a youth-led protest movement demanding better health and education services.

The RNI's main rival is the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM). The two centre-right parties are ideologically close and were founded by figures with ties to the royal palace.

- 'Added value' -

The PAM has recruited a popular figure, Budget Minister Fouzi Lekjaa, better known for his role as head of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.

"We want to make young people a force capable of bringing added value rather than being left behind," Lekjaa recently said, pledging higher wages and better purchasing power.

But the PAM has no clear leader, and its other prominent figure is Fatima Ezzahra Mansouri, currently the minister for territorial planning and mayor of Marrakesh, who could become the country's first woman premier.

The PAM has also been hit by a corruption scandal. In June, a court sentenced two of its senior figures to 10 and 12 years in prison respectively in a major drug-trafficking case dubbed the "Escobar of the Sahara".

Also in contention is Istiqlal, a right-wing party currently led by equipment minister Nizar Baraka, with a campaign focused on social issues.

And the Islamist opposition's Justice and Development Party has centred its campaign on fighting corruption.

The conservative party, led by former prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane, has also campaigned against inheritance equality and against the decriminalisation of extramarital consensual sexual relations.

"The Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Rwanda have jointly decided, on 22 September 2026, to restore diplomatic relations. To this end, their respective bilateral embassies will be reopened in the near future," the Belgian and Rwandan foreign ministries said in a joint statement.

The relationship frayed last year after Belgium criticised Rwanda for supporting the M23 armed group in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during a massive offensive.

Kigali cut ties with Brussels in March 2025 and expelled Belgian diplomats, saying that the European nation had "consistently undermined" it during the DRC conflict.

The two countries' joint statement on Tuesday said the decision to restore ties "follows a series of meetings and informal contacts held between the two Ministers of Foreign Affairs over recent months, during which a number of differences and misunderstandings were addressed in a constructive spirit".

"Belgium and Rwanda reaffirm their commitment to maintaining an open, candid and transparent dialogue, recognizing it as essential for addressing bilateral differences and discussing divergent positions and outstanding disagreements on international issues," the statement added.

The Rwandan foreign ministry posted a photo of Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe shaking hands with his Belgian counterpart Maxime Prevot outside the United Nations headquarters in New York.

"In a world marked by growing tensions, this is an important signal here in New York, the UN's host city, which embodies multilateralism and dialogue beyond our differences," Prevot wrote on X.

The resumption of diplomatic ties "should open a new era of constructive dialogue in a spirit of mutual respect," Nduhungirehe wrote in another post.

The meeting comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is slated to address the United Nations the same day.

Earlier Tuesday, the Ukrainian leader told journalists he is ready to halt strikes on Russian energy sites if Moscow also agrees to do so.

But Zelensky said he did not know Moscow's position, and expressed hope the "American side will find a way...to bring them to any kind of negotiations."

War has raged since Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Washington's efforts to end the hostilities have stalled in recent months.

Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in intensifying long-range strikes targeting a growing number of civilian sites, including factories, warehouses and energy and port infrastructure, as well as ships in the Black Sea.

US President Donald Trump met with Zelensky in New York on Tuesday.

"It's going to be a long-term, fantastic relationship," Trump said at the event in New York.

"This is tremendous for Europe and for the United States and for everybody," he added.

Under the wide-ranging 10-page pact, the United States will build two military bases in southern and eastern Greenland.

These will be established in Narsarsuaq in the south of the island and Mestersvig in the east, in addition to the Pituffik base it already operates in the north.

The deal also reaffirmed "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark" and recognized Greenland's "right to self-determination."

Since returning to the presidency in January 2025, Trump has repeatedly insisted that the United States needs to control Greenland for strategic reasons.

This alarmed NATO ally Denmark and sparked fierce pushback from the alliance.

Trump previously said that the arrangement would give America "permanent control" over security for the territory in the Arctic that he has long coveted.

"Mr. President, you have been very clear. You don't want adversaries to come too close," said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen ahead of the signing.

"I fully agree, and with this deal, they are not," she added, noting that adversaries will not be allowed to get control or significant influence in the territory.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen added that Greenland matters for North American security and for transatlantic security.

"This agreement reflects that we understand our responsibility and act accordingly," he added.

The agreement blocks non-NATO, non-EU countries from strategic sectors in Greenland, in an attempt to bar US adversaries China and Russia from gaining a foothold in the Arctic.

Such parties will generally not be allowed "control, significant influence, or access to non-public information that may constitute a threat to national security or public order" within sensitive sectors.

EU chief Antonio Costa welcomed the deal on Tuesday as a "positive step for transatlantic cooperation and Arctic security."

"The EU stands ready to continue working closely with Greenland, Denmark and our transatlantic partners for a peaceful, secure and prosperous Arctic," Costa posted on X.

The agreement also stipulates that Greenland, home to 57,000 inhabitants, must continue to abide by the agreement even if it obtains independence from Denmark.

It should also remain in or join NATO "if necessary."

Under a 1951 defense pact updated in 2004, Washington was already able to ramp up its military presence on the island provided it informed Denmark and Greenland in advance.

The incident happened around 8:00 am (0500 GMT) in Turgutlu in Manisa province, near the western resort city of Izmir, the regional governor's office said.

School shootings are rare in Turkey, although there were two attacks in April on consecutive days in southern Turkey that sparked widespread anger.

"Eleven students were injured, two of them seriously.. The minor who carried out the attack was quickly apprehended and taken into custody," Justice Minister Akin Gurlek wrote on X.

He said the suspect's parents and grandfather had also been detained by investigators probing the attack, which saw police and rescuers rushing to the scene alongside panicked parents.

DHA news agency broadcast CCTV footage of the alleged attacker, a young man wearing black jeans, a black jacket and a green top walking along a street holding what appeared to be a long-barrelled gun.

IHA had a similar image of what appeared to be the same person with a gun, although this time running.

NTV private television said it was a shotgun.

Footage from outside the school showed police wrestling a man in a white shirt to the ground before leading him away, as a woman screamed, with onlookers pressed against the school fence, filming with their mobile phones.

Authorities have opened an investigation into the incident, Gurlek said.

"How the weapon used in the attack ended up in the minor's hands, the conditions under which it was kept and supervised.. and allegations of bullying prior to the incident are all being investigated," he wrote on X.

The education ministry said all lessons were suspended for the day at the school.

- School safety -

The attack came five months after two back-to-back school shootings that raised public concerns about security in Turkish schools.

In April, a 14-year-old opened fire at a school in the southern province of Kahramanmaras, killing a teacher and nine students aged 10 and 11. The attacker died at the scene.

A day earlier, another teenager opened fire at his former high school in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, wounding 16 people before taking his own life when confronted by police.

Following the two attacks, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed a deputy education minister and pledged his government would introduce tighter controls on gun ownership.

He vowed school safety would be one of the government's top priorities.

"When we look at similar attacks around the world, especially in the United States, we see one of the perpetrators' aims is to terrorise society," he said.

- New security measures -

The attack came a day after Education Minister Yusuf Tekin and Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci signed a protocol setting out security measures for the 2026-2027 academic year, which began on September 14.

He said 31,000 school grounds supervisors had been deployed for the first time.

The ministry also carried out a fresh security assessment of schools and assigned police officers to first- and second-degree risk schools, where they remain on permanent duty, he said.

Schools classified as lower risk are assigned police liaison officers who work in coordination with school administrations.

"We emerged with our heads held high, and this is a source of dignity and pride for all of us. Therefore, we will firmly defend our positions in international forums," he said before flying out of Iran, according to footage broadcast by state television.

The president is due to speak at the UN meeting on Wednesday.

"We will make the best possible use of this opportunity to convey Iran's plight to the international community. We will firmly tell our adversaries that, despite all the unfairness and injustices, the Iranian people have stood their ground," he said.

Pezeshkian will be the highest-ranking Iranian official to set foot on American soil since the start of the Middle East war, which began in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

The United States has approved the UN visits for part of the Iranian delegation despite the war, but the group will be subject to movement restrictions, according to the US State Department.

The Iranian president's communications team have not been authorised to travel however, having been denied visas.

Their barring was described as "hostile" by Iranian presidential spokesman Habibollah Abbassi, according to local media.

The reopening of the strategic Strait of Hormuz remains at the heart of the conflict between Tehran and Washington.

Traffic in the vital maritime corridor, through which one-fifth of the world's hydrocarbons passed before the war, has been severely disrupted, with Iran firing on commercial ships and demanding it approve passage.

In response, the United States is maintaining a counterblockade of Iranian ports while upping economic pressure on Iran.

The typhoon moved away from Japan's coast and out into the Pacific by morning, allowing authorities to lift or downgrade most heavy rain and landslide warnings.

Dujuan had already led to the early closure in the capital of the one of the world's biggest video game trade fairs.

Japan often sees strong typhoons in the late summer and early autumn, with other storms this season disrupting some events at the Asian Games being held in the country.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said three people died in Chiba prefecture and one in Kanagawa region, both near Tokyo.

Search operations were continuing for six people missing after landslides triggered by torrential rain, the agency said.

More than 45,000 households in Chiba near Tokyo were still without electricity on Tuesday afternoon, while over 460 houses were damaged.

Although Dujuan weakened as it moved northeast, it dumped record rainfall in parts of the Tokyo area.

Oshima, an island about 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of central Tokyo, recorded 832 millimetres of rain over 48 hours, more than double its average rainfall for the whole of September, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Rainfall in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward reached a record 282.5 millimetres over 24 hours.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the risk posed by heavy rains because a warmer atmosphere holds more water.

Araghchi is the highest-ranking Iranian official to enter the United States since the Middle East war began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

Araghchi spoke by phone with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after his arrival and exchanged views on the agenda of the UN General Assembly, Iranian state television reported.

"Our most important objective is to use a major international platform to defend the legitimacy, rights, and interests of the Iranian people," Araghchi was quoted as telling Iranian journalists.

Earlier, Iranian state media had reported that the Iranian delegation would be led by President Masoud Pezeshkian, and that the US had refused to issue visas to members of his delegation, including his communications team.

However, in a social post on X on Aragchi's arrival in New York, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei described the minister as "head of a diplomatic delegation" at the General Assembly.

Baqaei said Aragchi "will hold talks and consultations with numerous officials and foreign ministers attending the session."

While the US has authorized an Iranian delegation to travel for the UN gathering, it has, like last year, put restrictions in place.

Iran's delegation will not, for instance, be allowed to purchase luxury goods or other items during their stay in New York City, the State Department said Thursday.

Araghchi left Iran on Sunday evening and had a stopover in Qatar.

Iran says it has conveyed to the US, via Qatar as mediator, conditions for reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz oil and gas shipping route, which it has effectively choked off since the war began.

The United States, in turn, is imposing a counterblockade of Iranian ports.

The Houthi movement staged a lightning offensive in recent weeks to take over Yemen's entire Red Sea coast, including Mokha, threatening global trade and pushing up energy prices up.

Gains made by Yemen's Houthis have cemented Iran and its allies hold over two key waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz, that the wider Gulf and top crude exporter Saudi Arabia rely on to ship out its oil.

G7 leaders representing Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States said in a statement "we call on the Houthis to immediately cease all military actions".

"All threats and attacks against civilian shipping, and to return to the political process in good faith," it added.

They also called on Iran "to end its arming of and support for the Houthis," alleging Tehran is in violation of past UN Security Council resolutions.

The war in impoverished Yemen, which began in 2014 with the Houthi capture of the capital Sanaa, had been largely frozen since 2022 but resumed in July.

Saudi Arabia has led a coalition backing the internationally recognised government since 2015. Its intervention escalated the war, which has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

Saudi strikes on Yemen's strategic Red Sea port Mokha killed at least six people and wounded eight others, the Houthi-affiliated news agency Saba reported Tuesday.

The strikes come off the back of a Houthi attack on Riyadh on Saturday which marked the first to target the Saudi capital in years and a major escalation by the pro-Iranian fighters.

- UK, France support -

Britain agreed to give military support to Saudi Arabia, media reports said Monday, adding that the UK would provide "defensive" air-to-air refuelling for Saudi jets.

France also pledged their support saying it is ready to work on "securing" Saudi energy infrastructure targeted by Iran-backed Houthis, adopting a "strictly defensive approach", a diplomatic source told AFP Monday.

"This in no way involves taking part in the conflict with the Houthis," the source added.

The Houthis have carried out attacks against facilities belonging to the Saudi oil giant Aramco in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu. The East-West Pipeline -- a crucial crude oil export route -- has also been shut down following drone attacks launched from Iraq, according to Riyadh.

The head of Yemen's governing body Rashad al-Alimi held a call with US President Donald Trump to request American support against the pro-Iranian fighters, a source in Alimi's office told AFP on Monday.

Trump did not promise military support, the source said, adding that the call that took place on Sunday was intended as a show of solidarity with Yemen's embattled government.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also urged Trump to strike the Houthis, US media reported.

The New York Times said the crown prince called Trump on Sunday "to implore him, again" to help counter the group's advances, with Axios previously saying Trump had rebuffed a similar request last week.

Fox News reported Sunday that Trump had said the Houthis have agreed not to hit US targets.

- Mecca Joint Defence Agreement -

The Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah (Supporters of God), is named after its late spiritual leader Badreddin al-Houthi and his son Hussein, who was killed by Yemeni government forces in 2004.

Houthi's other son, Abdulmalik, assumed the reins of power, delivering fiery speeches and transforming his group from an isolated faction in the northwest into the ruling power in the capital and a regional player.

In one such speech on Monday Abdulmalik said Saudi had launched 760 airstrikes as of a day earlier questioning "if Pakistan and Turkey were subjected to this number of strikes, wouldn't it cause a major crisis?"

He said Saudi Arabia is seeking to "push the Turks and Pakistanis forward and import Takfiris (the charge of apostacy) from Syria, at a time when Syria is facing total destruction" advising the two countries "not to become entangled for political and financial gain from the Saudi enemy".

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey last month signed the so-called Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, committing the three countries to mutual defence in the event of any of them being attacked.

The pact came against a backdrop of war between the United States and Iran and attacks in the region from Tehran-backed Houthi forces.

Forecasters say the coming months could bring powerful and damaging storms to the region because of this weather pattern, with the threat of higher-than-usual tides that could trigger coastal flooding.

Governor Gavin Newsom said the state needed to get ahead of problems instead of waiting for them to happen.

"This action is about giving communities the support they need, giving first responders the tools to do their jobs, and giving families the confidence that their state is ready," he said.

"We are preparing for this El Nino early because every Californian deserves to be safe in their home, connected to their community, and protected when severe weather comes."

Monday's declaration is procedural and intended to make it easier for state agencies to access resources, and to pre-position flood-fighting supplies like sandbags and pumps.

The proclamation also prepares the California National Guard to support flood response, search-and-rescue, engineering, and logistics missions when needed, officials said.

El Nino is the warming phase of a natural cycle in the tropical Pacific, known as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and comes along every two to seven years.

It sets in when east-to-west trade winds ease, allowing warm water which normally collects in the western Pacific Ocean to slide back east and rise to the surface.

When those warmer-than-average surface temperatures last for a few months, they cause more storms and clouds over the region, which in turn cause ripple effects through the entire global atmosphere: hotter and drier conditions in some places, cooler and wetter in others.

Human-caused climate change can increase El Nino's impacts. A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, so El Nino-linked rains can turn more extreme. It also dries out soil, deepening drought where El Nino brings it.

This year's El Nino has a 75-percent chance of becoming the strongest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and is already unleashing extreme weather across the globe even though it is not expected to peak until October-December.

The phenomenon has already tied for the most intense on record on a widely-used metric, a senior scientist told AFP Monday.

Zeke Hausfather, a climatologist at Berkeley Earth and co-author of comprehensive climate change reports for the United Nations, said that the sea surface temperature anomaly in the tropical Pacific now stands at 3.07C -- equal to the 2015-2016 El Nino.

California's coastline has already been battered by storms that have damaged or destroyed homes.

Coastal erosion also forced the cancellation of a music festival in Santa Monica that had been set to feature The Killers, Olivia Dean and Jack White.

Under a rule taking effect in November, students will be barred from using mobile phones in class or during recess, except in cases of emergency or during planned school events.

"The goal is to recover creativity and avoid indiscriminate use of phones, which in relation to social media can have very negative effects," President Claudia Sheinbaum told her daily press conference.

The restriction will not apply to kids in their last three years before college or to university students.

The government ordered the change after consulting with educators and specialists on the harmful effects of social media addiction on small kids and adolescents.

Eighty-one percent of teachers surveyed said restricting cell phone use in schools is necessary, according to the Education Ministry.

Countries around the world, from France to New Zealand to Peru, have implemented some degree of restriction on cell phones in schools as the dangers of excessive use have become clear, including depression, body image problems, social isolation and risk of suicide.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which currently counts around 7,500 peacekeepers from 46 countries, has acted as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel since 1978.

But under US pressure, the UN Security Council voted last year to halt the force's mandate at the end of this year.

Meeting Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York, Salam "stressed the importance of maintaining an international presence under the umbrella of the United Nations in the south in the post-UNIFIL phase", according to a statement from the premier's office.

This should be in a way that "ensures the continuation of the functions of monitoring, reporting and liaison, contributes to preserving stability, and supports the process of extending the Lebanese state's authority over all its territory", Salam added, according to the statement.

UNIFIL's looming departure comes as Israel maintains troops in a self-declared "security zone" running around 10 kilometres (six miles) deep inside south Lebanon along the border.

Israel launched heavy airstrikes and a ground invasion after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March by attacking Israel in support of the militant group's backer Iran.

Last week, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told AFP that Lebanon wanted a new force, European or otherwise, to prevent a security vacuum after the peacekeepers depart, but that "the best and most optimal option remains extending UNIFIL's mandate".

The creation of a new force to succeed UNIFIL was also on the agenda of a meeting last week in Paris between Aoun, French President Emmanuel Macron and King Abdullah II of Jordan.

France and Italy have said they want to set up a multinational coalition to succeed UNIFIL.

In a June report, Guterres said peacekeepers would be needed after UNIFIL's mission expires.

Salam also told Guterres that around 329,000 people are still displaced in Lebanon since the latest conflict erupted, urging support for the humanitarian response.

The initiative, first proposed by Mexico and France in 2015, now has a total of 128 countries behind it, French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Mexican counterpart Roberto Velasco said in a joint statement.

It is now just one country shy of reaching a two-thirds threshold of UN member states.

The Security Council has been paralyzed on many issues in recent years amid deep divisions between the five veto-wielding permanent members: France, UK, Russia, China, and the United States.

"By supporting this political declaration, states are demonstrating their commitment to ensuring that the Security Council can fully exercise its primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security," said Barrot and Velasco.

In May, a diplomatic source told AFP that France was hoping to reach the two-thirds majority before this year's UN General Assembly, which kicks off this week.

Even if adopted with a two-thirds majority, the resolution would be non-binding.

Officials nonetheless hope to make it more politically difficult for a permanent member to use its veto in cases of such dire emergencies.

Trump, a Republican, heavily criticized Mamdani before he took office in January -- calling him "my little communist" and a "total nut job" -- but the two men have since struck a surprisingly warm relationship.

"Hopefully, you're going to be a great (mayor). I'll be able to say you're going to be a great one, and you're off to a start," Trump told Mamdani at a news conference.

Their closed-door talks in Manhattan, which lasted around an hour, marked the pair's third public meeting since Mamdani swept the mayoral election last year.

"We appreciate the president's commitment to the city," Mamdani said of Trump, who was visiting his hometown New York ahead of the United Nations General Assembly.

The 34-year-old said he expressed his "very strong opinions about how we can keep New Yorkers safe" when asked about Trump's culling of Temporary Protected Status for thousands of immigrants as part of mass deportation plans.

Mamdani said they also spoke about a 12,000-home building proposal in New York, which the pair previously discussed in February and would require an estimated $21 billion in federal government funding.

He said he planned to continue cooperating with Trump, despite acknowledging they have "many disagreements."

"We've both spoken about very different approaches, very different beliefs, and I will continue to have conversations with the president, and frankly with anyone who can deliver relief to the people of this city," Mamdani said.

Trump's visit came as top US television networks essentially boycotted coverage of the president in protest of his decision to ban three outlets, CNN, MS NOW and Politico, from the White House.

Mamdani said he had told Trump that all members of the press would be welcome at their joint press conference, held in front of the mayor's official residence.

"That is something that I believe in, is everyone, no matter the opinion or the critique, that we engage," he told reporters.

Trump, meanwhile, brushed off a suggestion that he had issued the media bans to distract the public from criticism of the war in Iran.

"It's interesting because they (the media) said they were going to boycott me, but they never boycott me, so I wasn't very worried about that," he said.

"Sanctions are a core pillar of our response to Russia's war" to deprive Moscow of funding, she told reporters in New York after a meeting of European Union foreign affairs ministers.

She added that officials aim to close talks on the rollover of Russia sanctions soon, and have the extension take place swiftly.

"We need to have this stability," with sanctions remaining in place for a longer time, Kallas added on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Kallas stressed that the EU's position has not changed: "That's why we are also working on a new package of sanctions."

But discussions on the matter are ongoing as some member states sought to remove certain individuals from the bloc's blacklist.

EU countries failed Monday to finalise a deal that involved lifting sanctions on Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman.

Negotiations are set to continue in Brussels, in efforts to extend sanctions on almost 3,000 other individuals and entities over the war.

The 27-nation bloc has been scrambling to reach a deal on extending the sanctions regime ahead of a deadline late Tuesday.

France and Slovakia pushed for Russian-Uzbek billionaire Usmanov to be removed from the blacklist.

Luxembourg seized upon the demand by Paris to insist that if sanctions were lifted on Usmanov, then they should be lifted for Fridman as well.

Multiple diplomats earlier said that member states had reached a provisional agreement to take the pair off the EU's list as part of a compromise.

But the pact failed to get final approval, with a diplomat telling AFP that Latvia lodged a last-gasp objection.

Ukraine had reacted furiously to the prospect of the EU removing sanctions on the two prominent Russian businessmen.

More hawkish EU countries including Poland and Baltic states also fiercely opposed the easing of sanctions, arguing that pressure on Russia should be ramped up.

On Monday, Kallas said that Europe faces "a fast proliferation of sabotage attacks and airspace violations."

"Moscow is trying to scare Europe into winding down its support for Ukraine," she added. "As Russia is willing to take greater risks, we also need to impose greater costs."

"Russia's economy is one of its weakest parts," she said.

Katie White, a member of the ruling Labour government, said the UK's right-wing parties had miscalculated by vowing to undo the country's greenhouse gas goals if they took power.

"The UK public is hugely in favor of action on climate," said the minister of state in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero during an interview with AFP at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Monday.

"And after the summer we've had, the most extreme weather we've ever experienced... four heat waves, deadly wildfires across our nation, the public are asking for more action."

Britain was the first major economy to legally bind itself to net zero by 2050 under the Conservatives. Under that party's current leader, Kemi Badenoch, they have abandoned the goal, saying it would damage the economy.

Nigel Farage's Reform party goes further still, deriding the goal as "net stupid zero" with some members outright rejecting the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change.

Yet an Ipsos poll in August found 74 percent of British people reported being concerned about climate change. Slightly fewer, 69 percent, recall being concerned prior to the 2026 summer.

White described the polling as "pretty unprecedented," adding that anti-climate change politics reflected a breakdown of consensus among political elites, not the people.

Critics often say the transition is driving up energy costs, a point White partly conceded.

"Our most abundant resource is our wind. We are a windy little island," said White, in New York to attend the city's annual Climate Week and engage in climate diplomacy at the UN.

"(But) there is an upfront investment cost of that."

She likened buying fossil fuels from Norway and the United States to renting a house, while building out renewable infrastructure is "like we've bought our own house, and there is a down payment cost of that."

"And after the second fossil fuel crisis in four years, we've seen energy prices skyrocket," she said, referring to the Iran war and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "In the long term, clean power is absolutely the answer."

Britain also has dwindling North Sea oil reserves that have caught the eye of US President Donald Trump, who has urged new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to expand drilling.

Two sites are currently under review. White said she could not comment on which way the decision would land -- but stressed "British policy is for the British people" and said some oil and gas fits within the country's next carbon budget.

White said electrification -- converting systems over to electricity, especially when produced through renewable sources -- is a key focus in the run-up to the G20 and the COP31 climate talks.

It's often an upgrade, too, she said, citing her six years as an EV driver.

"I would never go back. It is a much more pleasant experience. It's smoother. I'm not supposed to say it's faster, but it is faster," she laughed.

British planes will provide "defensive" air-to-air refuelling for Saudi Arabia jets, he told reporters as he travelled to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The UK mission will be limited to supporting Saudi Arabia aircraft defending the country from attack from drones and missiles rather than supporting strikes against the Houthis, the PA news agency reported.

The use of the Voyager tanker is expected to start within days and the mission will be time-limited, with officials indicating it could last for "weeks".

The refuelling mission is in addition to the UK Sky Sabre air defence system already deployed in Saudi Arabia.

Burnham told reporters he was "acting to secure the interests of Britain and the wider region because, of course, Saudi Arabia has been experiencing attacks, is looking at potential further disruption, and we need to keep those pathways open, and hence our agreement to the request", according to the reports.

A Houthi attack on Riyadh on Saturday was the first to target the Saudi Arabia capital in years and a major escalation.

This month, the Houthis, who already held most of Yemen's populated areas, launched a lightning offensive to take over the country's entire Red Sea coast, giving them control over the vital Bab al-Mandab strait.

Saudi Arabia has, since 2015, led a coalition backing the internationally recognised government. Its intervention escalated the war, which has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises in the impoverished country.

"The other issue we talked about was the situation in the Red Sea... It's important for global prices. Then we had a long discussion about Ukraine and Russia," said Macron after their New York meeting.

"We had a very good discussion. It was very constructive."

Going into the high-stakes meeting ahead of the United Nations' high-level week, a French official briefed that Macron was prepared to face Trump with "total candor."

On Ukraine, Macron said he has pressed Trump on the issue of supplying defensive weapons systems to Ukraine.

They discussed "the need to help our Ukrainian friends faster and more strongly in terms of (missile) interceptors, because that is... a defensive measure," Macron said.

The French president said Trump was "very amenable and we were able to go into detail on these two conflicts, which are obviously important for peace in the world and for our security."

The Red Sea has become a key oil shipping route with the Strait of Hormuz blocked, but the takeover of the Strait of Bab al-Mandab by pro-Yemeni rebels has complicated shipping operations there.

Macron traveled to New York from Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a small French territory off Canada's Atlantic coast, where he met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Carney has been embroiled in a war of words with Trump over a failed effort between the US and Canada to strike a trade deal, resulting in tit-for-tat tariffs.

The French president also plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Multiple diplomats said earlier that member states had reached a provisional agreement to take the pair off the EU's blacklist as part of a compromise to extend sanctions on almost 3,000 other individuals and entities over the Ukraine war.

But that deal failed to get final approval -- with one diplomat telling AFP that Latvia had lodged a last-gasp objection.

Diplomats said that EU ambassadors would meet again at 0600 GMT on Tuesday to try to hammer out an agreement.

The 27-nation bloc has been scrambling to reach a deal on extending the sanctions regime ahead of a deadline late Tuesday after France and Slovakia pushed for Russian-Uzbek billionaire Usmanov to be removed from the blacklist.

Luxembourg then seized upon the demand by Paris to insist that if sanctions were lifted on Usmanov, then they should be lifted for Fridman as well.

Officials in Paris have cited "national security" concerns for their request on Usmanov, but refused publicly to give details.

The Financial Times reported that the demand may be linked to a potential prisoner release deal involving French nationals held in Azerbaijan.

Luxembourg has pushed for Fridman to be removed. Diplomats said the move comes as he is suing the country for 15 billion euros ($17 billion) for freezing his assets under EU sanctions.

More hawkish EU countries, including Poland and Baltic states, fiercely opposed the easing of the sanctions, arguing that pressure on Russia should be increased.

In return for greenlighting the move as part of the provisional deal, they had got an agreement for the sanctions to remain in place for the next three years -- as opposed to the previous extensions of six months each.

Ukraine had reacted furiously to the prospect of the EU removing sanctions on the two prominent Russian businessmen.

- 'We need to have this stability' -

Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga decried the move, saying it would be "unacceptable and would send the wrong signal to Moscow at a time when pressure needs to increase".

"On the contrary, sanctions need to be tightened," he wrote online.

Multiple EU diplomats insisted that despite the standoff over Usmanov, there was widespread agreement that the EU sanctions should not be allowed to lapse.

EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas urged the bloc's member states Monday to maintain sanctions targeting Russia over the war on Ukraine.

"Sanctions are a core pillar of our response to Russia's war" to deprive Moscow of funding, she told reporters in New York after a meeting of European Union foreign affairs ministers.

She added that officials aim to close talks on the rollover of Russia sanctions soon, and have the extension take place swiftly.

"We need to have this stability," with sanctions remaining in place for a longer time, Kallas added on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

The EU's sanctions blacklist includes key figures such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Metals tycoon Usmanov and banking magnate Fridman were among dozens of Russian businessmen suing the EU over the sanctions.

Both were added to the sanctions list shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 over allegations that their businesses provided significant revenues to the Kremlin.

Suicide bombers struck three luxury hotels and three churches on April 21, 2019, killing 279 people including 45 foreigners. Investigators blame the attack on a homegrown Islamist extremist group.

One of 25 men indicted over alleged involvement in the attack -- all from Sri Lanka's Muslim minority -- has died in custody, leaving 24 defendants to stand trial.

The hearing is due to open at 9:30 am (0400 GMT) at the High Court of Colombo.

Police said extraordinary security measures would be in place around the court complex ahead of the verdict, the first time anyone is sentenced over direct involvement in the attack.

"Considering the interest in this case, we are making special security arrangements," police said in a statement.

The trial has already made legal history in Sri Lanka, with prosecutors filing 23,270 charges, the highest number ever brought in a single case.

The charges include murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possessing firearms and explosives under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Prosecutors have identified Mohamed Naufar as the alleged ringleader who provided support to the eight-member suicide squad that carried out the coordinated bombings.

All defendants have denied involvement.

Local media said that if convicted, some of them could face the death penalty, even though Sri Lanka has not carried out an execution since 1976 and capital punishment is typically commuted to life imprisonment.

The prospect of capital punishment gained prominence in July when two security officials were sentenced to death in a separate case for failing to prevent the attacks despite intelligence warnings.

- 'Mastermind' spy boss -

Three of the defendants currently in Sri Lankan custody were also charged by US authorities with terrorism-related offences linked to the bombings in December 2020.

Five Americans were among the dead, including a US Commerce Department employee who was in Colombo on official business.

Other foreigners killed include citizens of Australia, Bangladesh, China, Denmark, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Britain.

The trial has unfolded against the backdrop of a separate and highly sensitive investigation into allegations that elements within the Sri Lankan state may have had links to those responsible for the attacks.

Former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay is in custody facing accusations that he had orchestrated the bombings, allegations he denies.

Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told parliament in June that investigators believed Sallay was the "mastermind" behind the attacks and had worked with Islamist extremists before the bombings were carried out.

Investigators allege the network was cultivated to manufacture a security threat that would in turn bolster political support for the Rajapaksa family, which returned to power several months after the attack with Gotabaya Rajapaksa's election as president.

According to court filings, investigators believe the objective was to create chaos and present Rajapaksa, a former defence chief credited by supporters with crushing Tamil separatist rebels in 2009, as the leader best placed to restore security.

The Rajapaksa camp, supporting the once powerful family that dominated Sri Lankan politics for nearly two decades, has rejected allegations of state involvement.

Successive Rajapaksa administrations have acknowledged using Islamist militants as intelligence assets during a decades-long civil war that ended in 2009.

But supporters maintain the militants had double-crossed their handlers and carried out the 2019 attack independently.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement has staged a lightning offensive in recent weeks to take over Yemen's entire Red Sea coast, including Mokha, leaving the Saudi Arabia-backed government scrambling to respond.

"Six civilians, including two children and a woman, were killed and eight others, including a child and a woman, were injured in Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on Mokha," Saba said.

The head of Yemen's governing body Rashad al-Alimi held a call with US President Donald Trump to request American support against the pro-Iranian fighters, a source in Alimi's office told AFP on Monday.

Trump did not promise military support, the source said, adding that the call took place on Sunday and was intended as a show of solidarity with Yemen's embattled government.

US media has reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has also urged Trump to strike the Houthis.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham agreed to give military support to Saudi Arabia, media reports said Monday.

Gains made by Yemen's Houthis have cemented Iran and its allies hold over two key waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz, that the wider Gulf and top crude exporter Saudi Arabia rely on to ship out its oil.

The war in the Middle East began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, after which the Islamic republic responded with attacks around the region.

Iran-backed groups including the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon also later became involved.

The war in impoverished Yemen, which began in 2014 with the Houthi capture of the capital Sanaa, had been largely frozen since 2022 but resumed in July.

Saudi Arabia has led a coalition backing the internationally recognised government since 2015. Its intervention escalated the war, which has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

"France is ready to contribute to securing Saudi Arabia energy infrastructure in Yanbu and along the East-West Pipeline, within the framework of a strictly defensive approach," the source said, emphasizing that "this in no way involves taking part in the conflict with the Houthis."

The Houthis have carried out attacks against facilities belonging to the Saudi oil giant Aramco in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu. The East-West Pipeline -- a crucial crude oil export route -- has also been shut down following drone attacks launched from Iraq, according to Riyadh.

The announcement came two days after South Korea and Japan said Pyongyang launched two short-range ballistic missiles into waters off its east coast, which the countries condemned as threats to regional peace and security.

North Korea has legally enshrined its status as a nuclear-armed state, with its leadership repeatedly declaring the country's atomic arsenal permanent and irreversible.

The nuclear-armed country's missile bureau "successfully tested a new type of weapon" Sunday in the presence of its leader Kim Jong Un, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Pyongyang did not specify what the weapon system entailed, but said Kim praised the launch as an "undoubtedly a striking demonstration of ultra-modern defence technology".

The North Korean leader warned that the advances would give adversaries "an incurable headache and a very cruel and unavoidable blow", KCNA said.

The Sunday launches came eight days after North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea -- also known as the Sea of Japan -- as part of what it later described as a joint firepower drill.

That exercise involved long-range artillery and missiles, with the weapons "hitting the targets with 100 percent accuracy", state media reported.

In the Tuesday KCNA report, Kim linked the Sunday test to the country's military preparedness, saying "to acquire such a technology is of weighty significance in the state's readiness for war and the future development of the armed forces".

Seoul condemned the launches as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions and urged Pyongyang to halt its ballistic missile activities.

Japan lodged a "stern protest" with North Korea over the launches, calling them as a threat to regional peace and security.

Last week, Pyongyang rejected a resolution adopted at the International Atomic Energy Agency demanding it halt its nuclear activities, saying its nuclear weapons status was "irreversibly and permanently fixed" by its laws.

North Korea's foreign ministry spokesperson said the IAEA resolution "has no effect on the DPRK's position as a nuclear weapons state", using the acronym for North Korea's official name.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, recently said the country's nuclear-armed status was "absolute" and called those hoping for its denuclearisation "idiots".

The Iran-backed group has now attacked Riyadh with a missile strike, seized Yemen's entire Red Sea coast and is blockading Saudi oil exports, seemingly unimpeded.

Experts say Saudi Arabia has struggled to rebuff the group in part due to its reliance on ineffective proxies on the ground, while rugged terrain and Iranian support have favoured the Houthis.

Why has Saudi Arabia struggled?

The kingdom has spent billions acquiring sophisticated weaponry and military kit, while historically relying on a large presence of foreign personnel, contractors and trainers to supplement its forces.

Major weapons purchases from Western manufactures -- including American, British and French companies -- have become a defining feature of Saudi defence policy and diplomatic strategy to curry favour with its allies.

Last week, the United States has approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 stealth warplanes to Saudi Arabia.

Despite its formidable arsenal, the Saudi military has had relatively limited experience overseeing complex combat operations on its own.

"The Saudis have to build a military that's willing to fight and a population that's willing to die to preserve what they have," said Bernard Haykel, a Saudi expert at Princeton University, during a discussion posted online after the Houthi's latest offensive.

"And that's not what they have right now."

Experts have long suggested that the kingdom's military forces have purposely remained smaller and fragmented to prevent a putsch in a region prone to coups.

"Saudi Arabia is the one place where the monarchy has not \[been\] displaced by \[the\] military, because they have kept the military weak," Middle East scholar Ray Takeyh told a congressional hearing in 2015.

Why are the Houthis so tough?

Initially lightly-armed, the Houthis have used their rugged terrain and tribal bonds to employ formidable defences that have been difficult to uproot.

Over the years, the group has amassed an advanced arsenal of missiles and drones with Iranian backing. They have also remained unified -- contrary to the government.

"The Houthis have been able to build a united front," Thomas Juneau, an expert on Iran and Yemen at the University of Ottawa, told AFP.

"They have a very centralised government that exercises a strong command and control over what initially were the disparate forces that they put together."

Since 2023, the group has proved its ability to hamper Red Sea traffic as it attacked vessels accused of Israel links after the Gaza war.

A similar strategy would later be employed by Iran to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz.

Repeated US, British and Israeli strikes in 2024 and 2025 are believed to have degraded Houthi military infrastructure, but failed to neutralise its missile and drone capabilities.

What about the Yemeni government?

Saudi Arabia entered the Yemen war in 2015 alongside its UAE ally to bolster a government, chased out of the capital Sanaa a year earlier by the Houthis.

Weeks before the Middle East war began, trouble was already brewing for Yemen's embattled government in Aden.

In December, UAE-backed forces briefly seized control of all government areas, provoking Riyadh's fury and triggering an ongoing rift between the two allies. Riyadh demanded Abu Dhabi withdraw from Yemen, which it did.

The UAE withdrew its forces and equipment -- including helicopter gunships -- from areas near the Red Sea coast.

The Saudis proved unable to fill the vacuum left in the UAE's absence and a disorganised force was left to defend a swath of strategic territory.

"A heavy hit and a weak coordination relationship with the Yemenis is what created this collapse," Middle East expert Michael Knights told AFP.

A 2022 ceasefire broke down in July as the Houthis welcomed an Iranian plane directly to Sanaa, defying the kingdom.

Later, they imposed a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships, territory and oil facilities, before seizing the entire Red Sea coast overlooking Bab al-Mandab and later hitting Riyadh.

In response, Saudi Arabia did not launch any major counter-offensive, though the Houthis are still fighting government forces.

US media has reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has repeatedly asked President Donald Trump for assistance in halting the Houthis to no avail, so far.

On the ground, Yemen government forces complain of low morale.

"We were suffering from shortages of weapons and ammunition as well as delays in salary payments," a fighter in the southern province of Lahj told AFP.

"Two days ago, we received reinforcements and equipment, but it's still not enough."

The decision marks another step toward a possible trial in absentia over the attack on July 18 that year, which killed 85 people and injured 300 more.

No one has ever been arrested over the bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA), which is considered one of the worst tragedies in the South American country's history.

"The decision to carry out the attack was made in August 1993 by the highest echelons of the Iranian regime and entrusted to Hezbollah," Judge Daniel Rafecas wrote in a statement.

Seven of the defendants held high-ranking positions in the Iranian state when the attack occurred.

The Lebanese national was a member of Hezbollah, the Shiite political party and armed militant organization backed by Iran.

Two other defendants were removed from the case due to lack of evidence.

A trial is now a real possibility, but the charged individuals may appeal the indictment.

"There's still a whole process to go through," Rafecas told AFP, noting other necessary procedural steps before a trial could happen.

Argentine President Javier Milei, a staunch ally of Israel, celebrated the decision on social media.

"Morality as State Policy," he wrote on X.

Argentina and Israel have long pointed the finger at Iran as the perpetrator of the attack, which the Islamic republic has always denied.

In a move backed by Milei's right-wing administration, Argentine courts authorized the possibility of a trial in absentia last year.

The attack on AMIA occurred just two years after a bomb at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires claimed 29 lives.

Monday's ruling suggested that the two incidents could be related. It sought the Argentine Supreme Court's opinion on potentially linking the two cases given Hezbollah's alleged involvement in both.

Argentina is home to Latin America's largest Jewish community.

The maximum security facility, one of four towers that make up El Rodeo prison on the outskirts of Caracas, is reserved exclusively for opponents of the government.

Several former inmates want to shed light on what goes on inside those walls, despite fears of reprisal from the authorities who put them there in the first place.

"This was it. The movie's over," Whillfer Pina remembers thinking when he first arrived with a hood over his head.

The prison director's welcoming words did nothing to assuage his worst fears.

"No one gets out of here alive," the man known as "Shark" told the 47-year-old math teacher and activist.

Pina had been accused of planning an attack against then-president Nicolas Maduro in 2024.

He got out in February as part of an amnesty process for political prisoners spearheaded by interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, who replaced Maduro after his ouster by US forces in January.

However, many others remain behind bars in Rodeo I and in prisons across the country.

According to the rights group Foro Penal, at least 20 political prisoners have died in state custody, including one in Rodeo I.

- 'World of terror' -

The NGO says more than 344 people are currently imprisoned for political reasons in Venezuela, dozens of them in Rodeo I.

Each two-by-three meter cell consists of a cement bunk bed, a corner that serves as both a toilet and a shower, and a tiny barred window.

Insects and disease thrive in such a cramped space due to scarce water access, and Pina jokes that he set the record for killing the most flies in one day -- 34.

But his tone sobers up when he recounts running a high fever for 21 days without medical attention.

"There was a time when I prayed so much to God. 'If I have to go, please let it be with dignity,'" he said.

Others who set foot in the facility say they lost all sense of time, with sleep-deprived inmates forced to listen to endless government propaganda TV programs.

Prison guards conceal their faces and human contact is practically nonexistent.

Freddy Superlano whittled the hours away watching birds and the moon through his narrow window to the outside world.

The opposition politician was arrested after challenging Maduro's claim to a third electoral victory in 2024.

The prison "is meant to drive you insane," he said, calling it "a world of terror."

"It's completely black...the atmosphere is very eerie."

"It's more a concentration camp than a prison," added the 50-year-old, who was also released in February.

- 'Time capsule' -

The place nobody wants to end up is the fourth floor, where Pina witnessed several fellow detainees go following the slightest sign of disobedience.

The worst punishment is the "time capsule," he said, a small cell where inmates can only stand and are kept hooded and handcuffed.

"They give you a little bit of water and a little bit of food once a day," and when you need to use the bathroom, "you're going to have to go on yourself," Pina said.

"They held a lot of foreigners there," he added.

Authorities tortured 64 political prisoners in this facility, United Nations investigators reported, all of which occurred after Maduro's ouster.

"The violation of human rights is systematic," said Pina.

"It's not only physical, it's not only psychological, it's not only mental. It's programmed, built into that prison."

The NGO Human Rights Watch earlier this month called for the immediate closure of Rodeo I during a visit to Venezuela, 18 years after its expulsion from the country.

They have staged protests against the 50-hectare (123 acre) complex, in a case that has become symbolic of global debate about the environmental and societal costsof the AI boom.

"I believe we need a rethink when it comes to this endless growth and expansion," protest organiser Christina Gruber told AFP as around 400 people gathered outside the headquarters of the regional government in Linz.

Gruber, a 38-year-old freelance artist and aquatic ecologist who lives in Amstetten, close to Kronstorf in Upper Austria province, is concerned about the effects of AI on climate change and the amount of water used to cool data centres.

She also criticised a "lack of transparency" around the project, complaining that residents were not asked whether they "want to sacrifice our water resources on these huge data centres". Kronstorf has about 3,500 people.

While Europe lags far behind the United States in data centre capacity, there are already hundreds of data centres across the continent, with many more planned as it looks to strengthen its AI and cloud infrastructure.

But protests have grown as the AI boom accelerates, including in Spain where residents of the Aragon region have launched legal action against a massive data centre buildout by Amazon.

The Dutch city of Amsterdam has imposed a moratorium on construction of new data centres over space and power concerns, while Denmark has moved data centres to the bottom of its priority list for grid connections, warning of the strain on its power grid.

- 'Strong signal' -

Francesca Musiani, an internet specialist at the French National Center for Scientific Research, told AFP that while digital infrastructure has traditionally been "fairly remote from the daily lives of citizens... with data centres, all the material implications of (this) infrastructure are more evident".

Protests have exposed "tension between this rapid expansion of AI and climate objectives" and raised broader questions about digital governance in Europe, she said.

"For me, this is part of what sovereignty should mean in practice: the capacity of different levels of society to participate in shaping the infrastructures on which they depend."

Construction of Google's first data centre in Austria began in April, following a ceremonial groundbreaking attended by politicians and company representatives.

The facility is being built on a site the size of around 70 football pitches, with the first phase expected to become operational in 2027.

Google has not disclosed the cost of the project, describing it only as a "significant investment".

The US tech giant says the centre will support growing demand for cloud and AI services, create around 100 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs, help strengthen Austria's digital infrastructure, and contribute to local sustainability initiatives.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, Thomas Stelzer, the governor of Upper Austria, said the centre would send "a strong signal for Upper Austria as a business and innovation location".

The Upper Austrian government and the local mayor did not respond to an AFP request for comment.

- 'Wrong direction' -

Google says its data centres are among the most energy-efficient in the world, but critics argue that even highly efficient facilities can consume vast amounts of electricity and water.

In Kronstorf, the first phase alone could consume up to 1.31 terawatt-hours of electricity per year, according to media reports -- roughly the annual consumption of 375,000 households.

Opponents also bemoan a lack of transparency around the project and unanswered questions about the cooling systems, water use and their impact on the River Enns.

Andrea Kollmann, 53, a lawyer who travelled from Vienna for the protest in Linz, said the project had advanced "much too quickly" and that "everything is extremely non-transparent, nobody knows anything".

Filmmaker Alex Stockinger, 27, who also lives near Kronstorf, said that during Austria's record-breaking hot summer this year, "you could really feel what the climate crisis is like".

"And in a situation like that, using so much electricity is the wrong direction," he said.

Trump will likely not hold back in renewing his frequent boasts that under him the United States is "the hottest country" in the world.

He is also expected to seek to justify the Iran war, which has so far failed to fulfil White House objectives and provoked widespread economic damage over the Strait of Hormuz's closure.

But the self-styled peacemaker could equally use the UN stage to tout his controversial efforts to end the Gaza conflict and his ongoing effort to bring more Arab countries into the Abraham Accords with Israel.

"No one knows what Trump is going to say, not even Trump's speechwriters," International Crisis Group's Daniel Forti said.

"This year, we expect more of a contrast between Trump, sort of both announcing and celebrating his record as a peacemaker versus defending his ongoing military operations around the world," said Forti.

"It's not entirely clear what reaction Trump's going to get from world leaders."

- Anti-UN speech at UN? -

The keynote speech at the start of the UN General Assembly High-level week will provide Trump with a big platform to renew his frequent assaults on the global body.

Last year's speech was characterized by Trump's extraordinary accusations of UN sabotage when an escalator in the New York headquarters briefly stopped working and the teleprompter glitched.

Trump has regularly attacked the UN and its leader Antonio Guterres since returning to office, although Washington last week reportedly paid $725 million into its budget, avoiding the embarrassment of losing some of its voting rights.

He is also likely to meet skepticism over his claims of a historic win for the United States when a security deal is signed Tuesday for a US presence in Greenland -- a territory of Denmark that Trump repeatedly threatened, driving bitter divisions through longtime US-led alliances.

As well as his closely watched speech to the General Assembly, Trump will hold side meetings with Britain's new prime minister, Andy Burnham, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Japanese premier Sanae Takaichi and Venezuela's interim leader Delcy Rodriguez.

Rodriguez has governed under intense American pressure since her predecessor Nicolas Maduro was captured by US forces in January.

- Escalator gate -

Last year, Trump's speech to the gathering of world leaders veered into a rant about an escalator that stalled as he was using it, suggesting it was done deliberately.

He also railed against a defective teleprompter, falsely accused London's mayor of imposing Islamic law and said Europe was in "serious trouble" over migration.

Trump clearly has not gotten over the incidents.

"They turned off the escalator," Trump said last week in the Oval Office.

"Fortunately, my first lady was very strong and I was able to grab her back or another part of her body. It was actually a little bit lower than the back," he said.

The offending escalator "has been checked and rechecked," Guterres's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday.

"New arrangements were made to facilitate the US delegation's use of a teleprompter, they now have a separate booth, so we hope that will work without a hitch," he added.

- AI and war -

Guterres, who kicks off the week of speeches, is expected to touch on the explosion of artificial intelligence and the multiple wars raging globally.

Next up -- just before Trump -- will be Brazilian President Lula Inacio Lula da Silva, whose country by tradition is always first to speak at the annual gathering of leaders.

Trump, who has supported Lula's opponents and other right-wing candidates across Latin America, may not like what he hears.

Leftist Lula, running for reelection, said last week that he would tell Trump to not "meddle" in Brazil's upcoming vote.

Almost three decades after Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997, people remain fascinated by her life and tragic death.

"Swan Song: Diana, My Sister", a memoir written by Diana's younger brother, has been published by Penguin and translated into 12 languages.

But extracts serialised in the British tabloid the Daily Mail over the past few days have triggered sensational headlines.

Spencer has said he wrote the book to "speak on Diana's behalf" and correct "untruths that have become accepted over time".

"Diana would be cheering from the rafters at this book, I have no doubt about that," he told the Mail on Sunday at the weekend.

Published excerpts claimed her ex-husband Charles, then Prince of Wales, and now the king, told Spencer in a phone call shortly after Diana's death: "Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough."

Her death, aged just 36, sparked an outpouring of grief in Britain for the woman dubbed "the people's princess".

And it triggered accusations that the then monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, failed to respond swiftly with empathy and understanding.

Spencer claimed Charles had "sounded giddily elated, like a lottery winner" at the news of Diana's demise.

And he said Charles "went ballistic" after he insisted Diana would not have wanted her sons, princes William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, to walk behind her coffin in her funeral procession.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson issued a rare reaction from the 77-year-old king, saying: "His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgement and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss."

- 'Gaslit by king' -

"The king is plainly furious, Buckingham Palace almost never issues any statement like that," BBC journalist Laura Kuenssberg said during a Friday interview.

"Those are exactly the words he said," Spencer assured her, adding: "I don't hear (King Charles) saying he didn't say that."

Spencer criticised the palace's implication that his grief had affected his recollection, telling The Mail on Sunday: "It is not every day you wake up to find you've been gaslit by the king."

He also dubbed it a "rather poor imitation" of the palace's response to Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's claims of royal racism five years ago -- which was that "recollections may vary".

Charles and Diana's tumultuous marriage between 1981 and 1996 was regularly featured in British newspapers.

And Spencer reveals Diana had at times contemplated suicide, driving down to Beachy Head, a notorious clifftop in southern England where people used to deliberately fall to their deaths.

But her love for her sons "stopped her from going further," he writes.

Spencer also recalled Diana told him she and Charles were divorcing because he was "in love with his valet", adding he did not ask why "she would believe such an improbable thing".

Charles later married his long-time mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles, who is now the queen.

- 'Vindictive' -

But royal experts have questioned some of the book's claims.

Royal biographer Robert Hardman wrote on X that he witnessed Charles, rather than elated, "distraught and in tears" at Diana's funeral.

Andrew Morton, author of the 1992 book "Diana: Her True Story," in a comment in The Times wrote that Spencer's claims about the phone call with Charles were "incendiary and disputed".

While royal commentator Jennie Bond told the BBC the memoir was a "vindictive account".

Spencer, 62, has worked as a US television journalist and calls himself an historian.

He inherited the Spencer family's stately home Althorp, where he and Diana grew up. She is buried on an island in the grounds.

After her death, he accused the media of having "blood on their hands" and in his raw eulogy at Diana's funeral, he vowed to always look out for her two sons.

But he did not mention her beau Dodi Fayed, who was also killed in the Paris crash, even though in the memoir he praised the son of Harrods owner, Mohamed Al-Fayed, for being "kind to Diana".

But in a shocking claim, Spencer wrote Diana had felt "revulsion" for Mohamed Al-Fayed who had squeezed her buttocks and said "in a leery, suggestive tone, 'and in Egypt, father-in-law gets first go'."

Spencer also told the BBC the media's "cancerous influence" on Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, recalled Diana's hounding by the British press.

During the incident, two OpenAI systems escaped their confined testing environment, accessed the internet and broke into several websites, including AI platform Hugging Face.

After examining the sequence of events, the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, established in 2025, concluded that, "basic cybersecurity practices were overlooked, and safeguards are not advancing at the pace of capabilities."

But the incident also showed, according to the panel, that under the current framework for AI development, AI agents could, "adopt goals of their own, knowingly violate safety instructions, and conceal their actions."

Agents are AI-powered programs capable of autonomously carrying out tasks at a user's request.

The panel expressed concern that agents could become sophisticated enough to understand the safety constraints imposed on them by developers "and plan around them."

"In simple terms, the traditional model of safeguarding is unravelling," the group said.

Beyond the OpenAI incident, the most widely publicized of its kind, the firm and its main rival Anthropic have reported other instances of their AI systems going off track during tests since the beginning of the year, so far without serious consequences.

The panel's report said that it "does not predict severe loss of control, nor does it treat that uncertainty as evidence that these systems will stay controllable."

To reduce the risk, the panel recommended introducing multiple layers of safety measures, following the example of high-risk sectors such as aviation and nuclear power.

The aim is to avoid relying on a single safeguard: restricting AI agents' access to tools they do not need, logging their activity, monitoring their behavior and establishing mechanisms capable of interrupting their operations in the event of dangerous behavior.

The report also highlighted the need to retain the ability for humans to intervene.

The panel, whose members were announced in February, produces "policy-relevant but non-prescriptive" reports on non-military AI.

The UN General Assembly's annual leaders' meeting starts this week in New York.

"It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!" the Republican wrote on his Truth Social platform, the same day that CNN and two other outlets filed a lawsuit after being banned from the White House.

AFP journalists saw a house in rubble in the village of Patan, where dozens of men gathered for the funerals of the victims of Pakistan's first deadly cross-border strikes since June.

Mubin Khan, a farmer who was injured in the latest bombardment, told AFP: "During the night we were targeted... the house got destroyed."

Khan said three members of his family died.

The Taliban government's deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said in a post on X that Nurgal district, where Patan is located, came under attack at around 3:00 am (2230 GMT on Sunday).

The strike "completely destroyed" a house, killing three and wounding four members of the same family, the spokesman said.

Two locations in Paktika province were also bombarded, Fitrat said, reporting no casualties.

Pakistan's Information and Broadcasting Ministry confirmed that forces had struck three locations, saying "terrorist hubs" along the border were targeted "based on credible intelligence".

The ministry said "28 terrorists alongside multiple suicide bombers" were killed, a figure rejected by the Taliban government, which said it was "not true".

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the "aggression" and said that "Afghans will give it an appropriate response".

The strikes follow an attack on a police headquarters in northern Pakistan on Friday that killed at least 31 people including 16 officers.

A local faction, Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, which is linked to the jihadist group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of supporting jihadist groups responsible for deadly attacks on its territory, an allegation the Taliban government in Afghanistan denies.

Pakistan's previous deadly airstrikes in Afghanistan occurred in June and killed around 30 people.

Pakistan said at the time it had targeted a TTP faction and killed fighters, while the Taliban government reported civilian casualties.

The two neighbours have had particularly tense relations since the Taliban authorities returned to power in 2021.

At the beginning of the year, Pakistan stepped up its bombings, including on the capital Kabul.

The deadliest strike, which occurred on March 16, hit a drug treatment hospital in the Afghan capital and killing at least 269 civilians, according to the United Nations.

The meeting is planned "sometime on Tuesday afternoon", the source told AFP on Monday, and comes as Washington pushes for fresh direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv to end the four-and-a-half-year war.

"To a large extent, the decline in the competitiveness of the German economy is due to the fact that Germany has stopped purchasing cheap Russian gas and started buying very expensive gas," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Naturally, the Germans -- or at least some of them -- are looking for an alternative to the current government in order to improve their situation," he added.

Since resurfacing in late 2021, M23 fighters have seized large parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a region rich in minerals and plagued by decades of conflict.

The anti-governmental group has taken control of Rubaya, a major mining hub that produces around 15 percent of the world's coltan, a metallic ore key to making electronics.

UN experts have said the group has since generated revenue by taxing mining and trade at Rubaya, which the M23 denies.

Amnesty said in a new report that M23 violations at artisanal mines under its control included summary killings, torture and ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, forced labour and forced recruitment.

The rights organisation said it had documented the summary killing of 18 artisanal miners at Rubaya, which lies in North Kivu province, and at Lomera gold mine in neighbouring South Kivu.

"Witnesses and family members reported that 10 were beaten to death, two were shot dead and six abducted miners were later found dead," Amnesty said in its report.

Miners told Amnesty that they were beaten if they asked for breaks, refused to hand over minerals or for minor transgressions, it added.

More than 20 miners at Rubaya were kept in underground detention cells and beaten three times a day by M23 fighters, the NGO said.

Guards identified as Rwandan by witnesses collaborate with the M23 and beat miners, it added.

Amnesty also said it had found evidence that gold from M23-controlled areas was illegally exported to neighbouring Rwanda "through well-established smuggling routes", including by boat across Lake Kivu on the border between the two countries.

In June, the NGO Global Witness said hundreds of tonnes of coltan -- used in smartphones, laptops and other key electronics -- were taken from M23-controlled mines and moved to Rwanda.

"The conflict coltan is often mixed with local production" in Rwanda, masking its origins before being exported, it said.

Electoral chief Ella Pamfilova said preliminary results showed United Russia -- which has dominated Russian politics for 25 years -- won 355 of the Duma's 450 seats.

The result handed Putin's party an increased supermajority and beat its previous record of 343 seats. The supermajority means it can change the constitution, if it needs to.

The Kremlin said the result of the first parliamentary election since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in 2022 showed Russians were united around Putin, who has been in power since New Year's Eve 1999.

The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands, displaced millions and hit ordinary lives in Russia more than ever this year. Moscow has banned criticism of its military campaign and the only party that called for an end to the war was removed from the election.

"These indicators, of course, point to the highest level of consolidation within Russian society around the head of state," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing with journalists.

Elections under Putin are tightly controlled and few in Russia doubted United Russia would win.

Putin had encouraged Russians to vote in support of troops in Ukraine and Moscow also organised voting in occupied Ukraine.

Pamfilova said turnout was over 59 percent, thanking Russians for voting despite what she called "psychological pressure on Russia."

Russia's Ukraine campaign broke its ties with the West. Kyiv hit Moscow with its biggest drone attack of the war Sunday, the last day of voting, killing two people and setting an oil refinery ablaze.

"Despite the extreme situation, we were successful in ensuring the maximum security of these elections," Pamfilova told a Moscow press conference, thanking security services for ensuring the vote went ahead.

- Fifth year of war -

The election result is expected to further tighten Putin's grip on power.

Some fear a new military mobilisation in Russia. Putin has denied this is in the works, while Kyiv accuses Moscow of planning a callup in coming weeks.

Russia's Communist party came second in the vote, winning 40 seats. The nationalist LDPR party took 25 seats and the New People party won 20.

The election took place amid the escalation of the Ukraine war in recent months, with no diplomatic solution in sight.

For the Kremlin, it served as a barometer on the mood of Russians towards the war.

In some regions, voting also took place for the heads of regions.

In Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov -- known for ruling the Muslim-majority republic with an iron fist -- won 99.85 percent of the vote, the electoral commission said.

Opposing Kadyrov is hugely dangerous in Chechnya, which is known for extra-judicial killings.

Putin's political opponents are in exile, prison or dead -- such as his main opponents Alexei Navalny who died in an Arctic prison in 2024.

The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas dismissed Russia's "so-called" election.

"The Kremlin silenced dissent, barred the only registered party that opposed its war in Ukraine, and shut out international election monitors. The veneer of democracy is all that remains in Russia," Kallas said.

Pezeshkian will be the highest-ranking Iranian official to enter the United States since the Middle East war began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

"In an unprecedented hostile move by the US government, (US President Donald) Trump has denied US visas to certain members of the president's high-level delegation, including members of his communications team," state news agency IRNA reported.

The Mehr news agency also carried the story, citing a spokesperson for the Iranian presidency, and added that Pezeshkian will address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

The US has authorised the Iranian delegation to travel for the UN General Assembly but will, like last year, put restrictions in place.

Iran's delegation will not, for instance, be allowed to purchase luxury goods or other items, the State Department said on Thursday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, part of the delegation to the UN, left Iran on Sunday evening for a stopover in Qatar.

Iran says it has conveyed to the US, via Qatar as mediator, conditions for reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz oil and gas shipping route, which it has choked off since the war began.

The United States, in turn, is imposing a counterblockade of Iranian ports.

"This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes," the statement said.

President Donald Trump said Friday he was banning the outlets from the presidential mansion as punishment for distributing what he calls "fake news."

The Alternative for Germany came first in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania where the CDU sank to 4.9 percent, below the threshold to stay in parliament and its worst result since the party was formed in 1945.

"The chancellor certainly won't make it to the end of the year," said Leif-Erik Holm, the AfD's top candidate in the Baltic Sea coastal state. "I think the twilight of the chancellor's era has begun."

At just 16 months in office, Merz has seen his approval ratings plummet while his party has suffered a string of state vote losses against the AfD, which also leads the nationwide polls.

Fighting speculation that his CDU/CSU bloc may try to oust him, the 70-year-old chancellor took the unusual step of addressing the nation on TV on Sunday, just minutes after the first exit polls were announced.

Merz admitted that his CDU had suffered a "disaster" in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

While the AfD came first there, the centre-left SPD party looks set to continue governing the state if it can form a coalition with left-wing allies.

- Resignation on the cards? -

After the CDU was also soundly defeated by a far-left Die Linke in Berlin, Merz charged that "trust in our country's institutions is waning" and being "actively undermined by radical parties on both the left and the right".

"What needs to be done now requires backbone, steadfastness and patience," Merz said. "I will demonstrate this as CDU party chairman and, above all, as chancellor of our country."

Analysts saw it as an attempt to gain the advantage before another hailstorm of criticism.

"His extremely early move shows that Merz is staking a claim to define the narrative," political scientist Oliver Lembcke of Ruhr University Bochum told AFP.

Lembcke labelled this "leadership from a defensive position -- and an attempt to prevent a personnel debate with an uncertain outcome from gathering steam".

ING bank economist Carsten Brzeski said of Merz's unusual TV address: "Read the appearance for what it was, an attempt to choke off the speculation about his possible resignation that has been building in recent weeks."

- Tough week ahead -

The chancellor has also cleared his calendar for the following days and skipped a trip to New York for the UN General Assembly to deal with potential aftershocks from the votes.

Merz has been fighting off rumours he may be ousted for weeks.

Names of hopefuls for the top job that have been floated include Hendrik Wuest, state premier of populous North Rhine-Westphalia, and Markus Soeder, the Bavarian state premier and head of the CSU, the regional sister party of the CDU.

However, no contender has made an open move for the job -- perhaps fearing the act of disloyalty could backfire, or intimidated by the tough task of trying to revive the party's fortunes during one of its worst-ever crises.

When Merz took office in May last year, he vowed to reboot a flagging economy, rebuild the military to deter Russia and reduce irregular immigration to soothe voters' fears and lure them away from the AfD.

But his personal approval ratings are hovering just above 10 percent, not helped by his occasionally blunt and abrasive comments.

The latest elections came two weeks after the far-right, pro-Trump and Moscow-friendly AfD also dealt a stunning defeat to the CDU in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.

The string of election debacles comes as Merz has struggled to push through promised economic and social welfare reforms with his coalition partners in the SPD.

Under-fire Merz received some badly needed support from CDU powerbrokers last week when eight state premiers declared jointly that Germany needs "stability now more than ever" rather than "discussions about personnel".

They refrained, however, from issuing a personal endorsement of the chancellor.

Sunday's shooting occurred near the Israeli settlement of Neveh Tzuf, north of Ramallah, on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, with the suspected assailant apprehended by soldiers after being located at a hospital.

Israel's military told AFP on Sunday that its troops had raided the home of the attacker's family in the Palestinian village of Biddu, northwest of Jerusalem in the West Bank.

The Jerusalem Governorate, the Palestinian local authority for the area, said Israeli forces then raided Biddu at dawn on Monday and "carried out a large-scale arrest campaign targeting dozens of young men".

"The raid was accompanied by searches, vandalism, and the smashing of property inside a number of homes, as well as physical assaults on several residents," it said, adding that the raid was ongoing.

When asked by AFP, the Israeli military said it was checking the reports.

An AFP photographer saw Israeli forces in the town on Monday morning.

Biddu's mayor, Nazmi Mansour, told AFP that the military had stormed the town after midnight with "dozens of military jeeps and hundreds of soldiers".

"The soldiers began house-to-house searches and set up field interrogation centres in buildings they had taken control of," he said, adding that dozens of people were questioned.

"The army is still present in the town and has closed off its entrances, and all commercial shops are shut," he told AFP by telephone.

Israel's army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said at the site of the attack Sunday that the military remained "on high alert".

"We will impose a closure on the village and conduct investigations, through which we will reach everyone who assisted the terrorist," Zamir said.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for the attacker to be the first person executed under a recently approved death penalty law.

The new law imposes the death penalty by default on Palestinians from the West Bank convicted on terror charges for deadly attacks.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and violence there has surged since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which sparked the Gaza war.

Japan often sees strong typhoons in the late summer and early autumn, and other storms have already disrupted some events at the Asian Games being hosted in the country.

Dujuan was bringing winds of around 144 kilometres (89 miles) per hour on Monday as it moved to around 130 kilometres south of Katsuura City near Tokyo.

Japan Airlines cancelled 135 flights and All Nippon Airways scrapped 140, while more than 9,000 households near Tokyo were without power.

More than 1.6 million residents in and around the capital were urged to evacuate, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The evacuations are not mandatory.

Landslide warnings were issued for Tokyo as well as for Chiba, Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures. Railway operators in Tokyo and neighbouring regions suspended services on some lines.

In areas where warnings have been issued, "there's a risk the rain will continue as the typhoon moves north", Takuya Hosomi of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) told reporters.

The JMA warned on Sunday that rain and winds were expected to intensify even before the typhoon's arrival.

"The total rainfall through Tuesday could exceed the average monthly rainfall for September, resulting in record-breaking heavy rain," the agency said.

One person has already been mildly injured and nine houses have been damaged due to the typhoon.

Dujuan also forced the early closure of the Tokyo Game Show, one of the world's biggest video-game trade fairs, on Monday, its final day.

A major outdoor music festival and a baseball match both scheduled to be held in Chiba were also cancelled.

Social media posts showed images of roads in front of Kamakura station, a popular sightseeing spot, were flooded.

"There is flooding in various parts of the city, so travelling by car is dangerous," Kamakura City Mayor Takashi Matsuo said on X.

The assurance came in a recent letter sent to Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat, congratulating him on assuming office as a full minister.

ICAO Council President Toshiyuki Onuma and Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar extended their greetings to the minister on taking up his new responsibilities.

The two senior ICAO officials said the organisation would continue its full cooperation with Bangladesh in further advancing international civil aviation and ensuring safety and security in the sector.

ICAO plays a key role in developing international civil aviation standards and recommended practices and works with member states to promote safe, secure and orderly growth of the sector.

Its cooperation is considered important for the development of Bangladesh's civil aviation sector, modernisation of airport infrastructure and strengthening of aviation safety and security in line with international standards.

The letter also wished Minister Millat every success in discharging his new responsibilities.

Thirty-seven young men were found dead inside a crowded cell in Minna, the capital of central Niger state, on Thursday after their arrest on suspicion of illegal goldmining by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Survivors recounted being crammed in the cell with poor ventilation, and one said a substance that stung their throats and noses was sprayed into the cell before the door was slammed shut.

They said their calls for help were ignored.

The deaths triggered violent protests on the streets of Minna city, the capital of mineral-rich Niger state, and police fired shots to disperse the protesters.

Nigeria's government has appointed a 10-member independent panel to investigate the deaths of 37 people in a paramilitary civil defence force holding cell, the interior ministry said Saturday.

Adamu Idris, 27, whose brother was among the dead told AFP he expects government "to give us justice".

He warned: "If the government does not take decisive action, we will continue the protest.

"They should be ready to continue killing us, and it is better that we all die".

Musa Aliyu, 52, who lost two sons in detention wants the disaster "thoroughly" investigated to "give justice to our children."

Tensions were stoked at the news of the deaths and people poured out into the streets protesting and damaging government property.

Gunshots were heard in the city as police responded with fire to disperse the protesters, but it was not clear whether they fired anti-riot pellets or live ammunition.

But one man said he was shot while walking on the streets on his way from attending the funeral of one of the miners.

"I heard gunshots. I quickly ducked and next thing I was unconscious, I was shot. I fell into the gutter," 24-year-old Allamin Adamu, said from his hospital bed.

President Bola Tinubu on Friday ordered an urgent, "full and transparent investigation" over Thursday's deaths.

He said he would not tolerate deaths caused by "official negligence, abuse, dereliction of duty".

The panel includes a retired senior state intelligence officer, a medical expert, a human rights activist and a miners' association.

It has two weeks to finalise investigations and submit its report.

Twenty NSCDC officers and guards who were involved in the arrests and detention of the miners had been suspended, along with their boss.

Niger state, more than twice the size of Belgium, is rich in minerals and attracts thousands of artisanal miners -- most of them lured by the hope of striking gold.

Tung, who died this month at the age of 89, was a former shipping tycoon hand-picked by Beijing to run Hong Kong after the former British colony's handover to Chinese rule in 1997.

The stauch conservative oversaw a rocky eight-year tenure until he resigned in 2005, following widespread protests.

Tung's casket, draped with the Chinese national flag, was driven in a hearse from the Hong Kong Funeral Home to a crematorium on Sunday, AFP reporters saw.

A portrait of Tung -- smiling and sporting his signature crew cut -- was displayed in the memorial hall, surrounded by white orchids symbolising love and respect.

Hundreds of wreaths sent by government officials and business leaders lined the street outside the memorial hall.

A tribute note from his alma mater, Britain's University of Liverpool, read: "We remember him with great gratitude and respect."

A divisive figure, Tung's policies set the tone for the city's development following the handover, with some sparking widespread protests.

A funeral committee hailed him as a "renowned patriot" and "close friend of the Communist Party".

Cheung Kwok-lik, an 89-year-old retired renovation worker, said he had travelled an hour by bus to pay his condolences to the former leader.

During his tenure, Tung weathered the Asian financial crisis and the deadly SARS epidemic, which "was by no means easy", Cheung said.

Tung's leadership also coincided with record unemployment and the 1997 avian flu outbreak.

Resident Kiki Ho said that even after paying her respects, she still felt "sorrowful and emotional".

"Given that era and circumstances he encountered, the situation was not in his favour," the 68-year-old said.

"He was a gentleman, a man of experience who genuinely wanted to do something for Hong Kong... but the political arena may have been too complicated for him," she added.

The British and US consulates had previously praised Tung for the historic role he played.

For decades, he served as an essential bridge connecting Beijing, Hong Kong and Washington.

Max Baucus, a former US ambassador to China who called Tung a close friend, said: "In the later decades of his life, he was devoted to the belief that our two countries... needed to assure and maintain mutual peace."

"He believed the best way to achieve that was through people-to-people diplomacy," Baucus added.

Tung is survived by his wife Betty Chiu, their two sons and their daughter.

The capital's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that more than 1,600 drones had been intercepted and shot down, 450 of which were aimed at Moscow.

He accused Ukraine of attempting to interfere with a tightly controlled three-day election that is set to tighten President Vladimir Putin's 26-year grip on power.

"The unprecedented attack was clearly planned with the aim of disrupting the elections. The enemy did not succeed," he said on Telegram.

Moscow regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov said on the social media platform that at least two people were killed -- a 44-year-old woman and an elderly man -- in two separate locations.

A fire triggered by a drone crashing into a 21-storey building also led to 400 people being evacuated, Vorobyov said. He did not specify the drones' origin.

The attacks come at a time when Kyiv stepped up its long-range drone strike campaign against Russia in recent months, particularly against energy infrastructure to target a vital source of the Kremlin's revenue to fund its war effort, now in its fifth year.

"A facility on the territory of the Moscow Oil Refinery has been damaged, Sobyanin added, noting that no casualties had been reported so far and that emergency services were on the scene.

This major refinery has already been hit by Ukrainian strikes in recent months.

The latest strike comes after US President Donald Trump said Monday that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other's energy facilities.

It also comes after Russians began voting on Friday in the country's first parliamentary election since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022, setting off a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands.

Only parties that support Putin and the Kremlin's military campaign have been registered to run. Moscow has also organised voting in occupied Ukraine.

While few Russians doubt Putin's United Russia party will cruise to victory again, the vote offers a gauge of public support for the war.

A statement from Gaza's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority, said that the child "succumbed to wounds sustained this morning from Israeli army fire north of the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip".

An airstrike also killed Baseer al-Barsh, the son of Munir al-Barsh who serves as director-general of Gaza's health ministry, in an encampment for displaced people in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, the ministry said.

Speaking during his son's funeral, Munir Al-Bursh said the killing was "a continuation of (Israel's) crimes", according to a ministry statement.

In addition, two Palestinians were killed and several others injured in two separate strikes near Gaza City, according to Gaza's al-Shifa hospital and the territory's civil defence, a rescue agency operating under Hamas authority.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP inquiry on the strikes.

Israel in October last year agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the United States but since then has advanced further into Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed no let-up in strikes targeting Hamas, which led the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack against Israel, and no pullout from Gaza until Hamas gives up all of its weapons.

The 2023 attack killed 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. The militants also dragged into Gaza some 251 hostages, 44 of them already dead.

The massive Israeli offensive in response has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 73,800 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,300 people since the ceasefire was announced last year, according to the Gaza health ministry, whose figures are considered generally reliable by the United Nations.

The Israeli army has identified five deaths in its ranks over the same period, as well as the death of one civilian contractor.

"Today I announced that I have decided not to continue with my candidacy for the position of secretary-general of the United Nations," Bachelet, who served as Chile's first female leader, said in a video posted on her social media accounts.

"Some may believe that the time was not right for a candidacy like the one I sought to represent. I do not regret having taken on this great challenge," she said.

Bachelet stressed that by running for the top UN post, she had helped spark debate "that the next secretary-general should be a woman from Latin America."

So far in three polls as part of the informal process to pick the next UN chief, the 15-member Security Council twice placed Costa Rica's former vice president Rebeca Grynspan in the lead.

Guyanese ex-foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett placed first in the third poll.

Bachelet was initially nominated last February by the administration of then-president Gabriel Boric, and supported by the leftist leaders of Mexico and Brazil.

But the left-leaning 74-year-old's candidacy lost momentum after Chile's new leader, far-right President Jose Antonio Kast, withdrew his backing.

Earlier this month at a university event, Bachelet had appeared to recognize her underdog status, joking about her slim chances of leading the global body.

No woman has led the United Nations in its 80-year history, and only one Latin American has served as secretary-general: Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru, at the helm from 1982 to 1991.

According to unwritten practice -- one that is not always followed -- the top position rotates among geographic regions. This time, it would be Latin America's turn.

Bachelet's withdrawal leaves four women and three men in the race to succeed the current UN chief, 77-year-old Antonio Guterres of Portugal, who completes his second five-year term on December 31.

Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has repeatedly insisted that the United States needed to control Greenland for strategic reasons, alarming NATO ally Denmark and sparking fierce pushback from the alliance.

Denmark and Greenland -- an autonomous Danish territory -- both hailed the agreement and said they would sign it on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next week.

"A long period of uncertainty will hopefully be replaced by a binding agreement that strengthens security in the Arctic and North Atlantic," Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on social media.

The deal respected Denmark's "red lines" and was "important" in light of a changed security situation, he said.

- 'Danish sovereignty' -

While the terms are still unclear, Denmark maintains that its sovereignty remains intact.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the agreement with Washington "recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the Greenlandic people's right to self-determination".

It was "good for NATO and Europe", she said.

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the deal "recognises Greenland's interests" and "strengthens" its security.

And French President Emmanuel Macron weighed in Saturday as well, saying the deal helps "to reaffirm Danish sovereignty" over the Arctic territory.

In Greenland's capital Nuuk, residents expressed ambivalence.

"I don't know exactly what the agreement is or what has been signed. But whenever the US and Trump are mentioned, I have mixed feelings. I'm not entirely comfortable with how much attention Greenland has right now," Soren Kreutzmann, a 29-year-old hairdresser, told AFP.

"We hope the leaders have made a good agreement, because our country needs to be protected, both from the air and sea. Denmark had not given that enough attention for many years," said Bibbi Kleist Jepsen, a 64-year-old educator.

Trump hailed the deal as an "'Infinite Life' Agreement, there is no end!" Washington would immediately start building up a large military presence in the territory, he added.

"From now on, no US adversary can EVER have a base in Greenland, have a military presence in Greenland, or make sensitive investments in Greenland, without our express written approval."

While Trump presented the deal as a major triumph, Danish commentators said he had likely gained little.

They noted that, under a 1951 defence pact updated in 2004, Washington was already able to ramp up its military presence on the island provided it informs Denmark and Greenland in advance.

"Shhh. Don't tell Trump that it's the Kingdom of Denmark that has prevailed," US correspondent Jacob Heinel Jensen wrote in Danish newspaper Berlingske on Saturday.

Ulrik Pram Gad, a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, said Trump "obviously didn't get in this agreement what he originally set out to have, that is, sovereign control over all of Greenland as a part of the United States".

- China, Russia concerns -

Trump has repeatedly warned of Russia and China trying to establish a foothold in Greenland as a strategic battle unfolds for supremacy in a warming Arctic. The US State Department left no doubt that they would not be allowed to do so.

"This agreement guarantees that China and Russia cannot have a base in Greenland, they cannot send troops to Greenland, and the necessary mechanisms are in place to prevent investment in sensitive sectors," a State Department official said.

Gad noted that while Russia had little interest in Greenland, China was investing in extractive industries to get a foothold in the Arctic.

"The US is worried that any kind of Chinese footprint could be turned into military assets," he said.

Cautioning that the deal's details remained unknown, Gad said the worry is how "exclusive access" for the US to build bases in Greenland would affect NATO allies from Europe.

"Trump has been flirting with breaking up the NATO alliance... If Europe is an adversary, how would that position Europe, Denmark and Greenland in that situation?"

Several media outlets have reported that Washington wants to open three new military bases in southern Greenland, in addition to the Pituffik base it already has in the territory's north.

At the height of the Greenland dispute, Trump would not rule out using force to seize the territory of 57,000 inhabitants, sowing anxiety within the EU and NATO.

Tensions have since eased. In an apparent move to assuage Trump, NATO launched a mission to bolster security in the Arctic.

Following the meeting with Cook at the tech giant's headquarters on Saturday, Albanese said Australia "can't do it alone" when it came to protecting children from the dangers of the internet.

"We spoke about what we're doing to protect children from online harm and the work ahead," Albanese wrote on social media.

"We're putting stronger rules in place to keep Australians safe online," he said.

"And now, big tech companies like Apple are stepping up too."

Cook also said he shared with Albanese new "strong and intuitive controls to help keep kids safe online" in a post on X.

Australia implemented legislation barring under-16s from social media platforms last year, part of a world-first crackdown designed to protect children from online bullying and "predatory algorithms".

New draft laws unveiled this month would place a "duty of care" requirement on the firms behind popular platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram -- as well as allow users to turn off their algorithms if they want to.

Data last month found that under-16s in Australia were increasing their use of social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok despite the ban.

The draft laws will be introduced to parliament later this year after consultation with social media companies, industry bodies and civil society groups.

Albanese -- visiting the United States this week for the upcoming United Nations General Assembly -- has also used his trip to call for greater regulation of AI, following dire safety warnings from industry leaders.

Australia will introduce new standards for AI by the end of the year, he said.

"The risk is that AI develops in a way in which humans are no longer in control of what AI is producing," Albanese told national broadcaster ABC.

"How do we make sure that people are in control rather than the technology in control of us?"

Iraq's prisons, already packed with IS suspects, have received thousands more detainees transferred since last year from neighbouring Syria.

An Iraqi judicial source told AFP on Thursday that six French nationals were scheduled to stand trial on Sunday.

Their identities remain unclear, but they are part of a group of 47 French citizens transferred from Syria last year.

The larger group includes Adrien Guihal, who claimed responsibility for the 2016 Nice attack for IS.

The jihadist group swept across Syria and Iraq in 2014, committing massacres and forcing women and girls into sexual slavery.

Iraq, backed by US-led forces, proclaimed victory over IS in 2017, and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces ultimately defeated the group in Syria two years later.

Iraq is nonetheless still reckoning with the legacy left behind by the group, with mass graves and testimonies of IS brutality yet to be investigated.

For years, its courts have handed down hundreds of execution orders and life sentences to those convicted of terrorism offences, including foreign fighters.

- Contentious issue -

In 2019, 11 French nationals received death sentences that were later commuted to life in prison.

Some human rights groups have denounced terrorism trials in Iraq as rushed and lacking due process.

In France, which has been the target of repeated jihadist attacks, repatriation of IS suspects and their family members has been a contentious issue.

French lawyers on Thursday urged the repatriation of the French nationals detained in Iraq, warning that they could face the death penalty.

In February, over 5,700 IS detainees from more than 60 countries were transferred to Iraq by the United States, after years held in Syrian prisons overseen by Kurdish-led forces.

Among them were at least five French nationals, some of whom were minors when their parents joined IS.

Earlier this month, Iraq's judiciary said it had completed their interrogation and that the cases would proceed to trial.

It added that more than 450 Syrians would be released after investigations found no evidence warranting legal action against them.

In April, Iraq handed over two detained foreigners, from Finland and the United States, to their countries after they were cleared of suspicion.

Merz, 70, has scheduled a crisis meeting of his centre-right CDU party leadership to discuss first results as they come in from the regional polls in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

The chancellor, in power for 16 months, has also cleared his calendar for the following days and skipped a trip to the UN General Assembly to deal with potential aftershocks from the votes.

The far-right, pro-Trump and Moscow-friendly Alternative for Germany (AfD) dealt a stunning defeat to his CDU two weeks ago in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, fuelling speculation that internal party support for Merz is wobbling.

The election debacle came as Merz's approval ratings have nose-dived and he has struggled to push through promised economic and social welfare reforms with his centre-left coalition partners the SPD.

The AfD will make fresh gains Sunday, polls suggest, although it is unlikely to come within reach of power in either state -- unlike in Saxony-Anhalt where it fell just a few seats short of an absolute majority.

Under-fire Merz received some badly needed support from CDU powerbrokers on Wednesday. Eight state premiers declared jointly that Germany needs "stability now more than ever" rather than "discussions about personnel".

They refrained from issuing a personal endorsement for Merz, however.

- Two tight races -

In Sunday's vote, the CDU faces different challenges unique to those regions.

In the northeastern coastal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Merz's party is an onlooker to the main battle between the SPD of popular state premier Manuela Schwesig and the AfD.

While the AfD was polling at 36 percent against the SPD's 37, according to public broadcaster ZDF, Merz's CDU, at just six percent, was dangerously close to the five-per cent hurdle needed to stay in the state parliament.

A CDU crash below that line would be a historic first and heap enormous pressure on Merz.

In the city-state of Berlin, the ruling CDU is running a neck-and-neck race against the far-left Die Linke, which promises drastic steps to solve a dire housing crisis and is popular with young people.

A CDU defeat there would be another black eye for Merz -- especially at the hands of Die Linke, which wants to curb corporate power and leans toward Moscow.

When Merz took office in May last year, he vowed to reboot a flagging economy, rebuild the military to deter Russia, and reduce irregular immigration to soothe voters' fears and lure them away from the AfD.

But the AfD now leads nationwide polls and Merz's personal approval ratings hover just above 10 percent, not helped by his occasionally blunt and abrasive comments.

- Lowest support ever -

"In personal terms, the situation is quite dramatic" for Merz, said pollster Roland Abold of the Infratest Dimap research institute.

"In our last survey in September, 13 percent were still satisfied with his political performance. These are the lowest figures we have ever recorded for an incumbent chancellor," Abold told AFP.

Some commentators point out that most of Merz's problems have originated abroad.

The Ukraine and Middle East wars have sent energy prices surging, fuelling a cost of living crisis.

Worries about Russia have driven a massive German re-armament drive, sped up by US President Donald Trump's often hostile stance against European NATO allies.

And China's rapid rise is turning a long-time German export market into a fierce industrial competitor.

"Tough luck for Friedrich Merz," wrote Berenberg bank chief economist Holger Schmieding. Aside from the AfD challenge, the latest "surge in petrol prices and the public debate about his future are exacerbating his travails", he argued.

Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin "have triggered the crises that have sent oil and gas prices into the stratosphere", Schmieding pointed out.

"But although parts of the right-wing AfD are close to both of them... voters tend to lay the blame for their pain at the ruling coalition led by Merz rather than at the friends of AfD."

Nonetheless, Schmieding judged it more likely than not that Merz would weather the current political storm and serve out his term until 2029.

Here are some of the key issues the pontiff is expected to face while on the first official visit to France by a head of the Catholic Church in 18 years:

- Clerical abuse -

The Vatican announced in August that Pope Leo XIV will meet victims of clerical sexual abuse during his visit.

The leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics has promised to further efforts to reform the Church in the wake of the global sexual abuse scandal.

A 2021 inquiry found that clergy or lay members of the Church had abused about 330,000 people as minors in France, over the span of 70 years.

The Church's reputation has since been hit by further scandals, including a raft of sexual abuse accusations against charity icon Abbe Pierre and widespread physical and sexual abuse at the Notre-Dame de Betharram school in southwestern France.

The first pontiff from the United States is due to meet seven victims on September 27 in the southwestern town of Lourdes, including a former student at Betharram.

The format has been heavily criticised by victim support groups and is similar to one used in Spain in June, where Pope Leo promised the Church would make "additional efforts" to change.

- Assisted dying law -

France's parliament in June passed legislation establishing a right to assisted dying for some adults suffering from an incurable condition.

The move drew strong criticism from the Catholic Church in France, which denounced the bill as a serious "rupture".

Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, head of the French bishops' conference, said on Tuesday that "the defence of the dignity of human life is at the heart of the Pope's message".

"How will he convey this in France? We shall see," he added.

Martin Dumont, the secretary-general of a religion research institute in France, said it was possible Pope Leo would raise the subject.

"But I would be very surprised if he took a confrontational stance," Dumont said, suggesting the pope could instead highlight the need to care for the elderly and vulnerable.

- Presidential election -

France is just seven months away from the first round of its presidential election, making Pope Leo's visit unusual as pontiffs rarely travel to a country so close to a major vote.

The trip comes as far-right leader Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration National Rally party views next year's contest, when President Emmanuel Macron steps down, as its best chance yet to take power.

Migration, which is set to be a hot-button issue in the election, was a key focus on Pope Leo's trip to Spain in June, where he condemned "indifference" towards migrants.

In France, he is due to visit an association providing support for migrants, a "strong signal", according to Dumont.

- Europe's role -

Pope Leo's trip will be the first papal state visit to France since Benedict XVI's in September 2008.

Coming after his visit to Spain, it highlights the pope's interest in engaging with historically Catholic but increasingly non-religious European countries that were largely overlooked by his predecessor, Francis.

Pope Leo is due to deliver several speeches, including at the UN culture agency UNESCO and in the northeastern city of Metz, near the German border.

His programme in Metz includes a meeting entitled "To the roots of Europe for peace and unity".

While he is unlikely to single out any political actors during his visit to France, his message will inevitably carry political weight, said Charles Mercier, a director at France's Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes.

"By choosing to defend European integration, the Pope is already giving his visit a political direction," said Mercier.

The pope also places considerable importance on multilateralism and sees Europe as a counterweight to global powers, said Francois Mabille, director of the Geopolitical Observatory on Religion.

That includes "Europe's role in relation to what he calls 'imperial logics' -- namely the United States, China and Russia," Mabille said.

With little information and no prior consultation, the Indigenous chieftain said her Aeta Hungey tribe was uncertain how much of their land could be affected or what will become of the livelihood it provides.

"There's still no clarity," Munoz told AFP inside the tribe's traditional meeting hall.

"What will happen to us? That's our biggest question."

In April, the United States announced that the Philippines had joined Pax Silica, a US-led effort to strengthen supply chains for semiconductors and rare earth elements and reduce participating countries' dependence on China.

The Philippines has designated a 1,620-hectare (4,000-acre) site in New Clark City in Tarlac province, north of Manila, for a manufacturing hub aimed at producing high-end components for use in artificial intelligence data centres.

The government estimates the initiative could attract up to $70 billion in investment and create about 190,000 jobs, a major boost to a country with more than three million unemployed people.

The project has a long timeline. No tenants have been confirmed.

Plans to domestically process the country's mineral resources could be even further away.

For about 1,000 Aetas, however, the prospect of displacement is already here.

In July, they received a letter from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) warning that the project "could affect your occupied lands".

- 'Money runs out' -

Munoz said visiting BCDA employees told them to leave by December and relocate to an area about 16 kilometres (10 miles) from their current home, without providing a master plan showing which parts of theirancestral domains would be affected.

Munoz said the BCDA has offered them just 30 pesos ($0.48) per square metre for their lands, an offer all declined.

"Our lives, our livelihood and our culture are tied to this ancestral land," Munoz said.

"Land is more important. Money runs out."

The BCDA declined to address specific questions about the Aetas' situation and rejected a freedom of information request for the site's official boundary map and geospatial data.

It said the information was being "withheld temporarily until the official action is finalized or published".

At a Senate hearing last month, BCDA president Joshua Bingcang said the Aetas were living on government land. Like many Indigenous groups in the Philippines, they hold no land title.

Civic groups have also raised concerns about the project's environmental impact, particularly the demand for water and electricity in a country plagued by droughts and rotational power outages.

The US Statement Department told AFP that "environmental, water, energy, and community-impact studies" would inform the project's design.

"Before any major development happens, we expect rigorous stakeholder impact assessments will take place," a spokesperson said.

Bingcang told the Senate that investors would be required to build their own power and water systems.

- 'We have to open up' -

Alvin Camba, research director at an AI firm focused on supply chains and risk assessment, said Manila's close relationship with the United States could motivate investors to set up shop despite the power concerns.

Last month, reports said Washington planned to warn countries they could be excluded from Pax Silica if they joined a rival framework backed by Beijing.?

"This is where the advantage of the Philippines comes in. The Philippines is the least affected by Chinese capital in Southeast Asia," Camba told AFP, saying the country would offer foreign companies the ability to "disentangle" from China.??

For political economist Calixto Chikiamco, Pax Silica represents a "historic opportunity" for the Philippines to move beyond its traditional wheelhouse of microchip testing and packaging.

"We have to open up to foreign investment so that technology transfer (to the Philippines) will happen," he told AFP.??

- Sacrifices -

The BCDA has been conducting public consultations in Tarlac and nearby provinces, but the agency has yet to hold talks with her tribe, Munoz said.

The Aetas remain uncertain if the government would help them build new homes or provide land to cultivate for income if they are moved.

"I wish they would listen to us. They're just talking among themselves," she said, adding she worried her tribe would not be qualified for the sort of new jobs Pax Silica promised.

While a proponent of the initiative, Chikiamco said the government was doing "a terrible job" explaining the benefits and tradeoffs it represented.

Camba agreed: "I would actually advise the Philippine government to be very transparent about what's happening. A big problem is transparency."

Still, the benefits outweigh the risks, he said. ?

"Every country that has... jump-started development has had to make sacrifices," Camba said.?

But 63-year-old Munoz, who hopes to be buried in her tribe's traditional burial ground, said she would not leave, even if a backhoe flattened her home.?

"Why do we have to be the ones to sacrifice for the kind of development they want?" she asked.

There was no explanation from the administration why Trump was no longer returning on Sunday from Camp David, a secluded presidential complex in rural Maryland, as had been previously announced.

The change in plan came as the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said on Saturday that the Iran-backed group fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh at dawn, after a fire broke out near the Saudi capital's international airport.

The State Department and a string of US embassies issued security alerts to Americans.

The alerts cited "the potential for unforeseen escalation" and noted that "Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including civilian airports."

"This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly," the State Department warning said. "Americans outside the Middle East should seriously reconsider travel to and through the region."

Only a tiny fraction of Americans are transgender.

But controversy over the minority's rights, especially the presence of a handful of transgender athletes in women's sports, has proved political dynamite in Trump's hands before -- and, he says, will again.

Denouncing transgender athletes is "one of our great soundbites of all time," he recently told a rally.

"I like to wait about a week before the election" before raising it, he said, claiming that he was "petrified" that Democrats would suddenly drop their support for transgender people.

- 'For they/them' -

Polling tends to favor Republican positions on several key transgender issues, which provoke intense emotions and fuel heated debate online and on partisan television.

It was two years ago, locked in a bitter presidential race with Kamala Harris, that Trump's campaign released a devastatingly effective television ad depicting his Democratic opponent as promoting taxpayer-funded sex changes in prisons.

The narrator famously concludes that "Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you."

Many experts credit the ad with helping turn the tide in some of the tightest electoral battlegrounds.

"It was brutal, it was devastating," said Gavin Newsom, California's Democratic governor and an outspoken Trump opponent. "It was a great ad."

- 'Appease and please everybody' -

For much of the 2010s and into the 2020s, Democrats heavily embraced social justice issues, rallying supporters and scoring major wins on matters like legalizing gay marriage nationwide.

But on transgender issues, Democrats hit a wall of opposition.

Years of campaigning on the issues did little to shift the American public while leaving a smorgasbord of problematic soundbites for Republican ad makers to exploit.

The nonpartisan Pew Research Center found in 2025 that 73 percent of American adults were uncomfortable with transgender athletes playing on sports teams that don't match their birth sex. Sixty-six percent favored a law or policy requiring trans athletes to compete on teams that matched their birth sex.

Kurt Bardella, a former Republican staffer who now advises Democrats, told AFP: "I think that Democrats fell into the classic mistake of just being afraid of their own shadow."

"In trying to appease and please everybody, they actually alienated the majority of Americans," he added.

Democrats "lose sight of how many people they actually offend with some of this stuff," Doug Heye, a veteran Republican strategist, told AFP.

"If you look at the polling on the issue it's pretty broadly in Republicans' favor and a reason that they've been as aggressive as they have on this," Heye added.

- Reopening the playbook -

As campaigning hits full steam ahead of November's polls, Republicans are reigniting the issue.

Axios reported that Elon Musk's "America PAC" has begun an ad blitz attacking Democrats over their unpopular transgender positions in an effort to drive Republican voter turnout.

"Tired of grown men dunking on female athletes?" the narrator of one ad asks as what appears to be a drag queen slams a basketball through a hoop. "James Talarico voted to let biological men play women's sports. Not fair. Not safe. Not Texas."

Talarico, a Democrat locked in a tight race to represent Texas in the US Senate, voted in 2021 and 2023 as a state lawmaker against restrictions requiring transgender athletes to compete according to their sex at birth.

Like many other Democrats competing this election cycle, he now says he opposes "trans athletes playing in girls' sports if it endangers safety or fairness."

The reemergence of the issue frustrates Democratic strategist Bardella.

After all, estimates put the number of American adults who identify as transgender at a mere one percent.

"It's also the height of how idiotic this timeline is that we're allowing an issue that affects such a minute group of people -- that is statistically insignificant, frankly -- to hijack this amount of the conversation," he said.

Sheeran, 35, has denied being behind the decision to remove Macklemore, instead blaming the tour promoter.

"What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate," Sheeran said as he opened his show in Philadelphia, his first since the controversy involving rapper Macklemore.

The US artist had declared "Free Palestine" at a New Jersey concert this month, drawing backlash from owners of stadiums hosting future Loop Tour dates.

Four supporting acts subsequently walked out on the "Shape of You" singer, issuing public statements citing their support for Palestinians.

"I've had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I'm so so sorry," an emotional Sheeran told his audience, who responded with cheers.

Sheeran had been accused by critics of failing to stand up to the stadium owners -- led by billionaire businessman Robert Kraft -- and was targeted by boycott calls.

A few dozen pro-Palestinian protesters rallied outside Lincoln Financial Field ahead of the concert, waving Palestinian flags and chanting "Free, free Palestine."

Officers in a dozen police cars kept watch over the peaceful gathering from a distance.

Some of the fans streaming into the stadium said they had hesitated about coming due to the controversy, but ultimately decided to attend and enjoy the music.

But others like Brandon Ateke changed their plans.

The 18-year-old Brown University student accused Sheeran of "complicity" with Kraft and others in silencing Macklemore.

"I decided to not attend the concert and instead attend the protest to bring light to the genocide going on in Gaza today," he told AFP.

At a time when a growing number of artists are speaking out against the conflict in Gaza and West Bank settler violence, Sheeran had until now maintained an apolitical stance.

"I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn't mean I don't have them," the British performer said Tuesday on Instagram.

However, he said, "those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum."

On Saturday, a pro-Palestinian group urged artists, fans and crew members to stay away from Sheeran's concerts.

"We now extend our call for boycotting Ed Sheeran's entire world tour, including the upcoming Latin American dates, and the as-yet-unannounced European leg," the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) said.

- Solo show? -

Sheeran started his show Saturday night alone on stage, without an opening act.

The groups that quit the tour included Sheeran's backing band as well as performer Finneas, who rose to fame collaborating with his pop superstar sister Billie Eilish.

Since Israel invaded Gaza in October 2023 following the worst attack on the country in its history by militant group Hamas, the toll on Palestinians and the wider issue of Palestinian rights have emerged as a rallying cry in the entertainment industry.

From the Oscars to the Emmys, top music awards ceremonies and European film festivals, the Gaza war has frequently pushed its way onto the agenda.

The massive Israeli offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,800 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

On Saturday, Gaza authorities said the latest Israeli fire had killed at least four people, including a 10-year-old girl.

"Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel's active involvement in narco-trafficking. The operation killed four narco-terrorists," SOUTHCOM, which commands US forces in the region, said in a statement, along with a grainy video of the attack on the boat

The US military launched operation "Southern Spear" in early September, with President Donald Trump arguing Washington is effectively at war with drug cartels operating out of Latin America.

Since then, more than 200 people have been killed in strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, according to a tally by AFP.

Trump's administration has not provided definitive evidence that the vessels it has been striking are involved in drug trafficking.

Legal experts and rights groups say the strikes could amount to extrajudicial killings.

Firefighters extinguished a blaze on a fuel tank with the logo of Saudi oil giant Aramco at a fuel depot near Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, an AFP journalist saw. Footage shared online and verified by AFP showed a column of black smoke above airport buildings.

In recent weeks, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement has staged a lightning offensive, seizing swathes of territory in one of the world's poorest countries, leaving the internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, scrambling to respond.

Saudi Arabia's air force "successfully intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi terrorist militia towards the city of Riyadh at dawn on Saturday," coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki posted on X.

He said the Houthis also tried to target "civilians and civilian infrastructure in Bisha, Taif, Farasan, and Yanbu," adding that the attacks "were thwarted by the Gulf monarchy's air defences".

Saudi Arabia has responded with scores of airstrikes on Houthi-held areas but failed to stop the advance.

The Houthis said it had responded to recent Saudi attacks by carrying out "two successful military operations using a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement on Telegram.

"The first targeted sensitive sites in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and the second targeted Aramco facilities in Yanbu."

Saudi authorities had earlier issued an overnight air raid alert.

Hours after the early morning alert, residents told AFP on condition of anonymity that they heard what sounded like a round of explosions echoing through parts of the Saudi capital.

Tracking website FlightRadar24 reported "major problems" at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, listing it for a while under its maximum disruption index, before normal traffic began to resume.

The US State Department and its embassies around the region issued a security alert Saturday, warning of conflict that "has the potential to escalate rapidly".

"Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including civilian airports," it said.

- Lightning offensive -

This is the first time since Yemen's civil war resumed that strikes have threatened the Saudi capital, piling further pressure on a global economy already rocked by seven months of war between the US and Iran.

"The area is under a hostile aerial threat," according to a message received just before 3:00 am by Riyadh residents, urging them to stay indoors.

AFP journalists then heard two explosions, before the Saudi civil defence agency lifted the alert half an hour later.

"I heard the alarm, then my windows shook," a Riyadh resident, 27, living in the city's north, told AFP. "It was definitely scary. I was not expecting this."

Another resident described the attack as "terrifying".

The incident comes days after Riyadh accused the Houthis of targeting Mecca on Wednesday, denouncing it as a "cowardly terrorist attack" on Islam's holy city, which welcomes millions of pilgrims each year. The Houthis strongly denied the accusation, calling it a "worn-out lie".

The group has reported scores of retaliatory strikes carried out daily by Riyadh since their offensive this month to take over the country's entire Red Sea coast, giving them control over the vital Bab al-Mandab strait.

The United States, according to US news platform Axios, last week refused a Saudi request to strike the Houthis.

On Thursday, Washington approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to the kingdom to help Riyadh "deter current and future threats", the US State Department said.

- 'Escalation trap' -

Anna Jacobs of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington told AFP that Saudi Arabia was entering into a phase of escalation with the Houthis "but they know the only way this ends is through negotiations".

"But both sides have a say in when that can happen and both sides seem locked in the escalation trap at this stage."

The United Nations said the renewed fighting had displaced more than 112,000 people while nearly 3,000 others had fled across the sea to Djibouti.

War in Yemen broke out in 2014 when the Houthis seized control of the capital Sanaa and other regions, triggering a military intervention led by Saudi Arabia in March 2015.

The fragile truce reached in 2022 between the warring parties collapsed in July, when the Houthis defied Riyadh's control of Yemeni airspace by allowing an Iranian aircraft to land in Yemen.

The apparent attack came as the Houthis improve their defences in newly conquered territory along Yemen's Red Sea coastline, with members of the group telling AFP they have been installing radar and digging tunnels.

The US State Department said this week it was refusing to grant visas to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and other members of his delegation ahead of next week's meeting in New York.

"We regret the decision to extend the denial of entry visas for members of the Palestinian delegation for a second year in a row," said Anouar El Anouni, a spokesman for the EU's diplomatic service.

"In light of its existing headquarters agreements with the UN and its obligations as host state, we urge the United States for this decision to be reconsidered."

The administration of US President Donald Trump denied visas for the Palestinian delegation also last year, forcing Abbas, a regular at the UN General Assembly, to address the body of global leadership by video.

The General Assembly voted 152-3 on Thursday for Abbas to be able to appear virtually once again this year.

As it stands, only members of the Palestinian mission to the UN will be able to attend the meeting, which begins Tuesday.

On Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed regret at Washington's decision, adding he was concerned about its impact "on the ability of the State of Palestine to participate fully in the work of the United Nations".

The United States and Israel have objected to the Palestinian Authority's historical payments to families of imprisoned or slain Palestinians, including those who carried out attacks against Israelis.

The PA recently reformed this system, allocating welfare payments to families on a needs basis rather than political affiliation or prisoner status.

The State Department said Washington also opposed Palestinian "actions to internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict including through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ), seeking to bypass negotiations through seeking unilateral recognition".

They accused them of "continuing to pay stipends to terrorists and to glorify acts of terrorism and terrorists in public pronouncements and school textbooks".

The United States is at odds with the 142 UN member states that recognised a Palestinian state at the United Nations last year.

The decision to deny Abbas a US entry visa comes as violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has escalated in recent months in the West Bank.

"The internal security forces of Daraa province have arrested Walid al-Fallah, one of the main leaders of the cell involved" in the deaths of the personnel in the town of Al-Sanamein in Daraa province, state news agency SANA reported.

The security force members were killed as they were attempting to arrest a member of the Islamic State (IS) group, a local government official had told AFP.

The group has been territorially defeated in Syria but maintains sleeper cells.

Interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said the anti-jihadist operation, which saw five people arrested, "succeeded in dismantling criminal cells and others linked to IS that were coordinating with each other".

IS used to control vast areas of Syria and neighbouring Iraq before being defeated in the two countries in 2019 and 2017, respectively.

However, in Syria it continues to periodically claim attacks against government forces, particularly in the vast desert region, as well as in the north and northeast.

It had also been established in the past in Daraa province, where its leader Abu Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was killed in October 2022 in clashes with local gunmen.

Last year, the new Syrian authorities, who overthrew president Bashar al-Assad in 2024, joined the US-led international coalition against IS.

Washington is pushing to revive a mediated path towards ending the conflict as Moscow intensifies attacks against Ukraine, even though much of its attention -- and munitions -- are focused on the ongoing war against Iran.

The legislation, which US lawmakers approved this week, takes aim at Russia's energy and defense sectors, alongside President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials.

It also targets Moscow's so-called shadow fleet of tankers used to evade Western sanctions, and allows Trump the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on major buyers of Russian oil and gas.

That could potentially cover China and India, and furthers efforts to cut off revenue financing Moscow's war.

The Republican-led House of Representatives passed the package by a 262-159 vote on Wednesday.

The bill would also target companies and foreign actors supporting Russia's military, and extend sanctions involving Iran.

But the broad powers to impose tariffs sparked an unusual split among Democrats, who largely support Ukraine but have resisted handing Trump wider authority over trade.

- Tougher pressure -

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier hailed the legislation as "symbolic" and thanked US lawmakers.

The bill is "an extremely powerful tool that can stop this terrorist war and bring Russia to the point where it has to make peace," Zelensky wrote on X.

"Sanctions must be strong so that all efforts for peace -- including our joint diplomatic efforts with the United States, Europe, and our other friends -- can succeed," he added.

India said on Thursday it would continue buying oil "through diversified sourcing."

New Delhi -- which counts Russia as one of its most important strategic partners -- has navigated the energy crisis sparked by the US-Iran conflict in part by turning to Moscow, despite pressure from Western countries.

Supporters of the legislation argued that tougher economic pressure is needed against Moscow, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Congress vote was celebrated by pro-Ukraine activists, who pointed to continuing Russian attacks, including drone strikes on Wednesday on civilian transport in the south that officials in Kyiv said killed five people.

Trump has generally preferred to retain control over sanctions and tariffs rather than have Congress dictate policy, helping delay the measure for more than a year.

The president's signing of the bill comes a week before he is due to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Washington.

"The death penalty was carried out against Hossein Pedaran, who had provided the Mossad with information on missile sites in Isfahan province" in central Iran, judicial authorities said, without saying when he was arrested or put on trial.

Pedaran had faced accusations of "espionage and intelligence collaboration" in favour of Israel.

The judiciary said his sentence had been upheld by the supreme court.

The case had not previously been reported by the media.

Iranian authorities have escalated arrests and executions both in connection with the Middle East war that began in February and the nationwide protests that peaked in January.

Throughout the war, numerous missile sites have been bombed. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed at the start of the war.

Isfahan province, which hosts Iranian nuclear sites, has been one of the hardest hit throughout the war.

In August, the judiciary announced the execution of two men accused of having "transmitted the coordinates of sensitive military and security sites" to Israel.

Iran carries out the second highest number of executions in the world after China, according to rights groups.

The complex's main building has been shuttered since Wednesday -- temporarily, according to its leadership -- while a judge is also reviewing plans for a long-term closure to accommodate Trump's desired renovations of the aging facility.

Crowds waved placards reading "hands off Kennedy Center" and broke out into song beneath the scaffolding and tarps that have remained in place since workers removed Trump's name from the building in June following a court order.

Trump took control last year of the Kennedy Center -- inaugurated in 1971 following the assassination of US president John F. Kennedy -- and has pushed for a major renovation, claiming the building had been left in a state of disrepair by previous leaders.

Like other projects around the US capital, the president has shown an unprecedented keenness to put his personal touch on plans, while testing the legal bounds of executive authority.

Trump's handpicked Kennedy Center board voted last year to officially rename the institution as the Trump-Kennedy Center, with corresponding updates to building signage and online logos.

The move -- later reversed by a judge -- led to a major decline in ticket sales, artist boycotts and an exodus of donors, according to The Washington Post.

- 'Not a political place' -

"It makes me sick to my stomach," said Neal Racioppo, a Washington resident who runs marketing and communications for a theater.

Trump "can't get his name on this cherished building, so he is depriving the world of what it could be."

Racioppo, 57, joined a human chain that formed as night fell on the imposing, white, marble building, with crowds sprawling out onto the esplanade overlooking the Potomac River.

Demonstrators were zigzagged around the barriers installed after the center closed this week, with some waving placards reading "hands off Kennedy Center" and "Donny, you are no JFK".

"It has been an important home for the arts for this city and this country and the world," Racioppo said.

"What President Trump is doing is despicable."

Lizzy Andrew, who has performed several times at the Kennedy Center, including singing with the National Symphony Orchestra, said she was angered at Trump's threat to tear down the venue.

"He does not have a right to decide that an institution, a living memorial to a past president, can be demolished," the 30-year-old told AFP.

"I think you can see tonight that the people of DC and the people of America do not agree with that decision."

Lela Agnew, who regularly brings her children to visit the center, said she came to defend an institution that "belongs to the people".

"I've been coming here for about 50 years," she said. "It's not a place that needs to be demolished."

"It's just not a political place."

"At least 31 people, including 16 police personnel, have been killed and more than 100 injured so far in the militant attack and suicide bombing," the official said, adding that fighting was ongoing.

The downgrade brought Poland's rating from A2 to A3, while the outlook was changed from negative to stable.

The shift "reflects our expectations of a sustained deterioration in Poland's fiscal strength," Moody's said in a statement.

"Large fiscal deficits persist, leading to a material increase in public debt and, together with rising interest costs, weaken debt affordability metrics," it added.

Moody's Ratings also said that "fiscal policy effectiveness has weakened," in part reflecting Polish authorities' limited willingness or ability to rebuild fiscal buffers when economic conditions are advantageous.

The US State Department said Thursday it was refusing to grant visas to Abbas and other Palestinian officials for next week's assembly. Only members of the Palestinian mission to the UN will be able to attend the meeting, which begins Tuesday.

"The Secretary-General is concerned about the impact of this decision on the ability of the State of Palestine to participate fully in the work of the United Nations," Guterres's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

"The full participation of all delegations in the work of the Organization is essential to its proper functioning."

Guterres continues to urge the United States, as the host country, "to ensure that visas are issued to all delegations in accordance with its obligations," the spokesman said.

The UN chief "will continue to engage with the United States authorities to this end," he added.

The Trump administration also denied visas for the Palestinian delegation last year, forcing Abbas, a regular at the UN General Assembly, to address the body of global leadership by video.

The General Assembly voted 152-3 on Thursday for Abbas to be able to appear virtually once again this year.

The United States and Israel have objected to the Palestinian Authority's historical payments to families of imprisoned or slain Palestinians, including those who carried out attacks against Israelis.

The PA recently reformed this system, allocating welfare payments to families on a needs basis rather than political affiliation or prisoner status.

The State Department said Washington also opposed Palestinian "actions to internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict including through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ), seeking to bypass negotiations through seeking unilateral recognition."

They accused them of "continuing to pay stipends to terrorists and to glorify acts of terrorism and terrorists in public pronouncements and school textbooks."

The United States is at odds with the 142 UN member states that recognized a Palestinian state at the United Nations last year.

- 'Acts of terrorism' -

The decision to deny Abbas a US entry visa comes as violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has escalated in recent months in the West Bank.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence there has surged since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.

According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data, Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,109 Palestinians in the West Bank -- fighters and civilians -- since the 2023 attack, which killed more than 1,200 people.

In retaliation, Israel waged relentless strikes on Gaza that have killed more than 73,821 people, according to Gaza's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

The international community has expressed concern over the violence, but the United States has remained largely quiet on the issue, saying only that the US government opposes any annexation of Palestinian territory.

The three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit said people facing "third-country" deportations must be given effective notice ahead of time about where they are being sent to allow them to raise concerns about potential persecution.

Congress has made it US policy not to deport people to countries where their lives would be in danger or they could be subject to torture.

"An individual's right to contest removal to a country based on a fear of persecution in that country means little if one does not receive prior notice of the intended removal destination and a meaningful opportunity to contest that destination," said Judge Seth Aframe, writing for the unanimous three-judge panel.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy "would deny access to that protection to a substantial swath of noncitizens who are sent to third countries with no notice of their destination," the judge said.

The Trump administration is expected to appeal the case to the conservative-dominated Supreme Court.

Donald Trump campaigned for president promising to expel millions of undocumented migrants from the United States and has taken a number of actions aimed at speeding up deportations since returning to the White House.

The Trump administration has defended third-country deportations as necessary since the home nations of some of those who are targeted for removal sometimes refuse to accept them.

A foreign ministry statement on Friday accused "hostile forces" of seeking to bring an end to the country's nuclear program during this week's general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, state news agency KCNA said.

"Pitifully, the 'resolution' cooked up by the US and the West has no effect on the DPRK's position as a nuclear weapons state," a foreign ministry spokesperson said, referring to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, its official name.

"The DPRK has not been a member of the NPT and the IAEA from long ago and, therefore, it is illegal and the height of impudence to talk about the position of our state and its efforts to bolster up the defence capabilities," the spokesperson added.

"The DPRK's position as a nuclear weapons state does not need the recognition of the US, the West and the IAEA. It is guaranteed by the actual nuclear deterrent and irreversibly and permanently fixed by the supreme law of the state."

North Korea has legally enshrined its status as a nuclear weapons state, with its leadership declaring the country's atomic arsenal permanent and irreversible.

In the statement, the ministry spokesperson said the DPRK was positioned to "more offensively implement its strategic and long-term plans for building reliable self-defensive deterrent to cope with the ever-worsening international security environment."

US President Donald Trump said in August that Pyongyang possesses 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons, with Seoul putting the figure at between 80 and 120.

The US leader has expressed a willingness to resume dialogue with Kim Jong Un, saying last month that he planned to meet him later this year.

In a separate statement on Thursday, Kim's powerful sister said the country's nuclear-armed status was "absolute", and called those hoping for its denuclearisation "idiots".

The leaders of the world's two biggest economies are due to meet at the White House on September 24 in a bid to ease tensions over trade, technology and broader strategic issues.

While both sides have maintained a tariff truce for nearly a year, they have yet to secure a lasting agreement.

He will lead a Chinese delegation to the United States from September 19 to 23 for consultations on "economic and trade issues of mutual concern", the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing the commerce ministry.

The talks will be guided by the "important consensus" reached by the two leaders, according to the ministry.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week he would meet He over the weekend.

Bessent suggested the discussions could also touch on Iran, whose close economic ties with China have long been a source of friction between Washington and Beijing.

But trade issues are expected to take centre stage when Xi and Trump meet.

The world's two largest economies reached a fragile truce in October 2025 after months of tariff tensions triggered by Trump following his return to the White House.

The agreement helped cool fears of a damaging trade escalation, but negotiators on both sides have yet to reach a comprehensive settlement, leaving key disputes unresolved.

Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has repeatedly insisted that Washington needed to control Greenland for strategic reasons, alarming NATO ally Denmark and sparking fierce pushback from the alliance.

Denmark and Greenland -- an autonomous territory controlled by Copenhagen -- both hailed the deal and said they would sign it on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next week.

"I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has entered into an Agreement with The Kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland, that gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland," Trump said on his Truth Social network.

"From now on, no US adversary can EVER have a base in Greenland, have a military presence in Greenland, or make sensitive investments in Greenland, without our express written approval."

The 80-year-old said it was an "'Infinite Life' Agreement, there is no end!" and said Washington would immediately start building up a large military presence in the territory.

- 'Good agreement' -

Trump has repeatedly warned about Russia and China trying to establish a foothold in Greenland amid a strategic battle for supremacy in a warming Arctic, and the State Department left no doubt that they would not be allowed to do so.

"This agreement guarantees that China and Russia cannot have a base in Greenland, they cannot send troops to Greenland, and the necessary mechanisms are in place to prevent investment in sensitive sectors," a State Department official said.

At the Davos economic forum this past January, Trump reached a purported deal with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte over the future of Greenland, the terms of which have remained vague.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had said Monday that she was "optimistic" that ongoing discussions with the United States and Greenland since January could resolve the dispute.

On Friday, she said she was "pleased that there is a prospect of a good agreement for Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark and the United States," adding that it was "good for NATO and Europe."

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the deal with the United States "strengthens" the territory's security.

- NATO tensions -

Trump gave no details about how the deal would work, and it was not clear if it was linked to or substantially different from the Rutte deal.

But several media outlets have reported that the United States wants to open three new military bases in southern Greenland, in addition to the Pituffik base it already has in the north of the territory.

A 1951 defense pact, updated in 2004, already allows Washington to ramp up troop deployments and military installations on the island provided it informs Denmark and Greenland in advance.

At the height of the crisis, Trump would not rule out using force to seize the territory of 57,000 inhabitants, sowing anxiety within the EU and NATO.

Since then, tensions have cooled somewhat, and in an apparent move to assuage Trump, NATO launched a new mission to bolster security in the Arctic.

Mette Frederiksen said the deal "strengthens our common security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic area," adding that it was expected to be signed on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly next week.

She said the agreement "recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom (of Denmark) and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination."

Once signed, the agreement will have to go through the necessary parliamentary procedures to enter into force, according to a statement from Frederiksen's office.

Trump said Friday that he had struck an "infinite" deal with Denmark to give the United States control over Greenland's security and bar foreign adversaries from setting up bases there.

"I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has entered into an Agreement with The Kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland, that gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland," Trump said on his Truth Social network.

"From now on, no US adversary can EVER have a base in Greenland, have a military presence in Greenland, or make sensitive investments in Greenland, without our express written approval."

"It is gratifying that we are about to enter into an agreement that ensures and strengthens the security of Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, the United States and the Western alliance," said Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the head of Greenland's government.

It "recognises Greenland's interests and our place in international cooperation," he added.

Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has repeatedly insisted that Washington needed to control Greenland for strategic reasons, alarming NATO ally Denmark and sparking fierce pushback from the alliance.

Several media outlets have reported that the United States wants to open three new military bases in southern Greenland, in addition to the Pituffik base it already has in the north of the territory.

Just five percent of residents in the Cuban capital Havana had power on Friday evening.

"A total disconnection of the electrical system has occurred," the energy ministry earlier wrote on X.

The nationwide blackout, the 12th since late 2024, occurred after a failure "in the transmission lines" paired with "unstable weather conditions," state-run utility UNE said.

The island of over nine million people endures constant power cuts due to the poor state of its aging thermoelectric plants.

But the situation has worsened significantly since January, when Washington imposed a de facto energy blockade on the island in a bid to pressure Havana's communist government.

A severe lack of fuel makes it difficult to supply Cuba's power plants and backup generators, which typically run on imported diesel.

"It's one thing after another: no water, no gas for cooking, no electricity," schoolteacher Lidia Fernandez, who was just finishing up her workday, told AFP.

"Honestly, I don't know how we haven't gone crazy," the visibly irritated 36-year-old added.

In recent weeks, blackouts have lasted more than 30 hours in the capital, while in outlying provinces, they have sometimes stretched past 60 hours.

Retiree Francisco Rodriguez, 78, told AFP his home had already gone without power for 28 hours on Friday.

"I thought they might at least turn the electricity back on for a few hours soon, but now...I think we won't have light for several days," he said.

The cuts have also affected the island's water supply and mobile phone network, and general living conditions are extremely tough for residents.

"It's no longer just the electricity. We're having problems with water and gas as well," 60-year-old Lazaro Reyes told AFP.

- 'Problem is growing' -

Havana blames the crisis on an array of US-imposed punitive measures, while Washington attributes the hardship to poor internal management.

An economic crisis has engulfed the Caribbean island, where 66 percent of the population lives in poverty, according to an independent study released this week.

That is compared to 45 percent in mid-2025, with rising food costs behind the sharp increase in poverty, the research by the Christian Center for Reflection and Dialogue (CCRD) suggests.

The findings give "an indicative picture that the problem is growing," study coordinator Mayra Espina told AFP.

Another retiree, Zunilda Garcia, took the latest blackout in stride, stepping outside to charge a small lamp with solar energy.

"We have to wait and stay calm," Garcia, 60, said. "We can't lose hope."

The complex's main building has been shuttered since Wednesday -- temporarily, according to its leadership -- while a judge is also reviewing plans for a long-term closure to accommodate Trump's desired renovations of the aging facility.

Here's what you need to know about the Kennedy Center:

- Inaugurated in 1971 -

A massive rectangular building located along the Potomac River with a white marble exterior and an iconic steel colonnade, the Kennedy Center first opened its doors in 1971.

More than a decade earlier, then-president Dwight Eisenhower launched a project to build a major cultural center in the US capital.

Following the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy, Congress designated the planned venue as a "living memorial" to the slain Democratic president.

Since its inauguration, the performing arts center has hosted countless concerts of all genres, operas, Broadway musicals, plays, stately galas and more. In recent years, it welcomed more than two million visitors annually.

The National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera were both permanent residents of the center, which boasts six performance halls and three additional smaller stages.

The NSO will perform at outside venues this season, while the WNO ended its affiliation with the center.

The Kennedy Center Honors gala is a nationally broadcast annual awards ceremony celebrating individual artists for their lifetime contributions to American culture.

- Trump takeover -

Trump took control of the Kennedy Center shortly after returning to office last year and has pushed for a major renovation, claiming the building had been left in a state of disrepair by previous leaders.

Like other projects around the US capital, the president has shown an unprecedented keenness to put his personal touch on plans, while testing the legal bounds of executive authority.

Trump's handpicked Kennedy Center board voted last year to officially rename the institution as the Trump-Kennedy Center, with corresponding updates to building signage and online logos.

The move -- later reversed by a judge -- led to a major decline in ticket sales, artist boycotts and an exodus of donors, according to The Washington Post.

While the center had projected to take in $220 million in revenue for fiscal year 2026, by May it was revised down by nearly $100 million, according to documents reviewed by the Post.

Officials also forecast a $23 million net loss for the year, despite slashed spending.

- Funding threat -

In fiscal year 2024, the Kennedy Center reported more than $300 million in revenue -- with about a third coming from ticket sales -- and a net profit of $40 million, according to tax filings published by ProPublica.

The center also receives federal funding for upkeep and security, amounting to more than $45 million before Trump took office. It has since fallen to around $37 million.

Regarding Trump's desired renovations, the Republican-controlled Congress allocated $257 million for construction projects, repairs, and security upgrades at the venue.

Trump has threatened to let the funds sit unused if his name is not added back to the building in some way.

- Board makeup -

Just weeks into his second term, Trump said he was dismissing several Kennedy Center board members and that he would become its new chair -- a first for a sitting president.

The board is now loaded with his personal allies -- including his chief of staff Susie Wiles and singer Lee Greenwood, whose anthem "God Bless the USA" is a staple at Trump rallies.

Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President JD Vance, and Allison Lutnick, the wife of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, are also on the board.

But the board also includes ex-officio members from the Democratic Party -- including Representative Joyce Beatty.

The Ohio congresswoman is behind the lawsuits that reversed the Kennedy Center name change and are now challenging the plans to close the center.

A huge crowd rallied Friday at the center in protest at what they say is Trump's overreach with respect to the venue, demanding he be removed as its chair.

"Flight operations at Luxembourg Airport... have resumed following the temporary suspension... due to the detection of unauthorized unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the vicinity of and subsequently over the aerodrome," the airport said in a statement on its website.

The suspension was "a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of passengers, airline crews, airport personnel and aircraft", it added.

The statement does not specify the origin of the devices that were spotted. The airport says it continues to monitor the situation and warns of possible delays and disruptions to air traffic.

Trump, who ordered the operation to topple Venezuela's longtime leader Nicolas Maduro in January, "will participate in a pull-aside with the acting president" on Tuesday, Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, told reporters.

Rodriguez was Venezuela's vice president under Maduro, but has thus far cooperated with Washington's demands, including granting US access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves, the largest in the world.

Under a recent agreement that Trump called the "biggest oil deal in world history," the two countries announced that the United States will be granted control of about one-fifth of Venezuela's reserves -- a move that Rodriguez's critics decried as signing away sovereignty over the country's resources.

Earlier this month, at a G20 meeting of energy ministers, US oil company Continental Resources signed a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela's national oil company PDVSA to develop oil from the prolific Orinoco basin.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright called that project "a milestone deal in the US-Venezuelan relationship," as well as "a milestone deal in making the Western Hemisphere the center of the global energy system."

In January, Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured in a lightning US military raid. They were then transported to a federal jail in New York where they await trial on drug trafficking and other charges.

The US imposed the sanctions in November 2021, which targeted the Eritrean Defense Force and President Isaias Afwerki's political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice, as well as other players in the authoritarian state.

Eritrean troops were accused of committing atrocities during the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region, in which they backed the Ethiopian federal army. That war ended in late 2022 with the signing of a peace deal between Addis Ababa and Tigray rebels.

The US sanctions had been renewed each year under a presidential declaration of a "national emergency," including last year by President Donald Trump.

But on Friday, the US Treasury published a notice saying that the national emergency had "expired."

The State Department said Trump had chosen not to renew the measures targeting Eritrea "to advance US regional interests."

The conflict left at least 600,000 people dead, and sparked a major humanitarian crisis. Several hundred thousand people remain displaced.

A State Department told AFP that while the parties' implementation of the deal to end the war had been "uneven," the US felt it was "time to adapt our foreign policy to current realities and collaboratively engage with both countries to advance US interests."

Eritrea's Horn of Africa location could be key amid the ongoing conflict with Iran, as the Red Sea has become a key oil shipping route with the Strait of Hormuz blocked.

Tensions have once again been mounting in Tigray, raising fears of a return to armed conflict.

Speaking after a meeting with Rodriguez, HRW said that Venezuelan activists, opposition leaders and journalists reported being "much freer to carry out their work" but said securing the gains required "robust institutional reforms and the release of all political prisoners."

Rodriguez's talks Thursday with HRW representatives was seen as a key moment in Venezuela's transition from the hardline socialist rule of ex-president Nicolas Maduro.

The New York-based rights group was thrown out of Venezuela in 2008 by Maduro's mentor and predecessor, the leftist revolutionary Hugo Chavez.

Maduro himself oversaw an increasingly authoritarian government, marked by two reelections widely dismissed as fraudulent.

He was captured by US forces in Caracas in January and flown to New York to face trial.

Since taking over, Rodriguez has pushed through a sweeping amnesty, released hundreds of political prisoners and closed the notorious El Helicoide detention center, where rights groups say inmates were tortured.

Her government has also announced plans to reform the judiciary and on Thursday unblocked some news sites that had been censored for years.

HRW said during its visit to Venezuela this week that its representatives had met with government critics who had come out of hiding after more than a year or dared report the arbitrary arrest of a loved one for the first time.

But it noted that at least 344 political prisoners remain behind bars, according to the count of a leading Venezuelan human rights group. and that many more remain under house arrest.

The organization also cited accounts of prisoners still being mistreated and urged the closure of another notorious prison, Rodeo 1.

- Call for free, fair elections -

The HRW team's visit to Venezuela came days before Rodriguez is expected to travel to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, a major step towards ending Venezuela's isolation on the world stage.

Some critics argue that with former Maduro loyalists still running the show, alongside the support of US President Donald Trump's administration, Venezuela cannot move on from its repressive past.

HRW noted that Washington had "focused largely on advancing the Trump administration's economic goals" in Venezuela since Maduro's ouster.

It called on Washington to "use its leverage to play a leading role in pushing for meaningful human rights change."

On Thursday, the interim government in Caracas began a new round of negotiations with an opposition faction on a political transition.

HRW echoed the opposition's calls for "timely, free, and fair elections."

"That urgently requires allowing political opponents to participate in the political process and run for public office," said Federico Borello, HRW deputy executive director.

"We know that the legislative and institutional apparatus of the last 27 years remains intact," he added.

The unexpected meeting between Rodriguez and HRW on Thursday was preceded by an announcement that dozens of news websites that had been censored in Venezuela for years were being unblocked.

Additionally, political dialogue with the opposition has resumed, with stated aims of improving freedom of expression and supporting a political transition post-Maduro.

The US-backed negotiations began in August, and a second round of talks is expected to conclude September 23.

Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has repeatedly insisted that Washington needed to control Greenland for strategic reasons, alarming NATO ally Denmark and sparking fierce pushback from the alliance.

Denmark and Greenland -- an autonomous territory controlled by Copenhagen -- both hailed the deal and said they would sign it on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next week.

But the terms of the deal remain uncertain, and Denmark maintains its sovereignty remains intact.

In a statement, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described the deal as "an agreement which at the same time recognizes the sovereignty an territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the Greenlandic people's right to self-determination."

"I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has entered into an Agreement with The Kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland, that gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland," Trump said on his Truth Social network.

"From now on, no US adversary can EVER have a base in Greenland, have a military presence in Greenland, or make sensitive investments in Greenland, without our express written approval."

The 80-year-old said it was an "'Infinite Life' Agreement, there is no end!" and said Washington would immediately start building up a large military presence in the territory.

- 'Good agreement' -

Trump has repeatedly warned about Russia and China trying to establish a foothold in Greenland as a strategic battle for supremacy in a warming Arctic unfolds, and the State Department left no doubt that they would not be allowed to do so.

"This agreement guarantees that China and Russia cannot have a base in Greenland, they cannot send troops to Greenland, and the necessary mechanisms are in place to prevent investment in sensitive sectors," a State Department official said.

At the Davos economic forum this past January, Trump reached a purported deal with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte over the future of Greenland, the terms of which have remained vague.

Frederiksen had said Monday that she was "optimistic" that ongoing discussions with the United States and Greenland since January could resolve the dispute.

She said Friday she was "pleased that there is a prospect of a good agreement for Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark and the United States," adding that it was "good for NATO and Europe."

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the deal with the United States "strengthens" the territory's security.

- NATO tensions -

Trump gave no details about how the deal would work, and it was not clear if it was linked to or substantially different from the Rutte deal.

But several media outlets have reported that the United States wants to open three new military bases in southern Greenland, in addition to the Pituffik base it already has in the north of the territory.

A 1951 defense pact, updated in 2004, already allows Washington to ramp up troop deployments and military installations on the island provided it informs Denmark and Greenland in advance.

At the height of the crisis, Trump would not rule out using force to seize the territory of 57,000 inhabitants, sowing anxiety within the EU and NATO.

Since then, tensions have cooled somewhat, and in an apparent move to assuage Trump, NATO launched a new mission to bolster security in the Arctic.

This is the first time the capital has been directly affected since a conflict in neighboring Yemen intensified in July.

"The area is under a hostile aerial threat," a message received shortly before 3:00 am (0000 GMT) by residents of the Saudi capital warned, urging them to stay indoors.

AFP journalists then heard two explosions, and the alert was lifted about half an hour later by Saudi Arabia's civil defence agency.

The Houthis, who already held most of Yemen's populated areas, launched a lightning offensive this month to take over the country's entire Red Sea coast, giving them control over the vital Bab al-Mandab strait.

The group has declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia, which had been used to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, itself closed by the Middle East war, for its oil exports.

Figures from maritime tracking firm Kpler showed that Saudi exports via the Bab al-Mandab strait had dropped since July, although five loaded ships had passed through in the last week.

The Houthis insist that navigation of the strait is open and free except for Saudi vessels.

The UN said Friday that the renewed fighting had displaced more than 112,000 people while nearly 3,000 others had fled across the sea to Djibouti, heaping further misery on an already struggling population.

No results have yet emerged from the secret indicative vote which took more than one hour, with France's envoy to the UN and the Council's rotating President Jerome Bonnafont saying only "the third round of straw polls has taken place."

No frontrunner emerged from the first two rounds of informal polls with eight candidates now vying to follow Secretary-General Antonio Guterres when his term concludes at the end of December.

Several council members have declared their desire for the embattled UN to have its first woman leader.

Guyanese ex-foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett narrowly led the second round of the secret process, while Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan came in second and Argentina's Rafael Grossi, the current head of the UN nuclear watchdog, was third.

Other candidates include Macky Sall of Senegal, Ecuador's Ivonne A-Baki, Chile's Michelle Bachelet, Ecuador's Maria Fernanda Espinosa and Uganda's Olara Otunnu.

There is speculation that a compromise candidate could be parachuted into the process at the behest of the powerful five veto-wielding Security Council members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

"If that happens in a way that's not transparent... then we have a problem," said one diplomat who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Even if a candidate earns the required nine votes from the 15-member Security Council, they must also avoid a veto by any of the five major powers, which are deeply divided.

Once a candidate clears those bars, their name will go to the General Assembly of all UN members for confirmation.

Without singling out a favorite, a US State Department official said Thursday that candidates must get the UN "back to basics and publicly commit to the changes we require."

"Any new secretary-general must return the UN to its primary purpose of maintaining peace and security in the world, rather than the absurd, politicized, woke ideology that has undermined the institution's effectiveness," the official said.

- 'Muddled picture' -

International Crisis Group's head of UN affairs Daniel Forti said "we'll be watching out for... whether any one or two candidates consolidate support from the council, or whether we sort of continue to be in a pretty muddled picture that gives more avenues for other potential contenders to jump into the race."

Each of the 15 Security Council members must anonymously assign each candidate one of three labels: "encourage," "discourage," or "no opinion."

But after an unspecified number of votes, the ballots of the Council's five permanent members will have a different color, making it possible to identify potential vetoes, without knowing which country blackballed any given candidate.

Forti said it was thought there would be another straw poll at the end of the UN signature high-level week, though that is unconfirmed.

Trafficking of stolen fuel is one of the most lucrative criminal activities in Mexico, alongside the drug trade. The attorney general's office made the discovery at a building in the central state of Guanajuato, a hotspot for the illegal trade.

Officers found 33.5 million liters of regular gasoline, 7.2 million liters of premium gasoline and 18.2 million liters of diesel, the attorney general's office said in a statement.

The operation followed months of investigations triggered by the arrest of a person in July who was caught unloading fuel from a tanker without being able to explain its origin, the office said.

Mexican authorities launched a crackdown on fuel smuggling last year, when high-ranking navy officers and officials were implicated in a smuggling ring.

Police arrested more than a dozen people in that case, in which about 10 billion liters of black market fuel was seized in the northern state of Tamaulipas, which borders the United States.

Thousands of fans welcomed the 57-year-old, known mononymously as Assala, at a venue in theSyrian capital where she bowed and opened the show with songs hailing the Syrian people.

"Souls of my heart, I missed you," she repeatedly said to endless cheers on Thursday night.

"My loves, my people, I swear, until this moment I could not believe that I am among you. I want

to tell you how much I dreamt of this."

There was a heavy security presence for the concert, after some religious conservatives launched a campaign calling for its cancellation. Half of the show's proceeds will be donated to charity. Syria's new Islamist authorities, who overthrew Assad in 2024, have welcomed Assala. Culture Minister Mohammed Yassine Saleh has dubbed her "the daughter of Damascus".

Joining her on stage, he said her return was that of "every honest Syrian and every free

person".

- 'Moving forward' -

Assala was among the first artists to express support for the peaceful anti-Assad protests that erupted in 2011, refusing to partake in events supporting his government.

She was booted from the Syrian artists' union for her stance and was the target of media campaigns.

She went into exile, living in Cairo with her family and playing shows in various Arab countries.

The bloody repression of the protests led to a 13-year civil war that killed more than half-a-million people.

At Assala's show, small Syrian flags rippled in time with the music, with many in the crowd unable to hold back their tears.

"I never thought this day would come. It's like a beautiful dream," concert-goer Sawsan Wadha, 56, said.

"We are very happy that our country is moving forward," added 40-year-old Lynn Nahas. On her new record, "The Syrian Album", Assala covers folk songs from all 14 of Syria's provinces as an homage to her country's cultural diversity.

She sings for the cities scarred by war, but also for the coastline in mourning after last year's killing of hundreds of members of Assad's Alawite minority, and for Druze-majority Sweida, which also saw sectarian violence.

- Recovery through art -

Assala's piercing, powerful voice rang out as she made her way through the album's tracks at Thursday's concert.

She also performed fan favourites like "Samehtak" and "Sandooq", with the jubilant, tearful crowd singing along.

Assala and her family only returned to Damascus this week. An antiques dealer in the capital returned the oud, or Oriental lute, that had belonged to her father, a celebrated musician. Conservative Muslim figures had expressed criticism in the run-up to the concert. Egyptian preacher Hani Dahab, who lives in Syria, launched a social media campaign with the

slogan "Cancel the Sinful Concerts". He accused the culture ministry of seeking to "give society a secular character". Syrian Salafi preacher Abdul Razzaq al-Mahdi condemned what he called a "concert of music and debauchery", while a group of preachers in Damascus called on the culture minister to take into

account "the religious identity of society". While not addressing the critics directly, Assala said at the show that "recovery will only happen with art and music".

Syria has seen a cultural boom since 2025, but also the rise of preachers and conservative religious movements in public spaces and at universities, raising fears of restrictions on freedom.

Farah Al-Atassi, political advisor to the government, said poetry, language and thought were "an integral part of Syrian identity".

"This is the Syria that we know and that will endure," she told AFP.

Russia considers Britain to be one of the most hostile Western countries, with relations deteriorating long before the Ukraine war.

London is one of Kyiv's main allies. New prime minister, Andy Burnham, went to Kyiv as his first trip overseas.

Moscow's foreign ministry said the UK envoy Danae Dholakia was given a "strong protest against London's continued escalation of supplies of drones and other weapons" to Kyiv and told that Britain's "highly confrontational stance on the Ukrainian issue is clearly aimed at prolonging and escalating" the war.

It added that Dholakia was told "all the complex risks linked to the destructive actions of the English".

The envoy was told that "the Russian side reserves the right to take the necessary counter-measures in the exercise of its right to self-defence" and that "any British military facilities in Ukraine used to launch strikes against Russian territor are legitimate targets."

Britain this month announced it will commit 100 million pounds ($135 million) to boost Ukraine's air defence capabilities this winter, including with Patriot missiles.

It also said it will supply "air defence interceptors, large-calibre artillery rounds and drones" to a NATO programme supporting Kyiv.

Russia's war against Ukraine has dragged on for more than four-and-a-half years.

Moscow's foreign ministry said Danae Dholakia was given a "strong protest against London's continued escalation of supplies of drones and other weapons" to Kyiv and told that Britain's "highly confrontation stance on the Ukrainian issue is clearly aimed at prolonging and escalating" the war.

"I have informed the speaker that I am ready to try to build a new government," she told reporters after meeting with speaker Andreas Norlen. "I want to lead Sweden in a new spirit of cooperation, and ... my aim is to seek broad cooperation."

The 59-year-old, who served as Sweden's first woman prime minister in 2021-2022, is expected to try to build a government with the three other parties on the left wing, though she faces an uphill battle because of their deep ideological differences.

After Sunday's general election, the four left-wing parties hold a three-seat majority in the 349-seat parliament over outgoing prime minister Ulf Kristersson's right-wing alliance, which includes the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats.

If Andersson is given the nod, as is widely expected, she would face tough negotiations to form a government that could take weeks because of divisions between the Social Democrats, the Left Party, the Greens Party and the Centre Party.

Most importantly, the Centre Party has said it will oppose a government that includes cabinet posts for the Left Party, which has insisted it will only support a left-wing government that it is a member of.

The speaker of parliament was to meet with all of the party leaders for individual talks on Friday to sound them out on who should be tasked with forming the next government.

He will hold a press conference after the talks are completed, around 3:30 pm (1330 GMT), to announce his decision. Norlen met outgoing Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Thursday when Kristersson tendered his resignation after the final votes were counted.

If Andersson were to fail to form a government, Kristersson would be waiting to try to build his own majority. After the 2022 election, it took 37 days to form a government and in 2018, 134 days.

The explosive substances were found on Sunday alongside materials used in detonations inside two trucks on a ferry that carried both cargo and passengers, the coast guard said in a statement.

Ammonium nitrate, a chemical used in fertilisers, is safe if stored properly, but there can be catastrophic consequences when mishandled or mixed with explosives.

A stash of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate left to degrade in a Beirut warehouse killed more than 220 people and laid waste to swathes of the Lebanese capital when it exploded in 2020.

"The explosives and components were discovered inside (two trucks) aboard the RoRo (roll-on, roll-off) passenger vessel," the coast guard said in a Friday statement, adding the cargo had been "improperly declared".

"The confiscated explosives and components are currently under the custody of the Philippine National Police," they said.

"The (coast guard) will work closely with the PNP to determine the role of the accompanying personnel in the shipment of said cargo."

It was unclear if any arrests had been made as of Friday afternoon, and the name of the involved company has not been disclosed.

A coast guard officer tasked with port safety had been "relieved from his post to ensure impartial investigation", the statement said.

The discovery comes in the wake of a series of deadly ferry accidents.

On September 9, a fire ripped after an explosion in the cargo hold of the M/V June Aster near the resort area of Coron, Palawan, burning dozens of passengers to death.

In January, a triple-decker ferry carrying more than 340 people sank off the southern Philippines, killing at least 52 people.

"I believe we are uniquely positioned to make UNESCO a true moderator in this global debate," he said as he prepared to welcome Pope Leo XIV, a key advocate for international AI governance, in Paris next week.

The debate over the potential dangers of artificial intelligence has surged in recent weeks, with researchers warning the technology could end humanity, and leaders of AI companies suggesting development needed to be slowed.

"There is a risk that it will get out of control if we don't intervene," Enany told AFP in an interview late Thursday.

AI is "an extraordinary tool, but one that must be governed in an ethical, inclusive, and fair way," he said.

"This break, this dialogue that has taken place over the past few weeks, is something very positive," he added.

He said the cultural agency had found an "indispensable partner" in the head of the Catholic Church.

"This visit will be the beginning of a very solid partnership to strengthen and protect human dignity in this industrial revolution," the UNESCO director general said.

Pope Leo this week warned against delegating to algorithms decisions that should be taken by humans alone.

In his first major document, the encyclical "Magnifica Humanitas" (Magnificent Humanity), published in May, the pope issued a powerful call to "disarm" AI in order to "prevent it from dominating humanity".

Leo, the first US pope, will visit UNESCO headquarters next Friday at the start of a four-day trip to France.

A search-and-rescue operation was underway following the blast in Kohat in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to Bilal Ahmed Faizi from the 1122 rescue services.

Provincial police chief Zulfiqar Hameed told AFP that eight people were killed and 35 wounded, without giving more details about police and civilian casualties.

"The investigation into the nature of the blast is underway," Hameed said.

Faizi said more than 45 rescue personnel had been deployed to the site at the Old Police Lines in Kohat, a town of around 220,000 people.

"Rescue 1122 teams are actively engaged in the search-and-rescue operation at the site, and relief activities will continue until the operation concludes," he said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but the area has been gripped by a violent campaign by the Islamist militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari expressed "regret" over the casualties, sending his "best wishes for the speedy recovery of those injured in the blast".

"The complete elimination of Fitna-al-Khawarij and terrorists operating with foreign backing is essential for national security," he said, using another term for the TTP group.

Pakistan has blamed the increase in attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southern border province of Balochistan on militancy emanating from Afghanistan, where the Taliban government denies Afghan involvement.

The accusations have sparked a bitter rift and armed conflict between the neighbouring countries, and Pakistan has carried out deadly airstrikes it says target militants on Afghan soil.

The Taliban government in Kabul and the United Nations said dozens of civilians were killed in the latest Pakistani strikes on eastern Afghanistan in June.

"I was happy when I heard about it," said Bader, 27, who lives in the occupied West Bank's city of Tulkarem, which has seen repeated Israeli raids in recent years.

"Now a year on, we're not seeing any improvement. On the contrary," he said. "The situation is getting worse by the day and no one can do anything." A year after the recognition, Palestinian statehood in real, tangible terms looks more distant than ever.

Israeli settler violence has soared, Palestinians are being pushed into ever-smaller areas and the Palestinian Authority has only been weakened. French President Emmanuel Macron, vowing to find a new path forward amid global outrage over Israel's offensive in Gaza, on September 22, 2025 led a special UN summit to recognise a Palestinian state.

Ten countries, also including Britain, Canada and Australia, recognised Palestinian statehood, bringing the number of UN member-states doing so to around 157, more than four-fifths of the UN membership.

But Israel, which enjoys support from the United States, adamantly rejects Palestinian statehood, and has stepped up efforts to isolate the Palestinian Authority of president Mahmoud Abbas.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stopped short last year of formally annexing the West Bank, observers say unofficial annexation is creeping as his right-wing government approves an unprecedented number of settlements.

"Recognition makes the two-state solution a reality politically and diplomatically, but unfortunately on the ground it still depends on the illegal behaviour of Israel, which is not implementing international resolutions," Omar Awadallah, deputy foreign affairs minister of the Palestinian Authority, told AFP.

Ines Abdel Razek, a Palestinian political analyst, said that recognition of a state of Palestine amounted to little without measures to support its existence and counter Israeli actions. "The two-state solution's become a diplomatic refrain to avoid looking at reality in the face," she said.

- 'No future' -

Across the West Bank's limestone hills, thousands of Israeli flags line roads used by Israeli settlers, with the occasional graffiti "No future in Palestine" stencilled on walls, as a call for Palestinians to leave.

Netanyahu argues that a Palestinian state would be a "reward for terrorism" after Hamas on October 7, 2023 carried out the deadliest attack ever on Israel, which responded with a massive military operation in Gaza.

"As long as I am prime minister, an Iranian-controlled Palestinian state will not be established -- neither in Gaza nor in Judea and Samaria. Period," Netanyahu said last month, using the biblical name for the West Bank.

Iran, which the United States and Israel attacked in February, backs Hamas in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority, centred in the West Bank, is led by Fatah, Hamas's archrival.

Ahead of the anniversary, Israel ordered the closure of the UK consulate serving Palestinians from Jerusalem, angered after Britain led France and Canada in sanctions over rising attacks by settlers.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, explaining the move, said Britain's Labour government was attempting to "force upon Israel" a Palestinian state but the attempt was "doomed to fail".

- Rising attacks -

The Palestinian Authority, established in the 1990s, has been starved of cash in part by Israel's decision not to give it customs revenue it collects on its behalf, and struggles to pay its civil servants.

Israel has objected to the Palestinian Authority's historic payments to families of imprisoned or slain Palestinians, including those who carried out attacks against Israelis.

In early 2025, Israel built nearly 1,000 gates in the West Bank, at the entrances of nearly all villages and towns, which it closes on occasion to control Palestinian movement.

Palestinians have also decried a policy of "maximum land, minimum Arabs" whereby settlers push out isolated herder communities from rural areas in order to establish settler outposts.

The UN says extremist settlers have been responsible for an average of six attacks per day on Palestinians and Palestinian property in the West Bank in 2026. Palestinians complain that Israeli perpetrators of violence are almost never brought to justice, and are protected by the army.

Defence Minister Israel Katz has called for police to take over civilian matters from the military in the West Bank, a move observers see as a further step towards annexation.

Sameh, a software engineer in Nablus, still sees last year's move as a positive sign, but concedes the difficulties. "There is still a big distance between international recognition and seeing that recognition translated into reality on the ground," he said.

Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the strategic strait as Washington continues pressing its counterblockade of Iranian ports during the Middle East war.

The Islamic republic wants to charge ships for passage, attacking vessels it accuses of attempting to circumvent its preferred route.

"The Togo-flagged oil tanker 'Trend' had been targeted and detained after a fire broke out on board" late on Thursday, the statement said, calling it an attempted "illegal passage".

Early on Friday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a ship was hit by an "unknown projectile", causing a fire that was extinguished.

The monitoring agency had also reported a "security incident" in Hormuz late on Thursday, without giving details.

It was unclear if the IRGC and UKMTO reports referred to the same incident.

"The CSO of a vessel has reported a tanker being hit by an unknown projectile, causing a fire onboard which has since been extinguished," the maritime monitor said, adding that the crew were safe, although the environmental impact of the attack was "unconfirmed".

Shinjuku Station is a sprawling transport complex with multiple rail firms that serve more than 2.7 million passengers every day, and holds the Guinness World Record for the world's busiest rail station.

In a part of the station operated by East Japan Railway, the bins are emptied manually more than 10 times a day -- though the number of wastebaskets has been reduced in recent years for cleanliness and security reasons.

JR East is testing three automated bins, each standing just over one metre (three feet) tall and moving at a cautious 20 centimetres (eight inches) per second.

"We wanted to test how well something like this can operate automatically and safely in an environment like Shinjuku Station," Shinya Kawamichi, a JR East research official, told AFP.

"We want to see how much of a difference mobile trash bins that collect garbage make, and whether people are actually willing to throw their trash into them," he said.

The trial project, which runs until late November, will put the robots up against the station's always-hectic underground concourse, where they are meant to bring trash to human workers.

Kawamichi said the robots are designed to be "slow so that people can put trash in them and so (they) can stop at any moment".

The company also wanted to test if the robots can navigate busy crowds and be accepted by commuters -- with an eye to expanding the future uses of this technology.

The bulky, googly-eyed devices have become a hit among tourists, many of whom stopped to snap photos. "The eyes are very cute," said German train driver Chris Genseliein, 30, adding that he had a tough time finding bins in Japanese train stations.

Despite being an enormous complex with two above-ground floors and a massive underground section, JR East's section of Shinjuku Station only has seven sets of bins and recycling boxes.

Some Japanese passengers said stations are kept clean because people take their trash home.

But others welcomed the added convenience. "It's just easier if you could throw things away while walking," said university student Ryunosuke Noguchi, 22.

During the transfer, the police struggled to contain crowds of people jostling to secure a spot at the new tented site after weeks of living on the beaches. Authorities say there are enough tents for 1,700 people.

Tens of thousands of migrants flooded across the border from Morocco in late July and though most quickly returned, several thousand have remained with many now sleeping rough on the territory's beaches.

Police started rounding up the migrants at 6:30am (0430 GMT), according to a Spanish government source in Cueta.

The tent city in the port has showers and beds, the source added.

Ceuta authorities estimate that 13,000 migrants have remained in the 18.5 square kilometer (7.2 square mile) territory. The central government says the figure is lower.

The Spanish government went ahead with the transfer despite opposition from the conservative local authority. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has faced strong criticism over the handling of the crisis. He is also in dispute with Italy which temporarily reimposed border controls.

A decree signed by President Vladimir Putin transferred the Russian operations of Nestle, French retailer Auchan and the former Leroy Merlin DIY chain, now known as Lemana Pro, to a company called LEV Management.

The decree, issued late Thursday, also covers the Russian subsidiaries of French logistics group FM Logistic.

Investigative outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that LEV Management was only created at the end of 2025, and is headed by a Russian interior ministry general. It had no known business activity.

It was the latest move by Russia against Western firms in response to a barrage of sanctions over its war against Ukraine, now in a fifth year.

Most Western companies quickly sold their Russian operations and holdings after the Ukraine invasion, or at least isolated them, as sanctions have made trading in most goods difficult.

Russia has since made it difficult for firms to leave, requiring presidential authorisation for deals, or seizing the assets outright.

- Assets at risk -

In a short statement, Nestle said it was "committed to taking all necessary steps to protect its rights and ensure continuity of business operations in the interests of all stakeholders, particularly its employees".

"The company is assessing the situation and its options," it added, without providing details of its residual Russian operations.

Jean-Philippe Bertschy of the Swiss investment bank Vontobel said he expected the financial impact to Nestle would be small "given Russia's limited contribution to group sales".

He said Russia now accounted for just over one percent of the group's sales, down from around two percent before the Ukraine war.

It has suspended "the vast majority of sales, non-essential imports, advertising and capital investment", he said, while continuing to supply essential food items.

Auchan and Leroy Merlin are both controlled by France's Mulliez family.

Auchan's Russian subsidiary said Friday that it had requested "clarifications" from the authorities over Putin's decree.

The food and consumer goods group is one of Russia's main retailers, with 241 stores in the country, including 62 hypermarkets, and over 33,000 employees according to its website.

"Once the corresponding information has been received, we will be able to provide more detailed comments," Auchan Retail Russia said a statement to Russian news agencies.

The latest seizure echoes a string of other forced asset transfers, including Moscow's 2023 takeover of Danone's Russian business, which was later sold to a nephew of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

Footage showed flames engulfing trees and plumes of smoke billowing into the night sky as lights flickered from nearby emergency vehicles.

Strong winds and dry vegetation from lack of rain have propelled the blaze on Casitagua, a peak in northern Quito, forcing 48 people to flee as a precautionary measure, according to city authorities.

Nine wildfires broke out on Thursday alone, with firefighters managing to bring seven of them under control, the Quito Fire Department said.

"We are working by air and land to contain the fire... to reduce the risk of damage or spread to nearby homes," the department said.

Jefferson Mera from the fire department said emergency services were battling mountainous terrain to reach the blaze.

"There are some fires, like this one, that are very difficult to tackle because of accessibility," he told reporters.

Flames rising from Casitagua were visible across the city, which was already on alert this week due to another fire in the central district.

Quito security chief Carolina Andrade said the fires had a "very severe, painful impact" on vegetation in the capital.

"We estimate that close to 200 hectares (500 acres) may already be affected," she said.

There have been no reports of injuries or damage to nearby homes.

City authorities have recorded nearly 200 wildfires between June and September, destroying about 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of forest in the capital.

Four people faced legal action for starting wildfires, including one sentenced to six months in prison.

In 2024, Quito faced one of the worst forest fires in decades, when a blaze started deliberately injured six people and destroyed homes.

China's coast guard subsequently blamed the actions of the Philippine vessel, which it said "bears full responsibility for the incident".

The incident took place near a shoal in the contested Spratly Islands chain, a fish-rich flashpoint that has been the site of violent confrontations with China Coast Guard vessels in recent years.

Beijing claims most of the South China Sea despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

The Chinese vessel "rammed BRP Datu Magat Salamat... as it carried out its maritime patrol to deliver fuel subsidy to our fishermen", Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela said.

"At 11:04 AM, CCG-21585 cut across the stern of the BFAR (fisheries bureau) vessel at a distance of only about 10 meters."

Nine minutes later, the "Chinese vessel repeated the maneuver and this time made contact, striking the BFAR vessel", the statement shared with reporters said.

Video released on X by the Philippine Coast Guard shows the Chinese vessel near the stern of the boat and a crewmember shouting "collision", although the impact is not visible.

Jiang Lue, a spokesperson for China's coast guard, blamed the Philippine vessel for "disregarding repeated solemn warnings" and deliberately changing course to "cut across the bow of the Chinese coast guard vessel".

"The Philippine side's actions seriously violated international law... threatening the safety of Chinese coast guard vessels and personnel," Lue said.

"We sternly warn the Philippine side to immediately cease all acts of infringement and provocation; otherwise, it must bear all consequences," he warned.

The Philippines and China renewed their confrontations in the South China Sea in July after a brief period of quiet, making headlines just as Manila was hosting a gathering of ASEAN foreign ministers.

Australia's ruling Labor party has denied it is tightening visa rules in response to the rise of the far-right One Nation, which has become one of the country's most popular parties this year with pledges to drastically slash migration.

Under reforms announced Thursday, Australia will stop family members accompanying students, introduce ballots for working holiday makers and crack down on overstayers.

Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Matt Thistlethwaite said on Friday that tourists would be put in immigration detention to reduce the level of visa overstayers, which has risen to 77,000.

"Once the word gets around, 'hey, I overstayed on my tourist visa for a couple of weeks, I got picked up and I spent a couple of weeks in immigration detention, it's not a nice place, I'm going home'. Once that gets around, then we think that obviously that deterrence will ensure that people abide by the conditions," he told broadcaster News24.

People who don't have the right to remain in Australia will face a "consequence" and be removed, he added.

Since 2015, Australia's immigration detention centres have swelled with people with criminal convictions awaiting deportation after a policy change that saw mandatory cancellation of permanent visas for certain criminal offences.

Immigration Minister Tony Burke, announcing the new policy on Thursday, said the government would open 250 beds and add 100 compliance officers to house the visa overstayers in different facilities.

Australian Tourism Industry Council chief executive Erin McLeod said talk of detaining tourists was not good for Australia's image.

"I don't think it does our reputation as a welcoming destination any good and can become quite damaging -- tourism is an important part of the Australian economy," she told AFP.

The council represents thousands of small tourism businesses.

Refugee Council of Australia director of policy Rebecca Eckard said the move raised safety and legal concerns.

"It is being framed as punitive to change behaviour. The use of punitive detention is not permitted under Australia's immigration act," she told AFP.

"There has been a major problem with immigration detention," she added, pointing to concerns raised by the government ombudsman over insufficient staffing and healthcare access.

Najib, 73, was jailed for his role in one of the largest-ever global plunders of a sovereign wealth fund, the now defunct 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim "has granted a conditional pardon...allowing him (Najib) to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until 23 August 2028," lawyers from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's office said.

The conditional pardon was "subject to the payment of a fine of 50 million Malaysian Ringgit ($12.3 million), the legal affairs division officials said in a statement.

Najib "must comply with all set conditions. If he fails to comply with any of these terms, the conditional pardon will be automatically revoked, and he must immediately serve the remainder of his sentence in prison," the statement said.

A Malaysian judge late last year rejected an original request to allow Najib to serve the rest of his time at home.

Najib was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment in July 2020 in a first trial over vast sums of money, siphoned from a former 1MDB subsidiary called SRC International Sdn Bhd.

But a pardons board later halved the term, and his fine was reduced to 50 million ringgit.

His sentence in this case is scheduled to be completed by August 2028.

- Abused his positions -

Days after Najib's December bid for house arrest was turned down, the ex-PM was again sentenced to another 15 years behind bars in a separate trial, also linked to the 1MDB graft scandal.

Najib has also been fined 11.4 billion ringgit for his role in the corruption scandal, which took place more than a decade ago.

He is currently appealing the 15-year sentence, which is only set to start once the six-year sentence is completed.

The son of one of Malaysia's founding fathers, Najib was groomed for leadership from a young age but fell from power spectacularly as public anger mounted over the corruption scandal.

Investigations under successive governments have ensnared him and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, in graft allegations since his loss in 2018 elections.

Prosecutors said Najib abused his positions as prime minister, finance minister and 1MDB advisory board chairman to move vast sums from the fund into his personal accounts.

According to investigators, proceeds from the fund were used to bankroll high-end real estate, a luxury yacht and precious artworks, including a Monet and a Van Gogh.

"Today, Greensand brings the EU's first full-scale CO2 storage site and value chain into operation. It provides a foundation on which future carbon capture projects across Europe can now build," INEOS chief executive David Bucknall said in a statement.

CCS technology is one of the tools approved by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) to curb global warming, especially for reducing the CO2 footprint of industries like cement and steel that are difficult to decarbonise.

But the technology is complex and costly.

The inauguration of the Greensand project proves "that carbon storage is a practical reality", European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jorgensen stressed.

"We set out a path for European industries: to continue their transition to a low-carbon future, while maintaining production, investments, and employment in our continent," he continued

Located some 200 kilometres (124 miles) off the Danish west coast, the Greensand reservoir lies beneath the old oil-platform Nini West.

In its first phase, the project is expected to store 400,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

INEOS then intends to scale up the project and inject four to eight million tonnes annually by 2030.

The CO2 will be sourced mainly from Danish biomethane plants and be transported in liquefied form by ship from the mainland, departing from the port of Esbjerg in southwest Denmark.

Under the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), the EU has set a legally binding target to have a storage capacity of at least 50 million tonnes per year by 2030.

In neighbouring Norway, the world's first commercial CO2 transport and storage service, dubbed Northern Lights, carried out its first CO2 injection in August 2025 into an aquifer 110 kilometres off Bergen on the western coast.

Its owners -- energy giants Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies -- have agreed to increase annual capacity from 1.5 to five million tonnes of CO2 by the end of the decade.

While few doubt President Vladimir Putin's party will sail to victory again, the vote will serve as a barometer for feelings on the war that has killed hundreds of thousands and undermined the daily lives of Russians.

"More than 350 UAVs flew towards the Moscow region between 8:00 pm (1700 GMT) on 17 September and 7:00 am on 18 September," Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.

"Most were reportedly destroyed at the outer defensive perimeter, including 64 UAVs intercepted while approaching Moscow."

Putin has ruled Russia since New Year's Eve 1999 and his United Russia party has dominated Russian politics since the early 2000s.

Moscow has banned criticism of its Ukraine campaign and the Russian elections, tightly controlled by the Kremlin, are bringing few surprises.

The vote to renew the 450 seats in the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, will run until 1800 GMT on Sunday.

Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 74, who has been in the US since 2020, allegedly ran Damascus Central Prison -- known colloquially as Adra Prison -- from approximately 2005 to 2008, where detainees were subjected to horrific abuse in the "Punishment Wing."

A jury found Alsheikh guilty in March of "one count of conspiracy to commit torture, three counts of torture, one count of visa fraud, and one count of attempted naturalization fraud," according to the DOJ.

Three former prisoners testified during the trial about the abuse they suffered at the hands of Alsheikh, as well as the torture inflicted on other prisoners.

"The conviction in this case is a testament to the courage of his victims," Assistant US Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said in a statement.

In addition to the torture charges, Alsheikh was found guilty of immigration fraud after he lied about his past to gain entry to the United States in 2020.

"The message is clear: human rights violators who come to the United States will receive no safe harbor here," Duva added.

"We will find them, and they will be prosecuted and punished for their heinous crimes."

A coalition -- spearheaded by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies -- toppled Bashar al-Assad's government in late 2024, and after the collapse, Syrians flocked to prisons searching for missing loved ones.

His village, Manga, is located around 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the center of Oiapoque, a town bordering French Guiana that has been buzzing since Brazilian oil giant Petrobras began offshore exploration in the region a year ago.

The state-run company announced in August that it had identified signs of oil in a well about 175 kilometers (109 miles) off the coast of northern Brazil's Amapa state.

Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection on October 4, promptly visited the area, calling the oil a "passport to the future."

Reaching Oiapoque requires travelling 600 kilometers (370 miles) from state capital Macapa, part of it along a red dirt road riddled with potholes. Makeshift wooden bridges are used to cross waterways.

Many streets in the town have no sidewalks, and are lined with low-rise buildings with run-down facades, although numerous construction projects are underway.

- 'Disappointed' with Lula -

While many residents are excited about a potential oil bonanza in their poverty-stricken town, Karipuna is far from convinced.

"In the event of a spill, we will inevitably be affected. Water has no borders," said the 57-year-old chief.

He fears an "immense disaster" if an oil leak off the coast is carried into the Curipi River, which runs alongside his village of 1,800 inhabitants.

Petrobras has said its analyses do "not indicate the probability" of oil "reaching the coast in the event of a spill."

"There is no such thing as zero risk in offshore exploration,", Jean Paul Prates, who headed Petrobras in 2023-2024 and now chairs the energy and natural resources thinktank Cerne, told AFP.

"It is a low-probability risk, but with potentially high consequences."

Karipuna says he is "disappointed" with Lula, who presents himself as a defender of the environment and Indigenous peoples.

Lula has said that while he is against fossil fuels, he believes the world cannot live without them yet, and that oil can finance the transition to clean energy.

Karipuna said he is already feeling the impact of oil exploration because of "the noise from planes and helicopters," which he said scares away birds and game.

His concerns are shared by Joelso Mendonca, vice president of a group of nearly 400 traditional fishermen.

"If there is an oil spill, nobody is going to want to buy our fish," the 50-year-old said, while repairing his net in a stilted shack on the riverbank.

Petrobras told AFP it had "maintained continuous dialogue" with civil society and Indigenous communities.

Regarding air traffic, the company said it had made "adjustments" following consultations with Indigenous leaders.

- 'Starting from scratch' -

While some see the potential oil as a curse, Jacqueline Cadete considers it a "sign from God."

The 45-year-old evangelical pastor moved to Oiapoque at the end of 2025, attracted by oil "opportunities" after living abroad for many years in French Guiana and metropolitan France.

According to a study by the National Industry Observatory, more than 50,000 jobs could be created in Amapa.

And any royalty payments Petrobras will have to make once production begins could provide a considerable windfall for local authorities.

However, Petrobras president, Magda Chambriard, announced in August that production was not expected to begin for another "six or seven years."

In the meantime, Mayor Inacio Monteiro Maciel is "very optimistic" about the future, even though the city will have to "practically start from scratch" in terms of infrastructure and social policies.

More than half of the roughly 28,000 inhabitants recorded in the town's 2022 census receive Bolsa Familia, a benefit paid to Brazil's poorest households.

But the city has experienced an influx of newcomers in recent years, which has "intensified" since Petrobras began drilling, the mayor said.

He estimates that 40,000 to 45,000 people already live in Oiapoque.

US President Donald Trump's war against Iran and its worldwide fallout are expected to dominate this year's United Nations General Assembly High-level Week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meanwhile urge allies not to lose focus on his country's defense needs, as Russia retaliates for long-range drone strikes against its energy infrastructure.

"When we see the Russia-Ukraine war, and when we see the whole Middle East, every day things get a little bit worse," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ahead of the gathering.

"There is no improvement anywhere, and when things evolve in a way that every day things get a little bit worse, we are at a serious risk of an explosion."

Artificial intelligence will also be a key topic in talks and speeches, with its potential threats to humanity dominating global headlines after tech leaders sounded the alarm.

An emergency Security Council meeting is set to be held on the issue.

"This year's UNGA could be where a plan starts to take shape to define what the world wants from industry's pledge on safety and who is responsible for monitoring it," said Nicolas Miailhe, an AI governance expert and co-founder of AI Safety Connect.

"The harder part will be agreeing on what that plan looks like and moving it into reality."

Amid fierce competition between the United States and China on AI, Guterres urged more global coordination.

"The world cannot afford a race to the bottom on AI safety," he said.

Behind the scenes, the world's power brokers will also be wrangling over the UN's future, seeking to thrash out a deal on a candidate to lead the organization riven with divisions and budget black holes.

No breakthrough is expected, but the global powers wielding vetoes over the process -- Britain, France, Russia, China and the United States -- could well use the gathering to seal a deal.

Guterres's second five-year term ends on December 31, 2026 after a tenure marked by surging global conflict, the coronavirus pandemic, mounting inequality and rampant polarization.

One European diplomat said the selection process was "not very successful so far... any kind of consensus is not emerging."

- 'Existential threats' -

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- from a sputtering Gaza peace process to Israel's expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank -- will once again be among the divisive issues facing world leaders.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to attend for a lightning visit, after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani admitted he was unable to execute an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him.

The Trump administration has denied US visas to Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian leaders for a second year.

China's President Xi Jinping will skip the diplomatic gathering and instead go straight to Washington for a state visit with Trump.

Beijing's support for Russia and Iran will be among the thorny subjects under discussion.

"China has long seen high-level week as US turf," said the International Crisis Group's Daniel Forti.

"And while the Chinese diplomats at the UN are really intentionally trying to position themselves as a more predictable and stable big power compared to Washington, our assessment is that Xi doesn't need the spotlight at high-level week to make that case," he added.

With heat records being broken around the globe and extreme weather events multiplying, Guterres, as he has throughout his tenure, will continue to push for more global action against climate change.

He will convene a meeting on Climate Action and the Just Transition, followed by a day dedicated to sea-level rise, an existential threat for low-lying island nations.

The climate and environmental harms associated with artificial intelligence -- as well as its potentially catalytic benefits -- are expected to figure heavily at the UN and the broader Climate Week around it in New York, an annual jamboree of activists, corporations and academics.

He hates the Islamic government in Tehran but believes "nothing is going to be better" by going to war.

Fellow exiles in the United States began accusing him of supporting their oppressors.

Another Iranian-American, Bahar, also found herself being cut off within the diaspora -- but in her case because she strongly supported the war launched by US President Donald Trump.

The 750,000-strong Iranian community in the US is overwhelmingly united in opposing Iran's Islamic regime whose top leadership has been decimated by the US-Israeli offensive that has destroyed swaths of the country's military and prompted global economic shocks.

But deep fault lines have appeared among expatriates and exiles over whether the war will succeed in ending 47 years of clerical rule in their homeland.

"Family relationships have been strained or broken...Even lifelong friendships have ended over this," said Sahar Razavi, director of the Iranian and Middle Eastern Studies Center at California State University, Sacramento, who says the war exacerbated pre-existing tensions.

AFP spoke to Iranian community members around Washington about the tensions. Some requested their full names be withheld as they talked about their own friends and relatives.

- 'No other solution' -

Soroush, a 3D artist and animator who came to the US a decade ago, described rifts with close friends and even his own brother and sister-in-law after the war started on February 28.

"People (in Iran) are going to lose friends, family members. They're going to lose their job, their savings," he recalled telling them, citing the negative impacts of past US wars in the Middle East.

"They are the ones who are living it, not the Iranian diaspora," the Christian convert told AFP as he nursed a beer at a Washington bar.

At a downtown coffee shop, Bahar, who works in the medical sector, and Aahoo Sigarchi, who works in a bank, took an opposite view.

They are fueled by outrage over the thousands of protesters killed by Iranian security forces in January 2026 which they say necessitated military action to topple the regime.

"We all have our family, our friends inside Iran, and we are just speaking the words that they can't," said Aahoo, a firm supporter of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the late shah of Iran who called for an uprising then rallied support among the diaspora.

"I think we are on the right path with the war, and I believe soon we are going to get to what people are looking for," she said, batting away questions about the failure of the military intervention to unseat the regime.

"To be realistic, we have no other solution," Aahoo said.

- 'Dug their heels in' -

The war is deeply unpopular among the wider US population grappling with the knock-on effect of rising fuel prices.

Polling commissioned by the National Iranian American Council, an advocacy group that opposes the war, suggests that support among the Iranian diaspora quickly diminished.

At the start of the war, the community in the US was split about half-and-half, but a second poll a month later found 66.1 percent opposed the war and only 32.7 percent supported it.

Razavi said opponents of the war who were skeptical about externally driven regime-change feel vindicated, but many supporters "have dug their heels in further."

She said there is also a significant minority that switched stance to rally around the Iranian government as it stands up to the United States.

"That's something among Iranian diaspora that I see accelerating," she said.

- 'Liberation struggle' pressure -

Mohammad Reza Mousavi, a former Tehran-based journalist who opposes both the war and the regime, detects waning war enthusiasm. And he bristles at the intolerance of those who have advocated for it.

"They can label you very easily with whatever they want if they realize that you're not with them in every respect," he said.

According to Razavi, Iranian community organizations that would host Farsi language classes or Persian poetry readings would be "raked over the coals" for not overtly expressing support for the "liberation struggle."

Pahlavi's supporters say communal pressure is not a one-way street.

Bahar said she has been called a fascist for voting for Trump and lost 100 Instagram followers. She has pulled her eight-year-old son from a school that teaches about Iranian art and music after a teacher kept bringing up the war in class.

But Mousavi was pragmatic about the way the war has shaken up the community.

"At these times of hardships, you understand the people around you," he said. "You understand what sort of people they are."

Concerns about the safety of advanced artificial intelligence models escalated this month after an employee resigned from Anthropic while warning that the industry was "gambling with our lives."

Jacob Coxon, who also previously worked at OpenAI, left Anthropic last week amid a flurry of support from his former colleagues, including one who voiced concern about a small probability that AI could cause humanity's extinction.We

Last weekend, Anthropic's own CEO Dario Amodei called for AI development to slow down -- but didn't say anything about the IPO.

The fracas forms a backdrop for highly anticipated initial public offerings from both OpenAI and Anthropic.

It's unclear if, or how, either company will address theoretical doomsday scenarios in securities filings, though.

Companies are required to publicly disclose known business risks to investors prior to an IPO.

Anthropic could submit that document to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as early as this month.

"Are we to believe that there is something that's extremely dangerous that's hiding inside this company because this person that quit said it, and then it was amplified by a bunch of people" who still work there, All-In podcast co-host Chamath Palihapitiya said last week.

"If it's true... (investors) will demand an enormous discount," said Palihapitiya, a venture capitalist.

Altimeter Capital founder Brad Gerstner, who has shares in both OpenAI and Anthropic, downplayed the concerns this week, arguing that an IPO brings transparency for investors.

"Anthropic will IPO. The market knows how to price risk -- see SpaceX," Gerstner posted on X.

Elon Musk's SpaceX raised a record $85 billion in its June IPO, but its stock has lost around a quarter of its value since peaking at around $202 a share.

"There is huge appetite to invest in the AI leaders," Gerstner added.

- 'Ill-advised' -

How Anthropic's IPO performs will also set the tone for OpenAI's debut next year.

The stakes extend well beyond the two companies themselves, with tech giants including Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Nvidia holding significant stakes in the AI labs.

More broadly, the US economy is increasingly tied to the AI buildout, meaning the success or failure of these IPOs carries weight for the wider economy.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said this weekend that the company would delay its own IPO until 2027, citing safety concerns. It's an "ill-advised moment," Altman said.

Before the recent headlines over AI safety, Altman and executives at OpenAI had already signaled that they were in no hurry to go public this year.

The ChatGPT maker's dealmaking appears to be running full speed ahead, nonetheless.

OpenAI is in talks with investors about raising a new round of funding with a valuation of at least $1.2 trillion before it goes public, while Anthropic might seek a $2 trillion valuation in an IPO that could happen as early as October, according to various reports.

Leaders inside OpenAI have been concerned about investor skittishness, broad market uncertainty and SpaceX's underwhelming stock performance, according to media reports.

- 'Massive' -

Also weighing on executives' minds is a proposal by both companies to slow down development, given recent incidents involving AI technology going rogue.

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar dismissed the idea that a slowing of pace in releasing state-of-the-art technology would impact the company's core business and revenue growth.

"Even if we stop today, the amount of intelligence that's available in the world is massive," Friar told CNBC on Tuesday.

Anthropic also pushed back on the idea that being safety-minded would compromise the IPO.

"I would say safety has been the core of who we are from the very beginning," Anthropic's head of policy, Sarah Heck, said at a Politico conference on Wednesday. "Our investors know that. Our customers know that."

Saudi Arabia has long sought to buy F-35s, but officials from Israel -- currently the only country in the Middle East to operate the jets -- has voiced concern about their sale to Riyadh despite a push for the kingdom to normalize relations.

"The proposed sale will improve Saudi Arabia's capability to deter current and future threats by strengthening its homeland defense, and improving interoperability with US forces," the State Department said in a statement.

It "will also augment Saudi Arabia's operational aircraft and enhance its air-to-air, and air-to-ground self-defense capability," the statement said.

The Saudi embassy in Washington praised the transaction, saying it "reflects the strength and enduring nature" of the relationship with the United States.

It added that the security cooperation between the two countries "has contributed to regional stability, strengthened our collective defense capabilities, and advanced our shared security interests."

Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly targeted with drone and missile strikes by Tehran's forces since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran in February, and has also been hit by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Yemen's civil war had been dormant for years, but fighting between Houthis and the internationally recognized, Riyadh-backed government reignited in July, with the rebels declaring a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and targeting its ships in the Red Sea.

Washington has not directly entered the conflict, but a US official said earlier this week that an American military task force is working to enhance intelligence sharing and planning assistance for Saudi forces.

- Congressional approval pending -

The State Department has notified Congress about the proposed sale, which would require the approval of US lawmakers. It did not provide a time frame for the delivery of the jets.

The F-35 sale "will not alter the military balance in the region," the State Department said, in keeping with longstanding US policy that Israel must have a military edge over potential regional adversaries.

The United States has so far only allowed the sales of F-35s to its closest allies, including a number of European NATO allies and Israel.

Washington kicked NATO member Turkey out of the F-35 program in 2019 because Ankara's purchase of a Russian air defense system sparked fears that Moscow could acquire the plane's technology.

- Billions in arms sales -

Washington also has concerns about potential Chinese espionage related to the jets.

The New York Times reported this week that US intelligence analysts have raised the possibility that Beijing could acquire F-35 technology through its partnerships with Riyadh.

US Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, expressed opposition to the sale on those grounds.

It should not go ahead "when our own intelligence community is warning that it could put the crown jewels of American military technology within reach of the Chinese Communist Party," Krishnamoorthi said in a statement.

The F-35 sale is the latest in a series of major arms buys by Saudi Arabia this year.

The State Department announced the approval of a $5 billion sale of more than 10,000 bombs -- including highly destructive 2,000-pound weapons -- to Riyadh earlier in September.

Washington also signed off on the sale of 60 tank engines and related equipment to Saudi Arabia at a cost of $750 million this month, and a $1.96 billion deal in July for the kingdom to buy guidance sections that can convert rockets into precision weapons.

"What is clear is that President Trump wants dialogue, and I am also urging President Trump to engage in dialogue," Lee told reporters at a press conference at the presidential Blue House.

They warn of a growing multi-million-dollar trade in endangered animals, including apes smuggled through war-torn Myanmar to feed demand among wealthy Indians seeking exotic status symbols to flaunt on social media.

"There have been several instances of exotic wild animals being found or seized across the country, said Sumanth Bindumadhav of Humane World for Animals India. "The scale is massive."

Critically endangered orangutans are native only to Indonesia's Sumatra island and Borneo, which it shares with Malaysia and Brunei.

Yet the five tiny orangutans were found by rangers in Balasore, in India's eastern Odisha state.

Aged around one-and-a-half years old, they are being cared for at a zoo. Indonesia has requested their return.

Bindumadhav's group, in a June 2026 report, detailed what it called a "rising trade in exotic wildlife", demonstrated by a "steep increase in seizures" that reflected a "surge in illegal trade".

The report estimated India's exotic-pet market at $42.6 million in 2024.

Orangutans and gibbons, small apes, were being "increasingly trafficked into India" from Southeast Asia's rainforests, it added.

- 'Alarming scale' -

A senior official at India's Wildlife Crime Control Bureau said "thousands of social media influencers" were promoting exotic species as pets online, fuelling demand among followers.

"It is a huge market," said the official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. "Rich people keep them in their homes."

Under a government voluntary disclosure scheme, more than 40,000 people had registered exotic animals by February 2021, government data shows.

The figure is likely only a fraction of those in private hands, analysts say.

"This is a figure from only those who registered themselves, so the true volume of it is potentially much larger and remains unknown," said Bindumadhav.

"The true scale of it is actually quite frightening."

Former India head of global anti-wildlife-trade group TRAFFIC Shekhar Kumar Niraj said the surge in trafficking was also linked to a "rising number" of animals held in private hands.

"Private zoos have violated laws at a very alarming scale across the country," said Niraj.

"Primates are very popular in zoos because they are very intelligent, like to interact with humans, the kind of thing zoos want."

Indian federal authorities did not respond to AFP's requests for comment.

The World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India) documented 56 seizures involving about 4,000 exotic animals in 2022 alone.

In October 2025, Mumbai customs officers arrested a passenger carrying two endangered gibbons stuffed inside a checked bag.

Other seizures in Mumbai last year included lizards, tree-climbing possums and dozens of venomous vipers.

In 2024, forest officials recovered a trafficked orangutan from a flat in Maharashtra state.

But such seizures represent only a fraction of the trade, experts warn.

Caracas censored hundreds of websites under president Nicolas Maduro, who was captured by US forces in January and replaced by interim leader Delcy Rodriguez.

Eight months after his ouster, Washington is backing dialogue between the interim government and parts of the opposition, although US President Donald Trump has ruled out elections in the near future.

The decision to unblock censored outlets came ahead of the second round of talks in Caracas, which are partly focusing on freedom of expression.

Also on Thursday, regime-loyal intelligence officers arrested an opposition figure that had recently returned from exile.

Telecom regulator CONATEL announced the "formal restoration of access to various national and international digital platforms and media outlets."

Digital rights group Venezuela Sin Filtro verified access to 17 news sites through several internet providers.

At least 188 websites remain blocked, it said, including 79 news outlets.

Journalists and NGOs have spent years campaigning against censorship implemented by Maduro's administration, with users having to rely on a VPN to access blocked sites.

Deputy communications minister Gustavo Villapol said the decision aimed to end polarization.

"We can never again vilify people without having proof in hand; we cannot use communication for interests that are external to the vital meaning of our nation," he said on state television.

Luis Ernesto Blanco, editorial director of the previously blocked site Runrunes, likened Thursday's measure to an official acknowledgement that public debate had been stifled.

"They had censored them basically because they wanted to; there was no administrative ruling, no court order requiring it," he said.

Dinorah Figuera, head of the opposition delegation to the transition talks, called the decision "a first step."

"Many outlets are still missing, and they all have to come back, fully and permanently," she wrote on X.

- 'Managed to hold on' -

Victor Amaya, whose online outlet TalCual was blocked in July 2024, voiced skepticism that all censored sites will become accessible again.

"Hopefully it doesn't turn out like it does with some releases from prison, where they announce 100, but 60 are confirmed, 70 are confirmed," he told AFP via WhatsApp, referring to Rodriguez's promise to release political prisoners.

Amaya hopes the change will lead to "a normalized communication environment."

"We've managed to hold on, we've managed to improvise, and we've made it this far alive," he said, adding that TalCual had lost 60 percent of traffic and significant advertising income.

The news site NTN24 earlier confirmed that its content was visible in Venezuela again, but later reported that access was intermittent, as did other outlets.

- Opposition figure arrest -

Meanwhile, former opposition mayor Javier Oropeza, who returned to Venezuela earlier this week after two years in exile, was arrested Thursday by agents from the Sebin intelligence service in the northwestern city of Barquisimeto.

Oropeza was formerly the mayor of Torres and was taken into custody after giving an interview to a local newspaper.

Figuera said she had lodged a protest with the authorities who assured her that he would be promptly freed.

"We will be vigilant until it is fulfilled; all political prisoners must be released," she wrote on X.

Maria Corina Machado, another opposition leader who is in exile and who has been sidelined from the ongoing talks, accused the interim Rodriguez government of kidnapping the former mayor.

"This is the nature of this regime. That is why the entire country detests them. And that is why we will defeat them," Machado wrote in a defiant message on X.

After Maduro's widely disputed claim to victory in July 2024, many opposition figures fled the country, while others were imprisoned during a wave of repression.

Since Maduro's ouster, however, the crackdown has eased.

The event on Tuesday included a person dressed as Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who led Japan's invasions of Korea in 1592-1598, and the ceremony prompted a backlash in South Korea.

Historical issues are sensitive between South Korea and Japan, with Hideyoshi's invasion a significant episode in Korean history and Korea later under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.

Three Japanese warlord characters were present for the arrival of a cruise ship in Nagoya that will serve as a floating hotel for thousands of Games athletes.

Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) president Ryu Seung-min sent a letter to the local organising committee and the Olympic Council of Asia "expressing regret and calling for measures to prevent a recurrence", a KSOC spokeswoman told AFP.

"As of this morning we have not received a response," she added.

AFP has contacted organisers for comment.

Seoul-Tokyo ties have often been strained over Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

During that period about 780,000 Koreans were conscripted into forced labour, according to Seoul data, a figure that does not include women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military.

The Republican-led House of Representatives passed the package by 262-159, giving a final congressional green light to the most substantial US legislative effort against Moscow since Trump returned to office.

Trump has said he will sign the measure, which sailed through the Senate in an 86-11 vote last month.

The legislation targets Russia's energy and defense sectors, President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials, as well as Moscow's so-called shadow fleet of tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions.

It also gives Trump authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on major buyers of Russian oil and gas -- including potentially China and India -- in an effort to choke off revenue financing Moscow's war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the legislation's passage as "symbolic" and thanked US lawmakers.

The bill is "an extremely powerful tool that can stop this terrorist war and bring Russia to the point where it has to make peace," Zelensky wrote in a statement.

"Sanctions must be strong so that all efforts for peace -- including our joint diplomatic efforts with the United States, Europe, and our other friends -- can succeed," he added.

The bill would also target companies and foreign actors supporting Russia's military and extend sanctions involving Iran.

India said on Thursday it would continue buying oil "through diversified sourcing and on the basis of evolving market dynamics."

Moscow is one of New Delhi's most important strategic partners and military suppliers.

- Pressure on Putin -

The legislation's sweeping tariff powers produced an unusual split among Democrats, who overwhelmingly support Ukraine but have resisted handing Trump greater authority over trade.

Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the bill "deeply flawed."

"White House lawyers drafted the current text to maximize President Trump's authority to impose new import taxes on the American people, and to minimize any obligation to actually impose new sanctions on Russia or its enablers," he said.

Dozens of Democrats nevertheless backed the measure, offsetting opposition from a handful of Republicans who objected to sanctions on free-market or non-interventionist grounds.

Supporters argue that tougher economic pressure is needed, with Russia's full-scale invasion grinding through its fifth year and no peace settlement in sight.

The House vote was celebrated by pro-Ukraine activists, who pointed to continuing Russian attacks, including drone strikes on Wednesday on civilian transport in the south that officials in Kyiv said killed five people.

Trump has generally preferred to retain control over sanctions and tariffs rather than have Congress dictate policy, helping delay the measure for more than a year.

Its sponsor, Republican senator Lindsey Graham -- who died suddenly in July -- had pushed the legislation since April 2025.

Wednesday's vote came just before House lawmakers were due to leave Washington to campaign ahead of November's midterm elections.

"Once the bill is quickly signed and becomes law, we hope for strong US enforcement to finally end the cash flows to the Kremlin's war chest," said Svitlana Romanko, executive director of Ukrainian energy lobby group Razom We Stand.

"Every day of delay is a day we in Ukraine must bury more people."

Prime ministers in Japan routinely shuffle their cabinets to refresh the government's public image and to distribute ministerial posts to loyal supporters and experienced lawmakers from the same party.

But Takaichi -- who has unusually high approval ratings nearly a year into office -- kept core members of her team, according to a cabinet list announced by her righthand man and top government spokesman Minoru Kihara.

They include Kihara, finance minister Satsuki Katayama, foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi and defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi.

The prime minister also retained key economic ministers, including trade and industry minister Ryosei Akazawa, who has led Japan's tariff negotiations with the United States, and economic growth strategy minister Minoru Kiuchi, who favours active fiscal spending.

Under finance minister Katayama, Japan has repeatedly intervened in the foreign exchange market to prop up the falling yen, including a rare joint intervention with the United States.

The small-scale reshuffle comes as Takaichi navigates rising inflation and a weak yen while pursuing a consumption tax cut on food starting next year.

While Takaichi's tax cut pledge is popular among voters, economists have criticised the plan, warning that she has failed to identify around five trillion yen ($32 billion) needed annually to fund it.

Takaichi's policy of expansive government spending has also rattled the markets, pushing Japan's benchmark bond yield to around 3.0 percent, its highest level in three decades.

On defence, Koizumi remains tasked with updating Japan's foundational national defence strategy documents alongside implementing a push to expand defence spending.

"Revising our strategy is something that has a major impact on Japan's security and on the entire region," Koizumi told reporters after he was reappointed.

He said the defence ministry "must marshal all our resources and move forward with a greater speed" with the review with "a strong sense of urgency".

Takaichi also assigned the post of minister in charge of regulatory reform to Hiroshi Nakatsuka, 70, a member of the LDP's coalition partner Japan Innovation Party.

The JIP formed a ruling alliance with Takaichi's conservative Liberal Democratic Party in October, but until now had chosen not to join her cabinet.

The premier will hold a press conference later in the day after the reshuffled Takaichi cabinet is formally launched following an attestation ceremony at the Imperial Palace.

The Ukrainian capital has seen a surge in Russian attacks, both during the day and at night, which its air defences have struggled to repel due to ammunition shortages.

In Kyiv, a dozen strong explosions sounded in the early hours of Thursday, AFP journalists heard, after authorities in the Ukrainian capital warned of a missile threat.

"There are already 18 wounded in Kyiv. The enemy continues to attack the capital," Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said in the morning.

Ukraine has repeatedly sought more support to fend off Russia's invasion, now in its fifth year.

US lawmakers approved broad new sanctions on Wednesday, which target Russia's energy and defense sectors, President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials, as well as Moscow's so-called shadow fleet of tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky said it was "symbolic" that the House of Representatives passed the legislation on a night of Russian attacks.

"Once again, civilian infrastructure was targeted, with damage reported in eight regions," he said.

The strikes wounded seven in the southern Odesa region, and three in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Russia has stepped up its bombardments of Ukrainian cities in recent months, with the United Nations reporting that the civilian death toll in 2026 has risen to its highest level since the first months of the war.

The Republican-led House of Representatives passed the package by 262-159, giving a final congressional green light to the most substantial US legislative effort against Moscow since Trump returned to office.

Trump has said he will sign the measure, which sailed through the Senate in an 86-11 vote last month.

The legislation targets Russia's energy and defense sectors, President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials, as well as Moscow's so-called shadow fleet of tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions.

It also gives Trump authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on major buyers of Russian oil and gas -- including potentially China and India -- in an effort to choke off revenue financing Moscow's war.

But its sweeping tariff powers produced an unusual split among Democrats, who overwhelmingly support Ukraine but have resisted handing Trump greater authority over trade.

Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the bill "deeply flawed."

"White House lawyers drafted the current text to maximize President Trump's authority to impose new import taxes on the American people, and to minimize any obligation to actually impose new sanctions on Russia or its enablers," he said.

Meeks said he would support the legislation if the secondary tariff provisions were removed, but Republicans rejected amendments aimed at narrowing them.

- Pressure on Putin -

Dozens of Democrats nevertheless backed the measure, offsetting opposition from a handful of Republicans who objected to sanctions on free-market or non-interventionist grounds.

Supporters argue that tougher economic pressure is needed, with Russia's full-scale invasion grinding through its fifth year and no peace settlement in sight.

The House vote was celebrated by pro-Ukraine activists, who pointed to Russian attacks continuing, including drone strikes Wednesday on civilian transport in the south that officials in Kyiv said killed five people.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had urged Congress to pass the sanctions package, saying greater pressure was needed to force Moscow toward negotiations.

"So now Putin is losing 30,000 his soldiers per month... it's many losses, but he doesn't want to stop this war," Zelensky said during a July trip to Washington that included a meeting with Trump.

"So now initiative (is) not in the hands of Putin."

The bill would also target companies and foreign actors supporting Russia's military and extend sanctions involving Iran.

Trump has generally preferred to retain control over sanctions and tariffs rather than have Congress dictate policy, helping delay the measure for more than a year.

Its sponsor, Republican senator Lindsey Graham -- who died suddenly in July -- had pushed the legislation since April 2025.

Wednesday's vote came just before House lawmakers were due to leave Washington to campaign ahead of November's midterm elections.

"Once the bill is quickly signed and becomes law, we hope for strong US enforcement to finally end the cash flows to the Kremlin's war chest," said Svitlana Romanko, executive director of Ukrainian energy lobby group Razom We Stand.

"Every day of delay is a day we in Ukraine must bury more people."

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told the National Press Club in Canberra that immigration was "fundamentally a strength" for Australia, but accepted that housing pressures required changes.

He denied his ruling Labor party was tightening visa rules in response to the rise of One Nation, which has become one of the country's most popular parties this year with pledges to drastically slash migration. Business groups warned such cuts would cause economic damage.

"We need immigration to soften enough that housing has a chance to catch up," he said, while stressing the housing shortage was not caused by migrants.

Net overseas migration -– the net gain or loss to the population through movement to and from Australia -– reached a peak of 538,000 in 2022 after a surge in arrivals when borders re-opened after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Numbers fell to 292,100 in the year to March, data on Thursday showed.

Burke said this was 47 percent below the post-Covid peak -- and that policy changes would help to reach a target of 225,000 for next year.

Australians want to know the government was "taking control" of migration but also "being decent about it", he said.

Students are the largest group of arrivals, with 753,000 international students in Australia, most from China and India, data shows.

Under the new rules, family members seeking to join students in Australia will face new curbs and it will become harder for students to move between courses to extend their stay, Burke said.

A backlog of applications from the UK for working holiday visas would continue to be processed slowly after a record 80,000 applications -- a matter that is under discussion with the UK government, he said.

Working holiday makers in rural areas will enter a ballot to stay for a second or third year, with just 5,000 visas available for the latter.

Family members seeking to visit Australians will have "no further stay" conditions attached to their temporary visas.

Migrants with construction and housing skills will be prioritised for visas, he said.

Australia would return to a policy of a decade earlier in which visa overstayers were given two weeks to leave the country or face detention and deportation, he said.

An additional 100 compliance officers and 250 more beds in immigration detention centres would show there are consequences to overstaying a visa, he said.

But he stressed "this is not the sort of operation that some people have seen on TV happening in other countries" -- a nod to hardline immigration policies in the United States.

A third of Australia's resident population of 27.6 million was born overseas, the latest census data shows.

Lawmakers passed the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act by 417-3, requiring state utility regulators to consider special rules ensuring the sprawling server farms meet the expense of new power generation, transmission lines and other grid upgrades needed to serve them.

The measure now heads to the Senate, where Ohio Republican Jon Husted has been pressing colleagues to move quickly but leaders have cautioned that fast-tracking the legislation could prove difficult.

The bill targets one of the most politically potent complaints surrounding the rapid spread of data centers, with ordinary Americans being left to subsidize the extraordinary electricity demands of artificial intelligence.

On one grid covering 67 million customers -- including in perennial swing state Pennsylvania and hotly contested Senate battleground Ohio -- increased data center demand helped drive costs up by $9.3 billion, or 174 percent, in a single year.

"It's simple -- don't stick families with data center costs," said Bryan Steil, the Republican chairman of the House Administration Committee, who posted on social media that he was "proud" to support the bill.

But electricity bills are only part of a backlash that has spread across the country, fueled by concerns over water consumption, pollution, noise and lucrative tax breaks offered to wealthy technology companies.

In Brazoria, Texas, resident Melissa Burnett told AFP last month that a 17-megawatt facility near her home sounded "like a freight train always coming at you."

"We were not supposed to hear it, nor was it supposed to affect our quality of life, and it's just done the opposite," she said.

Candidates in more than 20 races across at least 18 states have run television advertisements mentioning data centers this election cycle, almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats.

- Wider AI fears -

President Donald Trump remains an enthusiastic supporter of rapid data center construction, arguing that the United States must expand AI infrastructure to defeat China in the global technology race.

His administration persuaded Google, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, xAI, OpenAI and Amazon to sign a voluntary pledge not to leave consumers paying for new power infrastructure.

But opposition has spread among candidates in both parties despite the White House's stance.

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott -- who is up for reelection in November -- has frozen new projects while officials study their effects on electricity and water supplies, while New York has imposed a year-long moratorium on new hyperscale centers.

In Ohio, Husted has been battered by Democratic opponent Sherrod Brown over his previous support for data centers and has urged the Senate to take up the House measure swiftly.

The House vote comes amid a broader burst of congressional activity over AI as public anxiety intensifies following warnings from researchers and industry leaders about increasingly powerful systems.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans in a new Politico poll said AI could eventually pose a threat to humanity, while 48 percent favored pausing development of more advanced models.

Louisiana Senator John Kennedy is seeking passage of legislation requiring AI companies to maintain a "kill switch" allowing them to shut down dangerous systems, although fellow Republican Rand Paul on Wednesday blocked his attempt to pass the proposal through an expedited procedure, saying it needed more study.

Republican Senator John Curtis of Utah has meanwhile joined Democratic Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware in calling for urgent public hearings bringing lawmakers and AI developers together to consider regulation.

"Americans deserve representation in Congress that is not only well-informed on cutting-edge AI development, but also has the wherewithal to cross the aisle," they said in a joint statement.

El Nino raises surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and causes global changes in winds and rainfall as well as erratic weather conditions.

This year's iteration, billed as the strongest since comparable records began four decades ago, has already caused severe drought in Central America's Dry Corridor.

Crops and livestock are dying out due to the extreme weather in this arid region that includes parts of Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Government aid will initially reach around 134,000 families in Guatemala, Social Development Minister Abelardo Pinto told a press conference.

He estimated that maize, beans and rice distributions supported by the United Nations World Food Programme would reach 1.2 million families by the end of the year.

The food supplies were worth around $62.5 million, he added.

Sixty percent of Guatemala's 18-million-strong population lives in poverty, and the entrenched issue of child malnutrition is expected to worsen with the drought.

El Nino is predicted to peak at the end of the year, but experts say the consequences will stretch far into 2027.

However, scientists from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group said, the disaster was not caused by a single extreme weather event, rather a "compound crisis" shaped by long-term warming, glacier retreat, permafrost thaw and geological instability.

"Relentless warming has lifted the altitude of the freezing threshold on the high Himalaya, exposing ice and permafrost deep in the bedrock to higher and longer thaw temperatures, weakening mountain slopes," a WWA report said.

A massive section of rock and glacier broke away from Langtang Lirung mountain on August 26, triggering a huge flood of water, ice and debris that swept downstream, destroying communities and infrastructure.

Report co-author Walter Immerzeel, a mountain hydrologist at Utrecht University, said the region was undergoing "fundamental, irreversible shifts", with glacier retreat and permafrost degradation undermining mountain stability.

"We conclude that this was a geologically vulnerable slope, potentially weakened by the 2015 earthquake, but it was destabilised further by glacier retreat and permafrost fall," Immerzeel told reporters.

Nepal, a largely rural nation of 30 million people, contributes a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions compared to industrialised nations.

The study found that July and August 2026 were the warmest months locally recorded, while heavy snowfall in late 2025 contributed to increased meltwater before the collapse.

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Nepal in 2015 may have further weakened the slope, although its precise role remains uncertain, the report said.

Last month's disaster has also raised concerns about the limits of adaptation.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah will take his first foreign trip as Nepal's leader to address the UN General Assembly on the urgent issue next week.

Nepal estimates the reconstruction bill after deadly floods sparked by a glacial mountain collapse last month will amount to $4.78 billion.

"There is no doubt that climate change is one of the drivers, and therefore obviously it needs to be discussed in the context of loss and damage," Friederike Otto, a professor of climate science at Imperial College London, told reporters.

Nepal's disaster authority said Wednesday it had sharply revised up the number of people considered missing to 6,150, following data collection and verification in affected districts.

The number of bodies retrieved stands at 1,403 bodies, 105 of which had been identified, according to the disaster agency.

In China, the toll is 43 dead and 519 missing, according to state media.

The combined toll from both nations now stands at 1,446 people dead and at least 6,669 missing.

The deluge struck as the country, rocked by climate change, emerged from its hottest summer on record and an exceptionally warm start to September.

National weather agency AEMET issued warnings for heavy rain in eastern regions on Wednesday, briefly applying the highest red alert for Barcelona over a threat of flash floods.

Catalan firefighters said on X that they had "located the lifeless body of a man" in Olivella, around 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Barcelona, correcting earlier information from the Civil Protection authority that they had been searching for a woman.

The man was driving a car that was "swept away" by a stream, the fire service added.

Authorities urged the public in the Catalonia and Valencia regions to avoid unnecessary travel and exercise extreme caution, with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warning on X of "very complicated situations".

Mass telephone alerts were sent to residents in parts of Catalonia, Valencia and the southeastern province of Almeria.

In Barcelona, some metro stations were closed and buses were diverted while the streets were submerged.

Regional trains also experienced disruption and flights were delayed or cancelled at Barcelona's El Prat airport, Spain's second-busiest.

Catalan emergency services said they received more than 850 calls related to the downpours, which generated more than 500 incidents.

- Football match off -

In the neighbouring region of Valencia -- scarred by 2024 floods that killed more than 230 people -- weather monitor Avamet recorded more than 70 millimetres (2.76 inches) of rain in just half an hour in several municipalities.

"Rarely have we seen such large rainfall accumulations in 30 minutes as the one we've had today in Valencia and nearby areas," Avamet wrote on X.

The emergency services reported 478 incidents in the province of Valencia mostly caused by property damage, leaks and traffic disruption.

In the regional capital of the same name, all metro lines were suspended, while flooding shut the city's airport for hours, causing 12 flights to be diverted, operator Aena said.

A top-flight football match in Valencia city between Levante and Athletic Bilbao was postponed as the pitch was waterlogged and water seeped into the players' tunnel.

Further south, more than 20 municipalities across Almeria and the southeastern region of Murcia suspended classes on Thursday as a precaution.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the Mediterranean storms that typically hit eastern Spain in autumn as the sea absorbs heat during the summer, leading to increased evaporation and heavier rainfall.

The crater, dubbed "McGetchin," measures 730 feet (222 meters) wide, NASA said in a blog post.

It is believed to have been created in the spring of 2024 from a comet or asteroid colliding with the Moon, with researchers describing the object that caused it to be the size of a building three-to-six stories high.

"Scientists estimate that an impact of this magnitude happens on the Moon about once in a century or even longer," NASA said in the blog post.

Although the crater had been there for years, it was not discovered until Robert Wagner, a researcher with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), noticed it in a new scan of the Moon's surface.

The crater appeared as a "large bright spot circled by a dark halo" by the LRO probe, which has been studying the Moon since 2009.

A study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances determined it was the largest new crater ever discovered in the solar system.

While the Moon has numerous craters, many of which are far bigger than McGetchin, researching a crater's formation in real time can help build understanding of the Moon's geology.

This in turn could better prepare future crewed missions to the Moon, which are currently planned by both the United States and China.

Unlike Earth, the Moon has virtually no atmospheric layer, so space debris does not slow down or burn up before colliding with the surface.

The two countries fought between 1932 and 1935 over the arid Chaco Boreal region in a conflict that left between 80,000 and 100,000 people dead.

Bolivia lost an area equivalent to more than half of Paraguay's current territory as a result.

Following the Chaco War, the two countries signed a peace and boundary treaty in 1938 that launched a lengthy process to demarcate their shared border, which stretches some 755 kilometers (470 miles).

"Bolivia and Paraguay have completed the delineation of their entire international boundary, a process carried out over 88 years by technical commissions from both countries," Bolivia's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Delegates from the joint Bolivian-Paraguayan boundary demarcation commission worked in La Paz over the past three days after cross-checking geographic information collected along the border by "high-precision" drones against "desk-based data."

The work concluded with an agreement on the final outstanding stretch of border: some 3.5 kilometers along the Rio Negro, which originates in Bolivia.

"Finalizing the border consolidates a bilateral relationship based on trust and cooperation between the two states and closes a historical chapter to build a secure and mutually recognized border," the Bolivian government said.

In a statement released before negotiations officially concluded, Paraguay's foreign ministry said the two nations would be the only ones in South America "with fully demarcated borders" and highlighted the work of its teams across "vast and hard-to-reach territories."

Warnings of an AI apocalypse hang heavy over the Chinese president's first talks at the White House with his US counterpart, with both countries racing for supremacy in this technology.

Trump's Iran war casts a long shadow too, as China seeks to avoid US sanctions against countries dealing with Tehran, despite reports that Beijing supplied Tehran with intelligence for a strike on US troops.

A trade war is of even greater concern and the world's two largest economies are still seeking to mitigate the fallout from Trump's global tariffs. The threat of war over Taiwan looms large as well.

Behind it all is desire to manage tensions between a superpower keen to keep its place at the top and a rapidly rising rival determined to make the 21st century a Chinese one.

"I'll be discussing almost everything with him," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, ahead of their meeting on September 24.

- 'Don't expect much' -

But the two leaders are more likely to simply extend a relative truce rather than produce any concrete results, like when Xi hosted Trump in Beijing four months ago, experts said.

"I don't expect much to come out of this," Jonathan Czin of the Brookings Institution told AFP.

"In many ways, this is going to be a recapitulation of Trump's visit to Beijing back in May, where the focus was really on the ostensible rapport between the two leaders."

With fears about AI making global headlines, agreement to cooperate on regulation or a slowdown is expected to be a major topic of discussion between Trump and Xi.

But any major deals are "politically out of reach for now," said Wang Dong, a professor at Peking University, as Beijing and Washington both fear losing out in the race for AI dominance.

Tensions over Iran will also come up. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is due to meet his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng this weekend for pre-summit talks including on Iran sanctions.

Trump has, however, played down reports that Chinese entities supplied Iran with satellite imagery for an attack on a US military base in Jordan, saying Xi had "behaved reasonably well" and that "we spy on them, too."

On trade, there is "room for progress on tariffs, agricultural purchases and selected export controls", Yue Su of The Economist Intelligence Unit told AFP.

- 'Spectacle' -

Yet Trump has, as so often before, appeared more interested in the optics of his meeting with a powerful foreign leader than with the substance.

"This is less a summit and more a spectacle. This is designed for deep public consumption," said Kurt Campbell, former US Deputy Secretary of State and now Chairman of The Asia Group.

Trump pushed for a new granite helicopter landing pad on the White House South Lawn to be open in time for Xi's visit, which will include a grand state dinner.

Troops in flashy uniforms have been rehearsing on the White House driveway this week ahead of the welcome ceremony.

Trump's only disappointment is that his under-construction $400 million ballroom won't be ready -- though he has said that when finished it will "top" Beijing's Great Hall of the People, where Xi hosted him in May.

During the Beijing trip Trump showered praise on Xi, only for the Chinese leader to warn about possible "conflict" over Taiwan.

Fears of a possible Chinese invasion of the self-governing island and global semiconductor hub -- which Beijing claims as its territory -- remain the most sensitive topic between Washington and Beijing, said Peking University's Wang.

One possible concrete deliverable is an announcement of further summits.

Trump and Xi are expected to meet in November at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Shenzen, China. The Kremlin has suggested a three-way meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump is meanwhile expected to invite Xi to the G20 summit in December at his Doral resort in Miami.

The left-wing leader is slated to give his speech Tuesday at the annual global leadership meeting in New York, where he could run into his US counterpart, who is an ally to his rival in October's election, right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro.

"I'm going to the UN meeting to have a conversation with Trump and tell him: don't meddle in the elections in Brazil," Lula said during a campaign stop in Ceilandia, a working-class neighborhood in the capital Brasilia.

Brazilian foreign ministry official Carlos Bicalho Cozendey said Wednesday that "no specific bilateral meeting" is planned for Lula and Trump, but they "will probably cross paths at the Assembly" like they did last year.

The United States imposed two fresh rounds of tariffs on Brazilian products in July, which Lula denounced as an attempt to influence the elections with economic pressure.

Tensions with the Trump administration began in 2025, when Washington implemented its first wave of tariffs against Brazil in retaliation over the trial of former far-right president and Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro -- Flavio's father, who was convicted of attempting a coup d'etat.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen raised the prospect a day before Canadian leader Mark Carney was due to address the European Parliament.

Her pitch comes as both Canada and the European Union seek to pivot away from an aggressive United States under Trump's leadership.

"I think it's laughable," Trump told reporters when asked about the plan.

"If they do that, if I think it's at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe, on many things."

He added: "If it's a good intention, that's fine. If it's a bad intention, we'll put very heavy tariffs on Europe, which is a possibility."

Von der Leyen pitched closer cooperation on tech, defense and energy to Carney, who became the first non-European head of government to attend the annual "State of the European Union" speech. The German told the European Parliament in Strasbourg that, as democracies face a "fracture in the international rules-based system," Brussels and Ottawa needed to pull closer together.

"I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU," von der Leyen told the Canadian premier, drawing a standing ovation in the chamber.

- A broader alliance -

Carney has been pursuing closer ties with the European Union as Canada gets drawn ever deeper into a trade war with the United States.

He is set to address the parliament on Thursday, with his visit meant to act as a catalyst ahead of an EU-Canada summit in Montreal next month.

Von der Leyen said it was time to move from cooperation based on trade to a broader "alliance for the future" and "bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible."

"We will work on intelligent manufacturing. We will create a tech alliance. We will integrate defense industrial bases. We will make the Arctic a flagship joint project," she said.

She listed energy, critical minerals, batteries, AI, cyber and economic security as other fields of cooperation.

"This is a partnership not against anyone else, but for our common strength," she said.

But both the EU and Canada have been buffeted by tariffs and territorial threats from the US and competition from China.

"In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada is forging stronger relationships with trusted partners," Carney's office said in a statement.

- What's in a name -

While EU treaties do not envision the possibility of becoming an "associate member," the idea was first floated by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz this year for Ukraine.

Under that plan, which met a cold reception from a country pushing for full membership, Ukraine would have been allowed to attend the bloc's summits and have a representative in the European Commission.

It would have also benefited from parts of the EU budget, but without full voting rights.

"We don't really know yet what it means," said Tobias Cremer, a center-left European lawmaker from Germany and the main sponsor of a resolution urging stronger EU-Canada cooperation, after von der Leyen's "associate membership" pitch.

Under EU rules, member states have to approve any form of partnership with a third country and it was unclear how much support von der Leyen's proposal would receive from capitals.

Brussels and Ottawa already enjoy a considerable level of cooperation.

The CETA free-trade agreement that abolished almost all tariffs has been credited with boosting trade in goods and services by more than 80 percent since 2016.

And this year Canada became the first non-EU country to join a flagship defense loan programme.

Carney later flew to Britain for his first meeting with new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

They attended a football match between Everton and Wolverhampton together before Carney's return to Strasbourg for his Thursday speech.

Media in the city had scrambled to cover an incident in which an SUV ploughed into a bus in the Chatsworth area, northwest of downtown, killing three people and injuring many others.

Reporters who were at the scene of the bus crash said they heard a loud bang, with some saying they saw a helicopter come down around a block away, sending plumes of smoke into the air.

Aerial footage showed a large fire that appeared to involve shipping containers and cars, and the wreckage of a helicopter, whose mangled tail and rotors could be seen in the flames.

Colleen Williams, a news anchor for NBC4, confirmed during emotional live coverage that the local news station's helicopter had gone down just before 7:00 pm (0200 GMT).

"We knew it was a news chopper. We knew we'd lost contact with our people out there, and we've just received confirmation," Williams said.

NBC4 identified the victims aboard NewsChopper 4 as reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw.

The third victim appeared to be a pedestrian on the ground when the crash happened.

Dozens of firefighters were sent to the scene, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

"Four patients have been assessed. Three patients have been determined deceased on scene. One patient has been transported to a local hospital in unknown condition," it said in a statement.

- 'Destroyed' -

The fire department said the helicopter went down between two commercial buildings, damaging four vehicles and two containers.

"From the helicopter itself, it's pretty well destroyed," said Branden Silverman, a spokesman for the fire department.

"So we are going to have to go through the rubble and see how many victims there were on board, as well as identify the helicopter; we couldn't even see a tail," he said.

The cause of the crash was unclear but the National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was "absolutely devastated" by the incident.

"My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we lost in the tragic bus collision and helicopter crash," she said in a statement.

NBC4 and Telemundo 52, another outlet using the helicopter, offered "heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives."

Los Angeles, America's second biggest city, is a competitive and crowded media market, where TV stations compete aggressively for stories.

Many of them routinely make use of aerial coverage, sending helicopters into the city's already busy skies to cover everything from fires to dramatic car chases.

There are usually two people on board a news media helicopter -- the pilot and the reporter-camera operator who frequently reports live from the sky.

"The people of Pakistan are saddened and perturbed by this outrageous act," he said on X. The Houthis have denied attacking Islam's holy city.

"The Yemeni Armed Forces, with Allah's aid and grace, succeeded in shooting down a Saudi F15 fighter jet while it was carrying out hostile operations in support of its military mobilisations in the airspace of Marib province," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on social media, while accusing Saudi Arabia of launching 450 strikes.

He said the jet had been targeted "using a locally made air-to-air missile".

The spokesman also dismissed Saudi claims that the Houthis had targeted the holy city of Mecca this week.

"Our operations target its oil facilities and military bases, which are far removed from the sacred sites," he said.

The Houthis have been engaged in renewed fighting with Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces since Yemen's civil war reignited in July.

The group have also declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia and have been targeting its ships in the Red Sea.

In a lightning offensive last week, the Houthis seized control of the entirety of Yemen's Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The strait has become vital to Saudi crude exports as the wider Middle East war chokes the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is due to depart on Thursday for a trip that will run until Saturday, and includes talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

South Korea committed to $350 billion in US investments under a deal struck last year to avoid the worst of President Donald Trump's tariffs, but specific projects and final terms were still being negotiated.

Seoul is also weighing a possible military deployment to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which has become a central point of contention in the war Israel and the United States launched on Iran.

Trump has heavily pressured ally South Korea to help, but Iran has warned Seoul to stay out of the key waterway.

"The two sides will discuss a wide range of issues, including South Korea-US relations, the Korean Peninsula and regional and global issues," Seoul's foreign ministry said.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will call for boosting relations with Ottawa in a wide-ranging speech before the European Parliament in Strasbourg that Carney is attending as guest of honour -- before addressing the assembly himself the next day.

The Canadian prime minister has been pursuing a "unique alliance" with the 27-nation bloc as both seek to reduce dependence on a hostile United States.

The first foreign head of government to attend the annual "State of the European Union" address, his visit is meant to act as a catalyst ahead of an EU-Canada summit in Montreal next month.

"The world has been a bit tumultuous in the past little while," Canada's ambassador to the EU Jonathan Wilkinson told AFP. "It's an important time for us to reach across and to try to figure out how we can mutually help each other."

Buffeted by US tariffs and competition from China, Brussels and Ottawa are seeking to build on an already considerable level of cooperation.

The European Commission declined to comment on the detail of discussions but a spokesman said the level of ambition was high and that von der Leyen would have something "positive and meaningful" to say on Wednesday.

A free-trade agreement (CETA) that abolished almost all tariffs has been credited with boosting trade in goods and services by more than 80 percent since 2016.

And this year Canada became the first non-EU country to join the bloc's defence procurement programme.

Yet there is room for improvement, observers say.

Wilkinson said the two parties were looking at areas "where we have complementary capabilities and needs" and that are "strategically important" to "ensure our sovereignty", such as energy, artificial intelligence and critical minerals.

- Students and LNG -

Ottawa was hoping to get over the line a deal allowing the European Investment Bank (EIB) to put money behind Canadian critical minerals projects -- something that could help reduce dependency on China for raw materials essential for electronic goods such as batteries, he said.

He cited a recent deal to ship Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Germany and Canadian AI firm Cohere's investments in the same European country as examples of deals that could inspire broader collaboration.

"It's about actually accelerating that work," Wilkinson said in a phone interview.

There are also some low-hanging fruit.

Ten EU nations including France, Italy and Poland, are yet to ratify CETA in part due to opposition from local farmers, which has limited its impact.

Provisions on investment protection and dispute resolution remain a dead letter as it stands.

"This continued delay weakens the EU's credibility as a reliable trading partner," the European Parliament's centrist Renew group wrote in a letter to EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic, urging Brussels to push for full ratification.

Some EU lawmakers have also called for initiatives to promote CETA among small and medium businesses that are not yet taking full advantage of its benefits.

Talks are under way in other areas too.

A lot is on the menu, from easing labour mobility rules and increasing student exchanges through the EU's popular Erasmus youth mobility programme, to Canada contributing to the bloc's 90-billion-euro ($105 billion) loan to Ukraine.

"We're actually looking to go beyond simply a free trading relationship, to deepen that relationship across the board," Wilkinson said.

"Despite international efforts to end the war, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin chooses to intensify his war of aggression against Ukraine and hostilities against Europe, and one thing is very clear: Putin will not stop unless he is stopped," Kallas told the European Parliament.

"So, as Russia is willing to take greater risks, Europe must impose a greater cost."

Europe is grappling with what Kallas called a "steady increase in hybrid attacks" by Russia designed to weaken support for Ukraine.

Fears rose over the summer when an explosive-laden drone was discovered at a German airport in an incident Berlin blamed on Moscow.

Beyond ramping up support for Kyiv and sanctioning the Kremlin, Kallas said the EU should look to increase controls on Russians coming into the bloc.

"We can tighten control further over the movement of Russian diplomats within Schengen. We can ban issuing visas for Russian ex-combatants, and we should review the issuance of tourist visas to Russian citizens," she said.

"We must reduce the pool of people conducting attacks on European soil."

Kallas also urged EU states to better share intelligence and step up the use of artificial intelligence to tackle Russian disinformation.

While the EU eyes more measures, officials admit that the West is struggling to halt actions from Moscow that float in a grey zone beneath open conflict.

"We have all the response options we need when it comes to hybrid. It will not always be visible and public, what we do," NATO chief Mark Rutte said Monday.

"The most important one, of course, is making sure that Ukraine has what it needs to stay in the fight."

The meeting comes as Zelensky is trying to muster more Western defence systems and cooperation for his country, which is under intensified attack from Russia as Moscow's invasion drags on in its fifth year.

"Spoke with Emmanuel Macron. Discussed the situation in the diplomatic process in detail" as well as "steps to stop this terrible Russian war", Zelensky said on X.

"We truly appreciate France's support in protecting our people. Agreed to meet with Emmanuel in the near future on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly," he said.

France and Britain lead an ad hoc grouping of Ukraine allies called the Coalition of the Willing, which provides military and diplomatic support for Kyiv. The United States is not part of the group.

Zelensky has already said that he plans to meet US President Donald Trump in New York at the end of September, after Trump's special envoys made trips last week to Moscow and Kyiv.

Washington is seeking ways to revive a mediated path towards ending the war, even though much of its attention -- and munitions -- are focused on the ongoing US war against Iran.

At first glance, the city of around 250,000 -- some 500 kilometres (300 miles) southeast of Moscow -- exudes calm.

Its quaint 19th-century houses and Soviet architecture seem far away from the Russian offensive in Ukraine, where hundreds of thousands have been killed.

Until that tranquility was shattered on a July night, when a Ukrainian drone smashed into a warehouse of online retail giant Wildberries outside the city.

Seven people were killed and 25 wounded. A repeat attack a month later completely destroyed the site, where some 5,000 people used to work.

"It's terrifying, impossible to put into words just how awful it is," said Diana, an 18-year-old student in the city.

- 'Go and vote' -

Despite the result of the September 18-20 vote being in no doubt -- President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party set for a comfortable majority -- many in Tambov, including Diana, see the poll as crucial.

"It's essential to go and vote, because the future, I believe, depends on us," said Daria, a 35-year-old manicurist.

"It's very important to choose the right party, to cast your vote, not to ignore this moment."

She was backing Yabloko because they are "against military action".

The anti-war party has been banned from running at the national level but is still fielding a handful of candidates in constituency races across the country.

They stand little chance against the pro-Putin ruling United Russia party -- set to retain its majority -- and the other pro-war paper opposition groups that will share the rest of the seats.

"Almost everyone is going to vote for United Russia. I know I'll vote against," said 76-year-old Vladimir Vinogradov.

He plans to back the Communist Party, which supports the offensive in Ukraine.

Andrei Zhidkov, the party's 64-year-old candidate in Tambov, told AFP he opposes peace talks with Kyiv.

"Victory... means survival, the survival of the state," he said, sitting in front of a bust of Communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin and a red flag.

"Any war ends in peace. But peace proposals during a war are always a dangerous path. That's why we are a fighting party."

Several members of the local party are fighting against Ukraine. Six have been killed, he said.

- Dangerous 'peace' -

Yabloko candidate Yana Zenkina, 32, is the only one calling for an end to Russia's offensive.

In her modest office, a poster bears a famous quote from legendary Soviet rock group Kino: "Our hearts demand changes."

Her campaign videos have been banned from local television after the station and local election officials alleged they displayed "signs of an extremist nature".

"The word 'peace' is considered offensive, dangerous," Zenkina told AFP, smiling.

Nevertheless she said she has felt "enormous support from young people and even from the older population".

"People are tired," with the conflict dragging through its fifth year.

"It's a heavy burden, economically and socially. Everyone is already exhausted, and naturally, they want to live in calm, in peace, to be safe."

The Russian economy has stagnated over the last year, with Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries triggering nationwide fuel shortages and pushing prices higher.

The party was banned at the national level after seeing a jump in membership and winning the support of the exiled Russian opposition -- outlawed in Russia as traitors and enemies of the state.

Across Tambov, posters encourage voters to go to the polls with the slogan: "Your voice is Russia's strength."

The Kremlin sees securing a high turnout as a way to legitimise Putin's rule, analysts say.

Ukrainian attacks -- even the one on Wildberries close to Tambov -- have not triggered any "influx" into the pro-peace camp, Zenkina said.

The factory was one of the best-paying blue-collar jobs in the area.

But the head of the city's employment centre, Olga Meshcheryakova, told AFP there were good alternatives.

"Enterprises in the city and region can offer comparable salaries... in the defence industry."

Trump accused the court of allowing itself to be cowed by Democrats following the ruling, which comes as a blow to Republican hopes of keeping control of Congress in November's midterm elections.

"These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court, they are merely a shell of their original selves," Trump said on his Truth Social network.

Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices in his first term, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, giving the court a conservative supermajority.

But in his lengthy social media diatribe, the 80-year-old Republican now blamed them for some of the most "destructive, hurtful, and damaging decisions in our Country's history."

"The Supreme Court has really let our Country down! Certain Justices are petrified of these crazed and depraved Democrats, and are totally unable to show the courage necessary to save our America," he said.

- 'Very frustrated' -

US Attorney General Todd Blanche -- who was formerly Trump's personal lawyer during a string of civil and criminal cases -- defended the president's attack on the judiciary.

"He is very frustrated," Blanche told reporters at a press conference in the White House Rose Garden. "He has every right, and indeed he should communicate his concerns with the Supreme Court whenever he has them."

Blanche added that the Trump administration could continue to pursue mail-in voting changes despite the court ruling.

Trump signed an executive order in March requiring the compilation of lists of eligible voters and requiring the US Postal Service to deliver ballots only to voters who are on the lists.

He says without evidence that mail-in ballots are vulnerable to fraud, falsely blaming them for his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.

But his plan faced multiple challenges and the Supreme Court on Monday denied Trump's request to lift an order halting it.

Kavanaugh, in a concurring opinion with the majority, said Trump's plan may ultimately be legal in the long run, but "state and local election officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections."

Only two of the six conservative justices -- Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito -- on the nine-member panel offered a dissent.

- 'Highly political' -

Trump called the decision itself "horrible" and "highly political."

"It is not easy for me to write this criticism of the United States Supreme Court -- it will likely cost me dearly for years to come -- but I feel it my obligation and duty, as President, to do so for the America we love!" he added.

Democrats hailed the court ruling.

"Trump's scheme was so on-the-nose, so un-American, so flagrantly unconstitutional that the MAGA Court had no choice but to make the right call," Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday.

Despite denouncing mail-in voting as corrupt, Trump has previously used it himself, including to vote in Florida's Republican primary last month.

The mail-in fight comes with high political stakes ahead of the November 3 elections.

Republicans hold narrow congressional majorities, but Democrats are favored to capture the House and possibly the Senate as Trump's approval ratings remain weak and voters voice frustration over living costs and the war with Iran.

Losing control of Congress could not only stymie the last two years of Trump's legislative agenda but also expose the president to a third impeachment by Democrats.

With abundant waterways, Bhutan has long relied on hydroelectric power to meet its electricity needs and stay carbon negative -- absorbing more planet-warming gases than it emits.

But demand is growing, and in winter, when rivers run low before the mountain melt arrives, Bhutan already relies on imported Indian electricity.

Climate change is also threatening the future of the glaciers that feed those rivers, adding impetus to a push for energy diversification.

"Solar projects are booming," said Rinzin, senior engineer at Norion Renewable Energy.

The company's biggest project to date is the Dechencholing solar farm on former military land, with an installed capacity of 4.45 megawatts (MW).

Dechencholing is one of several solar fields developed in recent years, including the country's first mega project -- Sephu, with over 22 MW capacity.

That is relatively modest, especially compared to the vast solar fields installed in neighbouring China.

But it represents a new direction for Bhutan, where hydropower exports account for up to 15 percent of GDP, according to the World Bank.

"Our plans are to develop about 5,000 megawatts," said Chhewang Rinzin, managing director of Druk Green Power Corporation, the country's generation utility.

Bhutan can currently produce around 3,700 MW from hydro, but that capacity falls around 80 percent during the winter, he said.

Winter demand has increased to 1,500 MW from 400 MW, creating a significant shortfall currently being met by electricity imports from India.

Rising demand has created a significant shortfall in winter that is currently met by electricity imports from India.

- Finding space -

Officials attribute part of the growing demand to a construction boom, but Bhutan has also bet on bitcoin mining to boost revenue. A planned special economic zone known as the Gelephu Mindfulness City is expected to host energy-hungry data centres.

The problem was already clear back in 2008, when a goal of generating 10,000 MW from hydropower by 2020 was agreed. But the plan ran into a series of obstacles, including financing.

"When you're looking at constructing 10,000 megawatts in hydropower capacity and each megawatt probably costs you about $1.5 million... for a small economy like ourselves, that's quite difficult," said Chhewang.

Solutions have included liberalising foreign investment rules and increasing solar targets in the energy mix.

The country now aims for 25,000 MW by 2040, with solar accounting for a fifth of that.

But finding sufficient space for projects is challenging given Bhutan's largely mountainous terrain.

"When we do solar projects on the ground mount, it takes a huge amount of area to get certain capacity," Norion's Rinzin said.

The country's high altitudes, circuitous routes and roads frequently damaged by landslides pose further problems.

Part of the push has involved training up a corps of solar engineers, including through the De-suung royal skilling initiative.

Norion has trained around 450 De-suung volunteers "to build in-house capacity in the country," Rinzin said.

Several dozen now work at Norion, which has a goal of installing 30 MW of solar by 2027, much of it on rooftops.

Rooftop solar is now a common sight in Thimphu on government buildings and businesses, but the incentives for individual consumers are still slim.

Electricity is comparatively cheap in Bhutan, and installing solar remains expensive.

- Rooftop solar -

Om Pradhan, a former minister and ambassador, had long advocated for solar in Bhutan, and was keen to install panels at home.

"I thought that firstly it would benefit me personally, in the sense that my electricity bills would go down," the 79-year-old former minister for trade and industries told AFP.

"The second thing is that I've always been an advocate for solar power," he said.

But the 600,000 ngultrums ($6,300) it cost him to install the system remains far out of reach for most Bhutanese.

"Many people calculate that if you put that money in the bank, the interest would pay your electricity bills," he said.

For now, Bhutan's solar targets do not depend on rooftop installation.

Energy demand is not the only driving factor.

"We are quite aware that climate change will affect us, that the glaciers will keep receding," said Chhewang of Druk Green Power.

"So I think in the long-term, you will have to keep yourself open to other options."

Since late July the State Department has held up the approval of Aurelien Lechevallier, French President Emmanuel Macron's choice as France's next envoy to Washington, replacing Laurent Bili.

Lechevallier, currently French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot's chief of staff, is now expected to arrive in Washington in the coming weeks.

US approval of a choice of French envoy is usually a formality but has remained in limbo since the dispute, which involves the French mission to the UN's criticism over a vote by the United States during a UN General Assembly meeting.

On July 24, the United States was one of 10 countries to vote in the UN General Assembly against extending Volker Turk's term as UN human rights chief, joining the ranks of North Korea, Russia and Nicaragua, among others.

"The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore," the French mission wrote in a post on X after the United States strongly opposed another term by Turk, who has repeatedly questioned US policies under President Donald Trump.

The criticism was met with immediate backlash from Washington, with the US representative walking out of a UN Security Council meeting days later when France's ambassador took the floor, in protest of the comments.

Over the weekend, the French UN mission apologized for the critique, a mea culpa that was well-received by Washington and cleared the way for the ambassador's appointment.

"Sometimes I break down in tears. Sometimes you eat, sometimes you don't," said Lidia Ochoa in San Lorenzo, southern Honduras.

The same scene is playing out across the Central American Dry Corridor, which includes parts of Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

More than 10 million people live here, and 80 percent of small-scale producers in the corridor are poor, United Nations figures show.

Extreme weather events are common in this part of the world, but this year's El Nino -- expected to be the strongest since comparable records began four decades ago -- has bewildered locals.

"We had never seen anything like this," said 76-year-old Ochoa.

At this time of year, corn should be growing abundantly on the plot belonging to fellow resident Francisco Molina.

But the field lies barren, surrounded by livestock carcasses decaying under the boiling heat.

The same disaster is unfolding in El Salvador.

Maria de la Paz Portillo manages an increasingly thirsty water tank that supplies the northeastern El Matazano community, where temperatures have reached a record-breaking 42C.

"This is the first year that we've seen this shortage and this need for water," the 31-year-old said.

- Harvests lost -

El Nino raises surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and causes global changes in winds and rainfall as well as erratic weather conditions.

Farmers, no longer able to depend on excess crops to feed themselves, are cutting down on how much they eat.

Governments have declared national emergencies but are facing accusations of neglecting affected communities, with many depending on NGOs for help.

"All the corn harvests are going to be lost," said Indigenous leader Elvira Pasa from a remote village in the municipality of Cunen, northern Guatemala.

Pasa's country suffers serious child malnutrition problems that are being exacerbated by the drought.

- 'Outrageously expensive' -

He says some villagers are already buying corn at prices 50 percent higher than normal.

Back in Honduras, the same predicament troubles Ochoa.

"We eat with just one tortilla and then we don't eat again because everything is outrageously expensive," she said.

El Matazano's tank used to supply around 50 families and fill a pond where locals raised tilapia, a freshwater fish, to sell and to eat.

But the latter project has been abandoned and the water is being saved for other, more pressing needs.

"It's affecting us because… we're not eating tilapia, and also financially because it was a source of livelihood," said 32-year-old resident Maria del Carmen Portillo.

Sixteen million people across Latin America could face food shortages due to El Nino, Lena Savelli, regional director of the UN World Food Programme, told AFP.

The climate phenomenon is predicted to peak at the end of the year, but experts say the consequences will stretch far into 2027.

- Skin and bone -

The drought is also killing off malnourished livestock, and some San Lorenzo farmers are rushing to sell their cattle before they perish.

The Honduran village has seen around 100 cows die in recent months, their skeletons littering the parched fields as farmers milk the scrawny creatures that remain.

Since conditions intensified in June, Darwin Cruz has had to sell two of his dairy cows, while another one died.

The three cows left produce just a quarter of their usual output.

That marks a heavy blow to a small producer like him, with his wife and two daughters dependent on his dwindling income.

Cruz doesn't know what to do if the rain doesn't come. The less-than-ideal solution, he says, is to "sell my little cows."

El Matanzo resident Vilma Ortiz is trying to adapt by producing crops that require less water.

The 53-year-old is growing chili peppers, which she believes are "braver" than her usual choice of tomato plants in the face of drought.

Indigenous leader Pasa meanwhile cannot escape the anxiety seeping from the cracked ground in Guatemala.

"The truth is, I'm starting to get scared because we don't know what we're going to live on," he said.

Palau will become the US military's top overseas location for construction next year as a crumbling wharf built by Japan in World War Two is expanded to berth US Navy ships and the harbour dredged deeper in a $500 million project.

Haunted by their past, Palauans have asked Washington how they will be protected if war breaks out again in a country with less than 177 square miles of habitable land.

"Where would they go? The concern is very real," said Madelsar Ngiraingas, who grew up with stories told by her grandmothers of how they escaped during a bloody WWII clash between American and Japanese troops.

Located some 500 miles (800 kilometres) west of the South China Sea and home to just 17,000 people, Palau is also earmarked to house a crisis-ready stockpile for US Marines, tender documents show.

Land is being cleared for a military radar and a remote airfield widened for heavy aircraft.

A petition signed by two thousand people sent last month to Palau's congress sought assurances from Washington that the population would be safe should war reach their shores.

- 'We are now a target' -

Palau receives significant US funding under a compact of free association and its citizens have the right to work and study there visa-free.

In return, they cede territorial access to the US military.

The construction boom is the first significant US military activity under that compact, explained Ongerung Kambes Kesolei, founder of local think-tank the Congress Point Institute.

"With the US military coming in, we are now a target. The role of Palau in the second island chain has become more prominent," he said, referencing a dividing line in the Pacific viewed by both Chinese and US strategists as crucial in a potential future conflict.

At a community meeting last month, US officials explained the port's benefits by showing images of cruise ships, not warships.

But when a resident asked where the passenger terminal would be, the reply was the US Navy didn't require one.

"Many Palauans are not against the US military, nor the projects, there just needs to be better communication and discussion around the potential impacts," said Ngiraingas, who organised the meeting.

- Disturbing dugongs -

The plans to rebuild the main port in the tourism hub of Koror have also sparked anxiety among traditional chiefs, scientists and tour operators.

Locals fear it will drive away vulnerable dugongs and put at risk World Heritage turquoise lagoons two kilometres from the construction.

UNESCO describes Koror's marine lakes as "natural laboratories" for science, yielding new species in a zone abundant with large coral.

An environmental impact assessment found that the dredging in nearby Malakal Harbour -- expected to start this year -- will cause the loss of 4.26 hectares of coral, impacting endangered turtles, fish and dugong.

"If we are pounding pilings and dredging coral, I have to imagine they are simply going to leave the neighbourhood," said Ron Leidich, a biologist who monitors dugong herds feeding on sea grass beds at nearby Ngederrak Reef.

The construction site will be wrapped with underwater silt curtains but Leidich worries the marine lakes will be contaminated by sediment plumes.

He was sceptical about assurances that construction would be suspended if a dugong swims into range.

"In that case the dugongs could come in and stop everything for weeks at a time. I don't think that is realistic."

Public submissions lodged with the environment watchdog last month demanded greater protection for the pristine waters.

Koror's state government has asked for a bigger fund to rectify any potential damage and independent environmental monitoring, according to filings seen by AFP.

- Restricted access -

Palau's President Surangel Whipps said in an interview the old port was "about to collapse" and he was grateful for the necessary upgrade.

"We can jointly use it for the benefit of the people, but at the same time ensure defence and security," he said.

The US military's Joint Taskforce-Micronesia told AFP the port will "expand Palau's capacity for commercial shipping and larger vessels while simultaneously enhancing the US military's logistical options for regional defence".

A 10,000-square-foot restricted access warehouse to be built at the port will house mooring lines, pedestrian barriers, gangways and repair gear for the US Navy, said a spokeswoman.

On his boat, Leidich hopes for peace.

"The thought that all of these beautiful creatures and habitats could be compromised as superpowers slug it out for supremacy is sobering."

The meeting's slogan to "Unleash the full potential of American energy" has been repeated by US officials tirelessly in Texas since the gathering kicked off Monday.

Members of US President Donald Trump's cabinet say his policies are a reversal of his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Lee Zeldin accusing Biden of participating in "climate alarmism" by promoting renewable energies.

"The whole idea was to produce enough energy for prosperity at home, but to be able to provide secure, affordable, reliable energy for all of our allies," Interior Secretary Doug Bergum said.

To help meet the growing demand for electricity, driven by the needs of the artificial intelligence industry, the EPA announced a reduction in limits on pollution from gas- and coal-fired power plants, sparking outcry from environmentalists.

- 'Big shock' -

Since returning to the White House in 2025, Trump has vowed to strengthen American oil production, a move that has grown more urgent since he launched attacks on Iran with Israel on February 28.

In Houston this week, where ministers from the largest economies -- China, India, Japan, Germany and others -- are meeting with major oil powers like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Canada, statements on the war in the Middle East have been rare.

But the industry's worries are undeniable, and growing.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran has sent oil prices soaring, and fresh advances made by pro-Iranian Houthis to control the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have begun to impact the movement of Saudi oil.

"President Trump wanting the entire world to not have to be focused towards an area that has...been disrupted," Burgum said, adding the region has been in a "cycle of disruptions."

John Kilduff, an analyst at Again Capital told AFP a world without the Middle East in terms of oil is "like a band without a drummer, you need the whole band for the music to play."

While the war has shaken up the global energy industry there, "it's obviously a big shock to the supply system and it can't be made up anytime soon," he added.

Trump administration officials say the answer is in domestic production.

"The lowest priced energy in the world is in the United States. The most secure energy is in the United States," Burgum said.

White House energy advisor Jarrod Agen said one of the Trump administration's core objectives is "to make the Western Hemisphere the center of affordable, reliable, and secure energy. So all the way from Alaska down to Argentina, you're seeing rapid growth, rapid development, rapid deals, and we're focused on that."

- Europe's winter -

The US is banking on one major asset: Venezeula.

Since Trump sent in commandos to capture president Nicolas Maduro, the country's new interim leader has become an ally to Washington, which intends to capitalize on the South American country's massive oil stores.

Per an agreement this summer, the US will control roughly one-fifth of Venezuela's oil reserves -- the largest in the world.

But the country's infrastructure has suffered from decades of underinvestment, and it will take time to ramp up production.

Venezuela is "not a short-term fix, although it will likely add barrels in the longer term," said Kenneth Medlock III, a fellow at the Baker Institute at Rice University in Houston.

"There is not much the G20 can do for supply-demand balance other than expend diplomatic effort to resolve the issues in the Middle East and Russia-Ukraine," said Medlock, who warned a cold winter in Europe "could be brutal" in light of supply constraints.

The announcement comes as Venezuelan parties negotiate the recovery of frozen gold reserves from the United Kingdom, which withheld them when Nicolas Maduro was in power.

Various countries have re-established diplomatic relations with the South American country since US forces ousted president Nicolas Maduro in January.

"The UK and Venezuela have agreed our intention to upgrade our representation to Ambassador," Chris Elmore, minister for Latin America, wrote in a parliamentary statement.

Elmore said recent events in Venezuela had created an "important opportunity" for democracy.

Since Maduro's capture, interim leader Delcy Rodriguez has effectively done Washington's bidding, opening up her country's mining, electricity and oil sectors to foreign and private capital.

Her government also released a statement announcing improved relations with Britain.

Britain supported US-backed transition talks between the interim government and parts of the opposition, Elmore said.

"The UK considers that this moment calls for pragmatic engagement to help advance a credible transition and to encourage further reforms," he said.

US President Donald Trump recently dismissed the notion that Venezuela would hold elections in the near future, with Rodriguez echoing his comments.

Oliver Blanco, Venezuela's deputy foreign minister for North America and Europe, welcomed Tuesday's decision, as well as the chance to recover "resources that rightfully belong to Venezuelans."

He was referring to the reserves frozen in the Bank of England, which opposition figure Juan Guaido asked London to hold when Maduro was president.

In August, the transition talks agreed to work toward securing their release.

Delegates say they plan to use the reserves worth $1.9 billion to aid victims of the devastating June 24 earthquakes that killed over 6,500 people.

La Guaira, home to a popular resort of the same name north of Venezuela's capital Caracas, was devastated by powerful back-to-back quakes on June 24 that left over 6,500 people dead.

Dozens of schools were damaged in the worst disaster in the Caribbean country in decades, which reduced hundreds of buildings to rubble.

A further 60 schools were converted into shelters for thousands of people left homeless by the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes.

In some areas, lessons are being taught under a tarp.

In one such tented school on Tuesday, a teacher drew a circle on a blackboard as part of a discussion with 14 students on managing their emotions.

"They're still very sensitive. In any conversation you have with them, they always bring it (the earthquake) up, and it's always good to listen to them so they can process all that pent-up emotion," María Herrera, the 43-year-old teacher, explained to AFP.

Many parents were too fearful of a repeat disaster to allow their children back into a bricks-and-mortar classroom.

Just over 300 students have enrolled for the new school year at John Paul II Diocesan Educational Unit, one of the few schools open in the port city of La Guaira.

The school has capacity for more than double that.

Only seven children showed up on Tuesday.

"The return to classes will be gradual and safe, focusing primarily on the emotional well-being not only of our students but also of our staff," said the principal, Marco Antonio Espinoza.

Yanet Dominguez, a fifth-grade teacher at the school, said parents had been plying her with questions about the building's structural safety.

"I told them yes, that improvements have been made to the building this year, and that they shouldn't be afraid to send their children," she said.

Amni Nunez, a 40-year-old industrial engineer, sent his two young children back to school after deciding that life must go on.

"They need to understand that the world keeps spinning and that we have to learn to live with this new reality," he told AFP.

The letter, signed by 37 former leaders including former German chancellor Olaf Scholz and former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, insisted the world's inequality "crisis" required an urgent policy response.

"We share alarm about a crisis of inequality that has reached record levels in country after country across the world," they said in the letter, seen by AFP.

"While the bottom half of humanity have received just one cent of every dollar of growth since the year 2000, the richest one percent have captured 41 cents," the former leaders pointed out.

And they highlighted that the world had seen its first trillionaire emerge this year, at a time when one in four people on the planet face food insecurity.

"There can be no mistaking that the gap between the richest and the poorest has simply grown too big."

The former leaders called on their successors to back efforts to create a new International Panel on Inequality (IPI), and to join a high-level event next week where the issue will be discussed on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The creation of such a body, modelled on the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), was recommended in a G20 report by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.

The report demands action to address a global "inequality emergency", which it warned was undermining both democracy and economic progress.

Wednesday's letter --- with signatories from every region of the world including former presidents Joyce Banda of Malawi, Anibal Cavaco Silva of Portugal and James Michel of the Seychelles -- echoed the concern that "intensifying inequality... erodes democratic freedoms, undermining the checks and balances societies depend upon".

"Studies show the most unequal countries are now seven times more likely to experience democratic erosion than more equal countries," it said.

The signatories -- also including many former prime minsters including Aminata Toure of Senegal, Helen Clark of New Zealand, Francisco Sagasti of Peru and Han Seung-soo of South Korea -- told the world's current leaders they understood "the weight of the complex challenges you face".

"And we also know that extreme inequality is exacerbating these very threats, putting your economies and democracies under profound strain."

Creating the IPI would provide "a most vital institutional response" to such challenges, they said, detailing how the new panel, much like the IPCC, would be able to track trends, impacts and drivers and assess evidence on policymaking.

An IPI would "see leading experts step in to bridge the evidence gaps that have so far meant that efforts to tackle the inequality crisis have fallen short", the letter said.

Trump has lambasted South Africa's land and employment laws that are meant to redress stark inequalities that black people still face 30 years after the end of white-minority rule.

In 2025, he berated President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office over discredited claims of a "white genocide" in South Africa. He has also hit the country with high tariffs and boycotted a G20 summit in Johannesburg.

"As President Trump has made clear, the South African people are being failed by a government that is destroying its economy through an obsessive pursuit of racial grievance against the Afrikaner minority," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

He said the visa restrictions would target those who promote "race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation in South Africa."

The announcement did not immediately name any individuals targeted by the restrictions.

Ties between the two nations have nosedived since Trump took office last year, with the US leader cutting aid, expelling the South African ambassador and offering "refuge" to white South Africans fleeing "persecution."

While the US president has broadly cracked down on immigration, he launched a special program under which thousands of white Afrikaners have been allowed to settle in the United States.

South Africa said last month it would offer a "generous" new trade deal to the United States as it seeks to avoid hefty tariffs that threaten job losses on top of a dire unemployment crisis.

Trump said his hand-picked board voted "almost unanimously" to shut the venue immediately for emergency renovations, just a few hours after the federal judge's decision.

But he warned the "very large and complex" repairs at the building in Washington cannot begin until a higher court rules on whether the center can be renamed after himself.

"If the ruling is a negative one, which it should not be, and is not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Reconstruction and the Renovation of The Kennedy Center will not take place," Trump said on his Truth Social network.

The Kennedy Center said in a statement to AFP that the board's decision "reflects sound judgment and a clear prioritization of safety above all else."

Shortly after beginning his second term, Republican Trump installed himself as chairman of the center, which is named in honor of late president John F. Kennedy, a Democrat who championed civil rights before he was assassinated in 1963.

The board voted in December to call it the "Trump-Kennedy" Center and installed signage with his name on it.

US federal judge Christopher Cooper previously ordered Trump's name removed from the exterior and overturned the board's decision to rename the institution.

Cooper ruled on Tuesday that Trump's name cannot be added back, rebuking the center for trying to circumvent his earlier order.

"Simply put," wrote Cooper in his decision, the board "cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress's blessing."

- Demolition threat -

Trump himself called into the board meeting and berated a Democratic congresswoman who serves on the board and filed the lawsuit that blocked its renaming, CNN reported.

The Kennedy Center takeover is one of several projects aimed at stamping Trump's brand on the US capital, including a triumphal arch and a half-billion dollar ballroom at the White House.

Workers removed Trump's name from the building in June, but scaffolding and tarps have remained ever since.

Last month, the board moved forward with a plan to add a new signage on the building that would read "renovated and restored by President Donald J. Trump."

Cooper on Tuesday said that plan was in violation of his previous ruling.

Trump and his chosen leaders of the Kennedy Center have argued that its main building, which was constructed in the 1960s, is in a state of dangerous disrepair.

As evidence of the safety problems, the president pointed to a recent incident in which a piece of the ceiling tumbled to the ground following a storm.

"If the Building were open, innocent people would have been killed," he wrote in a post on Truth Social before the judge's ruling.

Last month, as part of court proceedings, the Trump administration warned that the center may need to be demolished, if its plans to renovate the building were blocked.

A host of artists canceled concerts at the venue in response to Trump's takeover, while US media has reported that Kennedy Center ticket sales have plummeted.

All four deaths occurred in unvaccinated individuals, state health officials said.

"My thoughts are with the two families who lost loved ones to this highly contagious virus, as Pennsylvania faces the worst measles outbreak in more than three decades," said state health secretary Debra Bogen.

The latest death was of an 18-year-old, according to local medical examiners, adding to two infants who were too young to be vaccinated and a 40-year-old.

Three other measles-related deaths, including two children, were recorded across the United States last year, when the current outbreak began.

The Pennsylvania deaths have prompted a heated debate between the state's Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, and President Donald Trump's vaccine-skeptic health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

"This serious situation continues to be made worse by RFK Jr. playing games with public health and safety," Shapiro wrote in an X post Tuesday, adding "it's long past time" for Kennedy to "stop stoking vaccine skepticism and misinformation."

Shapiro noted there have been to date 693 recorded cases of measles in Pennsylvania alone. More than 3,290 cases of measles have been recorded across the US since early 2026.

The governor also accused Kennedy of ordering federal officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "to not report these Pennsylvania deaths, presumably because it doesn't fit his narrative."

Kennedy denied that allegation in a response on X, and accused Shapiro of politicizing the "outbreak instead of implementing a unified public health response."

"I have repeatedly stated that MMR vaccination is the most effective way to prevent measles," Kennedy said, referring to the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella.

Measles cause fever, respiratory symptoms, skin rashes and can have serious complications, including pneumonia, brain damaging inflammation and death.

The disease was considered eliminated in the United States in 2000, thanks to vaccination, but has made a strong comeback in recent years amid declining vaccination rates and a backdrop of growing mistrust of health authorities.

Non-medical exemptions to vaccination have surged since the Covid-19 pandemic, allowing Americans to avoid the shots by invoking religious beliefs or other philosophical reasons.

Before a vaccine was developed in the early 1960s, measles killed hundreds of children every year in the US, and continues to cause tens of thousands of deaths globally.

The Washington Post said the package -- funded with US taxpayer dollars -- featured some of the most destructive munitions in Western arsenals, including 20,000 MK-84s, 20,000 BLU-117s, and 20,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads.

The New York Times said the administration of US President Donald Trump had approved the sale, citing a US official.

A senior administration official told AFP that "all foreign arms sales are moving through the appropriate process," but wouldn't comment on pending transactions.

Meanwhile, a State Department spokesperson told AFP that "as a matter of policy, the Department does not confirm or comment on proposed arms sales until they have been formally notified to Congress."

The deal was reported amid an ongoing munitions shortage within the US military, with stocks rapidly depleting from the war with Iran and with the US spending $22.3 billion on munitions between February 28 and June 30.

In February 2025, the Trump administration had approved the sale of more than $7.4 billion in bombs, missiles and related equipment to Israel, including MK-84 munitions.

In response to concerns over civilian deaths in Gaza, former US president Joe Biden's administration had blocked a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, but the Trump Administration approved them after taking office in early 2025.

Accused of authoritarianism and trampling women's rights, Filimonov will represent the ruling United Russia party in this month's tightly-controlled parliamentary elections.

The 46-year-old nationalistic regional leader has built up a reputation for his outspoken views and made national headlines.

In the historic northwestern city of Vologda, 31-year-old worker Artyom told AFP a joke was circulating in the neighbouring Yaroslavl region: "When people from Vologda come to us, it's for alcohol, petrol or to get an abortion."

Filimonov has run the region since 2023, one of the social conservative officials promoted by the Kremlin during its more than four-year war in Ukraine.

The bespectacled former kickboxing champion, with the build of a weightlifter, speaks Spanish and French and likes mixing with intellectuals.

Russia, Filimonov said in June during a discussion with far-right ideologue Alexander Dugin, faces the double threat of "depopulation" and "alcohol genocide... orchestrated by our former foreign partners".

For Russia's decades-long struggle with high levels of alcohol-related deaths, he blamed the West, which Moscow says is de-facto at war with Russia.

- 'Abortion tourism' -

His rhetoric echoes Putin, who lambasts the "decadent" West and warns of its "deleterious" influence on Russia -- a "besieged" fortress where birth rates are at their lowest in 200 years.

Filimonov hopes his hardline arguments will be enough to convince the region's one million or so residents to join his conservative crusade.

In his three years managing the region, to the alarm of women's rights groups, he has severely restricted abortion access.

Human Rights Watch calls it a "de-facto ban".

"There is no decree" banning abortion in Vologda, Irina Fainman, of the independent Emergency Contraceptive Stockpile Fund, told AFP.

"It is being carried out by non-legislative means and through some sort of illegal measures," Fainman added.

"The governor's administration is putting pressure on the region's healthcare facilities," she said, calling the measures "authoritarian and regressive".

While authorities say the ban is meant to improve birthrates, in reality it "only leads to abortion tourism", Fainman said, with women travelling to other regions.

Filimonov, however, has remained defiant, declaring at the start of the year that Vologda had "overcome depopulation".

Those most directly affected by his policies, however, find them hard to accept.

Oksana -- whose name has been changed -- said she believed abortion should be a "personal matter".

Filimonov refused AFP's request for an interview.

- 'Tonnes of bottles' -

The hardline governor has made fighting alcoholism the other pillar of his agenda.

Unlike his campaign on abortion, the anti-alcohol drive is regulated by local law, with a ban on shops selling alcoholic drinks outside a two-hour window of between midday and 2 pm on weekdays.

The restrictions have irked locals.

AFP saw Nadezhda, 52, filling her shopping basket with bottles of "Chateau Rouge" -- a Russian wine -- in a supermarket in Vologda's city centre.

"Everyone is against" it, she said.

The result? "We buy tons of bottles in a single go."

Some have questioned whether Filimonov's extravagant measures are a show.

But British historian James Pearce, who lives in Russia and edited a contribution by the governor to an anthology, said Filimonov "actually believes the things he says".

"It is not an act... He is a conservative person," he told AFP.

In 2024, Filimonov erected a statue of Joseph Stalin in Vologda, lauding the Soviet dictator -- responsible for widespread mass-killings and atrocities during his rule -- as an "extraordinary personality".

While Filimonov's style has worried even Putin supporters, the Kremlin has voiced no public objections.

Moscow followed Vologda last year by also inaugurating a statue of Stalin in the capital's metro.

In this month's parliamentary elections, Filimonov -- like other Kremlin-backed officials -- is guaranteed an easy victory, in the absence of any meaningful opposition.

He is unlikely, however, to relinquish his control of Vologda for a seat in the State Duma -- a popular practice known as the "locomotive", when well-known candidates top the ballot paper, only to step aside in favour of a less famous colleague.

The lawsuit over the destruction of the Inter-Korean Liaison Office marks the first time the South Korean government has sought damages directly from the North Korean state, media reports said.

The office building was constructed in the dormant Kaesong Industrial Complex, where South Korean companies once employed North Korean workers.

But Pyongyang blew up the building in June 2020 after days of rising tensions due to activists in the South sending balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border, with the North denouncing the office as "useless".

"The North should pay the South Korean government 44.6 billion won in damages over the demolition of the liaison office," the Seoul Central District Court said in its ruling, Yonhap reported.

The office opened in September 2018, days before then South Korean president Moon Jae-in travelled to Pyongyang for his third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Around 20 officials from each side were stationed at the office in the following months until operations were suspended in January 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The protesters had gathered outside Istanbul's main Caglayan courthouse under heavy police surveillance, chanting "Long live the struggle for freedom!", "Free those detained immediately!" and "Despite hatred, long live life!"

Their lawyers reported 91 arrests by mid-day.

The demonstration followed sweeping police raids in several cities at the weekend in which police arrested dozens as part of what the government says is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's "Decade of the Family" initiative.

Turkey's LGBTQ community has increasingly come under pressure from the authorities, with Erdogan describing it as a "deviant movement" of "perverts".

In Istanbul, police surrounded the protesters and repeatedly warned them over a loudspeaker that the gathering was "illegal".

Before the group, which unfurled a banner reading "Being LGBTQ is not a crime", could issue a statement, police moved in and detained them, AFP journalists said.

- 'Angry, frustrated and disappointed' -

"I am very angry, frustrated and disappointed. I have been following cases concerning justice in Turkey for a very long time, and what we are seeing now is deeply disturbing," a 44-year-old protester, who identified herself only as Zeynep for fear of repercussions, told AFP.

"These people have not committed any crime simply by being who they are, or by defending their own or other people's human rights," she said.

"I think as a society we are very tired, very sad and very angry. We keep seeing innocent people being targeted while people accused of much more serious crimes are not held accountable."

Two journalists, one working for the BirGun daily and the other for Germany's ARD television, were among those detained while covering the rally, the Turkish Journalists' Union said.

"We do not accept the criminalisation of journalism," it said on X.

Trade unions, democracy groups, women's organisations, feminists and other opposition groups joined the call for the rally, feminist activist Feride Eralp told AFP.

"We gathered outside the Caglayan courthouse to denounce what is unlawful, unjust and, in fact, a hate campaign, and to make clear that neither LGBTQ organisations nor LGBTQ individuals can be treated as criminals," she said.

"But the authorities blocked the gathering and forcibly detained our friends."

AFP journalists saw police prevent even lone protesters from unfurling banners.

- 'Repression' -

The pro-LGBTQ protests were triggered by the arrest of dozens of people on Sunday in gay bars and at the homes of LGBTQ activists on charges including "obscenity", "assisting prostitution" and having "financial links abroad".

Authorities have also blocked social media accounts belonging to human rights defenders and media outlets as part of operations dubbed "My Family Is Safe."

The European Union on Monday voiced concern over the arrests and urged Ankara to ensure respect for human rights.

"We do not approve of using the judicial system as a tool for wholesale punishment based on people's sexual orientations and preferences," Zeynel Emre, spokesman for the opposition Yeni Parti, told a news conference.

Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM party on Tuesday denounced Sunday's arrests, saying "repression" undermined the peace process it is mediating between Ankara and PKK militants.

"The language of peace cannot go hand in hand with repression," the party said on X.

"This alarming surge under Turkey's pressure is a full-scale assault on LGBTI+ rights and those who support them," Amnesty International said.

"We call on the Turkish authorities to put an end to this wave of repression, ensure the immediate release of all those detained simply for exercising their human rights, and guarantee that LGBTI+ advocates and associations can exercise their rights without discrimination, criminalisation, harassment, or retaliation."

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek has vowed to continue the campaign, brushing off concerns voiced by the European Union.

Same-sex relations are not a criminal offence in Turkey, but homophobia is prevalent, including at the highest levels of the state.

The ruling comes just as the board -- which Trump has stacked with allies -- is set to meet to consider an emergency shutdown of the center for renovations, citing fiscal and safety concerns.

"Simply put," wrote judge Christopher Cooper in his decision, the board "cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress's blessing."

Cooper previously ordered Trump's name removed from the exterior of the Kennedy Center and overturned the board's decision last year to rename the institution the "Trump-Kennedy Center."

Workers removed Trump's name from the building in June, but scaffolding and tarps have remained ever since.

Last month, the board moved forward with a plan to add a new signage on the building that would read "renovated and restored by President Donald J. Trump."

Cooper on Tuesday said that plan was in violation of his previous ruling.

The board meanwhile was set to meet Tuesday and vote on a potential yearslong shutdown of the center for major renovations sought by Trump.

Trump and his chosen leaders of the Kennedy Center have argued that its main building, which was constructed in the 1960s, is in a state of dangerous disrepair.

As evidence of the safety problems, the president pointed to a recent incident in which a piece of the ceiling tumbled to the ground following a storm.

"If the Building were open, innocent people would have been killed," he wrote Tuesday in a long post on his Truth Social platform.

"The Board of The Kennedy Center has strongly voted to save it, and they know I'm the only one who can do so, because I have the ability to raise the money, and the ability to construct - that few others have," Trump said.

Last month, as part of court proceedings, the Trump administration warned that the center may need to be demolished, if its plans to renovate the building were blocked.

Shortly after beginning his second term, Trump installed himself as chairman of the center, which is named in honor of late president John F. Kennedy, who championed civil rights before he was assassinated in 1963.

A host of artists canceled concerts at the venue in response to Trump's takeover, while US media has reported that Kennedy Center ticket sales have plummeted to their lowest levels since the Covid pandemic.

Gaza's civil defence agency said the six-storey building in the Tal al-Hawa area was home to people displaced by the war with Israel, and collapsed onto residentials and nearby tents.

Agency spokesman Mahmoud Basal told AFP the building had sustained structural damage from Israeli strikes.

"The bodies of eight martyrs including children and 15 injured individuals have been recovered from the rubble," Basal said.

He said more than 60 people were missing.

Fresh fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government has dragged in Riyadh, with the Houthis declaring a maritime blockade on the kingdom and targeting its ships in the Red Sea.

Last week's lightning offensive saw the group seize control of the entirety of Yemen's Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital artery for Saudi oil exports as the wider Middle East war chokes off the Strait of Hormuz strategic shipping route.

The Houthis swiftly rejected as a "lie" Riyadh's report that it shot down a drone from the rebels heading towards the Saudi city of Makkah, which attracts millions of pilgrims each year.

"The claims about targeting Makkah are a worn-out lie that has been used before and no longer fools anyone," Hazem al-Assad from the Houthis' politburo wrote on X.

The Saudi coalition vowed retaliation, warning that the security of holy sites was a "red line".

"The security of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims is a red line, and the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition will not hesitate to take the necessary and deterrent measures against the Terrorist Houthi Militia," the coalition said in a statement shared by spokesman Turki al-Maliki on X.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation -- a bloc of 57 Muslim countries -- condemned the "heinous" attack.

Saudi Arabia had issued brief alerts on Tuesday over possible attacks in Makkah and across swathes of the kingdom's south, which borders Yemen.

The alerts, including the first one issued in Makkah since the Middle East war erupted in February, came a day after a wave of ballistic missile and drone attacks launched from Yemen wounded 13 people in the kingdom's south.

Fighting flared in July when the Houthis, who have for years controlled swathes of northern Yemen, launched a large-scale offensive against Yemeni government forces.

The conflict in the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country has forced 82,000 people to flee their homes since the start of September, according to the United Nations.

Yemen's permanent representative at the UN, Abdullah al-Saadi, said Yemenis were fighting to restore "national institutions across every inch of their land", and called on the international community to take action against the Houthis.

- 'Hostile and extremist' -

Yemen's plea came as Saudi Arabia and Egypt called for free navigation in the Red Sea following the Houthi's offensive in the vital waterway.

De facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on Tuesday for "ensuring the freedom and security of maritime navigation" through the Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab -- which links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, the Egyptian presidency said.

The revival of Yemen's civil war, dormant since 2022, has left Riyadh rushing to respond.

US media reported last week that the Saudi crown prince made a personal request to President Donald Trump for US intervention, but was turned down.

The Houthis have insisted that there is no threat to navigation in the Bab al-Mandab except for Saudi vessels.

Any attacks in the waterway are likely to make it less attractive to shippers.

Disruption in the strait could cause Egypt to feel the pinch too, as the Red Sea serves as the gateway to the Suez Canal, upon which Cairo relies for crucial foreign revenue.

Canal revenues are currently around half of what they were before the Houthis first started attacking Red Sea shipping in 2023, a campaign they said was in solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

On Tuesday, Qatar warned of dire consequences if Bab al-Mandab was closed, saying it would be "catastrophic for the entire world".

The Houthis have also targeted oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the world's leading crude exporter, helping push global prices above the $100-a-barrel threshold.

The Saudi-led coalition said it would deal with the attacks "firmly to protect the sovereignty of the Kingdom", and would take "all necessary operational measures to deter this... hostile and extremist approach".

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Tuesday that Saudi Arabia launched 52 airstrikes on Yemen over the past 24 hours, accusing it of targeting civilian sites, including schools and bridges.

But Riyadh's strikes have failed to reverse the group's gains.

A US military task force is working to enhance intelligence-sharing and planning assistance for Saudi forces as they face attacks, a US official told AFP on Tuesday.

The crash happened between Leeu-Gamka and Prince Albert, about 380 kilometres (236 miles) northeast of Cape Town, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said.

"According to the information 21 persons sustained fatal injuries," the RTMC said in a brief statement. Local media reported that the vehicles collided at around 2130 GMT on Sunday, forcing the closure of the highway.

Police told AFP they had opened a culpable homicide investigation following the crash and said "several other occupants" had been hospitalised.

South Africa has one of the continent's most developed road networks but continues to struggle with a high rate of road deaths, largely blamed on speeding, reckless driving, unroadworthy vehicles and the failure to use seat belts.

In 2025, 11,485 people were killed in road crashes in South Africa, down more than five percent from a year earlier, according to RTMC data. Most of the fatalities were pedestrians.

Two people told AFP they "woke up to the sounds of explosions", as the Sudanese army deployed anti-aircraft missiles. A third person said he saw a fire break out "after a drone fell near the airport, causing a big explosion".

The war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has since April 2023 killed more than 200,000 people, aid workers estimate, and created the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.

The Blue Nile state government said authorities had dealt with "the enemy's attempts to target Al-Damazin with drones", and that the situation was "under control".

Al-Damazin has been relatively safe throughout the war, but this year the RSF and their allies have pushed a powerful offensive along the Ethiopian border and north towards the city.

Their last known position is less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Al-Damazin. The fighting has displaced nearly 100,000 people across the state this year, almost half of them sheltering in Al-Damazin.

A paramilitary offensive on the city could put the army in a bind, forcing it to defend territory on both the Blue Nile front and in the Kordofan region, where a year of deadly drone strikes has left the two sides in a stalemate.

Sudan has repeatedly accused the RSF of launching attacks on the Blue Nile from inside Ethiopian territory. Ethiopia has denied accusations it harbours RSF fighters, though local sources say the porous border is a key supply line for the paramilitaries and their allies.

Together, the RSF and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by their strongest ally Abdelaziz al-Hilu, control the southern Blue Nile, which borders both Ethiopia and South Sudan.

"Mohammad Eslami and his delegation took a regular flight to Vienna on Saturday, but were blocked on the way because of obstructions by the United States," the state broadcaster reported, saying he had returned to the capital Tehran.

"Fifty-one were picked up by two boats that were in the area," a coastguard spokesman said, adding that according to those plucked from the sea, 77 people were on board the boat when it went down. Crete and Gavdos, about 320 kilometres (200 miles) from the Libyan coast, have become the main point of entry for asylum seekers in Greece.

In late August, Greece's ANA news agency published figures from the immigration ministry that indicated that migrant arrivals in Greece fell from about 61,000 in the year to August 2025 to 42,000 in the following 12 months -- a decline of around 31 percent.

Authorities in Europe have tightened their immigration rules over recent years as far-right, anti-immigrant parties have won increasing support. Greece's immigration minister Thanos Plevris has pushed a strict policy on arrivals.

Greece has been in discussions with Germany and several other EU countries on setting up "return hubs" outside the bloc for processing migrants' claims.

France's Constitutional Council struck down the previous legislation in mid-August, finding that part of it constituted an unnecessary infringement on the freedom of expression of those affected.

"After rigorous technical work the government today is notifying" the European Commission of the new draft, Macron wrote on X. The notification is a key step, as it ensures that the legislation is in line with European Union laws.

Macron has made banning social media use for children and teens one of his top priorities and hopes to see a working ban in force by the time he leaves office next year.

He has called for similar legislation to be adopted throughout the European Union. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen is due to address a possible bloc-wide social media ban for children in a speech in Brussels this week.

A growing number of countries are taking steps to restrict social media access amid multiplying warnings over its harmful effects on children.

Ukraine's rail operator said Johnson and former US CIA director David Petraeus, who were in Kyiv for the annual Yalta European Strategy forum, had been travelling on two separate trains around the time the Warsaw-bound locomotive was hit.

Petraeus told the New York Times in a telephone interview on Sunday that he could hear Russian drones above followed by an explosion -- prompting passengers to be quickly evacuated.

"For those who have not been under fire, this was terrifying... This is the act of a truly barbaric leader trying to terrorise Ukrainian civilians," he added.

Johnson, who was travelling with several EU officials in a separate train, condemned the attack in a post on X.

"I don't know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning," he said.

"What we can say for sure is that this is the kind of random and senseless attack Ukrainians are enduring every day -- even on civilian railways."

Poland and Ukraine said a Kyiv-Warsaw passenger train was struck just two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the Polish border, but reported no casualties.

Warsaw has been one of Kyiv's main allies and, with Ukrainian airspace closed, trains to Poland have been one of the main routes out of the war-torn country, used by refugees.

The Ukrzaliznytsia rail operator confirmed the attack on Sunday but did not say how far the officials were from the strike site.

"A diplomatic train was at Yagodyn station... among others, security advisers from several EU member states and former European leaders (were) on board, including former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson," the operator said.

"In another train that was at Yagodyn station at the very moment of the attack was former CIA Director David Petraeus."

- Escalated attacks -

The strikes came as US President Donald Trump called on Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky to halt attacks on Russian refineries, saying it was causing a shortage of diesel fuel and "there are plenty of other targets".

Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russian oil refineries in a bid to hurt Russia's war effort.

Russia attacked western Ukraine with drones Sunday, just days after US envoys visited Kyiv and Moscow in a bid to revive talks to end the war.

Zelensky said Moscow "deliberately" struck the locomotive.

"It is precisely to prevent these strikes from spreading further into Europe that Ukrainian men and women fight every day, give their lives, and do not allow the aggression to expand," Zelensky said.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk chaired an emergency meeting in Warsaw following the strikes, warning he expected Russia to escalate the war "in the coming weeks".

He added: "We cannot exclude that the escalation will also affect our territory... I hope not."

Russia said it had hit "railway infrastructure used to transport military cargo" from European countries.

- Russia 'knocking at Europe's door' -

Speaking in Kyiv, Poland's foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the "escalation" should lead to allies to "double" their support for Ukraine.

"This was just a few hundred meters from the Polish border, this affects the safety of my countrymen," Sikorski said.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said President Vladimir Putin considered Russia was "de facto" at war with Europe.

"Putin's terror is literally knocking at the door of the European Union and NATO," Sybiga said.

Russian attacks killed at least two people on Sunday in the frontline city of Kramatorsk.

Twenty people, including two children, were also wounded in a second day of attacks on the southern port city of Odesa, Ukrainian officials said.

- Three-way talks -

The Kremlin, meanwhile, said negotiations with Ukraine and the United States on the war could take place in October.

"We do not rule out such a possibility; we are talking about the foreseeable future," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, cited by Russia's Ria and Tass news agencies.

Several rounds of negotiations have failed, while US-led efforts stalled during the Middle East war.

In an interview released on Saturday, Zelensky said he would be willing to meet Putin at the G20 summit in Miami in December.

But Peskov said that was "impossible", speaking to AFP in New Delhi on Saturday, repeating Moscow's demand that a meeting could only take place in the Russian capital.

Japan is moving to revive nuclear power 15 years after an enormous earthquake and tsunami sent reactors at the Fukushima atomic plant into meltdown in 2011.

Chubu Electric Power's Hamaoka nuclear plant -- located in an area of central Japan at risk of a potential "megaquake" -- has been undergoing regulatory safety checks, with the aim of restarting two reactors. But in January, the operator said that it had submitted data to regulators that underestimated earthquake risks.

Chubu Electric said in a statement Monday that President Kingo Hayashi and Chairman Satoru Katsuno would be replaced and the firm would withdraw applications to restart the reactors at Hamaoka. Hayashi told a news conference that he felt "a heavy sense of responsibility and am deeply remorseful".

He said he felt "a profound sense of regret" that he was unable to "foster an organisational culture that prioritises compliance and safety above all else".

A 250-page report by an independent panel, released on Monday, said the management's "reprimand" over delays in the restart review had created pressure on staff, and was "one of the factors contributing to the misconduct".

Japan pulled the plug on nuclear power in the wake of the meltdown at the Fukushima atomic plant.

However, the resource-poor nation now wants to revive atomic energy to reduce its heavy dependence on fossil fuels, achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and meet growing energy needs from artificial intelligence.

The world's biggest nuclear plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, restarted operations earlier this year. The estimate of maximum seismic ground motion is important for the earthquake-resistant design of nuclear plants.

In September 2023, the Nuclear Regulation Authority approved Chubu's estimate of 1,200 gal, a unit of acceleration used to measure the intensity of quakes.

But in February last year, the NRA received information about possible data fraud from a whistleblower. The NRA suspended its safety review process for the Hamaoka plant in late December.

The plant is located in Omaezaki, Shizuoka prefecture, near a seismic fault line where a massive Pacific earthquake is expected to occur in the coming years or decades.

In 2024, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued its first special advisory for a possible "megaquake" in the area, known as the Nankai Trough, before lifting it a week later.

The rules, announced on Sunday and due to take effect on November 15, forbid possessing or storing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Chinese capital and ban flights in its airspace. Transporting drones or their components into Beijing will also be forbidden.

Airspace safety fears in the city of 22 million were raised in June when a small plane crashed into its tallest skyscraper, killing the pilot and injuring 13 others.The regulations, formulated by Beijing's municipal government, cited the need to "safeguard the security of the capital".

Under rules introduced in May, Beijing already prohibited drone sales, while owners had to register their devices but were allowed to keep them.

The new regulations mandate that all drone owners dispose of their devices or move them out of Beijing by November 15, or else face confiscation and fines.

Authorities will offer subsidies for owners to scrap their gadgets or sell them through buy-back channels. Alternatively, they will be offered free shipping to mail them out of the city. Drone flights in Beijing's airspace already require permission from authorities.

According to the new rules, exemptions may be provided for special purposes like counter-terrorism, agriculture, disaster relief, and research.

The change would roll back rules introduced by former president Joe Biden's administration in 2024 which required coal and gas power plants to eliminate nearly all their carbon emissions.

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin is expected to announce the change during a G20 energy ministers' meeting in Houston, Bloomberg News and the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Under the new rules, power plants would still be subject to some limits on mercury, arsenic and other contaminants, according to the Times.

Coal is the fuel that emits the highest levels of greenhouse gases, contributing to climate change.

Trump frequently calls human-induced climate change "a hoax" and has worked since returning to office last year to remove a number of environmental regulations, many of which limited fossil fuel use.

This year the EPA overturned its 2009 Endangerment Finding, the scientific determination that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare.

Iran's foreign ministry had said there would be a meeting hosted by Oman where the future of the strait, vital for global oil and gas flows, would be negotiated.

Tehran said Iraq and Gulf countries would take part, without specifying which states, but no country in the region had confirmed its participation while Bahrain ruled out attending.

"It has been decided to postpone to a later date the regional meeting that was to be held on Monday in Salalah, in order to create conditions conducive to a constructive dialogue," the Oman News Agency said on Sunday.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X that "we remain determined to promote dialogue that contributes to stability and lasting cooperation in our region".

The Strait of Hormuz has been subjected to an Iranian and a later US blockade since February 28 when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, prompting a wider war across the region.

A June accord between Washington and Tehran faltered on disagreements over Hormuz, and a blistering offensive in recent days by Yemen's Houthi rebels has given the Tehran-allied group leverage over a second critical waterway, the Bab al-Mandab.

More than six months into the Middle East war, the Hormuz blockade continues to drive up oil prices, which soared past $100 a barrel this week.

Oman and Iran have been discussing for several weeks how to manage the crucial waterway.

The strait was free to transit before the war, but Iran now requires vessels to obtain permission and is considering a mechanism to impose service fees.

Ships that do not comply are regularly targeted by Iranian strikes, while the United States periodically bombs the Iranian coastline to challenge the Islamic republic's control of the strait.

Trump ended his stay by presenting Irish Open golf trophy to tournament winner Shane Lowry at his Doonbeg golf resort on Ireland's west coast.

The ever-unpredictable American leader said that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky had to do "one thing" and "stop knocking out diesel fuel" refineries in Russia due to growing shortages.

"Let him go after targets, but not diesel fuel, because he's causing a shortage of diesel," Trump said, insisting the Russia-Ukraine war -- not the US-Israel conflict with Iran -- was to blame.

Oil prices have soared as attacks in the Middle East have intensified, raising American fuel costs and inflation and speculation the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates just weeks before crunch US midterm elections.

Trump also said he would lift tariffs on Irish whiskey following appeals by Ireland's Prime Minister Micheal Martin and golfer Lowry.

Whiskey exports to the key US market have suffered since Trump imposed tariffs of up to 15 percent on European Union products.

He also waded into the growing controversy over the safety of AI, saying that "negative" forces opposed its development.

On Saturday, he caught his Irish hosts and neighbouring Britain off-guard when he announced he would "love to see" a united Ireland.

- 'Not welcome here' -

Breaking with Washington's traditional neutrality on the historically charged topic, Trump argued that reunification of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland -- after more than a century apart -- was "going to happen eventually".

"It may as well happen now," he said as he met Ireland's Prime Minister Micheal Martin in Dublin, prompting pushback from British loyalists in Northern Ireland and some leading UK politicians.

But he reaffirmed his remarks Sunday.

"It would seem to me that one of the naturals of all time is to put them together," he added, insisting "many people agree".

Trump's arrival in Doonbeg on Saturday sparked road closures and police checkpoints. Around 30 people protested his visit in Doonbeg village Sunday.

"Donald Trump is not welcome in Ireland," William Hederman, 53, told AFP, accusing him of helping Israel commit genocide in Gaza.

Trump's attendance at the golf course he has owned since 2014 tournament added extra complexity to a security effort that is reportedly costing Ireland 20 million euros ($23 million).

Spectators cheered when he walked onto the first tee.

- 'Conflict of interest' -

The former real estate magnate, who promotes his enterprises at every opportunity, was joined in the remote corner of Ireland by his sons, Eric and Don Jr.

They have managed the family business since their 80-year-old father returned to the White House last year.

The course -- set among dunes on the rugged County Clare coastline -- has twice been targeted by pro-Palestinian activists in the past 18 months.

Police said three women -- aged in their 20s, 30s and 40s -- had appeared in a western Irish court late Saturday after being arrested for separate trespass and public order offences there.

Around 4,000 Irish and US security personnel were involved in the weekend security operation, with anti-drone technology among the measures deployed.

The president plays golf most weekends at one of his family's US properties. He is scheduled to host December's G20 summit at his Miami golfing resort.

Opposition Democrats have long complained that blurring the lines between his presidency and personal business interests is corrupt.

The White House has aggressively pushed back against claims of conflicts of interest and that Trump has been using his presidency to enrich himself, as his personal wealth has rocketed during his second term.

"Since the Civil War, we haven't had a president with a significant financial conflict of interest from a business enterprise," University of Minnesota Law School professor Richard Painter told AFP.

The former White House ethics lawyer warned Trump's conduct could send the message "that the way to curry a favour with the president is to patronise his properties, do business with his companies and so forth".

"You know, when they say that China spies on us, I say you're right, and we spy on them too," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One a day after The Wall Street Journal reported Beijing's intelligence sharing.

"That's what we do. They basically do what we do," Trump said.

The incident could deepen tensions between Washington and Beijing ahead of a planned state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on September 24. On July 17, Iran launched missile strikes on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, which houses US forces. Three US Army soldiers were killed.

Unnamed American officials cited in the Journal's reporting did not name the Chinese entities involved, and did not suggest that Beijing was directly to blame.

Chinese officials asked for proof of the transfer of satellite imagery when prodded by the US officials, and refused to acknowledge that Chinese companies were involved in providing Tehran with satellite images, the Journal reported late Friday.

Trump has warned Beijing not to sell weapons to Iran, and in May, Washington sanctioned three China-based satellite companies for enabling Iran's military operations.

China is a top economic partner of Iran, buying much of its oil output, and also an important diplomatic backer.

Still, Trump said of Xi on Sunday that "he's behaved reasonably well, and we behave reasonably well."

Asked if he would ever allow Chinese cars to be sold in the United States, Trump said "I haven't. I'm the one that kept them out. The tariffs kept them out."

The vessel, MV Matui, had set sail on Friday with more than 40 passengers and crew from the island of Santo to Ambae island in very rough seas, but did not arrive.

Prime Minister Jotham Napat's office said on Sunday morning that one dead body has been recovered, while 15 of those onboard have been "accounted for alive".

The alarm was raised on Saturday afternoon when a diver working at a hotel on Santo saw a man floating in a life vest and pulled him to shore.

Hotel owner Ashley Beveridge told AFP he realised his employee was carrying a survivor from the missing boat, and someone in the restaurant alerted the authorities.

"He looked like he had been in the bathtub for 25 hours -- he was wrinkled up and white. He was cold," Beveridge said in a telephone interview.

The survivor, Jeffson, said the boat sank on Friday morning.

"There was no rescue started until this guy got washed up on our beach -- lucky he got washed up in an inhabited area," Beveridge said.

"He had gone all day and all night in the water."

Beveridge said on Sunday afternoon: "At the last count it is 18 recovered and there is two or three dead so far."

Cargo ship owners including a local politician, a local doctor with a plane and a private medical assistance vessel began their search on Saturday afternoon.

Survivors are being taken to the hospital on Santo Island, local media reported.

Napat's office took over the maritime search on Sunday afternoon, after the prime minister earlier expressed frustration that he had been unable to reach senior officials.

In its Sunday statement, Napat's office said "over 30 people remain missing at sea," in addition to the one dead and the 15 "accounted for alive".

"Our hearts and prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones. Search and rescue operations are continuing," the statement read.

An investigation into potential negligence has been launched.

"This loss appears to be the result of strong winds and marine warnings not being heeded, and possibly of negligence including overloading of the vessel," the statement added.

Beveridge, an Australian living in Vanuatu for eight years, said until Jeffson was discovered authorities had believed the ferry was adrift, and there was community frustration that the rescue effort took so long to get underway.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Noumea, New Caledonia said it is assisting with the search, and a French Armed Forces aircraft was deployed on Sunday morning.

The centre said 12 people were located on Sunday morning.

Matai Seremaiah, the member of parliament for Luganville who took part in the search aboard his family's cargo vessel, said two survivors and one body had been discovered Sunday on Tutuba Island.

It was Xi's first visit to neighbouring India since 2019, and six years after a deadly military clash along their disputed Tibetan border, marking the biggest step yet in a cautious thaw.

The Virgo Transport 8, carrying 243 passengers and crew, had lost contact with its shipping company early on Sunday after departing from Surabaya in East Java.

"We can inform you that the total number of evacuated passengers is 103 people," local search and rescue chief I Putu Sudayana said.

One of the passengers had died, he told reporters in the port city of Banjarmasin, where the vessel was headed.

Rescuers battled waves of up to 2.5 metres (8.2 feet) to reach the ferry, he added.

"It is extremely risky for vessels. Even our Basarnas vessel, which is 40 meters long, is at great risk," he said, referring to Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency.

Sudayana earlier told AFP that the ship's captain had reported that the vessel was "tilting" before losing contact.

The vessel's last position had been detected in the Java Sea, around 150 kilometres (90 miles) from its destination.

Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in Indonesia -- an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands that relies heavily on boat connections for daily transport and tourism.

Lax safety standards and unpredictable weather are the main reasons for the disasters.

On Monday, a speedboat carrying eight people, including five journalists working for local and international news agencies went missing near a volcano, Mount Anak Krakatau, in Banten province and a search is ongoing.

The journalists were sent to cover the volcano's eruption that paralysed Jakarta's main airport and several others.

Last month, a fire on board a ferry killed one person and left five others missing while 211 were rescued in the Lombok Strait off Indonesia's Bali island.

The ferry had been heading from Bali to Lombok when it ran into trouble in the early hours of August 12.

In July, a ferry transporting more than 70 people sank while sailing near Selayar, a small island south of Sulawesi.

"A merchant vessel was struck around 5:00 am (0130 GMT) this morning off the coasts of Hengam and Qeshm islands. One person was killed and three others were injured," Qeshm city governor Amir Teymouri said, according to state TV, without specifying the origin of the strike.

Several explosions were reported overnight around Qeshm, the largest island in the Hormuz strait.

The deadly incident comes a day before a meeting between Iran and Gulf states in Oman, which also borders the strait, over the blockaded route crucial for global oil and gas trade.

Control over the strait has become a major flashpoint in the conflict between Iran and the United States in their six-month war.

In retaliation for attacks by the United States and Israel that started the war on February 28, Iran has blocked the waterway, a passage that was previously free and unobstructed before the conflict began.

Iran now requires vessels to obtain authorisation to pass through the strait, citing security and sovereignty concerns, and is considering a mechanism to impose service fees.

Vessels that fail to comply are frequently targeted by Iranian strikes, while the United States sporadically bombs the Iranian coast in a bid to challenge Tehran's control of the strait.

Opinion polls have long credited the four parties in the left-wing bloc with a comfortable lead over conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's four-party alliance, which includes the far-right Sweden Democrats.

But the gap narrowed to a dead heat in the final days of the campaign.

The leader of the opposition, Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats, which governed the Scandinavian country for the better part of the 20th century, has pledged to bolster the welfare state and help struggling households cope with rising costs if the four parties on the left win a majority on Sunday.

Outgoing conservative Prime Minister Kristersson has meanwhile vowed to focus on improving Swedes' everyday lives now that his government's clampdown on organised crime and immigration has achieved its intended results.

Kristersson has governed with the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats for the past four years, and has promised the anti-immigration party cabinet posts for the first time if the four parties on the right win the election.

Voting stations will close at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) when exit polls will be published, with the first reliable results expected several hours later.

After the Friday night attack on the East-West pipeline, Baghdad sacked the military commander in Missan province near the Iran border, after authorities determined the drones were launched from there.

The government then closed three crossings, citing the need to reorganise operations and boost intelligence efforts to stop violations.

Two Iraqi security sources told AFP on Saturday that drone launchers were found near the al-Shib border crossing in Missan.

The government's security media cell said Sunday that "after reviewing operations at the border crossings," they would gradually reopen for passengers and trade on a timeline from Sunday until Thursday.

The crossings are Shalamsheh in Basra, al-Shib in Missan, and al-Mandali in Diyala.

Shalamsheh and al-Shib reopened to passengers on Sunday but not to trade, the government media cell said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and an alliance of Iran-backed Iraqi armed factions said they hadn't struck the pipeline, though Riyadh had previously accused Iraqi groups of targeting its oil infrastructure.

In July, the United States and Saudi Arabia said they had struck Iran-backed militants in Iraq in response to attacks on US forces and Saudi oil facilities.

Pro-Iran armed groups have supported Tehran during the Middle East war, claiming hundreds of attacks on US bases in Iraq and across the region.

When a disaster response team finally pulled him to safety on September 4, Sah's first question showed how deeply the ordeal had disoriented him.

"When I was rescued I first asked, how many days has it been?" Sah, 30, told AFP in an interview, while on his way back home in Saptari district Sunday.

"He said that it has been 10 days. I thought it had been just a few days."

Sah was among hundreds of workers at a series of hydropower projects hit by the catastrophic August 26 flood, triggered by a glacial mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border.

Sah's extraordinary survival was a rare ray of hope after a disaster that killed at least 1,429 people and left more than 5,640 missing, the majority in Nepal.

Struggling to hold back tears as friends and family welcomed him with garlands and a cake, Sah recalled how the disaster struck with stunning speed.

"I was on duty, and then suddenly an unthinkable flood hit us, with tsunami-like waves that were several metres tall," he said.

Workers had received warnings that floodwaters were approaching, but did not get enough time to escape, he said.

"We did get information to stay alert, that a big flood is coming. As much as possible, we tried to be alert and evacuate our friends," Sah said.

"But the water did not give us much time... we shut down everything, and tried to rescue and evacuate our friends."

Within minutes, however, the tunnel was engulfed by raging waters.

The sheer scale of the flood was unlike anything witnesses had seen before, with the government pointing the finger at the dire impact of rising global temperatures on Nepal's Himalayan mountains.

- 'Divine energy' -

Separated from his colleagues, Sah found himself stranded with little idea whether anyone would ever reach him.

His Hindu faith helped carry him through the days of darkness and isolation.

"I survived because of my deep belief and confidence," he said.

"I was chanting Maha Mantra (Hindu prayers), and the divine energy I received because of that allowed me to not be scared or despair," he said.

"I was able to stay there."

With no clean water to drink, he survived on whatever he could find.

"There was water, but it was muddy," he said. "I only had that."

The darkness and isolation might have been overwhelming, but Sah was not entirely alone.

Another trapped worker, Kabir Maharjan, 45, had survived nearby.

"We were separated but speaking to each other."

The ability to hear another human voice offered a lifeline to Sah.

Eventually, after days of excavation and painstaking rescue efforts, search teams broke through to the trapped men and brought them out alive.

Sah's wife, Lakshmi Kumari Sah, said she never gave up hope of seeing her husband again.

"God has helped us, we had our hopes," she said, holding her daughter in her arms.

Sah, who spent several days recuperating in a Kathmandu hospital, says he has mixed emotions.

"I am happy, but I feel sad too," he said. "I was able to get a second life, to survive there. But many of our friends were there."

As rescuers continue searching through the tunnels, Sah urged authorities not to abandon the effort.

One Chinese worker was rescued on September 5, the day after Sah -- but no signs of life have been heard since.

"I hope the government continues its search and rescue. It is possible there might still be someone alive," he said.

"Or they will be able to find bodies of friends who have passed away and hand them over to their families."

An area roughly a third of Hong Kong including villages, natural wetlands and farmland is being converted into the "Northern Metropolis", an ambitious project aimed at deepening integration with the mainland, diversifying the economy and providing new homes.

"I can't bear to leave... If not for the government developing this area, I would likely spend the rest of my life here. After all, I belong here," Chan told AFP as he packed up belongings in his yard.

Touted as a "new economic engine" to accommodate around 2.5 million residents and provide 650,000 jobs, the project will link Hong Kong more closely with Macau and nine cities in mainland China that make up the Greater Bay Area.

But the government's vision for a Silicon Valley-like high-tech hub in Hong Kong comes at a huge cost to the city's wildlife, local communities and public finances, environmental and social groups warned.

"If you build a new city in a place that was well preserved before, it would inevitably be very destructive, no matter how you mitigate it," said Brian Wong of Liber Research Community, an NGO focused on land issues.

"Do we need to build it so big? Is it too ambitious?" he added.

- Return on investment -

The Northern Metropolis project, announced five years ago, will eventually cover 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres).

Liber said at least 25 villages will be demolished to make way for it.

Government departments told AFP they aim to integrate rural areas into the development project, but that Chan's ancestral houses were not culturally significant enough to preserve.

Plans to integrate Hong Kong with mainland China have long faced opposition in the former British colony, where critics warn such moves would erode the city's autonomy.

But a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong in 2020 after huge pro-democracy protests has stymied dissent in the financial hub.

It "effectively put an end to the 'one country, two systems' framework that allowed Hong Kong a 'high degree of autonomy', so greater integration with the Greater Bay Area would logically follow," Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute, told AFP.

The government says the Northern Metropolis will cost at least HK$224 billion (US$28.6 billion), while global ratings agency S&P estimates it could top HK$360 billion.

Authorities have promised a return on investment, citing bank estimates -- and a rough 20-year timeline -- that the project will account for 13 percent of Hong Kong's gross domestic product.

Tech hubs across the border in mainland China, such as Alibaba's hometown of Hangzhou, are expanding far faster, spurred by AI investors such as Deepseek and Unitree Robotics.

Hong Kong is "less relevant for China's national tech ambitions" than mainland powerhouses like Shenzhen, said Gary Ng, a senior economist at Natixis.

But it can nevertheless provide what they cannot: international connections, university research, and deep capital markets.

- 'Sacrifice' -

Last month, the first large-scale land sale in the Northern Metropolis was awarded to a consortium of six companies, including Chinese state-owned enterprises and e-commerce giant JD.com, to build housing and a logistics centre in Chan's area.

Hannah Jeong of commercial real estate firm CBRE told AFP that policy support will first attract mainland Chinese companies wanting to build research centres and take advantage of its lower taxes and talent, data and capital flows.

"With that flow, more manpower coming in, talent coming in... forefign companies will also gradually (invest)," Jeong said.

The biggest hurdle to the Northern Metropolis' success is "how to maintain an efficient cross-border flow, and at the same time maintaining the confidence that the international community has in Hong Kong's uniqueness", said Wilson Chan, co-founder of the Pagoda Institute think tank.

In her village, Niki So had watched helplessly as her neighbours' homes were torn down, waiting for the bulldozers to reach the house where her family lived for three generations.

The 42-year-old received a public housing flat in compensation, but told AFP she will miss the village where neighbours are like family.

In July, So opened her gate to dozens of lands department officials and police, who declared the area government property.

"I hope the development here will go well, that it will thrive," So said.

"If it doesn't turn out as expected then I think the sacrifice of this village would be quite unfortunate."

weather from Surabaya in Indonesia to another port city, rescue officials said Sunday.

"We have received the report regarding the loss of contact with the Virgo Transport 8 vessel and

have immediately deployed personnel and KN SAR Laksmana 241 to the estimated last known position,"

said I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office.

France's permanent mission to the UN published the apology Friday, saying it regretted a post on X criticizing the United States' commitment to human rights.

"France and the United States recently took different positions on a vote at the United Nations General Assembly. This difference concerned one vote, and not the defense of human rights," the mission said in an English statement on its website.

"Public differences of opinion on one vote do not stand in the way of close dialogue with the United States, and do not call into question our historical alliance, nor our ability to work together to advance peace, stability and prosperity, including within multilateral forums," the statement continued.

The mea culpa was well-received by Washington, which has been holding up the appointment of France's next US ambassador as a result of the dispute.

"We note and appreciate France's statement and look forward to working together to further shared values and interests," a US State Department official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The US State Department has held up the approval of Aurelien Lechevallier, French President Emmanuel Macron's choice as France's next envoy to Washington, replacing Laurent Bili.

Lechevallier is currently French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot's chief of staff.

US approval of a choice of French envoy is usually a formality but has remained in limbo since the dispute.

On July 24, the United States was one of 10 countries to vote in the UN General Assembly against extending Volker Turk's term as UN human rights chief, joining the ranks of North Korea, Russia and Nicaragua, among others.

"The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore," the French mission wrote in a post on X after the United States strongly opposed another term by Turk, who has repeatedly questioned US policies under President Donald Trump.

The criticism was met with immediate backlash from Washington, with the US representative walking out of a UN Security Council meeting days later when France's ambassador took the floor, in protest of the comments.

Exports of electricity to neighbouring countries including Thailand and Vietnam are a key source of revenue for the landlocked nation, designated as a least developed country by the United Nations.

But most of the power generated leaves the country and, combined with an ageing grid, that results in frequent outages and sometimes having to import electricity to meet demand.

When the power cuts out after dark in Vientiane, families wander outside to avoid the stifling heat indoors, using cell phones to light their way.

At one of the two main public hospitals, a doctor in the pediatrics emergency department is used to watching medical equipment suddenly shut down until the generators kick in.

"Over the past three to six months, we've often faced electricity problems, especially at the children's centre," said the doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"A ventilator came to a halt, but we do have a generator at the hospital."

When old wiring recently caused an electrical fire in the alley outside the hospital, a blackout cut power to X-ray, ultrasound and ventilator equipment, she said.

Elsewhere in the city, a front-desk staffer at a health clinic said power outages occurred two to three times a week, usually announced beforehand.

Without a generator, "we have to reconnect the electricity from a store next to us", said the staffer, who also requested anonymity in a one-party communist state where authorities do not tolerate dissent.

When the power is restored, the cry rings out across the city: "It's back!"

- Direct lines -

Laos exported around two-thirds of its total generated electricity in 2023, according to the World Bank, but experts say that figure is now even higher.

One former technical expert at state utility Electricite du Laos (EDL) put the figure at around 80 percent.

In the decade to 2024, annual electricity exports more than tripled, from 12 terawatt-hours (TWh) to 38 TWh, according to official data -- enough to power Paris for a year and a half.

In 2023, they brought in $2.65 billion, according to the government, often sold in deals struck by the state with businesses that invest in Laos's infrastructure.

"Transmission lines from most projects are 'dedicated' to their customers," said Grant Hauber, an Asia adviser at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

"Meaning they are not connected domestically to Laos consumers."

Much of Laos's distribution grid dates back to the 1970s, and now struggles to keep pace with an increasingly modern economy of tourism, massive infrastructure, urban development and air conditioning.

In Vientiane, a power line once used for one household now covers whole apartment blocks with many units, straining old transformers. In rural areas, if a tree falls onto the power lines, it can cause a blackout for one village, sometimes several, because there is no backup.

Bounchan Manochit, a shop owner in northern Luang Prabang province, said that with no lights, wild animals may enter residents' homes at night.

"We can't see them," she said. "It can be dangerous."

- Foreign investment -

Almost all of Laos's population of eight million has access to electricity, up from just 15 percent in 1995, according to the government.

But EDL, charged with maintaining the grid, is tackling large debts incurred during the expansion and due to consumer subsidies.

With hydropower accounting for 80 percent of production as of 2024, supply dwindles in the dry season from March to August.

At times, Laos has struggled to provide power to its neighbours and finds itself importing energy, at significant cost, according to a recent World Bank report.

"Electricity production has already fallen short of domestic demand and export contracts on several occasions," it said.

Laos's main export market is Thailand but it is diversifying its client and energy mix.

Vietnam has recently stepped up imports, including through Laos's Monsoon Wind project, the region's largest wind farm that became operational last year.

Researcher Le Hong Hiep of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute noted the growing demands of Vietnam's manufacturing sector and the country's own issues with energy production -- but said politics also played a part.

"Vietnam also wants to import more electricity from Laos to increase its leverage over Laos," part of a wider contest with China for influence in Vientiane, he said.

The energy from the Monsoon Wind project is destined only for Vietnam.

"Zero for local," noted the former expert at EDL.

Houthi fighters control a large part of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa and Hodeida in the west. They have advanced along the coast in just days and on Thursday seized the port city of Mokha.

The Houthis have since taken control of the coastline and islands in the Red Sea, and on Friday tightened their grip on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is vital to global shipping through the Suez Canal.

"1400 #refugees arrived in #Djibouti from #Yemen in just 24 hours," Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh wrote on X.

Located opposite Yemen on the Horn of Africa, tiny Djibouti borders the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden.

Safiya Ibrahim, humanitarian response coordinator for the International Organization for Migration, told AFP that "vulnerable groups such as women and children have reached the shores of Obock, with more expected in the coming days".

According to the United Nations, at least 76,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since July, with the number quadrupling in the last week after the latest fighting.

Last week, Houthi fighters launched a new offensive against Saudi-backed government forces, targeting zones bordering the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The waterway has taken on new importance, particularly for Saudi oil exports, since the Strait of Hormuz was blocked by Iran.

Hundreds have been killed in the fighting on both sides.

Washington announced in July that it had charged Katungi Michael Mpeirwe and three other suspects with conspiring to supply some $54 million worth of weapons, including to the notorious Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG).

Mpeirwe, a close associate of Ugandan army chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, and his co-accused -- a Bulgarian, Kenyan and Tanzanian -- allegedly intended to provide machine guns, rocket launchers and anti-personnel mines.

They also sought to supply the cartels with surface-to-air missiles, drones and anti-aircraft guns, according to US prosecutors.

Kainerugaba's father is Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni.

The commissioner general of prisons in Uganda, Johnson Byabashaija, told AFP that Mpeirwe "has been handed over to the United States authorities".

"They have him now."

According to a Ugandan security source, Mpeirwe, a former military intelligence officer and diplomat, was arrested on June 27 in an upmarket part of Kampala and brought before a court two days later.

The Ugandan judiciary announced at the end of last month that his extradition was imminent.

But the government also suggested that the spread of the disease may already have peaked, despite the virus having been confirmed in a seventh province earlier this week.

The DRC officially detected the latest outbreak in mid-May, with nearly 3,400 people killed in its 17th epidemic of the highly infectious virus.

It began in the northeastern Ituri province before spreading to conflict-plagued, remote eastern and northern regions where armed groups have roamed for decades, the presence of the state is weak and health infrastructure is lacking.

The disease was confirmed in South-Ubangi, which borders the Central African Republic and Congo-Brazzaville, earlier this week.

According to the latest figures from the Congolese authorities, 7,022 cases have been recorded since the beginning of the epidemic. Of that number, 3,398 people have died and 1,671 have recovered.

"The peak was reached at the beginning of the third week of August," Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya wrote on X on Saturday.

"All the indicators show a decrease in the number of cases," he added, specifying that "10 of the 61 health zones" affected by the epidemic have not recorded any new cases "for at least 21 days".

Most of the recorded cases are in Ituri, where Ebola has been detected in schools in the days after the post-summer holiday return to classes, causing alarm among parents and health workers.

"We are very worried because we don't know which child comes from which family or what the health status of the members of that family is," Angele Magani, the mother of a student in Bunia, Ituri's provincial capital, told AFP.

"We are so scared, even though the school authorities reassure us about the health measures that have been put in place," she added.

Bunia school official Roger Mungimbo said "there is a mandatory hand-washing system with soap, and we have also done everything possible to have a maximum of 30 pupils per classroom."

"We regularly make the children aware that they must not touch each other" and wash their hands regularly, he added.

Ebola, which has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the last 50 years, is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and can cause severe internal and external bleeding and organ failure.

The current epidemic is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment. Several treatments and vaccines are being tested.

It comes after the United States welcomed Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to North Carolina for another G20 meeting in early September, causing discomfort among Ukraine's European allies.

"A Russian delegation will participate in the meeting of energy ministers held under the US presidency of the G20 in Houston from September 14 to 16," Marat Berdyev, the ambassador responsible for overseeing G20-related issues, said on Telegram.

Representatives from Russia's energy, foreign and natural resources ministries would be involved in the delegation, Berdyev added, without specifying who those representatives would be.

"Russian ideas are becoming increasingly sought after regarding flexible energy mixes, technological neutrality, the role of fossil fuels in general and of natural gas and peaceful nuclear energy in particular," he said.

The announcement follows the "discomfort", as Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne put it in an interview with AFP, Siluanov's presence at the Asheville meeting of finance ministers caused Ukraine's Western allies.

"We do not think now is the time to normalise Russia" or its presence at such talks, EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis said.

Washington has recently upped efforts to break a diplomatic stalemate in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II, which began when Russia launched its full-scale Ukraine offensive in 2022.

Days after the Asheville meeting, US President Donald Trump sent his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv for talks on ending the fighting.

Trump had pushed for Moscow and Kyiv to strike a deal to halt fighting, but his initial 28-point plan was criticised by Kyiv and Europe as caving in to the Kremlin's demands.

The Group of 20 major economies comprises 19 nations plus the EU and the African Union. The body was established in the wake of the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis to boost global economic and financial stability.

The US president touched down at Dublin airport in his Qatari-gifted plane shortly before 8:25 am (0725 GMT), AFP reporters saw.

At least 4,000 police and other personnel, including snipers, have been mobilised for the visit, in what has been dubbed one of the biggest security operations ever mounted in Ireland.

Thousands of anti-Trump protesters are planning to rally in Dublin, where the US leader will hold separate meetings with Ireland's taoiseach (prime minister) Micheal Martin and President Catherine Connolly.

Trump is then due to fly to his luxury resort in Doonbeg, on Ireland's west coast, where some of the world's top golfers are competing in the Irish Open tournament.

The golf-mad president -- whose relaxed relationship with the game's rules was documented by sports journalist Rick Reilly in the 2019 book "Commander in Cheat" -- may even award the trophy on Sunday.

"He's really just visiting the golf resort he owns and dropping into Dublin for a courtesy visit," Daniel Geary, a US history professor at Trinity College Dublin, told AFP.

"He sees little difference between his private interests and his role as president."

- 'Business' -

The 80-year-old billionaire has promoted his family's golf business unabashedly since returning to the White House for his second stint as president in January 2025.

Last summer, he welcomed then-UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen to his plush resort at Turnberry on the west coast of Scotland.

Trump then inaugurated another golf course bearing his name in the town of Balmedie, near Aberdeen on the northeast Scottish coast.

"He certainly sends a message that he is passionately interested in his own family's business," University of Minnesota law professor Richard Painter said ahead of the Ireland trip.

"It's not going to help the Republican party in the midterms to have the president... promoting his golf courses for the super-wealthy, when other people are having trouble making ends meet," the expert on government ethics added.

The security operation for Trump's visit is reportedly costing Ireland 20 million euros ($23 million) and comes as the country already grapples with a massive policing operation for its six-month presidency of the EU.

Trump's attendance at Doonbeg -- a remote, coastal site in County Clare that the Trump Organization purchased in 2014 -- adds an extra layer of complexity to the security effort.

Some 40,000 fans are expected at the tournament over the weekend, with six-time major winner and current world number two Rory McIlroy the main draw.

McIlroy, who has played golf with Trump, told the BBC this week that the tournament will feel "different" with the US president on site, but that the players will just "keep our heads down and play".

- 'Short and courteous' -

Trump's first meeting is with Connolly, who occupies the largely ceremonial role of president. She is a left-winger and Trump critic, who is under pressure to raise Gaza during their discussions.

Trump will then see Irish leader Martin, whom he has hosted twice in the Oval Office and appears to get on well with.

The Middle East, including America's and Israel's war on Iran, and US tariffs on EU pharmaceuticals and immigration are likely to be on the agenda.

Ireland and the United States have long been close allies, partly because of their common ancestral ties.

But the Irish government's politics diverge sharply with that of the Trump administration on many issues -- particularly support for the Palestinians.

Ireland is among several countries, including Spain, the UK and France, that have announced a trade ban targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

"Martin is experienced enough that it should be fine at the political level. The big uncertainty is President Connolly," Eoin O'Malley, a political scientist at Dublin City University, told AFP.

"She protested against his last visit (in 2019), and her supporters will expect her to make some show for them. But she's also aware that she cannot do or say anything that might inflict damage on the relationship.

"I expect it will be short and courteous."

The conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, along with global trade turbulence and energy security, will dominate the two-day meeting of the 11-nation bloc.

But Xi's visit is also being closely watched as his first to neighbouring India since 2019, and the biggest step yet in a cautious thaw between the nuclear-armed rivals.

Xi was given a red-carpet welcome, with an honour guard of soldiers and traditional dancers in colourful dresses.

His arrival comes six years after a deadly 2020 military clash along their disputed Tibetan border, with ties gradually improving through restored flights, visas and high-level contacts.

Beijing said on Friday it was "ready to work with India... by strengthening communication, enhancing cooperation, and properly handling differences".

The underlying territorial dispute remains unresolved, and both sides retain heavy military deployments along their roughly 3,500-kilometre (2,175-mile) high-altitude border along Tibet.

- 'Substantial harvest' -

Xi is due to hold face-to-face talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Saturday, according to New Delhi's foreign ministry.

"They are looking for 'early and substantial harvest' when it comes to the border issue," said Pradeep Taneja, a China-India expert at the University of Melbourne.

"You cannot have a build-up of your forces on the border... but at the same time say 'we should continue to have people-to-people relations and economic relationships'."

Deep mistrust remains, with their contested Himalayan frontier, a widening trade deficit and strategic rivalry still complicating ties.

Dozens of Tibetans protested in New Delhi on Friday -- exiles, like their Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since fleeing a Chinese crackdown in 1959 -- waving placards against Xi's visit.

Modi embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday before talks. Putin, who last visited India in December 2025, is one of New Delhi's most important strategic partners.

India has navigated the energy crisis caused by the US-Iran war in part by turning to Russia, despite Moscow's war in Ukraine and pressure from Washington and other Western capitals.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, also in New Delhi on Friday, said that pressure on Iran "has reached a critical and dangerous stage" following the "military aggression by the United States and Israel".

Modi and Pezeshkian also held talks.

India maintains cordial relations with Iran and Israel, but is also careful to strike a delicate balance in its ties with Washington.

- 'Big constraint' -

BRICS was created in 2009 as a forum for major emerging economies seeking greater influence in institutions dominated by Western powers.

Modi told leaders that BRICS nations "represent 50 percent of the world's population, 40 percent of global GDP, and more than 25 percent of global trade".

As well as Iran, BRICS includes Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- countries with sharply differing positions on the war launched by the United States and Israel in February.

UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi are also to attend.

Brazil is represented by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva campaigning for a fourth term in October elections.

BRICS foreign ministers failed to agree on a joint statement when they met in New Delhi in May.

"The Gulf conflict is going to be the central fault line this time during the BRICS summit," said Harsh V. Pant of India's Observer Research Foundation.

"What was seen until last year as an achievement -- the expansion of BRICS -- today looks like a big constraint on BRICS," Pant said.

"NAZA", which features Israeli whistleblowers analysing the mass killing of civilians in Gaza, earned a record 25-minute standing ovation at its premiere on Thursday and is the highest-scored film by international critics, according to film magazine Screen.

But it faces competition from other well-received movies, including poignant relationship study "Possible Love" by South Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong, and dark comedy "Wild Horse Nine" by British-Irish director Martin McDonagh.

The latter features Malkovich playing a jaded CIA agent taking a break with a colleague on Easter Island in Chile ahead of the 1973 American-backed military coup there in a performance that has seen him tipped by some critics for Oscar glory.

As a director of one of the few films that had audiences laughing in Venice, director McDonagh said his acid sense of humour was his way of coping with the state of the world.

"The only way to deal with it is through humour and to try not to be ground down by it," he told AFP.

Others tackled issues from war, corruption or economic inequality, with intensely personal stories about people faced with clear moral choices but who end up compromising themselves.

That was the case for the widely hailed "DAU" about Soviet nuclear scientist Lev Landau, Danny Boyle's "Ink" about Britain's The Sun tabloid newspaper, or "Primetime" starring Robert Pattinson as an ambitious paedophile-hunting TV presenter.

The only feature film directed by a woman in competition was the ironically titled "Woman Unknown" by Danish-Egyptian director May el-Toukhy -- and a victory on Saturday night would send a clear message about gender representation at the festival.

"I would have loved to have more female colleagues in competition," the director told AFP after the premiere of the World War II drama about a bride-to-be hiding the shame of her past relationship with a Nazi.

Providing some more tender fare about the wonder of friendship was Japan's Hirokazu Kore-eda who presented "Look Back", an adaptation of a top-selling manga about two schoolgirls who dream of becoming manga artists.

- Jury decision -

The Venice Golden Lion for best film is one of the industry's most prestigious awards and serves as marketing gold dust for a film while also boosting its chances in Hollywood's end-of-year awards season.

If chosen, Israeli-made "NAZA" by Oscar winners Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor would be a politically charged decision from the jury, which is headed this year by US actress-director Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Based on testimony from 24 Israeli whistleblowers, all of them with digitally altered identities, "NAZA" provides detailed first-hand accounts of the AI-powered bombing of Gaza, where 73,500 have been killed since October 2023, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there.

"It's like a video game because everything is done remotely," one interviewee said of using the targeting system which has been used to flatten most of the besieged enclave.

The Israeli military criticised the use of anonymous testimonies in the film, saying on Friday the identities of the whistleblowers "cannot be verified".

The film's hand-aching 25-minute ovation at the premiere is no guarantee of success -- documentaries are a relatively new inclusion in the main competition of film festivals and rarely emerge as winners.

Last year, docudrama "The Voice of Hind Rajab" about the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl by Israeli troops in Gaza was given a then-record 23-minute ovation by shell-shocked festival-goers, but went home with second prize.

Amid rumours of resignation threats and rows on the jury, American director Alexander Payne and his team of fellow panellists opted instead for the uncontroversial "Father Mother Sister Brother" from Jim Jarmusch.

The closing ceremony starts in Venice from 7 pm (1700 GMT)

Pema is one of thousands of Bhutanese growing hazelnuts as part of a social enterprise hoping to help subsistence farmers develop a high-value crop. Mountain Hazelnuts began in 2009 as Bhutan's first 100-percent foreign direct investment project in the agriculture sector. More than 40 percent of Bhutan's workforce is in agriculture, but production remains largely subsistence-based and is complicated by the country's mountainous terrain. Steep slopes can be impossible to plough and prone to topsoil washing away in heavy rain. Hazelnuts seemed to offer a solution.

They grow well at high altitudes and on mountainsides, require no ploughing and their roots can fix soil in place. Hazelnuts are also a high-value crop with a growing market, and the trees can produce for decades. That was what attracted Pema, who has been farming for 40 years. "I thought hazelnuts would be better in terms of fetching a better price," she said. "I hoped that it would benefit us in the future." - Learning curves - Mountain Hazelnuts distributed its first saplings in 2011, over 145,000 plants to 800 growers. Each recruit's land was assessed for suitability and to ensure the crop was not displacing anything. Growers can only use land that is fallow or degraded, with the goal of increasing Bhutan's overall farming output and improving the country's soil. Dawa Dhendup, 82, was keen to put the trees on a steep stretch of his farm where he had struggled to grow potatoes. "It was hard annual labour.

But once the hazelnut trees are planted, it's permanent." In sunglasses to protect his eyes after cataract surgery, he cut a sprightly figure as he harvested nuts from his 1,400 trees. The company said it now has around 9,000 families growing hazelnuts on 6,000 acres of land across Bhutan. But in some ways, the project is only just getting off the ground after a series of setbacks and learning curves. A mismatch between production and polliniser saplings in early planting delayed fruiting, and had to be solved by mass grafting of polliniser plants into orchards.

The pandemic struck another blow, cutting farmers off from outreach officers who advise them on tending the crop. And then there was climate change. The hazelnut variety the company initially distributed needs around three months of cool temperatures to develop properly. But climate change meant trees at lower altitudes were getting as little as six weeks of colder temperatures. The company again turned to grafting, using stock from Georgia that required fewer "chill-hours" for plants growing between 1,600 and 2,400 metres (5,250 and 7,870 feet).

- 'Patient capital' - In a best-case scenario, hazelnut trees take several years to fruit, and the various setbacks and extended waiting time meant some farmers simply abandoned the project. But both Pema and Dawa said neighbours who had given up were now reconsidering. "I'm harvesting and the price is increasing, and they're regretting their decision and feeling envious," Dawa said. Still, like most growers, he does not yet generate significant income from the nuts.

The company has said it will be increasing the price it offers growers, and with trees reaching maturity and yields expected to increase, income should start to rise. Investors have so far ploughed $36 million in Mountain Hazelnuts, and for now the company remains reliant on what CEO Sean Watson calls "patient capital". It hopes to be "cash flow positive" by 2031, Watson said, and to reach 10,000 metric tons of production.

That is a long way from the current 30 metric tons, but "fruiting is starting to really kick in", and production is expected to at least double each year, Watson added. Seated next to flat baskets full of drying hazelnuts, Pema said she had already benefited because the trees have stopped soil from sliding onto her home during heavy rain. "Every year the yields are increasing," she said. "If I had more land, I would have planted more."

AFP watched tents being set up to accept 30 bodies brought from the M/V June Aster, which ran aground near the tourist hotspot after a fire erupted Wednesday evening and tore through the vessel "in seconds".

Coast guard spokeswoman Noemie Cayabyab told a Saturday press conference the remains would be turned over to police forensic investigators for "proper disposition and identification" before allowing local authorities to inform family members.

"Currently, we are focused on the retrieval, and after that we will proceed with the investigation," she said, confirming the bodies had been found in the ship's economy accommodation area.

Police investigators were seen arriving at the port shortly after the press conference ended.

Asked how many bodies remained aboard the ship, she said authorities would provide an update later in the day.

Cayabyab told AFP on Friday evening that the first transfer had been capped at 30 bodies due to the capacity of the patrol vessel transporting them and that additional cadavers remained on the ferry.

Five others had been confirmed dead in the immediate wake of the fire.

Photos released by the coast guard showed rows of body bags being placed into a small ship alongside men in hazmat suits.

Thirty passengers and 13 crew have so far been rescued, while 54 people remain unaccounted for.

On Friday, Cayabyab had told a radio station the fire had begun in the cargo hold, then tore through the ship within seconds.

"From the time that they heard the loud explosion, the appearance of smoke, and then fire. It spread very quickly," she said of survivors' accounts.

"Everything happened in seconds," she said, adding that those who made it off the ship had not even had time to put on life jackets.

- 'Lost hope' -

Myra Cabilan told AFP she had flown to Coron to find her missing brother, 40-year-old Rammel Gonzaga, who had taken the ferry from Manila on a business trip with his brother-in-law.

"His wife had just given birth a month ago. He was so happy he was given a daughter," Cabilan said, fighting back tears.

"At dawn, I still believed he survived. But he's still missing. I have lost hope."

Hundreds of people desperate for news about the incident have taken to leaving comments on the Facebook page of a local mayor, searching for relatives, friends and even a dog.

The ferry's manifest listed 134 crew and passengers, but two had not boarded, according to the coast guard. The ferry was also carrying goods, an electric vehicle, a pickup truck, and motorcycles.

The archipelago nation of 116 million has a long history of disasters involving the inter-island ferries that ply its seas.

Many rely on cheap and poorly regulated boats and ships for transport between the country's more than 7,000 islands, despite regular accidents.

In January, a triple-decker ferry carrying more than 340 people sank off the southern Philippines, killing at least 52 people.

The M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 sank along nearly the same route where 31 people died in 2023 after a fire broke out aboard the Lady Mary Joy 3 ferry.

On Thursday, the company that owns the M/V June Aster, Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc, said it was fully cooperating with the investigation.

The train was running between the Normandy cities of Rouen and Caen, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said on X.

It derailed around 7:45 pm (1745 GMT), local authorities said in a statement, and a mass-casualty response plan had been activated.

Rouen prosecutor Sebastien Gallois said 44 people were injured including one woman evacuated "in a critical condition", while "tests" on the train driver had come back negative.

 SNCF Reseau, which controls the French rail network, told AFP that traffic on the line has been suspended and power to the tracks cut to allow emergency services to operate.

 "The priority is to care for the passengers and then to restore safe operating conditions," SNCF Reseau said.

 Rail authorities and the police are investigating the causes of the accident.

Tamang is among more than 500 children separated from their parents by the catastrophic August 26 flooding that hit the China-Nepal border, sweeping away homes, bridges and houses.

Nepal's disaster agency said Friday that 1,385 bodies had been retrieved, while 5,130 people remained missing. In China, state media says 43 people are dead and 519 missing.

The flood that first hit Nepal's high-altitude Rasuwa district claimed the life of Tamang's mother, but her body is yet to be found.

Tamang's younger sister is now battling pneumonia in hospital, and her father stays by her bedside.

While her life has been upended by the country's worst-ever flood disaster, one thing remains unchanged -- Tamang still wants to become a doctor.

"I get nightmares about the flood," the shy seventh grader said as she finished an essay in her neat handwriting at a temporary learning centre run by Save the Children charity in Nuwakot district. "But I have dreams."

Nearby, children -- some of them younger than five -- put finishing touches to colourful crayon drawings.

The memory of the day the floods struck is fresh in Tamang's mind.

Her mother, a housekeeper, was at work at a hydropower project office next to the Trishuli River.

"When the water came gushing, my mother could not escape it. I survived because I was at school," said Tamang, her eyes glistening with tears.

The only keepsake that Tamang has of her mother is a black face mask that she had tucked in her bag.

- Shock and trauma -

Save the Children says at least 540 children have been separated from their parents, and are living along with thousands others in relief camps in flood-affected areas, according to a preliminary assessment.

In one of the tented learning centres, teacher Shanti Sapkota said when the children first arrived, many were in a state of shock and panic.

"They would say that 'my house has been taken away', 'my father has been swept away' or 'my mother has been swept away'," Sapkota told AFP.

"But they are slowly moving on from that state of mind."

Nepal's government has said it will guarantee education through high school for affected children, with support ranging from residential care to full scholarships.

Along with its stakeholders, the government has committed to establishing a $6.5-million scholarship fund for some 1,000 students affected by the floods.

"We are giving priority to children who have lost their guardians," said education minister Sasmit Pokharel.

"We will identify what kind of support each child needs... We will stand by them," he said on Monday.

At the Nuwakot learning centre, psychologist Ekta Shreshtha said the children were easily triggered by any strange person or noise.

"It is still early days but from my observation, many of them are having trouble sleeping and have retreated into a shell," she told AFP.

"We try to keep them distracted with toys and other fun activities that help them forget their trauma for some time," she said.

"But their whole life is ahead of them. The pain is going to come back again."

A newly released court document revealed that police have been investigating Flavio Bolsonaro since July regarding possible crimes "in the context of financing the production" of a forthcoming film about his father. Police conducted dozens of raids Thursday over the alleged embezzlement of public funds by the company that produced the flattering biopic.

"Dark Horse" -- starring US actor Jim Caviezel as Jair Bolsonaro -- has been under scrutiny as part of a widening corruption scandal that has loomed over the election. "I have nothing to hide. The film is completely legal," Flavio Bolsonaro said at a campaign event on Friday. An investigation of this kind does not prevent someone from running for office in Brazil.

Voters in Latin America's largest economy head to the polls on October 4, deeply polarized and with a weary sense of deja vu as Lula takes on Bolsonaro. The 45-year-old senator Flavio Bolsonaro was thrust into the electoral race after his father was jailed for attempting a coup in 2022. He has styled himself as a "more moderate" version of his firebrand father.

- Neck and neck - The right-wing candidate has vowed to "rescue" Brazil from corruption, crime, high food prices and soaring public debt. His speeches are woven through with references to "God, country, family and freedom." He has also pledged a heavy hand on crime, which polls show is voters' main concern. While Lula has promised to prioritize the fight against organized crime, his challenger blames him for not taking violence seriously enough.

Bolsonaro's campaign has been hit by disclosures that he approached notorious fraud-accused banker Daniel Vorcaro -- head of the collapsed private bank Banco Master -- for money, which Bolsonaro said was to finance "Dark Horse." According to court documents obtained by AFP, investigators believe Flavio Bolsonaro personally met with Vorcaro and discussed the film's financing with him on several occasions.

The documents also point to the transfer of $12.3 million from a company indirectly linked to Vorcaro to another tied to an attorney for Eduardo Bolsonaro, Flavio's younger brother. A police source told AFP that the targets of Thursday's raids included Karina Gama, head of the company that produced "Dark Horse," and Mario Frias, a pro-Bolsonaro congressman listed as the film's executive producer. Both have been banned from leaving Brazil pending the investigation's outcome.

Frias has said he is innocent, denouncing the "smoke screen" probe. Police officials said the money came from parliamentary funds available to lawmakers to finance special projects, usually in their electoral strongholds. Vorcaro's alleged interactions with Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, whom he apparently asked for legal help days before his arrest, have meanwhile triggered a crisis in Brazil's top court.

"The impact of corruption scandals is much greater for Lula's campaign than for Flavio's," said political scientist Mayra Goulart from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. However, new evidence against Bolsonaro closer to the election could influence "voters whose choice is less clearly defined," she told AFP. Lula was imprisoned for 580 days on corruption charges in 2018 and 2019, but his conviction was later overturned. He and Flavio Bolsonaro are neck-and-neck in voting intentions ahead of the first round. If, as expected, no one wins an outright majority, a runoff will be held on October 25.

 The August 26 tsunami-like surge of water, mud and debris from a glacial mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border left more than 5,650 missing, including hundreds of foreigners.

 Both China and Nepal have gone after fabricated posts on the flood.

 But Beijing has gone further to suppress eyewitness video footage and punish people challenging official figures, in an information crackdown that rights groups say follows a familiar pattern.

 Information transmitted by Chinese state media on the flood gave little voice to the missing people's relatives and focused on emergency workers' recovery efforts in Tibet, where foreign journalists do not enjoy unfettered access.

 Nepal has pressured social media platforms and news outlets to remove fabricated visuals -- including some debunked by AFP fact-checkers -- but Kathmandu offers regular updates of death tolls via social media. Direct commentary from families of victims is readily available on and offline.

 Umesh Shrestha, chair of the independent regulatory body Press Council Nepal, said it had asked more than 100 social media accounts to remove content. Most obeyed.

 "Things can spread very quickly," Shrestha said.

 Nepali police arrested one man who allegedly shared a fabricated donation to a relief fund to promote his personal account.

 The disaster came just ahead of the one-year anniversary of anti-corruption protests that toppled the previous government, triggered by a social media ban.

 China penalised 10 people accused of spreading falsehoods online, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

 They include some who allegedly suggested the actual death toll was higher than official figures.

 Beijing's foreign ministry insists the release of information has been "open, transparent and timely", and criticised what it has called "malicious smearing and sensationalism".

 It also organised a trip for a small number of foreign media to the Tibetan epicentre of the disaster.

 - 'Public panic' -

 AFP fact-checkers have debunked dozens of claims about the floods in multiple languages.

 One video that falsely claimed to show the glacial and mountain collapse that caused the flooding -- posted on Facebook and X -- was filmed in Alaska's Columbia Glacier days beforehand.

 Other footage created using Google's AI tools showed water breaching a riverbank and flooding streets and amassed tens of thousands of interactions.

 "During disasters, public panic is high," said Nepali investigative journalist Rabi Raj Baral, who is also a member of the Press Council Nepal.

 But both Nepal and China have not only gone after fabrications, but have also targeted posts including some sharing genuine footage.

 Nepali authorities have held talks with Meta and TikTok to speed up the removal of AI content, graphic images and fraudulent aid schemes.

 Both platforms pay AFP to fact-check posts with potentially false information.

 Video verified by AFP as showing the deluge engulfing Gyirong Port -- the border post with Nepal -- and other eyewitness content have largely disappeared from the Chinese internet.

 Social media sites such as Douyin and Weibo have instead featured extensive state media coverage of search operations, without naming the missing or showing much footage of families' reactions.

 - 'Atmosphere of mistrust' -

 AFP fact-checkers found flood-related misinformation is mostly absent from Chinese platforms, although conspiracy theories have blossomed abroad.

 Posts shared from Canada to South Korea allege China lied about the death toll, and that its dam construction projects caused the disaster -- even though scientists say a glacial collapse in Nepal was to blame.

 Online critics also point to the fact that the vast bulk of the dead and missing reported by the two governments are in Nepal.

 In Nepal, rescuers have retrieved 1,369 bodies, while around 5,132 people are missing, according to the disaster agency Thursday. In China, the toll is 43 dead and 519 missing, according to state media.

 The stark difference, however, may be a reflection of the disaster's geography and scale.

 The glacial mountain collapse occurred in downstream Nepal, sending a wave of debris so powerful it smashed China's high-altitude border post in tightly restricted Tibet, before carving a path of destruction across Nepal.

 Bodies on the Chinese side may have washed downstream too, but because of the geography, they could be buried in a thick layer of mud and debris that makes recovery impossible.

 Aleksandra Bielakowska, a Taipei-based advocacy manager for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said that Beijing's restrictions had created an "atmosphere of mistrust".

 In contrast, Celia Mercier, head of RSF's South Asia Desk, said Nepal had "largely treated misinformation as a problem within an otherwise relatively open information environment".

Historically, the ruling Chavismo party blocked protests in the center of the capital, especially near the presidency's headquarters.

But around 100 demonstrators succeeded at marching to the Miraflores palace to demand interim president Delcy Rodriguez -- in power since Nicolas Maduro was deposed during a US military raid in January -- release additional prisoners.

"Delcy, if you're going to negotiate, start by freeing them!" shouted the protesters.

The group was able to make it to a police barricade near the palace before being stopped by authorities.

Two representatives were later received by a delegation from the presidential palace to accept the letter.

Rodriguez herself was not present for the protest, as she was on an official visit to nearby Suriname.

Margareth Baduel, whose brother is serving a 30-year sentence on treason and terrorism charges, said the group intended to "deliver a document to the interim president, primarily because she has made announcements of (political prisoner) releases that have not been carried out."

Her father Raul Isaias Baduel, a defense minister under Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez, died in prison in 2021.

After talks between the ruling party and opposition figures last month, the Venezuelan presidency announced the release of 131 political prisoners, though NGOs were only able to confirm around 80 releases and estimate over 300 remain detained.

Friday's protest came just days before the second round of talks between the interim government and opposition figures over the post-Maduro transition.

The developments are likely to deepen the Middle East war's impact on international commerce, after months of a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, which hailed its Yemeni allies' advance on Friday.

Following a week-long offensive that has left hundreds dead, government officials said the Houthis seized the Yemeni side of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

A local official with Yemen's Saudi-backed government said on Friday that the Houthis had "completed their takeover of the Bab al-Mandab area and Mayyun Island".

A government military official later reported the group had also seized Greater and Lesser Hanish, the last two islands in the narrow waterway not under their control, as well as all of the neighbouring Red Sea coastline.

"Everything that was under our control on the western coast has fallen," the military official added.

A witness told AFP that gunmen were "deploying along the Bab al-Mandab shore and are driving around in military vehicles".

The capture of the islands, particularly Mayyun in the middle of the strait, heightens the Houthis' ability to attack Saudi tankers, which they have been targeting since July.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has relied on the Red Sea ever since Iran's Hormuz blockade choked off its shipments via the Gulf.

Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, congratulated the Houthis on their "resounding victory" on Friday.

Farea Al-Muslimi, research fellow at the Chatham House think tank, told AFP: "Now the Iranians don't only control... the Strait of Hormuz, but they control the other most strategic chokepoint in the Middle East."

Oil prices have soared past $100 a barrel this week, while average US diesel prices topped $6 for the first time on Friday -- a potential headache for President Donald Trump ahead of midterm elections.

The Houthis' military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said navigation through the Bab al-Mandab Strait was "safe" for all but Saudi Arabia following the latest advances.

 - 'Great victories' -

 The Houthi offensive has killed more than 500 people, according to sources on both sides.

 It has also displaced about 46,000 people, the UN migration agency said on Friday.

 It is part of renewed hostilities in Yemen's civil war that began with the group's takeover of the capital Sanaa in 2014.

Houthi supporter Abdulhamid Dhaifallah lauded the group's "great victories" in and along the strait.

"They have been preparing for this front for four years," the Sanaa resident said.

The Houthis also carried out their heaviest missile and drone attack in years this week against their longtime foe Saudi Arabi, setting oil sites ablaze and wounding 73.

Satellite images from Copernicus Sentinel Data taken on Thursday showed black smoke billowing near Medina, along the general route of the East-West pipeline that carries Saudi oil to its Red Sea coast.

Before the Red Sea offensive, the Houthis already controlled a large part of Yemen's north.

They have recently attacked government-held areas in Hodeida and Taiz provinces and swept down the coast, seizing the port city of Mocha and Zuqar Island, north of Bab al-Mandab, on Thursday.

Mohamed, 46, who fled Mocha in the middle of the night, told AFP there was an "apocalyptic" atmosphere in the historic city.

On Friday, the spokesman for the Yemeni government forces, Majed Abdullah Al-Nazili, said they had begun shelling areas along the Taiz-Mocha road, while residents told AFP they heard airstrikes.

- Dangerous conflict -

While Saudi Arabia has also hit back with airstrikes and ordered troop reinforcements from

Aden, where the internationally recognised government is based, it has failed to stop the Houthis' advance.

Houthi media said two Saudi strikes hit Mocha's airport on Friday, while a local official said the city's seaport was hit by six missiles of unknown origin.

"I think the Saudis have tried everything they can to avoid this war, but I don't think they have any more choice," said Al-Muslimi.

The UN Security Council met Thursday to discuss the conflict with Yemen envoy Hans Grundberg, who called for "the active investment of every member of this body to contain" what could become a more dangerous conflict.

The ongoing exchanges risk reviving a war that killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and sparked one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The Houthis, after seizing Sanaa and forcing out the government, fought a Saudi-led coalition from 2015 until a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022.

Riyadh has since the start of the Middle East war increased its use of this pipeline, which links Abqaiq, near the Gulf, to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, in order to bypass the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran.

The Saudi foreign ministry condemned "the targeting of the East-West pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions by several drones coming from Iraq, which caused human injuries and damage".

"The pipeline was stopped as a precaution, and the attacks resulted in some injuries," an energy ministry official told the SPA news agency earlier.

"At the request of the Iraqi prime minister... (Riyadh) has chosen not to respond at this stage and to support the efforts of the Iraqi government ... to prevent attacks launched from Iraq against the Kingdom and neighbouring countries," the foreign ministry said.

But it stressed that Saudi Arabia "reserves the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, its security, its facilities," and its inhabitants.

The office of Iraq's Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi announced the dismissal of the commander in charge of the southern Maysan province following the "confirmation that the attacks targeting our brethren in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia originated from a location within the governorate".

Lithuania is moving to lift a constitutional ban on having nuclear weapons stored in the country, part of an effort to boost its security posture amid Russia's offensive on Ukraine.

The decision is currently working its way through parliament -- where it needs a two-thirds majority to pass and has the support of the president and major parties -- and could come into force this winter.

It would be "a very serious turn in terms of escalating tensions", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV when asked about the plan.

"If there are nuclear weapons on the territory that are aimed at us, accordingly, the territory of that country will fall into the crosshairs of our own nuclear weapons," he said.

Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda had announced the plans in July, saying his country wanted to be an "integral part of this nuclear deterrence".

While Europe is dominated by right-wing governments, opinion polls in Sweden have for months shown the opposition left-wing bloc holding a strong lead ahead of Sunday's general election, although this has narrowed considerably in the final days of the campaign.

"The most important thing is that the right wing wins, to continue what they have started," pensioner Kurt Flodin, 79, said of Conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's outgoing government.

In particular, he wanted Kristersson to continue efforts to curb organised crime that has plagued the country for years, he told AFP forom an upmarket neighbourhood of Stockholm.

The premier made tackling crime one of his top priorities during his four-year term.

For their part, the centre-left Social Democrats -- which governed for the better part of the 20th century and remains Sweden's biggest party -- have pledged to help struggling households pay their bills and bolster the welfare state.

These issues matter to Jenny Larsson, a theatre worker who celebrates her 54th birthday on election day.

She told AFP she was unhappy with politicians "blaming immigration for things that are not caused by immigration" and said she feared the far-right Sweden Democrats would enter government for the first time if the right-wing bloc obtained a majority.

The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, long viewed as political pariahs, paused shock in the 2022 election when they overtook Kristersson's Moderates Party to become Sweden's second-biggest party, with 20.5 percent of the vote.

Kristersson broke the long-standing taboo by making an unprecedented deal with the extreme-right party so his minority coalition could form a government.

He gave the Sweden Democrats significant influence over government policy -- in particular on crime and immigration -- in exchange for the far-right's support in parliament.

Kristersson has now gone further, promising the Sweden Democrats cabinet posts if he is re-elected, encouraging the far-right leader Jimmie Akesson to demand no fewer than 12 to 14 portfolios.

- Russia concerns -

The latest Indikator opinion poll published on Friday credited the four opposition parties -- the Social Democrats, Greens, Centre and Left -- with 50.8 percent of voter support.

The right-wing bloc -- comprising Kristersson's Moderates, the Sweden Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals -- garnered 47.6 percent.

Party leaders took part in a flurry of televised debates in the final days of campaigning.

"Fewer and fewer Swedes are able to realise their dream of owning their own home. Life has become too expensive," Social Democrats leader and ex-prime minister Magdalena Andersson told a debate on Thursday.

"We've had four years of rising unemployment, with a salary that pays for less and less when everything has got more expensive," she said.

Kristersson fired back that "two normal salaries should be enough to buy a small house", saying people needed "economic growth and tax incentives" so they could save for their first deposit.

The debate focused on Sweden's housing shortage, plummeting education scores, jobs, the climate and security.

Fearful of deteriorating security in Europe following Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sweden has been massively rearming and boosting its civil preparedness.

So the far-right's reported ties to Russia caused a stir in the final run-up to the vote.

Extremism watchdog Expo revealed that a Sweden Democrat civil servant in parliament had shared pro-Russian propaganda for years.

"On Monday, we could wake to a government where the keys to the defence ministry will be handed over to the Sweden Democrats. And that is a party that has been revealed to be infiltrated by friends of Putin," Andersson warned in Thursday's debate.

"Don't take that risk," she urged voters.

While the four opposition parties hold a slim lead, they are splintered ideologically and thorny negotiations would be needed to form a government even if they hold a majority.

Moscow is one of New Delhi's most important strategic partners and military suppliers, with the two leaders shown by Indian broadcasters grinning and patting each other on the back at the New Delhi conference centre where Saturday's summit will be held.

India has navigated the energy crisis caused by the US-Iran war in part by turning to Russia, despite Moscow's war in Ukraine and pressure from Washington and other Western capitals.

Putin last visited India in December 2025, but the two leaders met earlier this month at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan.

Modi, speaking in Bishkek, hard urged Putin to move from an "endless war towards the end of war".

Indian refiners nearly doubled crude imports from Russia in March, in the weeks after the Middle East war erupted, helped by temporary US waivers.

Shipments then rose sharply to 2.71 million barrels per day in June and a record 2.81 million in July, according to trade intelligence firm Kpler.

Imports fell to 2.07 million barrels per day in August, but remained significant, Kpler data showed.

Bilateral goods trade reached $59.9 billion in 2025-26, with India exporting $4.49 billion and importing $55.37 billion, according to Indian government data.

The Quebec-born singer of "My Heart Will Go On" will see her dream of returning to the stage finally materialise on Saturday when she steps out at the Plenitude Arena in Paris.

Over the course of 26 dates -- 16 in September and October, then another 10 next May -- the crooner will look to demonstrate how she has found her famous voice again, overcoming the effects of Stiff Person Syndrome.

The rare and incurable autoimmune disorder, which affects just one or two people per million, results in full-body seizures and agonising muscle spasms.

The 58-year-old, who revealed her diagnosis in December 2022, has described the condition as leaving her feeling as if she is being strangled, while the intense cramps are so strong they have left her with broken ribs.

Despite the difficulties, she has consistently offered hope to her legions of devoted fans who have waited six years since her last concert.

"I'm going to go back onstage, even if I have to crawl. Even if I have to talk with my hands," she promised in an interview with NBC in 2024.

In the end, there was no need for sign language: later that year, she stole the show at the rain-sodden opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, making a surprise appearance up the Eiffel Tower to perform "Hymn to Love" by Edith Piaf.

But she still didn't trust her booming vocal chords or her body for a full concert performance.

Sound experts including a YouTube music analyst known as Wings of Pegasus and others who spoke to France's Liberation newspaper alleged she had lip-synched the Olympics show, which was denied by organisers.

Only now, after spending years training "like an athlete", doing ballet and pilates several times a week, as well as attending voice therapy, does the singer feel ready to step out in front of 30,000 ecstatic ticket-holders.

"She is utterly determined," her French biographer Elisabeth Reynaud told AFP recently.

- Rumours and cancellations –

The "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" hitmaker has also used the time away from the concert circuit and recording studio to spend time with her children whom she credits as her prime motivation to get better.

She has two twin teenage boys, aged 15, and an older son in his twenties, all from her marriage to music producer Rene Angelil who discovered Dion as a 12-year-old when listening to a cassette sent by her mother.

Angelil, who was 26 years older than Dion, died in 2016 of throat cancer.

The Paris comeback will also be the first time in many years that Dion is performing for fans without feeling like she is covering up her illness.

She had been living with the condition for nearly two decades, she realises now.

But she had been trying to manage the symptoms until they became impossible to hide, with rumours of major health problems sparked by a string of concert cancellations in 2021 and 2022.

She has described taking higher and higher doses of the tranquiliser Valium in order to perform, putting her life at risk in the process.

"I did not understand that I could have gone to bed and stopped breathing. And you learn -- you learn through your mistakes," she confided to People magazine in 2024.

Fans will be eager to hear what Dion sounds like and whether her re-trained voice sounds as clear and powerful as the octave-busting one that catapulted her to fame in 1988 when she won the Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland.

"I'm going to come onstage because I'm ready. And my vocal cords will not scare me, because I'm going to be ready, and I'm going to hit those notes," she told NBC two years ago.

An Ebola patient died in the northwestern province after undertaking a long journey across several provinces, some of which have not so far had cases of the highly infectious virus, acting governor Jean-Rene Galekwa told reporters.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who have for years controlled large parts of northern Yemen, launched a large-scale offensive last week against Saudi-backed government forces, killing hundreds.

Saudi Arabia has responded with dozens of airstrikes, with the latest two hitting an airport, Houthi media reported on Friday.

The Saudi crown prince called Trump on Thursday to tell him about the deteriorating military situation in Yemen as Houthi forces approached the coastal city of Mokha, Axios reported, citing two unidentified US officials.

The crown prince reportedly called Trump again a few hours later to request strikes on the Houthis, but the American president declined.

Washington will provide Saudi Arabia with intelligence on the Houthis and targeting data, and more than 200 US military personnel are already in Saudi Arabia providing "non-kinetic support," according to a US official cited by Axios.

Riyadh said in July that it could deal with the Houthis on its own despite the escalation of the conflict.

On Friday, Houthi fighters in Yemen seized a key Red Sea island in the middle of the Bab al-Mandab strait, completing a push to take control of a waterway crucial to Saudi oil exports.

The fighting in Yemen has taken center stage in the Middle East war, which erupted with US-Israeli strikes on Iran and prompted the Islamic republic to blockade another waterway crucial to global energy flows, the Strait of Hormuz.

Both Brent North Sea Crude, the main international benchmark, and US oil contract WTI were above $100 on Friday.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Brad Cooper traveled to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for urgent coordination meetings, Axios reported.

The tsunami-like surge of water, mud and debris on August 26, which began on the China-Nepal border, killed more than 1,400 people and left some 5,600 missing.

"The total estimated requirement for reconstruction is approximately $4.78 billion," Nepali foreign ministry spokesman Lok Bahadur Chhetri told reporters.

"Of this, approximately $57.67 million is estimated to be required for short-term reconstruction and recovery over the next six months, while approximately $4.71 billion is required for longer-term reconstruction."

Nepal's leaders say the Himalayan country needs long-term international support to adapt to a rapidly changing mountain environment.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah said earlier that Nepal must "strongly raise" with the international community the disasters it has experienced as a result of climate change.

Shah is expected to take his first foreign trip as leader to address the UN General Assembly on the urgent issue this month.

Nepal, a largely rural nation of 30 million people, contributes a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions compared to industrialised nations.

While the exact cause of the glacial collapse is unclear, climate change is causing glaciers to melt worldwide, increasing the risk of such disasters.

Scientists say glaciers in the Himalayas, the world's highest mountain range, are melting faster as global temperatures rise.

"Given the scale and extent of the damage, the government is also undertaking a comprehensive post-disaster needs assessment to determine the full extent of loss and damage and the requirement for recovery, rebuilding and reconstruction," Chhetri said.

A UN preliminary assessment estimated building damage from Nepal's floods at $158 million alone, warning that total losses -- including damage to roads and bridges, agricultural land and humanitarian costs -- would be far higher.

Rescuers in Nepal have retrieved 1,385 bodies, while around 5,130 people are missing, according to the disaster agency on Friday. In China, the toll is 43 dead and 519 missing, according to state media.

The combined toll is 1,428 people dead and more than 5,649 missing, including around 800 foreigners, among them tourists and pilgrims.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who have for years controlled large parts of northern Yemen, launched a large-scale offensive last week against Saudi-backed government forces, scoring one victory after another in fighting that has left hundreds dead.

Saudi Arabia has responded with dozens of airstrikes, with the latest two hitting Mocha airport, Houthi media reported on Friday.

The fighting in Yemen has taken centre-stage in the Middle East war, which erupted with US-Israeli strikes on Iran and prompted the Islamic republic to blockade another waterway crucial to global energy flows, the Strait of Hormuz.

"Boats carrying armed Houthi fighters reached Mayyun Island after government forces withdrew from it yesterday," the local government official told AFP, referring to an island also known as Perim.

"The Houthis have completed their takeover of the Bab al-Mandab area and Mayyun Island, which is located in the middle of the strait," he added, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.

An eyewitness said gunmen were "deploying along the Bab al-Mandab shore and are driving around in military vehicles".

Bab al-Mandab links Asia to Europe via the Red Sea and Suez Canal. It has gained importance as a transit route crucially for oil flows from Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, since the start of the Middle East war.

On Friday, both Brent North Sea Crude, the main international benchmark, and US oil contract WTI were above $100.

- 'Apocalyptic' -

Before the offensive, the Houthis already controlled a large part of Yemen's north, including the capital Sanaa, as well as the major port city of Hodeidah on the Red Sea.

But they did not yet hold any areas directly overlooking Bab al-Mandab.

With their drones and missiles, the Houthis have been able to disrupt traffic in the Red Sea.

While Saudi Arabia has hit back with airstrikes, it has failed to stop the Houthis' lightning advance.

"I think the Saudis have tried everything they can to avoid this war, but I don't think they have any more choice by now," said Farea Al-Muslimi, a research fellow at the Chatham House think tank.

"The Houthis have pushed it to the limit, and whatever the cost in the Saudi mind thinking right now, it's just cheaper than it will be in two years."

Since last week, the fighting in Yemen has left more than 500 dead, mostly combatants, according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources.

It has also forced nearly 20,000 people to flee their homes, the International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday.

Mohamed, a 46-year-old Yemeni, who left Mocha in the middle of the night, told AFP there was an "apocalyptic" atmosphere in the port city.

Mujahid Tahami, who also set off for Aden, said some families had fallen victim to "looting by gangs as they tried to flee".

- Humanitarian crisis -

Yemen relapsed into war in July after years of relative calm punctured by sporadic violence and deepening poverty.

On Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis said the group fired ballistic missiles and drones at several cities in southern Saudi Arabia.

On Thursday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Saudi Arabia had launched 64 strikes on Yemen over the previous 24 hours.

The United Nations Security Council met Thursday to discuss the conflict with its Yemen envoy, Hans Grundberg, who called for "the active investment of every member of this body to contain what could be the precipice for a far more dangerous conflict".

The emergency meeting was brought together by the United Kingdom, which called on the Security Council to "send a clear and consistent message: the Houthis must de-escalate, cease their attacks, and return to a path towards peace".

The hostilities kicked off in July when the Houthis let an Iranian plane land in defiance of Saudi control of Yemeni airspace.

The government retaliated by striking Sanaa airport, an attack the Houthis blamed on Saudi Arabia.

The ongoing exchanges risk returning Yemen to a conflict that left hundreds of thousands of people dead and sparked one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The Houthis, after seizing Yemen's capital and forcing out the government, fought the Saudi-led coalition from 2015 until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire in 2022.

Top South Korean diplomat Cho Hyun spoke by phone with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at Tehran's request, "discussing the recent situation in the Middle East" and the Strait of Hormuz, the foreign ministry in Seoul said in a statement.

A ministry official said Cho "conveyed our position that no decision has been made regarding a possible deployment and stressed the importance of restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz". US President Donald Trump has repeatedly pressured ally South Korea to provide help for the war in the Middle East, saying Seoul rejected his request for assistance in securing the waterway that is crucial to global oil supplies.

Friday's phone call followed a warning from Tehran earlier this week that any South Korean military contribution to the conflict would have "serious consequences". South Korea said it had sent a fact-finding team to assess the situation in the strait. Traffic through the vital shipping route has been virtually paralysed since the US-Iran war began on February 28, disrupting global energy markets. Negotiations between Iran and the United States have stalled as they vied for control over Hormuz, which normally carries around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas exports.

Tehran militarily and financially backs Yemen's Houthis, who for years have held large parts of the country's north and on Thursday seized the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha.

Riyadh has long supported Yemen's internationally recognised government, and has been carrying out airstrikes on the Houthis since they began their advance, the group has said.

Saudi Arabia and Iran have also found themselves at odds during the wider Middle East war, which saw Tehran launch strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure and US-linked targets in the Gulf kingdom.

Iranian top diplomat Abbas Araghchi spoke with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan on Thursday evening about "the escalation of tensions and the growing insecurity in the region", according to Tehran's foreign ministry.

The summary of the call said the two parties "emphasised the need to continue cooperation and diplomatic efforts in order to prevent the spread of tensions and reestablish stability".

Though the ministry did not specifically mention Yemen in the readout, a separate statement addressing the fighting there insisted it was "impossible to resolve the Yemeni crisis through... military intervention".

The Houthis have controlled Yemen's capital Sanaa and the major port city of Hodeida for years, but in recent days have launched a new offensive pushing towards the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait, the gateway to the Red Sea.

The waterway, which links Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal, has gained importance as a transit route since the start of the wider Middle East war, which saw Iran blockade the Strait of Hormuz.

With their drones and missiles, the Houthis have been able to disrupt traffic in the Red Sea, and have also sought to enforce a maritime blockade on Saudi ports, while striking oil infrastructure there.

Yemen relapsed into war in July after years of relative calm punctured by sporadic violence and deepening poverty.

On Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis said the group fired ballistic missiles and drones at several cities in southern Saudi Arabia.

The fire that tore through the M/V June Aster on Wednesday evening near the tourist hotspot of Coron, Palawan has killed at least five people, while another 84, including the ship's captain and chief engineer, remain unaccounted for.

"Everything happened in seconds," coast guard spokeswoman Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said in a radio interview Friday.

"From the time that they heard the loud explosion, the appearance of smoke, and then fire. It spread very quickly," she said of survivors' accounts, adding that those who made it off the ship had not even had time to put on life jackets.

The fire, which began in the cargo hold, may have moved even more rapidly due to strong headwinds reported by passengers, Cayabyab added later.

Police investigators, explosive ordnance disposal experts and army personnel boarded on Friday afternoon a pair of small rubber boats to head to the ship, grounded on a small island off Coron.

Nearby, a covered basketball court served as a staging area for social workers and security personnel, while police tape cordoned the area off from members of the public.

A member of the police investigative unit could be heard asking a colleague if "the body bags are there".

Near the wharf, a family member of one of the missing wept as she stared out to sea.

- 'He was so happy' -

Myra Cabilan told AFP she had flown to Coron on Friday to find her missing brother, 40-year-old Rammel Gonzaga, who had taken the ferry from Manila on a business trip with his brother-in-law.

"I didn't know he had made the trip," Cabilan said, explaining she only found out later from his wife.

"His wife had just given birth a month ago. He was so happy he was given a daughter," she said, fighting back tears.

"At dawn, I still believed he survived. But he's still missing. I have lost hope."

Updates about the search for survivors have trickled out slowly, while the death toll has remained unchanged since late Wednesday.

Hundreds of people desperate for news about the incident have taken to leaving comments on the Facebook page of a local mayor, searching for relatives, friends and even a dog.

The ferry's manifest listed 134 passengers and crew. It was also carrying goods, an electric vehicle, a pickup truck and motorcycles.

Of the 43 rescued, 30 were passengers and 13 were crew, the coast guard said. The identity of another survivor was not immediately clear.

- A history of disasters -

The archipelago nation of 116 million has a long history of disasters involving the inter-island ferries that ply its seas.

Many rely on cheap and poorly regulated boats and ships for transport between the country's more than 7,000 islands, despite regular accidents.

In January, a triple-decker ferry carrying more than 340 people sank off the southern Philippines, killing at least 52 people.

The M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 sank along nearly the same route where 31 people died in 2023 after a fire broke out aboard the Lady Mary Joy 3 ferry.

On Thursday, the company that owns the M/V June Aster, Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc, said it was fully cooperating with the investigation.

The Dutch Federation of Travel Agencies (ANVR) told AFP that the coach belonged to the tour company Oad and was carrying 48 passengers, all of them from the Netherlands. According to the ANVR, the coach left the Netherlands on Monday and was on a day trip to Switzerland from Austria when the crash happened. Zernez is the entry point for visitors to the Swiss national park, a vast Alpine reserve stretching more than 100 square kilometres (40 square miles) across the mountainous Engadine valley.

The bulk carrier, moored in the eastern shipping port of Qingdao, had 42 people on board when the fire broke out on Thursday morning, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Seventeen of those were evacuated, including five who were injured, while another 25 people died in the blaze.

On Friday, CCTV said that investigators had yet to determine the exact cause of the fire.

Firefighter Hao Xiang, whose face was partly blackened from smoke, told CCTV that "inside the ship's hold, it was extremely hot".

"When the hot steam came out, it melted away all the old oil grime that had built up on the ship, making it very slippery to walk on."

Another firefighter, who was not named, told CCTV that he recorded the temperature of the blaze.

"When I scanned the area with the infrared thermometer, the temperature was around 85 degrees (Celsius)... The place was ablaze, the flames were rising from the bottom", he said, recalling "a distinct smell of diesel".

Experts from across the country had gathered in Qingdao to analyse the scene, state media said.

State media pictures showed dozens of rescue workers at the scene, with fire engines and trucks lined up along the port.

One CCTV video posted on social media showed a fire and rescue worker guiding a reporter inside the stricken ship, pointing out some fire-damaged equipment and white ash.

The fire broke out around 11:15 am (0315 GMT) on Thursday and was extinguished by 2:30 pm, according to state media.

A witness from a neighbouring residential compound told AFP he had seen thick smoke coming from the ship, but did not hear an explosion.

Although the ship has not been officially identified, videos and pictures show the ship has the name Ocean Melody emblazoned on the front.

Ocean Melody is a 190-metre (623-foot) long bulk carrier sailing under the Liberian flag, according to the vessel-tracking website MarineTraffic, which located the ship as moored in Qingdao.

The 42-year-old vice president was greeted by a huge roar and chants of "JD! JD!" as he took the stage at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

"This fall, the Democrats are running candidates who will tell your children what they're allowed to say, how they're allowed to live, and, importantly, who they ought to hate," Vance said.

"The Democrats are the party of hatred. They're the party that despises America and the people who built it. They're the party that can find sympathy for the terrorists who perpetrated 9/11," he added

Trump returned to the stage after Vance and immediately praised his vice president.

"I want to thank our great vice president. What a job he did tonight!" Trump said. "You know, the Democrats are getting nervous."

The president promised to be brief before introducing a convention-closing music set, saying: "I'm getting a little tired of politics now."

But he reprised familiar rally lines, attacking "radical left" Democrats and again making himself the centerpiece of the Republican midterm campaign.

"I'm not on the ticket. You've got to pretend I'm on the ticket," Trump told supporters.

Republicans head into November under heavy electoral pressure.

US election tracking site Decision Desk HQ projects Democrats will win the House 229-206 and has the Senate on a knife-edge at 50-50. Trump's approval rating has languished in the low-to-mid 30s amid stubborn inflation and an unpopular war with Iran.

Trump also repeated his extraordinary promise from Wednesday to pay every American adult a $5,000 "Trump dividend" if Republicans retain both chambers of Congress.

- Family and future -

Vance, meanwhile, sought to sharpen a convention-long portrayal of Democrats as extremists, arguing that disagreements within the Republican coalition were minor compared with what he called the rhetoric of the "far left."

"I'm not asking you to agree with every policy of our administration," Vance told the crowd.

"I'm asking you to recognize the contrast with the radicals, and the achievements of the last 18 months."

Family and fatherhood were recurring themes as Vance sought to contrast what he described as traditional values with the political left, adding "we got to send their asses packing in November."

He also paid tribute to conservative youth activist Charlie Kirk on the first anniversary of his killing, addressing Kirk's young children directly.

"History will record that your father was a great man," Vance said.

Vance turned to his political opponents, accusing them of attacking the traditional family.

"To the radicals who wish to abolish my family and the thousands and millions of other families all across our country, we have a simple message for them: stay the hell away from our kids," he said.

His speech was briefly interrupted by a protester waving a Mexican flag and shouting from the crowd.

"Well, my friend, if you love Mexico so much, get your ass over there," Vance responded. "I'll buy you the plane ticket."

- High-stakes gamble -

Vance is widely regarded as an early front-runner for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination, although he has said he will not make a decision until after the midterms.

His appearance immediately before Trump's closing remarks gave him one of the convention's most prominent speaking slots as Republicans begin to consider their post-Trump future.

Speaking to reporters on the tarmac before departing Texas, Trump praised Vance.

"I think he did very well tonight, and he's a very talented guy. He's a great -- been a great vice president. I think he did a very good job," Trump said.

The central Republican gamble remains whether Trump can mobilize voters personally loyal to him even when he is not actually running, without further alienating independents who have soured on his presidency.

Vance's appearance added the longer-term question of whether one of Trump's potential successors can eventually inherit the political coalition he built.

Ed Williams, a 59-year-old engineer from Dallas, told AFP Vance had come across as "very charismatic," and hit the issues important to "the America that I want."

"I'm considering Vance very strongly for my presidential pick in 2028," he said, as jubilant Republicans streamed out of the convention hall and into a steamy Dallas night.

During a signing ceremony held near San Francisco, Newsom described the state's new social media restrictions for children as "better" than Australia's ban for all users under 16.

"This is different than what Australia did," Newsom said.

"This is about the features themselves. This is about actually addressing the problem, the scrolling, the algorithms. This is about addressing the substantive issue around the engineering. If you address that, then the age issue is not the essential issue," he continued.

Australia's law went into effect in December, and early reports have shown it has been ineffective at preventing children and teenagers from using social media. A report published by Australia's own government in July showed that enforcement has been spotty and many children were still using social media.

While California's new law targets users under 16, it doesn't require a full ban for those users.

Instead, it defines "addictive" features as ones that are "psychologically exploitative" and prohibits social media companies from providing children with features such as infinite scroll, algorithmic recommendations and autoplay.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, already agreed to implement a similar approach as part of a settlement with California and dozens of other US states, which sued the social media giant for allegedly violating various state and federal laws related to children's privacy and consumer protections.

The company is committed to providing teens with safe, age-appropriate experiences on Facebook and Instagram, "all with the proper guardrails in place," a Meta spokesperson told AFP in a statement on Thursday.

Snap, TikTok and Google-owned YouTube did not reply to requests for comment.

Regulators around the world are grappling with how to limit the impacts of social media on young users.

Other new related laws signed on Thursday by Newsom, a Democrat who is considered a contender for the next presidential election, include ones that regulate chatbots, age verification, child sexual abuse content and technology use in schools.

The European Union is expected to reveal its own plan for regulations next week.

"We do not have to accept addictive social media design," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a video on Thursday.

Von der Leyen has been weighing up bringing in EU-wide social media limits for children under 13 -- which an expert panel has recommended -- or a blanket ban under 15, which France in particular is pushing for.

Mandalay airport is an international and domestic travel hub in central Myanmar, but civilian air raid warning groups also identify it as a runway for military jets launching sorties.

Six "suicide drones" attacked it on Thursday afternoon, the military-backed government said in a statement, causing no casualties but disrupting flight schedules.

However, a security source told AFP on Friday: "Mandalay airport is closed for today and tomorrow."

"The attack happened some distance from the airport building, but the airport is closed protectively," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.

A second security officer working at another Myanmar airport, also requesting anonymity, confirmed that the Mandalay facility would be "closed for maintenance" until Sunday.

Myanmar's armed forces triggered a civil war by staging a coup in 2021, ending a decade-long experiment with democracy by toppling the government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

After five years of conflict, the military is now on the offensive against the myriad of pro-democracy and ethnic minority guerrilla groups it is battling.

Thursday's apparent drone raid was a rare acknowledgement of a rebel attack in one of Myanmar's large urban areas, which have generally remained a stronghold for the military.

The government blamed it on pro-democracy guerrillas who took up arms after the putsch, the main group of which is known as the People's Defence Forces.

Its statement said the attack was on the airport, which it described as "a non-military, public transportation system".

It was not possible to verify the civilian or military nature of the attack site, but AFP reporters have in the past seen military aircraft flying over Mandalay airport.

Rebel groups and Myanmar's military are both now using drones in the civil war, which some monitors say has killed more than 100,000 people.

However, the military's air force, stocked with Chinese- and Russian-made jets, has proven vital in fending off rebel factions, analysts say.

The air wing has also been accused of targeting civilians at schools, monasteries and public festivals -- inflicting mass casualties flagged by rights groups as potential war crimes.

Africa's most populous country heads to the polls in January when President Bola Tinubu will seek re-election.

Votes have in the past been marred by violence, with politicians recruiting thugs to intimidate opponents and silence dissenting political views, rights groups say.

Ethnic violence also often breaks out.

"We will have safe and secure voting in the country," said Olatunji Disu, inspector general of the Nigeria Police Force, who took office 10 months before the vote.

He said officers were being trained "so that we improve our effort in bringing a perfect election in 2027".

Asked about polling in violence-wracked northern parts of the country, battered by a years-long jihadist insurgency and kidnapping by armed "bandit" gangs, he said: "Definitely people will be able to vote."

Some Nigerians have, however, told AFP they are afraid to travel to their home villages where they are registered.

The force is working with other bodies, including the military, "to ensure that we bring peace to every part of the country", Disu said.

- Police reforms -

Violence has worsened since 2024 and the country now faces its most violent period in nearly three decades, driven by banditry and jihadist attacks, according to US-based conflict monitor ACLED.

But it faces huge policing challenges due to the size of the population, insecurity, inadequate resources, public trust and uneven distribution of personnel for its roughly 240 million people.

In 2020, major protests broke out against the brutality of the force's SARS anti-robbery squad.

Tinubu's government is pushing reforms that would require a constitutional amendment to create police forces managed independently by Nigeria's 36 states.

Supporters say it would create nimble forces that are easier to hold accountable, staffed by locals who know the terrain, amid years of rising insecurity and accusations that the federal force is slow to react.

"We are in support of state police," said Disu, speaking to AFP earlier this week from his office at the highly secured force headquarters in Abuja, near the national assembly and presidential villa.

"We assisted in creating the framework," he added.

Critics, however, worry that Nigeria's powerful governors will use police forces to crack down on opponents and dissenting voices.

Disu said the federal police, which would not be dissolved, will still have some oversight and that training would be standardised nationally.

"If anything that is not supposed to happen starts happening within the state police, measures have been put in place to correct it immediately," he told AFP.

- Drone team -

Disu, who came into the top job in March, said he was working in the meantime to grow the federal police force, which has just under 300,000 officers, in a country where both the military and police are overstretched, especially in rural areas.

Following a presidential directive, the police aim to increase their numbers to about 350,000, in part by resuming regular recruitment, which Disu said lagged under his predecessors.

Disu also said the Nigerian police are pushing to update the force's tech.

There are currently 25 people on a drone team "undergoing specialised training", and police are sifting through data with the aid of artificial intelligence to better understand trends.

"We know where we are expecting banditry. We know insurgency. We know where robberies will go on," he said.

Though Disu has cast himself as a reformer and called on the public to report misbehaving officers, many Nigerians do not trust the police, who researchers say are weakened by decades of corruption and have struggled in the face of increased violence.

Disu, however, pushed back on recent security failures, saying the police were doing their best -- often paying with their lives.

"We are losing officers daily," he told AFP.

In the halls and corridors of the downtown convention center, that question repeatedly produced the same two names: Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the leading contenders to carry the party into its post-Trump era.

Trump, 80, remains the Republican Party's dominant figure and has not endorsed a successor.

But the US Constitution bars him from seeking a third elected term, and the looming midterms are already being viewed as an important test of which potential heirs can best defend his record -- and which parts of his political movement survive him.

"I think it's going to be between Rubio and Vance," said Susan Kokinda, 77, a conservative podcaster from Michigan.

"Or maybe the two of them will just team up and flip a coin and decide who's first."

Vance appears to hold the early advantage.

A Focal Data/Financial Times poll in August put him on 42 percent among Republicans, well ahead of Rubio's 18 percent, while other surveys have shown the two much closer.

Trump himself has publicly encouraged speculation, calling a Vance-Rubio ticket a potential "dream team" while stopping short of backing either man.

Vance's supporters see him as the more natural ideological heir: younger -- he is just 42 -- closely tied to the MAGA grassroots and steeped in the economic nationalism that has reshaped Republican thinking on trade, immigration and working-class politics.

"He's the closest to the president," Tom Hoffman Jr, 62, a New York businessman attending the convention, told AFP.

"I think he's been a great running mate and he's been a great vice president so far, and I think he's earned it."

- Rubio appeal -

Rubio offers a different proposition.

The former US senator from Florida has built a profile as one of Trump's most prominent foreign-policy lieutenants and is viewed by supporters as a more experienced and polished political performer.

Kyle Hermann, a 29-year-old teacher from California, praised Rubio's "charm and his wit" and said he hoped both men could emerge from any primary battle without damaging each other.

"I think the eyes of the world are pretty much on Vance and Rubio," Hermann told AFP. "I don't even necessarily want one of them to lose."

But Rubio, 55, has repeatedly played down speculation about another presidential run, and the field is not necessarily limited to two.

Senator Ted Cruz, who ran against Trump in 2016, has been making increasingly conspicuous moves toward another presidential bid, including repeated trips to Iowa and outreach to potential supporters.

Cruz recently insisted that Republicans had not coalesced around Vance and said he would be "part of the discussion" over the party's future.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also been floated as a possible contender, although he has described reports that he is considering a run as "100 percent false."

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump Jr and others remain in the wider conversation.

- Trump legacy -

What makes the succession question unusually complicated is that Republican voters are not simply choosing a candidate; they will eventually have to decide which version of Trumpism they want to preserve.

For some delegates, however, neither leading contender could fully replace Trump.

"They can't fulfill what Trump started," said Angie Fisher, 54, an appliance-store buyer from South Carolina.

Vance is closely associated with the party's nationalist-populist wing, while Rubio is generally regarded as more conventional on foreign policy and international alliances.

He delivered what was billed as the keynote address on Thursday, although Trump closed out proceeding with his own final remarks.

Ed Williams, a 59-year-old engineer from Dallas, told AFP Vance had come across as "very charismatic," and hit the issues important to "the America that I want."

"I don't think Vance gets as much time in front of the camera as as he deserves, because I think he is someone who we can use as the Republican Party to reach out to young people," he said.

For all the successsion talk, some activists in Dallas were not ready to give up on Trump -- and said they'd back him again in 2028 if he were allowed a third elected term.

"Unfortunately, I wish that he could, but I don't think that can happen," said Rosie Swanson, 72, a retired Dallas resident.

"If he did, I'd vote for him."

Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian were due to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while Chinese President Xi Jinping was also expected to meet him on the sidelines of the two-day meeting, according to Indian diplomatic sources.

Putin arrived at Palam Air Force Station in New Delhi, where he was greeted by India's Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, according to footage broadcast by Russia's Ria Novosti news agency.

For China's Xi, it will be his first visit to India since 2019 and marks the biggest step yet in a cautious thaw between the rival neighbours, six years after a deadly military clash along their disputed Himalayan border.

Ties between the nuclear-armed Asian giants have been warming again recently, with flights, visas and high-level contacts gradually being restored.

However, deep mistrust remains, with their contested frontier, a widening trade deficit and strategic rivalry still complicating ties.

- 'Fault line' -

Posters of a beaming Modi line streets across New Delhi to welcome leaders, with heavy deployments of security forces across the capital and widespread traffic restrictions in central districts. Delhi police have urged people to be patient and cooperative.

BRICS was created in 2009 as a forum for major emerging economies seeking greater influence in institutions dominated by Western powers.

It has since expanded and now includes Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- three countries with sharply differing positions on the war launched by the United States and Israel in February.

"The Gulf conflict is going to be the central fault line this time during the BRICS summit," said Harsh V. Pant of India's Observer Research Foundation.

"What was seen until last year as an achievement -- the expansion of BRICS -- today looks like a big constraint on BRICS," Pant said.

It will be Pezeshkian's first visit to India as Iranian president, and will put the Middle East conflict firmly on the agenda.

"The war in Iran will provide a stern test of the (expanded) group's cohesion," said Shilan Shah of Capital Economics, noting the failure of the BRICS foreign ministers to agree on a joint statement when they met in New Delhi in May.

India maintains cordial relations with Iran and Israel, but is also careful to strike a delicate balance in its ties with Washington.

India has navigated the energy crisis caused by the Iran war in part by turning to Russia, one of its most important strategic partners and its most controversial fuel supplier in recent years as the war against Ukraine drags on.

Putin last visited India in December 2025, but he also met Modi in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, this month.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Kyiv this month, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was "grateful to India for its commitment to ending this unjust war".

Trump will pay his respects at the Pentagon, not New York, where hijacked planes destroyed the World Trade Center and killed most of the 2,977 total victims on that world-altering day.

Vice President JD Vance and Trump's four living predecessors -- Republican George W. Bush, who was in office during the attacks, and Democrats Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton -- are all expected at the "Ground Zero" site in lower Manhattan.

No one will give speeches at the ceremony, while bereaved family members will read out the names of all of those killed and a bell rung to mark major moments during the attack.

"Memorials like this and discussions about those events are an important part of keeping it alive and understanding how we prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again," said Robert Kafka, a Chicagoan in his 60s visiting the 9/11 Memorial.

Alongside the former presidents will be Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the Big Apple's first Muslim mayor, despite a campaign urging him to stay away spearheaded by the right-wing New York Post and former mayor Rudy Giuliani.

A petition, which has gathered more than 100,000 signatures, accuses Mamdani of associating with unspecified individuals who are "dismissive of American institutions or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies."

"It's concerning to me that the mayor is being treated differently simply because he is Muslim," city council member Shahana Hanif told CNN.

Mamdani won plaudits however for recently revealing thousands of documents showing what city officials knew about toxicity levels of the air in Lower Manhattan following the attacks.

After the initial dust cloud that followed the collapse of the World Trade Center, months of pollution and lingering dust ensued, causing cancers from which thousands of New Yorkers still suffer today.

- 'Toxic air' -

"People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air," Mamdani said Tuesday.

Nineteen Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked four planes on that nearly cloudless day in 2001. Two jets slammed into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, causing the iconic 110-story buildings to collapse.

A third plane struck the Pentagon, while a fourth crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers fought back.

Beyond those killed on September 11, more than 9,400 other people have died from 9/11-related illnesses, according to the federal program established to provide medical care to those affected.

Some 100 million Americans were not even born or are too young to remember the tragic events.

Logan Miller, 32, lost his uncle during the attacks, and his grandfather to 9/11-related illness in the aftermath.

"I think the next generation just can't fathom what actually transpired and how someone could be impacted by that, and so I actually find them asking more questions," he told AFP.

Huge crowds are expected to gather in Lower Manhattan for the memorial service.

The Secret Service has erected a security ring of steel around the site of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

Police commissioner Jessica Tisch said an anti-drone team would be deployed as a precaution, but stressed there was no intelligence of a specific threat to the gathering.

Al-Qaeda meanwhile has marked the anniversary by releasing a video showing images of late leader Osama bin Laden and his son Hamza, who Trump said in 2019 had also been killed.

Ahead of the memorial, a drone show with 2,977 lights rose above New York Harbor, one for each person killed in the attacks.

The film "Dark Horse" -- starring American actor Jim Caviezel as Bolsonaro -- has been under scrutiny as part of a corruption scandal that has rocked deeply divided Brazil ahead of next month's presidential election.

Right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the ex-president's son, is attempting to prevent leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from winning a forth term in office.

The elder Bolsonaro was imprisoned last year after being convicted of plotting to remain in power after losing a 2022 election to Lula.

Flavio Bolsonaro's campaign has been shaken by revelations that he approached notorious fraud-accused banker Daniel Vorcaro -- head of the collapsed private bank Banco Master -- for money, which Bolsonaro said was to finance "Dark Horse."

A police source told AFP that the targets of Thursday's raids included Karina Gama, head of the company that produced "Dark Horse," and Mario Frias, a pro-Bolsonaro congressman listed as the film's executive producer.

The pair have been banned from leaving Brazil pending the outcome of the investigation.

Frias, for his part, said he was not guilty and denounced the investgation as a "smoke screen."

A total of 49 search and seizure warrants were executed as part of the operation, which is probing "alleged embezzlement of public funds" totaling "hundreds of millions of reais" (tens of millions of dollars), a federal police statement said.

The police said the money came from parliamentary funds available to lawmakers to finance special projects, usually in their electoral strongholds.

According to local media reports, the investigation centers on whether the embezzled funds were used to finance the Bolsonaro film.

Flavio Bolsonaro blasted the probe as "attempted political interference" in the presidential campaign due to what he called his poll lead over Lula.

The pair are neck-and-neck in voting intentions ahead of the October 4 first round of voting.

- Claims of political meddling -

If, as expected, no one wins an outright majority, a runoff round will be held on October 25.

Vorcaro's links to senior politicians, judges and other Brazilians in positions of power have dominated the last weeks of campaigning.

Vorcaro's alleged ties to leading Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes have caused a deep split in Brazil's top judicial institution, leading to open feuding between judges.

Police say Vorcaro repeatedly messaged Moraes for information about the investigation into Banco Master's collapse in the lead-up to his arrest last year.

The case has been used by the right to bash the court and specifically Moraes, a hate figure among conservatives for spearheading the coup investigation into Jair Bolsonaro.

At the height of the infighting in the court this week, a conservative-backed judge suspended the country's police chief only for another judge to promptly reinstate him.

For more than 13 years of a civil war that claimed over half a million lives, Syrian forces relentlessly shelled areas held by the rebels before al-Assad was toppled in December 2024 and the current Islamist government came to power.

Following a series of operations in Latakia in the country's west, the Internal Security Forces arrested nine former military pilots "involved in war crimes against the Syrian people... in several regions", news agency SANA reported, citing authorities.

Among them are generals Menhel Anwar Saleh, Sami Ibrahim Mahmoud, and Ghayath Ali Rehye.

"Their crimes caused a large number of casualties... and inflicted extensive damage on towns and villages, in addition to displacing residents and destroying homes and civilian infrastructure," SANA added.

Since al-Assad was overthrown, Syria's new Islamist authorities have arrested dozens of former security officials, and trials began in April.

Syrian authorities said Monday they had arrested a former general accused of involvement in the bloody repression of protests in 2011 that sparked the country's civil war and the 1982 Hama massacre.

Syria sentenced Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and five other security officials to death in absentia in August for atrocities committed during the civil war, the first such ruling under the new authorities.

The former president fled Syria as his government fell and is believed to be living in Russia.

While most countries in Europe are led by right-wing governments, opinion polls have for months suggested the Scandinavian country could oust its conservative bloc backed by the far-right, though the left's lead has narrowed in the final days of the campaign.

The Social Democrats, Sweden's biggest party that ruled for the better part of the 20th century, have pledged to help struggling households pay their bills and bolster the welfare state.

"Fewer and fewer Swedes are able to realise their dream of owning their own home. Life has become too expensive. We've had four years of rising unemployment, with a salary that pays for less and less when everything has gotten more expensive," party leader Magdalena Andersson said during Thursday's debate.

"Two normal salaries should be enough to buy a small house. And for that you need economic growth and tax incentives so you can save for your first deposit," conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson retorted.

The leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats, Jimmie Akesson, meanwhile insisted jobless immigrants should not be allowed to stay in the country.

"This group of people... who come from other parts of the world, who aren't employable on the Swedish labour market, they need to either get a job or leave the country," he said.

Kristersson came to power in 2022 after his minority coalition reached an unprecedented deal giving the far-right influence over government policy in exchange for its support in parliament.

Long viewed as political pariahs, the Sweden Democrats are now the second-biggest party, polling around 20 percent.

If the right-wing were to win the election, Kristersson has vowed to give the far-right cabinet posts for the first time.

Akesson would likely be given the post of migration minister, and he has demanded that his party hold several other key portfolios.

"On Monday we could wake to a government where the keys to the defence ministry will be handed over to the Sweden Democrats, and that is a party that has been revealed to be infiltrated by friends of Putin. Don't take that risk," Andersson urged Swedes.

Akesson criticised her for dropping "to that level."

- Fragmented left-wing -

Marja Lemne, political scientist at Sodertorn University, told AFP the election outcome remained "very open".

"The Social Democrats are losing ground," she noted, even though the late stages of the campaign were dominated by traditional left-wing issues, notably healthcare, schools and benefits.

The right-wing has meanwhile vowed to continue its crackdown on crime and immigration, slash income taxes and abolish pre-school fees.

The latest opinion poll on Wednesday credited the four parties on the left -- the Social Democrats, Greens, Centre and Left -- with 50.7 percent of voter support.

The right-wing bloc, made up of Kristersson's Moderates, the Sweden Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, were credited with 48.1 percent.

Despite the left's lead, "it's very unclear what a (left-wing) government formation would look like. It's very fragmented and there are a lot of different views," Lemne noted.

Andersson needs the support of all three other left-wing parties to build a majority, and is willing to negotiate with all of them.

But the agrarian Centre Party has ruled out sitting in a government with the formerly communist Left Party because of ideological and economic differences.

Even the Social Democrats would have a hard time welcoming the Left into government for the same reason -- especially after media reports that Left party candidates allegedly spread antisemitic propaganda and praised the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The fate of Kristersson's bloc meanwhile depends in part on the small Liberal Party, which is struggling to reach the four percent support required for representation in parliament.

"The Democrats are the party of hatred. They're the party that despises America and the people who built it. They're the party that can find sympathy for the terrorists who perpetrated 9/11," Vance said in a prime-time convetion speech in Texas.

Trump arrives in Ireland on Saturday for a two-day visit, stopping for a few hours in Dublin before heading west to his Trump International Golf Links, where the Irish Open began Thursday.

The tournament is set to draw up to 75,000 spectators to the links course, set among towering dunes on a rugged stretch of County Clare coastline.

The 80-year-old American president is expected to attend the tournament over the weekend and present the trophy after Sunday's final round.

Despite some villagers' appreciation for the resort's economic benefits, his arrival is drawing opposition further afield in Ireland, where Trump remains deeply unpopular.

More than two-thirds of Irish people do not welcome the visit, according to a Sunday Independent / Ireland Thinks poll reported last week.

A "No Welcome for Trump" demonstration is planned in Dublin on Saturday, with protesters angry about his policies on Gaza, immigration and climate change.

Demonstrations are also expected around Doonbeg and its nearest airport, Shannon, over the weekend.

The golf course itself has twice been targeted by pro-Palestinian activists in the past 18 months.

Police patrolled Doonbeg's main street this week as preparations intensified for what security sources have described as one of the most complex security operations ever mounted in Ireland.

Around 4,000 Irish and US security personnel are expected to be involved, with armed officers including snipers and anti-drone technology among the measures planned.

In Doonbeg -- population 784 -- the Trump resort employs around 300 people at the height of the tourist season.

Local councillor and cafe owner Rita McInerney estimates it contributes around six million euros ($7 million) annually to the local economy through wages, plus a similar amount through purchases of goods and services.

- 'Welcome' -

Young people in particular find summer work at the sprawling complex, which attracts large numbers of American visitors.

"It's bandied about that the resort has put half of (County) Clare through college," she laughed, while handing a customer an americano through the hatch of her coffee truck.

The golf course and its economic relationship with the region predates Trump.

Community activist Tommy Comerford was part of a local group that began pursuing the idea of building a golf resort in the 1990s, hoping to create jobs and stem economic decline.

US developers eventually built the course, which opened in 2002. Trump bought the struggling resort in 2014 for a reported 15 million euros.

"International politics is very difficult," Comerford told AFP outside his pub on Doonbeg's main street.

"A lot of things have happened over the last few years which are outside our control," he said.

For Comerford, Trump's politics and his role as a local investor are separate issues.

"People have their right to agree or disagree with the developer. But that's not our problem," he said.

"I would say to Trump that you are welcome to Doonbeg as an investor who has increased our economy here and provided jobs."

Trump's son Eric, who oversees the family's golf interests, is a more regular visitor and is familiar to villagers.

Nearby, a shop window displayed a poster of the US president wearing a red cap emblazoned with the golf-themed slogan "Make Birdies Great Again".

Local pensioner Kevin Bridgeman said he would have no hesitation greeting Trump if their paths crossed.

"If Donald Trump walked down the road, I'd go over and shake his hand and say, 'Welcome to Doonbeg'," the 63-year-old said.

Then he grinned. "I'd tell him, 'it's your round. Now let's go to the bar and buy me a drink!'"

Months into the Middle East war, the world's biggest oil exporter is faced with a major flare-up with the Houthis, who set energy facilities ablaze and wounded dozens this week in their biggest missile-and-drone assault in years.

Saudi jets carried out dozens of airstrikes in response, a reminder of the Yemen war when tens of thousands of strikes from the Saudi-led coalition hammered Houthi-held areas until a ceasefire in 2022.

Now the world's biggest oil exporter must find a way to keep the Houthis at bay and maintain crude exports while pursuing an ambitious economic overhaul, including giant tourism projects and preparations for the 2034 World Cup.

- How much pressure is Saudi under? -

Saudi oil exports via the Gulf have been all but halted by Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Much of the outflow has been redirected to the Red Sea, on the western Saudi coast, via pipeline.

However, Houthi attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, plus strikes on a major oil refinery in Jizan and other energy facilities close to their shared border, are putting such workarounds under threat.

"The economic dimension is crucial," said Andreas Krieg, a Gulf expert from King's College London.

"Saudi Arabia is already contending with disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz and Houthi pressure on shipping in the Red Sea.

"Attacks on Jazan and other vital economic infrastructure in the south place the Kingdom's export system under pressure from both ends."

Riyadh has been increasingly using an Egyptian pipeline to transport its oil to the Mediterranean since a Houthi maritime blockade on the kingdom began in July.

Oil exports from the Egyptian port of Kerir more than doubled in August to 2.3 million barrels a day, with the majority of it Saudi crude, according to maritime tracking firm Kpler.

- What are Riyadh's military options? -

Riyadh has frequently used air power when fighting the Houthis, relying heavily on aerial attacks after opening hostilities at the head of an international coalition in 2015.

The Houthis have reported more than 100 Saudi airstrikes in recent days, although Riyadh has not confirmed this.

But Saudi Arabia has spent years trying to withdraw from the Yemen war, supporting a 2022 ceasefire which finally collapsed in July.

But returning to a large-scale air campaign seems unlikely, analysts say, with Riyadh preferring to use Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces as its primary weapon.

"For now, Saudi Arabia has reasons to favour a more gradual response," the International Crisis Group's Ahmed Nagi wrote in an analysis.

"Rather than immediately launching a sustained air campaign, it is letting Yemeni forces take the lead on the ground" while providing them with support.

"In this way, Riyadh hopes to rebuild deterrence without immediately resuming all-out war. But the space for restraint could rapidly narrow."

Aziz Alghashian, Saudi researcher at the Gulf International Forum, also said he expected a "measured" response from Saudi Arabia.

"It is unlikely that the Saudi forces will plan for a long campaign," he told AFP.

- Will it call on its allies? -

Last month, Saudi Arabia signed a NATO-style mutual defence agreement with Turkey and nuclear-armed Pakistan in Mecca.

On Tuesday, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan would "honour" the pact "in case there is a need".

But the alliance is in its early days and it seems unlikely Pakistan or Turkey would get involved, said Anna Jacobs of the Arab Gulf States Institute.

"The Mecca alliance is still an emerging platform so it's not likely to play a major role in Saudi Arabia's military response to the Houthis," she said.

In July, United States President Donald Trump said Washington would respond against the Houthis if they attempted to block maritime traffic in the Red Sea.

Weeks of US strikes from March 2025, early in Trump's presidency, hit a range of military and industrial targets. The Houthis said hundreds of people were killed.

A hospital source told AFP there was a "total of 14 deaths, all under 10 years old", while a local leader said the provisional toll was "more than 500 homes burned and 27 deaths".

Over half a year after the war erupted on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Iran is upping the ante, even risking a return to all-out fighting, rather than dialling down and looking into diplomacy.

Trump, under pressure to end the war as midterm elections loom on November 3, declared on Wednesday: "I think the war will end immediately after the election" because Iran "can't hold out any longer".

But even as the chain of command in Tehran remains nebulous with Khamenei's successor and son Mojtaba still yet to make a public appearance, the leadership has doubled down on the Islamic republic's traditional policy of confrontation with the United States.

Far from allowing the return of free shipping through the Strait of Hormuz -- a vital energy conduit that normally carries around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas -- it has announced and then expanded a new prohibited zone in the area.

"Iran perceives that it is winning the war and that the US is losing," Thomas Juneau, professor at the University of Ottawa, told AFP.

"It perceives a window of opportunity to exploit US weakness and vulnerability to reshape the regional order to its benefit," he added.

- 'Exploit US vulnerabilities' -

Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at UK-based think tank Chatham House, said Iran "is trying to convert escalation into increased leverage".

"Tehran believes that pressure on Hormuz and the threat of wider disruption can exploit US vulnerabilities, especially the political and economic costs of another Middle East crisis ahead of the midterms," she added.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday they targeted 10 vessels that were attempting to cross this prohibited area of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Guards also said they struck a US military base in Jordan in response to US forces destroying five Iranian oil tankers a day earlier. CBS News reported that roughly eight US F-15s sustained light damage in the Iranian strikes overnight Tuesday.

Iran believes that ahead of the midterms "the US is constrained from escalating and because of that, an easily distracted president Trump is ceding the momentum to Iran," said Juneau.

On the streets of Tehran, there is no let-up from the ideology of confrontation, with banners proclaiming "we will kill Trump" and showing coffins of American forces being brought home, according to AFP images.

- 'Hopes to weaken Trump' -

The new prohibited zone was announced on state television on Sunday by Mohsen Rezaei, new head of Iran's supreme national security council, one of several veteran hardliners elevated to key posts by the still unseen Mojtaba Khamenei.

"We don't trust the United States, and we will not take further steps unless they engage in trust building measures... They need to deliver," Rezaei, wearing a full military uniform, declared confidently.

Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi on Wednesday issued a string of demands for ending the war, ranging from the withdrawal of Israeli forces operating in south Lebanon to the release of some $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets.

Iran is hoping that bruising Trump ahead of the midterms could prompt his Republicans to lose control of the House of Representatives and even the Senate, reducing the president to lame duck status for the last two years of his presidency, analysts say.

"Iran cannot defeat the United States militarily," said Ali Alfoneh, a senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute.

"Instead, Tehran hopes to weaken President Trump politically by contributing to a Republican defeat in the midterm elections -- keeping gasoline prices high and reminding American voters that the president has entangled the United States in the very 'never-ending war' he promised to avoid," he added.

- 'Anger will mount' -

Contrary to Trump's confidence that the war can end soon, the Wall Street Journal reported the president had been warned by advisers that Iran could resist the United States up to even after he is due to leave office in January 2029.

Vakil of Chatham House said Iran "could be overestimating how much escalation Washington will tolerate but sees this strategy as the only pathway to pressuring Trump."

Beyond the continued public absence of its supreme leader, Iran's leadership is facing a host of problems including an economic crisis that in January sparked protests put down by a crackdown that left thousands dead.

"There absolutely is a risk of Iran overplaying its hand," said Juneau, adding the leadership is "very vulnerable domestically" and "popular anger will only mount as economic problems worsen".

The Houthis, who control large parts of northwest Yemen, launched a large-scale offensive last week against Yemeni government forces, who are backed by Saudi Arabia.

They also launched attacks on Saudi territory that left dozens of people wounded, in a conflict that has reignited during the Middle East war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

Witnesses told AFP they saw Houthi forces entering Mokha on Thursday while chanting "death to America, death to Israel".

The Yemeni military source said they were advancing towards the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait "after having taken control of Mokha".

The waterway, which links Asia to Europe via the Red Sea and Suez Canal, has gained importance as a transit route since the start of the wider Middle East war, which saw Iran blockade the Strait of Hormuz.

The military source said the Houthis also seized Zuqar Island, in the southern Red Sea, "after rocket attacks and a ground assault carried out using boats transporting fighters".

Also on Thursday, the Houthis reported airstrikes.

"The Saudi enemy's air force conducted around 40 strikes in recent hours in the governorates of Taiz, Hodeida, Al-Jawf and Marib," Houthi news agency Saba said.

- Hundreds dead -

Yemen relapsed into war in July after years of relative calm punctured by sporadic violence and deepening poverty.

Since last week, the fighting in Yemen has left more than 500 dead, mostly combatants, according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources.

It has also forced nearly 20,000 people to flee their homes, the International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis said the anti-government fighters fired ballistic missiles and drones at several cities in southern Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi civil defence issued alerts warning of "potential danger" in two areas, Khamis Mushait and Abha, before lifting them soon after.

The Houthis triggered the return to hostilities in July when they let an Iranian plane land in defiance of Saudi control of Yemeni airspace.

The government retaliated by striking Sanaa airport, an attack the Houthis blamed on its sponsor, Saudi Arabia.

The ongoing exchanges risk returning Yemen to a conflict that left hundreds of thousands of people dead and sparked one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The Houthis, after seizing Yemen's capital and forcing out the internationally recognised government, fought a Saudi-led coalition from 2015 until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire in 2022.

The attack comes at a time when the two warring sides have stepped up long- range barrages on each other hundreds of kilometres behind the front lines, increasingly targeting civilian sites alongside factories, refineries, warehouses and ports.

According to statistics verified by the United Nations, civilian deaths in Ukraine are running at their highest rate since the first months after Russia invaded in February 2022.

"About an hour ago, the Russians struck a shopping centre in Pavlograd city centre. It happened in broad daylight whilst the streets were packed with people," Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said on Telegram.

The Ukrainian Public Prosecutor's Office and the regional governor, Oleksandr Ganja, reported a provisional toll of three dead and 34 injured, adding that commercial premises and vehicles had been damaged.

While Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that talks on ending Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II could happen this month, the Kremlin has said it was "too early" to discuss a venue or dates.

With Washington hoping to revive long-stalled stalled efforts towards ending the fighting, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump discussed the conflict on Tuesday in what the Kremlin called an "extremely frank" and constructive hour-long phone call.

US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner also visited Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend in an attempt to kickstart long-stalled US efforts to end the fighting.

Several previous rounds of talks have failed to bring the warring neighbours closer together.

Moscow is demanding Ukraine cede territory in its eastern Donetsk region that it still controls and renounce Western military support.

Kyiv has said such terms amount to capitulation and would only allow Russia to prepare a fresh attack in its bid to install a Moscow-friendly puppet government.

Polls show that far-right leader Marine Le Pen -- who has questioned France's role in NATO and support for Ukraine -- has her best shot of winning the presidency.

"The elections in France will be in May next year, and again, whatever the outcome, NATO is there, will stay together, will stay strong," Rutte told a meeting of German diplomats in Berlin.

"I have every confidence that whoever is elected in whichever election will stay the course when it comes to the key elements of investing in defence, making sure Ukraine will not lose this war."

The NATO chief said the alliance should not be "naive" over the menace from Russia in the face of calls to reach an accommodation with President Vladimir Putin.

"This is long-term. It is a threat," he said.

The comments came as well against the backdrop of the crushing election victory of Germany's far-right AfD in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, a result that has rocked the country political status quo.

"It's not up to me to comment on national politics," Rutte said.

He said that NATO would work with "whoever is elected" to lead its 32 member states.

Rutte, who served as prime minister of the Netherlands for over a decade, said that politics was a "combat sport" and advised governments in general to stick to reforms they see as necessary to boost the economy.

"Staying the course is always the best," he said.

"Algeria has decided to cut diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates, following the exhaustion of all means to preserve bilateral relations," Algeria's state television announced.

Algiers said it was giving the UAE ambassador to Algeria 48 hours "to comply with the decision".

President Abdelmajid Tebboune has often referred to the UAE in speeches as a "micro-state" or "statelet" seeking to destabilise several countries in the region.

"Wherever they set foot, blood flows," he said in a televised interview in July, adding that the UAE has had a "very negative impact".

"We want them to stay away, so that blood does not flow in our country," he added.

At the time, Tebboune said a diplomatic break "would have happened long ago" had Algeria not sought to avoid "deepening divisions" in the Arab world.

The UN General Assembly voted on Friday to adopt the new map, which makes the African continent larger while also shrinking North America and Europe, drawing condemnation from the United States.

Japan was among the 164 UN members that supported the resolution but has now taken issue with it because it shows the Kurils, known in Japan as the Northern Territories, in the same colour as Russia.

Top Japanese government spokesman Minoru Kihara said the new map -- known as the Equal Earth cartographic projection -- "contained a depiction contradicting the Japanese government's position".

"We lodged a protest with the map site's operator through our diplomatic channel to demand the correction of this depiction," Kihara told reporters.

He declined to say when the issue was brought to government's attention but said Japan "needs to prevent misconceptions of our territories and geographical names from spreading".

The disputed islands were seized in 1945 by the former Soviet Union, which then expelled the Japanese population.

Relations between Japan and Russia soured significantly last month when President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the disputed islands for the first time.

Japan swiftly summoned Moscow's ambassador, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi saying Putin's visit "offends the sentiments of the Japanese people" and calling it "absolutely unacceptable".

She said the islands were "an inherent part of Japan's territory, both historically and under international law".

Moscow quickly hit back, saying it "categorically" rejects such statements, "which we consider politically inappropriate, insulting and, of course, legally unfounded".

The UN said the new map aims to present "a more accurate representation" of continental landmasses than was portrayed by more traditional Mercator projections.

Of 42 people on board, 12 were safely evacuated, while five were hospitalised with injuries and were in stable condition, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The Asian giants have been warming ties since a deadly 2020 border clash, with flights, visas and high-level contacts gradually being restored.

"At the invitation of Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi, President Xi Jinping will attend the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi from September 12 to 13," a foreign ministry statement read.

Modi visited China in August last year, in a first sign of the cautious thaw.

However, deep mistrust remains, with their contested frontier, a widening trade deficit and strategic rivalry still complicating ties.

Beijing and New Delhi regularly accuse each other of trying to seize territory along their unofficial high-altitude demarcation line.

A deadly clash between soldiers from the two countries in 2020 on the border between Tibet and the Indian region of Ladakh left 20 dead on the Indian side and four among the Chinese.

Xi last visited India in October 2019, where he met with Modi.

"If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000. It will be called the Trump dividend," he told the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, as the party struggles in polls against the Democrats.

The president did not disclose where the money would come from -- with the theoretical bill likely topping $1 trillion -- saying only that "our country is making so much money."

Doubling down on his bet that he can help Republicans defy opinion polls and retain both houses of Congress on November 3, Trump said: "I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot."

"I'm on the ballot, I'm on the ballot -- just one more time," he told the crowd.

Opinion polls overwhelmingly show that Trump's approval ratings are in the low 30s, as voters become increasingly angry about high prices and the war he launched against Iran.

Decision Desk HQ projects Democrats to win the House 230-205 and the Senate to finish 51-49 in their favor in November.

Vice President JD Vance said US tariffs "generated a lot of revenues" and that the Trump dividend was a way to benefit Americans.

"What the president is just saying is... If you keep us in power and allow us to continue to do these things, then you are going to share in some of the benefit of this incredible wealth," Vance said in a Fox News interview.

"I don't think it's a controversial idea," he added.

- Trump defends Iran war -

Trump strongly defended the unpopular Iran war, predicting victory and linking it directly to lower oil prices -- before suggesting the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz should be renamed after him.

"Food prices and almost every other item are rapidly going down. And by the way oil will be going down as soon as we win the war with Iran, which is taking place right now," Trump said.

Trump also echoed other Republicans at the convention stirring up what he said was a wave of communism threatening the United States.

"It's going to be a communist country if they win," he said.

"Your vote will decide whether our country stumbles at the starting gate of the next 250 years or surges forward and never ever looks back," he said.

Trump is due to return for the convention finale Thursday, after a keynote address from Vance.

Cabinet members, congressional leaders and candidates in closely watched House and Senate races are also on the program.

The central Republican gamble is whether Trump can mobilize voters personally loyal to him even when he is not actually running, without further alienating independents who have soured on his presidency.

- Political headwinds -

Inside the American Airlines Center, there was little sign of Republican anxiety about November.

The convention even featured a video address from Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who has become increasingly at odds with his party's left wing over issues including Israel.

Republicans highlighted tax cuts and immigration enforcement, touting boosted manufacturing and lower prescription drug prices.

The cavernous arena was festooned with Trump posters as supporters milled around in sequined jackets patterned with his name, image and the American flag, some topped with ten-gallon hats.

Food stalls hawked snacks while merchandise stands did brisk business in T-shirts, mugs, posters and copies of the latest literary offering from the Trump clan, "Under Siege" by the president's second son, Eric.

Despite the political headwinds facing Republicans, the mood was festive. Chants of "USA! USA!" -- familiar from Trump's campaign rallies -- echoed around the hall as the national anthem opened the program.

Trump's speech was received warmly in the room, with spontaneous bursts of chanting after each applause line, and the enthusiasm spilled into the vast atrium outside.

Dallas local Tracey Wroblski, 59, said Trump was "on fire" with his inspiring midterm messaging.

"It's awesome, it's meaty, it's we're fixing our country," she told AFP.

"He's funny, and he's, he's on point. We're not going to communism. We're staying Republican, thank you very much."

The gathering is the first Republican national convention held specifically for a midterm election, although no candidates are being nominated and no formal party business is planned.

Instead, organizers have constructed what amounts to a two-night television rally touting Trump's record and Republican candidates.

More than 100 House members and candidates were expected to attend, with over 50 speakers or presentations scheduled each night.

The blaze broke out on the M/V June Aster Wednesday evening about 2.2 kilometres (1.3 miles) off the shores of Palawan province, the coast guard said, adding that five bodies as well as 43 survivors had been brought ashore.

The coast guard has yet to establish the cause of the fire, but said one survivor reported hearing a "loud explosion" from the cargo hold.

"After that there was smoke and fire. As per the testimony of the survivor, it escalated quickly. After seconds, the fire started spreading," coast guard spokeswoman Noemie Cayabyab told reporters Thursday.

With the fire not yet extinguished, rescuers have been unable to search the vessel, Cayabyab said, adding that some people may still be trapped inside.

Waiting for nearly 24 hours for updates about the missing, hundreds of people desperate for news about the incident have left comments on the Facebook page of a local mayor, searching for relatives, friends and even a dog.

The ferry's manifest listed 134 passengers and crew. It was also carrying goods, an electric vehicle, a pickup truck and motorcycles.

Of the 43 rescued, 38 were passengers and four were crew, said Cayabyab. The identity of another survivor was not immediately clear.

"Most of the people we rescued were those who had been swimming away from the vessel," said the spokeswoman.

She said many were in a state of shock, and comprehensive interviews that could shed light on the incident will only take place later on.

As the search continued for the 86 people presumed missing, coast guard, military personnel and local responders were working to tamp down the thick smoke billowing from the ferry.

Fishermen and private resort owners from the area had also joined the search, while the Philippine Army deployed rescue boats and has a military aircraft on standby.

The company that owns the ferry, Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc, said they were fully cooperating with the investigation.

"We are working around the clock and have mobilised all available resources to manage this crisis," the company said in a statement.

"Our hearts remain with the affected families, and we will not rest until all individuals are accounted for."

The ferry, which left from the capital Manila and was headed for the town of Coron, is currently aground on an island in Palawan province.

In January, a triple-decker ferry carrying more than 340 people sank off the southern Philippines, killing at least 52 people.

The M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 sank along nearly the same route where 31 people died in 2023 after a fire broke out aboard the Lady Mary Joy 3 ferry.

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino distanced himself from the initiative, which was launched Tuesday by a majority of lawmakers.

The Central American nation established diplomatic relations with China in 2017 after severing ties with the island of Taiwan -- a self-governing democracy that Beijing regards as a renegade province.

On Tuesday, 45 of the 71 deputies in Panama's National Assembly formed the group to seek investment and foster commercial and political exchanges with Taiwanese business leaders and parliamentarians.

In a statement Tuesday, China's embassy in Panama expressed "strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition" to the decision, accusing the lawmakers of "flagrant interference in China's internal affairs".

The statement asserted that the parliamentary group "violates the 'One China' principle... contradicts the Panamanian state's foreign policy, and sends the wrong signal". It said the lawmakers were undermining bilateral relations.

Medin Jimenez, a lawmaker of the opposition Panamenista Party, told AFP that Panama is "neutral" and "must strengthen all its relations with friendly nations".

The group includes lawmakers from various parties. According to local media, officials from the National Assembly leadership attended the launch event.

However, Mulino, the president, wrote on his X account that "outreach, travel, and exchanges by Assembly members with Taiwan do not imply endorsement by the Executive branch."

In recent months, about 20 Panamanian lawmakers have traveled to Taiwan and met officials and business leaders.

Opposition lawmaker Jose Perez told EcoTV it was cooperation between two countries that "understand democratic values".

The goal is to seek "benefits for the Panamanian people", such as scholarships and knowledge exchange, he added.

Panama's relations with China have cooled following the Panamanian judiciary's decision to cancel a concession granted to a Hong Kong-based company to operate two ports on the Panama Canal, which connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean.

The cancellations followed pressure from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to take over the canal, claiming it was being controlled by Beijing.

"It approximately starts from the direction of Chabahar, covering part of the Sea of Oman and another part of the Arabian Sea, along the route that can lead to the Strait of Hormuz," Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi told state television.

"If a vessel enters that area without coordination, it will be subject to our sanctions... It means, for example, that if it later wants to come and use the Strait of Hormuz, if it wants to receive services somewhere, such as insurance or other related services, we will refrain from providing those services," he added.

The announcement comes after Iran reported "significant progress" with Oman, both coastal states on Hormuz, in discussions of a temporary shipping route through the strait.

Iranian forces have restricted traffic through Hormuz, a vital energy conduit, since the start of the war with the United States on February 28. The US has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.

Tehran has required vessels to seek permission to transit, insisting there will be no return to the pre-war system of unrestricted navigation.

On Tuesday, Iranian forces said they have struck 10 vessels which attempted to cross Hormuz without coordination.

US President Donald Trump said in recent days that American forces have helped facilitate the passage of vessels through the strait, "averaging 30 ships a night".

Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei said Sunday that the US tries each night to help five or six ships through, "and usually these ships get hit".

During his interview on Wednesday, Mohebi said the war with the United States could end if Washington halts "renewed threats, withdraw the Israeli regime's army from Lebanon and end the blockade of Yemen," in reference to Saudi Arabia's decade-long restrictions on ports and airports run by Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

He added the US should also "release $24 billion in Iran's frozen assets, and refrain from any interference in the country's nuclear and missile capabilities."

The second day of the search has come up empty-handed, the Basarnas national search and rescue agency said.

The group set out on a speedboat from an area west of Jakarta on Monday afternoon, but the crew lost contact with the boat owner soon after, according to rescuers.

The five Indonesian journalists were on a mission to capture photos and video of the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau, which for days paralysed several airports and blanketed cities including Jakarta in volcanic ash.

They were accompanied by two boat crew members and a guide.

The search effort launched on Tuesday afternoon but paused hours later due to high waves and poor visibility.

Rescuers have combed through an area of more than 270 nautical miles, including islands near the volcano, in an operation involving dozens of police officers, soldiers, fishermen and volunteers, the Basarnas agency said in a statement.

"So far, the search result is zero," local Basarnas head Al Amrad said on Wednesday afternoon.

The operation has been suspended for the day and will resume on Thursday, he told AFP.

Rescuers were proceeding cautiously as Anak Krakatau continued to spew thick volcanic ash, he added.

"The search will continue to be carried out according to conditions on the ground," Al Amrad said.

The agency said it had deployed high-speed search and rescue vessels, inflatable boats and thermal drones in the search.

The journalists are employed by local and international media, including state news agency Antara, Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu and local website iNews.

One of the journalists contacted a colleague and shared his location at 3:00 pm on Monday, but has not been heard from since, the rescue agency said.

Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in the Southeast Asian archipelago, due in part to lax safety standards and inclement weather.

In January, three Spanish tourists died when their boat sank off eastern Indonesia, and a 10-year-old boy was listed as officially missing, presumed dead, after authorities ended the search.

He was a divisive figure, with Chinese state media hailing him on Wednesday as a "renowned patriot" and "close friend of the Communist Party", though some of his policies sparked widespread protests.

Tung, a former shipping tycoon hand-picked by Beijing to run the former British colony after its 1997 handover, resigned in 2005 after a rocky tenure.

He steered the city as it was battered by the Asian financial crisis, the deadly SARS epidemic and mass protests in its turbulent early years back under Chinese rule.

Tung "passed away peacefully in the presence of his beloved family members" on Tuesday, a statement from his office said.

His successor Donald Tsang said he was "filled with sorrow", adding that Tung was "an easy-going, gentle and refined man with a broad-minded outlook and far-reaching vision".

The British consulate general in Hong Kong said Tung played a "historic role" as the city's first chief executive after the 1997 handover.

"The United Kingdom worked closely and constructively with his administration in taking forward shared commitments under the Sino-British Joint Declaration," it added, referring to the 1984 agreement that Hong Kong could keep autonomy and some freedoms after returning to Chinese rule under a "One Country, Two Systems" model.

The US consulate said Tung had a "pivotal role" in strengthening ties "during a period of profound transition, both before and after the 1997 handover".

- Rocky tenure -

Known for his distinctive grey crew cut and support for Liverpool football club, Tung was born in Shanghai into one of China's richest shipping dynasties.

Deeply trusted by Beijing's leadership, Tung joined a committee in 1985 to help write the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution. He was then selected as the first post-handover executive.

The first years of his tumultuous leadership coincided with the Asian financial crisis, record unemployment and a crash in the city's property market which hit many ordinary citizens hard.

His tenure was also marred by his government's botched handling of a 1997 avian flu outbreak, and the deadly 2003 SARS outbreak.

More than half a million Hong Kongers hit the streets in July 2003 to protest against restrictive anti-subversion laws proposed by China.

The government was forced to shelve the bill, but July 1 protest marches to mark the handover anniversary became an annual fixture.

The 2003 protests set in motion years of pro-democracy rallies in Hong Kong -- including the huge democracy movement of 2019 -- which eventually resulted in an even more draconian security law imposed by Beijing.

Tung and his cabinet were given a public dressing-down in December 2004 by China's then-president Hu Jintao for poor performance.

In 2024, city officials separately passed Article 23, the homegrown security bill proposed by Tung's administration that led to his resignation.

- 'Implementer' -

Tung became known for comfortably inhabiting different skins, and catering his message for mainland, local and international audiences.

But Hong Kongers nicknamed him "old dumb Tung" as his approval ratings slid, with mounting fears over the future of free speech in the city.

Tung resigned with two years left of his second term in 2005, blaming poor health, and was replaced by his deputy Tsang.

Many of Tung's policies set the tone for the city's development following the handover, with some -- including the strengthening of economic ties with mainland China -- spurring deep-seated grievances in Hong Kong over the years.

His abolition of the Urban Council system, which had operated in Hong Kong for more than a century, was criticised for significantly weakening public power to hold officials to account.

Andrew Shum, a former executive of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union, said on social media that Tung was "an implementer" of Beijing's vision.

After stepping down, Tung served as vice chairman of China's top political advisory bodyand as an elder statesman on Hong Kong affairs.

In recent years, Tung remained largely out of the public eye, absent from many official events including the July 1 handover anniversary flag-raising ceremonies.

Three people are in hospital, two in critical condition and one stable, following Sunday's accident, Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said at a news conference.

Cordero-Stutz said the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was leading the investigation into the accident while the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office would conduct its own inquiry into the deaths on the ground.

NTSB chief Jennifer Homendy said officials were reviewing flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the plane.

Flight data released by investigators on Tuesday suggests the plane tried to abort a landing, before it tore through a perimeter fence and slammed into two vehicles.

NTSB investigator Chihoon Shin said the plane attempted to perform a "go-around" -- a routine safety maneuver where a pilot stops a landing attempt and returns to the air to safely make another approach -- before abandoning it.

The pilots then applied the brakes to try to stop the plane and put the throttle into idle, Shin said.

Homendy said the plane's pilot and co-pilot, aged 55 and 37, would be interviewed on Wednesday.

The plane came to a halt about 1,300 feet (400 meters) past the end of the paved runway surface, Homendy said. The five fatalities were in a cleaning-services van.

Hundreds of flights were delayed at Florida's busiest airport following the crash.

Homendy said the plane was a Boeing 767-300 built in 1994 and operated by 21 Air LLC, based in Miami and contracted to Amazon.

It was on its third flight of the day, and arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The BO-105 helicopter operated by the country's Flying Doctor Service, went down on Tuesday afternoon about 315 kilometres (195 miles) southeast of the city of Miri, disaster management officials said.

"All five on board are deceased as confirmed by reports from the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) and the Ministry of Health," Galong Luang, Miri's disaster management chairman, said in a statement.

The pilot, a doctor, a medical assistant and two nurses were among those killed, according to local media.

Footage of the crash on social media showed the helicopter belching smoke shortly before crashing.

A Malaysian air crash investigation team is expected to reach the crash site on Wednesday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia said. It is unclear what caused the crash at this stage.

Malaysia's Flying Doctor Service assists indigenous communities who are heavily reliant on air transport due to dense jungles and difficult terrain in the country's interior regions.

Teams typically comprising a medical officer, assistant medical officer, nurses and other health staff travel by helicopter or small aircraft on scheduled monthly or monthly rotations to villages and longhouses.

The August 26 tsunami-like surge of water, mud and debris, which began on the China-Nepal border, has killed more than 1,401 people and left 5,845 missing.

"The rescue and search work in the tunnels at Trishuli 3A, 3B and Chilime hydropower projects is ongoing," Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told AFP.

In Nepal, 1,358 bodies have been recovered and 5,326 people are missing, according to Kathmandu's disaster authority.

In China, 43 people are dead and 519 missing, according to state media.

Hundreds of foreigners are among the missing, as well as hundreds of hydropower workers.

Three people were rescued from deep inside tunnels -- two Nepalis on Friday and a Chinese man on Saturday.

But there has been no official confirmation of further survivors since then.

While the exact cause of the glacial collapse is unclear, climate change is accelerating glacial melt worldwide and increasing the risk of such disasters.

Nepal, a largely rural nation of 30 million people that has contributed little to the greenhouse gas emissions driving global warming, has said reconstruction could cost billions of dollars.

Tehran's bombs came after US forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday in response to Iran targeting an American warship, the second such attack in less than a week.

The United States and Iran are locked in a stalemate six months into the war, with Iran maintaining a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for the world's oil and gas, and Washington pushing a campaign to choke Iran's ports and economy.

The Islamic republic said on Wednesday it would target oil tankers off US-allied Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for the strikes on its tankers.

Minutes later, Iran's Revolutionary Guards -- the most powerful arm of the Iranian military -- said they had struck the US air base of Al-Azraq in Jordan with missiles, state media reported.

The "punitive operation" damaged maintenance and repair facilities, deployment locations and shelters for fighter jets, according to IRNA.

Jordan's army said it shot down 18 missiles from Iran targeting the kingdom.

The strikes came after Tehran urged crews on oil tankers off Kuwait and Bahrain to leave their vessels, warning they "will be targeted", the Guards said in a statement posted on IRNA.

- Oil prices rise -

The latest flare-up was triggered after US forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers, with the US military saying it "directed the crews to abandon ship" before hitting the vessels.

"Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers, and I think you'll see that again today," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday on a visit to Colombia.

Iranian media reported Tuesday that a US missile struck a tanker off the coast of Kharg Island, adding that there were no casualties.

The chief of staff of Iran's army Ali Abdollahi had warned the Islamic republic would hit US bases in the region if Iranian oil tankers were hit.

Global oil prices climbed on Wednesday to near $100 a barrel as the war threatened to further choke supply from the crude-rich Middle East.

The price of Brent crude, the benchmark international contract, rose to $99.38 per barrel, while the main US contract West Texas Intermediate was at $94.51 per barrel.

Iran has largely controlled the Strait of Hormuz -- which normally carries around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas -- since the start of the war in February, with traffic through the waterway virtually paralysed.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards also said on Tuesday they seized "one of the most modern, unmanned" American submarine drone in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military said that the drone had "malfunctioned", insisting it was an "older model" that did not carry any sensitive data.

Iranian state TV also said the Guards had attacked two US destroyers with ballistic missiles.

The US military did not immediately comment on the report.

The recent election of Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella, a hard-right lawyer, has been a game-changer for Washington, which had combative relations with left-wing former president Gustavo Petro.

De la Espriella, a flamboyant 48-year-old millionaire, was elected in June on an anti-establishment platform.

Rubio is to meet the new Colombian president in his stronghold of Barranquilla, a Caribbean port city more famous for being pop star Shakira's hometown than diplomacy.

The Colombian president defeated a left-wing candidate in June's runoff election on the promise of ending peace talks with drug-running armed groups and tackling crime.

Since then, Colombia has stepped up air assaults and authorized joint military operations with the United States.

Colombia has also joined the "Shield of the Americas," the coalition of countries led by Trump to combat drug trafficking in the region.

The stated objective of this trip is "enhanced cooperation in the shared fight against narcoterrorism," according to the State Department.

In Barranquilla, Rubio will also discuss reconstruction after an August 10 earthquake that struck the country's coffee-growing region, killing more than 330 people, according to State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott.

The quake destroyed schools, hospitals and scores of residential buildings across several towns and cities.

The new president has requested US assistance and, in particular, a suspension of customs duties to support reconstruction.

- Hegemonic ambitions -

The tour by America's top diplomat in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru from Tuesday to Thursday comes after a string of right-wing electoral victories across Latin America.

Since President Donald Trump's return to the White House in January 2025, several Latin American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Honduras, have initiated or confirmed a conservative turn.

Washington is openly asserting its desire for hegemony over the South American continent in the name of the "Donroe Doctrine."

That is a blend of Trump's first name with that of James Monroe, the fifth US president, who more than two centuries ago declared Latin America the United States' exclusive sphere of influence.

This ambition is spelled out in the new US National Security Strategy, and Rubio, himself of Cuban heritage, is its chief architect.

This Latin American tour comes days after the United States concluded, seven months after the capture of Nicolas Maduro, an agreement that would see Washington take majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela's oil reserves.

After Colombia, the US Secretary of State will travel to Ecuador, where he will meet President Daniel Noboa.

Washington and Quito are carrying out operations against boats they say are linked to the criminal group Los Choneros, which is involved in drug trafficking in Ecuador.

A year ago, the US government launched a campaign of air strikes against vessels suspected of being used for drug trafficking in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, which left more than 200 dead -- without providing evidence and raising human rights concerns.

The final stop is Peru, which has been led since late July by right-wing President Keiko Fujimori, who is also aligned with the US president's policies.

- Kristersson: gamble with far right -

The 62-year-old former gymnast became prime minister in 2022 after his right-wing coalition reached a deal giving the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats influence over government policy in exchange for their support.

"He has a unifying presence on the right. I think people see him as a reliable candidate for prime minister," Stockholm University political scientist Jan Teorell told AFP.

While the arrangement with the far right secured power for Kristersson's Moderate Party, it has also hurt them in opinion polls, Teorell said, noting that it began losing voter support after just a few months.

Kristersson had previously vowed never to negotiate with the Sweden Democrats.

A Tintin fan with a degree in economics, Kristersson has as prime minister overseen increased defence spending, strict migration policies and a crackdown on organised crime.

He has also been embroiled in several scandals, including scrutiny over a foundation run by his wife, Lutheran priest Birgitta Ed, and the hiring of a childhood friend to serve as national security advisor.

Born in the southern Swedish city of Lund in 1963, Kristersson entered politics as a teen, taking over the Moderates youth wing a few years later.

Considered a skilled debater, he became party leader in 2017.

- Jimmie Akesson: pariah to heavyweight -

As leader of the Sweden Democrats for more than 20 years, Jimmie Akesson has transformed the far-right party with neo-Nazi roots from a political pariah to heavyweight contender whose support is key for the right wing to secure power.

Since 2022, when the minority right-wing government has ruled with the far right's support, Akesson has succeeded in imposing his hardline policies on migration and crime.

The party entered parliament in 2010 and now has around 20 percent of voter support.

With immigration drastically reduced, the far right's focus is now on "re-migration", or incentivising immigrants to leave Sweden.

Born in Solvesborg, a town of 9,000 inhabitants in southern Sweden, Akesson, 47, is from a middle-class family with an entrepreneur father and a nursing assistant mother, part of the "average Swede" image he is keen to cultivate.

A fan of rock music and "pizza with fries", he has worked hard to normalise the far right.

In late June 2025, the party released a lengthy report on its origins, detailing its past ties with fascist and Nazi organisations and members' xenophobic and antisemitic views.

Akesson apologised on behalf of the party, though he still promotes nationalist ideology. In March, he said in an interview with broadcaster SVT that a practising Muslim in Sweden could not be Swedish.

In another SVT interview last month, he said he wanted to "restore order to Sweden's demography".

Akesson has set his sights set on the post of prime minister in 2030.

- Magdalena Andersson: former PM -

Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson, who in 2021-2022 was the first woman to serve as Swedish prime minister, is a hard-nosed technocrat schooled in finance with a reputation for being impatient, blunt and frugal.

The 59-year-old is hoping to oust Kristersson with pledges to strengthen the country's welfare state.

She has led the Social Democrats since November 2021, when she took over the party leadership from Stefan Lofven.

Her no-nonsense and pragmatic attitude appeals to many Swedes, according to political scientist Teorell.

While she is nicknamed "The Bulldozer" for her direct manner, "she has a way of speaking that many people feel they can trust," Teorell told AFP.

"There are similarities to (former German chancellor Angela) Merkel. I think Merkel has been a bit of a role model for her."

Andersson served as finance minister for seven years before becoming prime minister.

In 10 months, she guided Sweden through a period of turbulent domestic politics, the Covid pandemic and led the charge for the country's historic application to join NATO, before losing the 2022 election to Kristersson.

In this year's election campaign, she has vowed to raise taxes to improve healthcare and the welfare system, ban profits at privately-run, publicly-funded schools, and maintain most of the right-wing government's hardline policies on crime and immigration.

The only daughter of a university professor and a teacher, she studied at the Stockholm School of Economics -- with a brief spell at Harvard -- before immersing herself in the Social Democratic party, having joined its youth league aged 16.

She admits she is "miserly by nature".

"I get more excited about saving money than spending it," she said in a 2026 interview.

Opinion polls have pointed to a victory for the centre-left opposition headed by the Social Democrats.

But Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's centre-right coalition and its parliamentary ally, the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, have narrowed the gap in the final weeks of campaigning and the election could go down to the wire, experts say.

"There's still a bit of suspense. But all the polls have for a long time shown a very large lead and it's usually difficult to make up that much ground," Stockholm University political scientist Jan Teorell told AFP.

Three polls in the past week credited the four parties on the left with around 50 percent, and the four on the right with around 47 percent.

The right-wing bloc has vowed to pursue its crackdown on crime and immigration, after years of shootings and bombings linked to organised crime networks.

But the bloc has failed to muster the momentum that swept it to power four years ago.

"It came to power very much on a programme to bring down crime and energy prices. And crime and petrol prices have come down, so those issues no longer top voters' agendas," Teorell said.

Filip Lundin, a 35-year-old businessman, told AFP the government had done "a really good job", with "less shootings, better control of where society is going (and) our economy is growing."

- Far right in government? -

The left has vowed to raise taxes on banks and high incomes to invest in healthcare and schools, and help struggling households face rising costs amid growing economic inequality.

That appeals to 46-year-old Hanna Justine Hallbo who works in fashion.

"Healthcare and the social security system must be improved. That has gone down in the last couple of years."

Opposition leader Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats, Sweden's biggest party, told AFP the election was "about what country Sweden should be."

Voters were faced with the choice of "a Sweden that is more like Sweden, where people have a job and where we can improve our welfare", or "a completely different country with a government dominated by Sweden Democrats, a far-right party founded by neo-Nazis."

The far right, the second-biggest party with around 20 percent of votes, is hoping to enter government for the first time.

The populist party has promised Swedes the lowest gas prices and migration in Europe, and dental care reform.

Kristersson became prime minister in 2022 after his minority coalition reached an unprecedented agreement with the Sweden Democrats, giving the former political pariahs significant influence over government policy, especially crime and immigration, in exchange for its support.

Kristersson has promised the far right cabinet posts, including the migration portfolio, if re-elected.

Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson insists his party should hold several key portfolios, but he is not vying for Kristersson's job -- yet.

"There will be more elections to come, so I'd like to aim for the post of prime minister in 2030 or later," he told AFP in August.

- Security -

Just over a week before the election, extremism watchdog Expo revealed that a Sweden Democrat civil servant in parliament had shared pro-Russian propaganda for years.

Kristersson, dogged by scandals during his term, reacted sharply.

"We are in the middle of a European war," he told daily Aftonbladet.

"You can't have people who spread pro-Russian narratives working in parliament."

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Sweden has joined NATO and is massively rearming and boosting civil preparedness.

It has blamed Moscow for cyberattacks, disinformation and intelligence operations, as well as drone and jet incidents over the Baltic.

There is broad consensus between the government and opposition on NATO and defence issues, and no major policy changes are expected if Sweden pivots to a left-wing government, Teorell predicted.

"But there would be higher taxes and more investment in the welfare system," Teorell said.

Leading industrialist Jacob Wallenberg told the Financial Times he was "deeply concerned" about what that would mean for the thriving tech sector.

With the right-wing bloc trailing in the polls and the four left-wing parties splintered ideologically, thorny negotiations may be needed to form a government.

The weekend visit to Moscow and Kyiv by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner marks Washington's latest bid to break a diplomatic stalemate in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago.

Witkoff touted progress in the meetings and raised the prospect of reviving three-way peace talks to end the war.

Zelensky told US news outlet Axios that the United States was pushing to de-escalate the conflict ahead of the long winter.

Russia has struck Ukraine's energy grid each winter since invading in February 2022, cutting power and heating to millions in temperatures as low as -20C.

Zelensky said the US envoys -- who held separate talks with the Ukrainian and Russian leaders -- told him that "the Russians are ready to negotiate".

"Russia really thinks that this winter can help them to break us," he told Axios.

But the administration of US President Donald Trump could pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to de-escalate, he added, and Putin "doesn't want" to "upset" his US counterpart.

Zelensky said the weekend talks included US proposals around energy facilities, grain shipments and oil and gas exports, but declined to give further details.

The Ukrainian leader said the US approach aimed to resume negotiations between the warring countries and ensure the coming winter was different from previous ones.

The goal was to make progress before or during winter in order to "bring (the) sides closer to the peace," Zelensky said.

The disruption, caused by the eruption of Anak Krakatau, halted nearly 3,000 flights and stranded more than 340,000 passengers.

The country's main airport serving the capital Jakarta and four other airports reopened early Tuesday after authorities cleared volcanic ash from critical infrastructure.

Transport minister Dudy Purwagandhi told reporters it would take time for flight schedules to return to normal.

Dudy said there were around 178 aircraft at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta's main air travel hub.

"We will be operating these aircraft, but before we do so, we want to ensure their airworthiness. So, it may take a bit of extra time," he said.

"We ask for a little patience from passengers and the public, as we will be carrying out inspections to ensure that these aircraft are fit to fly," he added.

The transport minister said three flights departed shortly after the airport reopened, including two commercial flights to eastern Indonesia.

Airport operator Angkasa Pura Indonesia said in a statement that volcanic ash had been cleared from the runway and other areas to ensure the facilities were safe for flights.

Anak Krakatau, which means Child of Krakatau, sits in a strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra.

The volcano erupted at least three times on Tuesday morning alone, according to the head of the Geology Agency, Lana Saria.

It has been sporadically active since it emerged from the sea nearly a century ago in the caldera formed after the 1883 eruption of Mount Krakatau.

A 2018 tsunami triggered by a collapse of parts of Anak Krakatau killed more than 400 people and displaced thousands.

The government said in a statement that the acquisition would "enable the Swedish Armed Forces to operate over larger areas, and with greater long-range capacity than with current systems."

Defence Minister Pal Jonson told reporters that the deal covered about 10 trucks equipped with launchers and a large quantity of ammunition, news agency TT reported.

The first deliveries of the artillery system made by US defence giant Lockheed Martin were set for 2027, according to the government.

"In light of the security situation, rapidly available capabilities are needed that complement conventional artillery systems," such as the Swedish-made Archer artillery system, the government said.

Sweden also announced a joint declaration with Nordic neighbour Finland about deepening cooperation on the countries' rocket artillery systems.

The Swedish government noted that Finland uses the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), which uses the same munitions and components as HIMARS.

Sweden has been racing to boost its defences after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Both Sweden and Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment and joined NATO in the wake of the invasion.

The couple left Britain and quit royal duties in 2020 amid a royal family feud.

But in a surprise move last month Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, returned to live in the UK with their two young children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five.

In the letter Charles makes clear that the couple's position is "akin to private citizens" and that they should not be addressed as his and her royal highness.

So-called "working royals" are members of the royal family who carry out official duties on behalf of the monarch. They receive administrative and other support from the Royal Household to do so.

A letter issued by the Lord Chamberlain, the most senior official in the Royal Household, said that following the couple's relocation there had been "a number of requests for guidance".

The letter was issued "to help avoid doubt or confusion".

"It is well known that in January 2020 the Duke and Duchess stepped down from undertaking representative duties on behalf of the sovereign, and are no longer working members of the royal family," it said.

"This position, distinct from the state and royal duties undertaken by the working royal family, and with the personal latitude it brings the couple in respect of financial independence and protection of their privacy as they would wish, will continue to be fully respected."

- Security concerns -

Current senior working royals are: Charles, his wife Queen Camilla, son and heir Prince William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, as well as Charles's sister Princess Anne and brother Edward and his wife Sophie, known as the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.

Others include several of the late Queen Elizabeth II's cousins.

Harry and Meghan, formally known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are reportedly living in central England's Cotswolds region and are said to have enrolled their children at private schools there for the coming academic year.

Harry's grandmother Queen Elizabeth stripped them of their "Royal Highness" titles, police protection and public funding when they quit royal duties in 2020.

"Their styles as His and Her Royal Highness... are not used," the letter added.

"The charitable work of the duke and duchess is a personal matter for them both and undertaken in their private capacity. In short, their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests."

The clarification comes amid uncertainty over what, if any, security the Sussexes will have paid for by the state.

Britain's Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) -- an independent body overseen by the interior ministry -- decides which politicians, royals and others get police protection.

Harry battled the ministry in the courts after Ravec downgraded his security following his 2020 move.

He lost his bid to reverse the decision but with his permanent return, Ravec's risk management board will likely be re-evaluating the threat level he faces.

The Houthis had accused Riyadh on Monday of carrying out strikes around the country, including the deadly bombardment of a prison.

"Yemeni drones and missiles pound the Saudi enemy," Ansarollah wrote on Telegram.

It said in a separate post that the strikes hit Abha International Airport, King Khalid air base and facilities belonging to state-owned oil giant Aramco in Abha and Jizan.

Saudi Arabia did not immediately comment on the report.

Days of fighting near the Red Sea coast have left more than 300 people dead and displaced hundreds of families as the Houthis try to capture land bordering the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The strait forms the southern entrance to the Red Sea, a shipping artery that has become vital for Saudi oil exports amid Tehran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the US-Iran war on Iran.

Almasirah quoted Hassan Saboula, director-general of civil defence in Jawf province, saying that Monday's prison strike killed 11 people and left 20 inmates missing under the rubble.

Saba news agency, which is affiliated with the Houthi movement, reported earlier that a child visiting the facility was among the dead.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not had access to key nuclear facilities in Iran since Israel, joined by the United States, launched a 12-day conflict in June 2025 that included strikes on nuclear sites.

Nuclear facilities have also been hit in the latest war, which erupted on February 28, and the IAEA has repeatedly urged access.

"The best, shortest way for a positive outcome is for Iran to engage with us," Grossi told a press conference after opening the quarterly meeting of the IAEA board of governors.

A resolution drafted by the United States, Britain, France and Germany expected to be submitted and voted on this week seeks to refer Iran to the UN Security Council for failing to comply with its nuclear reporting obligations.

The draft, seen by AFP, asks Grossi to "submit this resolution to all members of the agency and to the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations".

Asked whether such a referral was the right course of action, Grossi said that "my job with Iran continues, irrespective of the resolution".

"If Iran engages with us in a serious dialogue, if we can start getting access... I can guarantee to you that this will have very, very positive repercussions," he said.

Prior to the June 2025 strikes, the IAEA calculated that Iran possessed approximately 440 kilogrammes of uranium enriched to 60 percent, which is close to the 90 percent needed to make a bomb and well above the 3.67-percent limit set by a 2015 now-defunct agreement with Iran.

Since June 2025, the fate of this stockpile has remained uncertain.

In a statement ahead of the meeting on Monday, Grossi called the lack of contact with Iran "regrettable".

"These issues are not going to disappear until we address them, until we have the necessary access, until we can return," he said.

Iran's mission to the UN on X called the draft resolution a "new desperate action" that would bring "no benefit".

In June, the board approved a western resolution demanding that Iran immediately provide information and give access to its uranium stockpile and production facilities.

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last month visited two sites, one in Deir Ezzor and a second undisclosed location identified to them by Syrian authorities.

In a report seen by AFP last week, the IAEA said it found that Syria's previous government was building a nuclear reactor.

Longtime ruler Assad was toppled in December 2024, bringing to power the current Islamist government.

IAEA head Rafael Grossi said it was "obvious that the previous government was pursuing a number of clandestine" activities.

"I cannot judge intentions, but it is very clear that these activities were not declared, they didn't want the world to know what they were doing," he told reporters after opening the Vienna-based agency's quarterly Board of Governors meeting.

"Given the configuration, the technical features of that type of reactor, this is a reactor that is very efficient in the production of fissile material that could be used directly for the fabrication of nuclear weapons," he said, adding that building the reactor was a "very important step".

He added that the reactor -- which is currently being excavated -- "was almost completed".

"It was in a very advanced stage of construction," he said, adding that it was "very possible and cannot be excluded that the then Syrian authorities also performed some explosions in order to... hinder any possibility of an investigation".

Besides the nuclear reactor under construction at the Deir Ezzor site, the IAEA found a fuel fabrication plant, where the nuclear fuel for the reactor was manufactured, and a location where nuclear fuel as well as uranium scrap and waste were stored.

In its report, the IAEA said it found around 73 tonnes of natural uranium metal.

Grossi has praised Damascus's "courageous decision" to report the undisclosed site.

The UN atomic watchdog had declared in 2011 that the location was "very likely" to host a nuclear reactor, adding that its information suggested it was being built with North Korean assistance.

On Monday, Grossi said it was up to the IAEA board to decide on the Syria file and that he currently had not been tasked to further investigate alleged connections to North Korea.

A draft resolution seen by AFP, expected to be submitted to the board this week for a vote, proposes closing the Syria nuclear file.

The IAEA will continue to work with Syria to keep the material safe and report its findings, Grossi said.

"A Royal Navy of Oman vessel provided logistical support to the tanker's 25-member crew and evacuated 16 crew members while ensuring that the necessary medical care was provided," Oman's Maritime Security Centre said in a statement.

The statement did not elaborate on the fate of all the crew members but confirmed two seamen on the vessel, the SIDR, had been killed in the incident.

Saudi Arabia's national shipping firm said on Wednesday that two Filipino sailors were killed when the tanker was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz as fresh violence flared between the US and Iran earlier in the week.

After six months of war, the foes remain at an impasse, with Iran disrupting traffic in the strategic Strait of Hormuz and the US persisting with a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

The August 26 glacial and mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border killed at least 1,398 people, with more than 5,500 missing, including around 800 foreigners.

Flags flew at half-mast, with candlelight vigils planned later in the day, as the nation marked the 13th day after death, following Hindu mourning rituals.

Hundreds of hydropower workers are among the missing, but the rescue of three of them from deep inside tunnels -- two Nepalis on Friday and a Chinese man on Saturday -- have buoyed hopes that more could still be alive.

Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet said rescue efforts were continuing at "the same tempo" to make sure "that no one is still stranded".

Entire communities have been swept away, with roads destroyed and homes demolished.

- 'Hope' -

But families of some of the missing workers who gathered in the capital Kathmandu said the government must move faster.

"We have a lot of hope," said Reena Amatya Shrestha, whose brother is among the missing.

"They say they are doing rescue. If the rescue is there, where's the result? We need the result."

Australian tunnel rescue expert Arnold Dix, who is advising Nepali teams, said the operation presented an unprecedented challenge.

"We are facing something I have never faced before," said Dix, president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, in a post on social media.

"Not one rescue, but multiple potential rescues, unfolding at the same time, in different places, each with its own dangers, uncertainties, and lives that may still be saved."

Foreign experts, including from China, India and South Korea, are aiding Nepali teams in rescue efforts.

"We are measured not only by the lives we save, but by the lives we refuse to abandon," said Dix.

Drone pilot Adarsha Raj Bhusal recalled sinking into mud after leaping from a helicopter into the flood-ravaged Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower tunnel in Rasuwa district days after the disaster.

"The moment I landed I sank into the mud up to my waist," the 24-year-old told AFP on Monday in Nuwakot district.

"Other soldiers were there to help, but they were struggling just as much as I was. That's how bad the conditions were... It was intense the entire way in."

- 'New life' -

Nepal President Ram Chandra Paudel visited relief camps in Nuwakot district on Monday, speaking to those left homeless by the disaster "caused by the unprecedented flooding", his office said in a statement.

With mortuaries overflowing, Nepal has buried hundreds of bodies in mass graves after taking DNA samples for future identification, according to police.

Despite the gloom, there have been remarkable tales of survival.

Chandika Shrestha, a 64-year-old Nepali woman, was pulled out alive from her mud-covered home in Bidur on Saturday.

Shrestha's family had already held a symbolic funeral ceremony, believing her dead.

"Chandika has got a new life," her neighbour Buddhi Lal Dongol told AFP. "It would be so good if the others who are missing also came back."

While the exact cause of the glacial collapse is unclear, climate change is accelerating glacial melting worldwide, increasing the risk of such disasters.

Nepal, a largely rural nation of 30 million people that has contributed little to the greenhouse gas emissions driving global warming, has said reconstruction could cost billions of dollars.

Its economy is already under pressure, with limited resources to respond to a disaster of this scale.

A UN preliminary assessment estimated building damage from Nepal's floods at $158 million alone, warning that total losses -- including damage to roads and bridges, agricultural land and humanitarian costs -- would be far higher.

The disaster has come just ahead of the anniversary of last year's September 8-9 mass anti-corruption protests that toppled the government.

Rescuers have retrieved 1,355 bodies in Nepal, while around 4,996 people are missing, according to the disaster agency.

The toll in China stands at 43 dead and 519 missing, according to state media.

On Monday, local volunteer groups in Kathmandu packed utensils, blankets and clothes to be distributed to survivors.

"As Nepalis, we've always been told that you look after your people," volunteer Ashim GC told AFP.

"And these are our people." 

The museum, which holds the world's largest collection of Naga artefacts, confirmed it was preparing the repatriation after the university approved a restitution request by the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR).

The remains "have been away from their homeland for far too long", museum director Laura Van Broekhoven said in a statement sent to AFP.

The human remains were collected in the early 20th century by British colonial administrators and some remained on public display until 2020.

"Repatriation, for the Nagas, is not simply about bones and ancestral remains finding their way back to the land but importantly about memory returning to where it belongs," the FNR and other Naga organisations said in a statement sent to AFP, welcoming the agreement.

The request covered 40 sets of human remains, Pitt Rivers Museum said.

Oxford University approved the return of 39 of them on July 13, concluding that one specimen "does not have a clear provenance as Naga".

The museum said it was "working closely" with the Naga community to agree a date for a handover ceremony, which hasn't been set yet.

The agreement forms part of a wider international movement to repatriate artifacts and human remains acquired by Western institutions during the colonial era.

In 2022, London's Horniman Museum returned 72 artifacts to Nigeria, including 12 Benin bronze artefacts, and earlier this year the University of Edinburgh returned the skulls of six people to a Native American group.

Greece has for decades demanded the return from Britain of the Parthenon Marbles, saying they were looted in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.

London insists they were legally acquired and successive British governments have noted that the decision rests with the British Museum, where they are kept.

Trump has not explicitly responded but posted an infographic of the results on his Truth Social platform on Sunday evening, indicating his interest.

Former US ambassador to Germany during Trump's first term, Richard Grenell, celebrated the results as "a huge win and a new day in Germany."

"The people are ready for change no matter what names you call them," he said on X.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk was among the first to celebrate AfD's victory with a resounding "Well done!" in response to a post from AfD's co-leader Alice Weidel.

Ulrich Siegmund, the 35-year-old lead candidate for AfD in Saxony-Anhalt state, thanked Musk for his support and said he would "welcome the opportunity for strong and constructive cooperation."

"Germany would once again be a place worth investing in," he said on X.

Musk has been a longtime supporter of the AfD, having previously described it as "the best hope for the future of Germany" before the federal elections in February 2025.

"We need to realise in the Gulf that having international forces in the region, having a strategic alliance with the United States, is very important, but is not enough," he told the Hili Forum in the United Arab Emirates' capital.

"Self-sufficiency when it comes to security is the only way forward. Yes, we need our partners. Yes, we need our allies. But we cannot depend on them alone for our security," he added.

Qatar is a key mediator in the US-Iran war and has also sustained heavy Iranian attacks, especially on its energy infrastructure.

The tiny but wealthy, gas-rich country hosts the biggest US base in the Middle East. Throughout the war, Iran has responded to US attacks by attacking American military sites and the region's energy facilities.

After six months of conflict, the foes are at a stalemate, with Iran disrupting traffic in the strategic Strait of Hormuz and the US pressing a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

Last month, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani travelled to Tehran as part of the mediation efforts, after Iran and Oman, which border the key strait, said they were discussing a temporary shipping corridor and mine-clearing.

The avalanche tore down a mountainside in the Bezengi Gorge on Sunday and struck a group of 33 alpinists, Russia's emergencies ministry said. "Unfortunately 11 people were killed" and six injured. Ten climbers descended safely and six remained missing, it said.

France, the world's second-largest wine producer after Italy, is expected to produce less than 34 million hectolitres in 2026, according to estimates released by the agriculture ministry.

According to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), which tracks global wine production and consumption, the 2025 figure was already a historic low, marking the lowest production in France since 1957.

The decline expected in 2026, which is 17 percent below the average seen between 2021 and 2025, is due both to shrinking vineyards and lower yields caused by drought and summer heatwaves, according to the ministry's statistics service.

As of September 1, production was estimated at nearly 33.9 million hectolitres, compared with 35.9 million hectolitres last year. A hectolitre is the equivalent of 100 litres.

The service noted, however, significant differences between regions.

In Champagne, output is expected to be cut by half compared with both 2025 and the five-year average.

But in the southern region of Languedoc-Roussillon, the harvest is expected to rise 5 percent from the 2025 weak crop thanks to improved yields, although it would still remain 8 percent below the 2021-2025 average.

France last week announced more than one billion euros in emergency support for farmers, but agricultural groups said the package fell short of needs.

More than 1.7 million voters have until 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) to elect state lawmakers in a vote seen as a key test for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's increasingly unpopular federal coalition.

Malaysia declared a state of emergency in Sarawak state's Serian district on Borneo island on Friday, after air pollution readings reached critical levels.

Toxic haze has shrouded parts of Indonesia and Malaysia for weeks as Jakarta struggles to contain fires that have scorched large tracts of Borneo and Sumatra, with the plumes drifting into neighbouring Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

In Serian, about 65 kilometres (40 miles) southeast of Sarawak's capital Kuching, residents tried to carry on with weekend routines but said the thick haze forced them to plan shorter trips to avoid the worst of the smoke.

"I rarely leave the house when it's like this (the haze). I only come out to buy food and groceries, then I'll immediately head home," said Ajen Anak Kunok, 64, a local retired technician.

Ajen told AFP he had spent the past week battling shortness of breath and a sore throat due to the ongoing haze, before going to the hospital Saturday for treatment.

But the smoke was difficult to escape even at home, a mere 10 kilometres (six miles) from Indonesia's Kalimantan province where the fires were raging.

"Even when I turn on the air conditioner, I can still smell the smoke in my house," Ajen said.

- Hazardous levels -

Sarawak, which shares a border with Kalimantan, has borne the brunt of pollution in Malaysia.

On Friday, Serian became the first district in the country this year to declare an emergency over the worsening air quality when API levels passed 500 and peaked at 512.

Under Malaysian guidelines, API levels above 300 are classified as hazardous, while readings beyond 500 usually trigger consideration of a local emergency.

At the town's markets, the usual bustling throng dwindled, while roadside sellers of Serian's famous durians waited in vain beside their piles of fruit for customers that came in diminished numbers.

The district's scenic Ranchan Waterfall -- usually popular with locals and tourists alike -- was unusually quiet, with just a few visitors dotted around.

Roadside durian seller Siaw Thien Ha, 53, said the emergency has already hit his livelihood hard.

He struggled to earn even half of his usual income of 400 ringgit ($98) for the weekend.

"I'm worried that my income will be affected... But during the durian season, there is money to be made," he told AFP.

"So I don't have a choice but to bring the durians here to sell to support my family," he said.

Friday's emergency declaration will also keep some 647 schools closed until at least the end of the week in Serian district, which has a population of around 154,000 people.

Sister Irmina Peter, 64, who teaches at the St Joseph's Private Primary School in Kuching, told AFP she was worried that the emergency could drag on and spill over to other districts in Sarawak.

Rain in Serian on Friday night and Saturday morning, believed to have been the result of ongoing cloud seeding operations, brought some respite, with API levels dropping to 219.

Serian's state of emergency however remained in place.

Sister Peter said "we don't want the schools to be like during Covid-19 lockdown, where we couldn't do much."

"We can't go on with our normal routine... we have to go to work, children have to go to school. It affects us very much."

"Terrorists from the Hezbollah terrorist organisation launched two drones towards IDF soldiers operating in the Security Zone in southern Lebanon... In response, the IDF is now striking in southern Lebanon," the military said in a statement, adding that there were no reports of Israeli soldiers wounded.

US President Donald Trump has said his son-in-law Kushner and business ally Witkoff were bringing a "proposal" on ending fighting.

Talks ended after just over three hours, past 11.00 pm in Moscow.

The envoys are due on Sunday in Ukraine's capital for the first time, as Washington tries to revive US-led talks to end Europe's worst conflict since World War Two.

Both Russia and Ukraine agreed not to strike each others' capitals for three days to allow the negotiations to take place.

In televised comments before the closed-door talks began, Putin thanked Trump for "not stopping" to try to end the war -- launchd by Russia in 2022 -- despite it being "not simple".

The Russian leader has repeatedly said Moscow intends to seize the rest of east Ukraine and Washington did not say if its plan involves Kyiv ceding land.

The envoys arrived after a summer of escalation that saw a drastic rise in civilian deaths on both sides. The war has killed hundreds of thousands and forced millions of people to flee their homes.

Kyiv said Saturday that Russian strikes had killed 10 people across the country Saturday -- including a child and his family members in the Kharkiv region and two people outside Kyiv.

Putin said Russia would ensure the safety of the envoys in Kyiv -- a city Moscow has pounded with deadly strikes throughout the war.

"We will do everything that depends on us to ensure the safety of the negotiation process and mediators such as yourselves," Putin told Witkoff and Kushner.

- Limited truce -

Putin was speaking a day after Kyiv said Moscow had struck the headquarters of its SBU security service in the centre of the city.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have said they would halt strikes on each others cities to allow for negotiations.

"The Russian president, the commander-in-chief, has given the order from midnight not to strike Kyiv for three days," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky -- who had offered a truce during the US visits -- later said he had spoken to the US envoys and also promised Kyiv would not strike Moscow.

"From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow," Zelensky said on social media.

On Saturday, Putin said he had "noted that the Ukrainian side significantly reduced" its strikes on Russia and Moscow.

Putin also said he had been informed the two US envoys would be heading to Kyiv -- their first time for talks in the Ukrainian capital.

"In any case, of course, no matter what happens next, contacts of this kind are undoubtedly always beneficial," he added.

Zelensky has said he expects the US envoys in Kyiv Sunday.

US efforts have so far not led to a breakthrough in the war -- which has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.

As peace efforts stalled, in part because of Washington's war with Iran, Moscow and Kyiv stepped up their long-range attacks.

- Russian strikes -

As the US envoys were in the Kremlin, Ukraine said Russian attacks had killed three members of the same family in the city of Chuguiv in the north-eastern Kharkiv region.

"As a result of this shelling, almost the entire family was killed: a 19-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy, and a 45-year-old man,"regional leader Oleg Synegubov said.

Earlier Saturday, Russia struck Kyiv's suburbs and in the Dnipro region, where local officials said five people had been killed.

Zelensky accused Moscow of trying to disrupt the visit of the US envoys with overnight attacks on Kyiv's two airports -- as well as on the civilian targets.

This will be the first time that Witkoff and Kushner visit Kyiv since Trump returned to office last year with a pledge to resolve the conflict.

Travelling to Kyiv by plane would be a highly unusual move, as Ukrainian airspace has been closed since 2022 because of the war. Visiting leaders and officials have generally travelled there by train.

Witkoff and Kushner, who have been involved in negotiations for ceasefires in Gaza and Iran, have travelled repeatedly to Moscow in previous attempts at diplomacy.

Their visit comes after a rare trip to Moscow last month by CIA director John Ratcliffe.

Authorities earlier reported at least two dead and five wounded in the attack, which was blamed on National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels.

The attack took place Friday in the Catatumbo region, where troops are conducting operations against armed groups on the orders of right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella.

A military source in the region told AFP that at least 20 drones loaded with explosives were used.

"To the ELN I say with absolute clarity: for every police officer or soldier you kill, I will bring down on you the full weight and legitimate force of the State," he said on X.

Defense Minister Jorge Mora toured the affected area on Saturday.

Military and police forces "remain deployed to protect the population, bolster security, maintain the offensive against ELN units and locate those responsible for these attacks," the ministry added.

Colombia is the world's largest cocaine producer and is grappling with its worst violence in a decade.

Since taking office less than one month ago, De la Espriella has stepped up bombings and ground operations against armed groups.

Colombia also has joined the Shield of the Americas, US President Donald Trump's anti-cartel alliance of Latin American countries including Argentina, Ecuador and El Salvador.

De la Espriella is set to receive US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Caribbean city of Barranquilla next week.

Since President Donald Trump's return to the White House in 2026, his office has carried out an aggressive anti-immigrant crackdown that includes deportations to "third countries," other than the deportee's home country.

Guyana has agreed to receive a limited number of deportees who do not have a criminal record.

"President Irfaan Ali's Government has framed the arrangement as an extension of Guyana's longstanding commitment to human rights and international cooperation," a statement from Ali's office said.

Other Central American and Caribbean countries have agreed to cooperate with Washington's deportation campaign, which sent 250 Venezuelans to El Salvador's CECOT facility, a maximum-security prison.

Guyana stressed in the statement that the arrangement with the US is "temporary in nature and does not constitute permanent resettlement."

Officials also noted that migrants will be relocated to Guyana "voluntarily and will await the outcome of their immigration status determination while in Guyana. Depending on the outcome, individuals will either return to their country of origin or relocate elsewhere of their choosing."

The heir to the throne is set to represent his father at the funeral on September 9, having also attended the funeral of Pope Francis last year on behalf of the king.

British monarchs do not attend funerals of other heads of state per protocol, usually sending another member of the royal family to represent them.

Charles, 77, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer but maintains a packed schedule of engagements, released a statement mourning the loss of his "dear cousin" King Harald last week.

The two men were second cousins once removed, both being descendants of Britain's King Edward VII.

Charles's sister Princess Anne will attend in a personal capacity as the godmother of the new king, Haakon VIII.

Isar's 28-metre (92-foot) long two-stage Spectrum rocket blasted off shortly after 2000 GMT from Andoya spaceport, north of the Arctic circle, the company said.

"We're in orbit! And just made European history: This is the first time a privately developed rocket reached orbit from continental Europe," the company said on X of the launch from the Norwegian spaceport Andoya.

About 10 minutes into the mission dubbed "Onward and Upward", the video transmission cut out after the rocket exceeded maximum range for connection.

"Germany has spaceflight capabilities," said the Ministry for Research, Technology and Space on X, hailing a "milestone that impressively demonstrates our country's innovative strength and technical expertise".

The launch follows months of delays, caused by either technical or safety issues, and a test flight in March 2025 in which a Spectrum plunged back to earth and exploded.

Once ready for serial production, the Spectrum will be tasked with sending civilian and military satellites into low Earth orbit a few hundred kilometres above the ground.

The Spectrum can haul about one tonne of payload, and Isar says its plant near Munich will be able to make more than 30 of the rockets per year.

While France's Arianespace has long operated from French Guiana, Europe is betting on competition between Isar and other companies to more cheaply launch satellites in future, as Elon Musk's SpaceX has done in the United States.

"We need capacity. We need independence," Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in March while visiting the Andoya facility with Norway's prime minister.

"For far too long we have relied on other delivery systems and other nations around the world."

Speaking in June at the International Aerospace Exhibition in Berlin, Merz said: "Space is not only crucial for our security, but it is also becoming an increasingly important part of our economic sphere."

The launch comes at a time US President Donald Trump has badly shaken European trust in the NATO alliance, with Europe worrying about its dependence on America, including in space launch capabilities.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has announced a 35 billion euro (over $40 billion) drive by 2030 to build out space capacity.

"The heroic Naval Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked an American military unmanned surface vessel (remotely operated vessel) that was attempting to enter the protected area of the Strait of Hormuz," the Guards said in a statement carried by Iranian state television IRIB.

The vast Southeast Asian archipelago has for weeks been fighting wildfires blanketing parts of Borneo and Sumatra with smog, with haze also contributing to air pollution in Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines.

The orangutan pair had been under observation since July after being spotted in a plantation area near a forest in West Kalimantan, a local natural resources conservation agency said in a statement.

But authorities decided to evacuate them to a rescue center managed by the wildlife foundation Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia (YIARI) on Thursday as fire spread near their habitat.

Their health is being closely monitored by veterinarians, but a preliminary check found no burn injuries on the two great apes.

"Exposure to smoke over a period of time... can affect the orangutan's respiratory system, especially when smoke concentrations in the habitat are very high," YIARI's veterinarian Komara, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, said in a statement.

"Both individuals will continue to be monitored while they are at the rescue and rehabilitation center."

The latest rescue means nine orangutans have been evacuated because of threats from wildfires in less than a month in the Ketapang district of West Kalimantan province, YIARI operational director Argitoe Ranting said.

"This shows that fires not only destroy forests but also deprive animals of shelter and food," Argitoe said.

Most animals "do not have many options" to relocate as their habitat burns, he added.

One orangutan died after being rescued last week, with a necropsy result pointing to smoke exposure as the cause of death, the West Kalimantan natural resources conservation agency said in a statement.

Mladic's last years were spent serving a life sentence in The Hague for war crimes committed in Bosnia.

The tribunal in The Hague said at the time they were "amongst the most heinous known to humankind".

They included one of the worst European atrocities since World War II -- the massacre of some 8,000 Muslim boys and men in Srebrenica in 1995 -- a genocide that the court decided was orchestrated by military leader Mladic and his political comrade Radovan Karadzic.

Former UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein described Mladic as "the epitome of evil" after his conviction.

But inside Serbia and the Serb-majority entity in Bosnia, his legacy remains deeply divisive, with some Serbs still viewing him as a hero.

His casket was welcomed to Belgrade with military honours, after being flown on a government jet draped in flags and driven in a motorcade into the capital.

"I say before the whole world that I am proud of the role of my father," Darko Mladic said during a press conference alongside Serbia's justice minister on Friday.

- Serb crusader to Srebrenica -

Mladic pushed the image of himself as "a simple man" chosen to protect his people, casting himself as a crusader defending Serbs.

"Fate put me in a position to defend my country that you Western powers had devastated with the help of the Vatican and the Western mafia," he told his appeal hearing in 2020.

Yet he oversaw a siege of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo for more than three years, his snipers and artillery shells killing thousands of men, women and children in the streets and in their homes.

And video footage from Srebrenica shows him reassuring a 12-year-old Muslim boy shortly before his soldiers massacre thousands of civilians.

At roughly the same time, he is seen returning to a deserted Srebrenica, telling the camera: "We give this town to the Serb people as a gift."

Mladic formed a Serb nationalist triumvirate with Karadzic and ex-Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic that unleashed a wave of ethnic killing in a bid to redraw the map of the region.

While Karadzic was the ideologue and Milosevic the wily politician, Mladic was the soldier, and his metier was waging war.

- 'Narcissistic, conceited' -

Mladic had barely drawn breath before his life was indelibly marked by conflict.

He was born during World War II in Kalinovik in eastern Bosnia -- most accounts say in 1942, but Mladic told the tribunal he was actually born in 1943.

His father was killed at the bitter end of the war, fighting for Marshal Tito, the leader who managed to knit together the multi-ethnic state of Yugoslavia and suppress simmering enmities.

By most accounts, Mladic always wanted to be a soldier.

He left for army training in Belgrade in the early 1960s, became an officer by age 22, and rose to commander of the Bosnian Serb forces in the war.

Although his men revered him, former Yugoslav army spokesman Ljubodrag Stojadinovic once described him as "narcissistic, conceited, vain and arrogant".

During the war, he baffled international negotiators with rambling diatribes on Serbian history.

In the closing days of the war, close allies questioned his mental faculties.

"I respected General Mladic as a soldier and a man," the late former Montenegrin president Momir Bulatovic told a 1990s BBC documentary.

"But after three years of war, he'd lost contact with reality."

- 'War criminal' -

Mladic was dismissed from his post after being indicted in 1995, but he evaded capture for another 16 years.

At first, he led a life of luxury, pampered by the Serbian military, but the pressure on him mounted after Milosevic fell from power in 2000.

He was finally arrested in May 2011 at his cousin's country house in northern Serbia.

His daughter Ana killed herself in 1994 at the age of 23, with some accounts saying she could not bear the shame of the crimes committed by her father, though Mladic's family disputes this.

His last request before being transferred to the court was to visit her grave.

During all this time, his reputation grew, his wartime leadership immortalised in murals around Republika Srpska -- the Serbian entity within Bosnia.

In its capital, Banja Luka, his death drew thousands to vigils to honour the convicted war criminal marching behind a banner emblazoned with: "Commander, thank you for everything."

But at Srebrenica, where thousands of marble headstones mark his victims, Sehida Abdurahmanovic, who lost her brother in the massacre, said his reputation was already decided.

"History will undoubtedly remember him as one of its great negatives, a war criminal."

Press freedom groups have voiced concerns over civil liberties in Tunisia, where journalists, lawyers, opposition figures and activists have faced arrest and prosecution in recent years.

"My guest, journalist Mohamed Yousfi, editor-in-chief of the Alqatiba website, was stopped in front of the (Express FM) radio lobby," host Walid Ben Rhouma said in a Facebook post.

"He was barred from entering to participate in the programme as a guest and was taken away for questioning, according to those who stopped him."

Zied Dabbar, president of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) said it was unclear why Yousfi was detained, but that he believed the move was linked to his journalism critical of the authorities.

Alqatiba is an independent Tunisian media outlet known for investigative reporting and long-form coverage of political, economic, social and environmental issues.

Dabbar told AFP that Yousfi had been due to discuss water issues in Tunisia during the broadcast.

Water cuts have affected parts of Tunisia in previous summers, but this year's outages spread across much of the country, compounded by a shortage of bottled water.

Yousfi's detention follows a series of cases that rights groups and the SNJT have cited as evidence of shrinking public freedoms in the North African country.

On Thursday, lawyer Ghazi Mrabet, known for handling politically sensitive and civil liberties cases, was arrested and placed in custody, according to local media reports.

The case reportedly involves alleged drug trafficking, although there are conflicting accounts of the circumstances.

The strike came despite President Volodymyr Zelensky proposing a ceasefire with Russia for the expected visit this weekend of US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

US President Donald Trump said the pair, his lead negotiators on ending the war, had a proposal to break the diplomatic stalemate in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said the attack in the city of Kamianske killed four people.

Five more were wounded, including a 30-year-old woman in intensive care, he said.

Upon such a determination, the secretary and other officials are to meet with state authorities and encourage them to pass similar measures and loosen standards for killing wolves. Speaking with ranchers at an Oval Office event, Trump appeared confused about what the order did, asking, "But you can shoot them as of today?" He was corrected by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins who laughed and joked: "Secretary Burgum has to do a little magic."

It is thought that at least a quarter of a million wolves once roamed from coast to coast before European settlers embarked on campaigns of eradication that endured into the 20th century. During his first term, Trump delisted gray wolves but not the more endangered Mexican wolves, though Friday's executive order mentioned both. Former president Joe Biden's administration fought in court to uphold the Trump delisting, but ultimately lost in 2022, and the policy was reversed. The Wolf Conservation Center estimates there are around 7,600 gray wolves in the contiguous United States.

The Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team places the number of Mexican wolves at 317 at the end of 2025. Ben Greuel, wildlife campaign manager at the Sierra Club, framed the move as a cynical ploy to appease cattle ranchers angered by the administration's decision to temporarily increase lower-tariff beef imports. "Trump is putting gray wolves and Mexican wolves in the crosshairs to placate the backlash caused by his own beef import policies," he said.

"Turning wolf protections into political damage control will do nothing to lower grocery bills or help families struggling with the cost of living." Conservationists also point out that ranchers are already eligible for compensation for livestock losses to wolves under state and federal programs -- the latter covering up to 100 percent for confirmed kills under Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Trump's government in July finalized three rules weakening the landmark Endangered Species Act.

One rescinded the longstanding definition of "harm," which had covered habitat destruction. Another scrapped a rule that automatically applied endangered species protections to those listed as "threatened." The third requires the government to consider economic and national security tradeoffs when deciding whether to designate a particular area as "critical habitat."

Fireworks were stored at the base in Viacha, southwest of Bolivia's administrative capital La Paz, but the exact cause of the blast is under investigation, police spokesman Roger Roca said.

Seven people are missing, he added.

The explosion at the base in the city center shattered windows in homes and sent debris flying, as a thick column of black smoke rose into the sky, footage on social media showed.

Firefighters rushed to the base following the blast, which Defense Minister Ernesto Justiniano said happened at around 2:30 pm (1830 GMT) in an area where fireworks were stored.

The number of vessels allowed through the waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans will be progressively lowered from 36 per day to 32 by mid-September. Panama has declared a nationwide emergency over El Nino, a weather pattern developing over the Pacific Ocean that is triggering worldwide changes in winds, atmospheric pressure and rainfall and pushing up global temperatures. This year's El Nino is expected to be the strongest since comparable records began four decades ago.

It has not yet reached its peak but Central America is already in the throes of a severe drought, prompting Honduras and El Salvador to also declare emergencies. The Panama Canal handles five percent of global maritime trade and around 40 percent of US container traffic. It has already implemented other water conservation measures, such as lowering the maximum draft -- the vessel's depth in the water -- for the largest ships. In 2023, El Nino forced the canal authority to reduce the number of daily crossings to 22 vessels.

The sale will also "support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a Major non-NATO Ally," the department said. Saudi Arabia has been targeted with drone and missile strikes by Iranian forces and Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthi rebels since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran earlier this year. The State Department has notified Congress of the proposed sale of the bombs to Riyadh, which still needs to be approved by US lawmakers.

Asked if the jet would still be getting extra security measures as he had announced in July, Trump said: "It's gonna be maxed out. Yeah, it's going to go away, and it's a magnificent plane." "It has a lot of stuff, but to max it out -- meaning you can go into any territory -- it'll take about 60 days, and it's being sent in October to be maxed out," Trump told reporters. But Trump's timescale for the modifications has doubled from the month that he had previously said it would take when he first mentioned them on July 19.

The White House declined to comment on the upgrades. "We maintain a consistent posture that ensures a safe, secure, and reliable capability for the President of the United States and routinely evolve the capability as required to maintain that posture," a senior administration official told AFP. "It is the greatest Presidential plane ever built." - Secret plane switch - Trump is expected to make a fleeting visit to Dublin and then his family's golf course in Doonbeg, western Ireland, for the Irish Open. Qatar gave the luxury Boeing 747 jet to the United States in 2025, after Trump complained about the ageing current presidential planes and delays to the delivery of their planned replacements.

Critics raised a host of ethical and security concerns about taking such a lavish gift from a foreign power. The new plane was retrofitted by the US military before entering service with Trump at the end of June, when he called it the "world's most luxurious plane" and a "flying White House." But because of the rapid pace of the modifications, the Qatari jet was reportedly not fitted with anti-missile security systems. One of the older Air Force Ones then appeared to have been called into action when Israel briefed the US about a possible missile threat when Trump was leaving the Ankara summit.

But in fact, Trump covertly left the old Air Force One in the back of a catering truck and secretly switched to another, smaller plane. "They wanted me to go in a different flight, a different plane -- equal safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I do it. I do what they say," Trump told reporters in August. Air Force One then departed, still carrying journalists and top aides who remained at apparent risk of an Iranian strike.

Trump meanwhile said that he expected the Qatari jet to go to his planned presidential museum when he leaves office in 2029. But he left some room for doubt. Boeing has said it expects to deliver the first of two purpose-built new Air Force Ones in 2028, several years behind schedule. "I haven't made a decision, but it will probably go to the museum. It's scheduled to go to the museum," Trump told reporters. Speculation has swirled that Trump plans to use the Qatari plane as a personal jet after he leaves office, despite the fact that presidents are not meant to accept gifts from foreign countries.

A senior Ukrainian official told AFP the envoys were due in Kyiv on Sunday. US outlet Axios reported they would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday, and then President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday. The Kremlin declined to comment. Trump told reporters that the two negotiators would seek to gauge whether progress towards peace was possible. Peace efforts have stalled due to Washington's war with Iran, while Moscow and Kyiv have intensified long-range attacks, driving up civilian casualties to levels not seen since the start of fighting.

"I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators. They've done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we'll do it," Trump said. "They're bringing with them a proposal to end the war," he said. The US president would not say whether the plan involved Ukraine ceding territory as he has previously suggested, but added: "We have an idea for peace." It will be the first time that Trump's businessman friend Witkoff and son-in-law Kushner have visited war-torn Kyiv since Trump returned to office last year with a pledge to resolve the conflict.

Witkoff and Kushner, who have been involved in negotiations for ceasefires in Gaza and Iran, have travelled repeatedly to Moscow in previous attempts at diplomacy. - Grinding war - The renewed push for diplomacy comes as Russia and Ukraine pummel each other with long-range missile and drone attacks. Just hours before Trump's announcement, a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security service in central Kyiv, according to Zelensky.

The strike, which Zelensky said was aimed at the office of the agency's acting chief, was the first on its headquarters since the start of the invasion. Despite the unprecedented nature of the strike, the Ukrainian president proposed observing a ceasefire with Russia for the duration of the US envoys' trip. "There will be no airstrikes on our part, and Russia must reciprocally ensure a ceasefire -- without its own airstrikes -- for the duration needed to conduct these talks," he said in his evening address. Russia did not immediately comment on the proposal.

Zelensky had said on Wednesday that Russian airspace would be "completely unsafe" and filled with Ukrainian drones as long as Moscow continued its war. Witkoff and Kusher's trip comes more than week after a rare visit to Moscow by CIA director John Ratcliffe, who warned Russia against any attack on NATO member states, according to US media. Earlier this week, the United States welcomed the Russian finance minister at a G20 gathering in North Carolina.

Le Pen is currently riding high in the polls at least for the first round in the tight battle to succeed President Emmanuel Macron, although her National Rally (RN) party has long faced accusations of being pro-Moscow.

"We would turn off the tap," RN vice president and mayor of the southern city of Perpignan Louis Aliot told BFMTV Thursday when asked if the party would keep up funding Ukraine against the Russian invasion if it came to power.

"The healthcare system, the education system, the entire economy -- everything is stretched to the limit. Yet money is found to keep funding weapons," he said.

"That's all well and good, but who is paying for all this? You also have to know when to stop a war."

Aliot, the former partner of Le Pen, emphasised that the RN "condemned the Russian aggression" but said the war had "weakened Europe".

One of Le Pen's leading rivals in the elections, centre-right politician Edouard Philippe who served as Macron's first prime minister, wrote on X Friday that "turning off the tap to Ukraine is serving Russia".

"Weakening Ukraine, as Marine Le Pen wishes, is threatening the security of Europe and France. I will do everything to prevent it," he said.

Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad described the RN as the "party of capitulation" and said "abandoning Ukraine means weakening the security of France and Europeans".

But Le Pen herself entered the fray, recalling that Philippe had himself hosted then Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev in his home city of Le Havre in 2019 while Macron had welcomed President Vladimir Putin to his summer residence the same year.

"The truth is simple: your international record is as dismal as your results in economic and budgetary matters," she said, lambasting the "slander" against the RN.

She said her party was pushing for a "diplomatic resolution of this abominable war".

Polls are projecting that Le Pen is on course to win the first round of the presidential polls and would then have a tight battle against Philippe in the second round, if he makes the run-off.

It was transported to London in July in order to be displayed at the British Museum from next week until July next year.

"A break of two threads over a length of 70 metres of a tapestry was reported," Catherine Pegard told the RTL broadcaster.

"It was examined with particular care. It took a lot of time because the experts went over it centimetre by centimetre."

"So today, if we say it is in the same state after having arrived in London as it was when it left Bayeux, I think we're not very wrong," the minister added.

Depicting the 1066 Battle of Hastings and the invasion by William the Conqueror's Norman army, the tapestry is widely thought to have been made in England before being transferred to Bayeux in France.

It is believed to be the first time the fragile, 68-metre (224-foot) embroidered artwork has left France since then, and the first time it has been moved in over 40 years.

La Croix newspaper has reported that a thorough check by experts had confirmed "no major damage" in its initial findings.

They only noted "slight tears in two areas" of the linen canvas, the daily said.

Zelensky warned airlines earlier this week that Russian airspace would be "completely unsafe" and filled with Ukrainian drones.

Russian President Vladimir Putin branded the warning "terrorism".

Russia's foreign ministry said the authorities had sent a protest note to the ICAO's chief, calling on him to "condemn the Ukrainian regime's unlawful interference to civil aviation and creating direct threats to it".

In a statement, it called Ukraine's statements "reckless terrorist actions that contravene international law".

Russia and Ukraine have been at war for 4.5 years and Ukrainian airspace has been closed since 2022.

The ICAO, based in Montreal, on Wednesday called on its members to ensure the safety of civilian aircraft, following Zelensky's statement.

"Ukraine does not threaten civilian aviation as such -- not a single civilian aircraft," Zelensky said last week.

"There will simply be drones in Russia's skies on a scale that has to be taken into account."

Kyiv has been launching drones into Russia for more than four years in retribution for Moscow's daily attacks on Ukrainian cities.

The Airbus A320, carrying 137 passengers and eight crew, suddenly lost altitude on August 4 while flying from Phuket, Thailand, to New Delhi, injuring 24 people before stabilising and landing safely.

India's civil aviation ministry classified it as a "Serious Incident".

Both Airbus and France's civil aviation safety agency, the BEA, said they are assisting the Indian investigation into the flight.

A preliminary report released on Friday by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said the flight-control system detected the loss of three hydraulic systems for several seconds.

"The aircraft encountered altitude upset," it read.

"Initially, it gained 372 ft (113 metres) and fell by 292 ft (89 metres)," it added.

The hydraulic failure caused the autopilot to disengage and triggered a two-second stall warning, before the systems recovered and the aircraft returned to normal operation, the report said.

The inquiry also said the pilot in command "was found non-negative for psycho-active substance in the confirmatory test".

"The confirmation of use of psycho-active substance is a serious concern," the report read.

A spokesperson for Air India said the pilot has been "terminated with immediate effect", in-line with the company's "zero-tolerance approach to violation of safety, fitness or regulatory requirements".

Following the incident, India's aviation ministry said the regulator was considering tighter screening rules for psychoactive substances.

Air India ordered a mandatory one-time drug screening of all of its pilots last month.

The investigation is the latest challenge for Air India, owned by India's Tata Group, which has struggled to turn around the carrier following a series of setbacks.

The airline has also been hit by flight disruptions linked to the war in the Middle East.

The biggest blow to the airline's image came in June 2025, when Air India Flight 171 -- a London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner -- crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 people on the ground.

The Indian carrier appointed Tewolde Gebremariam as its new chief executive last month, betting that the former Ethiopian Airlines chief will be able to steer Air India out of the current storm and towards profitability.

The defence ministry will procure the launchers along with associated equipment and systems by 2029, a government statement said, without elaborating.

The state-run HINA news agency said 18 launchers will be purchased.

The K239 Chunmoo was designed as a modular rocket launcher capable of firing multiple calibers, including 130mm and 239mm munitions.

Following the acquisition of 12 French Rafale fighter jets in 2021, "this is one of the largest and most important investments in the modernisation of the Croatian army" since the 1990s independence war, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said.

"For the first time, we are acquiring the capability to engage targets rapidly and precisely at very long ranges."

Croatia is boosting its defence capabilities "not to threaten anyone, but to deter any threat, guarantee the security of Croatian citizens... and contribute to the collective security and defence of Europe", he said.

Zagreb has already purchased eight US-made HIMARS rocket launchers, whose delivery is expected in 2028.

Croatia is a member of both NATO and the European Union.

Last year, the country spent 2.08 percent of its gross domestic product, or 1.93 billion euros, on defence.

In a report slammed by Israel, the UN rights office described how a military operation launched in the north of the occupied territory in January 2025 had forcibly displaced over 33,000 people.

At the start of operation "Iron Wall", Israeli military, police and other forces entered the camps and killed civilians, destroyed hundreds of homes and damaged infrastructure, it said.

They cut off water and electricity and barred humanitarian access to the camps before going door to door "forcing residents to leave", it added.

A few days into the operation, Israeli security forces "consolidated their control" over the camps and "forcibly displaced their population in their entirety", the report said.

"The large-scale, long-term and systematic displacement of over 33,000 Palestinian refugees from refugee camps such as Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm during Israel's Operation Iron Wall ... raises serious concerns of the crime against humanity of forcible transfer," it warned.

As of July this year, 33,362 Palestinian refugees displaced from the three camps had not been permitted to return, according to the UN.

    -'Ethnic cleansing' -

The rights office said "the use of airstrikes, armoured bulldozers and controlled detonations, to render entire camps uninhabitable, to force the displacement of their residents and to prevent their return... are not permissible under international law".

Israel's actions "appear to amount to collective punishment and raise concerns of ethnic cleansing", it warned.

Israel's mission in Geneva said the rights office had set "aside impartiality, independence and neutrality, to serve as the epicentre of vile activism".

It accused the report of "spreading misinformation" and "neglecting to mention the threat of terrorist attacks".

The West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, has seen a surge in violence since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip following Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The violence escalated significantly with the launch of Operation Iron Wall on January 21 last year, 48 hours after a fragile ceasefire came into effect in the Gaza Strip.

Israel announced on February 23, 2025 that its army had emptied the three refugee camps, which figure among a total of 19 across the West Bank.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said at the time that he had instructed troops "to prepare for a prolonged presence in the cleared camps for the coming year and to prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism".

UN rights chief Volker Turk said Friday that the way the operation was conducted "suggests its aim was to expel as many Palestinians as possible and to make way for more illegal Israeli settlements, in further violation of international law".

The daytime strike came two days before US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected to visit Kyiv for the first time, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.

Zelensky said he had instructed the SBU to deliver an "appropriate, tangible response" to the strike, while Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga described it as a "major escalation".

The acting head of the SBU, Oleksandr Poklad, was not in the vicinity at the time of the strike, a senior official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"Unfortunately, a Russian drone hit the central building of the SBU on Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv, opposite the St. Sophia Cathedral," Zelensky said in a post on Telegram.

"The drone was aimed directly at the office of the Head of the Security Service in that building," he added.

An image published by the Ukrainska Pravda news outlet showed what appeared to be black smoke pouring from at least two windows on the front of the SBU building, while a fire engine was parked outside.

An AFP reporter saw several ambulances.

Zelensky said that he had spoken to Poklad following the strike and instructed him to "deliver an appropriate, tangible response and, where possible, one that mirrors this strike, to the Russians once everything is ready".

    Nine wounded -

The SBU is Ukraine's internal security agency and has been the mastermind behind multiple attacks on Russia.

Russia has escalated its daytime strikes on Ukraine in recent weeks, sometimes using jet-powered drones that are harder for air defences to destroy.

Attacks on government buildings in central Kyiv -- which are heavily fortified and ring-fenced by security barricades -- are rare, however.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least nine people had been wounded in the attack on the city centre, without giving details on whether the casualties were in the SBU building.

AFP was not able to immediately verify the kind of munition used in the attack.

Russia did not immediately respond.

Witkoff and Kushner were due in Kyiv on their first visit to the Ukrainian capital, a Ukrainian official told AFP.

US-led diplomatic efforts to end Russia's four-and-a-half-year invasion have stalled in recent months as the United States has shifted its focus towards the war with Iran.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has turned into Europe's worst conflict since World War II, killing thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of troops.

Thursday's operation is part of a broader campaign that has also included strikes on alleged drug-running boats that have left more than 200 people dead since last year.

Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) "successfully interdicted a vessel operating as a floating refueling station in support of illicit at-sea drug trafficking operations in international waters of the Eastern Pacific," it wrote on X.

"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was operating in support of the Los Choneros violent narco-terrorist organization," it said.

An unspecified number of individuals aboard the boat had been removed and "safely transferred" to authorities in Ecuador before the sinking, it added.

A helicopter and a boat carrying military personnel intercepted the vessel, which was subsequently destroyed in an explosion that sent a massive plume of smoke into the air, video footage posted by US forces showed.

This marks the third US sinking of vessels allegedly belonging to Los Choneros, which has ties to Mexico's notorious Sinaloa cartel, since last Friday.

Ecuador's Navy on Friday said it had assisted US operations by receiving 28 crew members from two vessels identified as Conquista II and OM2.

US President Donald Trump's administration has not provided definitive evidence that the vessels it has been targeting in the Pacific and the Caribbean are involved in drug trafficking.

Human Rights Watch in July reported that at least eight people had gone missing after US forces attacked three other Ecuadoran vessels between January and March. Washington rejects the allegation.

Ecuador's right-wing President Daniel Noboa is one of Trump's closest allies in Latin America.

In March, Ecuador joined the US leader's "Shield of the Americas," a Washington-led coalition to combat drug trafficking in the region.

Denmark, Greece, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands agreed to the initiative as Copenhagen hosted talks on the creation of migrant detention centres outside Europe.

"Around New Year, we expect to have a common understanding with a partner country outside of the European Union," said Danish Migrations Minister Morten Bodskov, without naming the nation.

He said the countries were "transforming EU asylum and migration policy".

The partner country or countries have not been disclosed, but Uganda and Rwanda in particular are seen as possibilities.

Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris said the goal was to have "the return hub operational in a country outside the European Union by 2027", adding that discussions were at an "advanced" stage.

Earlier Friday, Denmark said it was ready to send rejected asylum seekers to such hubs by the end of 2027, not the start.

"We do not accept that foreigners staying illegally in Denmark should be rewarded because of our difficulties in returning them," Bodskov said in the earlier statement.

In June, the European Parliament approved tougher migration rules granting authorities much broader detention powers, and allowing for the creation of "return hubs".

The idea has been severely criticised by rights groups.

Britain abandoned a scheme to deport undocumented migrants to Rwanda, while Italian-run facilities to process migrants in Albania have faced legal challenges and a slow uptake.

- 'We were mocked' -

The Danish migration minister hailed the progress toward setting up "return hubs".

"When we launched this debate... we were mocked, people said it was totally unrealistic," Bodskov said.

"And today, we're there."

The five countries said the model would help make the migration system "more humane".

"It will also be a tool to break the business model of cynical migrant smugglers that are exploiting vulnerable people who risk their lives on perilous journeys to Europe," they said in a statement.

Bodskov said the centres would not be "camps".

"We are talking about opportunities for a new chance for irregular migrants which cannot return to their home country today, and that have no legal grounds to be in our countries," he said.

Rwanda confirmed in August it had opened "preliminary" talks on the subject with unnamed European countries.

Not all EU member states are on board with the idea.

French President Emmanuel Macron has dismissed it as ineffective and incompatible with European values.

European Parliament member Melissa Camara of the Ecologists said the Copenhagen meeting "marks yet another step in the renunciation of the fundamental values of the European Union and the violation of the dignity of exiled people".

"Escalating statements by ministers in the Israeli government regarding the continued adoption of plans to displace the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip represent an extremely dangerous development," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement.

He called on "Arab and Islamic countries to take serious and unified action to confront these plans and adopt effective positions and measures to thwart them".

Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir laid out a plan on Thursday that aims to see the departure of 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza in the first year, followed by the rest of the roughly two million residents over the following six years.

His remarks came a day after Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel was ready to remove Palestinians from Gaza by sea and land but was waiting for the United States, which he said was discussing places for the population to go.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich earlier proposed also removing Palestinians from the West Bank, where Israeli settlers have been carrying out a growing number of attacks.

Forced displacement of civilians in occupied territory is considered a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.

Almost the entire population of Gaza has already been displaced internally in relentless Israeli bombing since the October 7, 2023 attacks led by Hamas, which were the deadliest ever against Israel and killed mostly civilians.

The Israeli remarks come ahead of October 27 elections in which polls show a tight race for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has brought once shunned far-right ministers into his cabinet.

US President Donald Trump stunned the world early in his second term by proposing removing Palestinians from Gaza and turning the rubble-strewn Mediterranean territory into a luxury resort.

He backtracked after pushback from countries including Egypt, the only country other than Israel to border Gaza.

I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about Vance's remarks. "It's not a big thing. We did Venezuela, and we did this," added Trump, who was surrounded by cattle ranchers invited for the signing of two executive orders on beef processing. The six-month-old war in which 18 US troops and thousands of Iranians have died has reached a stalemate, with Tehran disrupting shipping traffic in the strategic waterway.

But with fuel prices threatening to cost Trump's Republicans their control of Congress in November's midterms, his administration has been trying to minimize the conflict. Trump said the US was carrying out "intermittent strikes" but that "we're not fighting right now." He reiterated his claims that the United States effectively controlled the Strait of Hormuz and had decimated Iran's military.

"What we've done is amazing. We took over Venezuela and we have essentially taken over Iran," Trump said. Pressed on calling the war "small potatoes" when 18 service members died, an increasingly irate Trump compared the Iran war to the years-long US wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan. "I don't think it matters what you call it. What matters is the fact we have had tremendous success. We've stopped Iran from having a nuclear weapon," he said.

The rescued pair were among hundreds of hydropower workers who went missing since a tsunami-like wall of water and mud swept through the China-Nepal border following a vast glacial and rock collapse on August 26.

So far, 1,294 bodies have been recovered in Nepal, according to the disaster agency, with 5,053 people missing.

In China, state media said 31 people had been killed and 531 were missing. That takes the overall death toll to 1,325 people, with 5,584 missing.

"We have been working since morning on search and rescue operations," Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told AFP on Saturday.

Searches continued at the Trishuli 3A tunnel where the two men were rescued on Friday, as well as multiple other sites, with at least 12 hydropower projects destroyed by the floods.

- 'The work goes on' -

"Work is also underway at the tunnels," Basnet said. "We don't have an update yet, but the work goes on."

The government initially said it believed more than 100 workers could be alive inside multiple tunnels.

Rescuers called it a "miracle" after the two men, caked in mud, were pulled out alive after being trapped for nine days.

They were taken to hospital and are said to be in a stable condition.

Experts from India, China, Australia and South Korea have been aiding Nepali rescuers in their search of survivors inside blocked tunnels.

With morgues overflowing, some 1,030 bodies hade been buried in mass graves after taking DNA samples for future identification by family members, Nepal Police said Saturday.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah promised to provide "safe and comfortable accommodation" for thousands of people displaced by the diaster and currently living in temporary relief camps.

"We know that staying there (camps) is not easy for you," he said in an emotional post on social media late Friday.

"(But) we will once again create an environment where you can dream about and build your future."

Fighting erupted on Thursday, after the Iran-backed Houthis launched a ground assault along with rocket and drone attacks near coastal areas, vying for control of the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait at the Red Sea's southern entrance.

Yemen, embroiled in more than a decade of civil conflict, in July became the latest country to be drawn into the Middle East war as the Houthis upended a 2022 truce with the Saudi-backed government.

Since then, the Houthis have imposed a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and repeatedly attacked its ships in the Red Sea -- a vital alternative route for oil exports after Iran all but halted Gulf shipments by blockading the Strait of Hormuz.

The rebels are now trying to tighten their hold over the Red Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, which they have disrupted with attacks on passing vessels since the Gaza war broke out in 2023.

The Houthi offensive aims to cut off the government-held port city of Mokha, under fire for weeks, and advance towards areas bordering the Bab al-Mandab, military sources told AFP.

The rebels have seized elevated sites overlooking government positions near the Red Sea and the city of Taiz further inland, a military source and a Taiz official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

The Houthis could target ships from these elevated positions, they said.

The toll rose to 129 on Friday, according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources, up from an earlier count of 81.

A Yemeni military official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP that 66 of his men had been killed, while medical and military sources close to the Houthis said at least 62 militants had died.

Another medical source said a civilian had also been killed.

- Reinforcements sent -

Although the Houthis do not control areas bordering Bab al-Mandab, they hold the key port city of Hodeida north of Mokha.

"They are going for Bab al-Mandab," said Mohammed al-Basha, of the US-based risk advisory Basha Report.

The Houthis want to control the hills overlooking Bab al-Mandab and Mokha before attacking the coast, a Yemeni official in Aden, the government's base since it was ousted from the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, in 2014.

The government has sent reinforcements to Taiz from Aden on Saudi orders, he said.

"The Houthis feel that if they capture Bab al-Mandab or Mokha port they will be in a better position of power to negotiate with the government and the Saudis," Basha added.

With Iran's closure of Hormuz, the Bab al-Mandab chokepoint has gained increased importance as a transit route for oil from Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest exporter of crude.

The narrow waterway connects the Red Sea -- and, via the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean -- to the Indian Ocean.

In July, a fragile truce between the Houthis and the government fell apart after the rebels welcomed an Iranian plane to Sanaa, setting off a spate of attacks.

They later announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships and territory.

Multiple back-to-back heatwaves fuelled by climate change scorched Europe, causing more than 30,000 excess deaths, widespread drought and devastating wildfires that forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes, particularly in Spain and France.

Temperature records across the continent were smashed, triggering dangerous blazes even in normally cool, wet areas such as Belgium and Scotland.

The total area affected by fire between June 18 and September 2 is well above the average for the previous 20 years, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

But it remains below the record set in 2025, when fires consumed more than 800,000 hectares between those dates.

- Exceptional scale -

Four of the EU's 15 largest fires of the last 10 years occurred this summer, according to EFFIS data.

Fires that broke out between July 16 and 22 consumed nearly 190,000 hectares of forest, the most for that week-long period since at least 2006, according to harmonised weekly data from EFFIS.

Three massive fires erupted in succession during this period: two in Spain and one in France.

One in the Spanish province of Avila, near Madrid, broke out on July 22 and went on to destroy more than 42,000 hectares.

Thousands of people were forced to evacuate their homes and the Spanish government said it considered the blaze the worst in the country's modern 
history.

Another fire in the Andalusia region of southern Spain in July led to more than a dozen deaths.

A mega-fire that started in France's Gironde region, near Bordeaux, on the same day consumed 37,000 hectares of forest.

Another broke out in the Spanish province of Huelva in August, destroying nearly 44,000 hectares, making it the sixth largest ever in Europe.

- North not spared -

Before the end of July, France had already broken its record for the total area burned in a single year since records began.

Meanwhile, Spain has been hovering near its cumulative record for the same point in the year for weeks -- briefly surpassing it in mid-August before dropping back below.

Greece, Portugal and Italy are among the other southern EU nations that experienced an active fire season, a common summer phenomenon in the region.

Further north, Belgium faced its worst wildfire in over a century in August, a blaze that consumed thousands of hectares in the east of the country.

This single fire caused the country to break its record for the total area burned in a year since at least 2006.

EFFIS figures only include fires covering a minimum of 30 hectares.

The figures may differ from reported national data due to methodological differences, and the totals are subject to change as new satellite imagery becomes available.

"As of 6 pm (1000 GMT) on September 4, the disaster had resulted in 31 deaths and left 531 people unaccounted for," state news agency Xinhua reported.

The latest update comes nine days after the flood, which has killed nearly 1,300 people and left more than 5,000 missing in Nepal.

The disaster struck when a mass of ice and rock broke away from the north face of Nepal's Langtang Lirung mountain, sending a huge mass of debris racing down the valley.

The previous toll on the Chinese side of the border, reported on Wednesday evening, was 21 dead and 541 missing.

Chinese authorities have kept tight control over media access to the affected area in Tibet and sources of information.

The country's state media has neither shared the names of the missing nor published much footage of the families' reactions.

Farage's long-term aide Dan Jukes and Reform's head of policy James Orr stepped down, the party said, adding that it had launched a probe into the allegations revealed in an undercover investigation by Channel 4 News.

Hours before Farage, whose popularity has sunk amid multiple similar scandals, was set to address Reform's annual conference, the Channel 4 investigation was broadcast alleging party officials breached political donation rules.

A spokesperson for London's Met Police said it was "aware of media reporting...involving political party donations and an alleged breach of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 relating to polling".

The ruling Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats said they reported Reform to the police following the investigation, which the anti-immigration party initially dismissed as a "hoax".

The arrests took place in China's southern province of Guangxi during a law enforcement operation targeting suspected pyramid schemes and related offences, Singapore's foreign ministry and police said in a joint statement.

It did not say when the arrests took place.

"Investigations by the Chinese authorities are ongoing. The Singapore Police Force has contacted its Chinese counterparts to seek more information," the statement added.

Singaporean diplomats have visited the detained suspects to check on their well-being and provide consular assistance, it added.

The statement urged Singaporeans "to exercise caution when invited to take part in schemes involving the recruitment of participants or the upfront payment of substantial sums of money, whether overseas or locally".

China has not confirmed the arrests. Contacted by AFP, Beijing's foreign ministry said authorities handle criminal cases involving foreign nationals "in accordance with the law".

Singapore has seen major cases involving Chinese nationals accused of running or facilitating cross-border criminal operations.

In 2023, police arrested 10 Chinese nationals and Chinese-born foreigners in a sweeping anti-money laundering operation that ultimately involved some $2.4 billion in seized or frozen assets, including luxury properties, vehicles, cash and cryptocurrency.

Duterte was charged last month with "grave threats" stemming from a late-night news briefing in which she claimed to have hired a hitman to kill President Ferdinand Marcos, his wife and a former congressman cousin should she be cut down first.

The alleged assassination threat also forms a crucial element of her ongoing Senate impeachment trial, where a guilty verdict would see her removed from office and permanently banned from politics.

Under the Philippine legal code, a criminal conviction on the charge would carry a jail term of up to six months.

Justice department spokesman Polo Martinez confirmed the warrant had been issued, noting that a court in Metro Manila's Quezon City had quashed a motion to defer it.

But the warrant seemed unlikely to result in Duterte being taken into custody.

Paolo Tamase, associate dean at the University of the Philippines College of Law, told AFP that Duterte's lawyers could now be expected to file for bail, perhaps before day's end.

"The easiest thing for VP Sara to do is to file for bail with the regional trial court," Tamase said in a phone interview, noting Duterte would likely not need to be present.

He added that the warrant could yet be challenged at a higher court.

"She can potentially question the issuance of the warrant of arrest, which means she would go up to the Court of Appeals or potentially the Supreme Court," he said.

The vice president's legal team issued a statement saying she had "no intention of evading the law and will continue to exercise all her legal remedies".

Calls to her defence lawyers seeking comment were not returned.

Justice department officials have rejected arguments by the vice president's legal team that she cannot be prosecuted for offences that are also tied to her impeachment.

Duterte was impeached in May by the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, on charges that also included graft and corruption.

A guilty verdict in the Senate -- where her trial recently concluded its ninth week -- would spell an end to a planned run for president in 2028.

Duterte first announced her candidacy in February.