The United States yesterday pledged funding of $500 million for the Philippines’ military and coast guard in a big show of support for Manila as it faces Chinese actions in disputed waters in the South China Sea.

Thousands of Palestinians returned to their homes in the ruins of Gaza’s main southern city Khan Younis yesterday, after Israeli forces ended a week-long incursion there which they said aimed to prevent Hamas from regrouping.

Landslides swept through tea estates and villages in southern India’s Kerala yesterday, killing at least 123 people while they slept as unexpected heavy rain collapsed hillsides and triggered torrents of mud, water and tumbling boulders.

Israel struck Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut on Tuesday in retaliation for rocket fire from Lebanon that killed 12 children over the weekend, saying it had targeted the commander responsible for the attack.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said yesterday “a threat from China to any country is a threat to the world”, emphasizing to lawmakers of more than 20 countries that global democracies must unite against “authoritarian expansion”.

Russia yesterday began large-scale military drills involving every part of its navy not engaged in the Ukraine offensive, the defence ministry said.

British radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary, whose followers have been linked to numerous plots around the world, was sentenced to life imprisonment yesterday for directing a terrorist organisation.

Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe received backing from 92 lawmakers in the parliament yesterday, his media office said, giving momentum to his reelection bid in a vote in September.

Druze residents of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights yesterday distanced themselves from Israeli threats to retaliate against Lebanon’s Hezbollah group for a deadly rocket strike on a Druze Arab town in the territory.

Forests and other land ecosystems failed to curb climate change in 2023 as intense drought in the Amazon rainforest and record wildfires in Canada hampered their natural ability to absorb carbon dioxide, according to a study presented on Monday.

The Taliban government has severed consular ties with swathes of Afghan embassies in Western countries, Kabul said yesterday, cutting off diplomats loyal to the former foreign-backed administration.

Israeli missiles struck two air defence bases in southern Syria overnight, a war monitor said yesterday, as tensions surge on Israel’s northern border after a deadly rocket strike on the annexed Golan Heights.

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign will launch a $10 million advertising blitz in six battleground states this week as it tries to counter a surge of voter enthusiasm and donations for his Democratic rival Kamala Harris.

Haiti’s prime minister escaped unharmed Monday after gangs opened fire near a hospital he was visiting, a government source told AFP, as the troubled nation seeks to restore stability after months of gang related violence.

Newly thrust into the race for the White House, Kamala Harris embarks Monday on a pivotal week for her campaign as she intensifies the search for a running mate

Under previous legislation, municipalities have to neuter and vaccinate all street dogs and leave them where they were found following treatment.

The Biden administration said on Monday that electoral manipulation had stripped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's claim of reelection victory of "any credibility," and Washington left the door open to fresh sanctions on the OPEC nation

Donald Trump on Monday called the Olympics opening ceremony in Paris a "disgrace," after its creators came under fire for what some said was a show gone too far

Haiti's prime minister escaped unharmed Monday after gangs opened fire near a hospital he was visiting, a government source told AFP, as the troubled nation seeks to restore stability after months of gang related violence

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday vowed a “severe” response to a deadly strike that killed youths in the annexed Golan Heights, as diplomats raced to contain escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.