POLITICS

NATO's new chief Mark Rutte on Tuesday downplayed fears over the impact of a potential Donald Trump victory in upcoming US elections and pledged to keep backing Ukraine, as he assumed leadership of the world's most powerful military alliance.

Britain's economy grew less than initially estimated in the second quarter, revised official data revealed Monday, dealing another early blow to new Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Labour government.

Japan's incoming prime minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday he aimed to call snap elections for October 27, as equities plunged on a strong yen and fears that tax hikes are on the cards.

Incoming NATO chief Mark Rutte brings new leadership this week to one of the world's most powerful-sounding roles -- helming the nuclear-armed Atlantic alliance.

During Al Nahyan's official visit, the UAE and U.S. governments signed an agreement between the UAE Ministry of Interior and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to make cross-border travel easier for Emiratis.

The gunman suspected of planning to kill Donald Trump on his golf course wrote a chilling letter months ago about a failed "assassination attempt" on the former US president, according to court papers filed Monday as he was remanded in custody.

Britain's governing Labour party on Monday sought to strike a more upbeat note about the country's future but against a furious backlash from unions at proposed cuts to welfare payments and a row over top ministers receiving gifts.

He built on his father's real estate empire and turned the family's millions into billions, but Donald Trump has not stuck to selling merely buildings.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday arrived in the United States for a crucial visit to present Kyiv's plan to end two and a half years of war with Russia.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats narrowly beat the far-right AfD in a state election Sunday in the formerly communist east, a rare bit of good news for his party.

A regional military escalation is not in Israel's "best interest," White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said on Sunday, as heightening cross-border tensions between Israel and Lebanon have led to fears of an all-out war.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is due Monday in Washington for a first official visit at a time of soaring tensions in the Middle East, seeking to highlight economic and technological cooperation.

US President Joe Biden will host the leaders of Australia, Japan and India at his Delaware home this weekend to bid farewell to the so-called "Quad" group that he has pushed as a counterweight to China.

Kamala Harris held a star-studded rally hosted by talk show legend Oprah Winfrey on Thursday in a bid to bedazzle voters, as rival Donald Trump criticized Jewish Americans for not voting for him.

Outgoing NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday cautioned the United States and Europe against "isolationism" in his parting speech, as Donald Trump vies to return to the White House.

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler said Wednesday that the kingdom will not establish ties with Israel until a Palestinian state has been created, in a blow to US efforts to seal a normalisation deal.

China presents the top challenge to the United States in all of its history, surpassing the Cold War, a top US official said Wednesday, as he urged Europe to get tougher on Beijing.

France's budgetary situation is "very serious", Prime Minister Michel Barnier told AFP on Wednesday, saying more information was needed to gauge the "precise reality" of French public finances.

A Chinese aircraft carrier sailed between two Japanese islands near Taiwan for the first time, Japan's military said on Wednesday, in the latest move by Beijing to anger the close US ally.

Japan's new prime minister will be formally elected by parliament on October 1 following next week's leadership contest, a ruling party official said Wednesday.

Russian operatives are ramping up disinformation operations to malign Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign by disseminating conspiracy-laden videos, Microsoft said Tuesday, amid heightened alert over foreign influence operations targeting the US election.

Elon Musk's fervent support for Donald Trump in the upcoming US election could extend far beyond incendiary tweets and campaign cash if the former president returns to the White House.

Donald Trump hits the campaign trail again on Tuesday, traveling to Michigan two days after an apparent assassination attempt against him was foiled at his golf course in Florida.

After weeks of fierce political horse-trading, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen unveiled Tuesday her new top team to help steward the EU through the next five years of global uncertainty.

A man suspected of plotting to assassinate former US president Donald Trump was charged with federal gun crimes on Monday.

Donald Trump was the target of an apparent assassination attempt Sunday in Florida, the FBI said, with the Republican presidential candidate's campaign and law enforcement reporting he was safe and unharmed.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Monday to discuss tackling illegal immigration, a day after another Channel migrant shipwreck claimed eight lives.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Monday head into a newly intense phase of the US presidential campaign, with tensions heightened after a second apparent assassination attempt against the Republican former president.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Sunday signed into law controversial judicial reforms making Mexico the world's only country to elect all its judges by popular vote.