WORLD

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an acceleration of Black Sea grain shipments from Ukrainian ports under a deal allowing safe wartime exports, a U.N.

The UK will back Ukraine's economy to the tune of $3 billion over the next three years while it fights back against Russian forces, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Tuesday.

Palestinian gunmen shot dead four Israelis near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday in an attack the militant Hamas group said was a response to a raid by Israeli forces in the flashpoint city of Jenin.

Since the start of the year, Iran has intensified its diplomatic activity, engaging with friends and foes alike as it seeks to reduce its isolation, improve its economy and project strength. Iran's ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi has led the way, swinging through China, Syria and Venezuela, hosting Saudi Arabia's top diplomat, and reaching out to other long-time regional rivals such as Egypt.

A new, young generation of Moroccan filmmakers last month stepped into the limelight to make its debut at France's Cannes Film Festival -- snatching three prestigious awards.

US President Joe Biden equated his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping with "dictators" on Tuesday as he addressed a Democratic Party donors reception in the presence of journalists.

Asian markets mostly dipped Wednesday, following a downbeat lead from Wall Street as investors braced for Fed boss Jerome Powell's testimony to the US Congress.

The headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympics organising committee and those of its infrastructure partner were being searched by police on Tuesday as part of investigations into alleged embezzlement of public funds and favouritism, prosecutors said.

Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin complained on Tuesday that most of his fighters had not yet received medals promised by President Vladimir Putin for their role in the Ukraine war's bloodiest battle, the latest twist in a feud with the top brass.

Chinese imports of Russian oil last month hit their highest level since Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Beijing's customs data showed Tuesday.

Modi has been to the U.S. five times since becoming prime minister in 2014 but the June 21-24 trip will be his first with the full diplomatic status of an official state visit.

Israeli lawyers held a leadership election on Tuesday with an eye on candidates' potential influence over the make-up of a panel for selecting judges, which is at the core of a contested bid by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to overhaul the courts.

This landmark agreement will enhance Sanad's position in the global MRO supply chain as the company has officially established relations with all major OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers).

Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank killed five Palestinians including a militant on Monday, in a raid that saw seven Israeli security personnel wounded and rare helicopter fire.

The leaders of Palestinian militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas held talks Monday with top Iranian officials in Tehran as deadly violence flared in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Ukraine is in negotiations with Western arms manufacturers to boost production of weapons, including drones, and could sign contracts in coming months, a Ukrainian minister told Reuters.

France has banned an upcoming Iranian opposition rally over the risk of an attack, according to a letter sent to the organisers and seen by Reuters, after the release of an Iranian diplomat convicted of masterminding a plot to bomb the group in 2018. The ban comes as Western powers seek to defuse tensions with Iran and a few weeks after Tehran released several Europeans from prison, including two French nationals. French President Emmanuel Macron held a 90-minute call with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on June 10.

NATO forces in Kosovo are ready to face any situation if acts of violence similar to recent encounters threaten the peace, the NATO commander in Pristina said late on Monday.

Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said the "biggest blow" in Kyiv's military campaign is yet to come, but admitted the operation is difficult as Russia throws all it can to stop the offensive.

The artillerymen of Ukraine's 67th infantry brigade are delighted with the U.S.-supplied M119 howitzer amid an increase in military exchanges south of the Russian-held town of Kreminna.

International donors made pledges on Monday of close to $1.5 billion in aid for Sudan and the surrounding region, about half of estimated needs for a deepening humanitarian crisis that has driven some 2.2 million people from their homes.

Glaciers in Asia's Hindu Kush Himalaya could lose up to 75% of their volume by century's end due to global warming, causing both dangerous flooding and water shortages for the 240 million people who live in the mountainous region, according to a new report.

China's central bank on Tuesday cut two benchmark interest rates, following several similar measures in recent days in a bid to counter the post-Covid growth slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

In the kitchen of his Kabul restaurant, one of the last cooks to master the Afghan culinary art of "chainaki" stuffs chunks of lamb and fat into about 200 tiny teapots to simmer for hours atop a clay stove.

President Joe Biden said on Monday the threat of Russian President Vladimir Putin using tactical nuclear weapons is "real", days after denouncing Russia's deployment of such weapons in Belarus.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the United States on Tuesday to meet with President Joe Biden and address Congress, with military and technological ties on the agenda as his hosts seek a regional counter to China.

The United States and China looked to set up a safety net for their intensifying rivalry during a visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but the trip achieved only general promises and no breakthroughs on hoped-for military talks and flashpoint issues.

Inside a fenced migrant camp near Athens, relatives hugged survivors on Monday while others refused to abandon hope of finding loved ones who were among the scores missing after one of the Mediterranean's deadliest shipping disasters last week.

Israel said on Monday that hoped-for direct flights to Saudi Arabia for the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage would not happen this year, and played down any prospects of an imminent U.S.-mediated normalisation of relations with Riyadh.