WORLD

All five people aboard a submersible missing near the wreck of the Titanic died -- likely in an instant -- after their vessel suffered what the US Coast Guard said Thursday was a "catastrophic implosion" in the ocean depths.

The head of the Red Cross federation, the world's largest humanitarian network, is stepping down, a spokesman confirmed Thursday, following a row in Italy surrounding the Rome Pride event.

The United Nations has put Russian military forces and proxy armed groups on its "list of shame" over the killing and maiming of hundreds of children in its war against Ukraine, according to a document seen by AFP Thursday.

Foreign donors have pledged 60 billion euros ($66 billion) of new financial support for Ukraine, the UK said Thursday, as an international conference aimed at funding the war-ravaged country's reconstruction closed.

A "catastrophic implosion," such as that believed to have destroyed the Titan submersible, would have happened with incredible force and speed given the crushing water pressure on the floor of the ocean.

The Titanic inspired a tear-jerking blockbuster and expeditions to its watery gravesite -- including a fatal one this week -- but viral TikTok videos peddle a stunning conspiracy theory: the ship never sank.

Equity markets sank Friday and oil extended a sharp selloff after a string of interest rate hikes by central banks revived worries about the global economy.

U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich lost his latest appeal in a Moscow court on Thursday against his pre-trial detention on charges of espionage.

At loggerheads over who should fill a vacant presidency, Lebanon's fractious politicians are waiting for foreign powers to resolve their crisis, leaving the country adrift as its failing state teeters on the brink of collapse.

The death of at least 23 migrants during an attempt to cross into Spain's North African enclave of Melilla from Morocco one year ago prompted an outcry over police actions, but advocates say no-one has been held responsible.

Turkey on Thursday pivoted away from years of unconventional economics promoted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the central bank nearly doubled its key interest rate to fight inflation and steady the troubled lira.

Russia is 99.9% certain to quit a U.N.-brokered deal on the safe wartime passage of Black Sea grain next month because it no longer needs Ukrainian ports to export ammonia, a senior Ukrainian diplomat said.

Saudi Arabia and the Houthi authorities controlling north Yemen have exchanged 64 fighters' bodies in the third such recent deal, Houthi media said on Wednesday, the latest sign of progress in talks to end their eight-year conflict.

The appointment of additional royals to Kuwait's new cabinet, including a convicted defence minister, looks like a push by the ruling family to show unity and reassert power as it wrestles with an opposition-controlled parliament.

Swathes of northern China sweltered in 40-degree heat on Thursday, weather data showed, as parts of Beijing and the nearby megacity of Tianjin recorded their highest temperatures for years.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank officials are joining dozens of economic leaders for a two-day summit in Paris, aiming to tackle the interlinked challenges of poverty alleviation and climate change.

Ukrainian missiles struck the Chonhar road bridge connecting Crimea with Russian-held parts of the southern Kherson region overnight, forcing traffic to be diverted to a different route, Russian-appointed officials said on Thursday.

A multinational search team crisscrossed the sea and skies above the century-old wreck of the Titanic for a fifth day on Thursday, seeking a tourist submersible that went missing with five people aboard and was just hours away from the presumed end of its air supply.

Hundreds of mourners on Wednesday laid to rest an Israeli teenager shot dead a day earlier by Palestinian gunmen near a Jewish settlement, as months of tensions in the occupied West Bank again exploded into violence.

European Union governments agreed on Wednesday to an 11th package of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, aimed at stopping other countries and companies from circumventing existing measures.

The father and son aboard the missing Titanic tourist submersible hail from one of Pakistan's most prominent and wealthiest families, who are known for their philanthropic contributions to the country.

Iran's top diplomat arrived in Kuwait Wednesday, the third leg of a Gulf tour that saw him hold "constructive" talks with his Omani counterpart in Muscat earlier in the day. It came a day after Tehran held discussions in Doha on its nuclear programme with Qatari and European Union officials, the latest in a flurry of diplomatic moves by the Islamic republic as it seeks to reduce its isolation, improve its economy and project strength.

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko accused opponents of waging a campaign to discredit him and force him out of office on Wednesday following a rift with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Making coffee for a soldier outside a shopping centre in eastern Ukraine, 24-year-old Nina said she gets news on the war with Russia that has rocked her country from social media.

The US Federal Reserve expects to keep raising interest rates but at a slower pace, Fed chair Jerome Powell told a congressional hearing Wednesday.

Around the world, the story of the missing Titanic submersible and its rescue operation's race against time has been riveting onlookers.

The Biden administration will make it easier for Indians to live and work in the United States, using this week's state visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help some skilled workers enter or remain in the country, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The Panama Canal will expand restrictions on the largest ships crossing the waterway, one of the world's busiest trade passages, the canal authority's administrator said on Wednesday, citing shallower waters due to drought.

United States lawmakers on Wednesday invited the chiefs of the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund to testify at a hearing looking into their shock deal that has rocked the golf world.