WORLD

US President Joe Biden on Sunday issued an official pardon for his son Hunter, who was facing sentencing for two criminal cases, despite assurances that he would not intervene in his legal troubles.

The White House is working on a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza but is "not there yet," the US National Security Advisor told NBC on Sunday, with fighting in the conflict raging on as regional leaders meet to discuss the crisis.

President Joe Biden on Thursday warned against damaging relations with Canada and Mexico, after Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on both US neighbors when he takes office in January.

A US offer to give Ukraine anti-personnel mines to help battle Russia's invasion has thrown a landmark global anti-landmine treaty into "crisis", campaigners said Friday, urging Kyiv to snub the proposal.

Taiwan said Friday it detected 41 Chinese military aircraft and ships around the island ahead of a Hawaii stopover by President Lai Ching-te, part of a Pacific tour that has sparked fury in Beijing.

Jihadists and their Turkish-backed allies shelled Syria's second city Aleppo on Friday, in a major offensive against government troops that has sparked some of the deadliest fighting the country has seen in years.

World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was reappointed Friday for a second term, in the shadow of the coming return of Donald Trump and his disdain for international trade rules.

Air pollution caused by fires is linked to more than 1.5 million deaths a year worldwide, the vast majority occurring in developing countries, a major new study said on Thursday.

Donald Trump's tariff threats have rattled foreign businesses and governments, with many fearing it could signal the opening salvo of an all-out trade war when he returns to the White House next year.

Russia's army on Thursday launched a massive attack on Ukraine's energy sector, forcing emergency power outages as temperatures dropped to freezing across the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday slammed a "despicable escalation" by Russia as he accused its military of firing cluster munitions on Ukraine's energy grid in a massive overnight attack.

A Syria war monitor on Thursday said clashes between the army and jihadists killed more than 130 combatants in the worst fighting in the country's northwest in years, as the government also reported fierce battles.

Iran is set to meet with Britain, France and Germany for talks Friday on its nuclear programme after the three governments joined with the United States to have Tehran censured by the UN atomic watchdog.

Lebanon's military deployed troops and tanks across the country's south on Thursday as a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war largely held for a second day.

During the G20 Leaders' Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the countries explored new areas of cooperation, including innovation, renewable energy, AI, technology, agriculture, defense, trade and cultural exchanges.

World leaders have welcomed a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which came into force on Wednesday morning (0200 GMT).

The coming year will put incoming US President Donald Trump's geopolitical strategies to the test, as wars rage in the Middle East and Ukraine and tensions rise in Asia.

Washington's decision to give anti-personnel mines to Ukraine is the biggest blow yet to a landmark anti-mine treaty, its signatories said during a meeting.

Namibia's vice president was among the first to vote in elections Wednesday that could see her become the desert nation's first woman leader, even as her ruling SWAPO party faces the strongest challenge yet to its 34-year grip on power.

Spanish traveller Alberto Blasco Ventas looked out at Ukraine's destroyed Irpin brige, blown up to stop Russian troops in 2022 and now a hotspot for thrill-seeking tourists visiting the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Kazakhstan on Wednesday for a two-day trip aimed at shoring up ties with his Central Asian ally as tensions mount over the Ukraine war.

Russia is carrying out "genocidal activities" by laying landmines on Ukraine's territory, an official from Kyiv's defence ministry told a landmine conference in Cambodia on Tuesday.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Monday he was "optimistic" for a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon, as Middle East tensions dominated a G7 meeting near Rome.

Nations gathered in Busan, South Korea have a week to agree the world's first treaty to curb plastic pollution, a gargantuan challenge given the major divisions that remain.

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday denied she was plotting to kill President Ferdinand Marcos, saying her comments that sparked a government probe only reflected "consternation" with her one-time ally.

US lawmakers urged the government Monday to rethink banking ties with Hong Kong, citing its "increasing role" in money laundering, sanctions evasions and reported funneling of banned technology to Russia.

At a crowded camp in Gaza for those displaced by the war between Israel and Hamas, Ayman Siam laid concrete blocks around his tent to keep his family dry as rain threatened more misery.

The tough-fought finance deal at UN climate negotiations was "imperfect", the Azerbaijan COP29 leadership has admitted, seeking to blame richer countries for an outcome slammed by poorer nations as insulting.

The world approved a bitterly negotiated climate deal Sunday but poorer nations most at the mercy of worsening disasters dismissed a $300 billion a year pledge from wealthy historic polluters as insultingly low.