WORLD

The United States confirmed Monday it would resume sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, as concerns over human rights in the kingdom's Yemen war give way to US hopes for it to play a role in resolving the conflict in Gaza.

Iran could launch a "significant" attack on Israel as soon as this week, the White House said Monday, as US President Joe Biden discussed the crisis with European leaders.

The UK government welcomed Monday the "de-escalation" of far-right inspired disorder and rioting following a knife attack that killed three children, but insisted officials remain on "high alert".

The Paris Olympics won mostly rave reviews from western media after they closed on Sunday, while media in Russia, whose team were excluded because of its war in Ukraine, sniffed at France's success.

Adored by her classmates and defiant even after police seized her, student Nusrat Tabassum is one of the many women who helped spearhead the movement that toppled autocratic ex-premier Sheikh Hasina.

The leaders of Tanzania's main opposition party Chadema have been released on bail, a party spokesman said on Tuesday, after they were detained in a mass roundup ahead of a youth day rally.

Thousands of people living around Athens fled their homes on Monday, including in the historic town of Marathon, as a huge wildfire front crept closer to the capital despite "superhuman" efforts to contain the blaze, officials said.

Venezuela's opposition called Sunday for worldwide protests on August 17 to show support for its claimed victory in last month's election over President Nicolas Maduro, who was declared the winner.

Tanzanian police have detained leading opposition figures including Chadema party leader Freeman Mbowe and his deputy Tundu Lissu and rounded up several hundred youth supporters on the eve of a planned rally, a move condemned by rights activists on Monday as "troubling".

The roar of artillery fire was deafening as Tetyana conferred with neighbours in her small village, which hugs the Russian border, over whether they should hold tight or flee.

Pacific nation Kiribati will begin voting in a general election this week, a poll that will test the strengthening ties between China and the government of the climate-threatened archipelago.

US President Joe Biden, in his first TV interview since withdrawing from the election, has said he acted under pressure from fellow Democrats and out of a determination to see Donald Trump beaten.

Hamas on Sunday urged Gaza mediators to implement a truce plan presented by US President Joe Biden instead of holding more talks, as Palestinians fled a new Israeli military operation.

A week of racism-fuelled disorder in Northern Ireland, sparked by disturbances in English towns and cities, is proving harder to end, with fears the UK region's sectarian divisions are feeding into the violence.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on Sunday condemned what he called "illegal and reckless" actions by China's air force last week against a Filipino military plane patrolling over a disputed South China Sea reef.

Thousands of anti-racism demonstrators rallied across the UK on Saturday to protest recent rioting blamed on the far-right in the wake of the Southport knife attack that killed three children.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and his newly named interim government set out Friday to restore "law and order" after a student-led uprising and deadly mass protests forced predecessor Sheikh Hasina into exile.

A Philippine news site co-founded by Nobel laureate Maria Ressa can continue operating after a court overturned a shutdown order, according to the ruling released Friday, the latest legal victory for the media outfit.

The US ambassador to Japan skipped a ceremony on Friday marking the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in protest at Israel not being invited.

Ukraine pressed on with a major cross-border incursion into Russia on Friday, also launching a significant air attack on a Russian airfield hundreds of kilometres behind the front lines.

E-commerce tycoon Colin Huang has become China's richest man, an index showed Friday, capping an ascent for the former Google employee whose shopping site Temu has sucked in consumers with its low prices and all-powerful algorithms.

India's foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar leaves Friday on his first trip to the neighbouring Maldives since Male expelled dozens of Indian soldiers and shifted to become closer to China.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday cancelled a four-day trip to Central Asia after government scientists warned Japan should prepare for a possible "megaquake".

Kamala Harris does not support an arms embargo on US ally Israel, a top aide said Thursday, in one of the first substantive statements on her Gaza war policy since her July entry to the 2024 White House race.

False or misleading US election claims posted on X by Elon Musk have amassed nearly 1.2 billion views this year, a watchdog reported Thursday, highlighting the billionaire's potential influence on the highly polarized White House race.

Donald Trump on Thursday voiced frustration at the independence of the Federal Reserve and suggested that the US president should have "at least a say" over the course of monetary policy.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro suspended access to the social media site X on Thursday, as he faced renewed pressure from a trio of friendly Latin American nations to release data proving his claimed reelection was valid.

Donald Trump proposed three September debates against Kamala Harris Thursday as he sought to wrest back some of the attention lavished on his rival since her blockbuster entry into the US presidential election.

Israel has agreed to resume Gaza ceasefire talks on August 15 at the demand of US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Thursday, as regional tensions skyrocket over the war.