WORLD

Britain will see little difference on public spending whichever of the country's main parties wins next month's general election, with state coffers strained largely by huge Covid expenditure.

Austria's highly controversial former foreign minister Karin Kneissl -- who now lives in Russia -- told AFP she feels slandered as Vienna reels from an unfolding Russian spying scandal.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange returned home to Australia to start life as a free man Wednesday after admitting he revealed US defense secrets in a deal that unlocked the door to his London prison cell.

After more than thirteen years in England, including five years spent in prison, Julian Assange pleaded guilty in the Northern Mariana Islands, a far-flung US territory in the Pacific, and walked out of court a free man.

US journalist Evan Gershkovich's closed-door trial for espionage began in Russia on Wednesday, 15 months after his shock arrest on charges he, his employer and the White House reject as false.

Mass expulsions? The 78-year-old, known for his unfinished border wall project, has said he would be happy to "use the military" as part of the effort and would open detention camps to process targets for expulsion.

Ahead of their first presidential debate, Joe Biden and Donald Trump are offering sharply different visions of the US role in the world, both in style and substance.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is to be a "free man", his wife said Tuesday, once a judge signs off on a plea deal with US authorities to bring to a close his years-long legal drama.

Israeli forces on Tuesday bombarded besieged Gaza where Palestinian officials said one strike killed 10 family members of Hamas' Qatar-based political chief Ismail Haniyeh, including his sister.

China's premier called Tuesday for countries to "oppose decoupling", as economic tensions simmer between Beijing and the West, and the European Union prepares to impose new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

There will be no studio audience, depriving candidates of the momentum that comes from ginning up supporters.

Sri Lanka has finalised long-delayed debt deals with its bilateral lenders including China to meet a key condition of an IMF bailout, the government said Tuesday.

A collaborative investigation by international media outlets on Tuesday shed light on the circumstances behind more than 100 Palestinian journalists and media workers being killed in the Gaza war, some while wearing a press vest.

The European Union formally launches accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday, setting the fragile ex-Soviet states off on a long path towards membership that Russia has tried to block.

A guard of honour and a lavish banquet awaited Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako in London on Tuesday as King Charles III was set to receive them at the start of a three-day state visit to Britain.

The UN's cultural organisation said Monday it recommended adding Stonehenge, the renowned prehistoric site in England, to its world heritage in danger list, in what would be seen as an embarrassment for London.

Argentina's austerity-hit economy contracted by 5.1 percent in the first quarter, the national statistics agency said Monday, driven by a slowdown in the construction and manufacturing industries.

Attacks on churches and synagogues in Russia's Dagestan region killed 15 police officers and four civilians, officials said on Monday, stoking fears over Islamist violence in the historically restive North Caucasus.

French far-right leader Jordan Bardella said Monday his party was ready to govern as he pledged to curb immigration and tackle cost-of-living issues ahead of the country's most divisive election in decades.

A day after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the "intense phase" of the Gaza war is winding down, the army bombed Hamas on Monday as the Palestinian militant group again demanded a permanent end to the fighting.

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te signed into law on Monday a controversial reform expanding parliament's powers, but vowed to seek a ruling from the island's top court to try to overturn it.

Twenty-two people were killed -- including 18 Chinese nationals -- in a massive fire at a South Korean lithium battery factory, the fire department said Monday, one of the country's worst factory disasters in years.

An inquiry Monday cleared Australian Rules players and support staff of feigning injuries to cover up illicit drug use, but recommended the sport overhaul its approach amid fears of "criminal infiltration".

Hungary takes over the European Union's six-month rotating presidency on July 1, in the face of fears perennial spoiler Prime Minister Viktor Orban could use it to take the bloc hostage at a critical time.

Saudi Arabia said Sunday that more than 1,300 faithful died during the hajj pilgrimage which took place during intense heat, and that most of the deceased did not have official permits.

Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama arrived Sunday in New York to undergo knee treatment, drawing a warm and festive welcome from thousands of followers.

The new Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) which will be worth roughly $786 million, will "support Tanzania's efforts to build resilience to climate change," it added.

The Republican candidate made the remarks in a podcast published Thursday, days after President Joe Biden announced a citizenship pathway for immigrants married to US nationals, counterbalancing his recent crackdown on illegal border crossings.

The coastal territory has been devastated by more than eight months of Israeli operations against Palestinian militant group Hamas, uprooting Gaza's population and leaving them in dire need of aid.