WORLD

President Donald Trump's administration on Sunday began mass layoffs at Voice of America and other US-funded media, making clear its intent to gut outlets long seen as critical for US influence.

Colombia's defense minister on Sunday warned Donald Trump's administration against blacklisting his country for failing to curb drug exports, saying the decision would bring yet more cocaine to the United States.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he was seeking to dismiss the head of Israel's internal security agency, who swiftly called the move political and said the premier expected "personal loyalty".

US officials on Sunday vowed further strikes in Yemen until the Houthi rebels decide to end their attacks on Red Sea shipping, while also threatening action against the group's backer Iran.

The United States flew more than 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to be imprisoned in El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele said Sunday, after US counterpart Donald Trump controversially invoked wartime legislation to expel them.

The Vatican released the first photograph of Pope Francis on Sunday since his hospitalisation over a month ago, showing the pontiff celebrating mass earlier in the day from the chapel in his hospital suite.

As the Trump administration prepares for its next wave of federal layoffs, the former head of a key US climate agency spoke with AFP about its role in public safety, scientific research, and protecting the American economy.

A US judge on Thursday ordered six federal agencies to rehire thousands of probationary workers fired as part of Donald Trump's push to slash the size and scope of government.

Stargazers across a swathe of the world marvelled at a dramatic red "Blood Moon" during a rare total lunar eclipse in the early hours of Friday morning.

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's deadly war on drugs has always faced strong opposition on the home front.

France's Finance Minister Eric Lombard called the escalating US-EU trade war "idiotic" on Friday and said he would soon travel to the United States after Washington threatened huge tariffs against French wine and champagne.

UN chief Antonio Guterres met with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh Friday, some of the one million people who escaped war in neighbouring Myanmar who are now threatened by dire humanitarian aid cuts.

The US government was hours from shutting down Friday as Democrats smarting over President Donald Trump's spending cuts threatened to block his federal funding plans -- although hopes were high for a resolution to the impasse.

China urged an end to "illegal" sanctions on Iran as it hosted Iranian and Russian diplomats on Friday for talks Beijing hopes will restart long-stalled negotiations on Tehran's nuclear programme.

Taiwan plans to reinstate military judges to hear Chinese espionage cases and other offences involving Taiwanese service members, President Lai Ching-te said Thursday.

China called on Thursday for a "diplomatic" resolution to the Iran nuclear issue as it prepared to host diplomats from Tehran and Moscow for talks.

Pope Francis marks 12 years as head of the Catholic Church on Thursday, seemingly out of danger after a month in hospital but with his health casting a shadow over his future.

The bodies of at least 25 people, including 21 hostages, killed in a train siege by separatist gunmen in Pakistan were retrieved from the site on Thursday ahead of the first funerals, officials said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet his Canadian counterpart at a G7 gathering Thursday, but discussion of American annexation threats has been ruled off-limits at talks expected to be dominated by efforts to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine.

There are growing doubts about a pledge by rich nations to provide more climate finance to poorer nations, as foreign aid budgets are slashed and the US guts environmental spending.

President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday announced a wave of environmental rollbacks targeting Biden-era green policies, including carbon limits on power plants, tailpipe emissions standards and protections for waterways.

It was perhaps not the welcome Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin had hoped for on an annual US trip to mark Saint Patrick's Day -- a dressing down from Donald Trump on trade and tariffs.

Faced by a menacing Russia and unreliable United States, the EU is pushing a mammoth plan to boost its defenses that Brussels says could unlock up to 800 billion euros ($860 billion).

A committee formed by Syria's new authorities to investigate a wave of deadly violence said on Tuesday the country was determined to "prevent unlawful revenge".

A routine crew rotation at the International Space Station has taken on unusual significance: It paves the way for a pair of astronauts stranded for more than nine months to finally come home.

If South Korea formally impeaches its suspended president over his martial law debacle, one firebrand pastor says he is ready for "revolution".

Pakistan security forces launched a "full-scale" operation on Wednesday to rescue train passengers taken hostage by militants in the mountainous southwest.

Israel said Tuesday it killed a senior Hezbollah militant responsible for drones and missiles, even as it freed Lebanese prisoners as a "goodwill" gesture to the country's new president.

Shockwaves from the Trump administration's campaign against pro-diversity policies and its harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric were felt throughout the South By Southwest festival, the sprawling arts and tech event long known for championing progressive values.