WORLD

Rescue ship Ocean Viking has saved more than 600 migrants adrift in the Mediterranean over the last two days, the organisation that runs it, SOS Mediterranee, said on Friday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un berated "irresponsible" officials for failing to prevent damage from a tropical storm that swept through the Korean peninsula last week, state media said Monday.

A preliminary forensic audit of Lebanon's central bank by professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) has painted a damning picture of the institution under long-serving former governor Riad Salameh.

The United Nations said Friday it had successfully transferred more than one million barrels of oil from a dilapidated Yemeni tanker, removing the imminent risk of a spill.

Elon Musk said Friday that his much-hyped cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg would take place in Italy, as authorities there confirmed talks about hosting a "great charity event."

Russia on Friday said it had improved its fighting positions around the northeast Ukraine town of Kupiansk, where its advance has prompted Ukrainian officials to urge residents to evacuate.

Western naval forces operating in the Gulf have warned ships sailing in the strategic Strait of Hormuz against approaching Iranian waters to avoid the risk of seizure.

Two separatist militants were killed Sunday when they attacked a convoy carrying Chinese workers to a Beijing-financed port project in Pakistan's Balochistan province, officials said.

A shooting Sunday at a Shiite Muslim shrine in Iran's south killed at least one person and wounded eight others, state media reported, revising down a previous toll of four fatalities.

Fears for Niger's detained president mounted on Friday, a day after West African leaders declared they would muster a "standby" force in their efforts to return him to power.

At least 26 soldiers have been killed in war-torn Syria's east, a monitor said on Friday, the deadliest in a new wave of attacks blamed on Islamic State group jihadists.

A rubber dinghy brings back dozens of people from one of six boats the Tunisian coastguard intercepted in a 24-hour period off Sfax, a migrant launchpad for Europe.

The number of new Covid-19 cases reported worldwide rose by 80 percent in the last month, the World Health Organization said on Friday, days after designating a new "variant of interest".

The death toll from record-breaking rains across northern China rose to at least 78 on Friday, as authorities warned of more flooding and another storm approached the country.

"During the visit, the ships will undertake professional interactions with UAE Naval Force on various elements of maritime operations and share best practices aimed at enhancing cooperation and strengthening ties between the two navies." as per Indian Navy's statement.

Under mountains that dagger the sky, a misfit caravan of Pakistani porters trudge towards K2 toting live chickens and lawn furniture for adventurers seeking an audience with the world's second-highest peak.

US consumer inflation inched up in July, government data showed Thursday, rebounding slightly for the first time in around a year and weighing on policymakers as they mull further interest rate hikes.

The US Treasury announced coordinated sanctions with Canada and Britain on Thursday against Riad Salameh, Lebanon's longtime central bank chief, who recently left office without a successor.

Ukraine urged civilians near the northeastern front line to evacuate on Thursday as Russia ramped up an assault to capture territory already seized once during the conflict.

Russia is launching its first mission to the Moon's surface in nearly 50 years on Friday, hoping to reclaim prestige in space despite military and diplomatic setbacks at home over the Ukraine conflict.

Linda Yaccarino, CEO of social media platform X, said Thursday that the company formerly known as Twitter is "close" to breaking even and is hiring to beef up a staff slashed by owner Elon Musk.

The death toll from a terrifying wildfire that razed a historic Hawaiian town hit 53 Thursday, making it one of the deadliest disasters to strike the islands since they became a US state.

Four months into a battle both believed they would win, Sudan's army has lost its grip on Khartoum to paramilitaries, who are unable to declare victory and instead are accused of waging war on civilians.

Athletes flex muscled biceps before going hand-to-hand in a newly televised arm-wrestling league seeking to take the sporting spotlight in otherwise cricket-mad India with a glitzy Bollywood-style makeover.

Asian markets mostly fell Friday as a below-forecast US inflation reading boosted hopes the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates next month but did little to dispel fears it could hike later in the year.

The progress on the prisoners -- one of them detained for nearly eight years -- comes after quiet, exhaustive diplomacy between the longtime adversaries whose separate talks on restoring a nuclear deal broke down.

At least 36 people have died after a fast-moving wildfire turned a historic Hawaiian town to ashes, officials said Wednesday, as visitors asked to leave the island of Maui found themselves stranded at the airport.

Stocks fell Thursday ahead of much-anticipated US inflation data, which comes against a backdrop of renewed concerns that the Federal Reserve could announce another interest rate hike before the end of the year.

Gazing up from K2 Basecamp, Sajid Ali Sadpara sees Earth's second-highest mountain, his father's final resting place, and a blight of litter on the furthest reaches of the natural world.