International News

US Vice President Kamala Harris and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol condemned North Korea's intensifying nuclear rhetoric and weapons tests during talks in Seoul on Thursday, just hours after the isolated country test-fired missiles.

The European Union has promised a "robust" response to any intentional disruption of its energy infrastructure after saying it suspected sabotage was behind gas leaks discovered this week on subsea Russian pipelines to Europe.

Four rockets fired from eastern Baghdad on Thursday landed around the Iraqi capital's Green Zone, home to government buildings and foreign missions, police said, as political unrest intensified.

Taiwan will end its mandatory COVID-19 quarantine for arrivals from October 13 and welcome tourists back, the government said on Thursday, completing a major step on its plan to re-open to the outside world.

A weakened but still formidable Hurricane Ian chugged across Florida toward the Atlantic seaboard on Thursday after thrashing the state's Gulf Coast with fierce winds, torrential downpours and raging surf that flooded oceanside communities.

The Indian government has appointed Anil Chauhan as its defence chief to succeed Bipin Rawat, who died in a helicopter crash along with 13 others last December.

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, the South's military said, just a day before US Vice President Kamala Harris is set to arrive in Seoul.

Fighter jets escorted a Singapore Airlines plane to land at the city-state's international airport Changi on Wednesday after a passenger had made a bomb threat, Singapore authorities said.

Ukraine said on Wednesday that Russian-staged votes in four Ukrainian regions on becoming part of Russia were "null and worthless", and that Kyiv would press on with efforts to liberate Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces.

Vietnam on Wednesday downgraded Typhoon Noru to a tropical depression, but warned residents to stay on alert because of the risks from flooding and landslides caused by heavy rain, the government said.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has become the Kingdom's Prime Minister, a Saudi royal decree said on Tuesday.

Ukrainians who help Russian-backed referendums to annexe large swathes of the country will face treason charges and at least five years in jail, Ukraine's presidential adviser said, as voting in four regions entered its last day.

With flowers, prayers and a 19-gun salute, Japan honoured slain former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday at the first state funeral for a former premier in 55 years - a ceremony that has become as divisive as he was in life.

NASA's DART spacecraft successfully slammed into a distant asteroid at hypersonic speed on Monday in a test of the world's first planetary defense system, designed to prevent a potential doomsday meteorite collision with Earth.

Canada will drop all COVID-19 restrictions for travellers from October 1, including vaccination and masking requirements for flights and trains.

President Vladimir Putin has granted Russian citizenship to former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.

A gunman killed 13 people at a school in Russia on Monday before taking his own life, investigators said.

Russian men are fleeing into neighbouring Georgia to avoid being called-up to fight in a war they do not agree with following Russian President Vladimir Putin's order to mobilise hundreds of thousands of reservists for the conflict in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he doesn't think Vladimir Putin is bluffing when he says Moscow would be ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr conducted an aerial survey of damage on Monday brought by typhoon Noru, which left heavy flooding across several northern provinces as authorities rushed to get aid to thousands of evacuees.

Giorgia Meloni looks set to become Italy's first woman prime minister at the head of its most right-wing government since World War Two after leading a conservative alliance to triumph at Sunday's election.

It will take several months for Canada to restore critical infrastructure after the powerful storm Fiona left an "unprecedented" trail of destruction, officials said on Sunday, as crews fanned out in five provinces to restore power and clean up fallen trees and debris.

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos declared suspension of government work and classes for Monday as a category 3 tropical storm barrelled through the main island Luzon after making landfall northeast of the capital Manila.

At least 24 people were killed and dozens were missing after a crowded boat sank on Sunday in Bangladesh, in the worst waterways disaster to hit the countryin more than a year.

NASA said it was scrapping Tuesday's plans to launch Artemis, the US return to the moon after five decades, noting concerns about a tropical storm headed to Florida.

An approaching tropical storm intensified into a typhoon expected to bring moderate to heavy rainfall and severe winds over a swathe of the main Luzon island.

Members of the French National Assembly have asked the president of the lower house of the country's parliament to set up an investigation committee to look into alleged Russian financing of political parties.

Iran regrets Ukraine's decision to downgrade ties over the reported supply of Iranian drones to Russia, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said on Saturday.

Iran must deal decisively with protests that swept the country after the death in custody of a woman detained by the Islamic Republic's morality police.

Powerful storm Fiona slammed into eastern Canada on Saturday with hurricane-force winds, blowing over trees and powerlines and leaving hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without electricity.

A typhoon lashed central Japan on Saturday with torrential rain and fierce winds, killing two and leaving tens of thousands of households without power.

South Korea's military has detected signs that North Korea may be preparing to test a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

Indonesia's anti-corruption body on Friday arrested a Supreme Court judge for his alleged involvement in a bribery scandal, one of the most high-profile magistrates to face investigation for graft.

Authorities in a suburb of the Indian capital where many companies have offices and executives have their homes, ordered schools to close and urged residents to work from home on Friday after heavy rain brought widespread flooding.

Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other opening fire overnight on Friday, breaking a fragile ceasefire agreement that had brought the worst fighting between the two ex-Soviet countries since 2020 to a close last week.

Four areas of Ukraine controlled by Russia and pro-Moscow forces were preparing to hold referendums on Friday on joining Russia, votes widely condemned by the West as illegitimate and a precursor to illegal annexation.

India told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that the trajectory of the Ukraine conflict was very concerning and that the outlook was more so, as New Delhi sharpened its calls for peace.

Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, will be boarding Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity and blasting off to space on Sunday.

Singapore is reviewing penalties for violent offences following an outcry over a 12-day prison sentence for a student who strangled his girlfriend until she blacked out.