The port of the evacuated Icelandic town of Grindavik, western Iceland on December 21, 2023. A volcanic eruption began on Monday night in Iceland, south of the capital Reykjavik, following an earthquake swarm, Iceland's Meteorological Office reported. (Photo by Viken KANTARCI / AFP)...
BANGKOK, Thailand– Thai lawmakers on Thursday gave initial approval to legalising same-sex unions, moving the kingdom a step closer to marriage equality. The legislation must pass through several more stages before becoming law, but if it is enacted, Thailand would be the first country...
BEIJING, China - Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that maintaining close ties with Russia is a "strategic choice", calling for deeper bilateral cooperation during a meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Beijing, state media reported. The strong relationship between the...
KYIV, Ukraine - President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that there was no end in sight to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as fatigue builds among Kyiv's allies nearly two years into the war and the Kremlin voices growing confidence of victory. Zelensky said he had turned down a...
KYIV, Ukraine - Ukraine said nine people, including four children, were wounded by Russian shelling in the southern city of Kherson as drones also targeted the capital Kyiv and the second-largest city Kharkiv. Residents and relatives carry belongings out of their burned out flat in Donetsk,...
MOSCOW, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Wednesday for a "severe" response to foreign agents who aim to destabilise Russia by aiding Ukraine. "The Kyiv regime with direct support of foreign special services has taken the path of terrorist methods, practically state...
Brussels, Belgium - The EU on Wednesday agreed to an overhaul of its asylum laws that includes more border detention centres and speedier deportations, prompting migrant charities to slam the changes as "dangerous" and "cruel." EU governments, officials and MEPs hailed the preliminary accord...
BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Union member states hope to finally agree on Wednesday a reformed set of budget rules after a long debate between Germany and France, the biggest economies in the bloc. Finance ministers from the 27 members were to meet by video link from 1500 GMT, but their French...
JISHISHAN, China - Survivors of China's deadliest earthquake in years huddled in makeshift aid tents despite freezing temperatures on Wednesday, too scared to return to homes made dangerous by the disaster. State broadcaster CCTV said at least 134 people were killed in northwestern Gansu...
ROME, Italy - The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said Wednesday it had delivered food into war-torn Gaza through the Israeli Kerem Shalom border crossing in the first direct aid convoy from Jordan. The arrival of the 46-truck convoy, carrying more than 750 tonnes of goods, came after "weeks...
QUITO, Ecuador - Britain's former honorary consul in the Ecuadoran port city of Guayaquil, Colin Armstrong, was released "safe and sound" after being kidnapped over the weekend, officials in the South American country said Wednesday. "Our units released citizen Collin A., kidnapped days...
A resident looks at a collapsed building after an earthquake in Jishishan County, in northwest China’s Gansu province on December 19, 2023. (Photo by CNS / AFP) HAIDONG, China– Rescuers in remote villages of northwest China dug through the rubble of collapsed homes on Tuesday after China's...
