GENEVA, Switzerland- Russia's war in Ukraine has made severe rights violations "shockingly routine" and is distracting humanity from battling existential threats to its survival, the United Nations rights chief warned on Friday. Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council, Volker Turk denounced...
NAKHON NAYOK, Thailand -- Hundreds of Thai firefighters and soldiers battled a forest blaze less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Bangkok on Friday as the kingdom grapples with air pollution that has made more than 1.7 million people ill already this year. The fire has affected at least 800,000...
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala -- Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen began a visit to Guatemala and Belize on Friday to shore up ties with dwindling allies following a trip to the United States that angered China. Tsai's visit to the Central American neighbors comes after Honduras became the latest country...
NEW DELHI, India -- The death toll after a floor collapsed at a Hindu temple in India had risen to 35 on Friday, with rescue operations underway to find one person still missing, a local official told AFP. Dozens of worshippers celebrating a major religious holiday plunged into the stepwell...
SINGAPORE, Singapore -- A disruption at automated immigration clearance counters Friday led to rare delays at Singapore's Changi airport, affecting hundreds of travellers. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a Facebook post it was "experiencing slowness at selected passenger...
VATICAN CITY, Holy See – Pope Francis has bronchitis but is showing a "marked improvement" after being treated with antibiotics and could be discharged from hospital "in the coming days", medical staff said Thursday. The update, in a statement from the Vatican, came as the 86-year-old...
BRASILIA, Brazil – Ex-president Jair Bolsonaro returned home to Brazil Thursday from three months of self-imposed exile in the United States, vowing to be a fierce opponent to his successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The far-right ex-army captain, who skipped town in the final hours of his...
VATICAN CITY, Holy See -- The Catholic Church took a fresh step Thursday in acknowledging abuse endured by Indigenous peoples with the Vatican formally rejecting 15th-century papal edicts that empowered Europeans to colonise non-Christian lands. During a trip to Canada last July, Pope Francis faced...
ANKARA, Türkiye -- Türkiye on Thursday became the final NATO nation to ratify Finland's membership of the US-led defence alliance in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Lawmakers unanimously backed the Nordic country's accession two weeks after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan...
SAVINES-LE-LAC, France -- President Emmanuel Macron announced new water-saving measures for France on Thursday as he sought to brush aside weeks of political turmoil over a deeply unpopular pensions reform. Dozens of protesters calling for him to resign gathered in the Alpine village of...
LONDON, United Kingdom -- The UK will join 11 other countries in a major Asia-Pacific trade partnership, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Friday, in the country's biggest post-Brexit trade deal following nearly two years of talks. Britain will be the first new member since the creation of the...
WASHINGTON, United States -- On Thursday, Donald Trump became the first ever US president past or present to face criminal charges -- but the indictment over hush money paid to a porn star is far from the only legal peril dogging the ex-leader as he seeks a return to the White House. The rebellious...
