#world news
More than 40,000 protest over Greek train tragedy
ATHENS, Greece - Tens of thousands of people protested across Greece on Thursday as workers staged a mass strike to voice outrage over last month's train disaster, which killed 57 people.
Assad rules out Erdogan talks till Turkey leaves Syria
MOSCOW, Russia - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said he will only meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan if Turkey withdraws troops from northern Syria, according to a Russian media interview published on Thursday.
China says US 'suppressing' TikTok after ban ultimatum
BEIJING, China - China urged the United States to stop "unreasonably suppressing" TikTok on Thursday, after Washington gave the popular video-sharing app an ultimatum to part ways with its Chinese owners or face a nationwide ban.
IAEA says 2.5 tons of uranium missing from Libyan site
VIENNA, Austria - The UN's nuclear watchdog said two and a half tons of natural uranium had gone missing from a Libyan site and "may present a radiological risk," according to a confidential report seen by AFP on Thursday.
Israelis back on streets after Netanyahu rejects reforms compromise
TEL AVIV, Israel - Israeli protesters returned to the streets Thursday to rally against proposed judicial reforms, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a compromise plan touted by the country's president.
Russia says it is not a threat to Finland
MOSCOW, Russia - The Kremlin said Thursday that Russia was not a threat to Finland, ahead of the Finnish president's visit to Turkey, which is expected to approve Helsinki's NATO bid.
Japan, South Korea thaw ties to tackle regional threats
TOKYO, Japan - Japan and South Korea announced the end of tit-for-tat trade measures and pledged renewed diplomacy as leaders of the two countries met in Tokyo Thursday for a summit to thaw long-frozen ties.
Protests rock France after Macron rams through pension reform
PARIS, France -- French President Emmanuel Macron's government on Thursday rammed a controversial pension reform through parliament without a vote, sparking angry protests in Paris and other cities as well as tumult in the legislature.
20 years after US Iraq invasion, Senate acts to end war authorization
WASHINGTON, United States -- Almost exactly 20 years after US forces invaded Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power, the US Senate moved Thursday to revoke the law that authorized then-president George W. Bush to launch the war.
Majority in neutral Switzerland back closer NATO ties
GENEVA, Switzerland -- A year after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a majority in Switzerland now support closer ties with NATO, the government said Thursday -- a first in the country known for military neutrality.
Putin hails Assad ties at talks with Turkey mend brewing
MOSCOW, Russia -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday was hosting Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad for talks as the Kremlin seeks to mend ties between Damascus and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Uranium said missing by IAEA in Libya recovered: military
BENGHAZI, Libya -- Several containers of natural uranium reported missing by the UN's nuclear watchdog in war-scarred Libya have been found, a general with one of the country's two rival camps said Thursday.
Spain outlaws cruelty to animals
MADRID, Spain -- Spain's parliament on Thursday gave the green light to an animal welfare law, while also amending the penal code to bring in stiffer penalties for abuses.
Meta maps way to 'kill' online deception campaigns
SAN FRANCISCO, United STATES -- Meta on Thursday released a framework for exposing and combating malicious online campaigns from election lies to terrorist recruitment.
Netanyahu defiant on legal reform as Scholz urges compromise
BERLIN, Germany -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday fiercely defended disputed legal reforms on a visit to Berlin, where German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged him to reconsider a compromise.
Half of women scientists worldwide sexually harassed: survey
PARIS, France -- Half of all women scientists worldwide have been the victim of workplace sexual harassment at some point during their career, according to a survey published on Thursday.
UK govt, health unions agree pay deal in bid to end strikes
LONDON, United Kingdom -- The UK government and unions representing various health workers in England said Thursday they have agreed a deal to increase pay by 5 percent in the next financial year, potentially ending damaging strikes.
Russian transfers of Ukrainian children 'a war crime': UN probe
GENEVA, Switzerland -- Russia's forced transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children to areas under its control amounts to a war crime, UN investigators said Thursday, adding that they are probing allegations of genocide in the Ukraine conflict.
Cyclone Freddy death toll in Malawi hits 326
BLANTYRE, Malawi -- The death toll in Malawi from Cyclone Freddy has risen to 326, the country's president said Thursday, bringing the total number of victims across southern Africa to more than 400 since February.
Xi Jinping to visit Russia next week
BEIJING, China -- Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to Moscow next week, where he will hold talks with his strategic ally Vladimir Putin just over a year into Russia's war in Ukraine.
Venezuela Supreme Court decriminalizes homosexuality in armed forces
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's Supreme Court on Thursday annulled a controversial article of the military justice code that had criminalized homosexuality within the armed forces.
Kim Jong Un and daughter oversee North Korea's ICBM launch
SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accompanied by his daughter, personally oversaw the recent test-firing of the country's most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, state media images showed Friday.
New Zealand to ban TikTok from MPs' devices: parliament
WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- New Zealand will ban Chinese-owned social media app TikTok from lawmakers' devices, officials told AFP Friday, becoming the latest Western nation to act on security fears about the platform.
ICC judges issue arrest warrant for Putin over Ukraine
THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The International Criminal Court on Friday announced it had issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for the "unlawful deportation" of Ukrainian children.