A group of former leaders and climate experts said the annual UN COP climate talks were no longer fit for purpose and needed to be reformed, publishing a critical open letter mid-way through what has so far been a fractious summit.

Elon Musk, the tech billionaire closely allied with US President-elect Donald Trump, met Iran's ambassador to the United Nations in a bid to defuse tensions between Tehran and Washington, The New York Times reported Thursday

Polling and migration experts tell a consistent story: broad support for immigration that prevailed for decades in Canada has cracked following a three-year immigrant-fueled population surge.

Trump’s nomination of Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who lacks deep intelligence experience and is seen as soft on Russia and Syria, is among several high-level picks that suggest he may be prioritizing personal allegiance over competence as he assembles his second-term team.

Moving quickly since his election last week, Trump has embarked on a campaign of political shock and awe as he rolls out an administration designed to upend -- and in some cases literally dismantle -- the US government.

"I was happy to hear I was getting married... I thought my life would become easier," Shamila told AFP after her wedding to a man twice her age in hope of a more prosperous life.

The Thursday night strikes on the Black Sea city damaged residential buildings, the heating system, churches and educational institutions, according to Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov, who said it had been "a massive combined enemy strike".

The European Commission yesterday fined Meta Platforms €797.72 million ($840.24 million) over abusive practices benefiting Facebook Marketplace, it said in a statement, confirming an earlier report by Reuters.

An Iranian court sentenced six men to death for killing a paramilitary force member during 2022 protests over a Kurdish woman’s death in custody, Fars news agency reported.

Russia said yesterday it captured another village in east Ukraine, closing in on the town of Kurakhove after months of steady advances.

Israeli forces launched airstrikes on Hezbollah-controlled areas in Beirut for a third consecutive day yesterday, hitting locations in the capital’s southern suburbs early in the morning after a night of heavy bombardments.

Developing countries need at least $1 trillion per year by the end of the decade to cope with climate change, economists told UN talks in Baku, where early efforts to reach a finance deal risk being overshadowed by diplomatic rows.

US President-elect Donald Trump chose loyalists with little experience for several key cabinet positions on Wednesday, stunning some allies and making clear that he is serious about reshaping - and in some cases testing - America’s institutions.

Palestinians displaced from northern Gaza said Israeli forces had inflicted widespread destruction on their home districts in their latest six-week-old offensive and a rights group raised concerns Israel might put some areas permanently off-limits.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said yesterday that Iran will not negotiate under “intimidation” as he held crunch talks with the UN nuclear chief weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia will stop posting on billionaire Elon Musk’s X platform and plans to suspend its accounts, saying yesterday the social media network had become an “echo chamber” for disinformation and conspiracy theories.

India’s New Delhi has enforced tighter rules to control air pollution after the air quality index, or AQI, reached the ‘severe’ category. All non-essential construction and demolition work are banned, among other actions.

Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was confident of a victory as polls closed in yesterday’s snap legislative elections.

The EU fined online giant Meta almost 800 million euros on Thursday for breaching antitrust rules by giving users of its Facebook social network automatic access to classified ads service Facebook Marketplace

Israel's warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, a special UN committee said today, accusing the country of "using starvation as a method of war"