International news

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pressed his case for Ukraine to be part of the NATO military alliance as he joined European leaders on Thursday in Moldova close to his nation's border ahead of an expected counter-offensive against Russia's invasion.

German prosecutors said on Thursday they had secured some items during a search of a reservoir in Portugal in the 16-year-old hunt for missing British girl Madeleine McCann which they would evaluate in the coming days and weeks.

A senior US official said violations of a ceasefire in Sudan have led Washington to "seriously question" commitments by warring parties to allow access for humanitarian aid as clashes continued on Thursday in the capital Khartoum.

Another night-time attack on eastern districts of Kyiv on Thursday killed three people and injured several, city officials said.

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, leader Kim Jong Un's sister, said her country would soon put a military spy satellite into orbit and promised Pyongyang would increase its military surveillance capabilities, state media KCNA reported on Thursday.

A divided U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling on Wednesday, with majority support from both Democrats and Republicans to overcome opposition from hardline conservatives and avoid a catastrophic default.

Sudan's army suspended talks with a rival paramilitary force on Wednesday over a ceasefire and about enabling humanitarian access, a Sudanese diplomatic source said, raising fears of fresh bloodshed in the more than six-week-old conflict.

The bail for Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been extended until June 19 in the Al Qadir Trust graft case, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

A peculiar sight greeted residents and visitors in Venice earlier this week as waters in the city's main canal turned fluorescent green.

German authorities have arrested seven suspected supporters of the IS terror group as part of an investigation into terrorist financing, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Ukrainian shelling killed five people in a village in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, Moscow-installed officials said on Wednesday, while a drone attack caused a fire at an oil refinery in southern Russia.

An astronaut team of two Saudis and two Americans, including the first Arab woman sent into orbit, splashed down safely off Florida on Tuesday night, capping an eight-day research mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

A North Korean satellite launch on Wednesday ended in failure, sending the booster and payload plunging into the sea, North Korean state media said, and the South's military said it had recovered parts of the launch vehicle.

A Chinese fighter jet carried out an "unnecessarily aggressive" maneuver near a US military plane over the South China Sea in international airspace, the United States said on Tuesday.

India's top wrestlers were talked out of their plans to toss their medals into the river Ganges on Tuesday as part of their ongoing demand to arrest their federation chief over sexual harassment allegations.

Ukraine launched its biggest-ever drone attack on Moscow on Tuesday but air defences destroyed all eight of the drones, Russia said, bringing the 15-month war in Ukraine to the heart of the capital.

Pakistani former prime minister Imran Khan was on Tuesday granted bail on a new charge of abetting violence against the military by his protesting supporters after he was arrested and detained on May 9 in a corruption case, his lawyer said.

Saudi astronaut Rayyanah Barnawi has bid an emotional farewell to the International Space Station and its crew. 

North Korea will launch its first military reconnaissance satellite in June for monitoring US activities, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday, drawing criticism over its potential use of banned missile technology.

Clashes subsided in Sudan's capital on Tuesday though fighting could be heard in some areas, residents said, after military factions battling for more than six weeks agreed to extend a ceasefire aimed at allowing aid to reach civilians.

Russia on Monday said US Senator Lindsey Graham should say publicly if he believes his words were taken out of context by a Ukrainian state video edit of his comments about the war that provoked widespread condemnation in Moscow.

Russia launched another wave of attacks on Kyiv in the early hours of Tuesday and the city's air defence systems were shooting down incoming missiles, while air raid sirens blared in several other regions.

A 15-year-old girl who is accused of having started a fire at a school dormitory in Guyana last week was charged with 19 murders on Monday.

President Tayyip Erdogan extended his two decades in power in elections on Sunday, winning a mandate to pursue increasingly authoritarian policies which have polarised Turkey and strengthened its position as a regional military power.

Heavy and sustained clashes could be heard on Monday in parts of Sudan's capital, residents said, hours before the expiry of a shaky ceasefire deal that had brought some respite from a six-week-old conflict but little humanitarian access.

The waters in Venice's main canal turned fluorescent green on Sunday in the area near the Rialto bridge and authorities are seeking to trace the cause, Italy's fire department said.

Russia launched a new wave of air attacks on Kyiv in early hours on Monday using drones and cruise missiles, with the military administration of the Ukrainian capital saying defence forces shot down more than 40 targets.

US President Joe Biden on Sunday finalized a budget agreement with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until January 1, 2025, and said the deal was ready to move to Congress for a vote.

Saudi Arabia and the United States called on Sunday for the extension of a ceasefire deal that has brought some let-up in a six-week war between military factions but little humanitarian relief for civilians.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India's new parliament building on Sunday, a modern complex which is part of his government's grand plan to give a makeover to the British colonial-era architecture in the nation's capital.

Russia unleashed waves of air strikes on Kyiv overnight in what officials said appeared to be the largest drone attack on the city since the start of the war, as the Ukrainian capital prepared to celebrate the anniversary of its founding on Sunday.

Turks began voting on Sunday in a presidential run-off that could see Tayyip Erdogan extend his rule into a third decade.

China's cyberspace regulator said 1.4 million social media posts had been deleted following a two-month probe into alleged misinformation, illegal profiteering, and impersonation of state officials, among other "pronounced problems".

A passenger on an Asiana Airlines flight told police he opened a door on the plane minutes before it landed in Daegu, South Korea, on Friday because he was "uncomfortable".

Ukraine struck oil pipeline installations deep inside Russia on Saturday with a series of drone attacks, including on a station serving the vast Druzhba oil pipeline that sends Western Siberian crude to Europe.

A man arrested after a car collision into the gates of Downing Street, the site of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office and residence, has since been released pending further investigation.

One of Hong Kong's biggest democratic parties said on Saturday it would disband after a vote by its party members, dealing another blow to the city's already beleaguered democratic opposition under pressure from China.

Tehran has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of anti-Iranian propaganda in his call for Iran to halt the supply of drones to Russia, saying his comments were designed to attract more arms and financial aid from the West.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Saturday he was willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try and resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted in the 1960s and 1970s, media reported.

Rebels in Indonesia's Papua region threatened to shoot a New Zealand pilot they took hostage in February if countries do not comply with their demand to start independence talks within two months,

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has appealed for immediate talks with state officials, as pressure increased on him amidst a crackdown on his supporters that has seen thousands arrested as well as many leaving his party.

South Korean police on Friday detained a man who opened a door of an Asiana Airlines plane minutes before it was due to land in the city of Daegu, causing panic among the passengers, officials said.

Pakistan's civilian authorities have handed over 33 suspects to be tried in military courts following the attacks on army installations during violent protests in support of former prime minister Imran Khan, the interior minister said on Friday.

A 31-year-old man was arrested on Friday in rural Japan for suspected murder after four people were killed in a rare shooting and stabbing incident involving a 12-hour stand-off with police, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Ukraine shot down 10 missiles and over 20 drones launched by Russia in overnight attacks on the capital Kyiv, the city of Dnipro and eastern regions, Ukrainian officials said on Friday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a new parliament complex on Sunday, the centrepiece of a $2.4 billion project that aims to reconstruct British colonial-era buildings in the capital's centre and give it a distinct Indian identity.

Elon Musk's brain-implant company Neuralink said on Thursday it had received a green light from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to kickstart its first-in-human clinical study, a critical milestone after earlier struggles to gain approval.

A car has collided with the front gates of Downing Street in London, where British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office and residence is based.

Sporadic clashes between the Sudanese army and a powerful paramilitary force spilled over into Thursday, puncturing the relative calm in the capital of Khartoum and raising the risk that a week-long internationally-brokered truce would crumble.

One woman was killed and two people were unconscious after a shooting and stabbing incident in rural Japan on Thursday, with the perpetrator having barricaded himself inside a building, media reported.

Russia has replaced Wagner private military units with regular troops in the outskirts of Bakhmut but the group's fighters remain inside the devastated city, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on Thursday.

A massive blaze gutted an abandoned hat factory in central Sydney and forced emergency services to evacuate people from nearby apartment buildings before firefighters brought the inferno under control, without any casualties reported.

Twitter crashed repeatedly on Wednesday during a highly anticipated live audio chat between Elon Musk, Twitter's owner, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, hampering the politician's announcement he is running for the Republican presidential nomination.

Indian opposition political parties said they would boycott the inauguration ceremony for the new parliament building to be conducted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sidelining the country's president.

Clashes between rival military factions could be heard overnight in parts of Sudan's capital, residents said on Wednesday, the second full day of a week-long ceasefire designed to allow for the delivery of aid and lay the ground for a more lasting truce.

Greece's president will appoint a caretaker prime minister on Wednesday to form a government that will lead the country to a repeat election on June 25, after last weekend's inconclusive vote.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) assembly passed a motion on Wednesday condemning Russia's aggression against Ukraine, including attacks on healthcare facilities.

Pakistan is considering banning former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party for attacking the state, the defence minister said on Wednesday, a decision likely to enrage his supporters and exacerbate his confrontation with the military establishment.

Britain's Boris Johnson has been referred to police over further potential breaches of lockdown rules during the COVID-19 pandemic, a charge the former prime minister's office portrayed as "yet another politically motivated stitch up".

Donald Trump will face a criminal trial in New York on March 25, 2024, a judge said on Tuesday, meaning the former US President will be on trial as his campaign for the 2024 Republican nomination is in full swing.

Cathay Pacific Airways said it fired three flight attendants after a passenger accused them of bias against non-English speakers, prompting criticism on Chinese state media and Hong Kong's leader to vow it wouldn't happen again.

Portuguese authorities assisted by German police on Tuesday began searching a reservoir near the area where British girl Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007 when she was three years old.

Thousands of overseas Indians cheered Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in one of Sydney's biggest sporting arenas on Tuesday, a rare mass showing for a foreign leader in Australia.

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday was questioned by an anti-graft agency on corruption charges, his lawyer said, less than a week after he rejected a summons to appear and denounced the allegations against him.

India will make tests mandatory for cough syrups before they are exported, a government notice showed on Tuesday, after Indian-made cough syrups were linked to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia and Uzbekistan.

A Nepali sherpa reached the summit of Mount Everest for a record 28th time on Tuesday, an official said, completing his second ascent in just a week, as the toll in this year's climbing season reached 11.

Artillery fire could be heard in parts of Khartoum, armoured vehicles were patrolling and warplanes flew overhead, residents said, putting in jeopardy a one-week ceasefire that raised the most hope to date that Sudan's warring factions would halt fighting.

Turkey's third-place election candidate endorsed President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, boosting the incumbent and intensifying the challenges for opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu in a Sunday runoff vote.

At least 19 children died after a fire gutted a secondary school dormitory in Guyana overnight, emergency services and the government said on Monday.

Sudan's army conducted air strikes in the capital Khartoum on Monday, residents said, seeking to win ground against its paramilitary rivals hours before a week-long ceasefire aimed at allowing delivery of aid was due to take effect.

India's Delhi High Court issued a summons to British broadcaster BBC on Monday in a defamation case over its documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi that questioned his leadership during the 2002 Gujarat riots, according to reports in Indian media.

At least eight people were wounded and scores of buildings were damaged in a Russian air attack overnight on the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine said on Monday, adding that air defence systems destroyed 20 drones and four cruise missiles.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged support for the Pacific Islands at a summit in Papua New Guinea on Monday, with the US Secretary of State scheduled to also meet Pacific leaders and sign a defence agreement with Papua New Guinea.

Saudi Arabia made history on Monday when two of its citizens blasted off to the International Space Station (ISS) on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Greece's ruling New Democracy party stormed to a crushing victory in a parliamentary election on Sunday but fell just short of the threshold needed to form a government on its own, making a runoff election in a month more likely.

US President Joe Biden and House Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet to discuss the debt ceiling on Monday, after a "productive" phone call as the president headed back to Washington, the two sides said on Sunday.

Ukraine said on Sunday that it was still fighting for control of the eastern city of Bakhmut, after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had said earlier that the city remained "only in our hearts".

China has issued warnings and other punishments to 62 officials after the collapse of a housing block in Changsha city in Hunan province killed 54 people last month, state news agency Xinhua said on Sunday.

The Group of Seven (G7) rich nations signalled to Russia their readiness to stand by Ukraine for the long haul while giving President Volodymyr Zelenskiy a chance to win over countries such as Brazil and India on the last day of a summit in Japan.

US President Joe Biden on Sunday said he had received a "flat assurance" from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that he would not use Western-provided F-16 fighter jets to go into Russian territory.

Sporadic fighting between Sudan's warring factions could be heard in the capital Khartoum on Sunday, residents said, after a Saudi and US-brokered deal for a week-long ceasefire raised hopes of a pause in the five-week conflict.

At least 12 people died and an unspecified number were injured in a stampede at a football stadium in El Salvador, the Central American government tweeted.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had invited India to join Ukraine's peace formula during his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit on Saturday in Japan.

The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Saturday, claimed complete control of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the focus of the longest and bloodiest battle of the war.

Air strikes hit outer areas of the Sudanese capital Khartoum overnight and on Saturday morning as fighting that has trapped civilians in a humanitarian crisis and displaced more than a million entered its sixth week.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in the Japanese city of Hiroshima to meet leaders of the world's wealthiest democracies and drum up support for the defence against Russia's invasion of his country.

India's central bank has announced that it will start withdrawing 2,000-Rupee notes from circulation, although they will remain legal tender.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy landed in Jeddah on Friday to attend an Arab League summit, where Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, will also be present now that his regional isolation ended.

Leaders of the world's richest democracies agreed on Friday to stiffen sanctions against Russia and pledged financial support for Ukraine as its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, prepared to join them in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

Pakistani police plan to search the Lahore home of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday, a provincial government official said, an operation that could trigger more violence as the country grapples with political and economic instability.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has raised scepticism over reports claiming the rescue of four children who went missing after their plane crashed in the jungle over two weeks ago.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will attend the Group of Seven (G7) Hiroshima summit this weekend, a Ukrainian security official said, putting fresh pressure on Russia.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is in Saudi Arabia on Friday to attend the 32nd Arab summit.

People across the South Pacific were told to avoid coastal areas due to the risk of tsunami waves following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake on Friday southeast of the Loyalty Islands in the French territory of New Caledonia.

A 95-year-old grandmother, who Australian police tasered at a retirement home, is in critical condition as the homicide squad join a high-profile investigation into the incident, police said on Friday.

Alberta officials on Thursday warned more wildfires could spread in next few hot and dry days, even as firefighters make progress in tackling widespread blazes that have slowed the outflow of natural gas from Canada into the United States, spiking prices.

A man driving a car breached Vatican security on Thursday evening, driving at high speed through a gate of the city-state and reaching a central courtyard of the Apostolic Palace before being arrested, the Vatican said.

A man has been arrested and charged with two counts of arson on Thursday after a hostel fire in New Zealand's capital city of Wellington, killed at least six people this week.

Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan, who faces corruption charges, will not comply with a summons by the country's powerful anti-graft agency to appear before it on Thursday for questioning, his party spokesman said.

Heavy air strikes pounded southern areas of Sudan's capital on Thursday as clashes flared near a military camp, witnesses said, in fighting that has displaced nearly 1 million people and left residents of Khartoum struggling to survive.

India is considering a change to its pharmaceutical industry policy after cough syrups made in the country were linked to the deaths of children overseas, according to a document from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office.

A strong earthquake struck Guatemala, shaking the Central American nation and parts of Southern Mexico, though the quake's deep hypocenter of more than 250 km underneath the earth's surface seems to have averted damage.

The Ukraine Black Sea grain deal has been extended for two more months, in what UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed as "good news for the world," a day before Russia could have quit the pact over obstacles to its grain and fertiliser exports.

The United Nations said on Wednesday more than half Sudan's population now needed aid and protection, as civilians sought shelter from air strikes and sporadic clashes between rival military factions in the Khartoum area.

French former President Nicolas Sarkozy lost his appeal against a 2021 conviction for corruption and influence peddling at the Paris Court of Appeals on Wednesday.

At least eight people died and thousands were evacuated from their homes as torrential rain battered Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna region, triggering widespread floods.

New Zealand police said on Wednesday a fire at a hostel in the capital, Wellington, in which at least six people were killed was suspected to have been arson and they had opened a homicide inquiry.

Pakistan's civilian and military leaders on Tuesday said that rioters and their backers who attacked state assets and military installations to protest the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan will be tried under army laws.

A Nepali sherpa scaled Mount Everest for a record 27th time on Wednesday, beating his own record, a government official and his hiking company said.

An unfolding crisis over the US debt ceiling prompted President Joe Biden on Tuesday to postpone plans to visit Papua New Guinea and Australia, cutting short an upcoming Asia trip so he can return to Washington.

Many people, including Rohingyas, were feared dead in Myanmar in the wake of a cyclone that struck at the weekend, residents, aid groups and a media outlet said on Tuesday, with support efforts hampered by infrastructure damage.

Air strikes and artillery fire intensified sharply across Sudan's capital early on Tuesday, residents said, as the army sought to defend key bases from paramilitary rivals it has been fighting for more than a month.

A fire at a hostel in New Zealand killed at least six people on Tuesday and officials said they believe the toll could rise with 11 people still missing.

India's drug regulator has proposed testing cough syrups in government laboratories before they are exported, media outlet News18.com reported on Tuesday, after Indian-made syrups were linked to dozens of deaths in Gambia and Uzbekistan last year.

Ukraine said on Tuesday it had shot down six Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missiles in a single night, thwarting a superweapon Moscow had previously touted as all but unstoppable.

US officials on Monday said there will be "tougher consequences" for migrants illegally crossing the southern border as US President Joe Biden transitions away from COVID-19 restrictions known as Title 42 that allowed agents to quickly expel many migrants to Mexico over the past three years.

President Tayyip Erdogan's opponents face an uphill struggle to end his two-decade rule of Turkey in a runoff vote on May 28 after he performed better than predicted in a first round of voting on Sunday but fell short of an outright majority.

A Pakistani court in the eastern city of Lahore on Monday granted bail until May 23 to former Prime Minister Imran Khan's wife in a graft case, a lawyer in their legal team said.

Britain greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday with a promise of long-range attack drones on top of cruise missiles pledged last week, as the Ukrainian leader tours Europe winning new arms for a counteroffensive against Russia.

Thailand's two main opposition parties agreed on Monday to form a ruling coalition after they trounced military-backed rivals in a weekend election.

One of the strongest storms to hit Myanmar in recent years severely disrupted communications in the impoverished state of Rakhine, a major ethnic armed group and an aid worker said on Monday, making it hard to ascertain the scale of its impact.

France will send to Ukraine in the coming weeks dozens of armoured vehicles and light tanks, including the AMX-10RCs fighting vehicles, according to a joint statement issued after President Emmanuel Macron's talks with Ukraine's president.

Storm surges whipped up by a powerful cyclone moving inland from the Bay of Bengal inundated the Myanmar port city of Sittwe, with winds of up to 210 kph ripping away tin roofs and bringing down a communications tower.

Turks voted on Sunday in one of the most important elections in modern Turkey's 100-year history, which could either unseat President Tayyip Erdogan and halt his government's increasingly authoritarian path or usher in a third decade of his rule.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday and thanked his government for its "fantastic solidarity" as he secured a big boost in military aid on his first visit to the country since Russia's invasion.

Shelling and air strikes pounded parts of Sudan's capital on Sunday with little sign that warring military factions were ready to back down in a conflict that has killed hundreds despite ceasefire talks in Saudi Arabia.

Thais were forecast to vote in record numbers on Sunday in an election expected to deliver big gains for opposition forces, testing the resolve of a pro-military establishment at the heart of two decades of intermittent turmoil.

India’s main opposition Congress party has won elections in the southern state of Karnataka on Saturday, emphatically defeating the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif ordered authorities on Saturday to identify and arrest all those involved in violent acts after former Prime Minister Imran Khan's arrest this week sparked deadly unrest.

An unidentified object that entered Polish airspace from the direction of Belarus was probably an observation balloon, Poland's defence ministry said on Saturday on Twitter.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Rome on Saturday for talks with government officials and Pope Francis, who in late April said that the Vatican is involved in a peace mission to end the war with Russia.

Germany has put together a new package of military equipment for Ukraine worth 2.7 billion euros (AED 10.8 billion), the biggest Berlin has provided since the conflict began, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday.

Sudan's warring army and Rapid Support Forces paramilitary will resume talks on Sunday, a senior Saudi diplomat said, as air strikes and heavy fighting raged overnight around Khartoum despite an agreement to protect civilians.

South African officials on Friday hit back at US accusations that a Russian ship had collected weapons from a naval base near Cape Town late last year, a move investors fear could lead Washington to impose sanctions.

A Pakistani court ordered former Prime Minister Imran Khan's release on bail for two weeks, his lawyer said on Friday, after his arrest ignited deadly protests and a tussle with the military.

A former US Marine who killed a homeless man by putting him in a chokehold on the New York City subway was charged with manslaughter on Friday, hours after he surrendered to police.

Sudan's warring factions early on Friday committed to protect civilians and the movement of humanitarian aid, but did not agree to a ceasefire and remain far apart, US officials said.

Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is lagging behind the opposition in polls ahead of Sunday's general election but electoral rules written by his former military junta mean the retired army chief can't be counted out.

Russia's defence ministry has denied reports that Ukrainian forces had broken through in various places along the front lines and said the military situation was under control.

A Philippine court on Friday acquitted of a drugs charge one of the fiercest critics of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte's "war on drugs", a move welcomed by activists who called her incarceration a vindictive effort to harass and silence her.

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan after terming his arrest unlawful.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday it was ending a 10-month-long global health emergency for Monkeypox, a viral disease that led to confirmed cases in more than a hundred countries.

German special forces found a dead body after storming an apartment to arrest a 60-year-old man suspected of setting off an explosion that injured 12 police officers and firefighters on Thursday.

Pakistan's top court on Thursday ordered former Prime Minister Imran Khan be presented before the court in an hour after his legal team challenged his arrest, local media reported, amid violent and widespread protests sparked by his detention.

Several vehicles caught fire in the centre of Milan in northern Italy on Thursday following an explosion, injuring one person, the fire brigade said. There were no reports of any deaths.

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.