A shallow 6.3 magnitude earthquake rocked western Afghanistan on Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, the latest to hit a region where entire villages have been flattened and over 1,000 killed by a series of tremors this month. The quake hit at 0336 GMT, 33 kilometres (20 miles) from

The opposition National Party has won the New Zealand election, taking enough seats to form a coalition with its allies on the right wing of politics. Incumbent prime minister Chris Hipkins, of Labour, phoned National's leader Chris Luxon to concede defeat. Mr Luxon thanked

Australia has overwhelmingly rejected a plan to give greater political rights to Indigenous people in a referendum. All six states voted No to a proposal to amend the constitution to recognise First Nations people and create a body for them to advise the government. Prime Minister

Summary The Israeli military is planning an attack by land, air and sea, it says in a statement - but gives no timings or specifics A ground offensive by Israel into Gaza is expected. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells frontline soldiers: "The next stage is coming"

The United States is sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean "to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas's attack," Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Saturday. The USS Eisenhower

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged heavy fire along the Lebanese border on Saturday afternoon, marking the latest escalation in violence following last weekend's unprecedented attack on Israel by the Gaza-based Hamas militant group. “Those who have been oppressed have been given

Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since Hamas's attack on southern Israel one week ago have killed at least 2,215 people, including 724 children, the Palestinian territory's Hamas-controlled health ministry said Saturday. Some 458 women were among those killed, the ministry

Summary Australia is voting in a historic referendum on Indigenous recognition and representation Voters are being asked to enshrine an Indigenous advisory body in the constitution that recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the nation’s First Peoples

Moscow suggests that the UN Security Council call for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East, according to a Russia-proposed resolution. The document says that it is possible to ensure a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict only through peaceful means. Russia

Palestinians fled in a mass exodus Friday from northern Gaza after Israel’s military told some 1 million people to evacuate to the southern part of the besieged territory ahead of an expected ground invasion in retaliation for the surprise attack by the ruling Hamas militant group.

Israeli attack in Lebanon kills Reuters journo, injures 6 others A Reuters videographer was killed and six other journalists were wounded Friday in southern Lebanon when the area they were reporting from was struck by Israeli shelling, according to two colleagues who spoke to the injured

A teacher has been killed and two people have been seriously injured in a knife attack at a school in France, officials say. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said the attack happened at the Gambetta high school in the northern city of Arras. Local officials say the attacker

The morgue at Gaza’s biggest hospital overflowed Thursday as bodies came in faster than relatives could claim them on the sixth day of Israel’s heavy aerial bombardment on the territory of 2.3 million people. With scores of Palestinians killed each day in the Israeli

More than 423,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations said, following heavy Israeli bombardments in retaliation for Hamas's attacks. As of late Thursday, the number of displaced in Gaza rose by 84,444 people to reach 423,378, the UN

The French government has banned pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin warned that foreign nationals who break the rules would be "systematically" deported, while President Emmanuel Macron called for unity. The move comes as European

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler and Iran's president spoke by phone about the war between Israel and Hamas, Saudi state media said early Thursday, their first call since a surprise rapprochement in March. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received a call on Wednesday from

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Thursday that the number of Palestinians displaced in Gaza has risen to more than 338,000 amid intensified fighting. An OCHA official in Gaza, Hamada Al-Bayari, called for a humanitarian truce to allow relief

Summary Essential supplies of food, fuel and water must be allowed to reach civilians in Gaza under Israeli bombardment and blockade, says the UN secretary-general "We need rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access now," says Antonio Guterres Palestinian health officials

At least four people were killed and several others injured when an express train derailed in the Indian state of Bihar, local media and officials reported. The train from Anand Vihar Terminal railway station in Delhi came off the rails at around 9:35pm local time (16:05 GMT) on

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin have exchanged another set of letters – a month after Kim made a rare trip to Russia –  with Kim wishing Putin victory over “imperialists’ anti-Russia scheme” and both men lauding their