The United States Supreme Court has ruled that the southern state of Texas may proceed with using a controversial map of congressional districts designed to favour Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.

Thailand launched air strikes on its neighbour Cambodia, the Thai army said, with both sides trading blame for the latest eruption of fighting on their disputed border which killed a Thai soldier.

Lawyers for the Chinese online platform Shein return to a Paris court on Friday for a hearing on the French government’s request to suspend the firm’s website for three months, after childlike sex dolls and banned weapons were discovered on its marketplace.

Cherished Christmas tradition for some, profoundly insulting for others, the Dutch character “Black Pete”, a servant who helps Santa Claus distribute presents, has divided opinion in The Netherlands for decades.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said recent talks with United States negotiators over ending the war with Ukraine were “very useful”, while doubling down on the maximalist demands and territorial designs that are standing in the way of a solution.

A doctor who supplied Friends star Matthew Perry with ketamine in the months before he fatally overdosed was jailed in California on Wednesday.

The Trump administration announced increased vetting of applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, with an internal State Department memo saying that anyone involved in “censorship” of free speech be considered for rejection.

Somalis reacted with outrage on Wednesday to Donald Trump’s derogatory remarks about them and their country, although a few also said the US president had spoken unpalatable truths.

Officials from Hamas and Islamic Jihad told AFP the two Palestinian militant groups would send to Israel a sample from a body recovered in the Gaza Strip.

High-stakes US-Russia talks on ending the war in Ukraine failed to yield a breakthrough, as the Kremlin said “no compromise” had been found yet on the key question of territory.

Russia says the United States-brokered talks to end the war with Ukraine are “serious”, but its officials caution that an agreement is a long way off and Moscow would offer no major concessions to Kyiv.

Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old who allegedly killed the chief executive of the biggest health insurer in the United States in December 2024, admitted that he had a 3D-printed gun in his backpack, a prison guard testified at a pretrial hearing in the case.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday asked President Isaac Herzog to pardon him for bribery and fraud charges to end his five-year corruption trial.

Cameroonian opposition leader Anicet Ekane, who supported a bid for president by a rival to the country’s long-serving leader in October, died in detention on Monday, his lawyer and family said, a development that may worsen political tensions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in court on Monday for the first time since asking the country’s president for a pardon in his long-running corruption trial, a request backed by close ally US President Donald Trump.

An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now over, Congolese health officials announced on Monday, after the country went 42 consecutive days without recording a new case.

Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel to help victims of devastating flooding that has killed more than 1 000 people across four countries in Asia in recent days.

Angry crowds of Israelis have rallied outside President Isaac Herzog’s home in Tel Aviv, protesting against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s petition for a full pardon from corruption charges.

A weakening Typhoon Fung-wong has departed the Philippines after killing at least two people, displacing 1.4 million, and destroying homes and roads across the country’s most populous island.

The Miss Universe beauty pageant was hit by fresh scandal days after it ended, with the Mexican co-owner of the contest accused of trafficking drugs and arms and his Thai counterpart accused of fraud.

Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey faces another legal battle in London next year over civil sexual assault allegations, three years after he was cleared of criminal charges.