Media Wire

At least 46 people have lost their lives and dozens more have been injured in a fire that broke out in a residential building in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung.

The UK’s energy supply market took another hit on Wednesday after two more companies collapsed. The fresh wave of crisis has affected hundreds of thousands of British customers.

Human rights groups have strongly criticized the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United club. They have accused the monarchy of "sportswashing" to improve its damaged global image.

The US State Department plans to resume evacuation flights from Afghanistan by the end of this year. The move would help American citizens, residents and some visa applicants leave the country.

Taiwan has ruled out the possibility of starting a war with China but stressed it will defend itself "full on" if attacked. Tensions between the two sides have escalated in recent weeks over a range of issues. China regards Taiwan as part of its own territory.

A Taliban delegation arrived in Ankara on Thursday for talks with Turkish officials. The new rulers of Afghanistan continue a diplomatic push for international support and recognition.

Heavy gunfire rang out in the Lebanese capital on Thursday during protests against the lead judge investing the fatal Beirut port blast. The incident has claimed at least six lives and left dozens injured. The Lebanese army troops have been deployed to squash the unrest.

China has defended its recent military exercises near Taiwan. The Asian power says the drills are aimed at protecting the country's sovereignty and integrity against Taipei's collusion with foreign powers.

White House officials have warned Americans may face higher prices and empty shelves at Christmas season. The dire warning comes as Washington is scrambling to relieve global supply bottlenecks choking U.S. ports, highways and railways.

The United States triggered an arms race after its unilateral withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty almost two decades ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin says.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken renewed Washington opposition to normalising relations with Syria under President Bashar al-Assad.

At least five people were killed and two others injured by a man armed with a bow and arrow in the Norwegian town of Kongsberg.

A French soldier has died during a ‘maintenance operation’ in northern Mali. The incident brought France’s death toll, since the start of the so-called anti-terror mission in the African country, to 53.

France describes as important a visit by the European Union (EU) top diplomat to Tehran for the revival of the Iran nuclear deal. Tehran will host EU deputy foreign policy chief Enrique Mora on Thursday for talks about the resumption of the nuclear negotiations.

Beijing and New Delhi doubled down on their rhetoric over border tensions on Wednesday. China and India held the 13th round of talks in an effort to settle the conflict, but failed to come to a compromise.

Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has urged the (Persian) Gulf Corporation Council ,(P)GCC, to engage with Tehran. The top diplomat says Qatar considers Iran “part of our region”.

Iran’s nuclear programme and China will be at the top of the agenda of a trilateral meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts from Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The US says it prefers diplomacy in dealing with the Iran nuclear case, adding time to the revival or Iran nuclear deal is limited. Tehran has stressed it's ready to restart talks to save the landmark agreement, but not under western pressure, and that talks should realize the rights of the Iranian people.

Moscow-Washington ties may worsen further, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov cautioned after meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland in Moscow on Tuesday.

A death row inmate in Iran has been granted a stay of execution hours before going to the gallows.

Several American employees at the US Embassy in Colombia and their family members have reported symptoms consistent with "Havana syndrome" in recent weeks. The incident comes as the US Secretary of State Tony Blinken is set to visit Bogota next week.

The Israeli army has deployed a large number of tanks to the Golan Heights after the Damascus government vowed to reclaim the strategic Syrian region.

The vast majority of Americans are concerned about cyber-attacks on financial and national security sectors, a new poll has found. According to the poll, over 90 percent of the respondents are also very concerned about their data being hacked.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will host Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett next week in Sochi for talks over a range of issues including Iran's nuclear programme.

A top European official is likely to visit Tehran this week, seeking an agreement with Iran over the resumption of the nuclear talks, according to informed officials.