World

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday touted the creation of a new "multipolar world order" at the BRICS summit, a gathering of world leaders he hopes will show that Western attempts to isolate Moscow over its Ukraine offensive have failed.

The meeting in the city of Kazan is the largest diplomatic forum in Russia since Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022, triggering a barrage of Western sanctions and international condemnation.

Acrid clouds engulfed India's capital on Wednesday as air pollution fuelled by fireworks and farm stubble burning was ranked "hazardous" by monitors for the first time this winter.

Commuters walking to work cough through poisonous smog that kills thousands each year, according to health experts, although few in the sprawling city wear masks.

The World Health Organization said Wednesday that "intense bombardment" and "escalating violence" in northern Gaza had forced it to postpone the final phase of a child polio vaccination drive.

The necessary second round of vaccinations has been completed in central and southern Gaza, and was to begin on Wednesday in the north.

Philippine rescuers waded through chest-deep floodwaters Wednesday to reach residents trapped by Tropical Storm Trami, which has killed seven people and forced thousands to evacuate as it barrels toward the east coast.

Torrential rain driven by the storm has turned streets into rivers, submerged entire villages and buried some vehicles in volcanic sediment set loose by the downpour.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday played down allegations made by Donald Trump's team of "blatant foreign interference" by his Labour Party in the U.S. election, saying it was normal for its volunteers to campaign.

Starmer also insisted that he maintained "a good relationship" with Trump, having met him for talks last month.

Cuba's capital remains paralyzed as the island braces for a fourth night of blackouts after Hurricane Oscar's landfall. Protests erupted in urban areas like Havana, with residents banging pots, blocking streets, and demanding water. The government issued stern warnings against unrest as six people were reported dead

Hurricane Oscar left six people dead after hitting Cuba over the weekend during a major power blackout, authorities said Monday, as electricity was restored to most of the capital.

Pop star Liam Payne had multiple drugs including crack cocaine and methamphetamine in his system when he fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Argentina, according to initial toxicology reports cited by US media on Monday.

The British singer and former One Direction member died last week at the age of 31, after plunging from a third-floor hotel room in Buenos Aires.

A Peruvian court on Monday sentenced former president Alejandro Toledo to more than 20 years in prison for accepting multi-million-dollar bribes from scandal-hit Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht.

The Superior Court accepted the prison term recommended by the prosecution, it announced at a hearing attended by the 78-year-old, who led the South American nation from 2001 to 2006.

The untold story of how around 1,000 children were rescued from Rwanda during the bloodiest and most chaotic days of its genocide is finally coming to light three decades after they were saved from the slaughter.

Aid workers risked their lives to get the children -- mostly orphans -- out to safety in neighbouring Burundi in a series of Swiss humanitarian convoys.

North Korea has not sent troops to Russia to help Moscow fight Ukraine, one of its United Nations representatives said Monday, dismissing Seoul's claims as "groundless rumor".

Seoul's spy agency said Friday that Pyongyang sent a "large-scale" troop deployment to help its ally, claiming that 1,500 special forces were already training in Russia's Far East and ready to head soon for the frontlines of the Ukraine war.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was in China for the second time this year, he said on social media Tuesday, as the US technology giant seeks to shore up slumping sales in a crucial overseas market.

The iPhone maker remains popular among Chinese consumers but has ceded ground to domestic rivals in recent years as the Asian nation faces slowing economic growth and sluggish consumption.

Venezuela on Monday announced the arrest of a former oil minister accused of links to a firm controlled by U.S. intelligence services -- the latest scandal to shake the crisis-hit country's energy sector.

Pedro Tellechea, who served as petroleum minister and head of state oil company PDVSA until August, was detained on Sunday along with "his closest collaborators," Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a statement.

Hurricane Oscar hit Cuba Sunday evening, worsening a nationwide power outage in its third day after the collapse of the country's largest power plant. The storm adds to Cuba's struggles with inflation, and shortages of food, medicine, fuel, and water. The government expects power restoration for most areas by Monday evening.

Hurricane Oscar made landfall on Sunday evening in Cuba, where residents were preparing for more chaos and misery as the country grapples with a nearly nationwide power outage in its third day.