WORLD

Thousands of people on Saturday protested in Madrid against an amnesty bill the Spanish government reached this week with Catalan independence parties, demanding the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Early tallies from a dual referendum in Ireland on redefining family and women's roles showed a trend towards a "No" vote and a defeat for the government on Saturday.

A shadowy political party that ruled Karachi for more than three decades, overseeing the city's descent into a swamp of organised crime, has risen from the ashes in Pakistan's tainted elections.

Tunisians are bracing themselves for more subdued celebrations during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as an economic crisis grips the North African country.

Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of Pakistan's slain first female premier Benazir Bhutto who has had a life storied equally by tragedy and farce, is set to become president for a second time on Saturday.

Haiti is no stranger to armed groups, and the gangs ravaging the country are highly organized and control vast arsenals of military weapons, presiding over a shadow economy of kidnapping for ransom and lucrative rackets.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said that the country's March local elections would be his last, suggesting an end to his more than two decades in power.

Up to 3,000 pregnant women in Haiti risk losing access to crucial health care, the UN warned Friday, as humanitarian conditions in capital Port-au-Prince continued to deteriorate.

A jury in New York on Friday found former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez guilty of trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States, enriching himself while protecting some of the region's most infamous drug cartels.

The United Nations Security Council called Friday for a ceasefire in Sudan to coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as conditions in the country continue to deteriorate.

The sinking of a bulk carrier carrying thousands of tonnes of fertiliser off Yemen after a Huthi missile attack poses "no immediate danger", an expert said Friday.

It is an image that has become common in countries hit by gang violence like Ecuador and El Salvador: shirtless and subdued prisoners lined up under the watch of heavily armed police.

The UN Security Council will vote Friday on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Sudan to coincide with the beginning of Ramadan next week as conditions in the country continue to deteriorate.

The Republican National Committee elected Donald Trump allies, including his daughter-in-law, to top leadership positions on Friday, tightening the former president's grip over the party ahead of the November election.

US President Joe Biden took his reelection message to a raft of key swing states Friday, buoyed by a combative, well-received State of the Union address that savaged rival Donald Trump.

People around the world marked International Women's Day Friday with protests, demonstrations and celebrations.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Friday that a "backlash" against women's rights was threatening progress across the world.

Waving colourful flags, hundreds of campaigners took to Lisbon's streets on Friday ahead of Portugal's weekend snap election, with polls giving the opposition centre-right an edge after eight years of Socialist rule.

The actions of a prized double agent within paramilitary group the IRA who worked for British security services probably led to more lives being lost than saved in Northern Ireland, an independent investigation said on Friday.

Hiring in the United States was robust in February although unemployment crept up, government data showed Friday, a potentially encouraging sign for policymakers hoping to cool the economy without tipping it into a downturn.

The Red Cross on Friday said clashes in the Democratic Republic of Congo had triggered an "immense" crisis that risked going unnoticed and appealing for nearly $60 million to provide desperately-needed aid.

Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday sent troops to rescue more than 250 pupils kidnapped by gunmen from a school in the country's northwest in one of the largest mass abductions in three years.

Malala Yousafzai's earnings primarily stem from her endeavors as an author, speaker, and humanitarian.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Istanbul on Friday for talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the war with Russia, Turkish state media reported.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen expressed hopes Friday that a humanitarian aid corridor from Cyprus to Gaza will open this weekend, amid fears of famine in the war-torn Palestinian territory.

It's Day 154 of the war in Gaza – the international community is focused on getting as much food and other humanitarian supplies into the enclave to bring some relief to Gaza civilians as talks for a ceasefire deal have reached a standstill.

Former prime minister Theresa May announced on Friday she will stand down as an MP at the next election, adding to a growing list from the UK's ruling Conservatives to abandon leader Rishi Sunak.

"I don't sleep anymore," Latifa Abu Hamid said while looking at pictures of her children hanging on the walls of her living room, two women and 10 men.

Ireland began voting in a double referendum Friday on proposals to modernise constitutional references to the make-up of a family and women's "life within the home".