WORLD

Queen Elizabeth II was persuaded to step back from making decisions about her own funeral after mentioning that it would be "more difficult" if she died in Scotland, her daughter told a forthcoming documentary.

Protesting youths and security forces clashed in Guinea's capital Conakry on Thursday as demonstrators demanded petrol be restored at service stations whose supplies were suspended after a deadly explosion at the country's main fuel depot.

The White House said Thursday it was preparing a new proposal to Russia to seek the release of two imprisoned Americans after Moscow rejected an earlier attempt.

Watching someone cry often evokes an emotional response -- but according to a new study published Thursday, human tears themselves contain a chemical signal that reduces brain activity linked to aggression.

The United States on Thursday added a Guatemalan prosecutor and judge targeting president-elect Bernardo Arevalo to a corruption blacklist, making them ineligible for US visas.

A gunman killed 10 people and wounded dozens more at a Prague university on Thursday in the Czech Republic's worst shooting in decades, before authorities said the attacker was "eliminated".

Turkey's top court on Thursday ordered the release of jailed lawmaker Can Atalay, ruling for the second time that his rights had been violated.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday hailed a deal with the European Union to delay post-Brexit tariffs on electric vehicle sales that were due to kick in from January.

There are no longer any functional hospitals in the north of the Gaza Strip, the World Health Organization said Thursday, describing "unbearable" scenes of largely abandoned patients begging for food and water.

Italy's lower house of parliament, including members of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's party, rejected an opposition motion to approve a reform of the eurozone's bailout fund on Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday faced accusations of siding with sexual aggressors after saying film icon Gerard Depardieu, charged with rape and facing a litany of sexual assault claims, was the target of "a manhunt".

Benin President Patrice Talon on Thursday called for relations to be swiftly re-established between his country and neighbouring Niger, which is now controlled by military rulers after a coup.

The Israeli army said Thursday it bombed scores of targets in the Gaza Strip as diplomats pressed on with efforts to halt the fighting that Hamas says has killed 20,000 people in the Palestinian territory.

Chinese authorities are facing a "race against time" to ensure victims of the deadliest earthquake in years can be sheltered from freezing winter temperatures, a local official told AFP on Thursday.

Chinese earthquake survivors recovered in hospital as rescue teams rushed to deliver supplies on Thursday, the third day since the country's deadliest quake in years killed 135 people.

An 18-year-old recruit in one of Myanmar's pro-democracy fighting units prepares to launch a drone strike on junta troops, driven by anger and her mother's call for revolution.

Joe Gallagher is one of Ireland's last traditional faith healers, whose pub is visited by believers from across the country hoping for a cure for aches and pains, warts and rashes.

Fluminense coach Fernando Diniz's free-flowing style that he has labelled the antithesis to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola's football faces the ultimate test when the two men face off in Friday's Club World Cup final.

More low temperature records tumbled across China on Thursday, as the country endures a persistent cold snap that has crowned a year of extreme weather.

Vibrant greens and swirling yellows, film stars, birds and architecture: Bangladesh's bicycle rickshaw drivers have for decades used their transport as a unique moving canvas of urban folk art.

Israel has ordered more evacuations in southern Gaza's main city as diplomats pressed on with efforts to secure a pause in the war that Hamas says has claimed 20,000 lives.

Zubaida travelled from the rural outskirts of Khost in eastern Afghanistan to give birth at a maternity hospital specialising in complicated cases, fearing a fate all too common among pregnant Afghan women -- her death or her child's.

The Israel-Hamas war has reached its 76th day, and tensions continue to soar near Israel's northern border with Lebanon. Local authorities are taking more steps to protect residents amid Hezbollah's "strong statements" regarding its plans to attack some northern Israeli communities.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned Pyongyang will not hesitate to launch a nuclear attack if "provoked with nukes", state media said Thursday, while Seoul and its allies called for "dialogue without preconditions".

Argentina's new leader Javier Milei on Wednesday unveiled a series of measures to deregulate the country's struggling economy, eliminating or changing more than 300 rules, including on rent and labor practices.

France appointed its first woman domestic intelligence chief Wednesday, with top police officer Celine Berthon stepping up to head the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI).

The United States and Venezuela reached a deal Wednesday to swap 10 American prisoners for an ally of President Nicolas Maduro, as Washington eases pressure on the leftist Caracas government while it pushes for progress on democracy.

Ireland announced legal action Wednesday against the UK government in the European Court of Human Rights over a law granting immunity to combatants in the Northern Ireland conflict.

The EU agreed reforms Wednesday that will loosen budget rules with the goal of encouraging investments while keeping debt and spending under control, after France and Germany bridged their differences.