WORLD

The death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny was a "very sad day" for Russia, and must lead to international action, the wife of murdered ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko told AFP on Saturday.

Jailed former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is expected to be freed on parole early Sunday, just six months after his dramatic return to the kingdom from 15 years of self-imposed exile.

On a snowy overcast Saturday in Moscow, a steady stream of mourners quietly laid flowers at makeshift memorials to opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison aged 47.

Somalia and Ethiopia, already at odds over a controversial maritime pact, locked horns again on Saturday over Somali claims that Ethiopian security forces tried to block President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud from accessing the African Union summit.

Thousands on Saturday joined the first authorised protest in Senegal's capital since President Macky Sall postponed elections for his successor before a top court overturned his ruling.

Israel is waging a concerted campaign aimed at destroying UNRWA, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said in an interview published Saturday.

DR Congo's army on Saturday accused Rwanda of staging a "drone attack" at night that damaged civilian aircraft at the airport in the strategic eastern city of Goma.

The liberal Democratic Alliance, fighting to keep its place as South Africa's official opposition party, launched its electoral campaign Saturday ahead of a hotly contested vote, vowing to crush power cuts and slash high unemployment.

Long, cold months have passed since an earthquake levelled Abdallah Oubelaid's impoverished village in Morocco's High Atlas mountains.

Ukraine withdrew troops from the besieged eastern stronghold of Avdiivka to save the lives of its soldiers, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday, handing Russia its biggest symbolic victory since May.

The Philippines on Saturday accused Chinese coast guard ships of "dangerous" manoeuvres after they repeatedly blocked a vessel delivering supplies to Filipino fishermen at a reef off the Southeast Asian nation's coast.

Jailed former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra will be freed on Sunday, the kingdom's prime minister has said, just six months after returning from 15 years of self-imposed exile.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday will seek to rouse allies from war fatigue and step up their financial and military backing at a critical juncture in his country's battle against Russia.

Fears mounted Saturday for people trapped in one of Gaza's main hospitals after Israeli troops raided the facility and the Hamas-run territory's health ministry said several patients had died there from a lack of oxygen.

Lilian was 20 when her newborn baby died of medical complications at a hospital in El Salvador, where abortion is a crime and even the suspicion of one can land a woman in jail.

The sweeping punishment meted out Friday by a New York judge on Donald Trump and his family business deals a serious blow to the former president in his longtime home market.

The head of the World Trade Organization insisted Friday the WTO was still relevant as it prepares for its main gathering with few major deals on the table.

Five decades ago, he was a feared policeman nicknamed "the Whip," an enforcer of Paraguay's military dictatorship.

The UN's top court Friday rejected South Africa's request to put more legal pressure on Israel to halt a threatened offensive against the Gaza city of Rafah, saying it was "bound to comply with existing measures."

Japan's space agency will try to launch its new flagship rocket on Saturday, hoping for third time lucky following years of delays and two aborted attempts.

A New York judge ordered Donald Trump to pay $355 million over fraud allegations and banned him from running companies in the state for three years Friday in a major blow to his business empire and financial standing.

Supporters of Alexei Navalny turned out in cities across Europe Friday to pay tribute to the man widely acknowledged as Russia's main opposition figure, even from behind bars.

Prominent Kremlin critics and ordinary Russians in self-exile blamed President Vladimir Putin for the "murder" of opposition leader Alexei Navalny Friday.

US President Joe Biden directly blamed Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Friday for the reported death of Alexei Navalny in prison, describing the Kremlin critic as a "powerful voice for the truth."

South Africa's main opposition leader on Friday denounced the idea of a coalition with the ruling African National Congress (ANC), the party poised to lose its outright majority this year in an historic election battle.

Prince Harry has suggested that King Charles's illness could help reunite the British royal family, and described how he immediately "jumped on a plane" to London after his father's cancer diagnosis.

Amid recession fears in Japan and the UK, the US economy stands resilient, buoyed by strong consumer spending and pandemic relief measures.

On a clear day, the view south from Safed, high in the mountains of northern Israel, stretches uninterrupted across orange groves and orchards to the Sea of Galilee.

Egypt is building a walled camp in the Sinai Peninsula to receive Palestinians displaced from the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip, according to a US media report on Thursday.