WORLD

Looking over his shoulder for eavesdroppers in a cafe, an Israeli anti-war campaigner leaned closer to a woman who plans to refuse military enlistment, risking jail time during Israel's unrelenting Gaza offensive.

Voters kick off the US Republican presidential nomination race Monday with caucuses in freezing Iowa, the first major test of whether Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis have any hope against scandal-plagued front-runner Donald Trump -- or will have to accept cold political reality.

Thousands of angry farmers descended on Berlin with their tractors and loudly booed a government minister on Monday, rounding off a week of nationwide protests against plans to cut tax breaks for agriculture.

The United Nations said on Monday it needs $4.2 billion this year to provide humanitarian aid in Ukraine and help millions who have fled, urging people not to forget the war-torn country's plight as the Gaza war dominates attention.

Cyclone Belal hit Reunion, one of France's overseas territories that span the globe from the Caribbean to the Pacific, moving in from the northwest packing "extreme winds", according to Meteo-France.

Officials in Hamas-run Gaza said on Monday dozens were killed overnight in "intense" Israeli bombardment, as the war which has sent shockwaves across the region passed the grim 100-day milestone.

Five members of the 10-nation ASEAN bloc have reaffirmed adherence to the "One China" policy after Taiwan's ruling pro-sovereignty party claimed a third consecutive victory in Saturday's presidential election.

Reminders of violent death and lives cut brutally short can be seen across the British capital, from its bleaker commuter hinterlands to even its most sought-after neighbourhoods.

Taiwan's president-elect Lai Ching-te on Monday hailed the island's "solid partnership" with the United States, as he welcomed a delegation from Washington making a post-election visit expected to anger Beijing.

A hundred and one days after the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas, Israelis are still reeling from the atrocities that took place during the surprise invasion, and Iranian-backed Hezbollah continues to risk a wider war through its rocket launches toward Israel.

The swearing-in ceremony of Guatemala's president-elect Bernardo Arevalo was delayed Sunday as Congress, controlled by his opponents, was locked in debate over the admission of new lawmakers.

North Korea said Monday it had successfully test-fired a new ballistic missile tipped with a hypersonic maneuverable warhead, the latest breakthrough in its pursuit of advanced weaponry to threaten South Korean and US targets.

AI will affect 60 percent of jobs in advanced economies, the International Monetary Fund's managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said in an interview in Washington, shortly before departing for the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

North Korea successfully test-fired an intermediate-range solid-fuel ballistic missile, state-run news agency KCNA confirmed early Monday, categorizing the launch as part of its "regular activities for developing powerful weapon systems."

Residents on France's Reunion Island were confined to their homes early Monday, as the authorities issued the highest alert for what they said could become a devastating tropical storm.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Switzerland on Monday, his office said, as Ukraine tries to ensure stable support from allies as the war against Russia nears its second anniversary.

Russian poet Lev Rubinstein, a key figure of the Soviet underground literary scene who later protested against President Vladimir Putin, has died days after being hit by a car, his daughter said Sunday.

On a cold and rainy Sunday in Tel Aviv, hundreds of Israelis joined events to mark 100 days since Hamas militants attacked Israel, sparking a retaliation that has since taken tens of thousands of Palestinian lives.

On foot and pedal bike, thousands of Israel supporters gathered in London, Paris and Berlin on Sunday to call for the release of hostages held by Hamas for 100 days.

All remaining 136 prison guards and administrative workers who were seized as hostages during prison riots in Ecuador were freed on Saturday night, prison authorities said.

Four migrants died overnight and a fifth was in critical condition on Sunday after trying to reach Britain from northern France in freezing temperatures, the French maritime authority said.

The abdication of Denmark's Queen Margrethe leaves Europe without a female monarch, but not for long -- a young generation of princesses born in the 21st century will be ascending to thrones across the continent in the coming years.

China's campaign of warplanes, balloons and fearsome rhetoric to intimidate voters in Taiwan's elections may have failed, but few expect President Xi Jinping to deviate from his strategy of maximum pressure.

On December 30, the city centre came under attack in the deadliest strikes inside Russia since the start of the conflict on February 24, 2022.

North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Sunday, Seoul's military said, days after Pyongyang staged live-fire exercises near the tense maritime border with the South.

Taiwan on Sunday told China to "face reality" and respect its election result, after voters defied Beijing's warnings and chose pro-sovereignty candidate Lai Ching-te as president.

Comoran voters head to polling stations Sunday to decide whether to hand a third-straight term to President Azali Assoumani, who has voiced confidence in securing re-election over a divided opposition on the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Bernardo Arevalo is due to be sworn in on Sunday as Guatemala's president after warding off months of judicial machinations to block him from office after his vow to clamp down on deep-rooted corruption.

Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched in Washington, London and elsewhere on Saturday as part of a "global day of action" to demand an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza fighting and to oppose US and British support for Israel.