AFP

China on Tuesday sent its army, navy, air and rocket forces to surround Taiwan for drills Beijing said were aimed at practising a blockade of the self-ruled island.  

Senator Cory Booker's display of endurance -- to hold the floor he must remain standing and cannot even go to the bathroom -- recalled the famous scene in Frank Capra's 1939 film classic "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of "playing for time" in negotiations over the war in Ukraine as she arrived on a visit to Kyiv on Tuesday.

China, South Korea and Japan agreed Sunday to strengthen free trade in the face of a raft of new tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

A powerful earthquake killed more than 20 people across Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, toppling buildings and bridges and trapping over 80 workers in an under-construction skyscraper in Bangkok.

Chewing gum releases hundreds of tiny plastic pieces straight into people's mouths, researchers said on Tuesday, also warning of the pollution created by the rubber-based sweet.

Holders Spain beat the Netherlands on penalties after a dramatic quarter-final second leg in Valencia finished 3-3 on Sunday to set up a Nations League last-four clash with France, who edged Croatia in a shoot-out after a 2-2 aggregate draw.

At least 12 people died Monday when a small plane crashed into the sea while taking off from a Caribbean island off Honduras, officials said.

A court in Bangladesh upheld on Sunday death sentences of 20 former university students convicted of murdering a fellow student in 2019 who had criticised the country's former government on social media.

A Chinese academic at a Japanese university who went missing on a trip home more than a year ago has returned to Japan, a university spokesman said Friday.