Ten people have died and 230 rescued after a passenger ferry caught fire in the seas off the southern Philippine province of Basilan.Nine people were injured in the fire that started on Wednesday evening in air-conditioned cabins, southern Mindanao coast guard chief Commodore Rejard Marfe told radio station DZMM.
Asian stocks rose on Thursday with fears easing on the banking front and the prospect of a break-up at Chinese conglomerate Alibaba offering an encouraging sign that Beijing's regulatory storm focused on tech companies might finally be clearing.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained for a third consecutive day, rising 0.
Gwyneth Paltrow's lawyers have continued to rely mostly on experts to mount their defence on the seventh day of the trial over her 2016 ski collision with a 76-year-old retired optometrist.Paltrow's defence team on Wednesday called to the stand a radiologist, a neurologist, a neuropsychologist and a forensic psychologist, leaning on medical analysis rather than the testimony of the actress-turned-lifestyle influencer's friends or husband in order to make their case.
US First lady Jill Biden has joined a memorial vigil in Nashville, Tennessee for the three children and three adults shot to death this week at a Christian day school.The outdoor ceremony on Wednesday, attended by several hundred people, began about an hour before sunset in Nashville Public Square Park, outside city hall in the state capital, Tennessee's largest city, and several kilometres from the scene of Monday's massacre.
The man who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda has arrived in the United States after being released from prison in Rwanda last week, the White House says.Paul Rusesabagina, a US permanent resident, was sentenced in September 2021 to 25 years in prison over his ties to a group opposed to Rwandan President Paul Kagame that has an armed wing.
US President Joe Biden has announced new funding to bolster democracies around the world, although dozens of countries are holding back on a summit declaration laying out commitments to democratic principles.Amid criticism his administration has made little progress in advancing human rights and democracy in its foreign policy, Biden on Wednesday announced a planned $US690 million ($A1 billion) in funding to help fight corruption, support free and fair elections and advance technologies that sup
New Zealand's government is in damage control after revelations the prime minister's office knew sacked minister Stuart Nash revealed confidential cabinet discussions to donors.The Napier MP was dismissed from cabinet on Tuesday after news outlet Stuff reported Mr Nash's leak, which took place in 2020.
Equatorial Guinea has confirmed 13 cases of Marburg disease since the beginning of the epidemic, its health officials say after the head of the World Health Organisation urged the country's government to report new cases officially.Marburg virus disease is a viral haemorrhagic fever that can have a fatality rate of up to 88 per cent, according to the WHO.
The United Nations General Assembly has voted to pass a resolution asking the world's top court to define the obligations of states to combat climate change, a legal opinion that could drive countries to take stronger measures and clarify international law.The historic resolution seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice was inspired by Pacific island law students and passed with a consensus vote after a four-year campaign led by Vanuatu.
The Manhattan grand jury investigating hush money paid on Donald Trump's behalf is scheduled to consider other matters next week before taking a previously scheduled two-week hiatus, a person familiar with the matter says.That means a vote on whether or not to indict the former US president likely would not come until late April at the earliest.
Nine Colombian soldiers have been killed in an attack by guerrillas of the National Liberation Army near the country's border with Venezuela, throwing peace negotiations between the rebel group and the government into question.The attack, one of the most serious in recent months, took place in a rural area of El Carmen municipality in Colombia's Norte de Santander province, an important region for growing coca and producing cocaine.
Pope Francis is suffering from a respiratory infection and will stay in the hospital for treatment for several days, the Vatican says.The head of the Catholic Church had been taken to Rome's Gemelli University Hospital on Wednesday afternoon.
A majority of the US Senate has backed legislation to repeal two decades-old authorisations for past wars in Iraq, as Congress pushes to reassert its role over deciding whether to send troops into combat.The Senate voted 66-30 in favour of legislation to repeal the 1991 and 2002 "Authorizations for the Use of Military Force," or AUMFs, well above the 51 vote majority needed to pass the measure that would formally end the Gulf and Iraq wars.
Sportswear maker Adidas AG has reversed course 48 hours after asking the US Trademark Office to reject a Black Lives Matter application for a trademark featuring three parallel stripes."Adidas will withdraw its opposition to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation's trademark application as soon as possible," the company said in a statement.
Russian forces have had some success in the frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian military officials say, and the United Nations nuclear watchdog chief is putting aside plans for a security zone around a major power plant in Ukraine.The mining city of Bakhmut and surrounding towns in the eastern industrial region of Donetsk have been the focal point of assault for much of the 13-month-long invasion by Russia of neighbouring Ukraine.
US stocks rallied on Wednesday, with all three major indexes ending up at least 1.0 per cent as upbeat outlooks from Micron Technology and other companies eased some worries about the health of the economy.
King Charles will turn his hand to cheese-making during a visit to an eco-village near Berlin on the second day of his state visit to Germany."We heard that the king is a great cheese lover," said Katja von Maltzan, who together with her husband runs the Brodowin farm located 80 kilometres northeast of the capital.
Humza Yousaf has been sworn in as the first minister of Scotland and he will start appointing his cabinet.The 37-year-old practising Muslim succeeds Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the governing Scottish National Party (SNP) after winning the leadership election on Monday.
Australia and Japan have expressed their concern over the dissolution of Myanmar's former ruling party and urged the military government to pursue a more inclusive process to return the country to democracy.Myanmar's ruling junta on Tuesday disbanded Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) and 39 other parties over their failure to meet a deadline to register for an election that is set to extend the army's grip on power.
King Charles III is travelling to Germany in his first state visit abroad since becoming British monarch, as part of efforts to turn the page on years of rocky relations between Britain and the European Union after its exit from the bloc.Charles, who succeeded his mother Queen Elizabeth as the British monarch in September, had been due to travel first to France, but cancelled that part of the tour due to violent social unrest over President Emmanuel Macron's new pension law.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warns that unless his nation wins a drawn-out battle in a key eastern city, Russia could begin building international support for a deal that could require Ukraine to make unacceptable compromises. He is also inviting the leader of China, long aligned with Russia, to visit.
A press gallery camera operator in New Zealand's parliament has apologised after accidentally bashing Education Minister Jan Tinetti in the head with his camera.Ms Tinetti had to miss Question Time on Wednesday, leaving Prime Minister Chris Hipkins to answer a question for her.
Brazil's government has reported the 700,000th death from COVID-19 in the South American nation, which has the second-most victims of the virus after the United States.Brazilian health experts say most people dying of COVID-19 in recent days are either unvaccinated or suffer from other debilitating diseases.
A US judge has denied Donald Trump's bid to throw out E. Jean Carroll's defamation claim from next month's high-profile trial over whether he raped the former Elle magazine columnist in the mid-1990s.
Sacked New Zealand minister Stuart Nash says he won't be resigning his seat after revelations he leaked cabinet discussions to donors.The Napier MP was dismissed from his cabinet position on Tuesday after news outlet Stuff broke the news of the 2020 indiscretion.