Domino

The move comes as global tensions rise, partly driven by past trade conflicts and ongoing economic uncertainty.

"Just now, representatives of 32 countries signed the Convention, making these countries the founding members of the IOMed. High-level representatives of more than 50 other countries and nearly 20 international organizations are also present at the ceremony. You have come here from across the world for a common goal: promoting the peaceful resolution of disputes and advancing friendship and cooperation between countries." Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister said at the signing ceremony.

Police in Georgia have detained a second opposition leader within days as protests against the ruling Georgian Dream party and its perceived Russia-friendly stance continue in the South Caucasus country.

Lawyers for Nika Melia, one of the figureheads for Georgia's pro-Western Coalition for Change, said his car was stopped by police on Thursday

Washington and Beijing agreed to temporarily lower tit-for-tat tariffs after talks in Geneva.

But Trump said on Friday that China had "totally violated its agreement with us". He did not give details but US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer later said China had not been removing non-tariff barriers as agreed under the deal.

China on Friday appeared to move closer to lifting its ban on Japanese seafood imports, with the foreign ministry pledging to “study” Tokyo’s request on the matter.

The move is another sign that Beijing is trying to reset ties with its East Asian neighbour amid growing US trade uncertainty, according to an analyst of China-Japan relations.

The trial of an American content creator whose disruptive and culturally insensitive acts sparked outrage in South Korea has fuelled calls for sterner responses to these so-called nuisance influencers.

Johnny Somali, whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael, has been barred from leaving South Korea and faces seven charges, including obstruction of business and violations of the Minor Offences Act, according to local media.

A South African woman convicted of kidnapping and trafficking her six-year-old daughter has been sentenced to life in prison, along with her two accomplices.

The jail terms for Racquel "Kelly" Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn come more than a year after Joshlin Smith mysteriously disappeared outside her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town.

A new poll by the Pew Research Centre has found that transgender people experience less social acceptance in the United States than those who are lesbian, gay or bisexual, according to LGBTQ adults.

About six out of 10 LGBTQ adult participants in the poll said there is “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of social acceptance in the US for gay and lesbian people, according to “The Experiences of LGBTQ Americans Today” report released on Thursday.

China has launched a spacecraft that promises to return samples from an asteroid near Mars and yield "groundbreaking discoveries and expand humanity’s knowledge of the cosmos," the country's space agency said.

The Tianwen-2 probe launched early on Thursday from southern China aboard a Long March 3-B rocket.

Almost two years after he led a coup to end more than five decades of Bongo dynasty rule, Gabon’s military leader Brice Oligui Nguema has announced he will run in April’s presidential elections.

After the ouster of President Ali Bongo in August 2023, Nguema had vowed to give power back to civilians following a transitional period.

Israel has signed off on the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal for Gaza before it was sent to the Palestinian Hamas group, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday.

President Donald Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff submitted the proposal to Hamas after Israel signed off on it, she said.

"In Kashmir, Pakistan had wiped off the sindoor (vermillion) from the foreheads of mothers and sisters. Narendra Modi took revenge for that. Just like Operation Sindoor, we the soldiers of BJP will now carry out Operation West Bengal and overthrow the TMC," Majumdar told the crowd, thanking BJP workers gathered in large numbers.

The BJP leader also referred to recent incidents in Murshidabad, claiming that Hindu homes were being selectively targeted and set ablaze. Drawing parallels with the exodus of Hindus from Kashmir in the 1990s, he said, "I visited Murshidabad recently and saw houses burned down. Their only fault was wearing sindoor and tulsi malas. Kashmir and Murshidabad have now become one." Majumdar called on party workers to gear up for a final battle against the TMC government.