Reuters

Aid trucks have started moving through a U.S.-built pier anchored off Gaza's coast, the U.S. Central Command said on Friday (May 17), marking the first batch of aid to reach Gaza by sea in weeks. Trevor Koroll reports.

Speaking at the end of his state visit to China, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday (May 17) that Russian forces advancing in Ukraine's northeast were carving out a buffer zone to protect Russia from attacks. Ukraine's top commander warned on Friday of "heavy battles" looming on the war's new front in the Kharkiv region. Rachel Judah has more.

Overwhelmed doctors at one of the few remaining hospitals in Rafah fear a rush of casualties could create unbearable pressure on scant health services. The International Red Cross has set up a field hospital in Rafah, but aid agencies and doctors warn a full-scale Israeli invasion and a huge influx of wounded would make matters worse. Lucy Fielder reports.

Israel asked judges at the International Court of Justice on Friday (May 17) to throw out a request by South Africa to halt its operations in Rafah and withdraw from Palestinian territory - saying the case "makes a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide." Rachel Graham reports.

A Russian activist now living in exile in Tbilisi, Grigory Sverdlin has watched over the past month as thousands of Georgian protesters have taken to the streets to voice their opposition to a draft law on "foreign agents." It's a familiar story: he himself was declared a foreign agent by Moscow. Lucy Fielder has more.

Fighting in Taiwan's parliament extended deep into the night on Friday (May 17) after proposed reforms to the chamber ignited scuffles between lawmakers only days before president-elect Lai Ching-te's inauguration on May 20.

French police shot dead an armed man who set fire to a synagogue in the northwestern city of Rouen early on Friday (May 17). Rachel Graham has more.

Soccer's world body FIFA heard a Palestinian call for the suspension of Israel's soccer federation over the war in Gaza when it convened its annual Congress on Friday (May 17).

Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping ended negotiations in Beijing with a rare hug on Thursday (May 16), sealing a vaunted "new era" of strategic partnership between the two nations.

Officers in the northwestern city shot dead an armed man who set fire to the synagogue there, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and local officials said on Friday (May 17). Police were called to the site because of smoke coming out of the building. They shot the man when he threw an iron bar at them and threatened them with a knife as he left the synagogue, a Rouen city official said.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Friday (May 17) visited Harbin Institute of Technology campus during his visit to China's northeastern city Harbin, which has historic ties to Russia. Accompanied by the officials from Institute, Putin shook a robotic hand and wrote down a message for the school.

Taiwanese lawmakers shoved, tackled and hit each other in parliament on Friday (May 17) in a bitter dispute about reforms to the chamber, just days before president-elect Lai Ching-te takes office without a legislative majority.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, again denied arms exchanges with Russia, state media KCNA reported on Friday (May 17), saying her nation's recently developed and updated weapons systems were not for sale to any other countries. Gabe Singer reports.

Overnight rain helped firefighters stall a large wildfire near the Canadian oil sands city of Fort McMurray, Alberta, and wet weather on Thursday (May 16) was expected to further aid containment efforts, according to local officials. Ryan Chang has the details.

William Lai Ching-te takes office as Taiwan's president on Monday (May 20), facing a China that calls him a "dangerous separatist" while ramping up military drills, as well as a fractured parliament that's set to make running the democratically-ruled island more of a challenge. Diane To reports.

South Africa urged the U.N.'s top court on Thursday (May 16) to order a halt to Israel's offensive on Rafah, saying attacks on the southern Gaza city "must be stopped" to ensure the survival of the Palestinian people. Angela Johnston reports.

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would force President Joe Biden to send weapons to Israel, seeking to rebuke the Democrat for delaying bomb shipments as he urges Israel to do more to protect civilians during its war with Hamas. Ryan Chang has the details.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Harbin on Friday (May 17) (Thursday, May 16, GMT) on the second leg of his two-day state visit to China, his first foreign visit after victory in the presidential election.

Donald Trump's lawyer on Thursday accused star witness Michael Cohen of lying at the former U.S. president's trial about a phone conversation he claimed to have had with Trump about a hush money payment to a porn star shortly before the 2016 presidential election. Zachary Goelman reports.

The United States anchored a temporary floating pier to a beach in Gaza on Thursday (May 16) to boost aid deliveries. Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said the pier "has been coordinated to support USAID's and the U.N.'s effort to deliver and distribute aid."

Kimia Alizadeh made history by becoming the first Iranian woman to win an Olympic medal back in 2016. After defecting, the taekwondo athlete is aiming for gold at this year's Paris Games under Bulgaria's flag. Olivia Zollino has more.

German archeologists have unearthed the skeleton of a man who lived around 4,800 BC in a village in Lower Bavaria. The grave goods suggest he was probably a kind of village elder or even an early "mayor," which makes it a very special excavation, according to archeologist Florian Eibl.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned what they cast as increasingly aggressive U.S. behavior on Thursday (May 16) and pledged to deepen their countries' already close defense and military ties. Putin's two-day visit to Beijing comes as the war in Ukraine, where Russian forces are advancing on several fronts, rumbles on. Lauren Anthony reports.

France is aiming to regain full control of events in New Caledonia "in the coming hours," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Thursday (May 16). The announcement comes after a third night of deadly riots over a contested electoral reform that will let French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years vote in provincial elections - a move some local leaders fear will dilute the indigenous Kanak vote.

With South Africa's election fast approaching, residents in the village of Komati say they are the victims of efforts by the ruling African National Congress to balance the need to keep the lights on in a coal-driven economy with its global commitments to decarbonize. David Doyle has more.