Russian strikes battered the northeast Ukraine region of Kharkiv Thursday, killing at least five people, hours ahead of the first face-to-face meeting since the start of the war between the Turkish and Ukrainian leaders.

A special unit of the Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence shared a video on Facebook showing the damage.

Russia's Black Sea fleet based in annexed Crimea has installed a new commander, RIA news agency cited sources as saying on Wednesday, after Russian military bases on the peninsula were rocked by explosions in the past nine days.

A blast which ripped through a mosque packed with worshippers in the Afghan capital Kabul killed at least 21 people and wounded more than two dozen others, police said Thursday.

On Taiwan's windswept Matsu islands, close to China's coast, one topic has been driving conversations in recent days: prospects of an invasion by China since it began military exercises in response to visits to Taiwan by U.S.

Taiwanese F-16 fighters roared into the night sky on Wednesday in a show of force in front of the media, demonstrating the military's determination to defend the democratically governed island in the face of days of Chinese war games.

A delegation of Canadian lawmakers plans to visit Taiwan in October to seek economic opportunities in the Asia Pacific region, Liberal Member of Parliament Judy Sgro said on Wednesday, a move that could further stoke tensions between China and the West.

The Ethiopian government called Wednesday for a formal Tigray ceasefire agreement to be reached as soon as possible to enable the resumption of basic services to the war-stricken northern region.

Kenya's president-elect William Ruto said on Wednesday there was no time to waste in tackling an economic crisis, as defeated rival Raila Odinga prepared a legal challenge to overturn his loss in Aug.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced disgust on Wednesday at remarks by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that the German leader said diminished the importance of the Holocaust, while Israel accused Abbas of telling a "monstrous lie".

Taliban military aircraft roared over the Afghan capital on Wednesday as the group's defence ministry tested out recently repaired hardware, much of it left behind by foreign militaries and acquired since the Taliban seized power a year ago.