Zohran Mamdani, young upstart of the US left, was readying yesterday to take over as New York mayor for a term sure to see him cross swords with President Donald Trump.

Bosnian Serbs will hold a partial repeat vote in February to replace their banned president Milorad Dodik after some results from November’s election were annulled for fraud, the electoral commission said yesterday.

The EU’s top diplomat yesterday accused Russia of pushing “unfounded claims” that Ukraine fired drones at a residence of President Vladimir Putin, branding the allegation a “deliberate distraction” from peace efforts.

The EU warned yesterday that Israel’s threat to suspend several aid groups in Gaza under new registration rules would block “life-saving” assistance from reaching the population.

US President Donald Trump scrapped two bills this week, exercising his veto power for the first time during his second term to reject a water pipeline and the expansion of a Native American reservation.

Myanmar’s junta said slightly more than half of eligible voters cast their ballot in the first phase of a three-stage national election at the weekend, a figure that was markedly lower than the previous two elections.

Turkey yesterday detained another 125 Islamic State (IS) group suspects in a string of nationwide raids, a minister said, following warnings that IS militants were planning attacks over the holidays.

Several people attacked and damaged a provincial governor’s office in southern Iran yesterday, according to authorities quoted by the justice ministry’s Mizan agency, after days of protests over the economy.

The outgoing United Nations refugee chief fears an increasingly fragmented world is fuelling global conflicts and crises, and inflaming hostility towards people desperately fleeing for safety.

The latest arrests raised to nearly 600 the total number detained over the past week

He has vowed to protect immigrant communities

United States Geological Survey says

It was one of the warmest years on record

Washington on Monday pledged an initial $2 billion for United Nations humanitarian aid in 2026 -- far less than it has provided in recent years -- warning UN agencies to “adapt, shrink or die”.

An emerging political bloc in Nepal has gained another heavyweight, with a third key figure joining the new alliance ahead of next year’s election, a party member said yesterday.

If 2025 feels exhausting, you’re not alone. The year has been turbulent, with wars dragging on, new conflicts erupting, and rivalries sharpening.

China fired rockets into waters off Taiwan yesterday, showcased new assault ships and dismissed prospects of US and allied intervention to block any future attack by Beijing to take control of the island in its most extensive war games to date.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US had “hit” an area in Venezuela where boats are loaded with drugs, marking the first known time Washington has carried out land operations in Venezuela since a pressure campaign began against President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday the United States could support another major strike on Iran were it to resume rebuilding its ballistic missile or nuclear weapons programs and warned Hamas of severe consequences if it does not disarm.

The United Nations urged global leaders Monday to focus on people and the planet in a New Year’s message depicting the world in chaos.