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Vladimir Putin is warning Russia may use nuclear weapons in conflict. Photo: AFP / Pool US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Russian President Vladimir Putin's warning to the West about nuclear weapons use irresponsible and poorly timed, as world leaders gathered in New York for the UN General Assembly. "It's totally irresponsible," Blinken said in an interview with MSNBC on Thursday. "I think many in the world have spoken clearly about that when he's been rattling the nuclear sabre - including China, in the past. So I would just say especially to do that now, while the world's gathered... talking about the need for more disarmament, non-proliferation." Putin warned the West on Wednesday that Russia could use nuclear weapons if it was struck with conventional missiles, as the US ...

By Timour Azhari and James Mackenzie, Reuters Israel is pressing ahead with strikes that have killed hundreds in Lebanon. Photo: RABIH DAHER/AFP Israel rejected global calls on Friday for a ceasefire with the Hezbollah movement, defying its biggest ally the US and pressing ahead with strikes that have killed hundreds in Lebanon and heightened fears of an all-out regional war. An Israeli warplane struck the edges of the capital Beirut, killing two people and wounding 15, including a woman in critical condition, Lebanon's health ministry said. That took deaths from hits overnight and during Thursday local time to 28. The strike killed the head of one of Hezbollah's air force units, Mohammad Surur, two security sources said, the latest senior Hezbollah commander to be targeted in days o...

By Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel New York City mayor Eric Adams talks to the press outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence, after he was indicted on federal criminal charges. Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP US prosecutors have charged New York City mayor Eric Adams with accepting illegal campaign contributions and luxury travel from Turkish nationals seeking to influence him, capping an investigation that has sent the largest US city's government into turmoil. In a 57-page indictment, prosecutors laid out an alleged scheme stretching back to 2014 that helped to underwrite Adams' 2021 mayoral campaign and showered him with free rooms at opulent hotels and meals at high-end restaurants. In return, Adams pressured city officials to allow the country's new 36-storey consulate to op...

Bystanders and reporters look at the destruction in a street under a residential building whose top two floors were hit by an Israeli strike in the Ghobeiri area of Beirut's southern suburbs. Photo: AFP Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Thursday rejected proposals from the United States and France calling for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had not responded but told the army to keep up its operation. "There will be no ceasefire in the north," Katz said on the social media platform X. "We will continue to fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organization with all our strength until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes." Netanyahu, who left Israel on Thursday to address the United Nations, issued a ...