Reuters

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.

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico was in a "very serious" but stable condition on Thursday (May 16), a hospital official said, after he was shot five times in an assassination attempt that has laid bare deep political divisions in the country. Sean Hogan has more.

Before and after satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies revealed the scale of Palestinian displacement from Rafah towards coastal areas further north as Israel intensifies its military operations. Israel has told Palestinians in parts of Rafah to evacuate to those areas, where an expansion of tents and shelters could be seen in the images.

A powerful explosion ripped through an apartment building in the western German city of Duesseldorf early on Thursday (May 16) and left at least three people dead and 16 others injured, two of whom were fighting for their lives, according to the local fire department. It was not immediately known what caused the explosion inside a ground floor kiosk of a six-storey building.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Chinese President Xi Jinping at a joint news conference in Beijing on Thursday (May 16) that Moscow was grateful to China for trying to solve the Ukraine crisis.

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico was in a "very serious" but stable condition on Thursday (May 16), Hospital Director Miriam Lapunikova said, after he was shot five times in an assassination attempt that laid bare deep political divisions in the country.

France declared a state of emergency on the Pacific island of New Caledonia on Wednesday after three young indigenous Kanak and a police official were killed in riots over electoral reform. Ryan Chang has the details.

Israel's defense minister publicly challenged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday (May 15) over the country's post-war plans for the Gaza Strip, with Yoav Gallant stressing his opposition of any long-term military rule by Israel in the ravaged Palestinian enclave. Diane To reports.

Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks with Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Thursday (May 16) as the Russian leader began his two-day tour to the neighboring country.

The European Union urged Georgia on Wednesday (May 15) to withdraw its highly contested "foreign agents" bill, saying the measure would set back the nation's ambitions to join the bloc, as protests against the legislation continued in a rolling political crisis. Gabe Singer reports.