An explosion was heard near the Russian consulate in Marseille, France, French media reported on Monday morning.

Firemen were reportedly at the scene, but French police could not confirm the reports. Russia responds

Russian Consul General in Marseille, Stanislav Oranskiy, confirmed to La Marseillaise that the explosion happened from inside the embassy.

"The explosions on the territory of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Marseille have all the signs of a terrorist attack, and we demand that the country accredit comprehensive and prompt investigative measures, as well as steps to strengthen the security of Russian missions abroad," the diplomat said.

This comes as the EU announced its sixteenth package of sanctions against Moscow and the commemorations marking three years since the beginning of the Ukraine-Russia War.

JENIN, West Bank — Israeli tanks moved into the occupied West Bank on Sunday for the first time in decades in what Palestinian authorities called a “dangerous escalation,” after the defense minister said troops will remain in parts of the territory for a year and tens of thousands of Palestinians who have fled cannot return.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday signaled that he was moving ahead with U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza, calling it “the only viable plan to enable a different future” for the region.

KAYIN STATE, Myanmar—Htoo Naw was a commando in the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) for 20 years before retiring due to his health. But when the 51-year-old heard that his old unit was preparing to storm the Myanmar military’s tactical command base in the town of Kyaikdon, he left his rice farm to return to the battlefield.

Netanyahu signaled there were issues with the deal shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar announced it was complete. That created a dual reality: War-weary Palestinians in Gaza, the relatives of hostages held there and world leaders all welcomed an agreement, expected to begin Sunday, even as Netanyahu said it was not yet finalized.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its authenticity. An Israeli official said progress has been made, but the details are being finalized. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks.

Despite its low profile in Turkey, the LGBTQ+ community has emerged as one of the main targets of the government and its supporters in recent years.

The confrontation unfolded on a freezing winter’s day in Seoul, as an estimated 1,200 Yoon supporters gathered outside his official residence while police and other officials inside attempted to execute an arrest warrant – the first for a sitting South Korean president.

Local media reports said anti-corruption officials – who are leading a joint team of police and prosecutors – entered the compound to find themselves blocked by troops under the control of the presidential security service.

Syrian forces loyal to the country’s new administration intensified their combing operations in the country’s coastal region on Saturday, as a deadline for officers and soldiers from the former Assad regime to hand in their weapons passed.

Akhmadzhon Kurbonov was ordered detained by a Moscow court until at least Feb. 17 in Tuesday’s bombing that killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the chief of Russia’s Radiation, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces, the Tass state news agency reported.

Kurbonov was charged with the killings, carrying out a terrorist act and illegally manufacturing explosives, the news agency said.

The country’s language watchdog is investigating after a Dutch-speaking commuter protested a conductor’s use of “bonjour” – French for “good morning” – to welcome him onboard during a rush-hour train from Mechelen, in Flanders, to the capital, Brussels, in October.

Writing on Facebook, Ilyass Alba, the French-speaking conductor, said that on the day in question he greeted passengers entering his carriage with a resounding “goeiemorgen, bonjour”.

The use of both the Dutch and French greetings was not good enough for one Dutch-speaking passenger, who told him off, saying: “We’re not in Brussels yet, you have to use Dutch only!”

The passenger was technically right, as under Belgium’s complex language rules conductors should in theory use both languages only in Brussels and a few other bilingual regions.

The UK will not tolerate attempts by foreign countries to harass or intimidate British citizens, the security minister has warned, after a number of Sikhs complained they were being targeted either by or on behalf of the Indian government.

It is the first time Israeli troops would be stationed in the buffer zone since a 1974 agreement establishing the line of control between Israel and Syria, though they have in the past entered the area for brief periods. The buffer zone, a demilitarized area within Syria and administered by its government, was established in 1974 and was patrolled by United Nations peacekeepers. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and annexed it in 1981.

Israel has “seized” territory in Syrian-controlled areas of the Golan Heights, as its military warned Syrians living in five villages close to the Israeli-occupied portion of the strategic area to “stay home”.

During a policy speech Tuesday at a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly's regular session, Gov. Yuriko Koike emphasized the importance of flexible work-styles, especially for women.

"We will continue to review work styles flexibly to ensure that women do not have to sacrifice their careers due to life events such as childbirth or child-rearing," she said.

To help employees balance child care and work, the government plans to introduce a new “child care partial leave" system, which allows workers to reduce their working hours by up to two hours a day.

Two Iran-backed factions in Iraq have announced plans to send fighters to Syria to support Bashar al-Assad's forces against an Islamist-dominated rebel alliance advancing rapidly against the Syrian regime, The New Arab's Arabic language edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported on Sunday.

Turkey’s economy shrank 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the period from July to September, said the Turkish Statistical Institute on Friday. This comes after a decline of the same scale in the second quarter of the year, confirming that the economy is in recession.

A new survey reveals EU citizens are growing more and more US-sceptic, and think it's time for the bloc to pursue its own foreign policy and reduce ties with Washington.

It is the second of two preliminary decisions that President Joe Biden's Commerce Department is making this year in a trade case brought by Korea's Hanwha Qcells (000880.KS), Arizona-based First Solar Inc (FSLR.O) and several smaller producers seeking to protect billions of dollars in investments in U.S. solar manufacturing.