Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest Muslim sites, has long been associated with a rigid strain of Islam known as Wahhabism that inspired generations of global extremists and left the oil-rich kingdom steeped in conservatism.

"The Dawn of a New Era," read the jubilant front-page headline of the conservative Resalat daily, welcoming the 62 percent win by Raisi, the head of Iran's judiciary, in Friday's election.

Raisi, 60, is set to take over at a critical time, as Iran seeks to salvage its tattered nuclear deal with major powers and free itself from punishing US sanctions that have driven a deep economic crisis.

"On June 16, 2021, Portland Police Bureau employees serving as members of the Rapid Response Team (RRT) left their voluntary positions and no longer comprise a team", Portland Police said in a statement on Thursday, adding that the employees will continue in their regular assignments.

The remarks came during Thursday's plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's central committee, after an earlier session where Kim called for measures to tackle the "tense" food situation arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

As many as 172 Indonesian seafarers and the remains of two others arrived in Jakarta on Wednesday after being stranded on a ship off the coast of Fiji due to the closure of borders and seaports because of COVID-19.

An hour-long blackout hit a number of US airlines and several Australian financial firms as well as other companies dotted around the world, with angry customers unable to access websites and mobile apps.

A pig that became an unlikely national icon in China after surviving 36 days under rubble from a powerful 2008 earthquake has died at the age of 14, sparking an outpouring of emotion on Thursday.

The US and Russian presidents shook hands and smiled as they went in for talks at a plush 18th-century villa in the Swiss city.

President Joe Biden appointed Harris this month to lead the charge against Republican state lawmakers across the country seeking to enact voting restrictions.

The two leaders emerged cautiously positive after more than three hours of talks, including two hours alone with just the Russian foreign minister and US secretary of state.

The setting -- a sumptuous villa overlooking Lake Geneva -- may be picturesque, but a gruelling diplomatic face-off awaits.

China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment also denied a CNN report that the safety authority has raised the acceptable limits for radiation detection around the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong Province to avoid shutting it down.

At a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea that kicked off Tuesday, Kim said the food situation is "getting tense" for the people and instructed party officials to "take a positive measure for settling the problem," according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

Sinyo Harry Sarundajang, a decorated former regional leader from Sulawesi and subsequent ambassador to the Philippines, has been posthumously awarded the Order of Sikatuna, an honor conferred upon foreign dignitaries, for his role in deepening Indonesia-Philippines relations.

China frequently objects to US military missions in the South China Sea saying they do not help promote peace or stability, and the announcement follows China blasting the Group of Seven nations for a statement scolding Beijing over a range of issues.

Speaking after his first NATO summit since being elected, Biden insisted: "I'm not looking for conflict with Russia, but that we will respond if Russia continues its harmful activities."

The tough line against Beijing, which was taken in a communique released after the NATO summit, came as US President Joe Biden rallies allies to counter what he calls autocracies like China and Russia that are challenging an open international order.

A Chinese Embassy spokesperson in London said the G7 has slandered China and distorted facts on the Xinjiang region, Hong Kong and Taiwan and insisted China will resolutely defend its national sovereignty.

CNN reported earlier that the US government is assessing a report of a leak at the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant after the French company, Framatome, warned of an "imminent radiological threat".

Biden said at a press conference after a Group of Seven summit in Cornwall, southwestern England, that he and other leaders shared concerns over China's lack of transparency.

Bennett, a tech millionaire and former special forces commander, was sworn in at the helm of an ideologically divided eight-party bloc united only by disdain for the country's longest-serving prime minister.

Alongside plans billed as helping speed infrastructure funding in developing countries and a shift to renewable and sustainable technology, the world's seven largest advanced economies again pledged to meet the climate finance target.

Netanyahu, 71, the most dominant Israeli politician of his generation, had failed to form a government after a March 23 election, the fourth in two years.

The haj -- a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lives -- typically packs millions of pilgrims into congested religious sites and could be a major source of contagion amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The 95-year-old British monarch will greet the Bidens in the Quadrangle of the castle, home to the royal family for nearly 1,000 years and where she has spent much of her time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Thousands of roaring motorcycles took part in the "Accelerate for Christ" rally in Sao Paulo, led by the far-right president, who wore an open-faced helmet and no mask, in violation of state health regulations.

On the second day of the three-day summit in Cornwall, southwestern England, the G7 leaders discussed Beijing's alleged abuses of the Uighur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region, western China, and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga expressed "deep concerns" about human rights in China.

The hour-long ceremony started after the four coffins draped in Canadian flags rolled into the compound of the Islamic Centre of Southwest Ontario, and ended with prayers and condolences offered by religious and community leaders.