The fast-warming tropical Pacific is pointing to a major event but a crucial weakening of trade winds -- capable of turbocharging or throttling the phenomenon -- has yet to materialise.

The Philippine government on Thursday ordered police to arrest a senator wanted by the International Criminal Court over his role in ex-president Rodrigo Duterte's deadly drug crackdown.

A programme and menu reported by TASS showed guests would be offered an array of cold "zakuski" hors d'oeuvres, prawn soup, beef in bean sauce, Fuzhou noodles, pumpkin pastries, fruits. 

President Xi Jinping hailed China and Russia's "unyielding" ties in talks with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, as the pair met to underscore their alliance days after Donald Trump's visit to the Asian superpower economy.

Bolivians began demonstrating and erecting roadblocks three weeks ago to demand salary increases, stable fuel supplies and measures to mitigate the worst economic crisis in 40 years.

For several days, biologists from Buenos Aires will set traps at various locations on the southern island of Tierra del Fuego to analyze whether the captured rodents carry the Andes strain of the virus, the only one known to spread between people.

Federal prosecutors expect to unseal an indictment against Castro, 94, in Miami on May 20, based on a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles.

Trump said the move was based on his relationship with Poland's president Karol Nawrocki, a nationalist ally whom he said he was "proud to endorse" in elections that Nawrocki won last year.

"The public health risk has been reassessed with the most current information available, and the global risk remains low," said a WHO statement.

Eight people infected in the hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship have tested positive for the Andes virus, the only strain transmitted between humans, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

Keir Starmer was facing his biggest challenge yet on Wednesday when his health minister was reportedly readying his resignation to try to trigger a contest to replace a British prime minister who had sought some respite to set out his government's agenda.

Turkish foreign ministry sources said 422 activists, among them 85 Turkish nationals, were flown from southern Israel on three planes chartered by Ankara.

More than 430 activists from countries around the world were in custody in Israel after they were detained at sea while making the latest in a string of attempts to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.

Israel's far-right national security minister posted a video on Wednesday showing detained activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla kneeling with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground, sparking international condemnation.