As South Koreans head to the polls for a parliamentary election, the country's worsening ties with North Korea are high on the agenda. The small South Korean island of Yeonpyeong is located about 12 kilometres from the North Korean coast. In January, Pyongyang fired live artillery into nearby waters, forcing islanders into air raid shelters. The island could be first in the line of fire if conflict breaks out between the North and South.

A 19-year-old man has appeared in a Western Australian court accused of murder and attempted murder over an alleged attack on an elderly couple in their Perth home.

Thousands of migrants from Central and South America are making their way toward Mexico's border with the United States. Many migrants hope to seek asylum in the US, where migration is becoming a politically fraught issue as illegal crossings rise steeply.

Since 2019, when two French citizens were kidnapped from Benin's Pendjari National Park and their local guide murdered, the West African country has been dealing with regular incursions by armed groups, including terrorists. According to official figures, 40 civilians and 20 soldiers have been killed over the past three years. Our regional correspondents followed the Beninese army in the northern border areas, where it has beefed up its presence.

Firefighters are working to keep open the only highway out of Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, as wildfires approach. Canada currently has more than a thousand active fires.

The bloodshed between North and South Korea ended in a 1953 armistice, but both sides agree there is little immediate chance of permanent reconciliation.