US slashes troops, missile batteries from Middle East

The Pentagon says Russia has been notified in advance of the second ICBM test launch in the space of a month. The aim is to "demonstrate the readiness of US nuclear forces."

Indian and Chinese soldiers are pulling out of one of three key border areas that have been a focus of bilateral tensions. Some border regions have seen deadly clashes in recent times.

Diplomatic tensions between Mali and Ivory Coast deepen after Bamako sets conditions for the return of dozens of Ivorian soldiers arrested two months ago. Also, Ethiopia's New Year celebrations are overshadowed by an economic crisis. And anti-smoking campaigners in Senegal warn against the damage caused to young bodies when they start lighting up.

Should North Korea's missile launches be viewed as tests or diplomacy?

Russia's military has acknowledged its withdrawal from the strategically important town of Lyman in Donetsk. The town is in the areas Vladimir Putin unilaterally declared as annexed Russian territory.

North Korea's latest spate of missile launches has put its neighbours on edge. The barrage of weapons tests includes one that flew over Japan in the longest-ever recorded distance, capable of reaching the US territory of Guam.

North Korea says its recent barrage of missile launches were a "simulation" of a nuclear attack on the South. It comes as intelligence suggests North Korea is preparing to hold its first nuclear weapon test in five years.

For many Ukrainians, October 10 was a kind of repeat of February 24, when Russia launched its invasion by shelling cities across the country. This time, however, people are responding differently.

Pro-Russian accounts claim that Ukrainian "propaganda" and mainstream Western media are showing fake victims, following a Russian missile strike in Kyiv on October 10. AP and Reuters reporters on the scene were able to confirm that the civilians in the viral posts are real victims of the war in Ukraine. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

Despite the potential for abuse and exploitation, Middle Eastern countries continue to attract hundreds of thousands of Nepali migrant workers every year.

North Korea fired at least 23 missiles into the sea on Wednesday, including one that landed less than 60 km (40 miles) off South Korea's coast, which South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol described as "territorial encroachment" and Washington denounced as "reckless".

According to the report, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is warming almost twice as quickly as the global average and is especially susceptible to the effects and impacts of climate change, including extreme water scarcity.