Conflict-related displacement of people and the spread of cholera continue to increase humanitarian needs across Sudan, according to UN spokesman.

Nearly 9,700 people in Khartoum state alone were recently displaced due to conflict, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, citing figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

In South Kordofan, more than 9,000 people fled Dibebat town in Al Quoz locality last week due to intense clashes. The situation remains very volatile, he said, quoting the IOM on Wednesday.

At the same time, about 600 people were displaced from Abu Shouk camp and El Fasher town in North Darfur state just last week, he said.

US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation imposing a travel ban on 12 countries and restricting the entry of seven others to the US, citing national security concerns.

According to the proclamation, the 12 countries that were banned include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

Additionally, the order partially restricts and limits the entry of nationals of the following seven countries -- Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

The announcement of the ban followed a recent violent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, on participants of a peaceful rally calling for the safe return of Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity.

Australian researchers have achieved a major advance in tackling Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as golden staph, a superbug that causes more than a million deaths worldwide each year.

The world-first initiative has demonstrated that real-time genome sequencing during severe infections allows doctors to quickly identify resistance mutations, personalise treatment, and help curb the spread of antibiotic resistance, according to a release from the Melbourne-based Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) on Wednesday, reports news agency.

Collaborating with seven local hospitals, scientists from the Doherty Institute said that traditionally, hospital laboratories identify bacteria using standard tests that reveal only the species type, offering limited insight into antibiotic resistance or genetic changes, the release said.

A Greek appeals court has handed down prison sentences to ten individuals for their roles in the 2018 Mati wildfire, the deadliest in modern Greek history.

The devastating blaze tore through the coastal resort town of Mati near Athens, claiming 104 lives and injuring more than 140 others. The tragedy shocked the nation and drew widespread criticism over the failures in emergency response.

Among those convicted were senior officials from the Fire Brigade, as well as regional and municipal authorities. An elderly resident was also found guilty of unintentionally igniting the fire by burning dry vegetation in his yard.

A report said by the state-run Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA), that the court on Wednesday ruled that the actions and omissions of those convicted significantly contributed to the magnitude of the disaster.

The US military announced the detention of an ISIS leader and the death of two operatives of the terror group during Defeat ISIS (D-ISIS) operations in Iraq and Syria.

"US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces supported six D-ISIS operations, five in Iraq and one in Syria, resulting in the two ISIS operatives killed, two detained, including an ISIS leader, and the recovery of multiple weapons. The operations served to disrupt and degrade ISIS' ability to reconstitute, plan, organise, and conduct attacks against civilians and US and partner forces in the region," said US CENTCOM in a statement on X on Thursday.

According to the statement, the US CENTCOM forces supported partner forces in operations in Iraq and Syria from May 21-27 in support of the ongoing D-ISIS campaign.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, enabled by US CENTCOM, conducted a D-ISIS operation near Deir ez-Zur from May 21-22, resulting in the capture of an ISIS operative.

The South Korean economy is showing increasing similarities to Japan's past stagnation, and bold structural reforms, along with innovation, are needed to prevent prolonged low growth, the central bank said on Thursday.

In its latest research report, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said South Korea "is following in Japan's footsteps in many areas," pointing to mounting private-sector debt as one of the major concerns.

In 2023, Korea's private-sector debt reached 207.4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), nearing Japan's peak level of 214.2 percent during its asset bubble period in 1994, reports news agency.

After Japan's bubble burst, asset-linked debt destabilised the banking sector and led to distorted capital allocation, with funds flowing into such low-productivity sectors as real estate and "zombie" firms.

"Debt levels must be tightly controlled through precise macroprudential regulation, stronger coordination with monetary policy, sustained efforts to manage household debt and swift, decisive corporate restructuring," the report stated.

The South Korean economy contracted 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year, unchanged from an earlier estimate, central bank data showed Thursday, due mainly to a domestic political crisis and uncertainties stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration's aggressive tariff scheme.

The country's real gross domestic product (GDP) -- a key measure of economic growth -- contracted 0.2 percent in the January-March period from three months earlier, which marked the first negative growth in nine months, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The South Korean economy had expanded 1.3 percent in the first quarter of 2024 but slipped into contraction in the second quarter with a 0.2 percent decline before posting 0.1 percent growth in both the third and fourth quarters, reports news agency.

The Kremlin confirmed on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces had attempted to attack the Crimean Bridge, but failed to cause any damage.

"There really was an explosion, nothing was damaged, and the bridge is working," reporters, responding to a question on Ukraine's attempted attack on Tuesday.

Traffic on the Crimean Bridge was briefly halted on Tuesday at 15:23 Moscow time (1223 GMT), according to the bridge's official Telegram channel

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday turned down resignation offers from Cabinet members except for Justice Minister Park Sung-jae to ensure continuity in state affairs, the presidential office said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho, who had served as acting President, conveyed the Cabinet's collective intention to resign during a phone call with the new President on his first day in office. However, President Lee accepted only Park's resignation.

"President Lee decided to decline the resignation offers by Cabinet members except for Minister Park, stressing the continuity in state affairs," presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told a briefing.

Lee took office one day after his election without a transition period following an election called early to pick a successor to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted over his failed martial law bid in December, news agency reported.

Facing the dual challenges of the United States' aggressive tariff scheme and sluggish domestic demand, President-elect Lee Jae-myung is expected to prioritise securing a favourable trade deal with Washington and implementing measures to revitalise the stagnant economy through supplementary budgets and the promotion of advanced industries, experts said on Wednesday.

"My first directive as president would be to assess the economic situation. Revitalising the economy and restoring the people's livelihoods should take precedence over social reform or any other issues for now," Lee said at a press conference on Monday, the eve of the presidential election, in which he defeated his conservative rival Kim Moon-soo, reports news agency.

The most pressing issue for Lee is trade negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump, as Washington's sweeping tariff policies have dealt a blow to South Korea's trade-dependent economy.