UNITED STATES: The process of juror selection in former president Donald Trump’s criminal case continued today after 96 people were ruled out on the first day for saying they were unable to remain impartial.

It could take up to two weeks to just find jurors in the case where the Republican presidential hopeful faces charges of handing out hush money to a porn star ahead of his previous win.

Prosecutors say he did so to “unlawfully influence” the 2016 election, which Mr Trump denies.

ITALY: Israeli curators at this year’s Venice Biennale event announced today that they would not open the country’s pavilion exhibit until there is a ceasefire in Gaza and an agreement has been made to release hostages.

“The art can wait, but the women, children and people living through hell cannot,” the curators said in a statement together with the artist.

It follows calls by thousands of artists and curators in an open letter for the event to exclude the Israeli national pavilion from the show.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH: Armenia has insisted that the International Court of Justice does have jurisdiction to hear its case accusing Azerbaijan of racial discrimination and “state-sponsored hatred” following its rival's opposition.

Azerbaijan had argued that the world’s top court should toss out the case Armenia filed in 2021, which says Azerbaijan’s attitude has led to “systemic discrimination, mass killings, torture and other abuse.”

Armenia lawyers responded that Azerbaijan’s objections do not stand up to “even cursory scrutiny.”

CLIMATE: Heavy rain and landslides continued to devastate Asia and the Arabian Peninsula today as rescuers recovered the bodies of a 3-year-old girl and her mother killed along with 18 others on Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island.

The death toll from flooding in Oman rose to 18, with dozens of others missing amid preparations for further storms.

In the United Arab Emirates, the downpour flooded out major highways, leaving vehicles abandoned across Dubai.