China told the United States on Thursday to "immediately stop" arming Taiwan, after Taipei said Washington had approved the sale of $11 billion of weapons to the island.

"China urges the United States to abide by the one-China principle... and immediately stop the dangerous actions of arming Taiwan," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press conference.

Ukrainian drone attacks overnight Thursday killed three people in Russia's Rostov region, the regional governor said, as the conflict rages on despite US efforts to stop the fighting.

An attack caused a fire on a cargo ship in the port of the regional capital, killing two crew members and injuring three, acting regional governor Yuri Sliusar said on Telegram. The blaze was later extinguished.

Major cities in Sudan including capital Khartoum and Port Sudan were plunged into darkness on Thursday, several witnesses told AFP, after deadly drone strikes targeted a key power plant in the east of the country.

Witnesses reported seeing flames and smoke rising in the town of Atbara in River Nile State, which is controlled by the army in its ongoing war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Venezuela struck a defiant note Wednesday, insisting that crude oil exports were not impacted by US President Donald Trump's announcement of a blockade.

The Venezuelan military said Wednesday it was "not intimidated" by threats from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil vessels heading to and leaving the South American country.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday the bloc must take a decision on financing Ukraine at a crunch summit this week, with leaders under pressure to agree a plan to use frozen Russian assets.

"There is no more important act of European defence than supporting Ukraine's defence. The next days will be a crucial step for securing this, it is up to us to choose how we fund Ukraine's fight," von der Leyen told EU lawmakers.

Like many Australians strolling at Bondi Beach on long, warm summer evenings, Ahmed al Ahmed just wanted a cup of coffee with a friend. Around him, a bloody massacre erupted as two gunmen targeted Jews during Hanukkah festivities at a park close to the shore.

Soon al Ahmed was creeping, bent over, between two parked cars, before barreling directly toward one of the unsuspecting shooters. In footage that has been viewed millions of times around the world, the 44-year-old father can be seen tackling one of the gunmen, wrestling the man's shotgun from his grip and turning it on the attacker.

The Trump administration announced Tuesday it was expanding travel restrictions to an additional 20 countries and the Palestinian Authority, doubling the number of nations affected by sweeping limits announced earlier this year on who can travel and emigrate to the U.S.

The Trump administration included five more countries as well as people traveling on documents issued by the Palestinian Authority to the list of countries facing a full ban on travel to the U.S. and imposed new limits on 15 other countries.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is ordering a blockade of all "sanctioned oil tankers" into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on the country's authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country's economy.

Trump's escalation comes after U.S. forces last week seized an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast, an unusual move that followed a buildup of military forces in the region. In a post on social media Tuesday night announcing the blockade, Trump alleged Venezuela was using oil to fund drug trafficking and other crimes and vowed to continue the military buildup until the country gave the U.S. oil, land and assets, though it was not clear why he felt the U.S. had a claim.

An accused gunman in Sydney's Bondi Beach massacre was charged with 59 offenses including 15 charges of murder on Wednesday, as hundreds of mourners gathered in Sydney to begin funerals for the victims.

Two shooters slaughtered 15 people on Sunday in an antisemitic mass shooting targeting Jews celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach, and more than 20 other people are still being treated in hospitals. All of those killed by the gunmen who have been identified so far were Jewish.