More than 400 civilians have been killed since the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group escalated its offensive in the South Kivu province in eastern Congo, regional officials said, adding that Rwandan special forces were in the strategic city of Uvira.

M23's latest offensive comes despite a U.S.-mediated peace agreement signed last week by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Washington. The accord didn't include the rebel group, which is negotiating separately with Congo and agreed earlier this year to a ceasefire that both sides accuse the other of violating. However, it obliges Rwanda to halt support for armed groups and work to end hostilities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was due to hold urgent talks Thursday with leaders and officials from about 30 countries that support Kyiv's efforts to obtain fair terms for halting nearly four years of war following Russia's full-scale invasion.

The leaders of Germany, Britain and France were among those expected to take part in the meeting of Ukraine's allies, dubbed the Coalition of the Willing, via video link.

South Sudan said Thursday it had come to an agreement with warring parties over a key oilfield in Sudan's southern Kordofan, near the country's border, after the site was seized by paramilitaries.

Information minister Ateny Wek Ateny told a press conference that "a tripartite agreement has been reached" between South Sudan's army, the Sudanese army, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which grants the South Sudanese "the primary security responsibility over the Heglig Oil field, also known as Panthou, amid rising tension".

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado appeared in public for the first time in 11 months Thursday after a daring escape from her homeland when she emerged from a hotel balcony in Norway's capital and waved to an emotional crowd of supporters cheering for the new Nobel laureate.

Her appearance in Oslo came hours after her daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize award on her behalf. Machado was recognized after mounting the most serious peaceful challenge in years to the authoritarian government of Venezuelan President President Nicolás Maduro.

President Donald Trump said that the United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

Using U.S. forces to take control of a merchant ship is incredibly unusual and marks the Trump administration's latest push to increase pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States. The U.S. has built up the largest military presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. The campaign is facing growing scrutiny from Congress.

Ukraine is expected to hand its latest peace proposals to U.S. negotiators Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, a day ahead of his urgent talks with leaders and officials from about 30 other countries supporting Kyiv's effort to end the war with Russia on acceptable terms.

As tension builds around U.S. President Donald Trump's push for a settlement and calls for an election in Ukraine, Zelensky said his country would be ready for such a vote within three months if partners can guarantee safe balloting during wartime and if its electoral law can be altered.

Gunmen killed three members of the Revolutionary Guard in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan near the Pakistan border, state media reported.

Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating Wednesday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters.

Associated Press reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire Wednesday.

European leaders will call for a toughening of migration policies on Wednesday in a move critics say bends to pressure from far-right groups and harms basic human rights protections for vulnerable people.

Ministers from 27 EU member nations are meeting in Brussels to discuss countering migrant smuggling, with a keynote speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. In Strasbourg, France, representatives from the Council of Europe — 46 countries from Iceland to Azerbaijan — are expected to debate making deporting migrants easier for signatories to key treaties.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials have gathered to discuss preparations for the ruling party's first full congress in five years, state media reported Wednesday. The top-level meeting will set new priorities as the U.S. and South Korea seek a resumption of talks with North Korea.

The Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim presided over a plenary meeting of the Workers Party's Central Committee on Tuesday. It said participants began discussing unspecified key issues related to the party congress and reviewing this year's state policies.