Dick Cheney, arguably the most powerful vice president in US history as George W. Bush's number two during the September 11, 2001, attacks and ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, died Monday. He was 84.

Cheney forged an influential role in the traditionally inconsequential job and was a major power behind the throne as Bush thrust the United States into the so-called "war on terror," with a dark underbelly of renditions, torture and the Guantanamo prison site.

By Shivam Patel

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India is ramping up aid to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and branding itself as the region's "first responder" after Monday's deadly earthquake, seeking to counter China's efforts to fill the void left by the West, officials and analysts said.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar was among the first to call his Taliban counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi on Monday, pledging more support after New Delhi shipped 15 tons of food. Medical supplies would follow soon, he said, as his ministry promoted the hashtag #IndiaFirstResponder on X.

(Reuters) -Dick Cheney, a driving force behind the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, was considered by presidential historians as one of the most powerful vice presidents in U.S. history.

He died at age 84 on Monday from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, his family said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Republican - a former Wyoming congressman and secretary of defense - was already a major Washington player when then-Texas governor George W. Bush chose him to be his running mate in the 2000 presidential race that Bush went on to win.

By Sarah Marsh and Andreas Rinke

BERLIN (Reuters) -Syrians no longer have grounds for asylum in Germany now the civil war in their country is over, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, as his conservatives seek to fend off a surging far-right ahead of a slew of state elections next year.

Germany was the EU country that took in the largest number of refugees from the 14-year-long Syrian civil war due to former Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy, with around one million Syrians living in the country today.

Armed with his camera, Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra has spent years in the occupied West Bank documenting what he describes as the impunity Israelis enjoy in their mistreatment of Palestinians.

From his terrace, he points to the nearby Israeli settlement of Maon, just a short distance away. The view appears calm, but he said incidents involving settlers and Israeli soldiers take place almost daily.

By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's spy chief has warned anti-immigration rallies are being exploited by neo-Nazi groups and "Russian operatives" to sow discord, as the country faces a trend seen across Western democracies of declining trust and rising disinformation.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation's director-general of security, Mike Burgess, said on Tuesday community cohesion is under attack in an unprecedented way.

By Sayed Hassib

TANGI TASHQURGHAN, Afghanistan (Reuters) -Residents of northern Afghanistan began a clean-up operation on Tuesday after a powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake left at least 20 dead and almost 1,000 injured.

The quake struck near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif early on Monday, killing at least 20 people and damaging the city's historic Blue Mosque, authorities said.

Some 945 people have been injured, according to the latest figures from United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan.

NICOSIA (Reuters) -Cyprus wants to create a regional organisation to promote security in the Middle East, its president said on Tuesday, saying it could be a platform to anchor stability in one of the world's most volatile neighbourhoods.

Discussing the idea publicly for the first time, President Nikos Christodoulides said Nicosia was working on "maturing the necessary political conditions" to create a regional safety and cooperation organisation.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkish nationalist party leader Devlet Bahceli, who is President Tayyip Erdogan's main parliamentary ally, said on Tuesday that it could be beneficial to release from prison the former pro-Kurdish party leader Selahattin Demirtas.

The surprise comment before reporters outside parliament came a year after Bahceli - who has in the past pushed for major policy changes from Erdogan - called for the beginning of a peace process with the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; writing by Jonathan Spicer)

Sudan's defence minister said on Tuesday that the army would press on with its fight against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after the country's security and defence council met to discuss a US proposal for a ceasefire.

"We thank the Trump administration for its efforts and proposals to achieve peace," Hassan Kabroun said in a speech broadcast on state television, while adding that "preparations for the Sudanese people's battle are ongoing."

"Our preparations for war are a legitimate national right," he said following the council meeting in Khartoum.