Several hundred people kidnapped by Boko Haram earlier this year from a village in the northeastern state of Borno were freed over the weekend, a senator and local youth leader said yesterday.

Over a million people filled the streets near one of Madrid’s main squares yesterday to join Pope Leo for an outdoor Mass, likely to be the largest event of his week-long visit to Spain, where the Pope said God stands with society’s poor and forsaken.

Armenians headed to the polls yesterday in a parliamentary election seen as a test of the government’s efforts to forge a peace deal after a crushing military defeat by Azerbaijan three years ago.

Taiwan’s coast guard said yesterday its vessels were in a “standoff” with Chinese ships involved in an operation in waters southeast of the island democracy.

North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme is “the line of no retreat”, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un said in a statement carried by state media yesterday ahead of a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Yesterday marked 100 days since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran. Despite ongoing battles and intermittent ceasefire talks, the conflict remains deeply unpopular among Americans, posing a political challenge for President Donald Trump and his Republican Party.

President Donald Trump lasted through probing questions about his Iran war strategy and repeated weather disruptions during an interview with US broadcaster NBC -- but angrily stormed out when confronted over his unfounded claims of election fraud.

A shootout Saturday near a community festival in Toledo, Ohio left at least 12 people wounded by gunfire, with no suspects in custody, police said.

Israeli strikes killed four Palestinians, including a child, in the Gaza Strip yesterday, health officials there said, as Israel’s military expanded the area under its control, according to residents.

Timing of first flights to Central African Republic unclear

US president ⁠also says that he was not demanding that Lebanon be a part of a short-term deal with Tehran

The move comes amid rising strain in US-Israel relations following disputes over Iran and Lebanon

Israeli settlers have recently set fire to crops in the area, and Jazi fears his wheat could suffer a similar fate.

Authorities were combing the area searching for suspects, interviewing witnesses and examining cellphone video after at least two people were believed to have exchanged shots near the Old West End Festival.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has directed a team to assess costs for damages already inflicted on Gulf allies by Iran, the source said, adding that the US will consider using Iranian assets for repairs ofany future destruction as well.

Israeli forces shot dead an 18-year-old Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said yesterday, while the military said it had killed someone who threw firebombs at vehicles.

Four Iranian-flagged oil tankers passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, a first since April 15 and the US blockade of Iranian ports, according to maritime tracking firm Kpler.

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief announced a $518 million six-month joint plan to fight Ebola yesterday, calling for money and political commitment to halt the spread of the outbreak that is already the fourth biggest on record.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published an open letter to President Vladimir Putin on Thursday in which he proposed the two leaders meet to agree an end to more than four years of war, warning that Kyiv stood ready to fight on otherwise.

The Middle East conflict is pushing millions of people closer to hunger, as rising fuel and transport costs drive up food prices while funding shortfalls force aid agencies to scale back assistance, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said yesterday.