WORLD

The battle for Bakhmut, which Russia calls by its Soviet-era name of Artyomovsk, has for months been the grinding and bloody focal point of Moscow's war on Ukraine, which it calls a "special military operation".

The Glasgow-born Yousaf took his oath in English and Urdu when he was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2011, before progressing to become the first Muslim to serve in the devolved government's cabinet.

A one-way attack drone struck a U.S. base in Syria on March 23, killing an American contractor, injuring another and wounding five U.S. troops.

The 68-year-old, whose 25-year jail term was commuted by President Paul Kagame, was to undergo medical checks and rest before flying to the United States on Wednesday, the diplomats told AFP.

Beijing brokered an agreement between Tehran and Riyadh on March 10 to restore diplomatic ties following a seven-year freeze.

The tanks -- long an item on Ukraine's military equipment wish list -- were promised to Kyiv earlier this year and have arrived in time for an expected spring offensive by Ukraine's forces.

The plans by his nationalist religious coalition to hand control over judicial appointments to the executive while giving parliament the power to overturn Supreme Court rulings has ignited one of the biggest internal crises in Israeli history.

Ukraine's president said Russian troops were holding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant "hostage" and its safety could not be guaranteed until they left it, while his forces shut the frontline town of Avdiivka as they planned their next move.

Some Arabs said they hoped the crisis would lead to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political demise.

Kim's latest threat, a doubling-down on an earlier promise to "exponentially" ramp up nuke production, came as a US Navy carrier strike group arrived in South Korea on Tuesday.

European stocks had rallied and two of the three main Wall Street indexes advanced the previous day on news that North Carolina-based First Citizens Bank had agreed to take over most of SVB.

Chief of Police John Drake named the suspect as Audrey Hale, 28, who the officer later said identified as transgender.

"Though risks remain in the banking system amid the recent event, dip-buys in crude oil could be the prevailing trend in the near term," said Tina Teng, an analyst at CMC Markets.

Switzerland's government said this month it would not change its long-standing policy of banning any country that buys Swiss arms from sending them to the party of a conflict.

Ukraine is trying to give hydropower facilities "maximum protection" by hiding equipment underground as it repairs an estimated $1 billion in damage from Russian air strikes, a senior industry official said.

"Last year, we were giving out 360 iftar meals every day -- this year, I'm not sure we'll make it to 200," said the founder of a small charity in the working-class Cairo district of al-Marg.

A far-right group in Denmark had burned a copy of the Quran and a Turkish flag in front of the Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen on Friday.

As President Volodymyr Zelensky pushes Western allies for modern weapons, pilots in eastern Ukraine admit their ancient Soviet-made helicopters are outplayed technologically by Russia.

Lebanon woke up in two time zones on Sunday amid an escalating dispute between political and religious authorities over a decision to delay the clock change by a month.

West Bank tensions have been running high as Palestinians mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan amid a surge of violence, including a gun attack on Saturday in which two Israeli soldiers were wounded and almost nightly arrest raids by the Israeli army.

Omar Mohammed, founder of the Mosul Eye project, rose to prominence during the IS reign by bravely sharing news via Twitter from inside the city under jihadist rule.

Sameh Iskandar, head of the American mission, said the ram heads were "offerings" indicating "a cult to Ramses II celebrated 1,000 years after his death".

Despite its large oil reserves, hospitals and educational services are in decay as squabbling paralyses the wealthy Gulf region's only fully elected parliament.

The oil-rich monarchy gave a signal this month by announcing plans to resume ties with Iran, which backs Yemen's Huthi rebels against the Saudi-supported government in a proxy war.

Separately, Britain's defence ministry said the months-long Russian assault on the city had stalled, mainly as a result of heavy troop losses.

Some 2,000 civilians are left in Avdiivka, a Donetsk region city some 90 kilometres (56 miles) southwest of the besieged Bakhmut, according to officials.

"Russia's nuclear rhetoric is dangerous and irresponsible," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said on Sunday.

"For the sake of the unity of the people of Israel, for the sake of responsibility, I call on you to stop the legislative process immediately," Herzog said on Twitter.

Asian markets mixed as Chinese markets were downbeat in morning trade, but Tokyo's key Nikkei index and stocks in Sydney and Singapore were up following a slightly higher close on Wall Street.fears persist