A 24-year-old Czech student killed more than 15 people and wounded at least 24 others at his Prague university on Thursday before he was “eliminated”, police said, in what was the country’s worst-ever mass shooting.

Pope Francis warned against inflexible ideological positions that can hinder the Church from seeing reality and moving forward, speaking days after a declaration allowing blessings of same-sex couples that conservatives have condemned.

Bangladesh’s main opposition party urged voters to boycott what it called a “one-sided dummy election” due in January, as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina kicked off her campaign for a fourth consecutive term.

Venezuela’s government is freeing at least 20 opposition-linked prisoners and 10 Americans in exchange for the U.S. release of an ally of President Nicolas Maduro, two U.S. officials and Venezuelan sources said on Wednesday.

Braving sub-zero cold, rescuers pulled to safety victims of an earthquake that rocked a remote area in China’s northwestern Gansu province, while survivors faced months of uncertainty ahead without permanent shelter.

The U.S. said “very serious” negotiations were taking place on a new Gaza ceasefire and release of more Israeli hostages, but prospects for a deal remained uncertain as Hamas insisted it would not discuss anything less than a complete end to Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian enclave.

Poland’s new government took a public news channel off the air on Wednesday and dismissed executives from state media to restore “impartiality”, the culture ministry said, as Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s reform drive faced its first big test.

French President Emmanuel Macron defended a bill to toughen immigration laws despite an embarrassing parliamentary vote that put his ruling alliance on the same side as Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement national party.

Former President Donald Trump urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a request by federal prosecutors to immediately review his claim that he cannot be prosecuted for trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

Former TV journalist Yekaterina Duntsova put her name forward on Wednesday to stand in a Russian presidential election in March that Vladimir Putin is expected to win by a landslide.

U.S. President Joe Biden criticized presidential opponent Donald Trump’s recent anti-immigrant comments as he visited a Black-owned business in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a state that may prove pivotal to the 2024 election.

Ukrainians are gearing up to celebrate their first Christmas according to a new calendar, another step towards erasing all traces of Russian influence as their military fends off a Kremlin invasion.