News24 World

Ethiopia will hold its seventh national election on 1 June 2026. The vote takes place as Gulf states compete for influence in the region and the rivalry between Ethiopia and Egypt over the Nile intensifies.

The 1 June elections come as the country debates federalism, governance and national unity in polls that could define the country’s democratic future.

France’s public prosecutor is to investigate Israel’s treatment of French nationals arrested during a military raid on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza.

Kenyan police on Friday said eight students had been arrested over a suspected arson attack at a girls’ school that killed 16 children and hospitalised 79 others.

US Vice President JD Vance said Washington and Tehran are close to agreeing on a deal to extend their ceasefire in the Middle East war, but the potential breakthrough still hangs on President Donald Trump’s approval.

NATO member Romania said on Friday that a drone injured two people in a southeastern city during an overnight Russian attack on neighbouring Ukraine, the ‌first time in the war that a drone had hit a densely populated area in Romania and caused injuries.

Fifteen children have been killed in Lebanon and 62 injured over the last seven days, the United Nations said, despite the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Queen Sonja, 88, left hospital on Thursday after a night of treatment for heart troubles.

US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent says preparations are under way to print a new $250 banknote featuring US President Donald Trump’s face, with lawmakers to decide whether the bills will be put into circulation.

To achieve justice and reconciliation, the Special Prosecutor must ensure that accountability appears neither distant nor external to victims, writes Tadesse Simie Metekia in ISS Today.

Israeli and Russian security forces have been added to a United Nations blacklist on sexual violence in conflict, according to a report reviewed by AFP.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded during a test on the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, though officials said no injuries were reported from the incident.

US and Iranian negotiators edged toward a deal to extend their fragile ceasefire for 60 days, but the potential breakthrough was still hanging on US President Donald Trump’s approval, US sources told AFP.