TURKEY: Authorities detained nine people as part of an investigation into an attack on police outside a building housing the Israeli consulate in Istanbul that left one assailant dead, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported today.

Two other assailants were wounded and captured during Tuesday’s shootout, while two police officers sustained slight injuries.

The consulate was closed at the time after Israel withdrew its diplomats over security concerns and deteriorating relations following the start of the Gaza war.

US: American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped from a Baghdad street corner last week, was released on Tuesday, US and Iraqi officials said today.

The Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah freed her on condition that she leave the country immediately, reportedly in exchange for the release of several of its detained members.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the release and thanked Iraqi authorities and US agencies for their work securing it.

NIGERIA: At least 20 people have been killed by gunmen in attacks on two villages in north-central Nigeria, police and residents said today.

The assailants on motorbikes raided homes in the early hours of Tuesday in the Shiroro area of Niger state, with local police confirming three deaths, including two vigilante members.

Nigeria is battling a complex security crisis, including armed gangs and deadly clashes between herders and farming communities.

GAZA: The World Health Organisation has suspended medical evacuations from Gaza to Egypt via the Rafah crossing after a contractor was killed by Israeli troops on Monday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said today.

The contractor, named locally as Majdi Aslan, was driving a clearly marked WHO‑rented vehicle in southern Gaza when it was targeted, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Israel’s military said troops fired after the unmarked vehicle posed an immediate threat, adding the incident is under review.