An exchange of gunfire at a food court inside a Louisiana mall on Thursday killed one person and wounded five others and sent workers and shoppers scrambling for safety, police and witnesses said. Authorities described the shooting inside the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge as a confrontation between two groups of people and not a random attack. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said some innocent bystanders were struck by gunfire. Police Chief TJ Morse said five people were in custody, and there was no ongoing threat to the public. “This was a disagreement, a fight, between two different groups...

The European Union on Thursday approved a 90-billion-euro ($106-billion) loan package to help Ukraine meet its economic and military needs for two years after oil began flowing through a key pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia, ending months of political deadlock. The EU also approved a new raft of sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine. The measures were prepared early this year and had been set to be announced in February to mark the fourth anniversary of the conflict, but Hungary and Slovakia opposed the move. Hungary and Slovakia have been locked in a feud with Ukraine since Russian...

Havana will not abide by any American “ultimatums” to release political prisoners as part of new talks, a Cuban diplomat said Thursday, while asserting that leaders are “preparing for all scenarios” if U.S. President Donald Trump makes good on threats to intervene in the island nation. In an interview with The Associated Press, Cuban Ambassador to the U.N. Ernesto Soberón Guzmán said internal issues regarding detainees “are not on the negotiating table.” The release of political prisoners was a key U.S. demand as the longtime adversaries held discussions in Cuba this month for the first time in a decade. “We...

Against a backdrop of rising global tensions and energy market instability, governments from around 50 countries will gather Friday in Colombia’s Caribbean city of Santa Marta for a summit aimed at accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels. The April 24–29 conference, co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, will bring together ministers, subnational governments, academics and civil society groups to discuss how to move beyond oil, gas and coal while ensuring the transition is “just, orderly and equitable,” organizers said. The meeting reflects growing frustration among some governments and advocates that decades of U.N. climate negotiations have failed to directly...

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Friday during a visit aimed at strengthening the countries’ strategic partnership and expanding cooperation. The two agreed to strengthen collaboration in fighting transnational crime and cyberscams and other areas, Thai government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek said. She said Anutin thanked China for its continued support for Thailand, while Wang congratulated Anutin on retaining his office after an election and expressed confidence that Thailand-China relations will continue to improve. Anutin greeted Wang at Government House in Bangkok. They shook hands while posing for photographs before the meeting. Wang also talked...

Pope Leo XIV urged the United States and Iran to return to talks to end the war Thursday and condemned capital punishment, in a wide-ranging press conference en route home from his trip to Africa. Leo also asserted that countries have the right to control their borders but mustn’t treat migrants worse than “animals,” and lamented that the church’s morality teaching is often reduced to sexual issues. On Iran, capital punishment and peace After a trip that was dominated by the very public back and forth between Leo and U.S. President Donald Trump over the war, Leo urged the United...

Edin Terzić is reportedly set to take over as head coach of Athletic Club once current manager Ernesto Valverde departs at the end of the season, marking a potential new chapter for the Basque side. Terzić, best known for his time at Borussia Dortmund, built a strong reputation in Germany through a series of high-profile achievements across multiple spells at the club. During his first stint in charge, he guided Dortmund to the 2021 DFB-Pokal title, securing silverware with a commanding 4–1 victory over RB Leipzig in the final. His early success established him as one of Europe’s emerging young...