The family courtyard where Jacques Koami Koutoglo used to play football with his cousins in a working-class neighborhood in Togo ‘s capital now sits silent. The ball he once kicked around lies deflated beside a bundle of firewood. “Jacques died for Togo,” his uncle, Koutoglo Kossi Mawuli, said quietly, eyes heavy with grief. The 15-year-old is one of several people who died during mass protests in the West African nation against constitutional changes that many fear will cement President Faure Gnassingbé’s grip on power — and lengthen a ruling dynasty that has lasted over half a century. The 59-year-old Gnassingbé, who has ruled since...

 A Turkish court ordered Wednesday a ban on access to Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok from Turkey, after the platform allegedly disseminated content insulting to Turkey’s president and others. The chatbot, developed by Musk’s company xAI, posted vulgarities against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his late mother and personalities, while responding to users’ questions on the X social media platform, the pro-government A Haber news channel reported. Offensive responses were also directed toward modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, other media outlets said. That prompted the Ankara public to file for the imposition of restrictions under Turkey’s internet law, citing a threat to...

 Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez presented anti-corruption measures in response to the mounting corruption cases involving his Socialist Party, and again said he would not step down from office. Speaking in parliament Wednesday at an extraordinary session about a corruption probe involving a former Socialist Party official, the Spanish leader took responsibility for his poor judgement but repeatedly said he would not step down, calling himself “an honest politician” with “the pride of leading an exemplary party.” “I will not throw in the towel,” Sánchez said. The left-wing Spanish leader spoke about a week after a Supreme Court judge ordered...

South Korea sent six North Koreans back across the rivals’ sea border on Wednesday morning, months after they drifted south in wooden boats in March and May. It came after months of failed efforts to contact North Korea to coordinate the repatriation of the six individuals, who officials say consistently expressed a desire to go back. Despite the lack of communication, a North Korean patrol boat appeared at the handover point as the six individuals headed back aboard a repaired wooden boat, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry. What would have been a routine event in years past was complicated...

 Monsoon rains in southern New Mexico triggered flash flooding that killed three people and was so intense an entire house was swept downstream in a mountain village that is a popular summer retreat, officials said. A man, a 4-year-old girl and 7-year-old boy were swept away Tuesday by floodwaters, the village of Ruidoso said in a statement. “Our hearts are broken for the families who have lost their loved ones in this terrible tragedy,” Mayor Lynn Crawford said in the statement. “We are united in our sorrow and our commitment to supporting one another as we face this devastating loss together.” Three...

 When the onetime director of a Gaza Strip hospital was killed by an Israeli airstrike last week, he joined a growing list of prominent Palestinian doctors who have died during 21 months of war that has devastated the territory’s health system. The death of Dr. Marwan al-Sultan, a 49-year-old cardiologist, was described by colleagues as a major blow personally and professionally, leaving another void in Gaza’s medical establishment that will not be easily replaced. “He was one of two cardiologists, so by losing Dr. Marwan, thousands of people will lose and suffer,” said Mohammed Abu Selmia, a close friend of his for...