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Czechs Extradite Suspect in Iran-Backed Murder Plot to United States 

Farmers drive tractors during a protest against European Union agricultural policies, grievances shared by farmers across Europe, in Prague, Czech Republic, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Farmers drive tractors during a protest against European Union agricultural policies, grievances shared by farmers across Europe, in Prague, Czech Republic, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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Czechs Extradite Suspect in Iran-Backed Murder Plot to United States 

Farmers drive tractors during a protest against European Union agricultural policies, grievances shared by farmers across Europe, in Prague, Czech Republic, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Farmers drive tractors during a protest against European Union agricultural policies, grievances shared by farmers across Europe, in Prague, Czech Republic, February 19, 2024. (Reuters)

The Czech Republic on Wednesday extradited a man facing charges in the United States for plotting the murder of a prominent critic of Iran's government, the Czech Justice Ministry said.

The ministry said Polad Omarov was handed to representatives of US authorities at the Prague Vaclav Havel Airport on Wednesday morning after the suspect had exhausted all options of appeal.

Omarov was arrested in the Czech Republic in January 2023.

The ministry said the justice minister had ruled in July last year in favor of extradition, but the action was delayed by the suspect's complaint with the constitutional court, which was rejected.

Omarov, along with Rafat Amirov and Khalid Mehdiyev, were charged with murder-for-hire and money laundering for their roles in the thwarted Tehran-backed assassination attempt of a critic of Iran's government who is a US citizen and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

The US did not name the alleged victim when it detailed charges in January 2023, but Mehdiyev was arrested in 2022 in New York for having a rifle outside the Brooklyn home of journalist Masih Alinejad. A longtime critic of Iran's head-covering laws has promoted videos of women violating those laws to her millions of social media followers.

US prosecutors in 2021 also charged four Iranians alleged to be intelligence operatives for Tehran with plotting to kidnap a New York-based journalist and activist. While the target of that plot was not named, Reuters confirmed it was Alinejad.

US prosecutors have said Omarov was a resident of the Czech Republic and Slovenia. The Czech Justice Ministry said on Wednesday he was a citizen of Georgia.

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World

A Russian Attack Hits Ukraine's Kyiv Region, Killing at Least 27

Smoke rises under a residential area following a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine, August 29, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
Smoke rises under a residential area following a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine, August 29, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
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A Russian Attack Hits Ukraine's Kyiv Region, Killing at Least 27

Smoke rises under a residential area following a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine, August 29, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
Smoke rises under a residential area following a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine, August 29, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko

At least 27 people have been killed following a Russian attack on the Bucha district, close to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, officials said Saturday.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the local regional military administration, said that at least 50 residential buildings had been damaged in the attack, which also sparked a large-scale fire that spread to homes and a restaurant.

Almost constant air raids in Kyiv have now reached their third day, choking the economy in the Ukrainian capital and severely disrupting civilian life more than 4½ years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

World

Norway Mourns King Harald as Crowds Gather at Royal Palace

Mourners gather to pay tribute to King Harald V of Norway who passed away, at the Royal Palace square in Oslo on August 28, 2026. (Photo by Lise ﾅserud / NTB / AFP) / Norway OUT
Mourners gather to pay tribute to King Harald V of Norway who passed away, at the Royal Palace square in Oslo on August 28, 2026. (Photo by Lise ﾅserud / NTB / AFP) / Norway OUT
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Norway Mourns King Harald as Crowds Gather at Royal Palace

Mourners gather to pay tribute to King Harald V of Norway who passed away, at the Royal Palace square in Oslo on August 28, 2026. (Photo by Lise ﾅserud / NTB / AFP) / Norway OUT
Mourners gather to pay tribute to King Harald V of Norway who passed away, at the Royal Palace square in Oslo on August 28, 2026. (Photo by Lise ﾅserud / NTB / AFP) / Norway OUT

Norwegians were gathering on Saturday to say goodbye to King Harald in front of the royal palace, where he lies in state, with many well-wishers remembering his sense of inclusiveness and tolerance.

Europe's oldest monarch, who emerged from the shadow of his well-loved, extrovert father to become a reformer during more than three decades on the throne, died on Friday at the age of 89, said Reuters.

Late on Friday, throngs pressed the streets of Oslo under the pouring rain to watch the funeral cortege as it left Oslo University Hospital, where Harald passed ‌away, to ‌reach the royal palace.

At a later point, Norwegians ‌will ⁠be able to ⁠pay their respects in front of his coffin inside the royal chapel.

When that happens, his coffin will stand on a purple-draped catafalque, with the family wreath attached and the symbols of monarchy, a crown, sword, scepter and orb, placed on top until the funeral takes place. The date has not yet been made public.

Flags were flying ⁠at half-mast throughout the country and portraits of ‌the late king in gala uniform ‌were everywhere, from bus stops and metro stations to shops, offices and ‌public buildings.

TOLERANCE AND INCLUSIVITY

Many mourners who came on Friday praised Harald's ‌spirit of inclusiveness.

One referred to a speech he delivered in 2016 that went viral worldwide, in which he said: "Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys and girls and boys who love each other".

"It embodies ‌the way he felt about people and the way he wanted us Norwegians to feel about each ⁠other," said ⁠Mari Eidsvaag, 32, a well-wisher who wore a T-shirt emblazoned with that sentence, a rainbow and a drawing of King Harald.

"I think it's a very important statement, especially these days," she told Reuters outside the palace.

As Norwegians mourned Harald, the transition to a new reign began immediately.

Harald's 53-year-old son became Norway's new king the moment his father passed away. He said he would be known as King Haakon VIII.

King Haakon, who is expected to speak to the nation in a televised address, will take the oath in front of parliament on Tuesday, when he will swear to defend Norway's constitution and laws.

World

Anti-Migrant Protests in Ceuta Escalate into Clashes with Police

Smoke and flames rise as Ceuta residents destroy a migrant camp by the beach in the Spanish North African enclave on August 27, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke and flames rise as Ceuta residents destroy a migrant camp by the beach in the Spanish North African enclave on August 27, 2026. (Reuters)
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Anti-Migrant Protests in Ceuta Escalate into Clashes with Police

Smoke and flames rise as Ceuta residents destroy a migrant camp by the beach in the Spanish North African enclave on August 27, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke and flames rise as Ceuta residents destroy a migrant camp by the beach in the Spanish North African enclave on August 27, 2026. (Reuters)

Protests over security in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta escalated into clashes between locals and police Thursday, a month after a mass influx of migrants from Morocco.

Police charged protesters at a beach after a group of demonstrators moved into the area where migrants have been sleeping, with some belongings set on fire during the disturbances, images broadcast on Spanish public television showed.

Earlier on Thursday, dozens of protesters staged a sit-in to temporarily prevent Red Cross vehicles from reaching the beach to distribute food to hundreds of migrants staying in the area.

Demonstrators, many waving Spanish flags, chanted “They should leave” and “Out with the Red Cross”, before they were dispersed by police.

The incidents come after police late on Wednesday fired tear gas to prevent confrontations between protesters and migrants camping on the beach.

More than 70,000 migrants entered Ceuta in late July, swimming or crossing on foot from neighboring Morocco in a chaotic influx that left scores dead and fueled fresh tensions within the European Union over migration.

Although the vast majority returned to Morocco within hours, thousands remain in the territory, many living rough on the streets.

Residents of Ceuta, which is just 18 square kilometers in size, have held regular demonstrations over what they say are security and hygiene problems linked to the influx.

But tensions have risen after a military vehicle carrying four soldiers was “ambushed” in the early hours of Thursday by about 70 migrants, who attacked it with stones and other objects, a police spokesman in Ceuta told AFP.

The soldiers fled and called for police assistance. Police detained 12 migrants, all Moroccan, the spokesman said.

One soldier suffered minor injuries after being struck by a stone. The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

“The tension in the city of Ceuta is very high” because there is “no response” from the government and “we feel abandoned,” Kissy Chandiramani, the autonomous city's finance councilor, told news radio SER Thursday.

But she appealed for calm, saying people had the right to protest but warning that growing hostility would not resolve the crisis.

Also, Justice Minister Felix Bolanos appealed for calm, telling lawmakers in Madrid that authorities were working “without rest” to restore normality to the territory.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has faced mounting criticism from Ceuta's authorities and residents, who say Madrid reacted too slowly to the mass arrival.

The government has in recent days moved to expand shelter for migrants and speed up efforts to determine who can be returned to Morocco.

The head of Ceuta's local government, Juan Vivas, said peaceful protests “to demand the return to normality” were justified, but warned that authorities would take action against anyone who commits acts of vandalism.

“We totally reject the use of any kind of violence,” he said in an institutional address.

“No one can or should take the law into their own hands. The defense of Ceuta and the interests of its people can only be pursued through legality,” Vivas added.