A suspected gunman has taken at least two people hostage in a post office in Japan after wounding two others in a shooting at a hospital.
The government of the city of Warabi, just north of Tokyo, said in a statement that an undetermined number of hostages were taken by a man "in possession of something like a handgun".
At least two female post office workers in their 20s and 30s had been taken hostage, media reported.
The man, aged between 40 and 50 years, was earlier involved in a shooting at a hospital in the neighbouring city of Toda and then fled the scene, municipal authorities there said. Two people were injured at the hospital, media reported.
Images broadcast on television showed a man wearing a tracksuit top and white shirt standing just inside the post office brandishing what looked like a pistol. Several police officers wearing body armour were stationed nearby.
US Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected in a surprise choice to be the new leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday, taking the name Leo XIV, becoming the first American pontiff.
White smoke appeared from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on Thursday, signalling that the 133 Roman Catholic cardinals meeting in a secret conclave have elected a new pope.
Bill Gates has pledged to give away almost his entire personal wealth in the next two decades and said the world's poorest would receive some $200 billion via his foundation at a time when governments worldwide are slashing international aid.
Blasts rang out across the city of Jammu in Indian Kashmir late on Thursday during what Indian military sources said they suspected was a Pakistani drone attack on the second day of clashes between the two neighbours.
A three-day ceasefire declared by Russia came into effect on Thursday morning with skies over Ukraine's major cities quiet, in a change from successive nights of heavy attacks by Russian drones and ballistic missiles.
A series of major policy reforms have been approved in Dubai, aimed at improving quality of life in line with the Dubai Social Agenda 33 and the Dubai Economic Agenda D33.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and the UAE's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, has attended the conclusion of the military exercise 'Desert Flag 10' involving multiple countries.
Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is set to begin an official visit to Kazakhstan this Sunday, at the invitation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.