Cocaine-trafficking rebels blamed for worst attack on civilians in decades, which also left 56 people injured

The death toll in a Colombian highway bombing blamed on cocaine-trafficking rebels has risen to 21, the government said on Monday, in the country’s worst attack on civilians in decades and just ahead of elections.

The attack on Saturday left 56 injured and buses and vans mangled on the Pan-American Highway, in the restive south-western Cauca department.

Military video shows boat moving swiftly in water before explosion leaves it in flames

The US military said on Sunday three men were killed when it struck a boat it claimed was “engaged in narco-trafficking operations” in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

This latest strike – which follows dozens of similar attacks on alleged drug boats in recent months – brings the US campaign’s death toll to at least 185, according to a tally compiled by Agence France-Presse.

Michael Jackson biopic has shrugged off controversy, bad reviews and a troubled production to take $217m worldwide, including $97m in North America

Michael, the big-budget Michael Jackson biopic, has shrugged off bad reviews and a troubled production to launch with a $97m opening in North American theaters, contributing to its enormous $217m (£160m, A$303m) worldwide box office and shattering the record for the biggest biopic opening of all time.

The film, a highly authorised portrayal of the “king of pop” that was co-produced by the Jackson estate and stars Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, took $120.4m internationally and $97m domestic – combining to surpass Oppenheimer’s $180.4m worldwide opening weekend in 2023 and Bohemian Rhapsody’s $124m in 2018.

The Israeli government and Hezbollah have traded blame over breaches to the truce, which is set to run for several more weeks

Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country’s south killed 14 people on Sunday, the deadliest day since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into force over a week ago.

The health ministry said the dead on Sunday included two women and two children, adding that 37 other people were wounded. Israel said one of its soldiers was also killed.

Students aged 12 to 15 steered bus to safety and called for help after driver lost consciousness from asthma attack

Middle school students in Mississippi acted quickly to halt their school bus from crashing after their driver passed out while on a highway, prompting the operator to declare: “They saved my life.”

The bus in question had just left the Hancock middle school in the Mississippi community of Kiln on Wednesday when the driver, Leah Taylor, suffered an asthma attack and lost consciousness.

Hisham Abugharbieh was arrested after standoff with police and charged with killing Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy

The man who was detained after two Bangladeshi doctoral students went missing from the University of South Florida (USF) has been booked with two counts of murder.

Hisham Abugharbieh faces two counts of premeditated murder in the first degree with a weapon in the deaths of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, the Hillsborough county sheriff’s office announced on Saturday.

Martha Odom, 16, died from a gunshot wound to the chest according to the local coroner’s statement

A high school senior has been identified as the person killed in a mass shooting that also wounded five others when two groups exchanged gunfire inside the food court at a mall in Louisiana’s capital city on Thursday afternoon, according to officials.

Martha Odom, 16, died from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to a statement issued Friday by the local coroner’s office.

Baton Rouge police chief says attack unfolded after argument inside food court at Mall of Louisiana

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At least one person has been killed and five people were injured and transported to the hospital Thursday when two groups exchanged gunfire inside the food court at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge, according to police.

Several of the people involved ran off as a large police presence responded.

Committee to Protect Journalists says Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was found innocent after 52 days in detention

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A Kuwaiti-American journalist, who had been detained in Kuwait, has been acquitted, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, who has previously worked for PBS, HuffPost, the New York Times, the BBC and Al Jazeera, was arrested on 3 March during a brief visit to Kuwait.

Exit of John Phelan, navy’s top civilian official, comes a week after Pete Hegseth fired army’s top officer

The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that the navy’s top civilian official, John Phelan, the secretary of the navy, is leaving his job.

In a statement posted to social media, Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesperson, said Phelan was “departing the administration, effective immediately”.