MADRID - Barcelona braced on Thursday for the expected return of former Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont from self-imposed exile, as the controversial politician is likely to be detained over an outstanding arrest warrant for alleged embezzlement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “determined” to defend itself.

The World Central Kitchen (WCK), a U.S.-based, non-governmental organisation, said a Palestinian staff member was killed in Gaza on Wednesday, four months after seven staffers were killed by Israeli strikes in an attack that drew widespread condemnation.

DETROIT - United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain on Wednesday criticized Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's ties to billionaire Elon Musk while campaigning for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

LONDON - Britain saw almost 2,000 antisemitic incidents in the first half of 2024, a record figure for the first six months of any year, a Jewish advisory body said on Thursday.

TUNIS - Tunisian President Kais Saied sacked Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani and appointed Social Affairs Minister Kamel Maddouri as his replacement, the Tunisian presidency said in a statement late on Wednesday.

Prominent Russian TV war reporter Yevgeny Poddubny survived a Ukrainian drone strike in southern Russia's Kursk region on Wednesday and was in intensive care in a local hospital, his television channel and officials said.Rossiya-24, in a post on the Telegram messaging app, said Poddubny came under fire from a Ukrainian drone while reporting in Kursk region, where Russia's military said it has been battling to contain an incursion by up to 1,000 soldiers.

WASHINGTON - NASA officials said on Wednesday the two astronauts delivered to the International Space Station in June by Boeing's Starliner could return on SpaceX's Crew Dragon in February 2025 if Starliner is still deemed unsafe to return to Earth.

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he was not confident about a peaceful transfer of power in the United States if Republican Donald Trump loses the Nov. 5 presidential election.

BERLIN - Taylor Swift's three concerts in Vienna this week were cancelled after government confirmation of a planned attack at the stadium, the organizer said late on Wednesday.