Reuters World News Summary

The rally came a day after Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the government would push ahead with the bill despite opposition from what he cast as "misled" youngsters who feel resentment towards Russia. Colombia paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso released by Bogota court A court in Colombia granted conditional release to former paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso, his defense team confirmed on Saturday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Name and shame: Pro-Israel website ramps up attacks on pro-Palestinian student protesters

Weeks after attending a pro-Palestinian demonstration, Egyptian-American student Layla Sayed received a text message from a friend drawing her attention to a website dedicated to exposing people it says promote hatred of Jews and Israel. "I think they found you from the protest," the friend wrote.

Gunmen kidnap more than 100 in attack on villages in northwest Nigeria

More than 100 people were kidnapped by gunmen during Friday night raids on three villages in northwest Nigeria, a district head and residents said on Saturday, the latest abduction of villagers in a region blighted by widespread insecurity. Kidnapping has become endemic in Nigeria's northwest as roving gangs of armed men abduct people from villages, highways and schools, and demand ransom money from their relatives.

Protesters return to streets across Israel, demanding hostage release

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Saturday demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government do more to secure the release of hostages being held in the Gaza Strip by Islamist group Hamas. Family members of the hostages, carrying pictures of their loved ones still in captivity, joined the crowds that demonstrated in Tel Aviv.

Five killed in Ukrainian strikes on Russian border regions, Donetsk, officials say

Five people were killed and nine wounded in three separate Ukrainian drone and artillery strikes on the Russian border provinces of Belgorod and Kursk, and the city of Donetsk, which Russia claims to have annexed, local officials said on Saturday. Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed head of east Ukraine's Donetsk region, said in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app that three civilians had been killed and eight more injured when a Ukrainian missile struck a restaurant in Donetsk city.

About 50,000 march against foreign agent bill in Tbilisi, Georgia

About 50,000 protesters marched peacefully through the streets of the Georgian capital on Saturday, Reuters witnesses said, in a fresh show of opposition to a "foreign agents" bill critics say is inspired by one in Russia that has been used to clamp down on dissent there. The rally came a day after Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the government would push ahead with the bill despite opposition from what he cast as "misled" youngsters who feel resentment towards Russia.

Colombia paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso released by Bogota court

A court in Colombia granted conditional release to former paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso, his defense team confirmed on Saturday. Mancuso, a former top commander of the paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), was sent back to Colombia from the United States in February after serving a drug trafficking sentence there.

Philippines sends ships to disputed atoll where China building 'artificial island'

The Philippines said on Saturday it has deployed ships to a disputed area in the South China Sea, where it accused China of building "an artificial island" in an escalating maritime row. The coast guard sent a ship "to monitor the supposed illegal activities of China, creating 'an artificial island'," the office of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said in a statement, adding two other vessels were in rotational deployment in the area.

Israel orders Palestinians to evacuate from more areas of Gaza's Rafah

Israel called on Saturday for Palestinians in more areas of Gaza's southern city of Rafah to evacuate and head to what it calls an expanded humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi, in a further indication that the military is pressing ahead with its plans for a ground attack on Rafah. The Israeli military also called on residents and displaced people in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza to clear out, saying it was returning to operate there after it noticed Hamas trying to re-establish its control of the area.

Switzerland wins Eurovision Song Contest 2024

Switzerland on Saturday won Eurovision 2024 in Swedish host city Malmo, beating runner-up Croatia, after having been among bookmakers' top-three to win the competition. Billed as a feel-good celebration of European diversity, this year's contest has been thrust into the political spotlight with calls for Israel to be excluded over its military campaign in Gaza, triggered by Hamas' deadly attack on Oct. 7 in Israel.

Canadian police arrest fourth man for murder of Sikh leader Nijjar

A fourth person has been arrested and charged with the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year, Canadian police said on Saturday, in a case that strained diplomatic relations with India. Canadian police earlier this month arrested and charged three Indian men in the city of Edmonton in Alberta and said they were probing whether the men had ties to the Indian government.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)