PITTSBURGH (AP) — A student was taken into custody in the shooting death of another student early Wednesday just outside a school in Pittsburgh shortly before classes were due to start, police said.

Police said the shooting happened just before 7:30 a.m. by the front steps of Oliver Citywide Academy. Officers found the victim with gunshot wounds in front of the school and gave first aid, Major Crimes Commander Richard Ford told reporters at the scene.

NEAR THE RUSSIAN BORDER, Ukraine, May 24 (Reuters) - The Russian commander of a militia that conducted a raid on a Russian border region this week said on Wednesday his group would soon launch more incursions into Russian territory.

Denis Kapustin, who described himself as the commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), spoke to reporters on the Ukrainian side of the border with Russia a day after Moscow said it had repelled the raid on the Belgorod region.

24 May 2023; MEMO: The ground forces of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States launched the Iron Union 19 joint military exercise, the UAE Defence Ministry said on Twitter.

The UAE ministry said the exercise is being carried out on UAE soil, and aims to develop joint cooperation and coordination between the two sides, and raise combat readiness to reach professionalism in carrying out tasks.

NAIROBI, May 24 (Reuters) - Chinese hackers targeted Kenya's government in a widespread, years-long series of digital intrusions against key ministries and state institutions, according to three sources, cybersecurity research reports and Reuters' own analysis of technical data related to the hackings.

Two of the sources assessed the hacks to be aimed, at least in part, at gaining information on debt owed to Beijing by the East African nation: Kenya is a strategic link in the Belt and Road Initiative - President Xi Jinping's plan for a global infrastructure network.

JUBA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank on Wednesday granted 70 million U.S. dollars to South Sudan to boost women's social and economic empowerment (SSWSEEP), an official said.

World Bank Country Manager for South Sudan Firas Raad said the grant is aimed at supporting female entrepreneurs in formalizing and scaling up their business activities and helping survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) access vital services that will enable them to recover and rebuild their lives.

MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/: Behind NATO’s latest expansion push lie the same underlying intentions as the policies of Hitler, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at an international meeting of high-level officials responsible for security issues in Moscow on Wednesday.

"In essence, NATO’s reckless expansion reflects the same intentions that undergirded the Hitlerian doctrine of ‘Drang nach Osten’ (German for ‘Drive to the East,’ which was the Nazi slogan justifying the conquest of Central and Eastern European lands - TASS)," Lavrov said.

KHARTOUM, May 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sporadic artillery fire still echoed in Sudan’s capital Tuesday but residents said fighting had calmed following a US and Saudi-brokered ceasefire, raising faint hopes in the embattled city.

The truce, to allow desperately needed humanitarian aid for civilians, took effect Monday night only to be quickly marred by more gunshots and blasts.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The Polish ruling party is pushing for the creation of a commission which it says would investigate Russian influence in Poland. Critics view it as an attempt to create a powerful and unconstitutional tool that would help the party continue to wield power even if it loses elections this fall.

KABUL, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan national flag carrier Ariana Afghan Airlines formally resumed its passenger air services between Afghanistan's capital city Kabul and neighboring China's Urumqi city on Wednesday.

The air route has halted for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ariana Afghan Airlines is currently the only operator of direct passenger flights between the two countries, according to the airlines.

The Afghan airlines operates once in a week on Wednesday and returns to Kabul on the same day.

HANOI, May 24 (NNN-VNA) – Vietnam is ranked among 15 countries, with the largest number of male smokers, mainly due to easy access to cigarettes, and the prevalence of e-cigarettes.

Current smoking among Vietnamese men has declined to 42.3 percent from 45.3 percent in 2015. But the male smoking rate remained below the target of 39 percent, set out in the National Strategy on Tobacco Control, said Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the Health Ministry’s Department of Medical Service Administration.

BRASILIA, May 24 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Brazilian authorities have decreed a nationwide animal health emergency, it was published Tuesday in an extra issue of the Diário Oficial da União (Official Gazette), Agencia Brasil reported.

Agriculture and Livestock Minister Carlos Favaro signed the ordinance dated May 22 which will be effective for the next 180 days.

The measure seeks to prevent the disease from reaching the production of subsistence and commercial birds, in addition to preserving the fauna and human health.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Senior judge Ioannis Sarmas was named caretaker prime minister in Greece Wednesday after a general election failed to produce a new government.

Sarmas, 66, will be sworn in Thursday and lead a caretaker government until a new election next month, according to government officials. The vote is widely expected to be held on June 25 but has not been formally confirmed.