The United States Department of State has directed non-essential staff and family members to depart the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, citing worsening security conditions across Nigeria.

US President Donald Trump said late Wednesday that US forces deployed near Iran would remain stationed in the area until a “real agreement” is reached, as Washington enters a fragile two-week ceasefire with Tehran.

Thousands of Iranians paid tribute on Thursday to the late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who ruled the country for nearly four decades until his killing in US-Israeli strikes at the start of the Middle East war.

“This unfortunate incident occurred yesterday night when the insurgent stormed the military formation in numbers.

North Korea tested weapon systems over three days this week, including the firing of ballistic missiles and cluster bombs, its state media said on Thursday.

Nwosu further alleged bias on the part of the electoral body’s leadership, claiming that the INEC chairman is aligned with the ruling party.

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), Abdu Mohammed Bello, has disclosed that transmission losses on the national grid have dropped significantly to 7.05 percent, from levels close to 10 percent recorded at the agency’s inception.

The Israeli military said on Thursday that an Al Jazeera journalist killed a day earlier in an Israeli strike in Gaza was a Hamas militant who had “operated under the guise of a journalist”.

The minimum hourly wage in Venezuela is currently equivalent to 27 US cents, with annual inflation exceeding 600 percent.

Tehran has agreed to temporarily reopen the strait, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil usually passes, as part of a two-week truce.