Authorities say a Las Vegas high school student was killed when 10 students between the ages of 13 and 17 beat him in an alleyway around the corner from campus in a prearranged fight over a pair of headphones and a vape pen

European Union leaders gathered Thursday to debate ways to use their combined leverage to ensure that more aid reaches Palestinians in need, and how to help EU citizens in Gaza escape danger, including some held hostage by Hamas. EU nations have long been divided in their approach to Israel and the Palestinians, but the brutal nature of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7., which killed more than 1,400 people, and the hardship of civilians forced from their homes in Gaza have shone a bright spotlight on those divisions. Across the EU spectrum, Austria, Germany and Hungary are among Israel's top supporters. The leaders of Austria and Germany went to Israel to show solidarity after the assault. Spain and Ireland often focus on the plight of the Palestinians. Hamas, for its part, is on the EU’s list of terrorist groups. The challenge has been to strike a balance between condemning the Hamas attacks, supporting Israel’s right to defend itself and ensuring that the rights of civilians on both sides are protected under international law. EU envoys have wrangled in recent days over whether to call for a “humanitarian pause” or “pauses,” or even a “window” in the fighting, to allow aid in. Israel’s strongest backers oppose any language that might be seen to constrain its right to self-defense. Meanwhile, the death toll in Gaza has soared past 7,000, according to Palestinian officials. It’s unprecedented in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A draft of the leaders’ summit statement, seen by The Associated Press, sees them call “for continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures including humanitarian corridors and pauses.” Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said: “I’m not obsessed about what language we use. What we want is the killing and the violence to stop; to stop so that humanitarian aid can get into Gaza, where Palestinian people are ... suffering, and also to allow us to get EU citizens out." He said that about 30 Irish Palestinian citizens are stuck. "We’re keen for them to be able to leave Gaza if they want to leave, and that’s currently not possible,” Varadkar told reporters. Despite its limited political leverage, the 27-nation bloc is the world’s top aid supplier to the Palestinians. It has sent almost 78 million euros ($82 million) this year and over 930 million euros ($982 million) since 2000. The EU has little influence over Israel – the United States is its staunchest ally – but remains the country’s biggest trade partner. The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, has trumpeted what it calls an “air bridge” for Gaza – it consists of two plane loads of aid so far – and has demanded that more humanitarian assistance be allowed into poverty and conflict-hit Gaza. In recent days, Israel has let more than 60 trucks with aid enter from Egypt. Aid workers and the EU say it's not enough, just a tiny fraction of what came in before the war. Israel is still barring deliveries of fuel — needed to power generators — saying it believes that Hamas will take it. A warning by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, over waning fuel supplies has raised alarm that the humanitarian crisis could quickly worsen. Gaza’s population has also been running out of food, water and medicine. The EU is UNRWA’s third biggest funder. Dozens of European nationals are believed to be among the more than 200 Israelis and foreigners taken hostage by Hamas. Scores more have been caught up in the turmoil as around 1.4 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents fled their homes under orders from the Israeli army. Exact numbers are difficult to establish as some countries prefer not to provide them for security reasons. EU officials also declined to say. Qatar has become a key interlocutor for countries hoping to have their captive nationals released. EU officials have said that Turkey could also play an important role, underscoring the need for the bloc to maintain good relations with countries in the region, beyond Israel. In the draft summit statement – perhaps due to the extreme security concerns – the leaders note only that they “reviewed the state of play and the follow-up on the different strands of action, including concerted efforts to assist EU citizens.” Read More Harris will attend an AI summit at a UK estate that was a base for World War II codebreakers European Union to press the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo to set decades of enmity behind them Europe's central bank is set to halt rate hikes as the Mideast war casts a shadow over the economy Israel-Hamas war could threaten already fragile economies in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan British leader Rishi Sunak marks a year in office with little to celebrate Belgian police are looking for a Palestinian man following media report he could plan an attack

A shooting at St. Helena College and Career Academy in Louisiana has left one person dead, two others injured and a juvenile in custody, the local sheriff's department said.

A number of historains are reassessing the American Revolutionary War and looking at it as much more of a global conflict than previously portrayed, with one of the last battles between key protagonists actually fought in India.

Israel must have "overall security responsibility", its PM says, amid concerns of re-occupation.

China is ramping up pressure on banks to support struggling real estate developers, signaling President Xi Jinping’s tolerance

A suicide occurs once every 11 minutes. Recognize the warning signs and see how to get help. Free 24-hour help is available.

Jake Paul said, 'I want to be sponsored by Nike, and I'm sure you know someone there, I think I'm the perfect Nike athlete'

A Russian pilot fired two missiles towards an RAF surveillance plane after mistakenly believing he had permission to fire. Following the incident last September, Russia claimed it had been caused by a “technical malfunction” with the UK’s Ministry of Defence publicly accepting their explanation. However, intercepted communications reveal that one of the Russian pilots believed he had been given permission to target the aircraft following an ambiguous command from a Russian ground station. After firing, the first missile missed the RAF plane while the second failed to launch successfully. If it had reached its target, it could potentially have drawn a Nato member into a military confrontation with Putin’s Russia. The two Russian SU-27 fighter jets had encountered the RAF plane, which was carrying a crew of up to 30 people, as it was flying a surveillance mission over the Black Sea in international airspace on 29 September. Three Western defence sources with knowledge of the incident have told the BBC that the two Russian pilots received words to the effect of “you have the target”. This prompted one of the pilots to release an air-to-air missile, which successfully launched but failed to strike its target. A row then broke out between the two Russian pilots, as the second did not believe they had been given permission to fire. However, a second missile was released but simply fell from the wing - suggesting the launch was aborted or the weapon malfunctioned. As the Rivet Joint is loaded with sensors to intercept communications, the RAF crew would have been able to listen in to the incident which could have resulted in their own deaths. After the Russian Ministry of Defence called it a “technical malfunction”, the UK government confirmed the incident had taken place. In a statement to MPs on 20 October, the former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace described it as a “potentially dangerous engagement”. However, he added: "We do not consider this incident to constitute a deliberate escalation on the part of the Russians, and our analysis concurs that it was due to a malfunction." An intelligence leak, published online by US airman Jack Teixera, revealed that the US miliary spoke of the incident as a “near shoot-down”. “The incident was far more serious than originally portrayed and could have amounted to an act of war,” the New York Times reported. The MoD has now told the BBC that “this incident is a stark reminder of the potential consequences of Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine.” Since the incident, RAF surveillance flights have been escorted by Typhoon fighter jets armed with air-to-air missiles. Read More South Korea expresses 'concern and regret' over military cooperation talks between Kim and Putin What is a Storm Shadow cruise missile? Weapons, spy satellites and nuclear ambitions: what we learned from Putin’s summit with Kim Jong-un in Russia The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Cindy Birdsong gave Rochelle Lander power of attorney almost a decade ago and the two have lived together for six years

Hawaii residents tell the BBC a stronger emergency response could have saved lives in the blaze.

The Lelean Memorial School (LMS) punches above its weight as a rugby school in Fiji where some players train...