Russian state news agencies report the Russian military will observe a ceasefire in two areas of Ukraine starting Saturday to allow civilians to evacuate.

Russia on Friday accused "Ukrainian nationalists" of "forcibly" holding over 3,700 Indian citizens in various cities, while saying the Russian military is doing everything to ensure the peaceful evacuation of foreign nationals.

Londo: The BBC said on Friday that it had no choice but to temporarily suspend its journalists' work in Russia after the Kremlin brought in a new law that could mean a jail term of up to 15 years for anyone spreading "fake" information about the country's armed forces.

Peshawar: A powerful suicide blast ripped through a crowded Shia mosque during the Friday congregation here in northwest Pakistan, killing at least 57 people and wounding nearly 200 others, in one of the deadliest attacks in the restive province, bordering Afghanistan.

US President Joe Biden spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy to receive an update on the fire at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and urged Russia to cease its military activities in the affected area and allow access to emergency responders, the White House has said.

A top American Senator has urged the Ukrainian government to end racial discrimination at its border, a prickly issue that has been pointed out by numerous students who have been frantically trying to flee the war-ravaged country.

Russian troops are shelling Europe's largest nuclear power station in Ukraine. We demand that they stop the heavy weapons fire, Andriy Tuz, spokesperson for the plant in Enerhodar, said in a video posted on Telegram. There is a real threat of nuclear danger in the biggest atomic energy station in Europe.