WORLD HIGHLIGHTS

►Vatican

VATICAN CITY Pope Francis said in an interview published yesterday that he asked for a meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to stop the war in Ukraine but had not received a reply.

►Italy

MILAN Italy aims to cut off its dependence on Russian gas by the second half of 2024, Italy's Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani said in an interview published yesterday.

►Israel

GAZA CITY The Islamist movement Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip said on Monday they were behind a recent attack that killed an Israeli in the West Bank, linking it to tensions in Jerusalem.

►US

LAS VEGAS Hundreds of households in the historic New Mexico city of Las Vegas were told to evacuate on Monday as fierce winds and drought pushed the largest active wildfire in the United States closer to town.

NEW YORK A Philadelphia police officer has been charged with murder for shooting a 12-year-old boy in the back after chasing the child who had just opened fire on his unmarked vehicle, the city's district attorney said on Monday.

WASHINGTON The United States on Monday urged a credible investigation into the death of an Egyptian economist as it denounced certain "shocking" setbacks in the country's human rights record.

►Costa Rica

SAN JOSE Costa Rica will offer a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to the immunocompromised and to those over 50, the country's Health Ministry said on Monday.

►Chad

N'DJAMENA France on Monday urged Chad to hold "without delay" landmark national talks with opposition forces that have been postponed indefinitely.

►Nigeria

LAGOS The death toll from a three-storey building collapse late Sunday in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos has risen to 10, including a young boy, officials said yesterday.