‘Please Forgive Me,’ Shaibu begs Gov. Obaseki and more

Ile Ife is the cultural center of Nigeria's Yoruba people. Our guide is the leader of the Yoruba king's personal band.

The Cook Islands and Niue have been recognized by the United States as "sovereign and independent states." The move appeared to be aimed at curbing further Chinese inroads into the Pacific region.

Mali's military leadership has said presidential elections could not be held on schedule due to "technical" reasons. Since taking power in 2020, the junta has promised to hold elections, but has repeatedly issued delays.

House Republicans will try to advance four party-line funding bills this week, though they would not avert a looming government shutdown.

The French diplomat left the capital Niamey for Chad early Wednesday, Paris said. The military junta had ordered his expulsion some weeks ago.

Joe Biden makes history by becoming the first sitting US president to join a picket line, making the UAW autoworkers' strike a major battleground for the 2024 presidential race. Also, French papers take a look at what to expect as the government prepares to unveil a plan to tackle school bullying. We then take a look at reactions to the burgeoning refugee crisis in Armenia, and finish with an Economist special on the new science behind reversing ageing.

Britain's Home Secretary Suella Braverman called for governments to rewrite global refugee rules to make them "fit for the modern age." She said "simply being gay, or a woman" should not in itself entitle refuge.

Niger has hailed France's withdrawal as a "step towards sovereignty." But experts argue that the move has broad implications for the country, the Sahel region and beyond.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.

To mark International Safe Abortion Day, we're taking stock of women's abortion rights in the United States. Terminations are now illegal in 14 states following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last year. Some women in those states are now forced to travel elsewhere in the US for the procedure, costing them hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

A court in Ho Chi Minh City handed down a 3-year prison sentence to leading climate activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong on charges of dodging taxes during the time she ran a climate non-profit group called Change.

The West African country's military government — which seized power from a different junta a year ago — said it has detained four people for attempting a coup.