Subhash Batham was attempting to get authorities to drop a murder charge against him. He was out on bail when he held the 23 partygoers at gunpoint in an all-night standoff with police.

It is the third hostage situation in the country in less than three weeks. The suspect's demands were not immediately clear, with Ukraine's interior minister labeling the man mentally unstable and a "terrorist."

The Nigerian army says it has "full control" of a northeastern town where sources say hundreds of people have been taken hostage by jihadists. Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters stormed the town Kukawa on Tuesday and seized hundreds of residents who had only just returned after fleeing their homes for nearly two years, according to locals and militia sources.

Parents consider more than class size when they decide what school their kids will attend in the self-proclaimed separatist state of Transnistria. The "wrong choice" could attract the local security service's attention.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Sunday⁣⁣. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Sunday.⁣

President Trump on Saturday praised the role U.S. special forces took in the rescue of an American citizen who had been kidnapped by armed men in an operation in northern Nigeria that is believed to have killed several of his captors.

The dissident journalist was presented at a Foreign Ministry press conference on the diversion of his plane to Minsk on May 23. The move prompted one reporter to walk out.

For the first time since being rescued 13 years ago from the hands of FARC guerillas who had held her hostage for more than six years in the Colombian jungle, Franco-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt was able to confront her captors a meeting with ex-combatants.

Some 600 coca growers with sticks and machetes took a group of soldiers hostage earlier this week. The government has increased its efforts to eradicate coca plantations.

Hungary's government is "holding European Union decision makers hostage" by refusing to join an EU-wide embargo on Russian oil, according to Lithuania's foreign minister. This comes as EU leaders continue their efforts to gather support for a sixth sanctions package on Russia from all 27 EU member states. The government of PM Viktor Orban has claimed that an import ban on Russian oil would ruin the Hungarian economy. Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis tells FRANCE 24 that "Europe is weaker" as a result, and that he is "still hoping Budapest will be responsible in their decisions".

Police in the US town of Uvalde, Texas are facing questions over why it took an hour to neutralise the gunman who murdered 19 small children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School. The tragedy comes amid increasing calls for greater gun control measures. Among the demands of campaigners are a ban on assault weapon sales, as well as universal background checks and so-called red flag laws. Pastor Mike McBride, director of the LIVE FREE gun violence prevention campaign with the Faith in Action network, joined us on Perspective to tell us more.

Diplomatic tensions between Mali and Ivory Coast deepen after Bamako sets conditions for the return of dozens of Ivorian soldiers arrested two months ago. Also, Ethiopia's New Year celebrations are overshadowed by an economic crisis. And anti-smoking campaigners in Senegal warn against the damage caused to young bodies when they start lighting up.