WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s public approval rating this month fell to its lowest level in almost two years, tying the lowest reading of his presidency in a warning sign for his reelection effort, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. The four-day poll showed just 36 percent of Americans approve of Biden’s job performance as president, down from 38 percent in April. It was a return to the lowest approval rating of his presidency, last seen in July 2022. While this month’s drop was within the poll’s 3 percentage point margin of error, it could bode poorly for Biden as he faces off with Republican Donald Trump in the Nov 5 presidential election.

 

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A diplomatic crisis between historic allies Spain and Argentina expanded as Spain announced the official withdrawal of its ambassador from Buenos Aires and Argentine President Javier Milei lambasted the move as “nonsense typical of an arrogant socialist.” Spain said its ambassador to Argentina would remain indefinitely in Madrid, where she had been recalled for consultations in response to comments made by President Milei during a contentious weekend visit he made to the Spanish capital. In a fiery speech defending free market capitalism at a far-right rally in Madrid, Milei accused the Spanish prime minister’s wife of corruption and described socialism as “cursed and carcinogenic.”

 

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MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Hundreds of hostages, mostly children and women, who were held captive for months or years by Boko Haram extremists in northeastern Nigeria have been rescued from a forest enclave and handed over to authorities, the army said. The 350 hostages had been held in the Sambisa Forest, a hideout for the extremist group which launched an insurgency in 2009, Maj. Gen. Ken Chigbu, a senior Nigerian army officer, said while presenting them to authorities in Borno, where the forest is. The 209 children, 135 women and six men appeared exhausted in their worn-out clothes. Some of the girls had babies believed to have been born from forced marriages, as is often the case with female victims who are either raped or forced to marry the militants while in captivity.

 

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ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan has repatriated more than 3,000 Pakistanis, mostly students, from Kyrgyzstan in the past week after recent attacks on foreigners over an unknown dispute with migrants, the deputy prime minister said Wednesday. Pakistan began using special and commercial flight over the weekend to bring people home. More were expected to return later Wednesday, bringing their number to slightly over 4,000 by midnight. Ishaq Dar told a news conference in Islamabad that the situation was under control now in the capital Bishkek, where authorities are trying to arrest people who attacked foreigners, including Pakistanis. Thousands of Pakistanis study or work in Kyrgyzstan, and Dar said most of them wanted to come home.

 

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BANGKOK (Reuters) - One passenger died of a suspected heart attack and 30 were injured after a Singapore Airlines, opens new tab flight hit severe turbulence, flinging passengers and crew around the cabin and forcing the plane to land in Bangkok, officials and the airline said. The flight from London and bound for Singapore fell into an air pocket while cabin crew were serving breakfast before it encountered turbulence, prompting the pilots to request an emergency landing, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport general manager Kittipong Kittikachorn told a press conference. The pilot declared a medical emergency and diverted the aircraft to Bangkok, it said without giving further details.