A large explosion outside the international airport in Somalia's capital killed at least eight people and wounded nine others on Wednesday, a local doctor said.

Dr. Abdulkadir Adam with Medina hospital shared the toll with The Associated Press. Witnesses at the scene said a passing U.N. convoy appeared to be the target in the Mogadishu blast near a checkpoint leading to the heavily fortified airport.

Senior NATO and Russian officials were meeting Wednesday to try to bridge seemingly irreconcilable differences over the future of Ukraine, amid deep skepticism that Russian President Vladimir Putin's security proposals for easing tensions are genuine.

The talks come during a week of high-stakes diplomacy and a U.S.-led effort to prevent preparations for what Washington believes could be a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Moscow denies it is planning an attack. Still, its history of military action in Ukraine and Georgia worries NATO.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has tried to calm Israelis anxious about the rapid spread of the omicron variant, insisting the government is managing the crisis better than most and ruling out a national shutdown.

Bennett said during an evening press conference that Israel was weathering an "unstoppable storm" of infection by protecting the most vulnerable people and keeping the economy open. He also called on people to take personal responsibility for protecting themselves, their children and older relatives.

Mohamed Salah was kept in check as Egypt lost 1-0 to Nigeria on a superb goal by Kelechi Iheanacho in their first game at the African Cup of Nations on Tuesday.

Riyad Mahrez also had a tough day as he and his Algeria teammates missed several goal-scoring chances to open their title defense with a surprising 0-0 draw with minnow Sierra Leone, which is playing in its first major tournament in 26 years.

An Iranian employee of the British Council arrested in Tehran and later sentenced to 10 years in prison over internationally criticized espionage charges has been freed and traveled to the United Kingdom, the organization said Wednesday.

Iranian authorities did not immediately acknowledge the release of Aras Amiri. However, it comes amid ongoing negotiations in Vienna between Iran and world powers, including the U.K., over its tattered 2015 nuclear deal.

Israel's fragile governing coalition faced a crisis on Wednesday after Bedouins staged protests against tree-planting by nationalists on disputed land in the Negev desert.

Some protesters on Tuesday evening hurled stones at vehicles on a highway near Beersheba, blocked the railway line and torched a vehicle. Police said two officers were injured in the violence and local media reported at least 18 people arrested.

Victims of torture in Syria and human rights activists say they hope the upcoming verdict in a landmark trial will be a first step toward justice for countless Syrians who suffered abuse at the hands of President Bashar Assad's government in the country's long-running conflict.

A court in the German city of Koblenz is scheduled to deliver its ruling Thursday in the trial of Anwar Raslan, a former Syrian secret police officer who is accused of crimes against humanity for overseeing the abuse of detainees at a jail near Damascus a decade ago.

Austria's foreign minister said Wednesday that the European Union wants to help Lebanon escape its economic meltdown, but only if the country's leaders clean up Beirut's affairs.

Alexander Schallenberg told reporters after meeting his Lebanese counterpart in Beirut that Lebanon should reach a deal with the International Monetary Fund, move forward with the investigation into the August 2020 port blast and restructure the hard-hit banking sector.

The presence of a senior Iranian official at the investiture of Nicaragua's president has angered Argentina, which alleges the official was involved in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.

Rezaei is among several Iranians sought by Argentina in the bombing. Argentine prosecutors allege that senior Iranian officials entrusted Hizbullah to carry it out.

Egypt's leader has criticized Europe's handling of the migration crisis and its refusal to receive refugees arriving at its borders, saying his own country has taken in millions of people who left their home countries.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Egypt hosts at least 6 million people who fled conflict and poverty at home. He said his government, unlike some other countries, doesn't hold migrants in refugee camps but allows them to live freely in the community.