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Somali special forces say they have ended a siege at a hotel in the capital Mogadishu that was stormed by armed al-Shabab militants.

At least 12 people were killed at the beachside Elite Hotel, in addition to five militants, according to the police. The attackers detonated a car bomb outside the hotel on Sunday before storming it and seizing hostages.

The recently built hotel is owned by an MP and is popular with officials.

Witnesses said the initial blast was heard across Mogadishu and there was chaos as people fled the area.

Security forces sealed off the hotel and exchanged fire with the gunmen inside. Four hours later, government spokesman Ismael Mukhtaar Omar tweeted that the siege was over and all the gunmen had been killed.

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Afghanistan’s government has started releasing the last 400 Taliban prisoners, paving the way for long-delayed peace talks.

Eighty prisoners were set free on Thursday, officials said, some whose crimes include attacks on Afghans and foreigners. The release was a condition to begin negotiations to end 19 years of conflict in the country.

Peace talks are expected to start in Qatar within days of the full release.

The release was “to speed up efforts for direct talks and a lasting, nationwide ceasefire”, Afghanistan’s Office of the National Security Council said in a Tweet.

On the weekend, an Afghan grand assembly of elders approved the release of the 400 Taliban prisoners accused of “major” crimes after authorities initially refused to free the militants.

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Three police officers have been taken to hospital after a van they were carrying a prisoner in crashed with a car.

The police carrier collided with a Range Rover at the junction of Great Homer Street and Wilbraham Street in Liverpool at about 10:10 BST.

Merseyside Police said the condition of the officers was “unknown” but the prisoner suffered minor injuries.

The Range Rover’s occupants are also believed to have minor injuries.

Appealing for information, a force spokesman said the area around the crash had been cordoned off and drivers were being asked to avoid the area.

Iran has sentenced two men to 10 years in jail for allegedly spying for foreign governments, the judiciary says.

Massud Mossaheb was convicted of spying for Israeli and German intelligence over his senior role in the Austrian-Iranian Society. The other man, Shahram Shirkhani, was accused of working for UK intelligence.

Five other Iranians have been arrested on charges of espionage in recent months, a spokesman said.

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US President Donald Trump was escorted out of a news conference after Secret Service agents shot and wounded a man who claimed to be armed outside the White House.

The Secret Service said the incident happened one block from the compound, when an officer fired on the suspect who had run “aggressively” towards him.

An agent then walked on stage as Mr Trump was speaking and led him away. The president returned minutes later to say the situation was under control.

The US Secret Service said the incident happened on Monday on the corner of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Ave – outside the White House perimeter. It said a 51-year-old man, who has not been identified, approached the officer, told him he had weapons and assumed a “shooter’s stance”, whereupon the officer shot him in the torso.

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