Morning news brief: Freed Americans return home, Hamas chief Haniyeh killed in blast, and more

US and Russia agreed to a prisoners swap on Thursday (Aug 1) under whichWall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan returned to the US late in the evening. Both the president and the vice president are expected to greet them at Joint Base Andrews. In other news, a NYT report has claimed that Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a bomb blast in Tehran, Iran.

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Biden and Harris to welcome freed Americans arriving from Russia

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed and greeted the American prisoners freed from Russian custody after they returned to the country, late on Thursday evening.

Trump criticises Biden's decision on Gershkovich and Whelan exchange

Donald Trump has criticised President Joe Biden's decision of the recent prisoner swap with Moscow, which secured the release of American journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan from Russian custody.

Hamas chief Haniyeh was killed by bomb hidden two months ago in Tehran guesthouse: Report

Ismail Haniyeh, the Doha-based political bureau chief of Hamas, was assassinated using an explosive device that was smuggled into the guesthouse he was staying at in Tehran, Iran, according to a report in the New York Times.

India lifted 800 million out of poverty 'simply by smartphones': UN

India has lifted 800 million out of poverty in the last five to six years, simply by the use of smartphones, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President Dennis Francis said on Thursday (Aug 1).

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