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Media reports identified the policeman as Mohammed Salah, 22.

Egypt said after the incident that he crossed into Israel while chasing drug smugglers, leading to an exchange of fire with the Israeli soldiers.

But Israel’s prime minister said that it was a terrorist attack and demanded a thorough joint investigation.

A relative and a comrade of Salah told the BBC that he was not an extremist.

According to the Israeli military, two Israeli soldiers – Staff Sgt Uri Iluz, 20, and Sgt Lia Ben-Nun, 19 – posted in a remote spot along the border were shot dead early on Saturday morning. Their bodies were discovered after a senior officer was unable to contact them by radio.

After a search operation, the attacker was encircled and there was a shootout. The third soldier – Staff Sgt Ohad Dahan, 20 – was killed along with the attacker, who the Israeli military said was an Egyptian policeman.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday: “Israel relayed a clear message to the Egyptian government. We expect that the joint investigation will be exhaustive and thorough.”

“We will refresh procedures and methods of operations and also the measures to reduce to a minimum the smuggling and to ensure tragic terrorist attacks like this do not happen again.”

Israeli media cited a preliminary investigation as saying the policeman entered Israel by using a closed emergency gate in the border fence, which was a few hundred metres away from Staff Sgt Iluz and Sgt Ben-Nun’s guard post.

After the policeman was killed, Israeli soldiers found that he was carrying six magazines for his rifle, as well as two combat knives and a Quran, they added.

The reports also said Egyptian officials had told their Israeli counterparts in meetings that the attacker was a “rogue” officer who had acted on his own after becoming radicalised.

Egyptian authorities have not commented on the reports or confirmed the policeman’s identity, but a relative of Mohammed Salah and a member of his unit told BBC News Arabic on Monday that members of this family and friends were being detained for questioning by investigators.

The relative denied that Salah had been radicalised and suggested that he might have wanted to avenge the death of a comrade.

During a period of leave last month, Salah had expressed his anger about “the silence over the killing of one of his military friends by Israeli soldiers during his military service at the border”, they said. He had also complained about the military rejecting a request for a medical exemption, they added.

It is not known what alleged incident the relative was referring to.

Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union members will take industrial action on Tuesday in Northern Ireland and Wednesday in Wales.

The PCS says the stoppages will continue while it considers the “significant concessions” to pay, redundancy terms and job security.

The government said the offer was the highest for civil servants in 20 years.

Union members have taken action for months and there have been three national walkouts. Previously, PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “Ministers need to resolve the dispute by putting money on the table.”

On Friday, the government made a new offer to try to break the deadlock. Union bosses said civil servants below senior grades had been offered a lump sum of £1,500 for 2022/23.

The deal was welcomed by the union and in a statement on Monday evening the PCS said it was the “first time in our union’s history” that members had won “considerable extra money for members”.

But it said “planned targeted action” would go ahead this month – members in the Northern Ireland Office will walk out for three days from Tuesday, while Audit Wales and the National Museum of Wales will be affected from Wednesday.

It added members at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will take part in a 15-day strike from 11 June and driving examiners in 286 test centres across England and Wales will take action from 15 June.

The union said any re-ballots for further action had been put on hold pending the outcome of talks with the government at the end of the month.

Officials had been calling for a 10% pay rise to reflect the rising cost of living but at the time the government said their demands would cost an “unaffordable £2.4bn”.

The union said the latest offer was a “significant achievement… which, while short of our full claim, puts money in members’ pockets and brings parity of treatment with other public sector workers”.

The government, when it announced its new offer on Friday, said guidance for Civil Service pay allowed departments to award a 4.5% pay increase for staff, with the potential for an extra 0.5% increase for lower paid staff.

Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin said “constructive engagement” with the unions had allowed the department to make the £1,500 payment offer.

“This is both fair to the taxpayer and a recognition of the financial pressures civil servants have faced over the last year,” Mr Quin said.

Most opposition parties have called on supporters to join the march against the nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS), led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

Among those attending are former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and former President Lech Walesa.

The PiS has condemned the gathering as a “march of hate”.

The mayor’s office for Warsaw has estimated half a million people attended the event, which fell on the 34th anniversary of Poland’s first partially-free elections.

Many travelled from across the country to take part, and simultaneous demonstrations have been held in other Polish cities like Krakow.

A wide variety of issues brought protests together, including frustrations over inflation, costs of living, and rights for women and LGBT.

Concerns have also been raised against new law accused of undermining Poland’s democracy.

The law, criticised by the EU and US, sets up a commission to investigate undue Russian influence in Polish politics, and has the power to ban people from assuming public office for 10 years.

The government denies it is subverting democracy and President Andrzej Duda has proposed amendments to remove these powers.

But critics say it could still be used against people, including Mr Tusk – Poland’s main opposition leader and head of the centrist Civic Platform (PO) party.

Opponents say it could also bolster the PiS’ standing in this year’s parliamentary elections.

Crowds of people have been pictured waving Polish and EU flags and holding placards, and participants told the BBC that protesters were chanting “democracy” and “we will win”.

“I came here to defend democracy because I can’t stand how our parliament, the constitutional tribunal are destroyed, the European Union is diminished,” one protester told Reuters news agency.

Donald Tusk, a former head of the European Council, also welcomed supporters during the “record” march.

“Democracy dies in silence but you’ve raised your voice for democracy today, silence is over, we will shout,” said Mr Tusk.

Ahead of the event, the PiS accused organisers of of hypocrisy, tweeting a video that police brutality and violence against the media while Mr Tusk was in office.

Wojciech Przybylski, editor of Visegrad Insight, told the BBC that these protests show Poland’s opposition groups can unite over common causes, despite their political differences.

But PiS is still ahead in opinion polls, he adds, and “this is going to mobilise them, because they know the opposition is for real”.

Other members of Opec+, a group of oil-producing countries, also agreed to continued cuts in production in an attempt to shore up flagging prices.

Opec+ accounts for around 40% of the world’s crude oil and its decisions can have a major impact on oil prices.

In Asia trade on Monday, Brent crude oil rose by as much as 2.4% before settling at around $77 a barrel.

Opec+ said production targets would drop by a further 1.4 million bpd from 2024.

The seven hour-long meeting on Sunday of the oil-rich nations came against a backdrop of falling energy prices.

Oil prices soared when Russia invaded Ukraine last year, but are now back at levels seen before the conflict began.

In October last year Opec+, a formulation which refers to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, agreed to cut production by two million bpd, about 2% of global demand.

In April this year the group agreed to a further cuts, which were due to last to the end of this year. But Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Sunday’s talks led to “the extension of the deal until the end of 2024”.

On Sunday, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that his country’s cut of one million bpd could be extended beyond July if needed. “This is a Saudi lollipop,” he said, in what is seen as a bid to stabilise the market.

Before the two-day Opec+ meeting started, it was widely expected the oil cartel would make production cuts to prop up prices. It appears most members were against the idea, as any cuts would impact oil revenues, which are crucial to keep running their economies.

Saudi Arabia’s decision to make a voluntary reduction of one-million barrels per day was unexpected but does not come as a huge surprise. As the leader of the pack, and also the largest exporter of oil, it was the only one in a position to be able to lower output.

From Riyadh’s point of view, it is crucial the price of crude remains over $80 a barrel for it to break even. Saudi officials want elevated prices to keep spending billions of dollars on ambitious projects spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as he tries to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil.

The move by the Saudis also underlines the uncertain outlook for demand for fuels in the months to come. Concerns about the global economy, especially recessionary fears in the US and Europe are expected to put further pressure on crude prices.

Oil producers are grappling with falling prices and high market volatility amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The West has accused Opec of manipulating prices and undermining the global economy through high energy costs, according to Reuters. It has also accused the group of siding with Russia despite sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

In response, Opec insiders have said the West’s monetary policy over the last decade has driven inflation and forced oil-producing nations to act to maintain the value of their main export.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the decision but did not give more details.

Railways-led investigations have already started and preliminary reports say a signal fault led to the crash.

The three-train collision on Friday night has been described as India’s worst rail accident this century.

More than 1,000 suffered injuries and were taken to hospitals. Some families are still searching for their loved ones.

It’s not clear why the Railway Board, the ministry’s top decision making body, has recommended a separate investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) when other inquiries have already started.

The CBI investigates high profile criminal causes, including serious financial frauds and murders.

Mr Vaishnaw said on Sunday that “the root cause” of the accident and people responsible for the “criminal act” had been identified.

He added that a “change in electronic interlocking” was the likely cause of the accident. The minister urged people to wait for the final report.

A report by the Commissioner of Railway Safety would be made public soon and it would reveal the cause, he said.

Meanwhile, the railways said on Sunday that the Coromandel Express’s engine and coaches crashed into a goods train due to a signal fault and a “change in electronic interlocking”.

In railway signalling the electronic interlocking system sets routes for each train in a set area, ensuring the safe movement of trains along the track.

The impact of the crash threw coaches of the Coromandel Express onto a third track and they rammed into the rear carriages of the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express that was coming down the line at a high speed.

More than 3,000 passengers are thought to have been on board the two passenger trains.

Atul Karwal, chief of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), said the force of the collision left several coaches crushed. Rescuers had to cut through the wreckage to reach the passengers.

Hundreds of ambulances, doctors, nurses and rescue personnel were sent to the scene and worked for 18 hours to rescue passengers and pull out bodies.On Sunday night, Mr Vaishnaw said train movement had been restored on the railway tracks where the accident took place.

Reports say several passengers are still missing.

Opposition leaders have called on Mr Vaishnaw to take responsibility for the tragedy and resign.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has responded by asking them not to politicise the accident.