Taliban say Pakistani airstrikes have killed 46 people in eastern Afghanistan, mostly women and children

Associated Press

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Taliban say Pakistani airstrikes have killed 46 people in eastern Afghanistan, mostly women and children.

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  • Israel and Hamas agree historic Gaza ceasefire deal after 15 months of war

    Phased truce will bring the release of dozens of hostages still held by Hamas inside the besieged territory

  • Hamas OKs draft agreement of a Gaza ceasefire and the release of some hostages, officials say

    Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday. Mediators from the United States and Qatar said Israel and the Palestinian militant group were at the closest point yet to sealing a deal to bring them a step closer to ending 15 months of war. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its authenticity.

  • Palestinian Authority must run Gaza after war, prime minister says

    The Palestinian Authority must be the sole governing power in Gaza after the war, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said on Wednesday, as expectations grew that a deal to halt fighting and start returning Israeli hostages was near. Who will run Gaza after the war remains one of the great unanswered questions in the negotiations, which have focused on an immediate ceasefire and exchanging hostages still held in the enclave for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Speaking at a conference in Norway, Mustafa said pressure must continue to agree the ceasefire in Gaza and allow in more humanitarian aid for more than 2 million people facing a severe humanitarian crisis after 15 months of war.

  • Qatar, US announce Gaza truce, hostage release deal agreed

    Qatar and the United States announced Wednesday a ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas, adding they hoped it would pave the way for a permanent end to the war in Gaza.After mediators earlier said a deal had been reached, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cautioned that some issues in the framework remained "unresolved", though it expressed hope the "details will be finalised tonight".Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role, said the deal was the "right move" to bring back hostages seized during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war.That attack, the deadliest in Israeli history, resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.Israel's ensuing campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,707 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani told a press conference Wednesday that the "two belligerents in the Gaza Strip have reached a deal", adding the ceasefire between them would take effect on Sunday."We hope that this will be the last page of the war, and we hope that all parties will commit to implementing all the terms of this agreement," the prime minister said.US President Joe Biden, meanwhile, said he was "deeply satisfied this day has come", calling the negotiations some of the "toughest" of his career.He added that an as yet unfinalised second phase of the agreement would bring a "permanent end to the war", saying he was "confident" the deal would hold.Demonstrators in Tel Aviv calling for the release of the hostages embraced as news of the agreement spread, while thousands across Gaza celebrated the reported deal."I can't believe that this nightmare of more than a year is finally coming to an end. We have lost so many people, we've lost everything," said Randa Sameeh, a 45-year-old displaced from her home in Gaza City.Hamas said the ceasefire was the "result of the legendary steadfastness of our great Palestinian people and our valiant resistance in the Gaza Strip".Pressure to put an end to the fighting had ratcheted up in recent days, as mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States intensified efforts to cement an agreement.Qatar's Sheikh Mohammed said Wednesday that the three countries would monitor the implementation of the ceasefire via a body based in Cairo.During the initial 42-day ceasefire, 33 hostages would be released, he said, "including civilian women and female recruits, as well as children, elderly people, as well as civilian ill people and wounded".Also in the first phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza and remain positioned on its border to allow for the exchanges, as well as "the return of the displaced people to their residences", he continued. The number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for the Israeli hostages in the second and third phases would be "finalised" during the inital 42 days, he said.- Trump hails deal -Biden said the deal would "surge much needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families".In his televised remarks, Israel's Herzog said there was "no greater moral, human, Jewish, or Israeli obligation than to bring our sons and daughters back to us -- whether to recover at home, or to be laid to rest".Palestinian militants took 251 people hostage during the October 7 attack, 94 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.The agreement came after months of failed bids to end the deadliest war in Gaza's history, and days ahead of the inauguration of Biden's successor Donald Trump, who hailed the deal even before it was officially announced by the White House.Envoys from both Trump's incoming administration and Biden's outgoing one had been present at the latest negotiations."This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November," Trump said on social media.The president-elect added that his White House would "continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven".One far-right member of Netanyahu's cabinet, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, said ahead of a vote on the agreement that it was a "bad and dangerous deal for the security of the State of Israel".- Aid needed -Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pointed to the "importance of accelerating the entry of urgent humanitarian aid" into Gaza, as he welcomed news of the deal.Egypt's state-linked Al-Qahera news outlet cited a security source as saying coordination was "underway" to reopen the Rafah crossing on Gaza's border with Egypt to allow the entry of aid.The UN's Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, facing an Israeli ban on its activities set to take effect later this month, has said it will continue providing much-needed aid.UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini welcomed news of the deal in a post on X."Many have been hoping for this moment for the past 15 months," he said. "What's needed is rapid, unhindered & uninterrupted humanitarian access and supplies to respond to the tremendous suffering caused by this war."bur-smw/ser

  • How Trump’s ‘salty’ envoy may have forced Israel’s hand on hostage deal

    The call last week from Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy was reportedly blunt and short on diplomatic nicety.

  • Blinken proposes UN role, Palestinian state path in Gaza

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday proposed international security forces and temporary UN leadership to stabilize post-war Gaza where he warned that Hamas has recruited as many fighters as it has lost.Pointing to the void left as Israel relentlessly bombards Gaza, Blinken said: "We assess that Hamas has recruited almost as many new militants as it has lost."  

  • What we know about the Gaza truce between Israel and Hamas

    The long-awaited ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, facilitated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt, is expected to take effect on Sunday, with onlookers hoping its foundations are strong enough to definitely end the devastating, 15-month conflict. Although Israel says it has not yet officially agreed to the deal, which was announced Wednesday, key components of the agreement have been revealed. Key mediator Qatar said on Wednesday that 33 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza would be released i

  • Syrians Pose for Photos at Symbolic Attraction: a Toppled Statue of Hafez al-Assad

    A colossal statue of Hafez al-Assad was once a powerful symbol of Syria’s ruling regime, looming over the Damascus-Aleppo highway. Now, like that regime, it is toppled, and Syrians have been visiting to pose for photos that visualize a new reality.Footage provided to Storyful by Obada Jbara shows a typical scene, as a man and a young girl pose while standing on the head of the statue.The statue was toppled back in December soon after Bashar al-Assad, son of Hafez al-Assad, fled Syria.Jbara told Storyful the toppled statue has become a gathering place for Syrians, with the photos they take “symbolizing change and hope for a new future.” Credit: Obada Jbara via Storyful

  • Israel conducted the worst bombardment of the 21st century. Now Iran and its proxies face a new reality

    Four hundred and sixty-six days since Hamas fighters massacred over 1,000 Israelis and kidnapped hundreds more, the guns may finally be falling silent.

  • Israel, Hamas reach ceasefire deal to end 15 months of war in Gaza

    DOHA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Hamas and Israel reached a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza that mediators said would take effect on Sunday and include a release of hostages held there during 15 months of bloodshed that devastated the Palestinian enclave and inflamed the Middle East. The complex phased accord outlines a six-week initial ceasefire with the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands have been killed. Hostages taken by militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

  • Everything we know about North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine

    Kyiv claims to have captured two North Korean soldiers during fighting in Russia’s Kursk region

  • Islamic State-linked rebels kill at least 10 people in eastern Congo

    At least 10 people were killed in eastern Congo by extremist rebels linked to the Islamic State group, a local official said Wednesday. The rebels with the Allied Democratic Forces, an IS affiliate in the region, attacked the village of Makoko in the Lubero territory of the North Kivu province on Wednesday, a provincial member of parliament, David Sikuli, told The Associated Press. “I call on the Congolese government to allow joint operations by Congo and Uganda's army to be expanded in all areas where the ADF are located,” Sikuli said.

  • Opinion - Syria shouldn’t repeat the mistakes of Iraq’s hasty post-Saddam elections

    Inclusivity and moderation are indeed immediate priorities for Syria, but a big national vote is not. Democracy does not itself guarantee peace in a country so recently riven by autocratic rule and a long civil war.

  • See Israelis and Palestinians rejoice at prospect of a Gaza cease-fire

    Israel and Hamas reached a cease-fire agreement to bring some of the remaining hostages home and halt the bloodshed after 15 months of conflict.

  • Gaza ceasefire 'closer than ever', Hamas says it is still awaiting Israeli maps

    DOHA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Negotiators were trying to clinch agreement on Tuesday on the final details of a ceasefire in Gaza after marathon talks in Qatar, with mediators and the warring sides both saying a deal was closer than ever. However, after more than eight hours of talks, a senior Hamas official told Reuters late on Tuesday that the Palestinian group was still waiting for Israel to submit maps showing how its forces would withdraw from Gaza. He added the maps included Israeli withdrawals from the Netzarim area in the middle of the Gaza Strip, to allow the return of the displaced people to their homes, Jabalia in the north of the tiny territory, the Philadelphi road along the southern border with Egypt, and Rafah, also near that border.

  • Videos reveal new incidents of deadly brutality by Bangladesh police

    Exclusive: ‘Grotesque’ footage shows previously undocumented incidents on day PM Sheikh Hasina fled country

  • Trucks carrying food for besieged residents come under rocket attack in NW Pakistan

    A convoy of aid trucks carrying food and other relief supplies for hundreds of thousands of besieged residents in a sectarian-violence hit district in restive northwestern Pakistan came under a rocket attack on Thursday, officials said. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attack in Bagan, a city in the Kurram district where at least 130 people have died in recent months in clashes between rival Shiite and Sunni tribes. There was no immediate claim for the attack, and Saeed Manan, a district administrator, said the aid convoy was turned back for security reasons.

  • Mozambique inaugurates President Daniel Chapo amid deadly unrest over disputed election

    President-elect Daniel Chapo promised to unite Mozambique at his swearing-in ceremony Wednesday, which took place under heavy guard. Opposition supporters continue to protest against what they describe as a rigged election, with a local civil society group saying more than 300 people have been killed in a police crackdown on demonstrations since the election. Mozambique's new president Daniel Chapo vowed to unite the country upon taking the oath of office under heavy guard Wednesday, as seven mo

  • 33 Israeli Hostages Expected to Be Released in Deal with Hamas During Final Days of Biden's Presidency

    The release of the hostages is the first phase of the deal. The proposed second phase would end the war in Gaza

  • Suki Low bestowed honorary merit by Negeri Sembilan royalty

    The singer was accompanied by husband to the ceremony in conjunction with Tuanku Muhriz's birthday