
-
Europe leaders battle for unity after Trump shock
-
Djokovic calls for overhaul of 'unfair' anti-doping system
-
Rio swelters in heatwave in run-up to Carnival
-
Israel says committed to Trump plan for Gaza displacement
-
Argentine prosecutors to probe Milei over 'cryptogate'
-
Turkey seals hotel spa illegally set up inside ancient cistern
-
France hosts emergency meeting on Europe response to Trump
-
Revamped Finnish museum says 'Good Bye, Lenin!'
-
Bayern hopeful Kane fit for Celtic clash
-
European leaders meet on response to US Ukraine shift
-
Muhsin Hendricks: S.Africa's gay imam who broke the mould
-
WHO chief urges pandemic accord action after US withdrawal
-
Italy probing Amazon over 1.2b euros in third-party seller VAT
-
Russell, Graham in Scotland squad to face England in Six Nations
-
Israeli military set to miss Lebanon withdrawal deadline despite pushback
-
France cuts prison activities to smooth facial massage outcry
-
Kenya's HIV patients victims of US aid freeze
-
Starmer to meet Trump 'next week': UK govt
-
US tensions add fire to final stretch of German election campaign
-
Italy's Milan upstages Pogacar in UAE Tour first stage
-
Pope's condition 'complex', hospital stay extended: Vatican
-
Liverpool can cope with title nerves: Van Dijk
-
Greece to open museum of ancient undersea treasures
-
European markets rise ahead of Ukraine war talks
-
'Now or never' for pandemic accord, says WHO chief after US pulls out
-
New Zealand's Williamson makes joint move to Middlesex and London Spirit
-
Hollywood should resist Trump pressure, says director Todd Haynes
-
Ukraine war death toll: huge but not fully known
-
Ex-Tour de France winner Thomas to retire at end of season
-
African players in Europe: Marmoush wreaks havoc in 14 minutes
-
Sri Lanka budget banks on car taxes to boost coffers
-
Singapore opposition leader fined for lying to parliament
-
Stock markets start week on mixed note
-
Musk's DOGE seeks access to US tax system: reports
-
Champions Trophy set for liftoff after India-Pakistan row, boycott calls
-
US tensions plague final phase of German election campaign
-
Rodgers urges Celtic to be bold against Bayern
-
Chatbot vs national security? Why DeepSeek is raising concerns
-
Court finds Singapore opposition leader guilty of lying to parliament
-
DeepSeek removed from South Korea app stores pending privacy review
-
Rights groups slam Australian plan to transfer criminals to Nauru
-
End of the road for Kolkata's beloved yellow taxis
-
S. Korea says DeepSeek removed from local app stores pending privacy review
-
Navalny's widow seeks to rally divided Russian opposition
-
Taiwan bounty hunters kill invading iguanas as numbers soar
-
Japan 2024 growth slows despite stronger fourth quarter
-
Most Asian markets start week on positive note
-
UK ready to send troops to Ukraine as European leaders to hold war talks
-
LeBron James says won't play in All-Star game
-
General Atomics and EDGE Establish Partnership to Manufacture, Test and Repair Electromechanical Systems

Israel, Hamas agree deal for Gaza truce, hostage release: source briefed on talks
Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages being held in Gaza following separate meetings with Qatar's prime minister, a source briefed on the talks told AFP.
A US official confirmed the deal.
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.
On Wednesday, a source close to the talks said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani was "meeting Hamas negotiators in his office for (a) final push" to seal the deal.
A source briefed on the talks later told AFP a "Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal (was) reached following (the) Qatari PM's meeting with Hamas negotiators and separately Israeli negotiators in his office".
The announcement comes after months of failed bids to end the deadliest war in Gaza's history, and days ahead of the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, who immediately hailed the deal before it was officially announced by the White House.
"We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you!" Trump said on his Truth Social network.
Trump had warned Hamas of "hell to pay" if it did not free the remaining captives before he took office, and envoys from both his incoming administration and President Joe Biden's outgoing one had been present at the latest negotiations.
Hamas sparked the war in Gaza by staging the deadliest-ever attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Palestinian militants also took 251 people hostage during the attack, 94 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed 46,707 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.
- Sticking points -
Among the sticking points in successive rounds of talks had been disagreements over the permanence of any ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the scale of humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territory.
The UN's Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, facing an Israeli ban on its activities set to take effect later this month, said it will continue providing much-needed aid.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed to crush Hamas in retaliation for the October 7 attack, has opposed any post-war role for the militant group in the territory.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday Israel would ultimately "have to accept reuniting Gaza and the West Bank under the leadership of a reformed" Palestinian Authority, and embrace a "path toward forming an independent Palestinian state".
He added that the "best incentive" to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace remained the prospect of normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa, speaking in Oslo, said the latest push for a Gaza ceasefire showed international pressure on Israel "does pay off".
The October 7 attack on communities in southern Israel sparked uproar around the world, as did the scale of the suffering in Gaza from the retaliatory war.
World powers and international organisations have for months pushed for a ceasefire, which up until Wednesday had remained elusive.
F.Müller--BTB