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By Hazel WARD JERUSALEM, Nov 23, 2023 (AFP) – Israel said a four-day Gaza truce and hostage release will not start until at least Friday, stalling a breakthrough deal to pause the war with Hamas. Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi indicated the release of at least 50 Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas was on track, but would not happen on Thursday as expected. “The contacts on the release of our hostages are […]
By Tran Thi Minh Ha with Alice Philipson in Hanoi One summer morning, Le Thi Hong Mai’s home collapsed into a river in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, where shoreline erosion caused by sand mining and hydropower dams threatens hundreds of thousands of people. Sand — needed to produce concrete — is the world’s second most exploited natural resource after water, and its use has tripled in the last two decades, according to the UN environment programme. […]
Thailand has captured more than 150 rogue iguanas that were rampaging through the countryside, raiding farms and damaging the local environment, officials said. The lizards are not native to the kingdom, hailing originally from Central and South America, but are increasingly popular as pets in Thailand. Environmental concerns have been raised over the activities of the herbivorous lacertilians, which are thought to be pets that have either escaped or been deliberately released into the wild. […]
North Korea said Thursday it was suspending a five-year-old accord reached with South Korea to reduce military tensions — the latest retaliatory fallout over Pyongyang’s spy satellite launch. The angry statement from the nuclear-armed North’s defence ministry came after state media claimed leader Kim Jong Un was already reviewing images of US military bases in Guam sent by Pyongyang’s new eye in the sky. With the United States leading allies in slamming Tuesday’s satellite launch […]
By Richard Carter with Jan Hennop in Enschede, the Netherlands THE HAGUE, Nov 22, 2023 (AFP) – Dutch voters cast ballots Wednesday in a cliffhanger election poised to usher in a new political era after Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s record 13-year stint in charge. Opinion polls suggest the result is far too close to predict, with any of four candidates — including one from the far-right — within striking distance of power in the EU’s […]
VIENNA, Nov 22, 2023 (AFP) – The ministerial meeting of the OPEC+ alliance originally scheduled for Sunday in Vienna has been rescheduled to Thursday, the Vienna-based Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced in a statement on Wednesday. The 13 OPEC members led by Saudi Arabia and their ten partners led by Russia were due to decide on their output policy amid slumping crude prices. The OPEC+ announcement caused global crude prices to shed […]
JERUSALEM, Nov 22, 2023 (AFP) – Following the announcement that Gaza militant group Hamas will release at least 50 hostages as part of a deal with Israel, here is what we know about the captives. Based on interviews with relatives and Israeli media reports, AFP has confirmed the identities of 210 of the around 240 people abducted on October 7 during Hamas attacks on military posts, communities and a desert music festival. The hostages, who […]
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 22, 2023 (AFP) – ChatGPT creator OpenAI announced Tuesday that Sam Altman would return as its CEO, days after his shock dismissal plunged the pioneering artificial intelligence firm into crisis. Hundreds of OpenAI staff had threatened to quit following Altman’s sacking on Friday, demanding in a letter released to the media the resignation of the board, as speculation swirled about the future of the company. His dramatic exit also sparked intense lobbying […]
JERUSALEM, Nov 22, 2023 (AFP) – The vast majority of Palestinians slated for release under an Israel-Hamas swap deal to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza, are teenage boys, an official Israeli list shows. Israel released the names on Wednesday of 300 Palestinian detainees who could be set free under the agreement. Under the terms of the deal, the first phase will see 50 Israeli hostages released over the course of four days, […]
By Ammar Karim BAGHDAD, Nov 22, 2023 (AFP) – US fighter jets struck two targets in Iraq early on Wednesday, killing eight pro-Iran fighters in retaliation for repeated attacks on American troops, US and Iraqi sources said. The twin strikes, which followed similar bombardment of Iran-backed forces on Tuesday, drew condemnation from the Iraqi government, which said it had not been consulted about the military action on its soil. The US military “conducted discrete, precision […]
By Chaideer Mahyuddin with Marchio Gorbiano in Jakarta SABANG, Indonesia, Nov 22, 2023 (AFP) – More than 200 Rohingya refugees were relocated from the beaches of a remote Indonesian island Wednesday after weeks adrift on a wooden boat, as authorities rejected locals’ efforts to push the members of the persecuted Myanmar minority back to sea. The latest arrivals brought to more than 1,000 the number of desperate and exhausted Rohingya who have landed on the […]
By Adel Zaanoun GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 22, 2023 (AFP) – Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day truce that would see the Palestinian group release dozens of hostages taken on October 7, both sides announced Wednesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet approved the accord after a near-all-night meeting, in which he told reticent ministers this was a “difficult decision but it’s a right decision.” A government spokesman told AFP that under the […]
