Israel strikes across Gaza after allowing aid convoy into besieged enclave

Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza early Monday, including in areas where Palestinian civilians have been told to seek refuge, after another small aid shipment was allowed into the besieged Hamas-ruled territory. Israel is widely expected to launch a ground offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israeli communities. Tanks and troops have been massed at the Gaza border, and Israel says it has stepped up airstrikes in order to reduce the risk to troo

Oct. 23, 2023

Russia engages in global election interference, US alleges

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Russia is using its spy network, state-run media and social media to undermine public trust in elections around the world, according to a US intelligence report released Friday that was shared with around 100 countries. "Russia is focused on carrying out operations to degrade public confidence in election integrity," the report said, citing findings from the US intelligence community. "This is a global phenomenon. Our information indicates that senior Russian g

Oct. 21, 2023

Israel vows to 'fight until victory' after Hamas releases two US hostages

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to "fight until victory" in Gaza, signaling no pause in his military's bombardment and expected invasion of the enclave after Hamas released two US hostages. The Islamist group Hamas on Friday released US mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan who were kidnapped in its attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. They were the first hostages confirmed by both sides in the conflict to be freed since Hamas gu

Oct. 21, 2023

Hamas releases two US hostages with hope for more

GAZA STRIP (AFP) -- Gaza's Hamas rulers released two Americans on Friday among some 200 hostages they abducted in brutal October 7 attacks in Israel and indicated that more could follow. Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan were back in Israel late Friday, the Israeli government said. No details were given on their condition, but US President Joe Biden said he was "overjoyed" at the news. Biden spoke by phone to the two women after they were freed. And Hamas

Oct. 21, 2023

Aid for Gaza piles up as Israel rallies troops for invasion

Desperately needed international aid piled up Friday near Gaza, with Palestinians in dire need of food and water after relentless bombing by Israel, still reeling from the bloodiest attack in its history. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after the Islamist militant group launched a massive attack from the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burned to death, according to Israeli officials. Hamas gunmen also took nearly 200 people h

Oct. 20, 2023

Israel will let Egypt deliver some badly needed aid to Gaza

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip -- Israel said Wednesday that it will allow Egypt to deliver limited humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The first crack in a punishing 10-day siege on the territory came one day after a blast at a hospital killed hundreds and put immense strain on Gaza’s struggling medical system. The announcement to allow water, food and other supplies happened as fury over the blast at Gaza City’s al-Ahli Hospital spread across the Middle East, and as US President Joe Biden

Oct. 19, 2023

[Graphic News] Global survey shows two-thirds of population favors solar power

More than two-thirds of the world’s population favors solar energy, five times more than public support for fossil fuels, a global poll has found. The survey, conducted by Glocalities in collaboration with advocacy groups Global Citizen and The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, was based on interviews with more than 21,000 people in 21 countries between January and June. The countries included Australia, Brazil, China, India, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey

Oct. 19, 2023

Biden arrives on solidarity visit to Israel

US President Joe Biden landed in Israel Wednesday on a solidarity visit following Hamas attacks, under the shadow of a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital that has inflamed regional tensions. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally welcomed Biden on the tarmac, putting his arms around the US president who then clasped his hands around Netanyahu in a sign of the newfound bond between the two leaders. Under unusually tight security even for the US president, Biden and Netanyahu chatted br

Oct. 18, 2023

Blast kills hundreds at Gaza hospital; Hamas and Israel trade blame

A massive blast rocked a Gaza City hospital packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter Tuesday, killing hundreds of people, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said. Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike, while the Israeli military blamed a rocket misfired by other Palestinian militants. At least 500 people were killed, the ministry said. As rage spread through the region because of the hospital carnage, and with US President Joe Biden heading to the Mideast in hopes of stopping the war fr

Oct. 18, 2023

China's Xi promises more market openness and new investments

Chinese President Xi Jinping promised greater access to China’s market for international firms and new financing exceeding $100 billion for other developing economies as he opened a forum Wednesday on his signature Belt and Road infrastructure policy. The initiative has built power plants, roads, railroads and ports around the world and deepened China’s relations with Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Mideast. But the massive loans that funded the projects have burdened poorer co

Oct. 18, 2023

Biden to visit Israel as war in Gaza sparks humanitarian crisis

TEL AVIV, Israel/GAZA -- US President Joe Biden will make a high stakes visit to Israel on Wednesday to show support for its war on Hamas, after Washington said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to let humanitarian aid reach besieged Gazans. Trucks carrying vital supplies for Gaza reached the Rafah crossing in Egypt, the only access point to the enclave outside of Israel's control. A witness told Reuters some 160 trucks had left the nearby Egyptian town of Al-Arish, where they ha

Oct. 17, 2023

Beyond the neocon debacle to peace in Ukraine

By Jeffrey D. Sachs We are entering the end stage of the 30-year US neocon debacle in Ukraine. The neocon plan to surround Russia in the Black Sea region by NATO has failed. Decisions now by the US and Russia will matter enormously for peace, security, and well-being for the entire world. Four events have shattered the neocon hopes for NATO enlargement eastward, to Ukraine, Georgia and onward. The first is straightforward. Ukraine has been devastated on the battlefield, with tragic and appalli

Oct. 17, 2023

Biden says Hamas must be eliminated, US officials warn war could escalate

WASHINGTON -- US President Joe Biden said on Sunday he believes the Hamas militant group must be eliminated but there should be a path to a Palestinian state, after top US officials warned the war between Israel and Hamas could escalate. Biden did not think American troops would be necessary on the ground as Israel has one of the "finest fighting forces," even as American warships headed to the area amid growing clashes on Israel's northern border with Lebanon. Israel unleashed a feroc

Oct. 16, 2023

Palestinians struggle to flee Gaza

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Desperate Palestinians scrambled for escape from northern Gaza on Saturday or huddled by the thousands at a hospital in the target zone in hopes it would be spared, as Israel intensified warnings of an imminent offensive by air, ground and sea following Hamas militants’ deadly rampage in Israel a week ago. While workers at an Israeli military base continued efforts through the Jewish Sabbath to identify the more than 1,300 people killed in the Oct. 7 assau

Oct. 15, 2023

Louvre Museum, Versailles Palace evacuated after bomb threats with France on alert

PARIS (AP) — The Louvre Museum in Paris and Versailles Palace evacuated visitors and staff Saturday after receiving bomb threats, police said. The French government started deploying 7,000 troops to increase security around the country after a fatal school stabbing by a suspected Islamic extremist. The evacuations of two of the world's most-visited tourist sites come amid heightened vigilance around France following Friday's school attack, and global tensions linked to the war be

Oct. 15, 2023

A Reuters videographer killed in southern Lebanon by Israeli shelling is laid to rest

KHIAM, Lebanon — A Reuters videographer killed in Israeli shelling of southern Lebanon was laid to rest in his hometown Saturday in a funeral procession attended by hundreds of people. Draped in a Lebanese flag, Issam Abdallah’s body was carried on a stretcher through the streets of the southern town of Khiam, from his family’s home to the local cemetery. Dozens of journalists and Lebanese lawmakers attended the funeral. Abdallah was killed Friday evening near the village of

Oct. 15, 2023

In first call with Palestinian president Abbas, Biden discusses support for humanitarian aid to Gaza

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Joe Biden on Saturday spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging the leaders to allow humanitarian aid to the region and affirmed his support for efforts to protect civilians. The weekend calls in Washington came ahead of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's announcement that the US was moving up a second carrier strike group in support of Israel. Secretary of State Antony Blinken intensified diplom

Oct. 15, 2023

Thousands flee north Gaza after Israel evacuation warning

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories -- Thousands of Palestinians fled Saturday to southern Gaza seeking refuge after Israel warned them to evacuate before an expected ground offensive against Hamas in retaliation for the deadliest attack in Israel's history. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that nearly a week of fierce bombardment was "just the beginning" as Israel seeks to retaliate against Hamas after their fighters killed more than 1,300 a week ago. Israeli ground forces made

Oct. 14, 2023

US will 'always be there by your side': Blinken in Israel

TEL AVIV -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed on a visit Thursday that the United States will "always" back Israel but said the Palestinians also have "legitimate aspirations" not represented by militant group Hamas. "You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself," Blinken said during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as war raged between Israel and Hamas. "But as long as America exists, you will never, ever have to. We will alway

Oct. 12, 2023

Israel forms unity government to oversee war sparked by attack

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined with a top political rival Wednesday to create a wartime Cabinet to oversee the fight to avenge the gruesome weekend attack by Hamas militants. In the sealed-off Gaza Strip, Palestinian suffering mounted as Israeli bombardment demolished neighborhoods and the only power plant ran out of fuel. Netanyahu vowed to “crush and destroy” Hamas. “Every Hamas member is a dead man,” he said in a televised address. T

Oct. 12, 2023