World

GAZA/TEL AVIV/BEIRUT,  (Reuters) – Israel struck an ambulance near a Gaza hospital yesterday in an attack the military said targeted militants, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls by Washington’s top diplomat for a halt to fighting unless hostages held by Hamas are freed.

KATHMANDU,  (Reuters) – At least 128 people were killed and dozens injured in Nepal when a strong earthquake struck the western area of Jajarkot, officials said last night, as houses in the area collapsed and buildings as far as New Delhi in neighbouring India shook.

(Reuters) – Actor Matthew Perry, who died on Saturday at age 54, was laid to rest yesterday at a Los Angeles cemetery in a service attended by relatives and castmates from the hit 1990s television sitcom “Friends,” show business media reported, citing photographs.

GAZA/JERUSALEM,  (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken appealed to Israel today to take steps to protect civilians in Gaza as its forces kept up their bombardment of the Palestinian enclave and the death toll among residents soared.

 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in buying a multibillion-dollar stake in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s richest cricket league, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

SEOUL, (Reuters) – North Korea confirmed today it is shutting some embassies in an effort to “rearrange its diplomatic capacity efficiently”, closures that South Korea says indicates the North is struggling under the burden of sanctions.

GAZA/JERUSALEM, (Reuters) – Israeli forces yesterday encircled Gaza City – the Gaza Strip’s main city – in their assault on Hamas, the military said, but the Palestinian militant group resisted their drive with hit-and-run attacks from underground tunnels.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty yesterday of stealing from customers of his now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange in one of the biggest financial frauds on record, a verdict that cemented the 31-year-oldformer billionaire’s fall from grace.

GENEVA,  (Reuters) – United Nations experts called today for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, saying time was running out for Palestinian people there who find themselves at “grave risk of genocide”.

GAZA/JERUSALEM, (Reuters) – Israeli tanks and troops pressed towards Gaza City today but met fierce resistance from Hamas militants using mortars and hit-and-run attacks from tunnels as the Palestinian death toll from nearly four weeks of bombardments mounted.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Fires caused by Israeli shelling in south Lebanon have burned some 40,000 olive trees and torched hundreds of square km (miles) of land, dealing a serious blow to a major Lebanese crop, the agriculture minister said.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, (Reuters) – Thousands of people swamped Pakistan’s main northwestern border crossing seeking to cross into Afghanistan today, a day after the government’s deadline expired for undocumented foreigners to leave or face expulsion.

GAZA/JERUSALEM, (Reuters) – More foreigners prepared to leave the besieged Gaza Strip last nightas its Hamas-run government said at least 195 Palestinians died in Israel’s attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp, strikes that U.N.

(Reuters) – Ukraine’s war with Russia is moving towards a new stage of static and attritional fighting, a phase that could allow Moscow to rebuild its military power, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief has said.

MINNEAPOLIS, (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden yesterday called for a “pause” in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip after a heckler pushing for a ceasefire confronted him at a campaign fundraiser.

TORONTO, (Reuters) – Canada’s liberal government kept immigration targets unchanged for the next two years and said it would stop ramping up immigration from 2026 onwards, as the country grapples with high inflation and a housing crisis.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain yesterday published a “Bletchley Declaration”, agreed with countries including the United States and China, aimed at boosting global efforts to cooperate on artificial intelligence (AI) safety.

GAZA/JERUSALEM, (Reuters) – A first group of injured evacuees from Gaza crossed into Egypt today under a Qatari-mediated deal, Egyptian security sources said, as Israeli forces pressed their offensive against Hamas militants in the Palestinian enclave.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain today published a “Bletchley Declaration”, agreed with countries including the United States and China, aimed at boosting global efforts to cooperate on artificial intelligence (AI) safety.

BRUSSELS, (Reuters) – The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell on Wednesday said he was “appalled” by the high number of casualties from the bombing by Israel of a refugee camp in Gaza and called for fighting parties to respect the international rules of war.