The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip said Saturday that 240 people had been killed in the Palestinian territory since a pause in the fighting expired on Friday. Another 650 people had been injured in "hundreds of air strikes, artillery and navy bombardments, everywhere in the Gaza Strip," it said in a statement, adding that Israeli forces had "particularly targeted Khan Yunis, where dozens of houses were destroyed with their inhabitants inside." (AFP)

More than 20 countries called for the tripling of world nuclear energy capacity at UN climate talks on Saturday as part of efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. A declaration endorsed by nations ranging from the United States to Ghana to Japan and several European countries said nuclear energy plays a "key role" in reaching the goal of carbon neutrality. The use of nuclear energy as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels is controversial as environmental groups are concerned ab

A critical climate conference that began with world leaders acknowledging an Earth in crisis was set for a second day of leaders' speeches on Saturday that organizers hope will set the stage for concrete action in coming days. The annual United Nations conference, known as COP28, was dominated Friday by presidents, prime ministers and royals laying out their plans to reduce heat-trapping emissions and urging each other to come together to avert climate catastrophe that seemed to draw closer

Global wine production has fallen this year to its lowest level since 1961 as vineyards were pummeled by extreme weather events, the International Organization of Vine and Wine said. Output reached 244.1 million hectoliters, down 7 percent from last year, the intergovernmental body said as it presented its first estimates. A number of major producers in the southern hemisphere had significant drops in production. Australia, Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Brazil all saw output drop between 10

WASHINGTON -- Henry Kissinger, a controversial Nobel Peace Prize winner and diplomatic powerhouse whose service under two presidents left an indelible mark on US foreign policy, died on Wednesday, according to Kissinger Associates Inc. Kissinger died at his home in Connecticut, Kissinger Associates said. Kissinger had been active past his centenary, attending meetings in the White House, publishing a book on leadership styles, and testifying before a Senate committee about the nuclear threat pos

Almost half of Russians want President Vladimir Putin to open talks to end the war in Ukraine, according to a survey. Some 48 percent of respondents agreed it was time to negotiate a peace deal, with 39 percent in favor of pressing on with the war, the telephone poll of 1,611 people by the Russian Field company found. The proportion favoring talks was the highest since the company began monitoring attitudes to the war in April last year. Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no willingness

TEL AVIV, Israel -- Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their cease-fire for two more days past Monday, raising the prospect of further exchanges of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and a longer halt to their deadliest and most destructive war. Eleven Israeli women and children, freed by Hamas, entered Israel on Monday night after more than seven weeks in captivity in Gaza in the fourth swap under the original four-day truce, which began Friday. Thirty-three Palestinian

Elon Musk, who's been under fire over accusations of antisemitism flourishing on his social media platform X, paid a visit Monday to Israel, where he toured a kibbutz that was attacked last month by Hamas militants and was set to meet with top leaders. The billionaire and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured the Kfar Azza kibbutz, which was stormed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7. Musk, wearing a protective vest and escorted by a phalanx of security personnel, used his phone to

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was back on track Sunday as the militants freed 17 more hostages, including 14 Israelis and the first American, in a third exchange under a four-day truce that the US said it hoped would be extended. In turn, Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners. Most hostages were handed over directly to Israel, waving to a cheering crowd as they arrived at an air force base. Others left through Egypt. Israel’s army said

South Korea’s beer imports from China plunged more than 40 percent last month from a year earlier following the release of a viral video showing a man urinating into a tank at Tsingtao Brewery, the customs office said. The amount of beer imports from China fell 43 percent on-year to 2,281 metric tons in October, and the value of beer purchases from the neighboring country declined 38 percent to $1.93 million, according to the Korea Customs Service. The video released on Oct. 19 shows a uni

China's health ministry on Sunday urged local authorities to increase the number of fever clinics as the country grapples with a surge in respiratory illnesses in its first full winter since easing COVID-19 restrictions. The spike become a global issue last week when the World Health Organization asked China for more information, citing a report on clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children by the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases. China and the WHO have faced questions about the

Holiday shoppers in the U.S. are seeking out the best deals and strategically nabbing the deepest discounts ahead of Cyber Monday, according to data from retailer websites aggregated by third parties. Cyber Monday, as the first Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday has become known as merchants step up online promotions, is set to be the biggest online shopping day of the year in the United States. Strong online traffic on Black Friday demonstrated a notable pattern of shoppers putting time and

GAZA/JERUSALEM -- Thirteen Israelis and four Thai nationals arrived in Israel on Sunday in the second release of hostages from Hamas captivity in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in a deal briefly endangered by a dispute about aid delivery into Gaza. Although overcome by the mediation of Egypt and Qatar, the dispute that threatened the truce to free captives underscored the fragility of the pact meant to release 50 hostages held by the Palestinian militant groups and 150 prisoners held in Isra

Hamas on Friday released 24 hostages it held captive in Gaza for weeks, and Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison in the first stage of a swap under a four-day cease-fire that offered a small glimmer of relief to both sides. Israel -- wrenched by the abduction of nearly 240 people in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war -- cheered as 13 Israeli women and children emerged free from Gaza. Most were in their 70s or 80s, and the youngest was a 2-year-old. Also released were 10 pe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- There's one thing that's certain for Dutch voters casting ballots Wednesday in a general election: Mark Rutte, the Netherlands' longest-serving prime minister, is on the way out . All the rest is up in the air in a knife-edge vote. Rutte's replacement after 13 years in office could be the country’s first female premier or a social democrat who left his job as the European Union's climate czar to return to national politics. The next p

Japan came in last in a global ranking of employee well-being, measured by assessing workers’ physical, mental, social and spiritual health, the results of a survey conducted by the McKinsey Health Institute showed. Employee well-being in Japan was at 25 percent in the poll of more than 30,000 workers across 30 countries, according to the study. Turkey ranked the highest at 78 percent, followed by India and China. South Korean employee well-being came in below the average at 48 percent to

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group stands as the second-largest player in the US market for electric vehicles despite concerns surrounding Washington’s protectionism policy, data showed. Hyundai Motor took up 4.8 percent of the US EV market in the January-September period, with its smaller sister Kia accounting for 2.7 percent, according to US magazine Automotive News. Their combined market share came to 7.5 percent, taking up the second-largest slice of the US EV market following Tes

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) -- At least 30 premature babies were evacuated from Gaza’s main hospital on Sunday and will be transferred to facilities in Egypt, the territory’s Health Ministry said. Medhat Abbas, a spokesman for the ministry, confirmed the evacuation in a phone call with The Associated Press. A World Health Organization team that visited Shifa Hospital on Saturday said 32 babies were among scores of critically ill patients stranded at the hospital, where Israeli force

Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, said on Saturday that he would kill off a Pacific trade pact being advanced by US President Joe Biden if he were to win the 2024 election and return to the White House. Speaking to supporters in Iowa, Trump said he was against the regional trade deal being negotiated by the Biden administration with 13 other countries, arguing that it would hollow out US manufacturing and trigger job losses. Talks on the trade sections of

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's firing was over a "breakdown in communication between Sam and the board," and not "malfeasance or anything related to our financial, business, safety, or security/privacy practices," Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap wrote in an internal company memo Saturday morning, viewed by Reuters. The board of OpenAI, the company behind hit product ChatGPT, on Friday pushed out its high-profile CEO Altman, sending shock waves across the tech industry. Th