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

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

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

Israeli warplanes bombed Gaza repeatedly overnight ahead of a possible ground offensive to root out Hamas, while US President Joe Biden described the Palestinian militant group's surprise assault on Israel as 'sheer evil' and issued a warning apparently aimed at its Iranian backers. Israel said dozens of its fighter jets struck more than 200 targets in a neighborhood of Gaza City that it said had been used by Hamas to launch its unprecedented wave of attacks. Israeli troops have k

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden denounced Hamas on Tuesday, calling the attack the Palestinian militant group launched against Israel "an act of sheer evil," and stressed US support for Israel as it mourns the killing of more than 1,000 people. The president also voiced concern for Americans being held hostage by Hamas, an Iranian-backed Islamist group, whose stated purpose, he said, is to "kill Jews." He called for Israel to follow the "law of war" in its re

DALLAS (Reuters) -- The outbreak of military conflict in the Middle East may leave central bankers battling new inflationary trends as well as deal a blow to economic confidence at a time when they had expressed growing hope about containing the price surge sparked by the pandemic and Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The stunning violence in Israel, with thousands killed as fighters from the Hamas movement invaded from their Gaza enclave and Israel responded in force, added the possibilit

Israeli forces clashed with gunmen from the Palestinian group Hamas on Sunday, 24 hours after the militants launched a surprise attack on Israel in which about 500 people were killed in the deadliest day of violence in Israel for 50 years. The biggest incursion into Israel in decades could undermine US-backed efforts to forge regional security alignments that could threaten Palestinian aspirations for statehood and the ambitions of the group's main backer, Iran. Hamas fighters began their a

President Vladimir Putin will meet China's Xi Jinping for talks in Beijing in October, Russia said on Tuesday, Putin's first known trip abroad since an arrest warrant was issued against him over the deportation of children from Ukraine. Nikolai Patrushev, a close Putin ally and the secretary of Russia's Security Council, said Russia and China should deepen cooperation in the face of the West's attempt to contain them both. He was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying t

MOSCOW/TOKYO -- Russia hopes to increase its marine product exports to China in the wake of China's ban on Japanese seafood imports after the release of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. Russia is one of the biggest marine product suppliers to China, with 894 Russian companies allowed to export seafood, Rosselkhoznadzor, the Russian food safety watchdog, said in July. In a statement late on Friday, Rosselkhoznadzor said it was seeking to

SYDNEY (Reuters) -- Spain defeated England 1-0 in the final of the Women's World Cup on Sunday, capping off a tournament that has broken attendance and TV records and raised hopes of a surge in interest for the women's game. Co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the ninth edition of the global showpiece event was the first to be held in the southern hemisphere. While local interest ebbed when Australia exited in the semi-finals, just shy of two million fans will have passed through t

North Korea slammed a recent United Nations meeting about its human rights record, asserting the United States used the international organisation for a "scheme" against Pyongyang, state media KCNA reported on Saturday. The UN Security Council discussed human rights abuses in North Korea on Thursday, with the U.S. ambassador criticising leader Kim Jong Un for using "repression and cruelty" to develop nuclear weapons and missiles. US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Sout

North Korea's military said it had scrambled jets after a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft intruded into its economic zone off its east coast, state news agency KCNA reported on Friday. The incident, which occurred on Thursday, was a "a dangerous military provocation" and North Korea was considering measures to deter future incursions, an unnamed spokesperson of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army said in the report. (Reuters)

North Korea's latest Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile - its first ICBM to use solid rocket fuel - has ignited new debate over a possible Russian role in the nuclear-armed state's dramatic missile development. In a report published on Thursday by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, Theodore Postol, professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, argued that the Hwasong-18 ICBM is likely the result of technical cooperation so

Hyundai Motor and its sister firm Kia said on Thursday they are recalling more than 91,000 newer vehicles in the United States because of fire risks and urged owners to park outside and away from structures pending repairs. The recall covers Hyundai 2023-2024 Palisade, 2023 Tucson, Sonata, Elantra, and Kona vehicles and 2023-2024 Seltos and 2023 Kia Soul, Sportage vehicles. The Korean automakers said electronic controllers for the Idle Stop & Go oil pump assembly may contain damaged electr

China's National People's Congress Standing Committee, a powerful body that enacts and amend laws when parliament is not in session, will review appointments and dismissals of officials at a meeting on Tuesday, state media reported. The announcement comes one month since Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang was last seen, with China's government saying he was off for unspecified health reasons. The NPC committee, which meets roughly every two months to deliberate legislation and pass

TOKYO -- Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi proposed high-level talks between China, Japan and South Korea in a meeting with the Japanese foreign minister in Indonesia this month, Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday. The proposal is seen as signalling a willingness to resume talks among the three countries and Japan would accelerate preparations to make it happen by the end of the year, Kyodo reported, citing unidentified diplomatic sources. US allies Japan and South Korea are wary of China's in

The Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday barring race-conscious admissions policies will force universities to find new ways to attract a diverse student body -- but experts said such efforts will likely open a new front in what has been a decades-long legal battle over race and college admissions. The majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by the court’s five other conservatives, held that giving some minority applicants a boost over others based on their

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -- EU antitrust regulators have temporarily suspended their investigation into Korean Air Lines' proposed acquisition of Asiana after the former asked for more time to prepare remedies to address competition concerns, the South Korean carrier said on Wednesday. The temporary halt took effect on June 23, the European Commission's site shows. "Korean Air has requested a deadline extension to render comprehensive remedies that can address the EC’s concerns, a

LONDON (Reuters) -- Lucid will pursue more deals to sell its luxury electric vehicle equipment as it looks to grow its technology supply business, its top executive said on Wednesday, adding its recent deal with Aston Martin is just the start. The US EV firm will provide Aston with technology including a rear drive unit with twin motors, battery modules and software for integrating systems under the agreement with the British luxury carmaker announced on Monday. The parts will come from Lucid�

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to crush what he called an armed mutiny after rebellious mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday he had taken control of a southern city as part of an attempt to oust the military leadership. The dramatic turn, with many details unclear, looked like the biggest domestic crisis Putin has faced since he ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine - which he called a "special military operation" - in February last year. In a televised address