Israel and Hamas are preparing for a fourth exchange of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, as mediators seek to extend a cease-fire in Gaza that is set to expire after Monday.On Sunday, Hamas freed 17 more hostages — 14 Israelis and three Thais — in a third exchange under the four-day truce. In
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A party ally of far-right Dutch election winner Geert Wilders on Monday quit his role in the building of a new governing coalition over fraud allegations, throwing the process of creating a new government into turmoil before it had begun.Gom van Strien, a senator for Wilders’ Party for Freedom, was
HONG KONG (AP) — Police are investigating suspected crimes of a Chinese wealth company owned by Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, according to the Beijing Public Security Bureau, days after the firm told investors it was insolvent.In a statement published on the social media platform WeChat over the weekend, the police said they had taken “criminal enforcement
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is receiving antibiotics intravenously to treat a lung inflammation and will scale back some appointments, but he doesn’t have pneumonia or fever, the Vatican said Monday.Francis himself on Sunday revealed that he was suffering from the inflammation problem, explaining why he didn’t keep his weekly window appointment to greet people
Almost half a million people have been left without power and one person was killed after a storm in the Black Sea area flooded roads, ripped up trees and took down power lines in Crimea, Russian state news agency Tass said.The storm also hit southern Russia and sent waves flooding into the beach resort of
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Delegations from European Union member states and Middle Eastern and north African countries are meeting Monday in Barcelona, Spain, to discuss the crisis in Gaza, where a fragile pause in fighting is set to expire.Forty-two delegations gathered at the event hosted by the Union for the Mediterranean, with many represented by
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — International mediators were pressing to extend a cease-fire in Gaza that has halted the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades but is set to expire after Monday, as Israel and Hamas prepared for a fourth exchange of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire
NEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities in India said on Monday they were set to begin manual digging of what they hoped was the final phase of rescuing the 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in the country’s north for over two weeks. This came a day after an attempt to drill vertically
SPRINGFIELD, La. (AP) — Arliya Martin accepted her high school diploma with relief and gratitude. It was her ticket to better-paying work, she felt, after getting kicked out of high school and toiling for eight years at factory jobs to support her children. “This is a new path for me to get on with my
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s navy on Monday added a destroyer capable of launching cruise missiles to its Caspian Sea fleet, state media reported.The 1,400-ton Deilaman destroyer, named for a town in north of Iran, is 95 meters (312 feet) long and 11 meters (36 feet) wide and is able to launch torpedoes while traveling
