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01-03-2025 GAZA STRIP/ JERUSALEM: Hamas has called on the international community to put pressure on Israel “to immediately enter the second phase of (the Gaza ceasefire agreement) without any delay or hesitation”. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire have begun in Cairo, Egyptian …

01-03-2025 LONDON: An Indian businessman on Friday won his appeal against extradition from Britain to India, with London’s High Court ruling that the “acceptance in India of torture or other serious mistreatment” meant extradition would breach his human rights. Sanjay Bhandari, who is described by his lawyers as a consultant …

01-03-2025 JERUSALEM: Israel’s military has published its first official account of the mistakes that led to its failures during Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack, which triggered the Gaza war. The report concludes that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “failed in its mission to protect Israeli civilians”. The 19-page report contains …

01-03-2025 LOS ANGELES: Hundreds of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) staff have been laid off in the latest development in the Trump’s administration’s efforts to slash the federal workforce. Around 880 workers including weather forecasters have had their jobs terminated on Thursday, the media reported. The cuts come as …

01-03-2025 VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis, who has been battling pneumonia for two weeks, is showing signs of improvement, the Vatican has said in a medical update. He will remain in hospital due to a complex clinical picture, the Vatican said on Friday morning. It added the 88-year-old had another “peaceful …

01-03-2025 LONDON: At least 25 arrests have been made during a worldwide operation against child abuse images generated by artificial intelligence (AI), the European Union’s law enforcement organization Europol has said. The suspects were part of a criminal group whose members engaged in distributing fully AI-generated images of minors, according …

01-03-2025 WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has said he has a “lot of respect” for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the eve of their talks at the White House. Asked by media if he would apologize for recently calling him a “dictator”, he said he could not believe he had …

01-03-2025 WELLINGTON: The owners of a New Zealand volcano that erupted in 2019, killing 22 people, have had their conviction over the disaster thrown out by the country’s High Court. Whakaari Management Limited (WML) was found guilty in 2023 of failing to keep visitors safe and fined just over NZ$1m …

01-03-2025 MEXICO CITY: Mexico has extradited 29 alleged drug cartel members to the United States including high-profile gang leaders. Those extradited include notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero who has been wanted by the US for the murder of an American agent 40 years ago. The move considered to be …

28-02-2025 TOKYO: The number of babies born in Japan fell to a record low of 720,988 in 2024 for a ninth consecutive year of decline, the health ministry said on Thursday, underscoring the rapid ageing and dwindling of the population. Births were down 5% on the year, despite a range …