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Israel demands hostage release for Gaza ceasefire: Hamas
Hamas said Monday that Israel has offered a 45-day ceasefire if it releases half of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, which the United Nations said is now in the grip of its worst humanitarian crisis since the start of the war. A Hamas official told Agence France-Presse that Israel had also demanded that the Palestinian militants disarm to secure an end to the Gaza war but that this crossed a "red line." Egyptian mediators passed on an Israeli proposal that "includes the release of half the h
April 15, 2025 -
El Salvador's Bukele says he will not return man US wrongfully deported
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said at the White House on Monday he had no plans to return a man mistakenly deported from the United States, suggesting that doing so would be like smuggling a terrorist into the country. His remarks came during an Oval Office meeting where multiple officials in President Donald Trump's administration said they were not required to bring back Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego Garcia, despite a US Supreme Court order saying they must facilitate t
April 15, 2025 -
Trump considers pausing his auto tariffs as world economy endures whiplash
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that he might temporarily exempt the auto industry from tariffs he previously imposed on the sector, to give carmakers time to adjust their supply chains. “I’m looking at something to help some of the car companies with it,” Trump told reporters gathered in the Oval Office. The Republican president said automakers needed time to relocate production from Canada, Mexico and other places, “And they need a little bit of time because they’
April 15, 2025 -
Haiti's government adopts 'war budget'
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Haiti’s government announced Monday that it approved what it called a “war budget” of $275,000 aimed at alleviating the country’s crisis as gang violence surges. Nearly 40 percent of the money will go toward Haiti’s police and military “to fight the armed groups that threaten national stability,” while nearly 20 percent will go to fortify the border the country shares with the Dominican Republic, Haiti’s transitional presidential council said in a statement. Another
April 15, 2025 -
Trump administration freezes $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard, sparking backlash
BOSTON (AP) — The federal government says it's freezing more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard University, since the institution said Monday it won't comply with the Trump administration's demands to limit activism on campus. In a letter to Harvard Friday, the administration called for broad government and leadership reforms, a requirement that Harvard institute what it calls "merit-based" admissions and hiring policies as well as conduct an audit of the study b
April 15, 2025 -
Blue Origin rocket carries all-female crew into space
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launched his fiancee Lauren Sanchez into space Monday with an all-female celebrity crew that included Katy Perry and Gayle King. It was the latest wave in space tourism, where more of the rich and famous than ever before or lucky and well-connected can enter the zero-gravity realm traditionally dominated by professional astronauts. The New Shepard rocket blasted off on the quick up-and-down trip from West Texas. The fringes of space beckoned 107 kilometers up and provided
April 15, 2025 -
Brazil former president Bolsonaro's surgery ends 'with success'
BRASILIA (AFP) — Brazil's ex-president Jair Bolsonaro underwent a successful intestinal surgery in Brasilia on Sunday, his wife said, going through a marathon operation after being hospitalized for "unbearable" pain linked to a 2018 stabbing attack. The 70-year-old underwent laparotomy — a procedure involving an incision through the abdominal wall — "to treat intestinal adhesions and reconstitute the abdominal wall," said a statement from the DF Star hospital where he was being treated. "Operati
April 14, 2025 -
Peruvian writer and Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa dies at 89
LIMA, Peru (Reuters) — Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, who enchanted readers with his intellectual rigor and lyrical prose for five decades and came close to being president of his country, died on Sunday aged 89. He died in the country's capital Lima surrounded by his family and "at peace," his son Alvaro Vargas Llosa, a well-known political commentator, said on X. A leading light in the 20th century Latin American literature boom, Vargas Llosa won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2010 for
April 14, 2025 -
Historic domes of Hagia Sophia are renovated to protect the landmark from earthquakes
ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey has begun a new phase in sweeping restorations of the nearly 1,500-year-old Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, focusing on preserving the monument's historic domes from the threat of earthquakes. Officials say the project will include reinforcing Hagia Sophia's main dome and half domes, replacing the worn lead coverings and upgrading the steel framework while worship continues uninterrupted in the mosque. A newly installed tower crane on the eastern façade is expected to facilitate
April 14, 2025 -
Trump warns no country 'off the hook' on tariffs
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump warned Sunday that no country would be "getting off the hook" on tariffs, as his administration suggested exemptions seen as favoring China would be short-lived. The world's two largest economies have been locked in a fast-moving, high-stakes game of brinkmanship since Trump launched a global tariff assault that particularly targeted Chinese imports. Tit-for-tat exchanges have seen US levies imposed on China rise to 145 percent, and Beijing setting a
April 14, 2025 -
Israel intensifies strikes across Gaza
A wave of Israeli strikes across Gaza on Sunday hit a hospital and other sites, killing at least 21 people, including children, as Israel vowed to expand its security presence in the small coastal strip. The predawn strike on Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City was the latest of several attacks on northern Gaza's last major hospital providing critical health care. Hospital director Dr. Fadel Naim said the emergency room, pharmacy and surrounding buildings were severely damaged, affecting over 100 pati
April 14, 2025 -
At least 50 people killed in east Congo as government and Rwanda-backed rebels trade blame
GOMA, Congo (AP) — At least 50 people were killed in weekend attacks in Congo’s conflict-battered east, authorities said Saturday. The government traded blame with Rwanda-backed rebels over who was responsible for the violence that quickly escalated the conflict in the region. The renewed violence that residents reported in and around the region’s largest city of Goma — which the M23 rebels control — was the biggest threat yet to ongoing peace efforts by both the Gulf Arab state of Qatar and Afr
April 14, 2025 -
Russian missile strikes Ukraine city
SUMY, Ukraine (AFP) -- A Russian missile strike on Sunday on the Ukrainian city of Sumy killed at least 34 people, authorities said as European and United States leaders condemned one of the deadliest attacks in months. Two ballistic missiles hit the centre of the northeastern city, close to the Russian border, on Sunday morning, Ukrainian authorities said. People ran for cover amid burning cars and bodies were left strewn in the street. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that the attack occ
April 14, 2025 -
Hungarian opposition leader pledges to restore alliances
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The leader of Hungary's largest opposition party on Sunday told thousands of supporters that he would guide his country out of its international isolation if he defeats Prime Minister Viktor Orban in elections scheduled for next year. Peter Magyar, the leader of the Respect and Freedom (Tisza) party, represents the most serious challenge to Orbán's power since the right-wing populist leader took power in 2010. Recent polling suggests that Tisza has overtaken Orban's Fide
April 14, 2025 -
Gabon junta chief wins presidency
LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AFP) -- Junta chief Brice Oligui Nguema celebrated a huge victory in Gabon's presidential election Sunday after provisional results gave him 90.35 percent of the vote. Oligui, who ended more than five decades of corruption-plagued rule by the Bongo family in August 2023, assuming the role of transitional president, had promised to return the country to democratic rule. "God does not abandon his people," Oligui told hundreds of delighted supporters at his campaign headquarters,
April 14, 2025