Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages during the first phase of an emerging ceasefire agreement being finalized by negotiators in Doha, two Israeli officials said. Israel believes that most of the 33 hostages are alive, a senior Israeli official told reporters on Monday, but the bodies of deceased hostages will also likely be among those released during the initial ...
While they continued to emphasize that officials will remain cautious until the negotiations produce a final deal to end the Gaza conflict, as of Monday, the sources said US officials believe a ceasefire agreement could very well be announced in the forthcoming last days of President Joe Biden’s time in office. Another source said that “all the big blocks (to ...
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday signed a bill restricting the use of smartphones at school, following a global trend for such limitations. The move will impact students at elementary and high schools across the South American nation starting in February. It provides a legal framework to ensure students only use such devices in cases of emergency ...
Venezuela’s foreign minister on Monday accused opponents of President Nicolás Maduro as being linked to damages at the country’s diplomatic facilities in five nations. Foreign Minister Yvan Gil in a statement said the vandalism was coordinated by grassroots groups known as “comanditos” – meaning small commandos – but he did not offer any evidence to back up the accusation, which ...
Surrounded by forest-covered mountains cloaked in mist, a patchwork quilt of green farmland and steel-blue waves breaking on mangrove-strewn mudflats, Lai Chi Wo does not look like it belongs in Hong Kong. The remote 300-year-old village is one of the city’s oldest settlements — and one of its most biodiverse. Its location is no accident: it draws on the traditional ...
Ukraine struck Russian regions with a major drone and missile attack overnight, damaging at least two factories and forcing schools to close in a major southern Russian city, according to Russian officials and media. The Shot Telegram channel said that Russia had downed more than 200 Ukrainian drones and five US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles. “The enemy has organized a massive ...
One of Pope Francis’ lasting reforms will be his reshaping of the papacy to embrace simplicity and humility, as seen in his decisions to live in a Vatican guesthouse and carry his own briefcase onto the papal plane. With the release of a new autobiography Tuesday, titled “Hope,” Francis underlines this shift with a remarkable openness about his past mistakes ...
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will hold off enforcing a requirement laid out in an executive order this month that Nippon Steel abandon its $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel, the companies said on Saturday. President Joe Biden blocked Nippon Steel’s planned acquisition of U.S. Steel on national security grounds on Jan. 3, and his Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said this week that the proposed deal had received a “thorough analysis” ...
Barry Diller’s IAC said Monday that its board approved the spinoff of Angi, the home improvement marketplace the company acquired in 2017. IAC said it expects the transaction to close in the second quarter of the year. The two companies will post their respective fourth-quarter results when IAC reports on Feb. 11. Angi was founded in 1995 as Angie’s List, which went public on the Nasdaq in ...
Microsoft is forming a new group focused on developing AI apps and providing tools for third-party customers, the company announced Monday. The new group will be led by Jay Parikh, the former CEO of cybersecurity startup Lacework and former global head of engineering at Meta. The group will be called Core AI — Platform and Tools, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a ...