Patients and staff leave Gaza's biggest hospital, and dozens are killed at a crowded refugee camp

Hundreds of patients, medical staff and people displaced by Israel's war against Hamas left Gaza’s largest hospital Saturday, with one evacuee describing a panicked and chaotic scene as Israeli forces searched and face-scanned men among those leaving and took some away. Israel’s military has been searching Gaza City's Shifa Hospital for a Hamas command center that it alleges is located under the facility — a claim Hamas and hospital staff deny . The evacuation, which

Nov. 19, 2023

China, Japan reaffirm 'strategic relationship' in rare leader talks

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said they would pursue mutually beneficial relations in their first face-to-face talks in a year, putting emphasis on shared economic interests amid a series of diplomatic disputes. The leaders of Asia's two largest economies discussed thorny issues such as China's ban on Japanese seafood and the case of a Japanese businessman detained in China on suspicion of espionage during hour-long talks at a hotel in San Fra

Nov. 17, 2023

Biden, Xi's 'blunt' talks yield deals on military, fentanyl

WOODSIDE, California -- US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed on Wednesday to open a presidential hotline, resume military-to-military communications and work to curb fentanyl production, showing tangible progress in their first face-to-face talks in a year. Biden and Xi met for about four hours on the outskirts of San Francisco to discuss issues that have strained US-Chinese relations. They plan to resume military contacts that China severed after then-House of Representat

Nov. 16, 2023

[Graphic News] Afghanistan opium poppy supply plummets 95% after Taliban ban: UN

Opium poppy production in Afghanistan, previously the world’s top supplier, has plummeted since the Taliban administration banned the cultivation of narcotics last year, a United Nations report said. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime said opium cultivation fell throughout the country to just 10,800 hectares in 2023 from 233,000 hectares the previous year, slashing supply by 95 percent to 333 tons. This was putting pressure on farmers in the war-torn country, where most people depend on agri

Nov. 16, 2023

Israeli troops enter Gaza hospital

GAZA STRIP -- Israeli forces stormed Gaza's largest hospital Wednesday, targeting what they believe is a Hamas command center housed among thousands of ailing and sheltering civilians. Israeli and Palestinian officials said military operations were taking place at Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital -- the focal point of days of deadly fighting and nearby aerial bombardments. Youssef Abul Reesh, an official from the Hamas-run Health inistry who is inside the hospital, told Agence France-Pres

Nov. 15, 2023

China's Xi leaves Beijing for summit with Biden: state media

BEIJING, China -- Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing on Tuesday, state media reported, on his way to San Francisco where he will hold highly anticipated talks with his US counterpart Joe Biden. "On the evening of November 14, President Xi Jinping left Beijing on a special plane. At the invitation of United States President Biden, he will go to San Francisco for the China-US presidents' meeting," state broadcaster CCTV reported. The two leaders will meet on the sidelines of

Nov. 14, 2023

World severely off track to limit planet-heating emissions: UN

PARIS, France -- The world is "failing to get a grip" on climate change, the UN warned Tuesday, as an assessment of current climate pledges shows only minor progress on reducing emissions this decade. In a report released just weeks before high-stakes climate negotiations, the United Nations climate change organisation said the world was failing to act with sufficient urgency to curb greenhouse gas emissions. With temperatures soaring and 2023 expected to become the warmest year so far

Nov. 14, 2023

Zelensky says Russian attacks increasing

KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday Russia was increasing its attacks across the front line, as Kyiv called for the West to boost its weapons supplies ahead of winter. Neither side has made any significant territorial gain for months, but both Zelensky and the Kremlin have denied the conflict has ground to a stalemate. "The military reported an increase in the number of enemy assaults," Zelensky said in a post on social media, saying Russians were at

Nov. 14, 2023

Putin approves new restrictions on media coverage ahead of presidential elections

MOSCOW, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved changes to the law that governs presidential elections putting new restrictions on media coverage, local news agencies reported on Tuesday. The changes come ahead of the election to be held in March in which Putin, who has ruled Russia for the last 24 years, is expected to seek a new six-year term. Putin, 71, has not declared whether he will run, saying he will announce that only after the parliament formally sets the election

Nov. 14, 2023

Largest hospital in Gaza not functioning amid Israeli assault

The largest hospital in Gaza has ceased to function and fatalities among patients are rising, the head of the World Health Organization said on Sunday, as a fierce Israeli assault continues in the Hamas-controlled strip. Hospitals in the north of the Palestinian enclave, including the Al-Shifa complex, are blockaded by Israeli forces and barely able to care for those inside, with three newborns dead and more at risk from power outages amid intense fighting nearby, according to medical staff. Isr

Nov. 13, 2023

Russia ramps up attacks on key cities in eastern Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces have ramped up attacks in eastern Ukraine in an attempt to gain ground near two key front line cities, Ukrainian military officials said Sunday. Moscow's troops have begun a push to regain territory near Bakhmut, the eastern mining city that was the site of the war’s bloodiest battle before falling into Russian hands in May, the head of Ukraine’s ground forces wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Ukrainian troops had recaptured the hei

Nov. 12, 2023

Israel says ready to evacuate babies from Gaza's main hospital

GAZA/JERUSALEM -- Israel's military said it was ready to evacuate babies from Gaza's largest hospital Sunday, where Palestinian officials said two newborns died and dozens more were at risk after fuel ran out amid intense fighting in the area. As the humanitarian situation worsened, Gaza's border authority said the Rafah crossing into Egypt would reopen Sunday for foreign passport holders after closing Friday. Hamas said it had completely or partially destroyed more than 160 Israe

Nov. 12, 2023

Moody's downgrades US debt rating outlook to negative

Moody's on Friday downgraded its outlook on United States debt to negative from stable, one week before crucial budget negotiations in Congress. For now, the agency has maintained its Aaa rating on US government debt. "In the context of higher interest rates, without effective fiscal policy measures to reduce government spending or increase revenues, Moody's expects that the US's fiscal deficits will remain very large, significantly weakening debt affordability," the age

Nov. 11, 2023

This year 'virtually certain' to be warmest in 125,000 years: scientists

BRUSSELS -- This year is "virtually certain" to be the warmest in 125,000 years, European Union scientists said Wednesday, after data showed last month was the world's hottest October in that period. Last month smashed through the previous October temperature record, from 2019, by a massive margin, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service said. "The record was broken by 0.4 degrees Celsius, which is a huge margin," said C3S Deputy Director Samantha Burgess, who de

Nov. 8, 2023

[Graphic News] Biden trails Trump in states likely to decide 2024 US election, polls show

In the US, Democratic President Joe Biden is behind Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in five of the six most important battleground states exactly a year before the presidential election as Americans express doubts about Biden’s age, dissatisfaction toward his handling of the economy and other issues, polls showed. The polls were conducted by The New York Times and Siena College. Trump, first in the field for his party’s 2024 nomination as he seeks to regain the presidency, leads

Nov. 8, 2023

Arab partners disagree on need for cease-fire amid war

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — The United States and Arab partners disagreed Saturday on the need for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip as Israeli military strikes killed civilians at a UN shelter and a hospital, and Israel said the besieged enclave’s Hamas rulers were “encountering the full force” of its troops. Large columns of smoke rose as Israel’s military said it had encircled Gaza City, the initial target of its offensive to crush Hamas. Gaza’s Health Mini

Nov. 5, 2023

Nepal rushes aid, rescue operations after quake kills at least 157

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Survivors of a strong earthquake that shook Nepal’s northwest in the middle of the night described sudden shaking followed by houses collapsing and burying entire families, as the death toll rose to 157 on Saturday. Most of those killed were crushed by debris when their houses — usually made by stacking rocks and logs — crumbled under the force of the tremblor midnight Friday, local media reported. While rescuers were scrambling to rush aid, operations

Nov. 5, 2023

Protest marches from US to Berlin call for immediate halt to Israeli bombing of Gaza

From Washington to Milan to Paris, tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched Saturday, calling for a halt to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza . The marches reflected growing disquiet about the mounting civilian casualty toll and suffering from the Israel-Hamas war . Protesters, particularly in countries with large Muslim populations, including the US, UK and France, expressed disillusionment with their governments for supporting Israel while its bombardments of hospitals and

Nov. 5, 2023

Israel fires missile at Gaza house of Hamas chief Haniyeh: report

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Israeli drone fired a missile at the Gaza house of Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh who is currently outside the enclave, Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Radio reported on Saturday. It was unclear whether any of his family members were at the house when it was struck. Haniyeh, Hamas' political chief, has been outside the Gaza Strip since 2019, residing between Turkey and Qatar.

Nov. 4, 2023

Quake shakes northwest Nepal, killing at least 128 and injuring dozens

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Helicopters and ground troops rushed to help people hurt in a strong earthquake that shook districts in northwestern Nepal just before midnight Friday, killing at least 128 people and injuring dozens more, officials said Saturday. Authorities said the death toll was expected to rise, noting that communications were cut off with many places. At the regional hospital in the city of Nepalgunj, more than 100 beds were made available and teams of doctors stood by to help

Nov. 4, 2023