Blinken redoubles calls for humanitarian pause in Israel-Hamas war

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an emphatic appeal Friday for "humanitarian pauses" in the fighting between Israel and the Hamas militant group in Gaza, saying they would facilitate efforts to bring aid to the besieged enclave and secure the release of hostages. Blinken addressed a press conference in Tel Aviv after he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials on a trip to reiterate the United States' support for Israel, ensure

Nov. 4, 2023

Israel says it has encircled Gaza City

Israeli forces on Thursday encircled Gaza City - the Gaza Strip's main city - in their assault on Hamas, the military said, but the Palestinian militant group resisted their drive with hit-and-run attacks from underground tunnels. The city in the north of the Gaza Strip has become the focus of attack for Israel, which has vowed to annihilate the Islamist group's command structure and has told civilians to flee to the south. "We're at the height of the battle. We've had i

Nov. 3, 2023

[Graphic News] Survey shows 51% of US teens spend an average 4.8 hours a day on social media

　Just over half of US teens said in a Gallup Poll that they spend at least 4 hours a day on social media sites such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and X, formerly known as Twitter. 　Gallup found 51 percent of teens averaged 4.8 hours a day. 　Across age groups, the average time spent on social media ranges from as low as 4.1 hours per day for 13-year-olds to as high as 5.8 hours per day for 17-year-olds. 　The data is from Gallup’s Familial and Adolescent Health Survey conducted

Nov. 3, 2023

More than 3,600 Palestinian children killed in just 3 weeks of war

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip -- More than 3,600 Palestinian children were killed in the first 25 days of the war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry. They were hit by airstrikes, smashed by misfired rockets, burned by blasts and crushed by buildings, and among them were newborns and toddlers, avid readers, aspiring journalists and boys who thought they'd be safe in a church. Nearly half of the crowded strip's 2.3 million inhabitants are under 18, a

Nov. 2, 2023

Open hatred of Jews surges globally, inflamed by Gaza war

In Los Angeles, a man screaming "kill Jews" attempts to break into a family's home. In London, girls in a playground are told they are "stinking Jews" and should stay off the slide. In China, posts likening Jews to parasites, vampires or snakes proliferate on social media, attracting thousands of "likes." These are examples of incidents of antisemitism, which have surged globally since the attack by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on Oct. 7 and subsequent war o

Nov. 1, 2023

Israeli military jets strike Gaza, says Hamas commander killed

Israeli airstrikes hit a densely populated refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 50 Palestinians and a Hamas commander, and medics struggled to treat the casualties in the enclave where food, fuel and basic supplies are running scarce. Israeli tanks have been active in Gaza for at least four days following weeks of air bombardments in retaliation for an attack by Palestinian Hamas militants on southern Israeli towns on Oct. 7 and the taking of more than 200 hostages. An Israel Defense

Nov. 1, 2023

[Graphic News] The toll of the Israel-Hamas war in numbers

The latest Israel-Hamas war has quickly become the deadliest and most destructive of the five wars fought between the sides since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 from the Palestinian Authority. Fighting erupted Oct. 7 when Hamas carried out a bloody attack in southern Israel. Since then, Israel has relentlessly pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes that have wrought unprecedented destruction, flattening entire neighborhoods. Here’s a look in numbers at the toll of the Israe

Nov. 1, 2023

In early 2029, Earth will likely breach key warming threshold: scientists

In a little more than five years -- sometime in early 2029 -- the world will likely be unable to stay below the internationally agreed temperature limit for global warming if it continues to burn fossil fuels at its current rate, a new study says. The study moves three years closer the date when the world will eventually hit a critical climate threshold, which is an increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius since the 1800s. Beyond that temperature increase, the risks of catastrophes increase, as the world

Oct. 31, 2023

Israel pushes deeper into Gaza and frees Hamas captive

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip -- Israeli ground forces pushed deeper into Gaza on Monday, advancing in tanks and other armored vehicles on the territory’s main city and freeing a soldier held captive by Hamas militants. The Israeli prime minister rejected calls for a cease-fire as airstrikes landed near hospitals where thousands of Palestinians are sheltering beside the wounded. The military said a soldier captured during Hamas' brutal Oct. 7 incursion was rescued in Gaza -- the first rescu

Oct. 31, 2023

Oman transitions to digital voting

MUSCAT, Oman -- Oman has seen a surge in voter turnout following the implementation of an electronic voting system Sunday, allowing its citizens to use mobile apps to cast ballots remotely for new members of Parliament. At the same time, the election has left Oman's powerful monarchy, headed by Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, with room for further improvement in terms of civic engagement. Sunday's election recorded a 65.88 percent voter turnout, as nearly 500,000 out of the nation's 7

Oct. 31, 2023

Gaza receives largest aid shipment so far as deaths top 8,000

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip -- Nearly three dozen trucks entered Gaza on Sunday in the largest aid convoy since the war between Israel and Hamas began, but humanitarian workers said the assistance still fell desperately short of needs after thousands of people broke into warehouses to take flour and basic hygiene products. The Gaza Health Ministry said the death toll among Palestinians passed 8,000, mostly women and minors, as Israeli tanks and infantry pursued what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

Oct. 30, 2023

Israel presses ground campaign against Hamas in 'second stage' of Gaza war

Israeli forces waged ground operations against Hamas in Gaza on Sunday in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the second phase of a three-week-old war aimed at crushing the Palestinian militant group. Gaza's besieged residents faced a near-total communications and Internet blackout as Israel's warplanes dropped bombs and its troops and armour pushed into the Hamas-ruled enclave, with Israeli military chiefs signalling they were gearing up for an expanded ground offensive. Speak

Oct. 29, 2023

US, China agree to work towards Biden-Xi meeting next month

The United States and China agreed Friday to work towards setting up a meeting between the two countries' leaders next month, after President Joe Biden met Beijing's top diplomat at the White House. Biden has invited Xi Jinping to San Francisco in November for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit at a time of tense relations between the two powers. Xi has not yet confirmed he will come. After Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Biden and other senior US officials in Washingt

Oct. 29, 2023

[Graphic News] Gaza running out of water

　The World Health Organization has repeated its warnings of the dire situation in the Gaza Strip, pointing to a particularly precarious water shortage, as the densely populated Palestinian territory has been under siege. 　The WHO estimates that there are only 3 liters of water per person per day left, whereas the minimum requirement per person is 15 liters, for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene. 　Hardly anyone has taken a proper shower or bath there in recent weeks, he said. With about 1

Oct. 27, 2023

Israel launches ground raid into Gaza ahead of expected incursion

Israeli troops and tanks launched a brief ground raid into northern Gaza overnight into Thursday, the military said, striking several militant targets in order to “prepare the battlefield" ahead of a widely expected ground invasion after more than two weeks of devastating air raids. The raid came after the UN warned it is on the verge of running out of fuel in the Gaza Strip, forcing it to sharply curtail relief efforts in the territory, which has also been under a complete siege sinc

Oct. 26, 2023

Republicans end gridlock as US House elects new speaker

The US House of Representatives finally elected a new speaker on Wednesday, ending weeks of bitter Republican infighting that paralyzed Congress at a time of international and domestic crisis. Mike Johnson, a little-known ally of Donald Trump who spearheaded legal efforts to overturn the 2020 election, won the unanimous support of his party to lead the lower chamber of Congress, which has been at a standstill since Kevin McCarthy was ousted in a right-wing coup on October 3. "I think all th

Oct. 26, 2023

World leaders seek pause to Israel-Hamas fighting to allow aid into Gaza

GAZA/JERUSALEM -- The United States and Russia led international calls for a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas to allow aid into the besieged Gaza Strip, as Israel maintained its bombardment of the enclave where Palestinians are living in harrowing conditions. A total of 704 Palestinians, including 305 children, were killed Tuesday, the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said, a toll the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said was the highest reported in a single da

Oct. 25, 2023

Israel strikes across Gaza after allowing aid convoy into besieged enclave

Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza early Monday, including in areas where Palestinian civilians have been told to seek refuge, after another small aid shipment was allowed into the besieged Hamas-ruled territory. Israel is widely expected to launch a ground offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israeli communities. Tanks and troops have been massed at the Gaza border, and Israel says it has stepped up airstrikes in order to reduce the risk to troo

Oct. 23, 2023

Russia engages in global election interference, US alleges

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Russia is using its spy network, state-run media and social media to undermine public trust in elections around the world, according to a US intelligence report released Friday that was shared with around 100 countries. "Russia is focused on carrying out operations to degrade public confidence in election integrity," the report said, citing findings from the US intelligence community. "This is a global phenomenon. Our information indicates that senior Russian g

Oct. 21, 2023

Israel vows to 'fight until victory' after Hamas releases two US hostages

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to "fight until victory" in Gaza, signaling no pause in his military's bombardment and expected invasion of the enclave after Hamas released two US hostages. The Islamist group Hamas on Friday released US mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan who were kidnapped in its attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. They were the first hostages confirmed by both sides in the conflict to be freed since Hamas gu

Oct. 21, 2023