Reuters

GENEVA: European and Arab nations, Canada and the US appear willing to contribute to the estimated $70 billion needed to rebuild Gaza, a UN official said on Tuesday, adding that the two-year war there had produced rubble equal to 13 times the pyramids of Giza. Jaco Cilliers, an official at the United Nations Development Programme, said Israel&#39;s war against Hamas had generated at least 55 million tons of rubble and that it could take decades for Gaza to fully recover. &quot;We&#39;ve heard very positive news from a number of our partners, including European partners... Canada&quot; regarding their willingness to help, he told a press conference, adding that there were also discussions with the United States. Since a ceasefire deal came into effect in Gaza, large numbers of Palestinians have returned to the ruins of their homes in the coastal territory. Huge swathes of Gaza have been reduced to a wasteland by Israeli bombardment over two years that killed some 68,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities. A large part of the destruction is in Gaza City, scene of some of the fiercest fighting. About 83% of all building structures there have been damaged, according to the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT). UNDP said it had already cleared some 81,000 tons of rubble from the Gaza Strip and was continuing to do so. Israel launched its offensive after Hamas-led militants attacked the country on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza on Monday under the ceasefire deal and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees, as US President Donald Trump declared the end of the two-year-long war.

Palestinians carry belongings past destroyed buildings in Gaza City, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP)

Middle East

European and Arab countries, along with Canada and the US, have expressed willingness to support Gaza’s $70 billion reconstruction following two years of conflict that devastated infrastructure and caused heavy casualties.

UN says countries are willing to help fund Gaza's $70 bln reconstruction

Web Desk

Pakistani national football team practice ahead of their match against Afghanistan. (PFF)

Football

Pakistan and Afghanistan meet in key AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifier in Kuwait, aiming to advance despite earlier goalless draw and tough Group E challenges.

Pakistan vs Afghanistan: Neighbors clash in AFC Asian Cup qualifier

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar: An elite military unit told AFP Tuesday it had taken power in Madagascar after the national assembly voted to impeach President Andry Rajoelina for desertion of duty. The 51-year-old president had refused growing demands to step down, going into hiding after weeks of anti-government street demonstrations in the island nation. &quot;We have taken power,&quot; Colonel Michael Randrianirina, head of the CAPSAT military unit, told AFP after reading out a statement at a government building in the capital. The unit will set up a committee composed of officers from the army, gendarmerie and national police, he said. CAPSAT played a major role in the 2009 coup that first brought Rajoelina to power. &quot;Perhaps in time it will include senior civilian advisers. It is this committee that will carry out the work of the presidency,&quot; Randrianirina said in his statement. &quot;At the same time, after a few days, we will set up a civilian government,&quot; he said. The announcement came minutes after the lower house of parliament voted to impeach Rajoelina in a session dismissed by the presidency as &quot;devoid of any legal basis&quot;. Just hours earlier, Rajoelina had dissolved the national assembly by decree to block the session. The impeachment passed with 130 votes in favour -- well above the two-thirds constitutional threshold required in the 163-member chamber. The High Constitutional Court has to validate the vote. Rajoelina, a former mayor of the capital Antananarivo, said late Monday he was sheltering in a &quot;safe space&quot; after attempts on his life, without revealing his location. The protests began on September 25 and reached a pivotal point at the weekend when mutinous soldiers and security forces, including CAPSAT, joined the demonstrators and called for the president and other government ministers to step down.

Africa

An elite military unit in Madagascar seized power after parliament impeached President Andry Rajoelina for desertion. Colonel Michael Randrianirina announced a transitional military committee following weeks of protests and mutiny by security forces

Madagascar military unit seizes power after president impeached

TOKYO: Japan beat Brazil for the first time on Tuesday, fighting from two goals down to win the friendly 3-2 in Ajinomoto Stadium.&nbsp;Ayase Ueda grabbed the winning goal with a header in the 71st minute, sending the sell-out crowd into celebration.&nbsp;It was Japan&#39;s historic first win over the South American powerhouse at its 14th attempt.&nbsp;Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti made several changes to the team that won 5-0 in South Korea four days ago, but the five-time world champion continued its strong form from Seoul with a dominant first half in the Japanese capital.&nbsp;Goals from Paulo Henrique and Gabriel Martinelli put the visitors seemingly in control at halftime, and a 12th win over Japan appeared likely.&nbsp;Seven minutes after the restart, however, Takumi Minamino capitalized on a mistake by Fabricio Bruno to score from inside the area. Just after the hour, Keito Nakamura&rsquo;s shot deflected off Bruno to bring Japan level.&nbsp;Both teams have already qualified for the 2026 World Cup which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Japan earned their first-ever win over Brazil, coming from two goals down to triumph 3-2 in Tokyo. Minamino, an own goal, and Ueda’s header sealed victory after Brazil’s early dominance in the friendly.

Japan beats Brazil for the first time in Tokyo comeback

WASHINGTON: Oracle and Advanced Micro Devices are expanding their partnership with the deployment of 50,000 AMD graphic processing units beginning in the third quarter of 2026 with further expansion to follow.&nbsp;The so-called AI &ldquo;supercluster&rdquo; is a massive, interconnected group of high-performance computers designed to work together as a single system.&nbsp;AMD shares jumped 3% before the bell on Tuesday, while Oracle&#39;s slipped 1.8%.&nbsp;The companies said that next-generation AI models are poised to outgrow the limits of current AI infrastructure.&nbsp;No dollar figures for what each company&#39;s investment in the expanded partnership.

Artificial Intelligence

Oracle and AMD announced plans to expand their AI partnership, deploying 50,000 AMD GPUs from mid-2026 to build a massive AI supercluster, aiming to meet rising demand for next-generation artificial intelligence models.

Oracle, AMD expand AI partnership to keep up with demand

Teenagers on Instagram will be restricted to seeing PG-13 content by default and won&#39;t be able to change their settings without a parent&#39;s permission, Meta announced on Tuesday.&nbsp;This means kids using teen-specific accounts will see photos and videos on Instagram that are similar to what they would see in a PG-13 movie &mdash; no sex, drugs or dangerous stunts, among others.&nbsp;&ldquo;This includes hiding or not recommending posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, and additional content that could encourage potentially harmful behaviors, such as posts showing marijuana paraphernalia,&rdquo; Meta said in a blog post Tuesday, calling the update the most significant since it introduced teen accounts last year.&nbsp;The company is also adding an even stricter setting that parents can set up for their children.&nbsp;The changes come as the social media giant faces relentless criticism over harms to children. As it seeks to add safeguards for teens, Meta has already promised it wouldn&rsquo;t show inappropriate content to teens, such as posts about self-harm, eating disorders or suicide.&nbsp;But this does not always work. A recent report, for instance, found that teen accounts researchers created were recommended age-inappropriate sexual content, including &ldquo;graphic sexual descriptions, the use of cartoons to describe demeaning sexual acts, and brief displays of nudity.&rdquo;&nbsp;In addition, Instagram also recommended a &ldquo;range of self-harm, self-injury, and body image content&rdquo; on teen accounts that the report says &ldquo;would be reasonably likely to result in adverse impacts for young people, including teenagers experiencing poor mental health, or self-harm and suicidal ideation and behaviors.&rdquo;&nbsp;Meta says the new restrictions go further than its previous safeguards. Teens will no longer be able to follow accounts that regularly share &ldquo;age-inappropriate content&rdquo; or if their name or bio contains something that isn&#39;t appropriate for teens, such as a link to an OnlyFans account.&nbsp;If teens already follow these accounts, they&rsquo;ll no longer be able to see or interact with their content, send them messages, or see their comments under anyone&rsquo;s posts, the company said. The accounts also won&rsquo;t be able to follow teens, send them private messages or comment on their posts.&nbsp;Meta said it already blocks certain search terms related to sensitive topics such as suicide and eating disorders, but the latest update will expand this to a broader range of terms, such as &ldquo;alcohol&rdquo; or &ldquo;gore&rdquo; &mdash; even if they are misspelled.&nbsp;The PG-13 update will also apply artificial intelligence chats and experiences targeted to teens, Meta said, &ldquo;meaning AIs should not give age-inappropriate responses that would feel out of place in a PG-13 movie.&rdquo;&nbsp;For parents who want an even stricter setting for their kids, Meta is also launching a &ldquo;limited content&rdquo; restriction that will block more content and remove teens&rsquo; ability to see, leave, or receive comments under posts.

Meta announced new safeguards on Instagram, restricting teens to PG-13 content by default. Teens will need parental approval to change settings, as the platform aims to curb exposure to sex, drugs, and harmful behaviors.

Instagram says it's safeguarding teens by limiting them to PG-13 content

LAHORE: The first Test between Pakistan and South Africa was set for a thrilling conclusion after rival spinners Noman Ali and Senuran Muthusamy wrought destruction on day three in Lahore on Tuesday.&nbsp;Muthusamy took a maiden 10-wicket match haul to help bowl Pakistan out for 167 in their second innings on another day dominated by spin to give South Africa a target of 277 for victory.&nbsp;But Noman, following up his 6-112 in the first innings, dismissed captain Aiden Markram for three and Wiaan Mulder (nought) to keep the visitors down to 51-2 at the close.&nbsp;Ryan Rickelton, 29 not out, and Tony de Zorzi, unbeaten on 16, fought till stumps with South Africa needing another 226 runs.&nbsp;Pakistan need eight wickets for a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.&nbsp;With the threatening spin duo of Noman and Sajid Khan the home team will fancy their chances.&nbsp;As a gripping match approaches its climax, Muthusamy destroyed Pakistan with figures of 5-57 to add to his 6-117 while fellow spinner Simon Harmer took 4-51 as Pakistan lost their last six wickets for 17 runs.&nbsp;The hosts were fairly well placed at 150-4 but Saud Shakeel holed out for 38 off Muthusamy to trigger a collapse in the last over before tea.&nbsp;Harmer bowled Mohammad Rizwan for 14 before Muthusamy ran riot.&nbsp;He dismissed Salman Agha for four, Noman Ali for 11 and Shaheen Shah Afridi for nought to finish with match figures of 11-174, taking four wickets off 21 balls.&nbsp;Harmer ended Pakistan&#39;s sloppy batting display by removing Sajid Khan for one.&nbsp;Earlier, South Africa were dismissed for 269 an hour before lunch, conceding a lead of 109 after Pakistan&#39;s first-innings 378.&nbsp;Noman took 6-112 for his ninth haul of five wickets or more in Tests.&nbsp;With the Gaddafi Stadium taking big turn, South Africa tossed Harmer the new ball in Pakistan&#39;s second innings.&nbsp;The 36-year-old had Imam-ul-Haq stumped by wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne for nought before trapping captain Shan Masood lbw for seven.&nbsp;Muthusamy then had Abdullah Shafique for 41 and pacer Kagiso Rabada trapped Babar Azam leg-before for 42.&nbsp;Azam has now failed to score a hundred in 28 Test innings dating back to December 2022.&nbsp;Earlier, South Africa&#39;s De Zorzi resumed on 81 at the start of the day and carried the fight to Pakistan, completing his second Test century with a six and two singles off Noman.&nbsp;The left-hander finally holed out for 104 to long-on off Noman, where Shaheen Shah Afridi took a low catch, ending a 208-minute innings containing 10 fours and two sixes.&nbsp;Noman, who bowled a probing 35 overs, also removed Prenelan Subrayen for four during the session.&nbsp;Fellow spinner Sajid took the first wicket of the day when he had Muthusamy caught by Salman Agha for 11.&nbsp;He then wrapped up the innings when he bowled Rabada for nought to finish with 3-98 off 33 overs.

Cricket

Pakistan closed in on victory in the first Test at Lahore, needing eight wickets to win after Noman Ali’s superb spell put South Africa on the back foot in a spin-dominated third day.

Pakistan fancy chances as spinners run riot in South Africa Test

CAIRO/JERUSALEM: Hamas fighters tightened their grip in Gaza on Tuesday after carrying out public executions, defying Israel&#39;s assertion that war cannot end under US President Donald Trump&#39;s plan until the militants are disarmed. In a stark assertion of the group&#39;s return, fighters executed men they accused of collaborating with Israeli forces. In one video circulated late on Monday, Hamas fighters dragged seven men into a circle of people in Gaza City, forced them to their knees and shot them from behind. A Hamas source confirmed the authenticity of the video. Gaza residents said fighters were increasingly visible on Tuesday, deploying along routes needed for aid deliveries. Palestinian security sources say dozens of people have been killed in clashes between Hamas fighters and rivals in recent days. Although Israeli troops have withdrawn from urban areas in Gaza under the ceasefire that began last week, drone fire killed five people as they went to check on houses in a suburb east of Gaza City and an air strike killed one person and injured another near Khan Younis, Gaza health authorities said. Hamas accused Israel of violating the ceasefire. The Israeli military said it had fired on people who crossed truce lines and approached its forces after ignoring calls to turn back. Trump proclaims historic dawn but hurdles remain&nbsp; Hamas&#39; resumption of power in Gaza and continued flashes of violence underscore the daunting hurdles facing efforts to move Trump&#39;s ceasefire plan towards a longer-term resolution of the conflict. While Trump proclaimed the &quot;historic dawn of a new Middle East&quot; to Israel&#39;s parliament on Monday, some of the most difficult elements of his plan have yet to be negotiated to resolve issues that wrecked previous efforts to end the war. Israeli forces remain entrenched across much of Gaza after their partial pullback inside the tiny, crowded territory. Promised increases in aid deliveries have not yet materialised for a population of 2.2 million people, many facing famine. A summit co-hosted by Trump in Egypt on Monday ended with no public announcement of major progress towards establishing an international military force for Gaza, or a new governing body. The remains of at least 23 dead hostages remain in Gaza. Hamas asserts control Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently maintained that the war cannot end until Hamas gives up its weapons and ceases to control Gaza, a demand that the fighters have rejected, torpedoing all previous peace efforts. When Hamas fighters appeared in the streets during the last ceasefire in January-March, Israel abandoned the truce and called off negotiations on an end to the war. But Trump, having announced that the war is now over, said on Monday Hamas still had a temporary green light to keep order. &quot;They do want to stop the problems, and they&#39;ve been open about it, and we gave them approval for a period of time,&quot; he said. Hamas sources told Reuters on Tuesday the group would tolerate no more violations of order in Gaza and would target collaborators, armed looters and drug dealers. The group, though greatly weakened after two years of pummelling Israeli bombardment and ground incursions, has been gradually reasserting itself with remaining fighters moving back onto the streets since the ceasefire took hold over the weekend. The group, which has governed Gaza since 2007, also deployed hundreds of workers to start rubble clearing key routes needed to access damaged or destroyed housing and to repair broken water pipes. Road clearance and security provision will also be needed for increased aid delivery. Hamas says hundreds of policemen were killed by Israel while protecting aid routes during the war. Israel said it was targeting Hamas fighters. Aid and hostages The ceasefire has stopped two years of devastating warfare in Gaza triggered by the October 7, 2023 attack in which Hamas-led gunmen killed around 1,200 people and seized 251 hostages according to Israeli tallies. Israel&#39;s military campaign in Gaza killed nearly 68,000 people according to local health authorities, with thousands more feared dead under the rubble. Gaza&#39;s Civil Defence Service said 250 bodies had been recovered since the truce began. Swathes of Gaza are in ruins and the global hunger monitor said in August there was famine in the territory. Reuters video on Tuesday showed people clearing debris from streets and an aid truck moving through a market protected by armed men sitting on top. UNICEF spokeswoman Tess Ingram said that while aid was getting into Gaza with tents, tarpaulin sheets, winter clothes, family hygiene kits and other critical items, she hoped for a significant increase later this week. In Israel, after Monday&#39;s jubilation at the return of the last 20 living hostages, families of those declared dead awaited word from Israeli authorities on the fate of their loved ones. The Israeli military said on Tuesday that the bodies of four hostages handed over by Hamas the previous day had been identified. One of them was a Nepalese student, the military said. This leaves 23 hostages in Gaza formally declared dead, plus one whose fate is undetermined. Some families fear their loved ones&#39; remains will be lost forever in the rubble of Gaza. A special international task force is meant to help locate bodies which Hamas is not able to find.

Palestinians sit next to a tent, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, October 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Hamas fighters tighten grip in Gaza, clouding future of ceasefire

LONDON: An Afghan national was jailed for five years on Tuesday after he was found guilty of making a threat to kill Nigel Farage, the leader of the populist Reform UK party which leads opinion polls in Britain. Fayaz Khan was last week convicted by a jury at London&#39;s Southwark Crown Court of a single count of making a threat to kill Farage in a TikTok video posted in October 2024. Prosecutors said Khan posted a video in response to one by Farage, in which Khan &ndash; who has an AK-47 assault rifle tattooed on his face &ndash; said &quot;pop, pop, pop&quot; while making gun gestures. Khan had denied making a threat to kill, telling police after his arrest the video was not a genuine threat. Farage gave evidence that he was &quot;genuinely worried&quot; about Khan&#39;s threat, describing the video as &quot;chilling&quot;. Farage sat in the public gallery as Judge Karen Steyn sentenced Khan to five years for making a threat to kill and a separate charge of attempting to enter Britain illegally, to which he had previously pleaded guilty. Khan shouted at both the judge and Farage after he was sentenced, telling Farage: &quot;You want to be prime minister ... you fucked my life.&quot;

Nigel Farage, leader of Britain’s Reform UK party, arrives to attend the sentencing of Fayaz Khan, who was earlier found guilty of making a threat in a TikTok video to kill Farage, at Southwark Crown Court in London, Britain, October 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Europe

Fayaz Khan was last week convicted by a jury at London's Southwark Crown Court of a single count of making a threat to kill Farage in a TikTok video posted in October 2024.

Afghan man jailed for threating anti-migrant leader Nigel Farage in TikTok video

PARIS: British singer-songwriting legend Sting finds the multiple genres and streaming platforms of the modern music scene &quot;quite odd&quot;, but still believes in the power of song to unite people. In an interview with AFP, the 74-year-old with 17 Grammy Awards and sales of over 100 million albums also spoke about his worries about AI as a tool for repression, as well as politicians &quot;whose idea is to separate us all&quot;. The former frontman of The Police was speaking in Paris ahead of the French debut of his partly biographical musical &quot;The Last Ship&quot;, which is set in his hometown of Wallsend in northeast England. It tells the story of the decline of shipbuilding on the River Tyne and is intended as a tribute to the working-class area that Sting left to pursue his music career. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Why did you go back to your roots for this show?&nbsp;</h2>My entire life has been about escaping from what was offered to me. At a certain point, I realised that what I was given as a child was very valuable: a community, a family, a town with a purpose, and that had been taken away. My way of repaying the debt to my community was to tell a story of an industry that was shut down by the government, and the betrayal, but also to weave in a love story. I also think it&#39;s about many universal problems we face in society. Many communities are losing work because of technology, AI, and so I think it&#39;s highly relevant to what&#39;s going on politically. It&#39;s an act of resistance for people, and I think we need to resist what&#39;s happening. So the play is a kind of political statement. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Can music and art be a form of resistance?&nbsp;</h2>I think art is a machine for empathy, where we can see the world through other people&#39;s eyes, you can step into someone else&#39;s shoes and see their point of view. That is very valuable because there are politicians in the world at the moment whose idea is to separate us all, to say: &#39;You belong to this club and you can&#39;t come in here.&#39; That separation is not useful for society. It&#39;s certainly not good for peace. So I think art has a place in fighting against that trend. This is why these politicians want to get rid of art, and education, and science, and diplomacy. All of these things I personally value, and I think art is my way of contributing to that feeling. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Why do you place so much value on work?&nbsp;</h2>Human beings need to do something with their hands. I&#39;m very lucky. I use my hands every day to play the bass. I think human beings need to build things, to make things, to feel dignity, the sense of self. I&#39;m lucky that I&#39;m just enjoying myself. But it&#39;s work. It&#39;s hard work. But I would do it for nothing. I would do it for no money.&nbsp;Like a fish has to swim, I have to sing. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">How do you feel about what the music industry has become?&nbsp;</h2>What I believe now is that there are separate ecologies in music. Whereas before, the number one song in France or England, everybody knew it. Now there are so many genres and so many different streaming systems. It&#39;s quite odd. I&#39;m lucky in that I came up at a time when it was a monoculture. Everybody knows The Police. So I still trade on that. I&#39;m famous because of that. But now you can be successful in a niche and nowhere else. It&#39;s not better or worse, it&#39;s just different. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Are you worried about AI and the music industry?</h2>I&#39;m not afraid, yet. I think it produces an interesting facsimile, but it does not feel emotion. So what can it really give us? It can give us a trick. A mirror. I think there&#39;s a way of using it for medical research. But to actually produce art that we&#39;d want to see or listen to, I&#39;m not sure. I&#39;m worried more politically about what AI can do, the harm, in the wrong hands. Leaders who will use it for increased surveillance of society. It&#39;s a very useful tool to keep people observed and controlled. I fear that more than I fear an artistic invasion of my life.

Entertainment

The 74-year-old with 17 Grammy Awards and sales of over 100 million albums speaks about his worries about AI as a tool for repression, as well as politicians "whose idea is to separate us all".

UN says countries are willing to help fund Gaza's $70 bln reconstruction

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Oracle, AMD expand AI partnership to keep up with demand

Instagram says it's safeguarding teens by limiting them to PG-13 content