MEXICO CITY: The death toll from Mexico&#39;s torrential rains increased to 44 on Sunday as the fallout mounted from flooding and landslides across the country, prompting President Claudia Sheinbaum to convene governors from hard-hit states to direct an emergency response plan. Mexico&rsquo;s National Coordination of Civil Protection reported that as of Sunday, the heavy rains had killed 18 people in Veracruz state on the Gulf Coast and 16 people in Hidalgo state, north of Mexico City.&nbsp; At least nine people were killed in Puebla, east of Mexico City. Earlier, in the central state of Quer&eacute;taro, a child died being caught in a landslide. That toll could still rise as rescue workers continued to dig through sodden villages clogged with mud and debris on Sunday. In Veracruz and Puebla, hundreds of army personnel, police officers and firefighters conducted rescue operations and set up temporary shelters where stranded residents could find food and medical attention.&nbsp; Thousands of residents across the country were still struggling with a lack of running water and electricity. &ldquo;We will not leave anyone helpless,&rdquo; President Sheinbaum wrote on social media.&nbsp; On Sunday, surveying authorities&#39; aid distribution in the hard-hit Huauchinango municipality in Puebla, Sheinbaum said that Sunday&#39;s improved weather offered a chance to reach communities still entirely isolated. Authorities have attributed the deadly downpours to Tropical Storm Priscilla, formerly a hurricane, and Tropical Storm Raymond, both off the western coast of Mexico.

Americas

Toll can still rise as rescue workers continue to dig through sodden villages clogged with mud, debris.



Mexico's president convenes governors as death toll from torrential rains rises to 44

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is setting off for Israel and Egypt on Sunday to celebrate the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas and urge Middle East allies to seize the opportunity to build a durable peace in the volatile region. It&#39;s a fragile moment with Israel and Hamas only in the early stages of implementing the first phase of the Trump agreement designed to bring a permanent end to the war sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants. Trump thinks there is a narrow window to reshape the Mideast and reset long-fraught relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors. It is a moment, the Republican president says, that has been helped along by his administration&#39;s support of Israel&#39;s decimation of Iranian proxies, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The White House says momentum is also building because Arab and Muslim states are demonstrating a renewed focus on resolving the broader, decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, in some cases, deepening relations with the United States &ldquo;I think you are going to have tremendous success and Gaza is going to be rebuilt,&rdquo; Trump said Friday. &ldquo;And you have some very wealthy countries, as you know, over there. It would take a small fraction of their wealth to do that. And I think they want to do it.&rdquo; A tenuous point in the agreementThe first phase of the ceasefire agreement calls for the release of the final 48 hostages held by Hamas, including about 20 believed to be alive; the release of hundreds of Palestinian hostages held by Israel; a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza; and a partial pullback by Israeli forces from Gaza&rsquo;s main cities. Israeli troops on Friday finished withdrawing from parts of Gaza, triggering a 72-hour countdown under the deal for Hamas to release the Israeli hostages, potentially while Trump is on the ground there. He said he expected their return to be completed on Monday or Tuesday. Trump will visit Israel first to meet with hostage families and address the Knesset, or parliament, an honor last extended to President George W. Bush during a visit in 2008. Vice President JD Vance on Sunday said Trump also was likely to meet with newly freed hostages, too. &ldquo;Knock on wood, but we feel very confident the hostages will be released and this president is actually traveling to the Middle East, likely this evening, in order to meet them and greet them in person,&rdquo; Vance told CBS&#39; &ldquo;Face the Nation.&rdquo; Trump then stops in Egypt, where he and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi will lead a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh with leaders from more than 20 countries on peace in Gaza and the broader Middle East. It is a tenuous truce and it is unclear whether the sides have reached any agreement on Gaza&rsquo;s postwar governance, the territory&#39;s reconstruction and Israel&rsquo;s demand that Hamas disarm. Negotiations over those issues could break down, and Israel has hinted it may resume military operations if its demands are not met. &ldquo;I think the chances of (Hamas) disarming themselves, you know, are pretty close to zero,&rdquo; H.R. McMaster, a national security adviser during Trump&#39;s first term, said at an event hosted by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies on Thursday. He said he thought what probably would happen in the coming months is that the Israeli military &quot;is going to have to destroy them.&quot; Israel continues to rule over millions of Palestinians without basic rights as settlements expand rapidly across the occupied West Bank. Despite growing international recognition, Palestinian statehood appears exceedingly remote because of Israel&rsquo;s opposition and actions on the ground, The war has left Israel isolated internationally and facing allegations of genocide, which it denies. International arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister are in effect, and the United Nations&#39; highest court is considering allegations of genocide brought by South Africa. Hamas has been militarily decimated and has given up its only bargaining chip with Israel by releasing the hostages. But the Islamic group is still intact and could eventually rebuild if there&rsquo;s an extended period of calm. Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would continue with its demilitarization of Hamas after the hostages are returned. &ldquo;Hamas agreed to the deal only when it felt that the sword was on its neck &mdash; and it is still on its neck,&rdquo; Netanyahu said Friday as Israel began to pull back its troops. Trump wants to expand the Abraham AccordsMuch of Gaza has been reduced to rubble and rebuilding is expected to take years. The territory&#39;s roughly 2 million residents continue to struggle in desperate conditions. Under the deal, Israel agreed to reopen five border crossings, which will help ease the flow of food and other supplies into Gaza, parts of which are experiencing famine. Trump is also standing up a U.S.-led civil-military coordination center in Israel to help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance into Gaza. Roughly 200 U.S. troops will help support and monitor the ceasefire deal as part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organizations and private-sector players. U.S. troops will not be sent to Gaza, Adm. Brad Cooper, the U.S. military commander for the region, said in a social media post Saturday. The White House has signaled that Trump is looking to quickly return attention to building on a first-term effort known as the Abraham Accords, which forged diplomatic and commercial ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. A permanent agreement in Gaza would help pave the path for Trump to begin talks with Saudi Arabia as well Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country, toward normalizing ties with Israel, according to a senior Trump administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity. Such a deal with Saudi Arabia, the most powerful and wealthy Arab state, has the potential to reshape the region and boost Israel&rsquo;s standing in historic ways. But brokering such an agreement remains a heavy lift as the kingdom has said it won&rsquo;t officially recognize Israel before a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Middle East

President Donald Trump departs for Israel and Egypt to celebrate the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal, push Middle East leaders toward lasting peace, and revive the Abraham Accords amid fragile postwar Gaza negotiations and ongoing regional tensions

Trump sets off for the Mideast to mark ceasefire deal

CAIRO: Preparations were underway Sunday for a ramp-up of aid entering the war-battered Gaza Strip under a new ceasefire deal that many are hoping will signal an end to the devastating 2-year-long war. The Israeli defense body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, COGAT, said that the amount of aid entering Gaza Strip is expected to ramp up on Sunday to around 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the agreement. Egypt said it is sending 400 trucks carrying aid into Gaza Sunday. The trucks will have to be inspected by Israeli forces before being allowed in. Associated Press footage showed dozens of trucks crossing the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing. The Egyptian Red Crescent said the trucks include medical supplies, tents, blankets, food and fuel. The trucks will head to the inspection area in the Kerem Shalom crossing for screening by Israeli troops. In recent months, the UN and its partners have been able to deliver only 20% of the aid needed in Gaza because of the fighting, border closures and Israeli restrictions on what enters. Expanding Israeli offensives and restrictions on humanitarian aid have triggered a hunger crisis, including famine in parts of the territory. The United Nations has said that it has about 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine and other humanitarian aid ready to enter Gaza once Israel gives the green light. Gaza Humanitarian Fund future in questionThe fate of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli- and US-backed contractor that replaced the UN aid operation in Gaza in May as the primary food supplier, remains unclear. Food distribution sites operated by the group in the southernmost city of Rafah and central Gaza were dismantled following the ceasefire deal, several Palestinians said Sunday. Hoda Goda, who used to go to the GHF sites in Rafah earlier this year, said people had dismantled the structures and taken wood and metal fences GHF workers used to control the crowds. Another Palestinian, Ehab Abu Majed, said the site in eastern Khan Younis was also dismantled, and there was no food distribution in the past two days. Ahmed al-Masri, a man living in the central Nuseirat refugee camp, said a third site in the Netzarim corridor area was also dismantled. GHF had been touted by Israel and the United States as an alternative system to prevent Hamas from taking over aid. However, its operations were mired in chaos and hundreds of Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire while heading to its four sites. The Israeli military has said its troops fired warning shots to control crowds. A GHF representative declined to comment Sunday. Preparations for hostage, prisoner release, Trump visitPreparations were also underway Sunday for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. A message sent Saturday from Gal Hirsch, Israel&rsquo;s coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing and obtained by The Associated Press, told hostage families to prepare for the release of their loved ones starting Monday morning. One of the families of the hostages confirmed the note&rsquo;s authenticity. Hirsch said preparations in hospitals and in Rei&rsquo;im camp were complete to receive the live hostages, while the dead will be transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for identification. An international task force will start working to locate deceased hostages who are not returned within the 72-hour period, said Hirsch. Officials have said the search for the bodies of the dead, some of whom may be buried under rubble, could take time. Israeli officials believe about 20 of the hostages out of 48 held by Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza are still alive. All of the living hostages are expected to be released Monday. US President Donald Trump, who pushed to clinch the ceasefire deal, is expected to arrive in Israel Monday morning. He will meet with families of hostages and speak at the Knesset, Israel&rsquo;s parliament, according to a schedule released by the White House. Trump will then continue on to Egypt, where the office of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has said he will co-chair a &ldquo;peace summit&rdquo; on Monday with attendance by regional and international leaders. Timing has not yet been announced for the release of some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel who are to be freed under the deal. They include 250 people serving life sentences in addition to 1,700 people seized from Gaza during the war and held without charge. Gaza residents return homePalestinians continued to move back to areas vacated by Israeli forces Sunday, although many were returning to homes reduced to rubble. Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press showed a line of vehicles traveling north to Gaza City. The photos taken Saturday showed a line of vehicles on Al Rashid Street, which runs north-south along the Gaza Strip&rsquo;s coastline on the Mediterranean Sea. Tents along the coast also could be seen near Gaza City&rsquo;s marina. Many people have been living along the sea to avoid being targeted in Israeli bombardment of the city. Armed police were seen in Gaza City and southern Gaza patrolling the streets and securing aid trucks driving through areas from which the Israeli military had withdrawn, according to residents. The police force is part of the Hamas-run Interior Ministry. Two years of war have wrought devastationThe war began when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage. In Israel&rsquo;s ensuing offensive, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza&rsquo;s Health Ministry, which doesn&rsquo;t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children.&nbsp; The war has destroyed large swaths of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its 2 million residents. It has also triggered other conflicts in the region, sparked worldwide protests and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies. While both Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza welcomed the initial halt to the fighting and plans to release the hostages and prisoners, the longer-term fate of the ceasefire remains murky. Key questions about governance of Gaza and the post-war fate of Hamas have yet to be resolved. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a post on X that he had instructed the Israel military to prepare to begin destroying the network of tunnels built by Hamas under Gaza &quot;through the international mechanism that will be established under the leadership and supervision of the US&rdquo; once the hostages are released.

A ceasefire in Gaza has enabled increased aid deliveries, with 600 trucks expected daily. Hostage and prisoner releases are set to begin, while uncertainty remains over Gaza’s governance and post-war reconstruction.

Aid preparations ramp up in Gaza as ceasefire sparks hope to end 2-year war

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">YAOUNDE: Polls opened in Cameroon on Sunday in an election that could see Africa&rsquo;s oldest leader extend his rule by another 7 years. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Around 8 million voters, including over 34,000 overseas, are registered to participate at more than 31,000 polling stations in the Central African nation. Cameroon had over 29 million people in 2024, and like many sub-Saharan African countries, its population is overwhelmingly young. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Polls are expected to close at 6 p.m., and the results are expected at the latest by Oct. 26. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Analysts have predicted a victory for current President Paul Biya, who first became president in 1982 following the resignation of Cameroon&#39;s first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo, and has ruled the country since then. Biya was declared the winner of seven subsequent elections. Cameroon has seen just two leaders since independence in 1960. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;In the face of increasingly difficult international environment, the challenges facing us are more and more pressing,&rdquo; Biya said in announcing another run. &ldquo;In such a situation, I cannot shirk my mission.&rdquo; He did not give details. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If victorious, Biya would be 99 years old by the time his term finishes. His health has routinely been a topic of speculation as he spends most of his time in Europe, leaving day to day governing to key party officials and family members. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Biya faces nine opposition candidates, including some former allies and appointees. They include Bello Bouba Maigari, who was minister for tourism, and Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who until recently served as the minister of employment. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At his first campaign rally, held last week in the northern city of Maroua, Biya promised change for one of Cameroon&rsquo;s poorest areas. The predominately Muslim north accounts for nearly 20% of the country&rsquo;s eligible voters, and Maigari and Bakary command strong followings in the Far North. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The country faces escalating security crises. In the western region, a secessionist war is being fought between mainly English-speaking separatists who claim they are marginalized by the French-speaking majority, and government forces. In the north, the Boko Haram insurgency spills over from neighboring Nigeria, with armed groups routinely attacking border towns. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At least 43% of the country&rsquo;s citizens live in poverty as measured by core living standards such as income, education and health, according to UN estimates.

Election officials arrange stacks of ballot papers before the start of voting at a polling station in Garoua, Cameroon, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025.(AP Photo/Welba Yamo Pascal)

Africa

Polls opened in Cameroon on Sunday in an election that could see Africa’s oldest leader extend his rule by another 7 years.

Cameroon votes as President Paul Biya seeks historic eighth term

McEWEN: A blast in rural Tennessee that leveled an explosives plant and was felt for miles around killed 16 people and left no survivors, authorities said. The explosion left a smoldering wreck of twisted and charred metal and burned-out vehicles at the Accurate Energetic Systems plant, which supplies and researches explosives for the military. The cause of the blast is not known. Investigators are combing the incinerated property foot by foot, searching for possible evidence. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a gauntlet of emotions there,&rdquo; Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said during a news conference, pausing to clear his throat before he asked for prayers for the families of the victims in a shaky voice. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve recovered no survivors,&rdquo; he added. During a vigil at Hurricane Chapel in McEwen, senior pastor Tim Farris noted that many in attendance knew each other, as well as the victims and their families. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of people hurting. A lot of people who are crying a lot of tears,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We are sad that our community is going through this, but it&rsquo;s a tremendous opportunity for the church to minister to a lot of those people today.&rdquo; Farris said he spoke with some families of victims on Friday who were in shock and numb, and they did not show much emotion. That had changed by Saturday, he said. &ldquo;Speaking with some of the families today, they were very emotional,&rdquo; Farris said. &ldquo;They can hardly speak or anything, they are so emotional. I think as this goes on, it&rsquo;s going to hit more people. The depth of this, the reality of it. That&rsquo;s when they&rsquo;re going to need people the most.&rdquo; Pamela Jane Brown was among those who came out to pray for friends missing in the blast and their families. She said an acquaintance of her family was driving by the plant when it exploded, and he was &ldquo;hurt pretty good ... all cut up and bruised,&rdquo; but is now recovering at home. &ldquo;I was heartbroken,&rdquo; she said, after learning of the explosion on social media. Meeting others for prayer &ldquo;was a coming together of the community &ndash; a good feeling.&rdquo; State officials brought in a &ldquo;rapid DNA&rdquo; team to help identify the remains of people recovered at the site. Davis said about 300 responders are working in a &ldquo;slow, methodical method&rdquo; as they deal with explosive material that has been damaged and remains volatile. An ambulance and a helicopter used for air evacuations were brought in for the safety of first responders. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like working an accident. It&rsquo;s not like working a tornado. We&rsquo;re dealing with explosions. And I would say at this time, we&rsquo;re dealing with remains,&rdquo; he said. Guy McCormick, a supervisory special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said explosive specialists and bomb technicians are trying to make the area safe for national ATF investigators. He said the nature of the scene can change because of the heat and pressure caused by the explosion. Davis said it could be days, weeks, or even months before foul play is ruled out. The site is located in a heavily wooded area of middle Tennessee, between the economically vital Tennessee River to the west and the bustling metropolis of Nashville to the east. Modest homes dot the wooded landscape, residences belonging to &ldquo;good old country people,&rdquo; as local man Terry Bagsby put it. &lsquo;A lot of grief&rsquo;Bagsby, 68, is retired, but he helps out working the register at a gas station near the site. He said people in the close-knit community are &ldquo;very, very sad.&rdquo; He said he knows people who worked at the site. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how to explain it. &hellip; Just a lot of grief.&rdquo; Officials at an evening news conference said counselors would be available for grieving students on Monday. Earlier Saturday afternoon at the church in McEwen, about 30 people gathered to pray for victims of the explosion and their families. Music played, and mourners bowed their heads and closed their eyes. Some knelt at an altar, placing their hands on each other&rsquo;s backs and shoulders. Some wept softly, among the whispered prayers. After the vigil, Farris, the pastor, told the media that the area has seen its share of tragedy and loss of life, including a deadly flood a few years ago. He asked for prayers for first responders. &ldquo;This is tiresome physically. This kind of thing weighs on you mentally. They carry that home. They need prayer and encouragement as well,&rdquo; he said. The company&rsquo;s website says it processes explosives and ammunition at an eight-building facility that sprawls across wooded hills in the Bucksnort area, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Nashville. It is not immediately known how many people work at the plant or how many were there when the explosion happened. Accurate Energetic Systems, based in nearby McEwen, said in a post on social media on Friday that the company&#39;s &ldquo;thoughts and prayers&quot; are with the families and community impacted. &ldquo;We extend our gratitude to all first responders who continue to work tirelessly under difficult conditions,&rdquo; the post said. Explosion jolts residents from sleepThe company has been awarded numerous military contracts, largely by the U.S. Army and Navy, to supply different types of munitions and explosives, according to public records. The products range from bulk explosives to landmines and small breaching charges, including C4. When the explosion occurred, residents in Lobelville, a 20-minute drive from the scene, said they felt their homes shake, and some people captured the loud boom of the explosion on their home cameras. The blast rattled Gentry Stover from his sleep. &ldquo;I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,&rdquo; he told The Associated Press. &ldquo;I live very close to Accurate, and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.&rdquo; Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee posted on the social platform X that he is monitoring the situation and asked &ldquo;Tennesseans to join us in prayer for the families impacted by this tragic incident.&rdquo; A small group gathered for a vigil Friday night at a nearby park, clutching candles as they prayed for the missing and their families and sang &ldquo;Amazing Grace.&quot; The US has a long history of deadly accidents at workplaces, including the Monongah coal mine explosion that killed 362 men and boys in West Virginia in 1907. Several high-profile industrial accidents in the 1960s helped lead President Richard Nixon to sign a law creating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration the next year. In 2019, Accurate Energetic Systems faced several small fines from the US Department of Labor for violations of policies meant to protect workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals, radiation, and other irritants, according to citations from OSHA. In 2014, an explosion occurred at another ammunition facility in the same small community, killing one person and injuring at least three others.

A powerful explosion at a Tennessee explosives factory killed 16 people, leaving no survivors. Authorities continue investigating the cause, while the community mourns the loss and supports grieving families through vigils and prayer.

16 dead in Tennessee factory blast as community mourns loss

PARIS: France captain Kylian Mbapp&eacute; will miss his team&#39;s World Cup qualifier against Iceland on Monday because of a right ankle injury, the French soccer federation said Saturday. The Real Madrid star scored in France&#39;s 3-0 victory over Azerbaijan on Friday but limped off the field in the 83rd minute. Just before the international break, he had hurt the same ankle while playing against Villarreal. France confirmed that its star forward would not make the trip to Reykjavik and that he would return to Real Madrid. France, runner-up at the 2022 World Cup, is off to a perfect start in the qualification process for the 2026 edition. It has won all three of its games in Group D.

Football

France captain Kylian Mbappé will miss Monday’s World Cup qualifier against Iceland due to a right ankle injury. He’ll return to Real Madrid after exiting late in Friday’s win over Azerbaijan.

Mbappé to miss France's World Cup qualifier vs. Iceland because of ankle injury

NEW YORK: Lawyers for Luigi Mangione asked a New York federal judge Saturday to dismiss some criminal charges, including the only count for which he could face the death penalty, from a federal indictment brought against him in the December assassination of UnitedHealthcare&rsquo;s chief executive. In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, the lawyers said prosecutors should also be prevented from using at trial his statements to law enforcement officers and his backpack where a gun and ammunition were found. They said Mangione was not read his rights before he was questioned by law enforcement officers, who arrested him after Brian Thompson was fatally shot as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for an investor conference. They added that officers did not obtain a warrant before searching Mangione&#39;s backpack. Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges in the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for his company&rsquo;s annual investor conference. The killing set off a multi-state search after the suspected shooter slipped away from the scene and rode a bike to Central Park, before taking a taxi to a bus depot that offers service to several nearby states. Five days later, a tip from a McDonald&rsquo;s about 233 miles (375 kilometers) away in Altoona, Pennsylvania, led police to arrest Mangione. He has been held without bail since then. Last month, lawyers for Mangione asked that his federal charges be dismissed and the death penalty be taken off the table as a result of public comments by US Attorney General Pam Bondi. In April, Bondi directed prosecutors in New York to seek the death penalty, calling the killing of Thompson a &ldquo;premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.&rdquo; Murder cases are usually tried in state courts, but prosecutors have also charged Mangione under a federal law on murders committed with firearms as part of other &ldquo;crimes of violence.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s the only charge for which Mangione could face the death penalty, since it&#39;s not used in New York state. The papers filed early Saturday morning argued that this charge should be dismissed because prosecutors have failed to identify the other offenses that would be required to convict him, saying that the alleged other crime &mdash; stalking &mdash; is not a crime of violence. The assassination and its aftermath has captured the American imagination, setting off a cascade of resentment and online vitriol toward US health insurers while rattling corporate executives concerned about security. After the killing, investigators found the words &ldquo;delay,&rdquo; &ldquo;deny&rdquo; and &ldquo;depose,&rdquo; written in permanent marker on ammunition at the scene. The words mimic a phrase used by insurance industry critics.

Luigi Mangione’s lawyers seek dismissal of key federal charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, arguing his rights were violated during arrest and questioning, and challenging the charge that carries potential death penalty eligibility.

Mangione seeks dismissal of death penalty charge in UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing

BEIRUT: Israel carried out intense airstrikes on southern Lebanon early Saturday, killing one person, wounding seven, and briefly cutting a highway that links Beirut with parts of south Lebanon, the Health Ministry said. The pre-dawn airstrikes on the village of Msayleh struck a place that sold heavy machinery, destroying a large number of vehicles. A vehicle carrying vegetables that happened to be passing by at the time of the strikes was hit, killing one person and wounding another, according to Hezbollah&rsquo;s Al-Manar TV. The Health Ministry later said that the one slain was a Syrian citizen, while the wounded were a Syrian national and six Lebanese, including two women. The Israeli military said it struck a place where machinery was stored to be used to rebuild infrastructure for the militant Hezbollah group. Since the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war ended in late November with a US-brokered ceasefire, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes killing dozens of people. Israel accuses Hezbollah of trying to rebuild its capabilities after the group suffered heavy losses during the war. Earlier this month, the UN human rights chief, Volker T&uuml;rk, called for renewed efforts to bring a permanent end to hostilities in Lebanon following the war. He said that until the end of September, they have verified 103 civilians killed in Lebanon since the ceasefire. The most recent Israel-Hezbollah war killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, and caused an estimated $11 billion worth of destruction, according to the World Bank. In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers. The war started when Hezbollah began firing rockets across the border on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after a deadly Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel sparked the war in Gaza. Israel responded with shelling and airstrikes in Lebanon, and the two sides became locked in an escalating conflict that became a full-blown war in late September 2024.

A pre-dawn Israeli strike hit a machinery site in Msayleh early Saturday, damaging infrastructure and civilian vehicles. The strikes targeted equipment allegedly tied to Hezbollah, amid ongoing post-war tensions that persist despite last year’s ceasefire.


Israel strikes south Lebanon, killing 1 and wounding 7

WASHINGTON: A food aid program that supports millions of low-income mothers and their young children received a $300 million infusion from the Trump administration this week, alleviating some anxiety that it would run out of money during the government shutdown. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children helps more than 6 million low-income mothers, young children, and expectant parents purchase nutritious staples, such as fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk, and infant formula. The program, known as WIC, was at risk of running out of money this month due to the government shutdown, which occurred just before it was slated to receive its annual appropriation. This week, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt posted on X that the White House had found &ldquo;a creative solution&rdquo; to use tariff revenues to keep the program afloat. By Thursday, at least some states were receiving WIC money. Alaska and Washington said they received enough federal funds to keep their programs running until at least the end of October. The Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada, which had closed its office on Thursday after running out of money, received money that allowed it to reopen on Friday, radio station KUNR reported. Officials from the US Department of Agriculture, which runs WIC, told congressional staffers they were using $300 million in unspent tariff revenue from the last fiscal year to keep the program afloat, two people briefed on the call told AP. The people declined to be named because they were not authorized to share details from the call. Tariff revenue supports many USDA programs. The law permits the administration to transfer money allocated for other programs to WIC. Without the additional money, state and local governments would have had to step in to pay for their WIC programs and later seek reimbursement from the federal government when funding was restored. Washington state, which is dealing with a massive budget shortfall, said it could not afford to use state money for the WIC program. In Alaska, the WIC program only had enough federal money to operate through Saturday, meaning the state would have had to step in with its own funding to keep the program running. But this week, officials learned they were receiving nearly $900,000, enough to fully fund the program through Nov. 8, according to Shirley Sakaye, a spokesperson with the state&rsquo;s health department. About half a million of that came from leftover funds from other programs, she said. The government has been shut down since Oct. 1, after Republicans and Democrats in Congress failed to pass a bill to continue funding the government. Congressional Democrats want to reverse cuts to Medicaid that were passed earlier this year as part of President Donald Trump&#39;s mega-bill. They also want to extend subsidies that cut the cost of Affordable Care Act insurance plans, which cover more than 24 million Americans. The White House and Republicans in Congress have hammered Democrats for the shutdown, highlighting the potential damage it could do to WIC. &ldquo;The Democrats are so cruel in their continual votes to shut down the government that they forced the WIC program for the most vulnerable women and children to run out this week,&rdquo; Leavitt posted on X. But House Republicans and the White House have also sought to cut the program. Trump&#39;s budget proposal and a budget bill passed by House Republicans last month would not have fully funded the program, meaning it would have to turn away eligible applicants. &ldquo;Since President Trump is now signaling he cares about the WIC program, he should finally get to the negotiating table to reopen the government,&rdquo; said Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington state. &ldquo;And he should immediately disavow his budget request to significantly cut benefits for millions of moms and kids &mdash; and tell House Republicans to back off their proposed cuts as well.&rdquo; ____

The Trump administration allocated $300 million in tariff revenues to keep the WIC food program running during the government shutdown, temporarily preventing service disruptions for millions of low-income mothers and children nationwide.

WIC food program receives $300M to keep running during government shutdown

WASHINGTON: The US military is moving forward with plans to build a dedicated facility in Idaho to train pilots from Qatar, an important US ally in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday. Hegseth, who made the announcement during a visit by Qatar&#39;s defense minister, said the facility to be built at the Mountain Home Air Force Base would &ldquo;host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training, increase the lethality, and interoperability.&rdquo; The arrangement is not unusual. Pentagon officials noted that similar facilities have been set up for other allies for decades, and the Idaho base already hosts a fighter squadron from Singapore. But the news drew a sharp rebuke from close Trump ally and right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, who called the plan &ldquo;an abomination&rdquo; and accused the Qataris of being associated with Islamic terror organizations. &ldquo;No foreign country should have a military base on US soil. Especially Islamic countries,&rdquo; Loomer wrote in one of several social media posts just hours after Hegseth&#39;s announcement. Although Loomer holds no formal position within the Trump administration, her online complaints have a history of achieving results. Her criticisms have led to the firing of officials on the National Security Council, Dr. Vinay Prasad, the Food and Drug Administration&rsquo;s vaccine chief, and Gen. Tim Haugh, the head of the National Security Agency. Qatar, which hosts the biggest US military base in the Middle East, made clear that it will not have a base on US soil and that it will cover the costs of building the training facility. &ldquo;This will not be a Qatari air base,&rdquo; the spokesman for the embassy in Washington said in a statement posted on X. &ldquo;Rather, Qatar has made an initial 10-year commitment to construct and maintain a dedicated facility within an existing US air base, intended for advanced training and to enhance interoperability in defending and advancing our shared interests around the world.&rdquo; The statement said the project will create hundreds of jobs for Americans and noted that the planning began several years ago, and it received local approval. When asked for more details about the future facility, Hegseth&rsquo;s office said it had nothing to offer beyond the secretary&rsquo;s remarks. The announcement comes just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order vowing to use all measures, including US military action, to defend Qatar. Loomer also criticized that decision, writing, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to die for Qatar. Do you?&rdquo; on social media. However, she was not alone. The Wall Street Journal&rsquo;s editorial board also questioned the pledge, writing that &ldquo;this is a decision that can be and should have been debated.&rdquo; &ldquo;Instead, it comes out of the blue &mdash; an executive order following no public debate,&rdquo; the board wrote. The small, gas-rich country played a key role in negotiating the most recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending the war in Gaza, as well as in several other key negotiations. Doha, the capital of Qatar, came under surprise attack from Israel last month as members of Hamas were in the city last month to discuss a ceasefire. Qatar also lavished a $400 million jumbo jet on Trump for use as Air Force One. However, the Qataris&#39; connection with US military aviation predates these more recent developments. In 2020, the US Air Force announced it had signed a deal with Qatar for the sale of more than 35 F-15 fighter jets. An Air Force environmental study, completed two years later, revealed that Mountain Home Air Force Base was proposing to build a facility that would house 12 Qatari F-15 jets and about 300 additional Qatari and US Air Force personnel. While the US military has a long history of training pilots for allied countries, the practice received scrutiny in 2019 following a deadly mass shooting at Pensacola Naval Air Station that killed three US service members and wounded several others. The shooter, Mohammad Saeed Al-Shamrani, was a Saudi Air Force officer who was training at the Pensacola base. The FBI said he was linked to the al-Qaida extremist group and had been in contact with it before the shooting. In the wake of the shooting, the US sent home 21 other Saudi military students after an investigation revealed each had expressed jihadist or anti-American sentiments on social media pages or had &ldquo;contact with child pornography,&rdquo; including in internet chat rooms, according to officials at the time. However, the US continued to train Saudi pilots. Loomer referenced the incident in her social media posts on Friday. &ldquo;Why are we trying to train more Muslims how to fly planes on US soil? Didn&rsquo;t we already learn our lesson?&rdquo; she wrote on social media.

The US plans to train Qatari pilots in Idaho, sparking backlash from critics citing past security concerns, though officials stress Qatar will fund the project, creating more American jobs.

Pentagon to build a training facility for Qatari pilots in Idaho

GAZA CITY: Hamas was set to release all surviving hostages on Monday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, as US President Donald Trump headed to the region for a peace summit having declared the war &quot;over&quot;. Trump&#39;s lightning visit to Israel and Egypt aims to celebrate his role in brokering last week&#39;s ceasefire and hostage release deal &mdash; but comes at a precarious time as Israel and Hamas negotiate what comes next. Under the US president&#39;s proposed roadmap, once the Palestinian fighters have handed over the surviving hostages, Israel will begin releasing around 2,000 detainees in exchange. Israel expects all 20 living hostages to be released to the Red Cross &quot;early Monday morning&quot;, according to a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s office. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One at the start of the &quot;very special&quot; visit, Trump brushed off concerns about whether the ceasefire would endure. &quot;I think it&#39;s going to hold. I think people are tired of it. It&#39;s been centuries,&quot; he said of the fighting. &quot;The war is over. Okay? You understand that?&quot; the US president added. In Israel, Trump is due to meet the families of hostages seized by Hamas in the deadly cross-border attack two years ago that sparked the war, before addressing the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem. His trip is partly a victory lap over the Gaza deal he helped broker with a 20-point peace plan announced in late September. &quot;Everybody&#39;s very excited about this moment in time,&quot; Trump said earlier as he prepared to board the plane at Joint Base Andrews near Washington. Key US officials travelling with him included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA chief John Ratcliffe and top military officer Dan Caine. Final details Negotiators were still wrangling late on Sunday over the final arrangements for the exchanges, with two Hamas sources telling AFP the group was insisting that Israel include seven senior Palestinian leaders on the list of those to be released. Israel has previously rejected at least one of those names. The sources said the group and its allies had nevertheless &quot;completed all preparations&quot; for handing over to Israel all the living hostages. Israel does not expect all of the dead hostages to be returned on Monday. Under the plan, Hamas is to release all the remaining 47 hostages &mdash; living and deceased &mdash; who were abducted on October 7, 2023, during its attack on Israel that left 1,219 people dead, most of them civilians. Hamas is also expected to hand over the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza war. Among the Palestinian prisoners to be released, 250 are security detainees, including many convicted of killing Israelis, while about 1,700 were detained by the Israeli army in Gaza during the war. Peace summit After visiting Israel, Trump will head to Egypt where he and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will co-host a summit of more than 20 world leaders to back his plan to end the Gaza war and promote Middle East peace. Trump will be looking to resolve some of the huge uncertainty around the next phases of the peace plan &mdash; including Hamas&#39;s refusal to disarm and Israel&#39;s failure to pledge a full withdrawal from the devastated territory. Trump insisted he had &quot;guarantees&quot; from both sides and other key regional players about the initial phase of the deal, and the future stages. &quot;I don&#39;t think they&#39;re going to want to disappoint me,&quot; he said. Trump also said he would be &quot;proud&quot; to visit Gaza itself, but did not say when such a difficult security challenge would be possible. A new governing body for devastated Gaza &mdash; which Trump himself would head under his own plan &mdash; would be established &quot;very quickly,&quot; he added. Under the plan, as Israel conducts a partial withdrawal from Gaza, it will be replaced by a multi-national force coordinated by a US-led command center in Israel. Israel&#39;s campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,806 people, according to figures from the health ministry in the territory that the United Nations considers credible. The data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.

Under the US president's proposed roadmap, once the Palestinian fighters have handed over the surviving hostages, Israel will begin releasing around 2,000 detainees in exchange.

Hamas and Israel set for hostage and prisoner exchanges

JERUSALEM: US President Donald Trump declared the Gaza war &quot;over&quot; on Sunday as he headed to the region to host a peace summit, while Hamas prepared to release surviving hostages after two years in captivity. Under the US president&#39;s proposed roadmap, once the Palestinian fighters have handed over the hostages, Israel will begin releasing around 2,000 detainees in exchange. But negotiators were still wrangling late on Sunday over the final arrangements, with two Hamas sources telling AFP the group was insisting that Israel include seven senior Palestinian leaders on the list of those to be released. A confident Trump told reporters travelling with him that &quot;the war is over,&quot; as he took off from Washington for &quot;a very special&quot; trip. The US leader is due to arrive in Israel shortly after the expected release, and will address the Israeli parliament before heading to Egypt to host a meeting of world leaders to back his plan to end the two-year-old Gaza war and promote Middle East peace. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: &quot;Together we achieved tremendous victories, victories that amazed the whole world ... But at the same time, I must tell you, the fight is not over.&quot; &quot;This is an emotional evening, an evening of tears, an evening of joy, because tomorrow our children will return to our borders,&quot; Netanyahu said, quoting a biblical verse. Israel&#39;s army chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, also claimed victory. &quot;The military pressure we applied over the past two years, together with complementary diplomatic measures, constitute a victory over Hamas,&quot; Zamir said. Shosh Bedrosian, a spokesperson for Netanyahu&#39;s office, said the hostage release will begin early on Monday, with Israel &quot;expecting all 20 of our living hostages to be released together at one time.&quot; A senior Israeli military official however told reporters: &quot;Unfortunately... we anticipate that not all fallen hostages will be returned tomorrow.&quot; Bedrosian earlier said an &quot;international body&quot; would be set up to locate the remains of those not returned as part of Monday&#39;s exchange. &#39;Completed all preparations&#39; &quot;Palestinian prisoners will be released once Israel has confirmation that all of our hostages set to be released tomorrow are across the border into Israel,&quot; Bedrosian said. Two Hamas sources, meanwhile, told AFP the group was insisting Israel free seven prominent Palestinian figures as part of the exchange &mdash; at least one of whom Israel has previously refused to release. The source said that the group and its allies had nevertheless &quot;completed all preparations&quot; for handing over to Israel all the living hostages. Under the plan, Hamas is to release the remaining 47 hostages &mdash; living and dead &mdash; who were abducted on October 7, 2023, during a cross-border Hamas attack that left 1,219 people dead, and triggered Israel&#39;s devastating campaign. Hamas is also expected to hand over remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza war. Among the Palestinian prisoners to be released, 250 are security detainees, including many convicted of killing Israelis, while about 1,700 were detained by the Israeli army in Gaza during the war. After his Israel visit, Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will chair a summit of leaders from more than 20 countries in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh. &#39;Fear and worry&#39; UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he will attend, as have leaders from Britain, Italy, Spain, France and King Abdullah of Jordan. No Israeli nor Hamas officials will be present, officials from both camps confirmed. The third day of the ceasefire saw some aid trucks cross into Gaza, but residents in Khan Younis, in the south of the Strip, said some shipments were being ransacked by starving residents in chaotic scenes that saw food parcels trampled. For Mahmud al-Muzain, a bystander, the scuffle showed that Gazans did not trust that the US-led negotiations would lead to a long-term peace. &quot;Everyone fears the war will return,&quot; he told AFP. &quot;We stockpile food out of fear and worry that the war will come back.&quot; In Israel, the mother of 25-year-old hostage Matan Zangauker described her intense longing. &quot;My emotions are immense, there are no words to describe them &mdash; for me, for us, for all of Israel, which wants the hostages home and waits to see them all return,&quot; said Einav Zangauker. &#39;A long-term truce&#39; Hamas has over the past two years suffered staggering losses including the killing of its top leaders both in Gaza and in exile. But the movement has not been crushed, and a source close to its negotiating committee told AFP on Sunday that while it would not participate in post-war Gaza governance, it will not lay down its weapons. Under the Trump plan, as Israel conducts a partial withdrawal from Gaza, it will be replaced by a multi-national force coordinated by a US-led command center in Israel. Israel&#39;s campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,806 people, according to the health ministry in the territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.

Under the US president's proposed roadmap, once the Palestinian fighters have handed over the hostages, Israel will begin releasing around 2,000 detainees in exchange.

Trump declares Gaza war 'over,' hostages due home

PARIS: France&#39;s President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a new government on Sunday, after marathon talks to cobble together a cabinet and prevent the country from slipping deeper into a political crisis. The lineup, a mix of old and new faces, is Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu&#39;s second attempt at bringing together a team to overcome months of deadlock and pass a much-needed budget through a hung parliament. Last Sunday he presented his first cabinet, but resigned a day later after the lineup was criticized for not having enough new faces. Macron reappointed him on Friday to try again. &quot;A mission-driven government has been appointed to provide France with a budget before the end of the year,&quot; Lecornu wrote on X on Sunday.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1977464958712500451&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=aee2e4f9e0ae9f799ef8acc74c4194d5785ce556&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 392px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1977464958712500451"></iframe></div><a href="https://twitter.com/SebLecornu/status/1977464958712500451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" &gt;october="" 12,="" 2025<="" a="" style="font-size: 18px;"></a></div>According to the lineup published by the presidency, Jean-Noel Barrot remained as foreign minister. Outgoing labor minister Catherine Vautrin took on the defense portfolio. Roland Lescure, a Macron loyalist, is in charge of the economy, with next year&#39;s budget as a top priority. There were also new faces. Paris police chief Laurent Nunez took over the interior ministry, replacing Bruno Retailleau whose right-wing Republicans party said it would not be part in any government this weekend. Monique Barbut, the former France director of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), was to head the ministry of environmental transition. Gerald Darmanin however stayed on as justice minister. And Rachida Dati, a scandal-ridden culture minister who is set to stand trial for corruption next year, also retained her post.

Europe

The lineup, a mix of old and new faces, is Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's second attempt at bringing together a team to overcome months of deadlock and pass a much-needed budget through a hung parliament.

France's president unveils new cabinet lineup

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan desired a peaceful, stable, friendly, inclusive, regionally connected, and prosperous Afghanistan, the foreign office said late Sunday, following its forces repelling an &ldquo;unprovoked&rdquo; cross-border assault overnight by the neighboring country. The Pakistani military said the overnight assault of October 11&ndash;12 saw Afghan Taliban fighters and allied militants launch coordinated attacks along multiple border sectors. Pakistani forces repelled the offensive, killing over 200 attackers, while 23 soldiers embraced martyrdom, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). ISPR said the Taliban were joined by Fitna al-Khawarij, Islamabad&rsquo;s term for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), along with Fitna al-Hindustan, referring to Indian-sponsored proxies, and Daesh/ISKP. &ldquo;Exercising the right of self-defense, Pakistan&rsquo;s forces repelled the assault and inflicted heavy casualties,&rdquo; ISPR said, adding that precision strikes destroyed multiple Taliban posts and training centers inside Afghanistan. Islamabad calls for responsibility and restraintIn a statement issued later by the foreign office, Pakistan reiterated its long-standing desire for peace and stability in Afghanistan, emphasizing that Islamabad sought &ldquo;a peaceful, stable, friendly, inclusive, regionally connected, and prosperous Afghanistan.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1977430286989492596&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=51a0539cd1ad8431fa5f54b10ba1a403d113dd99&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 673px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1977430286989492596"></iframe></div></div> &ldquo;Pakistan expects the Taliban regime to act responsibly, honor its commitments, and play a constructive role in achieving the shared objective of rooting out terrorism from its soil,&rdquo; the statement said. The foreign office expressed &ldquo;deep concern at the unwarranted aggression,&rdquo; adding that such unprovoked actions aimed at destabilizing the border &ldquo;belie the overall spirit of peaceful neighborhood and cooperative relations between the two brotherly countries.&rdquo; &ldquo;Pakistan, exercising its right of self-defense, not only effectively repulsed the assaults all along the border, but also inflicted heavy losses on Taliban forces and affiliated Khawarij, in terms of men, material, and infrastructure,&rdquo; the statement continued. &ldquo;These infrastructures were used to plan and facilitate terrorist attacks against Pakistan.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;In our targeted and precise response, all possible measures were taken to prevent collateral damage and protect civilians.&rdquo; The ministry emphasized that Pakistan values &ldquo;dialogue and diplomacy and a mutually beneficial relationship with Afghanistan,&rdquo; but warned that continued provocation would not be tolerated. &ldquo;At the same time, the Government of Pakistan continues to closely monitor the situation and would take all possible measures to safeguard its territory and the lives of its people,&rdquo; the ministry said. &ldquo;Any further provocations will be met with an unwavering and befitting response.&rdquo; India&rsquo;s role and Afghan minister&rsquo;s remarksThe foreign office strongly rejected what it called &ldquo;baseless insinuations&rdquo; made by Afghanistan&rsquo;s Interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi during his visit to India, saying he attempted to divert attention from the presence of terrorist elements operating freely in Afghanistan. &ldquo;By making these baseless assertions, the Taliban regime cannot absolve itself of its responsibilities toward regional peace and stability,&rdquo; it said. &ldquo;Continued presence of terrorist elements on Afghan soil and the freedom of activities enjoyed by them in Afghanistan are well-documented in UN Monitoring Team reports.&rdquo; The statement noted that Pakistan has repeatedly conveyed its concerns to Kabul about the activities of Fitna-e-Khawarij and Fitna-e-Hindustan operating from Afghan territory, warning that these elements enjoy active support from India. &ldquo;Pakistan expects concrete and verifiable actions against these terrorist elements by the Taliban regime,&rdquo; the foreign office added. The ministry also drew attention to the timing of the border provocation, which coincided with the Taliban foreign minister&rsquo;s visit to New Delhi, &ldquo;the biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the region,&rdquo; according to ISPR. Islamabad views this as further evidence of Indian efforts to exploit Afghan soil to destabilize Pakistan. National leadership stands unitedPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the Armed Forces for their professionalism and valor in defending Pakistan&rsquo;s borders, saying there would be &ldquo;no compromise on national defense.&rdquo; &ldquo;Every provocation will be met with a strong and effective response,&rdquo; the prime minister said, while offering prayers for the 23 soldiers who embraced martyrdom and extending condolences to their families. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the cross-border attacks as a &ldquo;blatant violation of international law,&rdquo; saying Pakistan&rsquo;s armed forces &ldquo;have shown with an immediate and effective response that any provocation will not be tolerated.&rdquo; &ldquo;The fire and blood being played out from Afghanistan have links to our perennial enemy,&rdquo; Naqvi said, referring to India. &ldquo;Afghanistan will be given a strong, decisive response &mdash; just as India was.&rdquo; Border closuresFollowing the clashes, Pakistan closed all major crossings along the 2,600-kilometer (1615.5 miles) Pak-Afghan border, including Torkham, Chaman, Kharlachi, Angoor Adda, and Ghulam Khan, officials confirmed. Reaffirming Pakistan&rsquo;s long-standing policy of humanitarian engagement with Afghanistan, the foreign office said: &ldquo;In the spirit of good neighborliness, Islamic brotherhood, and humanity, Pakistan has generously hosted around four million Afghans for more than four decades.&rdquo; The statement added that Pakistan would continue to regulate the presence of Afghan nationals on its territory &ldquo;in accordance with international norms and laws.&rdquo; &ldquo;We also hope that one day, the Afghan people will be emancipated and governed by a truly representative government,&rdquo; it concluded.

Security

Foreign Office says country expects Taliban regime to act responsibly, honor its commitments, and play a constructive role in achieving the shared objective of rooting out terrorism from its soil.

Pakistan desirous of peaceful, stable, friendly, prosperous Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has approved Pakistan&rsquo;s landmark proposal to tackle disinformation, misinformation, and hate speech while safeguarding freedom of expression.&nbsp;The initiative, presented by Pakistan&rsquo;s Ambassador Mumtaz Zahra Baloch at the 222nd Session of the UNESCO Executive Board in Paris, received overwhelming cross-regional support, underscoring Islamabad&rsquo;s growing role in shaping global digital policy.&nbsp;The proposal calls for stronger international cooperation to build a safe, trustworthy, and human rights&ndash;based digital environment, one that balances free speech with responsibility in an era increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence and algorithmic influence.&nbsp;&ldquo;UNESCO&rsquo;s centrality to promoting a safe, reliable, and inclusive information environment that upholds human rights, democratic values, and access to information for all remains essential,&rdquo; Pakistan&rsquo;s statement noted.&nbsp;Member States lauded the proposal for addressing pressing challenges in the age of emerging technologies, including AI, neuro-technology, and immersive digital platforms.&nbsp;The Executive Board emphasized the need for greater transparency and accountability from digital platforms, urging measures to detect and label AI-generated or manipulated content and to strengthen content authentication systems.&nbsp;UNESCO works to build peace through international cooperation in education, science, culture, and communication. It plays a leading role in promoting media freedom, ethical AI, and digital literacy worldwide.&nbsp;By championing this initiative, Pakistan has positioned itself as an emerging voice in the global effort to safeguard information integrity and strengthen digital safety. Observers say the proposal&rsquo;s adoption marks a forward-looking step toward creating international standards that protect both truth and transparency in the digital age.

Foreign Affairs

UNESCO has endorsed Pakistan’s proposal to combat disinformation and promote digital integrity, highlighting Islamabad’s leadership in shaping global digital policy and balancing free expression with accountability.

UN agency endorses Pakistan’s global plan to curb disinformation, promote digital integrity

ISLAMABAD: Alyssa Healy&rsquo;s sensational 142 propelled Australia to a thrilling three-wicket victory over India in their ICC Women&rsquo;s Cricket World Cup 2025 clash at ACA&ndash;VDCA Cricket Stadium on Sunday.&nbsp;Australia held their nerve, reaching 331-7 with just one over to spare. Australia right-hand batswomen Healy&rsquo;s blistering innings of 142 off 107 balls was complemented by unbeaten contributions from Ellyse Perry (47 ) runs and Ashleigh Gardner valuable (45), ensuring Australia completed a nail-biting chase.&nbsp;India had struck early blows, with Sree Charani taking (3-41) and Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur picking up two wickets each. Perry&rsquo;s calm innings, coming after her return from a brief injury layoff, proved crucial in steadying the chase. Earlier, Smriti Mandhana&rsquo;s 80 runs off 66 balls provided a great start for India after Australia won the toss and opted to bowl.&nbsp;Mandhana hit nine fours and three sixes. She put on 155 runs for the first wicket with Pratika Rawal, who scored 75 off 96 ,But India lost its last six wickets for 36 runs, and its dismissal with seven balls left proved costly.&nbsp;Mandhana also became the youngest and fastest player to reach 5,000 ODI runs in 112 innings. Australia&rsquo;s bowlers responded in style, with Annabel Sutherland claiming a spectacular five-wicket haul (5-40) and Sophie Molineux adding (3-75), keeping India&rsquo;s middle and lower order in check.&nbsp;The victory moves Australia to the top of the points table with seven points from four matches, while India slip to third with four points after back-to-back defeats.&nbsp;Seven-time champion Australia is currently unbeaten in 12 Cricket World Cup games stretching back to the previous edition in 2022. It next plays Bangladesh on Thursday, at the same Visakhapatnam venue.

Cricket

Australia chased down 331 to beat India by three wickets in the Women’s World Cup 2025, led by Alyssa Healy’s 142. Annabel Sutherland took 5-40 as Australia topped the table.

Australia pull off record chase to beat India in Women's World Cup 2025

Reuters

RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Authority is ready to work with US President Donald Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on their effort to consolidate the Gaza ceasefire and start rebuilding, a senior Palestinian official told Blair on Sunday. Trump&#39;s plan for ending the Gaza war holds out the prospect of the Palestinian Authority, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and led by President Mahmoud Abbas, eventually taking control of Gaza, but only after it completes reforms. Abbas lost control of Gaza to Hamas in 2007. Trump&#39;s proposal says Hamas must end its rule of Gaza and foresees the territory being run by a Palestinian technocratic committee supervised by an international body chaired by him and including Blair. Hussein al-Sheikh, deputy head of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said he had met Blair to discuss the day after in Gaza and making Trump&#39;s plan for &quot;stopping the Gaza war and establishing lasting peace in the region a success&quot;. &quot;We have confirmed our readiness to work with President Trump, Mr. Blair and the partners to consolidate the ceasefire, the entry of aid, the release of hostages and prisoners, and then start with the recovery and reconstruction,&quot; Sheikh wrote on X. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Gaza being run by the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinians collect aid supplies from trucks that entered Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip October 12, 2025. (Reuters)

Trump's plan for ending the Gaza war holds out the prospect of the Palestinian Authority, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and led by President Mahmoud Abbas, eventually taking control of Gaza, but only after it completes reforms. 

Palestinian Authority ready to help Trump's Gaza effort succeed, says official

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Sunday the United States wants to help China, not hurt it, striking a conciliatory tone days after threatening an additional 100 percent tariff on the world&#39;s second-largest economy.&nbsp;Trump&#39;s statements on Friday as well as his threat to cancel a meeting with Xi later this month sent Wall Street stocks tumbling into negative territory as traders worried the trade war between Washington and Beijing could reignite.&nbsp;&quot;The USA wants to help China, not hurt it!!!&quot; Trump said in Sunday&#39;s post on Truth Social, adding that &quot;respected President Xi (Jinping)doesn&#39;t want Depression for his country.&quot;&nbsp;Trump on Friday said that he would impose the extra levies from November 1 in response to what he called &quot;extraordinarily aggressive&quot; new Chinese export curbs on the rare-earths industry.&nbsp;Beijing, in turn, accused Washington of acting unfairly, with its Ministry of Commerce on Sunday calling Trump&#39;s tariff threat a &quot;typical example of &#39;double standards.&#39;&quot;&nbsp;The ministry said Washington had ratcheted up economic measures against Beijing since September.&nbsp;&quot;Threatening high tariffs at every turn is not the right approach to engaging with China,&quot; it said in an online statement.&nbsp;Chinese goods currently face US tariffs of 30 percent under levies that Trump imposed while accusing Beijing of aiding in the fentanyl trade as well as unfair trade practices.&nbsp;China&#39;s retaliatory tariffs are currently at 10 percent.&nbsp;Rare earths have been a major sticking point in recent trade negotiations between the two superpowers.&nbsp;They are critical to manufacturing everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to military hardware and renewable energy technology but produced and processed almost exclusively by China.

China

President Trump stated that the US wants to help China, not harm it, following earlier threats of higher tariffs over rare-earth exports. China criticized the tariff threat as unfair, amid ongoing trade tensions affecting global markets.


Trump says US wants to help China, not hurt it'

Maham Khan

ISLAMABAD: The latest teaser for Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan starrer Neelofar hit the Pakistani cinema scene on Sunday, creating significant buzz with its 1:37-minute runtime. Slated for a November 28 release, the teaser offers a short glimpse into a quintessential love story between the country&#39;s most famous on-screen pair. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/387cca99-e592-40c5-b192-10cce9b93d37-4.png" alt="(Neelofar the film/YouTube)" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">(Neelofar the film/YouTube)</figcaption></figure> This is Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan&rsquo;s third on-screen collaboration, following famed performances in Humsafar and The Legend of Maula Jatt. Love&#39;s playful prelude The teaser begins with a playful exchange that immediately captures the audience&#39;s attention. Mahira&#39;s character playfully challenges Fawad&#39;s, saying, &quot;Next time you will dance with me,&quot; to which he responds with a simple &quot;no.&quot; Her clever retort, &quot;Why? I will not see, promise,&quot; hints at her character&#39;s blindness. Nostalgia&#39;s embrace Fawad Khan appears in a study that breathes nostalgia, surrounded by books and an antique office table. Dressed in a traditional shawl and kurta pajama, he picks up a woman&#39;s scarf, immediately creating a sense of memory and longing. The scene is carefully crafted to evoke a sense of past and present, drawing viewers into a living time capsule. Moments between memories The teaser navigates between different time periods, with scenes of Fawad Khan&#39;s character blindfolding himself echoing earlier moments where Neelofar ties a scarf around his eyes. Echoes of Lollywood&#39;s golden era The teaser is a nostalgic love letter to mid-20th-century Pakistani cinema. It features vintage elements like a radio cassette recorder, the main couple dancing in the fields, the heroine releasing a kabootar&nbsp;(pigeon) into the sky&ndash; &ndash;and, of course, the hero and heroine sharing a moment in the iconic green train cabin&mdash;capturing the essence of Lollywood&rsquo;s golden age. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/88c60a96-e6b4-4d4a-8eec-cad73f8afb01-2.png" alt="Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan on a Pakistani train. (Neelofar the film/YouTube)" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan on a Pakistani train. (Neelofar the film/YouTube)</figcaption></figure> The mid-20th century setting is meticulously captured with Fawad Khan in a newsboy cap reminiscent of Bhutto&#39;s style. From hairstyles to clothing, the movie transports viewers to a bygone period. A love destined for heartbreak The teaser suggests a potentially tragic love story. Fawad&#39;s character appears to be reminiscing about a passionate romance marked by tragedy. One particular scene shows Neelofar leaving Pakistan, crying as she boards an airplane. Humsafar&#39;s mini reunion The film boasts an impressive ensemble cast including Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Madiha Imam, Sarwat Gilani, Atiqa Odho, and Behrooz Sabzwari. It feels like a mini Humsafar reunion, bringing together several beloved actors from that iconic drama. Producer&#39;s first dance While the film is written and directed by Ammar Rasool, it marks Fawad Khan&#39;s debut as a producer. Braille and brilliance A notable detail is the film&#39;s title displayed in Braille, cleverly reflecting Mahira&#39;s character&#39;s blindness. Audience&#39;s reaction Initial reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. Viewers expressed eagerness to see the film, particularly praising the soft music and the intimate romantic scenes between Fawad and Mahira. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/3195179d-4c47-4736-9591-b2344915e41f-1.png" alt="The movie has a mid-20th century setting. (Neelofar the film/YouTube)" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">The movie has a mid-20th century setting. (Neelofar the film/YouTube)</figcaption></figure> Nostalgia gravy train It seems Pakistan will not miss out on the nostalgic (particularly the mid-20th century setting) gravy train sweeping the globe, with several 2025 releases diving into the positive, sunshine and rainbows era of the 60s. (We&rsquo;re looking at you in particular, The Fantastic Four: First Steps!) This isn&#39;t Hum&#39;s first foray into nostalgic storytelling either, with previous dramas exploring similar time periods this year alone.

Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan reunite for the third time in Neelofar. (Neelofar the film/YouTube)

Entertainment

Film & TV

This is Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan’s third on-screen collaboration, following famed performances in Humsafar and The Legend of Maula Jatt.

Articles by AP

Mexico's president convenes governors as death toll from torrential rains rises to 44

Trump sets off for the Mideast to mark ceasefire deal

Aid preparations ramp up in Gaza as ceasefire sparks hope to end 2-year war

Cameroon votes as President Paul Biya seeks historic eighth term

16 dead in Tennessee factory blast as community mourns loss

Mbappé to miss France's World Cup qualifier vs. Iceland because of ankle injury

Mangione seeks dismissal of death penalty charge in UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing

Israel strikes south Lebanon, killing 1 and wounding 7

WIC food program receives $300M to keep running during government shutdown

Pentagon to build a training facility for Qatari pilots in Idaho

Latest News

Hamas and Israel set for hostage and prisoner exchanges

Mexico's president convenes governors as death toll from torrential rains rises to 44

Trump declares Gaza war 'over,' hostages due home

France's president unveils new cabinet lineup

Pakistan desirous of peaceful, stable, friendly, prosperous Afghanistan