Israeli settlements in W Bank growing: UN
NEW YORK, Dec 13 (AFP/Reuters): The expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is at its highest level since at least 2017, when the United Nations began tracking such data, according to a report by the UN chief seen by AFP on Friday.In 2025, "plans for nearly 47,390...
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Erdogan warns Black Sea should not be 'area of confrontation' after strikes
ISTANBUL, Dec 13 (AFP): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned that the Black Sea should not turn into an "area of confrontation" between Russia and Ukraine, after several strikes in recent weeks."The Black Sea should not be seen as an area of confrontation. This would not benefit Russia...
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Countries agree to ceasefire, says Trump
NEW YORK, Dec 13 (BBC): Fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces continued early on Saturday hours after US President Donald Trump said the two countries had agreed to a ceasefire.Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he told Trump a ceasefire would only be possible after Cambodia had withdrawn all its...
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16 perish as heavy rains batter Gaza
GAZA, Dec 13 (AFP): Gaza's civil defence agency on Friday said at least 16 people had died in the last 24 hours, including three children who died from exposure to the cold, as a winter storm batters the territory.Heavy rain from Storm Byron has flooded tents and temporary shelters across...
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Witkoff to meet Zelensky, EU leaders for Ukraine talks
NEW YORK, Dec 13 (BBC/AFP/AP): US President Donald Trump's overseas envoy will travel to Germany this weekend to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders for the latest round of high-level talks on ending the war.Steve Witkoff, who has been leading White House attempts to mediate between Ukraine and...
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Iran detains Nobel-prize winner
PARIS, Dec 13 (AFP): Iranian security forces on Friday detained the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi along with at least eight other activists in an arrest condemned as "brutal" by the Norwegian Nobel committee.Mohammadi, who was granted temporary leave from prison in December 2024, was detained along with...
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