Latest International agreements News

After 15 months of war, Hamas still rules over what remains of Gaza

Jan. 21, 2025 02:13 AM EST

As a ceasefire brought calm to Gaza's ruined cities, Hamas was quick to emerge from hiding. The militant group has not only survived 15 months of war with Israel — among the deadliest and most destructive in recent memory — but it remains firmly in control of the coastal...

Taliban say 2 Americans held in Afghanistan were freed in a prisoner exchange

Jan. 21, 2025 02:12 AM EST

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A prisoner swap between the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban freed two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure imprisoned for life in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges, officials said Tuesday. The deal came as President Joe Biden, who...

Middle East latest: Released Israeli hostage says she has 'returned to life'

Jan. 20, 2025 21:38 PM EST

One of the Israeli hostages freed on the first day of the Gaza ceasefire said Monday in her first comments since being released that she has “returned to life.” Emily Damari, 28, was one of three hostages freed Sunday after spending 471 days in captivity. Officials at a hospital...

Yemen's Houthis signal they'll now limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridor to Israeli ships

Jan. 20, 2025 20:44 PM EST

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen's Houthi rebels signaled Monday they now will limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridor to only Israeli-affiliated ships after a ceasefire began in the Gaza Strip, but warned wider assaults could resume if needed. The Houthis'...

Trump signs first executive orders aiming to assert control of federal workforce, withdraw from Paris climate treaty

Jan. 20, 2025 19:14 PM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump signs first executive orders aiming to assert control of federal workforce, withdraw from Paris climate treaty.

China says it brokered a ceasefire between Myanmar army and an ethnic rebel group

Jan. 20, 2025 10:39 AM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government and a major ethnic rebel group in the country’s northeast have signed a formal ceasefire agreement, mediator China said Monday. The ceasefire between the military and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), which...

At least 80 people killed in northeast Colombia as peace talks fail, official says

Jan. 20, 2025 07:35 AM EST

BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — More than 80 people were killed in the country’s northeast over the weekend following the government's failed attempts to hold peace talks with the National Liberation Army, a Colombian official said. Twenty others were injured in the violence that has...

As ceasefire takes hold, Hamas returns 3 Israeli hostages and Israel frees 90 Palestinian prisoners

Jan. 20, 2025 05:21 AM EST

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — After 15 months of collective grief and anxiety, three Israeli hostages left Hamas captivity and returned to Israel, and dozens of Palestinian prisoners walked free from Israeli jail, leaving both Israelis and Palestinians torn between celebration and trepidation as the...

Who are the Israelis released on the first day of the ceasefire?

Jan. 19, 2025 23:32 PM EST

JERUSALEM (AP) — Three hostages held by Hamas were released Sunday after 471 days in captivity as part of a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group. A gradual release of dozens of captives over the next several weeks has been agreed on. The truce and release of...

Funding cuts to Afghanistan are the biggest threat to helping women, aid agency chief warns

Jan. 19, 2025 12:08 PM EST

Funding cuts to Afghanistan are the biggest threat to helping the country’s women, the chief of a top aid agency warned Sunday. Jan Egeland, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said women and girls were bearing the brunt of dwindling financial support for...