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

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

E-voting boosts voter engagement, but political disinterest persists

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GAZA STRIP (AFP) -- Gaza's Hamas rulers released two Americans on Friday among some 200 hostages they abducted in brutal October 7 attacks in Israel and indicated that more could follow. Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan were back in Israel late Friday, the Israeli government said. No details were given on their condition, but US President Joe Biden said he was "overjoyed" at the news. Biden spoke by phone to the two women after they were freed. And Hamas

Desperately needed international aid piled up Friday near Gaza, with Palestinians in dire need of food and water after relentless bombing by Israel, still reeling from the bloodiest attack in its history. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after the Islamist militant group launched a massive attack from the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burned to death, according to Israeli officials. Hamas gunmen also took nearly 200 people h