Reuters: World

Hamas says Israeli proposal fails to meet demands, but is under review Hamas said on Tuesday that an Israeli proposal on a ceasefire in their war in Gaza did not meet the demands of Palestinian militant factions, but it would study the offer further and deliver its response to mediators. The proposal was handed to the Palestinian Islamist movement by Egyptian and Qatari mediators at talks in Cairo that aim to find a way out of the devastating war in the Gaza Strip, now in its seventh month. read more

U.S., UK, Australia considering cooperation with Japan on AUKUS pact Britain, the United States and Australia are considering working with Japan on advanced capability projects through their AUKUS security pact, the three countries said in a joint statement on Monday. U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will likely further discuss the topic when they meet in Washington on Wednesday, a source with knowledge of the talks said. AUKUS, formed by the three countries in 2021, is part of efforts to push back against China's growing power in the Indo-Pacific region. read more

Israel reduces troops in south Gaza, Egypt to host new talks Israel said on Sunday it had withdrawn more soldiers from southern Gaza, leaving just one brigade, as it and Hamas sent teams to Egypt for fresh talks on a potential ceasefire in the six-month conflict. Israel has been reducing numbers in Gaza since the start of the year to relieve reservists and is under growing pressure from its ally Washington to improve the humanitarian situation, especially after last week's killing of seven aid workers. read more

Israel prepared to handle any Iran scenario, defence chief says Israel's defence minister said on Sunday that the country was ready to handle any scenario after Iran threatened to retaliate for the killing of Iranian generals on April 1. An Iranian official said on Sunday that Israeli embassies were not safe, and a semi-official news agency published a graphic showing weapons that it said would be capable of striking Israel. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant's office made the statement about preparedness after he held an "operational situation assessment" with senior military officers. read more

US on high alert for Iran threat in region after Israeli strike in Syria The United States is on high alert and preparing for a possible attack by Iran targeting Israeli or American assets in the region in response to Israel's strike on the Iranian embassy in Syria, a U.S. official said on Friday. "We're definitely at a high state of vigilance," the official said in confirming a CNN report that said an attack could come in the next week. Suspected Israeli warplanes bombed Iran's embassy in Damascus on Monday in a strike that killed an Iranian military commander and marked a major escalation in Israel's war with its regional adversaries. read more

Yellen calls China meetings "productive", seeks level playing field U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Saturday she had "productive conversations" with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on the bilateral economic relationship after two days of meetings in China's southern export hub of Guangzhou. "The U.S. seeks to create a level playing field for American workers and firms, as well as deeper cooperation on illicit finance, climate change and other priorities," Yellen said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Her post did not directly mention her top priority for her four day visit to China: to try to persuade Chinese officials to rein in excess production capacity for electric vehicles, solar panels and other clean energy technology that are threatening competing firms in the U.S. and other countries. read more

Helicopter rescues Taiwan miners, stranded hotel guests confirmed safe A helicopter plucked to safety on Thursday six people stranded in a mining area after Taiwan's worst earthquake in 25 years, and rescue workers reached 400 people cut off in a hotel in a mountainous national park by air, and confirmed all were safe. Hundreds of aftershocks struck Taiwan's eastern region, driving scores to seek shelter outdoors, as the death toll from Wednesday's 7.2-magnitude quake rose to 10, with the tally of injured at 1,099, authorities said. read more

Bodies of foreign aid workers killed in Israeli strike leave Gaza The bodies of foreign aid workers killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza were brought to the crossing with Egypt on Wednesday as international outrage simmered over an attack that highlighted the dangers faced by humanitarian staff in the enclave. The strike late on Monday night hit a convoy of three vehicles and killed seven staff of the aid group World Central Kitchen (WCK), including citizens of Australia, Britain, and Poland, a dual citizen of the United States and Canada as well as a Palestinian colleague, who was buried at his home. read more

Many Iranian options to retaliate against Israel, but all carry risk Iran faces a dilemma following an Israeli attack on its embassy in Syria: how to retaliate without sparking a wider conflict that Middle East analysts said Tehran doesn't appear to want. Monday's strike, which killed two Iranian generals and five military advisers at Iran's embassy compound in Damascus, comes as Israel accelerates a long-running campaign against Iran and the armed groups it backs. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed revenge. read more

Taiwan's strongest earthquake in 25 years kills seven, traps 77 Taiwan's biggest earthquake in at least 25 years killed seven people on Wednesday, injuring more than 700, with 77 trapped in tunnels and collapsed buildings, authorities said, as rescuers used ladders to help some people descend to safety. Television broadcast images of buildings tilted at precarious angles in the mountainous, sparsely populated eastern county of Hualien, near the epicentre of the 7.2 magnitude quake, which struck just offshore at about 8 a. m. (0000GMT). read more

Iran vows revenge on Israel after Damascus embassy attack Iran vowed on Tuesday to take revenge on Israel for an airstrike that killed two of its top generals and five other military advisers at the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus, underlining the risk of further escalation after the unprecedented attack. Conflict has rippled across the Middle East since the onset of the Gaza war; until now, Tehran has carefully avoided direct conflict with Israel while backing allies attacking Israeli and U.S. targets. read more

Chinese state media stoked allegation Taiwan's president would flee war Taiwan's outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen plans to flee in a U.S. plane if war erupts with China, according to an unsubstantiated report first published in 2021 and echoed in the run-up to the island's January 2024 general election. Another story said Tsai had given her confidantes VIP "runaway" passes. They are among the many unsupported tales of Tsai's preparations to escape harm that have been fed into the island by Chinese state media outlets, according to an analysis conducted for Reuters by the Information Environment Research Center (IORG), a Taiwan-based non-government organisation. read more