Reuters: World

What do we know about China’s respiratory illness surge? A request by the World Health Organization for more information on a surge in respiratory illnesses and clusters of pneumonia in children in China has attracted global attention. Health authorities have not detected any unusual or novel pathogens, the WHO later said, and doctors and public health researchers say there is no evidence for international alarm. Authorities in Taiwan, however, this week advised the elderly, very young and those with poor immunity to avoid travel to China. read more

War resumes in Gaza after truce collapses Israeli warplanes pounded Gaza, sending scores of wounded and dead pouring into hospitals, and rocket sirens blared in southern Israel on Friday as war resumed after a week-old truce ran out with no deal to extend it. As the deadline lapsed, Reuters journalists in Khan Younis in southern Gaza saw eastern areas come under intensive bombardment, sending columns of smoke rising into the sky. Residents took to the streets, fleeing for shelter further west and ferrying dead and injured people into hospitals. In the north of the enclave, previously the main war zone, huge plumes of smoke rose above the ruins, seen from across the fence in Israel. The rattle of gunfire and thud of explosions rang out above the sound of barking dogs. read more

Henry Kissinger, American diplomat and Nobel winner, dead at 100 Henry Kissinger, a diplomatic powerhouse whose roles as a national security adviser and secretary of state under two presidents left an indelible mark on U.S. foreign policy and earned him a controversial Nobel Peace Prize, died on Wednesday at age 100. Kissinger died at his home in Connecticut, according to a statement from his geopolitical consulting firm, Kissinger Associates Inc. No mention was made of the circumstances. It said he would be interred at a private family service, to be followed at a later date by a public memorial service in New York City. read more

Israel, Hamas due to release more people amid efforts to extend truce Hamas and Israel were expected to release more hostages and prisoners on Wednesday, the last day of a prolonged six-day truce in the Gaza Strip conflict, as attention focused on whether mediator Qatar could negotiate another extension. Israeli media, citing the prime minister's office, reported that Israel received a list of hostages expected to be released by Hamas on Wednesday. The prime minister's office had no immediate comment. Israel has said the truce could be prolonged further, provided Hamas continues to free at least 10 Israeli hostages per day. But with fewer women and children still in captivity, keeping the guns quiet beyond Wednesday may require negotiating to free at least some Israeli men for the first time. read more

Iran finalises deal to buy Russian fighter jets - Tasnim Iran has finalised arrangements for the delivery of Russian made Sukhoi su-35 fighter jets and helicopters, Iran's deputy defence minister told Iran's Tasnim news agency on Tuesday, as Tehran and Moscow forge closer military relations. Iran's air force has only a few dozen strike aircraft, including Russian jets as well as ageing U.S. models acquired before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. "Plans have been finalised for Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, Mil Mi-28 attack helicopters, and Yak-130 jet trainers to join the combat units of Iran's Army," Iran's deputy Defence Minister Mehdi Farahi said. read more

Vermont man charged with attempted murder in shooting of students of Palestinian descent The man accused of shooting and wounding three college students of Palestinian descent in Burlington, Vermont, over the weekend pleaded not guilty to attempted murder charges on Monday and was ordered by a judge to remain held without bond. Jason J. Eaton, 48, was arraigned in Chittenden County Criminal Court in Burlington, appearing via a video feed from the county jail where he has been detained since his arrest on Sunday, the day after the attack. Police have said investigators were treating Saturday evening's gun violence in the heart of Vermont's largest city as a suspected hate-motivated crime. read more

Negotiators close to agreeing extension of Gaza truce, say Egyptian security sources Egyptian, Qatari and U.S. negotiators closed in on an extension of a four-day truce in Gaza that expires on Monday, Egyptian security sources said, amid rising international pressure to roll over a deal which has paused seven weeks of fighting. Palestinian group Hamas is seeking a four-day extension while Israel wants day-by-day extensions, with negotiations continuing over which Palestinian prisoners would be freed, the sources said. An Israeli official earlier reiterated Israel's position that it would agree to an extra day of truce for each additional 10 hostages freed and to release three times the number of Palestinians each time. The number of additional days is capped at five, the official added. read more

Hamas, Israel release prisoners; American girl, 4, is freed Hamas freed 17 hostages held in Gaza, including a 4-year-old American girl, while Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, the third day of their truce. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had successfully transferred 17 hostages from Gaza. Hamas said it had handed over 13 Israelis, three Thais and one with Russian citizenship. The release of the hostages - part of a larger group captured when Hamas fighters rampaged through southern Israel on Oct. 7 - was mirrored by the freeing of 39 Palestinians, all of whom are teenagers, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA. read more

Israel reviews list of hostages set to be freed by Hamas on Saturday Israel has received a list of hostages to be freed from Gaza on Saturday by Palestinian militant group Hamas, officials said, following the release of 24 hostages the previous day, the first of a planned four-day truce. Israeli security officials were reviewing the list, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, after his government's vow to work for the release of all hostages taken by Hamas in an attack on Israel on Oct. 7. The pause in the fighting was the first such break, with both sides saying hostilities would resume as soon as the truce ends. U.S. President Joe Biden expressed hope it could be extended, however. read more

Former police officer convicted in death of George Floyd is stabbed in prison -media Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted in the death of George Floyd, was stabbed in federal prison on Friday and seriously injured, the Associated Press said, citing a person familiar with the matter. Floyd's death in 2020 unleashed a wave of protests worldwide against police brutality and racism after Chauvin, who is white, knelt on the handcuffed Black man's neck for more than nine minutes in a murder caught on cellphone video. The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed an unidentified inmate was assaulted at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson in Arizona, but declined to confirm if it was Chauvin. Chauvin, 47, was stabbed by another inmate at the prison, the news agency said, citing a source who was not authorized to discuss the attack and sought anonymity. read more

Riots erupt in Dublin after children stabbed Three young children were among five people injured in a knife attack in Dublin on Thursday that sparked riots in the city centre and which police have not yet ruled out any motive over, including whether it could be terror-related. Public transport was suspended and patients advised not to travel to a nearby maternity hospital unless absolutely necessary after clashes between riot police and anti-immigrant protesters, who arrived at the scene of the attack beside the main thoroughfare of O'Connell Street. A double decker bus was burned to the ground in front of the Daniel O'Connell statue at the head of the street and windows were smashed at a nearby Holiday Inn hotel and McDonalds restaurant. A Footlocker store was looted. read more

Dutch election: Far-right's Wilders aims to be PM after shock win Far-right populist Geert Wilders wants to be the Netherlands' next prime minister and would focus his efforts on curbing immigration, he said following a landmark election win that will have repercussions in the Netherlands and Europe. A fan of former U.S. President Donald Trump and Hungary's eurosceptic Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the vocally anti-Islam, anti-EU Wilders has also vowed to slash Dutch payments to the European Union and block the entrance of any new members, including Ukraine. Though Wilders' most radical ideas will be rejected by other parties he must work with in order to form a coalition government, fellow populists including Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the hard-right League Matteo Salvini welcomed his win as showing that "a new Europe is possible." read more