Amid Washington rancor, Trump basks in the glow of a hostage-release deal
Presidents love to bask in the patriotic glow of bringing hostages home — none more than Donald Trump. Negotiations over prisoner swaps can be tough and the prices can be high, and experts warn that quickly giving hostage-takers the concessions they want gives them incentives for further kidnappings. But the immediate rewards are unambiguous: Americans, regardless of party, want their compatriots back.
Israel threatens 'intense fighting' in Gaza if Hamas doesn't release hostages
Israel promised to mass forces inside and around Gaza and reiterated that “intense fighting” would resume if Hamas did not release three hostages by noon Saturday. “We’re talking about these Israeli hostages arriving back in Israel,” David Mencer, a spokesperson for the Israeli government, said Thursday. “If that does not happen by Saturday, noon, the ceasefire will end and the IDF will resume intense military operations until Hamas is fully defeated.”
Chinese fossil of a Jurassic bird rewrites history of avian evolution
The fossil of a Jurassic bird unearthed in southeastern China has major implications for the history of avian evolution, researchers say. The newly discovered Baminornis zhenghensis, a quail-sized bird, roamed the skies some 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, meaning it is among the oldest birds known to mankind, along with the iconic Archaeopteryx that was discovered in Germany in 1862 and is of similar age.
Thailand receives 260 victims of human trafficking from Myanmar, mostly Ethiopians, army says
Thailand has received 260 human trafficking victims, more than half of them Ethiopians, from Myanmar, its army said on Thursday, in a massive repatriation that comes amid a mounting crackdown on scam centers operating along a porous border. Criminal gangs have trafficked hundreds of thousands of people and forced them to work in illegal online operations generating billions annually across Southeast Asia, especially along the Thai-Myanmar border, according to the United Nations.
Monkey blamed for nationwide blackout as Sri Lanka scrambles to restore power
Sri Lanka extended power cuts for a third day on Thursday as it scrambled to restore its national grid to full capacity after a monkey triggered a widespread blackout over the weekend that disrupted supply to the island’s 22 million people. An outage lasting six hours on Sunday was blamed by power minister, Kumara Jayakody, on a monkey that disrupted a grid station in a Colombo suburb. No power cuts were implemented on Wednesday, which was a holiday in Sri Lanka.
Why do Japanese government workers keep losing sensitive data while drunk?
Nights out drinking can often end badly. But in Japan, they have a habit of going spectacularly wrong for government employees – who on at least two occasions in recent years have lost sensitive personal data after a few too many beers. An employee of the Finance Ministry’s customs and tariff bureau went drinking with a colleague after work last Thursday, in the city of Yokohama south of Tokyo, the ministry told CNN.
Trump says he spoke to Putin about ending the war in Ukraine
President Donald Trump said that he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone Wednesday about ending the war in Ukraine and that Putin indicated he would be willing to negotiate directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "As we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine," Trump wrote on Truth Social about their first known call of his second term.
Pete Hegseth tells NATO that a return to Ukraine's 2014 borders is 'unrealistic'
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that it is “unrealistic” to aim for a return to Ukraine’s borders as they were before 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and supported separatists who took over swaths of the country’s east. The remarks are the clearest indication yet that the United States will support negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in which Ukraine cedes territory that’s already been seized by the Kremlin.
Russian missile attack on Kyiv kills one, Ukraine says
A predawn Russian missile salvo on the Ukrainian capital killed at least one civilian and injured four others on Wednesday, starting several fires in the city of three million, Ukrainian officials said. A series of powerful explosions shook the capital around 4:30 a.m. local time (9:30 Tuesday ET) as local officials said air defenses were working to thwart the attacks.
Netanyahu warns 'intense fighting' will resume in Gaza if Hamas delays hostage release
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday threatened to withdraw from his country's ceasefire with Hamas and resume “intense fighting” in the Gaza Strip if the militant group does not release more hostages by midday Saturday. Netanyahu's warning followed President Donald Trump's threat in recent days to let “all hell break out” in Gaza, after Hamas reiterated Tuesday that it would indefinitely postpone the next round of hostage-prisoner swap scheduled for Saturday. The Palestinian organization has accused Israel of violating terms of their three-week-old ceasefire.