11 killed, 75 injured as elevator drops at platinum mine in South Africa

An investigation began into the ghastly incident in South Africa's Rustenburg in which an elevator dropped in a platinum mine, killing 11 and injuring 75, sources said. South Africa, which is the world's largest producer of platinum, had 49 fatalities from all mining accidents in 2022, a decrease from 74 the year before.

US Navy removes fuel from plane that overshot Hawaii runway and is now resting on a reef and sand

The US Navy team removed nearly all of the fuel from a large airplane that overshot a Hawaii runway and evaded any threat to the environmentally sensitive Kaneohe Bay, US. Now, the Navy set about the task of taking the aircraft out of the water. Removing the fuel reduced the risks for the rest of the salvage operation, sources said.

Representatives of European and Arab countries meet in Barcelona to discuss the Israel-Hamas war

Amid the war between Israel and Hamas, a meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday in Barcelona, Spain, to discuss the crisis in Gaza. The meeting is chaired by the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.

Elon Musk visits Israel to meet top leaders as accusations of antisemitism on X grow

Billionaire Elon Musk Monday visited Israel despite facing criticism for allowing antisemitism to thrive on his social media platform X. During his visit, he toured a kibbutz (a rural village) that was targeted by Hamas militants and had scheduled meetings with high-ranking officials.

Pope Francis getting antibiotics intravenously for lung problem, limiting appointments, Vatican says

Pope Francis was suffering from the inflammation problem and receiving antibiotics intravenously thats why he didn't keep his weekly window appointment to greet people in St. Peter's Square and used to gave his blessing from the chapel of the hotel on Vatican grounds where he lives.

Israel and Hamas agree to extend truce for two more days, and free more hostages and prisoners

Following international mediators pressing to extend a cease-fire in Gaza that has halted the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades but was set to expire after Monday, the truce has been extended for two more days, according to the Qatari foreign ministry spokesman. Israel and Hamas, meanwhile, prepared for a fourth exchange of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Stock market: Asian shares mostly decline, as investors watch spending, inflation

Asian shares declined as Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 0.4 per cent in morning trading to 33,479.71. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.0 per cent to 17,382.28 while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.8 per cent to 3,017.79. Amidst this, several central banks in the region are holding policy meetings this week.

Russia puts the spokesman for Facebook owner Meta on wanted list

Russia has added Andy Stone, who is spokesman of Facebook and Instagram owner Meta, to a wanted list, according to the country's interior ministry. Details of the case against Andy Stone were not given but it was stated that he is wanted on criminal charges.

'Facebook, Instagram parent company Meta knowingly designed its platforms to hook kids'

An unsealed legal complaint describes that the underage users of Facebook and Instagram have grown rapidly despite the legal instructions. The complaint is part of a recent lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of 33 states. The complaint noted that at times Meta has a backlog of up to 2.5 million accounts of younger children awaiting action. The company’s products exploited shortcomings in youthful psychology such as impulsive behaviour, susceptibility to peer pressure and the underestimation of risks.

Irish writer Paul Lynch wins Booker Prize with dystopian novel 'Prophet Song'

Irish writer Paul Lynch, who portrayed a dystopian fictional version of Dublin in his novel 'Prophet Song', has won the Booker Prize for fiction. The 50,000-pound (USD 63,000) literary prize was awarded to Lynch at a ceremony in London on Sunday. Judges called Lynch's book 'soul-shattering' as it beat five other finalists from Ireland, the UK, the US and Canada.

Biden says Hamas released 4-year-old American girl, hopes more US hostages will be freed

President Joe Biden, who spoke with Israeli PM Netanyahu after third round release of hostages, has confirmed that Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old American girl held hostage by Hamas after her parents were killed, was released as part of the cease-fire deal. Abigail, who was taken hostage in the October 7 surprise strike, was the first US hostage to be released under terms of the Israel-Hamas cease-fire.

Hamas releases third group of hostages as part of truce deal, while Netanyahu visits Gaza

Hamas said on Sunday it had handed over 13 Israeli hostages, three Thai nationals and a person with Russian citizenship who had been held in the Gaza Strip to the Red Cross on the third day of a truce between Israel and the militant group.

Fragile Gaza truce back on track as Egypt says it has received lists for third exchange

Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt's State Information Service, has announced that Egypt has been provided with a list of 13 Israelis and 39 Palestinians who are set to be released on Sunday. This marks the third batch of releases as part of the four-day truce agreement brokered by Egypt and Qatar.

Israeli forces kill at least 8 Palestinians in surging West Bank violence, health officials say

The Palestinian Health Ministry said that in the firing by Israeli forces, five Palestinians were killed in the militant stronghold Jenin, while three others were killed in West Bank since Saturday morning. However, the Israeli military said its forces entered the Jenin refugee camp to arrest a Palestinian suspect but did not make any mention of clashes or Palestinian deaths.

'You'll die in this pit': Takeaways from secret recordings of Russian soldiers in Ukraine

Russian soldiers speak in shorthand of 200s to mean dead, 300s to mean wounded. The urge to flee has become common enough that they also talk of 500s people who refuse to fight. These conversations also show clearly how the war has progressed, from the professional soldiers who initially powered Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion to men from all walks of life compelled to serve in gruelling conditions.

Trump draws cheers in Nikki Haley's backyard for Republican presidential nomination

In the race for Republican presidential nomination, US former president Donald Trump is trying to upstage his opponent Nikki Haley, an Indian American, on her home turf in South Carolina. However, Nikki Haley is confident to beat the odds, saying "I go head-to-head with Trump in my home state of South Carolina. And we take it."

Hamas releases 13 Israeli hostages after delay in second round, exposing 'fragile cease-fire'

In the second round of swaps under the four-day ceasefire deal, Hamas released 13 Israeli hostages and four Thais, who had been transferred to Israel, the Israeli military said. In return, Tel Aviv began released 39 Palestinian prisoners, who arrived in West Bank. But Hamas caused several hours of delay in releasing hostages, hurling allegations at Israel, thus exposing the fragility of Qatar-mediated cease-fire in Gaza.

Israeli-owned ship was targeted in suspected Iranian attack in Indian Ocean: US official

Amidst the ongoing Gaza ceasefire, an Israeli owned container ship came under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean, US defence sources said. The Malta-flagged ship was suspected to have been targeted by a bomb-carrying Shahed-136 drone while in international waters, the sources said.

Biden hopes Israel-Hamas ceasefire will last longer than four days, more hostages released each day

A day after swapping of hostages between Israel and Hamas began, US President Joe Biden said that he hopes the four-day Gaza ceasefire will last longer. Biden said more hostages are to be released on Saturday and more the day after, and more the day after that. Hostages freed by Hamas included 13 Israelis, 10 people from Thailand and one from the Philippines. In return, Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison.

Qatar confirms release of 24 hostages held by Hamas for 7 weeks in Gaza

At least 24 hostages held by Hamas has been released after seven weeks of captivity in the Gaza Strip.  They are to be taken to Israeli hospitals and reunited with their families.