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Premature end to Iran nuclear deal after reimposed UN sanctions

A landmark 10-year deal world powers signed with Iran to rein in its nuclear programme officially ends Saturday.

But the deal began to fall apart years ago, and wide-ranging United Nations sanctions were reimposed last month on the Islamic republic, effectively burying the agreement but creating space for something new, according to experts.

- What does 'Termination Day' mean? -

The deal's "termination day" was set for October 18, 2025, exactly 10 years after the adoption of resolution 2231, with which the UN Security Council enshrined it.

US court bars NSO Group from installing spyware on WhatsApp

A US judge on Friday granted an injunction barring Israeli spyware maker NSO Group from targeting WhatsApp users but slashed a $168 million damages award at trial to just $4 million.

District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled that NSO Group's behavior fell short of a "particularly egregious" standard needed to support the jury's calculations on a financial penalty.

Israeli spytech firm NSO's Pegasus phone-hacking software has stirred global outrage

UK government working with police to ensure Maccabi Tel Aviv fans can attend Aston Villa match

LONDON (Reuters) -The British government said on Friday it is working with police and looking at the additional resources needed so that fans of Israeli soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv can attend a match in Birmingham next month, after an earlier ban, which had sparked criticism from Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other politicians.

English soccer team Aston Villa said travelling Maccabi fans would be barred from the Europa League match on November 6 after West Midlands Police expressed concerns about public safety from potential protesters outside the stadium.

Soccer Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Burnley - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - October 5, 2025 General view outside the stadium as the Aston Villa team bus arrives before the match Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra

Gazans return to damaged mosques for first post-truce Friday prayers

Thousands of worshippers returned on Friday to the Gaza Strip's few intact and many damaged mosques, where for the first time in months loudspeakers blared the Islamic call to prayer.

"God is the greatest, glory to God, Lord of worlds," echoed through mosques at roughly the same time Friday, one week after a ceasefire took place in the devoutly Muslim coastal Palestinian territory.

To be united for prayer again "is an indescribable feeling after two years of privation", Ghalid al-Nimra told AFP at Gaza City's Sayed Hachem mosque.

Many of Gaza's mosques have been destroyed in the two-year-long Israel-Hamas war

Israel says Venezuela's Machado voices support in call to Netanyahu

(Reuters) -Venezuelan opposition leader and newly crowned winner of the Nobel Peace Prize Maria Corina Machado voiced support for Israel in a phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister's office said on Friday.

Machado welcomed the return of Israeli hostages under a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and voiced appreciation for Israel’s efforts against Iran, which she described as a threat to both countries, the statement said.

Netanyahu congratulated Machado on her Nobel win and commended her efforts to promote democracy and peace.

FILE PHOTO: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures at a protest ahead of the Friday inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro for his third term, in Caracas, Venezuela January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File Photo

Exclusive-Hamas aims to keep grip on Gaza security and can't commit to disarm, senior official says

By Ahmed Jadallah and Andrew Mills

DOHA (Reuters) -Hamas intends to maintain security control in Gaza during an interim period, a senior Hamas official told Reuters, adding he could not commit to the group disarming - positions that reflect the difficulties facing U.S. plans to secure an end to the war.

Hamas politburo member Mohammed Nazzal also said the group was ready for a ceasefire of up to five years to rebuild devastated Gaza, with guarantees for what happens afterwards depending on Palestinians being given "horizons and hope" for statehood.

Hamas senior official Mohammed Nazzal speaks during an interview with Reuters, in Doha, Qatar, October 15, 2025. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Portugal's parliament approves far-right party's bill to ban face veils

LISBON (Reuters) -Portugal's parliament approved on Friday a bill to ban face veils used for "gender or religious motives" in most public spaces that was proposed by the far-right Chega party and effectively targets burqas and niqabs worn by Muslim women.

Under the bill, proposed fines for wearing face veils in public would range between 200 euros and 4,000 euros ($234-$4,671). Forcing someone to wear one would be punishable with prison terms of up to three years.

Face veils would still be allowed in aeroplanes, diplomatic premises and places of worship.

A view of the Portuguese parliament and its reflection on the day Portugal's Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento is expected to submit the 2025 budget draft to parliament, in Lisbon, Portugal, October 10, 2024. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes

Pakistan, Afghanistan extend ceasefire as Doha talks set to begin, sources say

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) -Pakistan and Afghanistan mutually agreed on Friday to extend their 48-hour ceasefire until conclusion of planned talks in Doha, according to three Pakistani security officials and one Afghan Taliban source.

A Pakistani delegation had already arrived in Doha while an Afghan delegation was expected to reach the Qatari capital on Saturday, said the sources, who did not want to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

A man clears debris from his house damaged during an airstrike, following a temporary ceasefire, amid the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan, in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. REUTERS/Stringer

Suicide attack kills 7 Pakistani soldiers near Afghan border, security officials say

PESHAWAR (Reuters) -Seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in a suicide attack near the Afghanistan border on Friday, Pakistani security officials said, as a temporary truce that paused days of intense fighting between the neighbours ended without any word on its extension.

The South Asian neighbours engaged in fierce ground fighting, and Pakistan also launched airstrikes across their contested frontier, killing dozens and wounding hundreds, before they reached a 48-hour truce that ended at 1300 GMT on Friday.

A mortar round falls towards a target from a drone, in this still image from handout video, said to show Pakistani forces conducting a strike on an Afghan Taliban border post, in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, October 15, 2025. ISPR/Handout via REUTERS

Hamas urges mediators to push for next steps under ceasefire

(Reuters) -Hamas called on mediators on Friday to push for the next steps under the ceasefire in Gaza, including reopening the border, letting in aid, beginning reconstruction, setting up an administration and completing Israel's withdrawal.

Fighting has largely stopped in Gaza under U.S. President Donald Trump's plan, endorsed by mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. But further steps have been held up in part by Israeli accusations that the militants were too slow in handing over bodies of dead hostages.

Palestinians, who were displaced to the southern part of Gaza at Israel's order during the war, walk along a road as they attempt to return to the north after a ceasefire, in the central Gaza Strip, October 10. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa