(Reuters) -President Donald Trump has urged Israel to halt its bombing of Gaza after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accepted some key parts of a U.S. peace plan — a shift that could mean a two-year-old war is finally coming to a close.
Israel announced it would work on "immediate implementation" of the first stage of the plan, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved during a trip to Washington.
(Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will make his first official visit to India on 8-9 October, India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Saturday.
Britain and India signed a free trade agreement in July during a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sealing a deal to cut tariffs on goods from textiles to whisky and cars and allow more market access for businesses.
LONDON (Reuters) -Below is a text of Hamas's response, released on Friday, to U.S. President Donald Trump's plan for ending the war in Gaza:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious the Most Merciful
Response of Hamas movement to the U.S President Trump’s proposal
LONDON (Reuters) -London police arrested six people who displayed support for a banned pro-Palestinian group on Saturday and carried away protesters who gathered for a demonstration, despite requests to call it off after a deadly attack at a synagogue in Manchester.
Two people were killed in the attack in the northwestern city on Thursday and police shot dead the assailant, a British man of Syrian descent who counter-terrorism police said may have been inspired by extremist Islamist ideology.
UK pro-Palestinian protests went ahead Saturday despite a plea from Prime Minister Keir Starmer, two days after a deadly car-ramming and knife attack on a synagogue.
Four people -- two men and two women -- remained in custody on suspicion of terrorism-linked offences following Thursday's attack.
An 18-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man who had been held earlier were released and would face no further action, police said.
Smoke billowed over Gaza City on Saturday, yet for the first time in months, residents felt a ceasefire was within reach as they welcomed US President Donald Trump's call for Israel to stop bombing.
"Trump's announcement was very surprising to me, as he has always been biased toward Israel," said 24-year-old Jamila al-Sayyid, from Gaza City's Zeitun neighbourhood.
Despite Trump's appeal, she said "the planes did not stop" bombing, but still felt good about her decision not to flee from the territory's largest urban centre.
International activists who arrived in Istanbul after being deported from Israel following the military's interception of their Gaza-bound flotilla said Saturday they had been subjected to violence and "treated like animals".
The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail last month seeking to ferry aid to war-battered Gaza but Israel blocked the boats, detaining more than 400 people whom it began deporting on Friday.
Of that number, 137 activists from 13 countries flew into Istanbul on Saturday, among them 36 Turkish nationals.
(Reuters) -Sanae Takaichi is likely to be Japan's first female prime minister after winning the race to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Saturday.
A former economic security internal affairs minister, a conservative nationalist with an expansionary agenda, is expected to replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba since the LDP is the largest group in parliament.
Here are some reactions from around the world:
TAIWAN PRESIDENT LAI CHING-TE, PARTY STATEMENT
The tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, one of the largest in southern Egypt's Valley of the Kings and Queens, was officially opened to the public Saturday after years of restoration.
Egypt's tourism and antiquities minister, Sherif Fathy, unveiled to reporters the newly refurbished site, which dates back more than 3,000 years.
Mohamed Ismail Khaled, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said restoration involved more than two decades of "incredibly delicate work, because the tomb was suffering severe deterioration".
ANKARA (Reuters) -Thirty-six Turkish nationals aboard vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was seized by Israeli forces, are expected to return to Turkey on a special flight on Saturday afternoon, the Turkish foreign ministry said.
Citizens of other countries are also expected to be on board the flight, it added.
"The final number has not yet been confirmed," the ministry said in a statement.
The plane, operated by Turkish Airlines, is expected to land at Istanbul Airport sometime after 1430 local time (1130 GMT), the ministry said.
