By Alexander Cornwell

JERUSALEM, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. military and civilian leaders of Washington's flagship mission for Gaza are stepping aside and their replacements have yet to be made public, diplomats said, as European countries rethink their presence in the initiative to shape post-war Gaza.

The top military officer at the Civil-Military Command Center, a three-star lieutenant general, is expected to be replaced by a U.S. commander of a lower rank, while the top civilian has returned to his job as U.S. ambassador to Yemen.

By Reade Levinson

Jan 30 (Reuters) - Paramilitary fighters kidnapped children during their takeover of the Sudanese city of al-Fashir in October and in other attacks in the Darfur region over the course of Sudan's civil war, in some cases killing their parents first, witnesses say.

The descriptions, based on Reuters interviews with more than two dozen witnesses, included four accounts of fighters from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) telling families the children would be used as slaves, to herd animals.

MOSCOW, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had received a personal request from his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump to halt strikes on Kyiv until February 1 in order to create a favourable environment for peace negotiations.

Asked about the request and Russia's response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined further comment.

Ukraine has said it will reciprocate if Russia forgoes strikes on the country's energy infrastructure amid a period of bitterly cold weather.

Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi landed in Istanbul on Friday for talks where Turkey was to offer help to mediate tensions with the United States, which has mooted a possible military strike.

During the visit, Araghchi was to hold talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and also meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement announcing his arrival.

It was not immediately clear at what time the talks would take place but the two ministers were to hold a news conference at 13:45 pm (1045 GMT), the Turkish authorities said.

Israel announced it would reopen the crucial Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Sunday after months of urging from the UN, humanitarian organisations and ordinary Palestinians -- but only for the "limited movement of people".

Earlier on Friday, the Islamist movement Hamas had called for the "immediate transition to the second phase" of the ongoing US-brokered truce in Gaza, namely its provision for the reopening of Rafah, as well as the entry of a technocratic Palestinian committee to administer the territory.

Jan 30 (Reuters) - The Kurdish-led Democratic Syrian Forces said on Friday they had agreed to a comprehensive ceasefire and a phased integration of military and administrative bodies into the Syrian state under a broad deal, following recent clashes.

Under the agreement, forces will withdraw from the front lines, government units will deploy to the centres of Hasakah and Qamishli, and local security forces will be merged.

(Reporting by Jana Choukeir;Editing by Alison Williams)

KYIV, Jan 30 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that the date or location of the next round of U.S.-mediated talks between Ukraine and Russia on how to end the war could change.

The follow-up round of talks was supposed to take place in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, but Zelenskiy said that he did not know when the next meeting would take place.

By Erin Banco, Jonathan Landay and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - U.S. Agency for International Development staffers in early 2024 drafted a warning to senior officials in Joe Biden’s administration: Northern Gaza had turned into an “Apocalyptic Wasteland” with dire shortages of food and medical aid.

BEIJING, Jan 30 (Reuters) - China's Coast Guard organised 134 patrols around the Senkaku Islands in the past five years, state-run CCTV said.

In 2025, it patrolled the region for 357 days out of the year, the report said.

Senkaku Islands, administered by Japan but also claimed by China, have long been a flashpoint in relations between the two Asian powers.

(Reporting by Colleen HoweEditing by Shri Navaratnam)

Jan 29 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was planning to talk to Iran amid rising tensions.

“We have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn't have to use them,” Trump told reporters Thursday at the Kennedy Center.

(Reporting by Bo Erickson, Writing by Christian Martinez, Editing by Jasper WArd)