Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Wednesday he wanted to "redefine" relations with Moscow as Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted him in their first meeting since key Kremlin ally Bashar al-Assad was ousted last year.

In front of the television cameras, Putin greeted Sharaa warmly at the Kremlin, but behind closed doors the Syrian leader was expected to push for Moscow to extradite Assad, who fled there after being toppled.

By Vladimir Soldatkin, Andrew Osborn and Suleiman Al-Khalidi

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday he would honour all past deals struck between his country and Moscow, a pledge suggesting Moscow's two main military bases in Syria are safe.

Sharaa, who once headed the Syrian branch of al Qaeda and who toppled predecessor Bashar al-Assad, a close Russian ally, late last year, was speaking at the start of Kremlin talks with Putin, his first visit to Russia since coming to power.

By Simon Jessop

LONDON (Reuters) -A group of 20 developing countries affected by conflict has approved a plan to provide emergency support to members facing international disputes or high-stakes talks with companies on natural resources and infrastructure, its deputy general-secretary told Reuters.

The Rapid Response Advisory Centre, signed off at a meeting of the g7+ group in September, aims to provide practical support to members facing urgent matters of national importance, Habib Ur Rehman Mayar said.

By Steven Scheer

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang welcomed Avinatan Or from "two unimaginable years in Hamas captivity" in Gaza, saying a number of the chip giant's families had suffered losses during the war.

An electrical engineer at Nvidia in Israel, 32-year-old Or was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023 along with 250 others including his girlfriend, Noa Argamani, whose desperate cries on the back of a motorcycle became one of the most haunting images of the Hamas attack.

By Steven Scheer and Nidal al-Mughrabi

JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) -Aid trucks rolled into Gaza on Wednesday and Israel resumed preparations to open the main Rafah crossing after a dispute over the return of the bodies of dead hostages that had threatened to derail the fragile ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Israel had threatened to keep Rafah shut and reduce aid supplies because Hamas was returning bodies too slowly, showing the risks to a truce that has stopped two years of devastating warfare in Gaza and freed all living hostages held by Hamas.

QUETTA, Pakistan/KABUL (Reuters) -Fresh fighting broke out on Wednesday along the volatile Pakistan-Afghanistan border, killing more than a dozen civilians and troops to shatter a fragile peace after weekend clashes that killed dozens.

The weekend fighting was the worst between the neighbours since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021, despite regular clashes between their security forces along the contested 2,600 km (1,600-mile) frontier.

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA (Reuters) -The Palestinian Authority said on Wednesday it is prepared to operate the Gaza-side of a key crossing for aid between Egypt and Gaza.

"Now we are ready to engage again, and we have notified all parties that we are ready to operate the Rafah crossing," said Mohammad Shtayyeh, special envoy to President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel's defence minister threatened Wednesday to resume fighting if Hamas does not honour the terms of a US-backed ceasefire that halted the war in Gaza.

The statement from Defence Minister Israel Katz's office came after Hamas handed over the remains of two more deceased hostages, and said it would be unable to retrieve any more bodies from the ruins of Gaza without specialised equipment.

ROME (Reuters) -Almost 14 million people in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan risk severe hunger due to cuts in global humanitarian aid, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Wednesday.

The WFP's biggest donor, the United States, has slashed its foreign aid under President Donald Trump, and other major nations have also made or announced cuts in development and humanitarian assistance.

(Reuters) -Israel decided to proceed with opening the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt and allowing the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza, after the return of the bodies of four hostages, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Wednesday.

Israel cancelled planned measures against Hamas that included halving the number of aid trucks entering the enclave, it said.

(Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)