By Andrew Mills

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt/CAIRO/DUBAI (Reuters) -Hamas officials were in Egypt on Monday ahead of talks with Israel that the U.S. hopes will bring a halt to war in Gaza and release of hostages despite contentious issues like disarmament of the Palestinian militant group under Donald Trump's plan.

Israeli negotiators were also due to travel to Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh later in the day for talks about freeing hostages, part of the U.S. president's 20-point blueprint for ending the two-year-old conflict.

By Emma Farge

GENEVA (Reuters) -The United Nations Human Rights Council will decide on Monday on an EU proposal to set up a U.N. investigation into abuses in Afghanistan, which could enable criminal investigations into suspected violations by both the Taliban and foreign troops.

The European Union motion calls for investigators to prepare evidence for future court proceedings and is among the strongest form of U.N. rights probe, on par with existing investigations into crimes in Syria and Myanmar.

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA (Reuters) -Nine members of the Gaza aid flotilla arrived home in Switzerland on Sunday after being deported by Israel, with some alleging they had been subject to inhumane conditions whilst in detention there, the group representing them said.

Israel did not immediately comment on the new allegations.

Its foreign ministry previously described reports that detainees had been mistreated as "complete lies".

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Monday that ongoing attempts to end the Gaza war were the most promising since its beginning two years ago.

"For the first time in two years, it is not just about a ceasefire, but about a viable political solution. Israeli, Arab and Palestinian actors now share ideas on how things can continue in the Gaza Strip," the minister told German public broadcaster ARD.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -When Tal Shoham walks through Kibbutz Be'eri in southern Israel where he and his family were abducted by Hamas militants during the October 7, 2023 attack, he says it feels like a massive graveyard pervaded by the horror of that day's events.

He is nostalgic about the old days before the attack and highly pessimistic about the future, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's pressure on Israel and Hamas to strike a deal under his plan to end the Gaza war.

The UN Human Rights Council decided on Monday to launch a probe into serious rights violations in Afghanistan, amid growing alarm over the Taliban's measures targeting women and girls.

The United Nations' top rights body decided to set up an investigation to gather and preserve evidence of international crimes.

A draft resolution brought forward by the European Union was adopted without a vote by the 47-country council in Geneva.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday hands down its verdict on a feared Sudanese militia chief accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during brutal attacks in Darfur.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known by the nom de guerre Ali Kushayb, faces 31 counts of crimes including rape, murder and torture allegedly carried out in Darfur between August 2003 and at least April 2004.

Prosecutors say he was a leading member of Sudan's infamous Janjaweed militia, who participated "enthusiastically" in multiple war crimes.

Delegations from Hamas, Israel and the United States are due to convene in Egypt for talks on Monday, with US President Donald Trump calling on negotiators to "move fast" to end the nearly two-year war in the Gaza Strip.

The envoys are set to meet in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, on the eve of the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday talks with Hamas to end Israel's war in Gaza and release hostages held by the Palestinian militant group were advancing rapidly.

"These talks have been very successful, and proceeding rapidly. The technical teams will again meet Monday, in Egypt, to work through and clarify the final details. I am told that the first phase should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to MOVE FAST," Trump said in a social media post.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington)

Young Moroccans took to the streets Sunday in cities across the kingdom for the ninth straight night of protests calling for an end to corruption and a change of government.

Organised online by the GenZ 212 collective, whose founders have remained anonymous, the rallies have swept the usually stable north African country since September 27.

The protesters have demanded reforms to social services, especially health and education, and voiced anger over social inequality.