By Sayed Hassib and Charlotte Greenfield

KABUL/MAZAR DARA, Afghanistan (Reuters) -Afghanistan airdropped commandos on Wednesday to pull survivors from the rubble of homes in mountainous eastern areas ravaged by earthquakes this week that have killed 1,400, as it ramped up efforts to deliver food, shelter and medical supplies.

The first earthquake of magnitude 6, one of Afghanistan's worst in recent years, unleashed widespread damage and destruction when it struck the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar around midnight on Sunday at a shallow depth of 10 km (6 miles).

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel's Shin Bet domestic intelligence service said on Wednesday it had thwarted a plan to assassinate National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and that members of a Hamas cell had been arrested.

The planned Hamas attack against the far-right cabinet minister would have involved use of explosive drones, the Shin Bet said.

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's defence ministry does not know how exactly much it will cost to relocate thousands of Afghans after a massive data leak, the government's spending watchdog said, adding it did not have confidence in the current estimate of 850 million pounds.

In July, it was revealed that Britain had set up a secret scheme in 2022 to bring Afghans back to the UK after their personal details were leaked, putting them at risk of reprisals from the Taliban after their return to power.

PARIS (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday the United States' decision not to grant visas to Palestinian officials for the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in New York was "unacceptable" and should be reversed.

"We call for this measure to be reversed and for Palestinian representation to be ensured in accordance with the Host Country Agreement," Macron said on social platform X.

PARIS (Reuters) -French investigating judges have issued arrest warrants for seven former top Syrian officials, including ex-President Bashar al-Assad, for the bombing of a press centre in Homs in 2012, a judicial source and a human rights organisation said on Tuesday.

Homs, in western Syria, was a major rebel stronghold during the Syrian civil war and was besieged by Assad government forces from 2011 to 2014. The siege ended with anti-Assad rebels withdrawing from the city.

By Kate Holton and Ben Makori

LONDON (Reuters) -The recognition of a Palestinian state by leading Western nations will trigger a sprint towards a two-state solution, the head of the Palestinian mission in London said on Tuesday.

Britain, France, Canada, Australia and Belgium have all said they will recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, although London could halt the process if Israel eased the humanitarian crisis in war-shattered Gaza and committed to a long-term peace process.

By Sayed Hassib

KABUL/ MAZAR DARA, Afghanistan (Reuters) -Nasrullah Khan's voice breaks as he describes how with his own hands he buried three children in one grave and two young men in another after an earthquake struck the mountainous southeastern Afghan province of Kunar on Sunday.

Nasrullah, an office worker from Kunar City, travelled six hours into Dewagul Valley in Kunar after the quake to help rescue efforts.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -A Turkish court on Tuesday ousted the Istanbul provincial head of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), dealing a fresh judicial blow to opponents of President Tayyip Erdogan and triggering sharp falls in share and bond markets.

The Istanbul court ruled that the votes of delegates in a 2023 CHP provincial congress had been influenced by cash payments, and thus the board members elected at the congress should be removed.

(Reuters) -Six security personnel and six militants were killed on Tuesday during an assault on the base of a paramilitary force in northwest Pakistan that began with a suicide bomber ramming the compound and led to a 12-hour gun battle, police said.

The suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into the boundary wall of the base in the town of Bannu early on Tuesday, causing an explosion that allowed other attackers to enter the compound, said Sajjad Khan, the regional police chief.

DUBAI (Reuters) -The path to nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States is not closed but U.S. demands for curbs on Iranian missiles are obstructing prospects for talks, a senior Iranian official said on Tuesday.

A sixth round of Iran-U.S. talks was suspended after the start of a 12-day war in June, in which Israel and the U.S. struck Iranian nuclear facilities and Iran retaliated with waves of ballistic missiles against Israel.