(Reuters) -Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces agreed to a proposal from the United States for a humanitarian ceasefire, they said on Thursday in a statement.

The war erupted in April 2023 when the Sudanese army and the RSF, then partners in power, clashed over plans to integrate their forces.

(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz and Nafisa Eltahir; Writing by Enas Alashray; Editing by Alex Richardson)

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) -Hamas fighters holed up in the Israeli-held Rafah area of Gaza would surrender their arms in exchange for passage to other areas of the enclave under a proposal to resolve an issue seen as a risk to the month-old truce, according to two sources familiar with the talks.

Since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect in Gaza on October 10, the Rafah area has been the scene of at least two attacks on Israeli forces which Israel has blamed on Hamas; the militant group has denied responsibility.

By Renee Maltezou

ATHENS (Reuters) -A Greek prosecutor has extended charges to four more senior coast guard officers over one of the Mediterranean's deadliest accidents, a 2023 shipwreck in which hundreds drowned off the southwestern town of Pylos, legal sources said on Thursday.

The charges follow an appeal by lawyers representing the victims, the sources told Reuters.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) -A Dutch appeals court on Thursday confirmed a decision to throw out a case brought by pro-Palestinian groups to stop the Netherlands exporting weapons to Israel and trading with Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.

The court said it was up to the state to decide what actions to take and not judges.

More than 700 police deployed across the UK city of Birmingham Thursday for protests planned ahead of a football match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Aston Villa, with visiting Israeli fans barred.

The UK government last month vowed to reverse the ban on Maccabi fans attending the Europa League match in the city in central England that has a significant Muslim population after widespread criticism of the decision taken by local safety advisors and police.

However, the Israeli club later announced it would decline any tickets for its fans, citing safety concerns.

By Ahmed Rasheed

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Anwar Ibrahim, 25, is so frustrated with Iraq's sectarian politics that he is running for parliament, joining a wave of young Iraqis challenging an entrenched elite at elections next week.

“I believe young people and technocrats should be given the space to participate in the management of the state, and that we should put an end to the domination of certain parties,” said Ibrahim, a pro-democracy activist.

In his workshop near the Syrian capital, Ghassan Aama is at a loss following a recent decision to massively hike electricity prices, even as much of the country continues to face extensive outages.

Last month, the energy ministry raised prices by at least 60 times compared to the previous tariff, sending shockwaves through a population already reeling from decades of sanctions and 14 years of war.

"We were surprised to see electricity prices rise, as our income is limited," said Aama, a blacksmith.

Israel said it struck a series of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Thursday, with President Joseph Aoun denouncing the new attacks as a "fully-fledged crime" and accusing Israel of rejecting Beirut's overtures towards diplomacy.

The Lebanese military said Israel was preventing the full implementation of a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah, which hours earlier had publicly asserted its right to defend itself and rejected the prospect of direct political talks between Lebanon and Israel.

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Timour Azhari

AMMAN/DAMASCUS (Reuters) -The United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to help enable a security pact that Washington is brokering between Syria and Israel, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The U.S. plans for the presence in the Syrian capital, which have not previously been reported, would be a sign of Syria's strategic realignment with the U.S. following the fall last year of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran.

By Asif Shahzad

ISLAMABAD/KABUL (Reuters) -Afghanistan and Pakistan will resume peace talks in Istanbul on Thursday, both nations said, after a previous round ended without agreeing a lasting truce.

Militaries from the South Asian neighbours clashed last month, with dozens killed in the worst such violence since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.