For the first time in a long time, Palestinian mother Wiam al-Masri can clearly recognise the cries of her infant son, Samih, who is not yet two months old. His soft wailing rises in the quiet air of al-Mawasi, in southern Khan Younis, hours after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of the peace plan brokered by US President Donald Trump to end the Gaza war largely halting Israeli air and artillery strikes and ushering in an unfamiliar calm.
In a post to Truth Social Friday morning, Trump said he was giving Hamas a "last chance," or Hamas fighters would be "quickly extinguished." The deadline comes just days before the two-year anniversary of the conflict. "If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
For the second time in three years, catastrophic monsoon floods have carved a path of destruction across Pakistan's north and central regions, particularly in its Punjab province, submerging villages, drowning farmland, displacing millions and killing hundreds. This year, India Pakistan's archrival and a nuclear-armed neighbour is also reeling. Its northern states, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Indian Punjab, have seen widespread flooding as heavy monsoon rains swell rivers on both sides of the border.
The government has admitted that slashing foreign aid spending will likely see global deaths rise, as it confirmed the cuts will fall disproportionately on women and girls' education and on projects across Africa.
Kyiv has proposed to Moscow a new round of peace talks next week, following a significant increase in Russian strikes across Ukraine that have resulted in casualties and infrastructural damage.
