Israel and Hamas, as well as Qatari mediators, all sounded notes of caution yesterday about progress towards a truce in Gaza, after US President Joe Biden said he believed a ceasefire could be reached in under a week to halt the war for Ramadan.

US President Joe Biden made light of conspiracy theories about him and pop superstar Taylor Swift during an appearance on a late night show and had a ready answer to the question of whether she’ll endorse him in 2024: that’s classified. During an appearance on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” on Monday, Biden, a Democrat, joked with Meyers, a comedian, about conspiracy theories that the president and the singer-songwriter are in “cahoots.”

The BBC Tuesday said yesterday it had apologised to the family of a man who they claimed was paid for sexually-explicit pictures when he was a teenager by the broadcaster’s star news anchor.

Germany, Britain and other European countries said yesterday they had no plans to send ground troops to Ukraine, after France hinted at the possibility, and the Kremlin warned that any such move would inevitably lead to conflict between Russia and Nato.

Russia on Tuesday ordered a six-month ban on gasoline exports from March 1 to keep prices stable amid rising demand from consumers and farmers and to allow for maintenance of refineries in the world's second-largest oil exporter

Israeli troops killed three Palestinians in an overnight raid in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said Tuesday

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Tuesday that at least 29,878 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory during the war between militants and Israel

Sri Lanka's national airline on Tuesday blamed a rat for grounding a plane for three days, sparking chaotic delays and fears it will scare off investors for the cash-strapped carrier

South Korea granted nurses new powers and legal protections Tuesday and launched an investigation into a patient's death, as hospital chaos caused by striking trainee doctors entered a second week

New Zealand will repeal on Tuesday a world-first law banning tobacco sales for future generations, the government said, even while researchers and campaigners warned of the risk that people could die as a result

US President Joe Biden said Monday that Israel had agreed that it would halt its Gaza offensive during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan under a ceasefire deal that is being negotiated

A woman in her 60s went into cardiac arrest and died after falling from a bungee jumping platform on Feb 26, officials said

Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Monday had to summon the maiden sitting of the lower house of parliament at 10am on Feb 29, after President Arif Alvi refused to summon the session on account of an 'incomplete house'

A new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas could start as soon as Monday, US President Joe Biden said, in a deal that could include the exchange of dozens of hostages held in Gaza for several hundred Palestinian detainees

Hungary’s parliament approved Sweden’s Nato accession yesterday, clearing the last hurdle before the historic step by the Nordic country whose neutrality lasted through two world wars and the simmering conflict of the Cold War.

Israel said yesterday its army had readied a plan to evacuate Gazans ahead of a feared invasion of far-southern Rafah, which the UN chief warned would “put the final nail in the coffin” of aid operations.

Music legend and Padmashri winner Pankaj Udhas breathed his last yesterday. The veteran ghazal singer, who was known for his ghazals like “Chitti Ayi Hai” and “Chandi Jaisa Rang”, passed away at age 73 due to prolonged illness

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was close to being freed in a prisoner swap at the time of his death, a close ally said yesterday, repeating an allegation by his family and supporters that President Vladimir Putin had him killed.

Israel struck Hezbollah targets near the city of Baalbek yesterday, killing two group members, security sources said, the first such attack on Lebanon’s east since hostilities began after the Gaza invasion.

A road crash in northern Tanzania has killed at least 25 people including several foreigners, President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on Sunday.