(Al Jazeera Media Network) Palestinian group Hamas has said it remains committed to achieving an agreement with Israel to end the war on Gaza, but only if its conditions including a lasting ceasefire are met.
Khalil al-Hayya, a member of the group’s political bureau, said that Hamas “is serious about releasing Israeli captives within the framework of an agreement” that ensures the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
He told Al Jazeera Arabic in a...
(BBC News) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned Washington will act if China does not stop supplying Russia with items used in its assault on Ukraine.
Speaking to the BBC in Beijing, the US's top diplomat said he had made clear to his counterparts they were "helping fuel the biggest threat" to European security since the Cold War.
He did not say what measures the US was prepared to take.
But Blinken was also keen...
The Simon Abundance Index (SAI) quantifies and measures the relationship between resources and population. The SAI converts the relative abundance of 50 basic commodities and the global population into a single value. The index started in 1980 with a base value of 100. In 2023, the SAI stood at 609.4. All 50 commodities were more abundant in 2023 than in 1980.
Figure 1: The Simon Abundance Index: 1980–2023 (1980 = 100)
The SAI is based on...
(BBC News) The US space agency says its Voyager-1 probe is once again sending usable information back to Earth after months of spouting gibberish.
The 46-year-old NASA spacecraft is humanity's most distant object.
A computer fault stopped it returning readable data in November, but engineers have fixed this.
For the moment, Voyager is sending back only health data about its onboard systems, but further work should get the scientific instruments back online.
Voyager-1 is more than 24 billion km...
(BBC News) Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to reject any sanctions on the country's military, after reports that the US plans to cut aid to one unit.
"I will fight it with all my strength," the prime minister said on Sunday.
Earlier, the Axios news site said the US would target Israel's Netzah Yehuda battalion over alleged human rights violations in the occupied West Bank.
The BBC understands any move would come under a US ban on...
(BBC News) The House of Representatives has finally approved billions of dollars in new US military aid for Ukraine as it struggles to resist Russia's invasion.
The much-delayed measure had vocal opponents in Congress, and it took a fragile bipartisan deal to get the $61-billion package through.
Now the focus shifts from "whether" to "when" lethal aid arrives, with reports suggesting it could begin within days.
President Joe Biden spoke of a "clear message" about US leadership...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Police in Canada have arrested multiple people accused of stealing thousands of gold bars worth more than $20 million CDN ($14 million US), in what authorities say was the largest gold heist in the country’s history.
Last year’s theft at a Toronto Pearson International Airport facility was orchestrated by a “well-organized group of criminals,” Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah told reporters on Wednesday.
“This particular theft has become the largest gold...
(BBC News) US President Joe Biden has said he "strongly supports" a new $61-billion aid bill for Ukraine, arguing it will "send a message to the world."
The long-stalled measure is one of four that the House of Representatives will vote on this Saturday.
The legislation will include funding for Israel as well as the Indo-Pacific.
Opposition from the right wing of the Republican party has stymied potential assistance for Ukraine for months.
Some of those lawmakers have...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) It is a blockbuster legal case, set to dominate headlines for weeks to come.
On Monday, Donald Trump has become the first United States president, past or present, to stand trial in a criminal case. Jury selection is under way this week.
The trial unfolding in New York centres on sensational allegations: that Trump made hush-money payments to an adult film star, Stormy Daniels, with whom he allegedly had an affair. He has...
(BBC News) Israel has vowed to respond to Iran's attack on Saturday and is considering its next steps, the country's army chief says.
Tehran launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel, in what it said was retaliation for a strike on its consulate in Syria.
US national security council spokesman John Kirby says Iran did not issue warnings to the White House about its timeframe for launching an attack.
Britain's PM Rishi Sunak has called...
