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Hamas Accepts New Gaza Truce Plan – Official

Published

5 hours ago

August 18, 2025

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Hamas has accepted a new ceasefire proposal for Gaza without requesting amendments, a source from the group told AFP Monday, after a fresh diplomatic push to end more than 22 months of war.

Mediators Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, have struggled to secure a lasting truce in the conflict, which has triggered a dire humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

But after receiving a new proposal from mediators, Hamas said it was ready for talks.

“Hamas has delivered its response to the mediators, confirming that Hamas and the factions agreed to the new ceasefire proposal without requesting any amendments,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Israel has yet to respond.

A Palestinian source familiar with the talks said mediators were “expected to announce that an agreement has been reached and set a date for the resumption of talks”, adding that guarantees were offered to ensure implementation and pursue a permanent solution.

Another Palestinian official earlier said mediators had proposed an initial 60-day truce and hostage release in two batches.

The proposal comes more than a week after Israel’s security cabinet approved plans to expand the war into Gaza City and nearby refugee camps, which have sparked international outcry as well as domestic opposition.

– ‘Confronted and destroyed’ –

An Islamic Jihad source told AFP the plan envisaged a 60-day ceasefire “during which 10 Israeli hostages would be released alive, along with several bodies”.

Out of 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s October 2023 attack that triggered the war, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27, the Israeli military says, are dead.

The Islamic Jihad source said “the remaining captives would be released in a second phase”, with negotiations for a broader settlement to follow. They added that “all factions are supportive” of the Egyptian and Qatari proposal.

US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!!”

“The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be.”

Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “will agree to an agreement in which all the hostages are released at once and according to our conditions for ending the war”.

Meanwhile, in a now familiar scene in Gaza, AFP footage from the southern city of Khan Yunis showed crowds of mourners kneeling over the shrouded bodies of their loved ones who were killed seeking aid the day before.

– ‘Beyond imagination’ –

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, visiting the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on Monday, said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was visiting “to consolidate our existing common efforts to apply maximum pressure on the two sides to reach a deal as soon as possible”.

Alluding to the dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people living in the Gaza Strip, where UN agencies and aid groups have warned of famine, Abdelatty stressed the urgency of reaching an agreement.

“The current situation on the ground is beyond imagination,” he said.

Egypt said on Monday it was willing to join a potential international force deployed to Gaza, but only if backed by a UN Security Council resolution and accompanied by a “political horizon”.

– ‘Deliberate’ starvation –

On the ground, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 11 people across the territory on Monday, including six killed by Israeli fire in the south.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was “not aware of any casualties as a result of IDF fire” in the southern areas reported by the civil defence.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the Palestinian territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

Rights group Amnesty International, meanwhile, accused Israel of enacting a “deliberate policy” of starvation in Gaza and “systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life”.

Israel, while heavily restricting aid allowed into Gaza, has repeatedly rejected claims of deliberate starvation.

Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 62,004 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

Headline

Top Russian General Seriously Wounded In Ukraine – Officials

Published

6 hours ago

August 18, 2025

Editor

A top Russian commander has been seriously injured on the battleground in Ukraine, according to Russian officials.

Lt.- Gen. Esedulla Abachev, a leading commander in the Leningrad Military District, has been at the front since the beginning of the war, said Sergei Melikov, the head of the Russian republic of Dagestan.

“He has held several important commanding positions, but has always been at the very front, at the most responsible and therefore most dangerous sections of the front,” Melikov wrote on Telegram on Monday.

He didn’t provide further details on Abachev’s condition.

He only stated that the 57-year-old was being treated in “one of the best military hospitals in the country.”

According to the Ukrainian military intelligence service HUR, several of the general’s limbs had to be amputated as a result of the injuries sustained in a HUR strike on a military column in the western Russian region of Kursk.

So far, at least 12 generals have been killed since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Leningrad Military District was re-established in 2024 on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin and encompasses all regions of north-western Russia up to the Ural Mountains.

Its name is a reference to the Soviet name for St Petersburg.

Headline

Perplexity AI Makes $34.5bn Surprise Bid For Google’s Chrome Browser

Published

2 days ago

August 17, 2025

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Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI has made an unsolicited $34.5 billion all-cash offer to acquire Alphabet’s Chrome browser, a bold move that underscores the growing battle for dominance in the AI-driven search market.

The bid, announced on Tuesday, is more than double Perplexity’s own valuation of $14 billion.

The three-year-old company, led by Aravind Srinivas, has previously floated ambitious takeover ideas, including a proposal earlier this year to merge with TikTok’s United States business.

Google has not put Chrome up for sale and did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

The tech giant is currently appealing a US court ruling that found it held an unlawful monopoly in online search, with the Justice Department pushing for a possible Chrome divestiture as part of the case.

Perplexity, which has raised around $1 billion from backers including Nvidia and Japan’s SoftBank, did not reveal how it intends to finance the bid.

However, it said multiple funds have pledged to cover the offer in full.

The startup already operates its own AI-powered browser, Comet, but acquiring Chrome’s more than three billion users would give it a major edge against rivals like OpenAI, which is also developing an AI browser.

Perplexity has promised to keep Chrome’s open-source foundation, Chromium, accessible, while pledging a $3 billion investment over two years and committing not to alter Chrome’s default search engine.

Shares of Alphabet rose 1.6% in afternoon trading following news of the bid.

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Google Introduces Initiative To Equip 1,000 Nigerian Developers

Published

2 days ago

August 17, 2025

Editor

Google on Wednesday announced a new initiative, “Build with AI’’ in partnership with GOMYCODE to equip 1,000 Nigerian developers with critical Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills.

John Kimani, Head of Developer Ecosystem for Google in Sub-Saharan Africa, said in a statement that it was a significant move to accelerate Nigeria’s participation in the global AI economy.

Kimani said that the initiative was inaugurated to foster a new generation of tech talent capable of building transformative products that are both locally relevant and globally competitive.

He said that the initiative came at a pivotal moment, as industries across Nigeria and Africa increasingly look to technology to solve pressing challenges and drive economic growth.

According to him, by providing access to advanced AI tools such as Gemini and a curriculum with oversight from Google’s experts, the programme is set to bridge the gap between raw talent and the specialised skills required to innovate in the AI era.

The Google spokesperson said that this strategic focus was intended to accelerate the development of solutions in key sectors such as fintech, healthtech, and agritech, positioning Nigerian developers at the forefront of the continent’s digital transformation.

“We are witnessing a technological renaissance in Nigeria, driven by a vibrant community of developers who are eager to solve the challenges around them.

“Our collaboration with GOMYCODE is about more than just training; it’s about empowering this community with the tools and expertise they need to build the future,’’ he said.

Kimani noted that by equipping developers with Google’s Generative AI, it was helping to unlock a new frontier of innovation that could deliver significant economic and social impact across the continent.

He said that the 11-week programme would be delivered through GOMYCODE’s extensive network of hacker spaces, combining in-person instruction with hands-on, mentored lab work.

“This approach ensures that the training is both accessible and practical, allowing developers to immediately apply their learning to real-world projects,’’ he said.

The Country Director for GOMYCODE, Mr Babatunde Olaifa, said that GOMYCODE’s role was to provide the critical infrastructure and local expertise needed to nurture Nigeria’s tech talent.

Olaifa said that partnering with Google allowed it to bring world-class curriculum and technology directly to the developer community.

“We are creating an environment where innovation can thrive, and we are incredibly excited to see the solutions that will emerge from this programme built by Nigerians, for Nigeria and the world,” the GOMYCODE boss said.

He said that the “Build with AI” programme was now accepting applications from developers across Nigeria.

According to him, the initiative will culminate in a demo day where top participants will showcase their AI-powered solutions to a team from Google and other industry leaders.

He urged developers that are interested in being part of the AI revolution to apply by visiting bit.ly/BwAIDevTraining.