Headline

Israel Demands Release Of All Hostages After Hamas Backs New Truce Offer

Published

9 months ago

August 20, 2025

A senior Israeli official on Tuesday said the government stood firm on its call for the release of all hostages in any future Gaza ceasefire deal, after Hamas accepted a new truce proposal.

Mediators are awaiting an official Israeli response to the plan, a day after Hamas signalled its readiness for a fresh round of talks aimed at ending nearly two years of war.

Mediator Qatar expressed guarded optimism, noting the latest proposal was “almost identical” to an earlier version agreed to by Israel.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior Israeli official told AFP the government’s stance had not changed and demanded the release of all hostages in any deal.

The two foes have held on-and-off indirect negotiations throughout the war, resulting in two short truces during which Israeli hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, but they have ultimately failed to broker a lasting ceasefire.

Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have mediated the frequent rounds of shuttle diplomacy.

Egypt said Monday that it and Qatar had sent the new proposal to Israel, adding “the ball is now in its court”.

Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said on Tuesday that Hamas had given a “very positive response, and it truly was almost identical to what the Israeli side had previously agreed to”.

“We cannot make any claims that a breakthrough has been made. But we do believe it is a positive point,” he added.

– Mounting pressure –

According to a report in Egyptian state-linked outlet Al-Qahera News, the latest deal proposes an initial 60-day truce, a partial hostage release, the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners and provisions allowing for the entry of aid.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to publicly comment on the plan, but said last week that his country would accept “an agreement in which all the hostages are released at once and according to our conditions for ending the war”.

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said on social media that his group had “opened the door wide to the possibility of reaching an agreement, but the question remains whether Netanyahu will once again close it, as he has done in the past”.

Hamas’s acceptance of the proposal came as Netanyahu faces increasing pressure at home and abroad.

REAS ALSO:I’m Being Impersonated – Goodluck Jonathan Disowns Social Media Account

On Sunday, tens of thousands took to the streets in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv to call for an end to the war and a deal to free the hostages still held captive.

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

The new proposal also comes after Israel’s security cabinet approved plans to conquer Gaza City, despite fears it will worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

On Tuesday, the new offensive was presented to the defence minister by the military’s top brass.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir — who has staunchly opposed ending the war — slammed the plan, warning of a “tragedy” if Netanyahu “gives in to Hamas”.

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said: “Unfortunately, today’s Zionist reactions reflect Netanyahu’s malicious intentions to continue the war, genocide and ethnic cleansing.”

REAS ALSO:JUST IN: Court Discharges Ibom Air Passenger

– ‘Unbearable’ –

In Gaza, the civil defence agency reported Israeli strikes and fire killed 48 people across the territory on Tuesday.

Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the situation was “very dangerous and unbearable” in the Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods of Gaza City, where he said “artillery shelling continues intermittently”.

The Israeli military declined to comment on specific troop movements, saying only that it was “operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities” and took “feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm”.

The military later said a strike in Khan Yunis overnight targeted a Hamas militant.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swaths 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.

REAS ALSO:Gaza Talks: Pick A Side Between Us Or Hamas — Israeli PM Tells Qatar

In the Zikim area of northern Gaza on Tuesday, an AFP journalist saw Palestinians hauling sacks of food aid along dusty roads lined with rubble and damaged buildings.

Gazan Shawg Al-Badri said it took “three to four hours” to carry flour, what she called “white gold”, back to her family’s tent.

“This bag is worth the whole world,” she said.

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 at least 62,064 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which the United Nations considers reliable.

Headline

‘Pioneer Of Cable TV News’: Key Facts About CNN Founder, Ted Turner

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2026

Editor

Ted Turner, the media businessman who founded CNN died at the age of 87. He died peacefully on Wednesday, surrounded by family, according to Turner Enterprises.

Contents

Launched 24-hour news television

Built a media network

Expanded through sports

Recognition and influence

Philanthropy and global causes

Environmental efforts

Health and later years

Early career path

Leadership and legacy

Personal life

Exit from business

Family

Below are key facts about his life and impact:

Launched 24-hour news television

Turner founded CNN on June 1, 1980, introducing the first 24-hour news channel and changing how audiences follow global events.

Built a media network

He moved from billboards into broadcasting, turning an Atlanta TV station into a national superstation in 1976. His business later grew to include CNN International, TNT, Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network.

Expanded through sports

Turner invested in sports broadcasting and owned teams including the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks, using television to reach wider audiences.

Recognition and influence

In 1991, he was named Time magazine’s Man of the Year for his role in shaping modern news coverage.

Philanthropy and global causes

He founded the United Nations Foundation and supported campaigns against nuclear weapons. In 1997, he pledged $1 billion to the United Nations.

Turner supported conservation work, including reintroducing bison in the United States, and backed environmental education through the “Captain Planet” cartoon.

Health and later years

In 2018, Turner revealed he had Lewy body dementia. He also recovered from a mild case of pneumonia in early 2025.

Early career path

He took over his father’s billboard company at 24 after his father’s death and later expanded into radio and television, despite limited experience in journalism.

“I worked until 7 o’clock, and when I got home the news was over,” he once said. “So I missed television news completely. And I figured there were lots of people like me.”

Leadership and legacy

“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement,” Mark Thompson, Chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said in a statement. “He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world.”

Personal life

Turner married actress Jane Fonda in 1991, and they later divorced after 10 years, though they remained close.

“I would never love anyone like I love him,” she said. “But I just couldn’t keep moving in his world, along the surface for the rest of my life. I knew that I would get to the end of my life and regret not doing the things that I also needed to do for me.”

Exit from business

He sold his company to Time Warner in 1996 and later stepped away following its merger with AOL.

Reflecting on his life, Turner once said: “I lost Jane. I lost my job here. I lost my fortune, most of it. Got a billion or two left. You can get by on that if you economize.”

Family

He is survived by his five children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Headline

Iran’s Nationwide Internet Shutdown Hits 70 Days

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2026

Editor

NetBlocks, a monitoring group, has disclosed that an internet shutdown enforced by the Iranian regime has entered its 70th day, severing key access from swathes of the population under the shadow of war.

NetBlocks reported on Friday that the blackout has now surpassed 1,656 hours, marking more than two months since US-Israeli strikes pounded Tehran and escalated across the Middle East.

“Digital connectivity is vital in times of crisis,” NetBlocks said in a post on X. “Limiting service harms those most in need – people with disabilities, students, small businesses and the general public.”

According to CNN, Iran imposed a separate internet shutdown on the country’s 92 million people earlier this year, when it launched the most lethal crackdown on anti-government protesters since the Islamic Republic’s founding 47 years ago.

CNN further reports that the latest blackout has cut off another potential lifeline for Iranian residents faced with high unemployment and economic pressure exacerbated by the US-Israeli campaign.

(CNN)

Headline

Gas Prices In US Edge Down After Two Weeks Of Increases

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2026

Editor

The cost of a gallon of regular gas in the United States (US) has edged down a little more than a penny to $4.55.

According to AAA’s readings, this marks the first decline in the average gas price after 15 straight days of increases.

The decline is minuscule compared to the large increases in gas prices over the last two weeks.

According to CNN, gasoline costs rose an average of nearly 4 cents a day during that period and had several daily increases of between 7 and 9 cents.

Also Read: Trump insists US-Iran ceasefire intact despite recent exchange of fire

CNN also reports that based on past gas spikes, it will likely take weeks for gas prices to get down below $4 a gallon.

The report, however, states that a previous two-week stretch of gas price declines only shaved 14 cents off the average price, taking the average price to $4.02, before the recent 15-day run of increases.

According to CNN, it could take months for the average price to fall below $3 per gallon, as it did before the war in Iran.

CNN further reports that only one state – Oklahoma – now has an average price of less than $4 a gallon, and its average stands at $3.98. California has the highest average price at $6.16.

(CNN)