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By Erin Banco and Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on 7 December. Photo: AFP / Eyad Baba Deal could free hostages, Palestinian prisoners Hamas demands guarantees for comprehensive agreement US and Israeli officials guardedly optimistic about deal An agreement to halt the 14-month-old war in Gaza and free hostages held in the Palestinian enclave could be signed in coming days with talks in Cairo making progress, sources briefed on the meeting said. The US administration, joined by mediators from Egypt and Qatar, have made intensive efforts in recent days to advance the talks before President Joe Biden leaves office next month. "We believe - and the Israelis have said this - th...

Aftershocks have continued to hit Vanuatu after a large 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck just off the coast of capital Port Vila on Tuesday afternoon. Vanuatu Business Resilience Council chair Glen Craig was talking to Morning Report when a 6.1 aftershock struck. Craig was discussing the need to do checks on key infrastructure to assess the damage after the initial earthquake, and was reiterating the need for help from Australia and New Zealand to check on some key buildings when the aftershock hit. "We have put in some requests to Australia, and I know the same requests have gone to New Zealand. So the requests have been for engineers so that they can do checks on the structural integrity of critical infrastructure like some of the key buildings, like hospitals, Prime Ministers Office, and...

By Ange McCormack and Libby Hogan, ABC with wires Photo: Michael Thompson/Facebook Australia is sending urgent assistance to Vanuatu after locals were rocked by a magnitude-7.3 earthquake that struck near the capital city of Port Vila. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it believed at least six people had died, and the city's two main water reservoirs had been damaged in the quake. The death toll officially remains at one, but is expected to rise as search and rescue teams work to reach people trapped under collapsed buildings. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the earthquake caused "significant damage", adding that Australia would send urban search and rescue teams, as well as emergency medical assistance, to help recovery efforts. "We ...

Rescue efforts have continued overnight, witnesses report seeing people alive being pulled from the rubble. Photo: Michael Thompson/Facebook The death toll from Vanuatu's 7.3 earthquake is expected to rise because concrete buildings have collapsed with people inside in the capital Port Vila. International Federation of Red Cross Pacific head of delegation Katie Greenwood posted on X that the Vanuatu government was reporting 14 confirmed fatalities and 200 people were treated for injuries at the main hospital in Port Vila. Rescue efforts to retrieve people trapped by fallen buildings and rubble have continued overnight. In a press conference, Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai said a State of Emergency and curfew were in place in the worst affected areas. " urgently request internatio...

By Andrew Osborn and Guy Faulconbridge, Reuters Igor Kirillov was killed in Moscow by a bomb was hidden in electric scooter. Photo: Russian Ministry of Defence / SUPPLIED A top Russian general accused by Ukraine of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops was assassinated in Moscow by Ukraine's SBU intelligence service in the most high-profile killing of its kind. Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who was chief of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed outside an apartment building along with his assistant when a bomb hidden in an electric scooter went off, Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said. An SBU source confirmed to Reuters that the Ukrainian intelligence agency had been behind the ...