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A billboard depicting Hamas' slain leader Yahya Sinwar with the Arabic slogan "if Sinwar departs from the battlefields, Palestine will birth a thousand Sinwars", during a rally in Yemen's Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on 18 October, 2024. Photo: MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP Hamas has vowed not to release the hostages seized during its 7 October attack on Israel until the Gaza war ends, as it mourned the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar. The killing of Sinwar, the mastermind of the deadliest attack in Israeli history, had raised hopes of a turning point in the war, including for families of the Israeli hostages and Gazans enduring a dire humanitarian crisis. But Qatar-based Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, who mourned Sinwar in a video statement, reiterated the Palestinian group's position tha...

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky gives a press conference on the sideline of a EU summit in Brussels, on 17 October, 2024. Photo: LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP Russia and Ukraine have each swapped 95 prisoners of war in an agreement completed with the United Arab Emirates acting as mediator, the Russian Defence Ministry says. The ministry, in a post on the Telegram messaging app, said the returning Russian service members were undergoing medical checks in Belarus, one of Russia's closest allies in the more than two-and-a-half-year-old war. There was no immediate word of the exchange from Ukrainian authorities. Ukrainian news reports said the returnees included Ukrainian journalist and rights advocate Maksym Butkevych, convicted by a Russian court of shooting at Russian forces. The reports s...

No cause of death was given for either competitor (file image). Photo: 123RF By Sam Joseph, CNN Two athletes have died while participating at the World Triathlon Championships in Spain, the sport's governing body has confirmed. Both competitors - one from Mexico and one from Great Britain - were participating in the sprint category on the first day of competition at the Torremolinos-Andalucia Triathlon Championship Finals. "It is with deep sadness that we can inform that two participants (one from Mexico; one from Great Britain) have died at the World Triathlon Torremolinos-Andalucía AG Sprint Distance World Championships, taking place today, October 17," World Triathlon said in a statement. "Our deepest condolences go to their respective family, friends, National Federations and all th...

Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Sydney International Airport in Sydney on 18 October 2024 for a six-day royal visit to Sydney and Canberra. Photo: AFP / POOL / BROOK MITCHELL King Charles III has become the first reigning king of Australia to visit the country. The monarch, accompanied by his wife Queen Camilla, arrived at Sydney Airport about 8.30pm on Friday, marking the royal couple's first royal tour to Australia since 2018. His mother Queen Elizabeth II became the first reigning monarch to tour the country when she visited in 1954. Among those who greeted Charles and Camilla were Governor-General Sam Mostyn, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns. Queen Camilla was presented with a posy by 12-year-old Ky, who is living with a serious bloo...