Israeli defense minister orders military to prepare plan to resume assault in Gaza if ceasefire collapses

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Wednesday that if Hamas does not demilitarize and return all bodies of hostages it holds, Israel will return to fighting.

The threat came on the sixth day of a fragile ceasefire, as Hamas handed over the remains of two more hostages and said they were the last bodies in its custody.

In a statement, Katz said: "If Hamas refuses to comply with the agreement, Israel, in coordination with the United States, will return to fighting and act to achieve the absolute defeat of Hamas, alter the situation in Gaza and attain all the objectives of the war."

Ceasefire takes effect between Pakistan, Afghanistan

Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday issued separate statements to announce a ceasefire between the two sides, which has been implemented later.

Pakistan's Foreign Office said on Wednesday that at the request of the Afghan side, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed on a temporary 48-hour ceasefire to ease border tensions.

"During this period, both sides will make sincere efforts to find a positive solution to this complex but solvable issue through constructive dialogue," said the Foreign Office.

Repairs expected soon to restore power to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant: IAEA chief

Repairs are expected soon to restore off-site power to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday.

The ZNPP lost its grid connection on Sept. 23 for the 10th time during the conflict between Russia and Ukraine after its last remaining 750-kilovolt power line was cut. Both sides have blamed the damage on military activity.

Grossi said in a statement that the IAEA has been engaging closely with both sides to help ensure technicians can carry out repair work that is of crucial importance for nuclear safety and security.

Sudan's El Fasher suffers intense fighting, severe humanitarian conditions

Escalating clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the western city of El Fasher have further deteriorated the already dire humanitarian and health situation, as the UN issued urgent appeals for an immediate end to the violence in the besieged city.

Local committees in El Fasher have called on international and regional bodies to intervene swiftly to protect civilians, warning that continued fighting could trigger an "imminent famine" and the total collapse of healthcare services.

"Time is running out. Hunger is rising... The clashes are constant, the crimes too many to count. Speaking of hunger is no longer enough -- we've moved beyond complaint into a phase of slow extinction," the Coordination of Resistance Committees in El Fasher said in a statement on Wednesday.

AI investments to exceed 500 bln USD globally in 2025: WEF chief

The world is in the throes of the "Fourth Industrial Revolution," driven by a surge in artificial intelligence (AI) investment expected to top 500 billion U.S. dollars this year, World Economic Forum (WEF) President Borge Brende said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the World Future Councils and Cybersecurity Meetings 2025 in Dubai, Brende projected that AI could boost global productivity by 10 percent over the next decade. He cautioned, however, that the technology would also reshape job markets and intensify global competition.

He also warned that escalating cybersecurity threats were exacting a heavy toll, with global losses from cybercrime amounting to 2-3 trillion dollars annually -- nearly 3 percent of global gross domestic product. This underscored an urgent need for international cooperation and robust regulatory frameworks to keep pace with technological advances, he stressed.

Atmospheric CO2 levels soar to new highs in 2024: UN

Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere soared by a record number to new highs in 2024, committing the Earth to more long-term temperature increase, a UN spokesperson warned Wednesday.

Citing the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Greenhouse Gas Bulletin released Wednesday, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told a daily briefing that continued emissions of CO2 from human activities and an upsurge from wildfires, as well as reduced CO2 absorption by "sinks" such as land ecosystems and the ocean, were responsible for the rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere.