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Germany said Monday it will lift its temporary restrictions on military equipment exports to Israel later this month, citing the stabilization of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced in August that Berlin would halt approvals for any exports that could be used in Gaza after Israel’s Cabinet decided to take control of Gaza City. Government spokesperson Sebastian Hille said the suspension will end on November 24. “Since Oct. 10, we have had a ceasefire in Gaza and it has fundamentally stabilized,” Hille told reporters, calling it the basis for resuming normal export procedures. He said Germany expects all parties to uphold the agreements reached, including maintaining the ceasefire and ensuring large-scale humanitarian aid continues. Hille declined to say whether Israel had submitted any requests for equipment during the suspension period or whether Berlin withheld any items. Once the restrictions are lifted, Germany will review military export applications on a case-by-case basis, following its standard policy, he added. Merz’s decision to impose the restrictions in August had been viewed as a significant step by a government known for its strong support for Israel. The reversal was welcomed by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who urged other countries to follow Germany’s lead in a post on X.  

President Donald Trump said Sunday that he intends to meet with New York City’s mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, and suggested the two would “work something out,” hinting at a possible easing of tensions between them. For months, Trump has attacked Mamdani—incorrectly calling him a “communist” and warning that New York would be ruined if the democratic socialist won. He even threatened to revoke federal funding for the city and suggested Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and later became a U.S. citizen, could be deported. Mamdani, once a little-known state legislator, gained national attention on social media and became a prominent figure opposing Trump during his mayoral run. He promoted a series of progressive proposals and campaigned in direct contrast to Trump’s hard-line immigration policies in his second term. At 34, Mamdani won support from a wide range of New Yorkers and beat former Governor Andrew Cuomo by nearly nine points. In his victory speech, he said New York should lead the way in countering the president. Still, the next day he emphasized that he was open to cooperating with anyone—including Trump—if it would benefit the city once he takes office in January. Mamdani’s team did not immediately respond to Trump’s comments, but a spokesperson referred back to earlier remarks in which the mayor-elect said he planned to contact the White House because maintaining that relationship would be essential for New York’s success. Trump echoed that tone on Sunday, telling reporters before returning to Washington from Florida that the mayor-elect wanted to meet and that they would figure something out. The White House press secretary later confirmed Trump was referring to Mamdani, though no meeting date has been scheduled. Trump added that his administration also might soon speak with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro after recent military activity near Venezuela, saying he was willing to talk to anyone.

India’s anti-terror investigating agency said Sunday it arrested a man from Indian-controlled Kashmir on suspicion of conspiring with a suicide bomber to carry out a deadly car blast in the capital New Delhi. The National Investigating Agency said in a statement that the car that exploded on Monday was registered to Amir Rashid Ali, who it alleged had traveled to New Delhi from Indian-controlled Kashmir to facilitate the purchase of the vehicle. It said Ali's arrest was a “major breakthrough” in the case. The explosion killed 10 people and injured 32 others near the city’s historic Red Fort. Indian officials called it a “heinous terror incident” carried out by “anti-national forces.” The car blast happened hours after police in Kashmir said they had dismantled a suspected militant cell operating from the disputed region, arresting at least seven people, including two Kashmiri doctors from Indian cities, and seizing a large quantity of bomb-making material. The investigating agency identified the car’s driver and suspected suicide bomber as Umar Un Nabi, also a Kashmiri, a doctor teaching at a medical college in the city of Faridabad, near New Delhi. Government forces blew up his family home in the southern district of Pulwama on Thursday night, officials said, as a reprisal for the attack. Indian security agencies also have carried out a series of raids across Kashmir as part of their investigation, questioning thousands and detaining hundreds of people. On Friday night, some of the explosives confiscated from Faridabad and brought to Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar by the police detonated inside a police station, killing at least nine people and injuring 32 others.

Lebanon’s president asked the country’s foreign minister Saturday to work on filing a complaint against Israel for building a wall inside Lebanese territory. A statement released by President Joseph Aoun’s office said he has asked the foreign minister to include in the complaint statement issued by the United Nations peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL that is deployed along the border with Israel. On Friday, UNIFIL said in a statement that the Israeli army erected a wall southwest of the Lebanese village of Yaroun. UNIFIL said the wall crossed the border line, rendering more than 4,000 square meters (43,000 square feet) of Lebanese territory “inaccessible to the Lebanese people.” UNIFIL said it has informed the Israeli army of its findings and requested that they remove the wall. It said that construction of the wall violates the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended that 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire reached in November last year. UNIFIL added that the wall violates “Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The Israeli military said the wall, whose construction began in 2022, is part of a broader plan for reinforcements along the border. It said that since the start of the war the Israeli army has been advancing a series of measures, including reinforcing the physical barrier along the northern border. The Israeli army said it should be emphasized that the wall does not cross the Blue Line, the boundary between Lebanon and Israel drawn up by the U.N. which UNIFIL monitors and patrols. The Israel-Hezbollah war started when Hezbollah began firing rockets across the border on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after a deadly Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel sparked the war in Gaza. Israel responded with shelling and airstrikes in Lebanon, and the two sides became locked in an escalating conflict that became a full-blown war in late September 2024.

At least seven people were killed and 27 others injured when a cache of seized explosives blew up inside a police station in Srinagar, the main city of Indian-administered Kashmir. The explosion occurred late Friday (November 14) at the Nowgam police station in southern Srinagar. Most of the victims were police personnel and forensic experts who were examining the materials when they detonated, according to unnamed sources cited by Indian broadcaster NDTV. Two officials from the Srinagar administration were also among the dead. With five of the injured in critical condition, the death toll may rise, NDTV reported. “This was not a terror attack. Police say it was a tragic accident,” NDTV senior executive editor Aditya Raj Kaul wrote on social media. He added that the blast occurred while officers and forensic teams were inspecting the stored explosives. The incident comes just days after a deadly car explosion in New Delhi on Monday that killed at least 12 people near the historic Red Fort. Authorities have labelled that explosion a “terror” attack. Read more: Bangladesh stands by India at this distressful hour Hours before the New Delhi blast, police had arrested several suspects and seized explosives and assault rifles. Officials said the suspects were linked to Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), a Pakistan-based group fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, and its local affiliate Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind. In connection with the New Delhi incident, authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir have detained more than 650 people. Reports say the Nowgam police station had been investigating JeM posters displayed in the area warning of attacks on security forces and non-locals. Police said the probe exposed a “white-collar terror network” involving radicalised professionals and students connected to handlers in Pakistan and elsewhere. Investigators also seized nearly 3,000kg of ammonium nitrate—commonly used in bomb-making—believing the armed group was amassing materials for a major attack. Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1947, with both countries claiming the region. The nuclear-armed neighbours have fought three wars over Kashmir, and tensions over the contested territory continue to run high. Read more: Touhid dismisses Indian media reports Source: AL Jazeera

Haitian police engaged in a prolonged firefight with gangs from Thursday night into Friday, killing seven gang members and deliberately destroying a helicopter that was forced to land during the operation, authorities said. The incident took place in Croix des Bouquets, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. According to a Haitian National Police (PNH) statement on Facebook, the helicopter experienced a “suspected malfunction” and had to make an emergency landing. Police officers were unharmed, but set the aircraft on fire to prevent gangs from seizing it. Videos posted online Friday appeared to show gang members celebrating next to the burned helicopter. PNH spokesperson Garry Desrosiers confirmed that seven gang members were killed. Police also recovered a Barrett semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle used in the confrontation — a powerful, high-capacity weapon authorities say gangs frequently use to intimidate civilians. Croix des Bouquets is dominated by Viv Ansanm (“Living Together”), a major gang alliance designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization. Gang influence in Haiti has surged in recent years, with criminal groups now controlling roughly 90% of the capital. Violence has displaced a record 1.4 million people, according to the U.N. International Organization for Migration. The U.N. is supporting a Kenya-led mission to counter Haiti’s gangs, though critics say the effort suffers from inadequate staffing and funding.

The United States intensified efforts Friday to rally support for its Gaza proposal at the U.N., while Russia introduced an alternative resolution that removes language about a transitional authority to be led by President Donald Trump and instead calls on the U.N. to outline options for an international stabilization force. The U.S. and eight nations involved in brokering the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas — Qatar, Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Turkey — issued a joint statement urging the 15-member Security Council to quickly approve the latest U.S. draft. Of the eight, only Pakistan currently sits on the council. The American proposal underwent revisions this week after some council members objected, prompting the U.S. to add more explicit references to Palestinian self-determination. A U.N. diplomat familiar with the talks, speaking anonymously, said both the U.S. and Russian drafts are expected to go to a vote early next week. The U.S. resolution is seen as likely to secure the nine votes needed to pass, with Russia and China expected to abstain rather than veto. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump’s ceasefire framework “is the best path to peace in the Middle East,” and argued that the U.S. resolution is key to advancing it. The American draft backs Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan, which includes the creation of a Board of Peace — a transitional authority Trump would lead — and authorizes a broad international stabilization force in Gaza responsible for border oversight, security, and demilitarization. Countries open to contributing troops have said such authority is essential. After concerns were raised that the draft did not sufficiently address a future Palestinian state, the U.S. updated the text. It now states that once reforms to the Palestinian Authority are implemented and Gaza reconstruction advances, conditions could emerge for a “credible pathway” to Palestinian statehood and self-determination. Russia’s competing draft, obtained by the Associated Press, contains stronger endorsements of a two-state solution and stresses that the West Bank and Gaza must form a unified state under the Palestinian Authority. Russia said its proposal aims to ensure the Security Council has the proper authority and tools to uphold international peace and insists that any resolution must reaffirm core principles — especially the two-state solution. Moscow argued that the U.S. draft lacked these elements, prompting it to circulate its own text to “bring it into conformity” with previous council positions. The Russian mission emphasized that its version does not oppose the U.S. initiative and acknowledges the crucial mediation efforts by the U.S., Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey that helped secure the ceasefire and hostage releases. Russia added that it supports parts of Trump’s plan that led to renewed humanitarian access, the exchange of bodies, and the freeing of detainees. On Thursday, the U.S. mission warned that attempts to create division could have “grave and entirely avoidable consequences” for Palestinians in Gaza and urged the council to unite behind the American resolution.

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is eliminating U.S. tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruits, and a wide range of other commodities — a surprising shift as his administration faces growing criticism over high consumer costs. Tariffs have been a cornerstone of Trump’s second-term economic strategy, aimed at boosting U.S. manufacturing through heavy taxes on imported goods. His sudden reversal on key everyday staples marks a major policy change, coming after recent off-year elections where voters cited economic worries and handed Democrats major victories in Virginia, New Jersey, and other states. “We just rolled back some food tariffs, like on coffee,” Trump said aboard Air Force One en route to Florida shortly after the announcement. When asked whether his tariffs had contributed to rising prices, Trump admitted they “may, in some cases,” but insisted that “other countries” have shouldered the burden. Inflation, despite Trump’s repeated claims that it has disappeared during his presidency, remains high and continues to squeeze consumers. The administration has maintained that tariffs boosted federal revenue and weren’t a primary driver of higher grocery costs. Democrats quickly framed the rollback as proof that Trump’s policies had been hurting Americans. “President Trump is finally admitting what we’ve long said: his tariffs are raising prices,” said Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia. “After being punished in recent elections by voters angry about broken promises on inflation, the White House is now trying to spin this as a shift toward affordability.” Concerns Over Grocery Costs Trump imposed broad tariffs in April. He continues to deny they increased consumer prices, despite economic analysis showing otherwise. Beef prices have been a particular flashpoint. Trump had pledged to address the issue, and tariffs on Brazilian beef — a major source — played a role in rising costs. A new executive order lifts tariffs on tea, fruit juice, cocoa, spices, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, and some fertilizers. Several of these goods aren’t produced domestically, meaning the original tariffs did little to encourage U.S. production but did raise costs for consumers. Food industry groups welcomed the move, saying that reducing import taxes will help stabilize supply and lower prices. The White House explained that some initial tariffs are no longer necessary due to new trade agreements with Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Argentina that improve access for U.S. products and may lower agricultural tariffs in return. Earlier this week, Trump hinted to Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that tariff reductions were coming. “We’re going to lower some tariffs on coffee,” he said. Tariff Revenue and Promised Checks Despite the rollback, Trump reiterated aboard Air Force One that he still plans to use tariff revenue to send $2,000 checks to many Americans, possibly in 2026. He also suggested the same funds might go toward paying down the national debt, raising questions about feasibility. Trump denied that issuing direct payments would worsen inflation, though he acknowledged that similar programs during the pandemic may have fueled price increases. “This is money earned, not printed,” he said. “Everyone but the wealthy will get it. It’s real money — it comes from other countries.”

A Turkey-registered plane crashed in western Croatia on Thursday, police said, with local media reporting that the pilot had died. The Air Tractor AT-802 disappeared from the radar shortly before 5 p.m. local time, an Interior Ministry statement said. Some 20 minutes later emergency services were informed that a plane was on fire near the town of Senj, close to the Adriatic Sea coastline, the statement said. Police said the plane was flying from the northern port of Rijeka to the capital Zagreb and back. No other details were immediately available. Air Tractor AT-802 planes are usually used in agriculture or for fire-fighting. Croatia's HRT public broadcaster said the plane belonged to Turkey's forestry administration. The HRT report said rescue teams found the pilot's body after they extinguished the fire. No one else was on the plane, the report added.  

The BBC apologized Thursday to U.S. President Donald Trump for a misleading edit of his Jan. 6, 2021 speech but said it had not defamed him, rejecting the basis for his $1 billion lawsuit threat. The broadcaster said Chair Samir Shah sent a personal letter to the White House expressing regret for the edited version of Trump’s speech delivered before some of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress prepared to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, which Trump falsely claimed was stolen. The publicly funded network added that it has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary, which had spliced together portions of Trump’s remarks that were originally nearly an hour apart. “We accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than excerpts from different points in the speech, and that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action," the BBC wrote in a retraction. Trump’s lawyer had sent the BBC a letter demanding an apology and threatened to file a $1 billion lawsuit for the harm the documentary caused him. It had set a Friday deadline for the BBC to respond. While the BBC statement doesn’t respond to Trump’s demand that he be compensated for “overwhelming financial and reputational harm," the headline on its news story about the apology said it refused to pay compensation. The dispute was sparked by an edition of the BBC’s flagship current affairs series “Panorama,” titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” broadcast days before the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The third-party production company that made the film spliced together three quotes from two sections of the 2021 speech into what appeared to be one quote in which Trump urged supporters to march with him and “fight like hell.” Among the parts cut out was a section where Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully. Director-General Tim Davie, along with news chief Deborah Turness, quit Sunday, saying the scandal was damaging the BBC and “as the CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, the buck stops with me.” The letter from Trump's lawyer demanded an apology to the president and a “full and fair” retraction of the documentary along with other “false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading or inflammatory statements” about Trump. Legal experts have said that Trump would face challenges taking the case to court in the U.K. or the U.S. They said that the BBC could show that Trump wasn’t harmed because he was ultimately elected president in 2024. Deadlines to bring the case in English courts, where defamation damages rarely exceed 100,000 pounds ($132,000) expired more than a year ago. Because the documentary was not shown in the U.S., it would be hard to show that Americans thought less of him because of a program they could not watch. While many legal experts have dismissed the president’s claims against the media as having little merit, he has won some lucrative settlements against U.S. media companies and he could try to leverage the BBC mistake for a payout, potentially to a charity of his choice. In July, Paramount, which owns CBS, agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump over a “ 60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump alleged that the interview was edited to enhance how Harris, the Democratic nominee for president in 2024, sounded. That settlement came as the Trump-appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission launched an investigation that threatened to complicate Paramount’s need for administration approval to merge with Skydance Media. Last year, ABC News said it would pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit over anchor George Stephanopoulos ’ inaccurate on-air assertion that the president-elect had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll. A jury found that he was liable for sexually abusing her. The apology and retraction came as BBC said it was looking into a report in the Daily Telegraph that its Newsnight program in 2022 had similarly spliced together parts of the same speech by Trump.