Hamas begins internal consultations to study Trump's Gaza peace plan: source

Hamas has started consultations and discussions with other Palestinian factions to study a plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war in the Gaza Strip, a Hamas source said on Tuesday.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that mediators from Qatar and Egypt reviewed the plan before presenting it to Hamas leadership and other factions.

He said that the consultations may take time, as the submitted document is supposed to form the basis of any potential agreement, despite contradictions in Trump's recent statements and what he described as "daily shifts" in positions.

According to the source, Hamas is open to proposals as long as they do not undermine "Palestinian national principles."

However, he described the plan as "biased toward Israel" and including "unreasonable conditions" that aim to weaken the movement both politically and militarily.

Trump threatens to lay off "a lot of people" if government shutdown occurs

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that if a government shutdown were to occur, the administration would be laying off "a lot of people," blaming the Democrats for the current stalemate in funding negotiations.

"Well, the Democrats want to shut it down. So when you shut it down, you have to do layoffs. So we'd be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected, and the Democrats, they're going to be Democrats," Trump told reporters at the White House.

"This is Donald Trump's shutdown. He owns it," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on X when reposting Trump's video.

At least 18 dead as strong earthquake strikes central Philippines

At least 18 people were killed and dozens injured as a 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit Cebu province in the central Philippines on Tuesday night, local media reported Wednesday.

The death toll is expected to climb as more reports trickle in.

Citing the provincial information office, local newspaper SunStar Cebu reported that 13 people were killed in Bogo City, the quake's epicenter, while four others died in San Remigio town in northern Cebu.

The municipality of Medellin in Cebu reported at least one death and multiple injuries, along with damage to two bridges.

SunStar Cebu added that victims of the quake continued to pour into Cebu Provincial Hospital (Bogo City), straining medical staff.

Typhoon Bualoi leaves 27 dead, 21 missing in Vietnam

The death toll from Typhoon Bualoi and subsequent floods and landslides in Vietnam has risen to 27, with 21 people still missing and 112 others injured across 17 northern and central provinces, Vietnam News Agency reported Tuesday.

The typhoon has damaged or inundated more than 158,000 houses, submerged over 26,600 hectares of rice and other crops, and caused widespread power outages, road blockages, and embankment collapses, the report said, citing the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Death toll from Indonesia school building collapse rises to 3

The death toll from the collapse of a school building in Sidoarjo district of Indonesia's East Java province on Monday afternoon has risen to three, head of the National Search and Rescue Agency Mohammad Syafii said on Tuesday.

Nanang Sigit, head of the East Java Search and Rescue Office, told Xinhua that the accident, which occurred at the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School, also left more than 80 people injured and 38 others trapped.

He said the collapsed building had been undergoing unauthorized renovation at the time of the incident.

10 killed, 30 injured in suicide attack in SW Pakistan

Ten people were killed and 30 others injured in a suicide attack targeting the headquarters of paramilitary forces in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province on Tuesday, the provincial Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar told media.

The attack took place in Quetta, the provincial capital, at around 11:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT), when a terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into an outer wall of the Frontier Corps (FC) headquarters, while four of his accomplices wearing FC uniforms managed to slip into the building, security sources told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Right after infiltrating the premises, the attackers were shot dead by security forces in a swift retaliatory action, and their bodies have been taken into custody for investigation, the sources added.

Muhammad Zeeshan, operations manager of the Edhi Foundation, a non-governmental organization, in Quetta, told Xinhua that the dead included seven civilians and three security personnel, while nine security personnel, including an officer, were among the injured.

He added that a bus and a rickshaw were passing by the site when the explosion occurred, and most of the killed and injured were passengers aboard the vehicles.

IAEA warns of unsustainable nuclear safety situation at Zaporizhzhia Plant

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is facing an unsustainable nuclear safety situation after being without external power for more than a week, the UN nuclear watchdog said Tuesday in a statement.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said that the agency has been engaging with both Russia and Ukraine to facilitate the restoration of offsite power to the ZNPP as soon as possible.

The plant suffered its tenth complete loss of offsite power on Sept. 23 when its only remaining power line was damaged by military activity about 1.5 km away. Emergency diesel generators then automatically started operating to provide electricity for safety systems and to cool the six reactors and spent fuel.

DR Congo's ex-president Kabila sentenced to death in absentia

Joseph Kabila, former president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), was sentenced to death in absentia by the country's High Military Court on Tuesday, on charges including treason and crimes against humanity.

According to the verdict, Kabila was found guilty of multiple offenses, such as participation in an insurrectional movement, intentional homicide, torture, rape, and forced occupation of the city of Goma, provincial capital of North Kivu, now controlled by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels.

Kabila also received a 15-year prison term for conspiracy, while the court pronounced the death penalty for the other charges.

The trial, which opened in July following the lifting of Kabila's parliamentary immunity by the Senate in May, was conducted without the presence of the accused.

The prosecution accused the former head of state of being implicated in atrocities committed in the eastern provinces by the M23. Evidence presented included witness testimonies, video footage, and media interviews.