TIJUANA, Mexico — The physical characteristics of three bodies found in Mexico's Baja California state resemble those of two Australian brothers and their American friend who went missing while on a surfing trip, local authorities said Saturday. State prosecutor Maria Elena Andrade said that the bodies, found Friday dumped in a shaft atop a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, were in an "advanced state of decomposition," complicating identification ..read more

Several thousand people demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening in favor of a negotiated solution for the release of Israeli hostages held by the militant Islamist group Hamas. There was also loud criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calls for new elections. Protesters held banners and signs aloft reading "Negotiate now, resign later." The father of one of the Israeli hostages criticized that the government's own survival seemed more important than the hostages. He called on the government to agree to a ceasefire in exchange for the return of the hostages ..read more

Teams from the Palestinian militant group Hamas and mediator Qatar arrived in the Egyptian capital on Saturday for further talks on a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Israel, sources at the Cairo airport said. Both teams arrived aboard a flight from Qatar, they added. Egypt's state-affiliated television al-Qahera News also reported the arrival of a Hamas delegation in Cairo and cited "significant progress" in negotiations to reach the deal ..read more

Nearly two weeks after the British Conservative Party pushed through a proposal to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda in what one lawyer called "performative cruelty" in the name of winning the general election expected later this year, the local election results announced throughout the day Friday made increasingly clear the ploy hadn't worked. Elections expert John Curtice projected the Tories could ultimately lose up to 500 local council seats as vote counting continues into the weekend, following elections in which voters cast ballots for 2,661 seats. The Conservatives have lost around half ..read more

Washington (AFP) – US President Joe Biden will host Jordan's King Abdullah II next week, the White House said Friday, as negotiations continue in the Middle East for a ceasefire in Gaza. The meeting will be "private" and will be followed by a readout, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, without giving a date for the encounter. The meeting comes against the backdrop of talks for a deal to release hostages and secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza after nearly seven months of war. The talks, which come after months of efforts by mediators Egypt, Qatar a ..read more

Gravataí (Brazil) (AFP) – When Claudio Almiro finally abandoned his ruined home in flood-ravaged southern Brazil, he found himself slogging through waist-deep water. The 55-year-old with a grizzled goatee, emaciated face and tired features, took refuge in a cultural center in Gravatai, a northern suburb of Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul. He is one of more than 8,000 residents of this state who fled to shelters after abandoning their homes due to the torrential rains that have left some forty people dead and dozens missing. Almiro, who is unemployed, says the disaster took his ..read more

Accepting a ceasefire deal with Israel should be a "no-brainer" for Hamas, but the motivations of the militants' elusive Gaza-based leadership remain unclear, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has announced that its delegation will return Saturday to Cairo to resume long-running talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar that would temporarily halt Israel's offensive in return for freeing hostages. "We wait to see whether, in effect, they can take yes for an answer on the ceasefire and release of hostages," Blinken said late Friday. "The reality in this ..read more

(AFP) – Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank say armed Jewish settlers are increasingly seizing their lands by bringing livestock to so-called shepherding outposts and refusing to leave. One settler arrived recently near sunset on a hilltop near the village of Deir Jarir, wearing a black shirt and a green headscarf, like many Palestinian farmers, they said. "The settlers imitate us in every way," said Abdullah Abu Rahme, a member of a Palestinian anti-settler group, who said the hardliners also employ violence and "throw stones at us and block roads". One local man, Haidar Abu Makh ..read more

A German politician was attacked and seriously injured by four assailants while putting up campaign posters in the eastern German city of Dresden late on Friday evening, according to police. Matthias Ecke, 41, is a member of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and a current lawmaker in the European Parliament. Ecke was taken to hospital for treatment following the attack and will require surgery. Ecke is the SPD's top candidate for the upcoming European Parliament elections in the eastern German state of Saxony. Police said they have not identified the attackers. A special state violent c ..read more

Yemen's Houthi rebels have threatened to target ships bound for Israeli ports in the Mediterranean Sea, as the group on Friday announced further escalation in what they say is retaliation for Israeli attacks in Gaza. The Houthis would target all ships "heading to the ports of occupied Palestine from the Mediterranean Sea in any area within our reach," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement. The Iran-backed militia, which has controlled parts of Yemen since 2014, has been targeting ships bound for Israeli ports or those owned by Israeli companies in the Red and Arabian seas ..read more