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Trump announces deal for Hamas to disarm in Gaza, but many hurdles remain

President Donald Trump said Thursday that a deal has been reached for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza, but many hurdles, conditions and long timelines remained to wind down the war in the Palestinian territory.

The White House announcement comes nine months after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire was signed. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas had largely deadlocked over the implementation of its second phase, including the disarmament of Hamas and the reconstruction of Gaza.

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At least 18 die as thousands of migrants cross Morocco-Ceuta border

At least eighteen migrants have died trying to reach the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, where Spain deployed its military after thousands of people breached the border with Morocco and poured into the tiny Spanish territory.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to join Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska in a visit to Ceuta on Friday morning.

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Turkey wants to join a new Lebanon security initiative after UN mission ends

Turkey is interested in participating in a new security initiative for Lebanon when the 7,500-member U.N. peacekeeping mission in the south of the country expires at the end of the year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a joint press statement with his Lebanese counterpart on Thursday.

Last year, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to terminate the peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL, bowing to demands from the United States and its close ally, Israel. The U.N. is now considering options to help end the decades-old conflict between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel.

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Here's why new fronts seem to be opening up across the Middle East

Houthi rebels in Yemen said they attacked Saudi oil facilities. The Saudis blamed militias in Iraq and joined the United States in bombing them. Iran fired missiles at Jordan. Drones set ships ablaze in Egypt.

But it's not actually as complicated as it sounds, and it's all related to the broader war between the United States and Iran, currently focused on the Strait of Hormuz.

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Prague zoo keeps polar bears cool with ice cubes as European summer heatwave hits

Keepers at Prague Zoo used tons of ice on Thursday to give its animals some much-needed relief as yet another heat wave hit Europe.

Polar bears Aleut and Gregor wasted no time and were rolling in the beds of ice cubes after entering their outside enclosure.

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Palestinian shepherds endure life alongside Israeli settler outposts

The blue-and-white Israeli flags flutter from hilltops and line the roads of the occupied West Bank, signaling the growing presence of Israeli settlements and the outposts they're building on Palestinian land.

For shepherds in the Jordan Valley, as well as in Masafer Yatta, a cluster of villages in the southern West Bank, the flags and expanding settlements have become inescapable features of the landscape, reminders of how daily life has narrowed.

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How views on Trump's handling of Iran have shifted, according to a new poll

Most Americans say the war in Iran has not been worth fighting, and President Donald Trump's approval rating on Iran has fallen slightly since last month, according to a new AP-NORC poll.

The results are a stark repudiation of Trump's approach to the conflict, which has dragged on far longer than he originally predicted.

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FIFA hits Argentina with World Cup charges for scuffle and 'Malvinas' banner

FIFA lodged disciplinary charges against two Argentina players Wednesday for striking Spain opponents moments after the World Cup final and charged Argentina's soccer federation for players showing a political banner about the Falkland Islands after beating England in the semifinals.

A list of disciplinary cases opened by FIFA against Argentina also include "discriminatory chants and gestures" by fans, alleged assault by an assistant coach after the final and "throwing of objects by spectators in relation to several matches" at the World Cup.

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Wildfires near Bordeaux bring more troubles to France's wine industry

From his vineyards in Bordeaux wine country, Edouard le Grix de la Salle can sometimes smell the burning forests far away. The smoke brings a whiff of hardship for the region's economic fortunes.

Wildfires that have burned an area four times the size of Paris and driven 220,000 people from homes and some of the region's tourist attractions promise to sting France's already squeezed economy.

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Mediterranean's warming waters draw hundreds of invasive species

The Mediterranean of our ancestors is no more.

Scientists say climate change, caused mainly by burning oil, coal and gas, is making the Mediterranean Sea hotter, bringing hundreds of new and invasive fish species that decimate indigenous populations.

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