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Syrian forces withdraw from Sweida after ceasefire goes into effect

Syrian government forces largely withdrew from the southern province of Sweida Thursday following days of vicious clashes with militias of the Druze minority.

Under a ceasefire agreement reached the day before, which largely halted the hostilities, Druze factions and clerics have been appointed to maintain internal security in Sweida, Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in an address broadcast early Thursday.

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Zelensky shakes up Ukrainian Cabinet, appointing new PM to reinvigorate war effort

Ukraine's economy minister and the key negotiator in the mineral deal with the U.S, Yuliia Svyrydenko, was appointed as its new prime minister Thursday, becoming the country's first new head of government since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

Svyrydenko is one of a group of officials taking on new roles in Ukraine's government, as President Volodymyr Zelensky reshuffles the Cabinet in a bid to energize a war-weary nation and boost domestic weapons production in the face of Russia's grinding invasion.

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Fire at shopping center in eastern Iraq kills more than 60 people

A fire engulfed a newly opened shopping center in eastern Iraq, killing more than 60 people, including children, Iraqi officials said Thursday.

Civil defense teams rescued more than 45 people who became trapped when the fire broke out late Wednesday in the city of Kut, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Others are still missing, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency.

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Syrian government and Druze minority leaders announce new ceasefire

Syrian government officials and leaders in the Druze religious minority announced a renewed ceasefire Wednesday after days of clashes that have threatened to unravel the country's postwar political transition and drawn military intervention by powerful neighbor Israel.

Convoys of government forces began withdrawing from the city of Sweida, but it was not immediately clear if the agreement, announced by Syria's Interior Ministry and in a video message by a Druze religious leader, would hold. A previous ceasefire announced Tuesday quickly fell apart, and a prominent Druze leader, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, disavowed the new agreement.

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List of 2025 Emmy nominees in key categories

"Severance" led Emmy nominations with 27 nods Tuesday, and "The Studio" led comedy nominations with 23.

Here's a list of Emmy nominees in top categories:

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'Great club legend' Lucas Vázquez ending long stint with Real Madrid

Lucas Vázquez, an important player for Real Madrid during one of its most successful eras, is ending his stint with the Spanish powerhouse.

The club and the player said Wednesday that he is not returning for another season.

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2026 World Cup's contingency plans for wildfire smoke risks remain unclear

The 2026 World Cup being hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States is less than a year away and FIFA's protocols for matches affected by wildfire smoke remain unclear.

The 48-team World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Canada is hosting 13 matches — seven in Vancouver and six in Toronto.

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US deports migrants from Jamaica, Cuba, and other countries to Africa's Eswatini

The United States sent five migrants it describes as "barbaric" criminals to the African nation of Eswatini in an expansion of the Trump administration's largely secretive third-country deportation program, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday.

The U.S. has already deported eight men to another African country, South Sudan, after the Supreme Court lifted restrictions on sending people to countries where they have no ties. The South Sudanese government has declined to say where those men, also described as violent criminals, are after it took custody of them nearly two weeks ago.

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Some Australian dolphins use sponges to hunt fish, but it's harder than it looks

Some dolphins in Australia have a special technique to flush fish from the seafloor. They hunt with a sponge on their beak, like a clown nose.

Using the sponge to protect from sharp rocks, the dolphins swim with their beaks covered, shoveling through rubble at the bottom of sandy channels and stirring up barred sandperch for a meal.

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Trump to put tariffs of over 10% on smaller nations, including in Africa and Caribbean

President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that he plans to place tariffs of over 10% on smaller countries, including nations in Africa and the Caribbean.

"We'll probably set one tariff for all of them," Trump said, adding that it could be "a little over 10% tariff" on goods from at least 100 nations.

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