DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — International mediators on Wednesday worked to extend the truce in Gaza, encouraging Hamas militants to keep freeing hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further relief from Israel’s air and ground offensive. The cease-fire will otherwise end within a day.

Ahead of the swap of 10 militant-held hostages for 30 Palestinian prisoners panned Wednesday, Hamas handed over two Russian-Israelis, the Israeli military said.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has decided to punish one of his highest-ranking critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, by revoking his right to a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary in the second such radical action against a conservative American prelate this month, according to two people briefed on the measures.

PARIS, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The global economy is expected to slow down slightly next year as a result of tightening monetary policies, weak trade and lower business and consumer confidence, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Wednesday.

Its latest economic outlook report projected the global GDP growth at 2.9 percent in 2023, followed by a mild slowdown to 2.7 percent in 2024 and a slight improvement to 3 percent in 2025.

MOSCOW, Nov 29 (NNN-TASS) – Any new United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members should come from developing countries, Russian media reported, citing Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, at the Primakov Readings International Forum in Moscow.

“It is important to redress the historical injustices that emerged, following the end of the decolonisation process and since the emergence of many dozens of young sovereign states,” Lavrov said, noting that, the composition of the UNSC should reflect the current reality.

MOSCOW, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Russia's interior ministry has prepared draft legislation that would force foreigners to sign a "loyalty agreement" forbidding them from criticising official policy, discrediting Soviet military history, or contravening traditional family values.

Since President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has introduced a slew of tough laws that outlaw discrediting the military, and courts have handed down long jail sentences to opposition activists.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. life expectancy rose last year — by more than a year — but still isn’t close to what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2022 rise was mainly due to the waning pandemic, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers said Wednesday. But even with the large increase, U.S. life expectancy is only back to 77 years, 6 months — about what it was two decades ago.

MOSCOW, November 29. /TASS/: Russian troops liberated the community of Artyomovskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.

"In the Donetsk direction, units of the southern battlegroup supported by aircraft and artillery fire improved their forward edge positions and liberated the settlement of Artyomovskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said in a statement.

COLOMBO, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia's national carrier would recommence flights to Sri Lanka very soon, said the Sri Lankan foreign ministry here on Wednesday.

Minister of Economy and Planning of Saudi Arabia Faisal bin Alibrahim made the announcement during his visit to Sri Lanka, and the move will contribute to capturing a sizable market of Saudi travelers to Sri Lanka, said the foreign ministry in a press release.

UNITED NATIONS, November 29. /TASS/: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that 111 employees of the world organization have been killed in the Gaza Strip since tensions escalated in the Middle East.

"It is with immense sadness and pain that I report that since the beginning of the hostilities, 111 members of our UN family have been killed in Gaza," he said in his address to the UN Security Council. "Civilians - including United Nations personnel - must be protected. Civilian objects - including hospitals - must be protected. UN facilities must not be hit," he emphasized.

PARIS, Nov 29 (Reuters) - France intends to complete a bilateral security guarantee accord with Ukraine by the start 2024, its foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.

G7 countries in June unveiled an international framework for the long-term security of Ukraine to boost its finances and defences against Russia with a view to deterring Moscow from future aggression, officials said.

29 November 2023; MEMO: A video revealed a new crime committed by the Israeli occupation army, after it forced medical staff of Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital in Gaza without the five premature Palestinian babies who were being cared for.

The five infants were found “dead and in a state of decomposition” in Al-Nasr Hospital after being alone for three weeks, in what may amount to a horrific execution and a crime against humanity.

DUBAI, November 29. /TASS/: The US has failed to accomplish its goal of creating "a New Middle East" and achieve its political objectives in the region, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said.

"US plans for forming "a New Middle East" have failed: They planned to eliminate Hezbollah, but it’s 10 times stronger now. They failed to devour Iraq and Syria, and they failed to settle the Palestinian dispute to the benefit of the usurper regime (Israel - TASS) using a devious ‘2-state’ solution," he said on X, formerly Twitter.