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JERUSALEM/CAIRO – Israel and Hamas will begin indirect negotiations on a second stage of the Gaza Strip ceasefire deal, officials said on Tuesday, as the Palestinian militant group said it would hand over more hostages, including the bodies of two children, this week. Khalil al-Hayya, leader of Hamas in Gaza, said the bodies of four hostages, including those of the Bibas family, would be returned on Thursday. Six living hostages would follow on Saturday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed a deal was reached in Cairo to secure the release of six living hostages on Saturday, four deceased hostages on Thursday and four more next week, but stopped short at naming any of them. Source link

PARIS – Bayern Munich needed a stoppage-time goal to see off Celtic and secure a place in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday, while AC Milan was dumped out by Feyenoord and both Club Brugge and Benfica also advanced. In Germany, Bayern was defending a 2-1 lead over Celtic in its play-off tie from last week’s first leg but the Bundesliga leaders were unable to put the tie to bed, with Harry Kane hitting the bar before half-time. Instead it was Celtic who went ahead on the night on 63 minutes thanks to Nicolas Kuehn, the former Bayern player, who slotted low into the net after a failed attempt to win the ball by Kim Min-jae. Source link

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has the onset of double pneumonia, the Vatican said on Tuesday, complicating treatment for the 88-year pontiff and indicating a further deterioration in his fragile health. Francis has had a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14. The Vatican said in a statement that the pope had undergone a chest CAT scan on Tuesday afternoon that had revealed “the onset of bilateral pneumonia that requires further pharmacological therapy.” Source link

President Donald Trump said he would likely impose tariffs on automobile, semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports of around 25%, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2. The new duties, if implemented, would widen the president’s trade war. Trump previously announced 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum that are set to take effect in March, but Tuesday’s comments are his most detailed yet in specifying other sectors that would be hit with fresh barriers. “I probably will tell you that on April 2, but it’ll be in the neighborhood of 25%,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club when asked about his plan for auto tariffs. Source link

RIYADH – U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration said on Tuesday it agreed to hold more talks with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine after an initial meeting that excluded Kyiv, a departure from Washington’s previous approach that rallied U.S. allies to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin. As the 4½-hour meeting in the Saudi capital was under way, Russia hardened its demands, notably insisting it would not tolerate the NATO alliance granting membership to Kyiv. Later on Tuesday, Trump said he was more confident after the talks and he would probably meet with Putin before the end of the month. Source link

Over 10,000 foreign nationals, including 31 Japanese citizens, are thought to be held captive at the Myanmar-Thailand border by a Chinese crime ring, according to multiple reports. Foreign nationals from several countries have been held at the border and forced to participate in a variety of scams. The Thai Royal Police, in cooperation with Myanmar authorities, are looking to crack down on the group and rescue its captives in the coming days. Immanuel Foundation, a local Thai NGO that works to combat human trafficking, said that so far it has rescued around 3,000 people from at least 30 countries including Kenya, Ghana and India, with many being from South Africa. The organization has rescued one Japanese national so far. Source link

The government approved separate plans Tuesday to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% in the fiscal year from April 2035 — and by 73% in fiscal 2040 — compared with 2013 levels, and have renewables and nuclear power generate half and 20% of the country’s electricity, respectively, by 2040. However, the new emissions target — which follows one under the current energy plan for a 46% reduction by fiscal 2030 — has been criticized as being insufficient to reach globally agreed climate targets. Concerns have also been raised over the decision-making process’ speed and transparency. Japan has been cautious about increasing dependence on nuclear power following the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in 2011. But the government has made the shift amid predictions of higher electricity demand stemming from semiconductor production and data centers for artificial intelligence in the decades to come. Source link

Riyadh – Top U.S. and Russian diplomats were meeting in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks on resetting their countries’ fractured relations and making a tentative start on trying to end the Ukraine war. Both sides played down the chances that the first high-level meeting between the countries since U.S. President Donald Trump took office would result in a breakthrough. Still, the very fact the talks were taking place has triggered concern in Ukraine and Europe following the United States’ recent overtures toward the Kremlin. Source link

Nissan shares rallied on Tuesday after a report said Honda would be willing to reopen takeover talks if Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida steps down. The Japanese auto giants said last week they had scrapped plans to join forces, which had been seen as a way to catch up with U.S. titan Tesla and Chinese firms in electric vehicles. The merger talks apparently unraveled after Honda proposed to make its struggling rival a subsidiary instead of following a plan announced in December to integrate under a new holding company. Source link

As negotiations over the budget for fiscal 2025 reach a climax, the government has signaled its readiness to make political concessions, though Nippon Ishin no Kai is exercising caution on whether the ruling coalition will hold up their end of the bargain. Responding to questions in the Lower House budget committee Monday, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reiterated that the ruling bloc will seek a formal agreement with Nippon Ishin on free high school tuition, free day care for children 2 years old and under, and free school meals — causes that the second-largest opposition party in parliament has long fought for. “I would like to express my sincere respect for the ongoing deliberations between our parties,” Ishiba said, adding the government might explicitly mention new measures on education in this June’s honebuto no hoshin, its economic and fiscal policy guidelines for the upcoming fiscal year. Source link