AP News In Brief At 6:04 A.m. EST .

Hamas releases 3 frail-looking Israeli hostages for funsilo.date Palestinian detainees under Gaza ceasefire


DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) - Hamas-led militants launched 3 gaunt, frail-looking Israeli hostages and almost 200 Palestinian detainees Saturday in the newest exchange of a ceasefire that has paused 16 months of war in Gaza.


The hostages ´ condition and scenes of Hamas forcing them to speak in a handover event sparked outrage in Israel and could increase pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the ceasefire beyond its existing six-week stage.


Netanyahu has signified he would resume the war, even if that means leaving dozens of captives in captivity. "President Trump completely agreed with me: We will do whatever to return all the captives, however Hamas will not exist," Netanyahu said after the exchange.


Civilians Eli Sharabi, 52; Ohad Ben Ami, 56; and Or Levy, 34, were among about 250 individuals taken during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that stimulated the war.


Israelis' pleasure turned to shock and tears when they saw their emaciated state.


Released Thai hostages go back to Bangkok after being held for over a year in Gaza


BANGKOK (AP) - Five Thai workers released after being imprisoned for over a year in Gaza arrived in Bangkok on Sunday.


Sarusak Rumnao, 32, Watchara Sriaoun, 33, Sathian Suwannakham, 35, Pongsak Thaenna, 36, and Bannawat Saethao, 27, were released on Jan. 30 as part of an exchange plan.


They were welcomed by household members, some of whom sobbed, in the arrivals hall at Suvarnabhumi airport. Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sagniampongsa and the Israeli Ambassador to Thailand Orna Sagiv were both at the airport to welcome home the released captives.


"We are all extremely grateful and very delighted that we get to go back to our homeland. All of us would really like to thank you. I don ´ t know what else to state," Pongsak informed a press conference at the airport.


Maris said the Thai federal government "never offered up hope and here is the outcome today. The tears of delight are our motivation." He added that Bangkok would continue working to protect the release of the remaining Thai hostage.


Trump states some white South Africans are oppressed, might be transplanted in the US. They say no thanks


CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) - Groups representing a few of South Africa's white minority reacted Saturday to a strategy by President Donald Trump to use them refugee status and resettlement in the United States by stating: thanks, kenpoguy.com however no thanks.


The plan was detailed in an executive order Trump signed Friday that stopped all aid and monetary support to South Africa as punishment for what the Trump administration said were "rights infractions" by the federal government against some of its white citizens.


The Trump administration accused the South African federal government of allowing violent attacks on white Afrikaner farmers and introducing a land expropriation law that enables it to "take ethnic minority Afrikaners' farming home without payment."


The South African federal government has rejected there are any collective attacks on white farmers and has actually said that Trump's description of the brand-new land law has lots of false information and distortions.


Afrikaners are descended from mainly Dutch, however also French and German colonial settlers who first arrived in South Africa more than 300 years ago. They speak Afrikaans, a language obtained from Dutch that established in South Africa, and stand out from other white South Africans who come from British or other backgrounds.


Trump's 3rd week saw more executive orders, a trade war that wasn't and a Mideast jolt


WASHINGTON (AP) - Three weeks in, President Donald Trump keeps cranking out executive orders developed to remake the government while billionaire Elon Musk looks for more methods to upend the federal workforce.


Trump likewise provoked - then called off - trade wars with Canada and Mexico but enabled one with China to move forward. He seemingly minimized possibly thorny political problems while insisting he was severe about the United States seizing Gaza, emptying out its locals and redeveloping the area into "the Riviera of the Middle East." It was an idea that good friend and enemy alike all over the world declined.


Here are some Week 3 takeaways:


Trump has invested 20 days in office, and on almost each of them, he has actually signed executive orders - typically numerous.


Similar To Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden before him, Trump utilized Inauguration Day to put pen to paper on actions suggested to eliminate large numbers of his predecessor's policies. Trump also provided Day 1 orders to pardon most members of the mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, withdraw the U.S. from the Paris environment accord and keep TikTok operating.


31 thought Maoist rebels and 2 law enforcement officers are killed in forest combat in main India


PATNA, India (AP) - A minimum of 31 believed Maoist rebels and two police authorities were killed on Sunday in the deadliest combat up until now this year in main India, police said.


Numerous police and paramilitary soldiers launched an operation in the forests of the Indravati location of Chhattisgarh state based upon intelligence that large number of rebels had collected there, said state police Inspector General Pattilingam Sundarraj.


Sundarraj said as the troops carried out a search operation fighting appeared in the forest, killing at least 31 insurgents and two cops officials. Two other police were injured. He said search operations were continuing in the area and the troops had actually recuperated some arms and ammo, consisting of automated rifles.


There was no immediate declaration from the rebels.


Sunday's battling is the greatest up until now this year and the second significant clash in less than a month in Chhattisgarh, according to policemans Jitendra Yadav.


2 mass graves with bodies of nearly 50 migrants discovered in southeastern Libya


CAIRO (AP) - Libya authorities revealed nearly 50 bodies this week from 2 mass graves in the nation ´ s southeastern desert, authorities said Sunday, in the most recent disaster involving people looking for to reach Europe through the chaos-stricken North African country.


The very first mass tomb with 19 bodies was discovered Friday in a farm in the southeastern city of Kufra, the security directorate said in a declaration, adding that authorities took them for autopsy.


Authorities posted images on its Facebook page showing law enforcement officer and medics digging in the sand and recovering dead bodies that were wrapped in blankets.


The al-Abreen charity, which assists migrants in eastern and southern Libya, said that some were obviously shot and killed before being buried in the mass grave.


A separate mass grave with a minimum of 30 bodies was also discovered in Kufra after raiding a human trafficking center, according to Mohamed al-Fadeil, head of the security chamber in Kufra. Survivors said nearly 70 people were buried in the tomb, he included. Authorities were still browsing the location.


Rescuers hunt for 28 individuals still missing out on after a landslide in southwest China; 1 body recuperated


BEIJING (AP) - Emergency groups in China's southwestern Sichuan province fought against time Sunday to find 28 people missing after a rain-triggered landslide eliminated one individual and buried homes.


Nearly 1,000 workers, including armed authorities, firefighters and physician, continued to operate in the rescue operation following the landslide in the town of Jinping in Junlian county on Saturday. Some officers browsed through the remains of collapsed structures, using drones and life-detection radars to locate any signs of life with the aid of regional officials who were familiar with the location, state broadcaster CCTV said.


They rescued 2 injured individuals and evacuated about 360 other individuals after 10 houses and a production building were buried, CCTV reported.


At a press conference Sunday, authorities said preliminary evaluations associated the disaster to current heavy rainfall and local geological conditions. They said these elements changed a landslide into a debris flow, leading to an accumulation of debris stretching about 1.2 kilometers (majority a mile) in length, with a total volume going beyond 100,000 cubic meters (3.5 million cubic feet).


Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong was at the website to assist the rescue operation and visited the affected citizens. He urged authorities to make every effort to look for the missing individuals, according to main news company Xinhua.


Kosovo votes for brand-new parliament as foreign aid decreases and talks with Serbia are stalled


PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) - Kosovars cast their votes Sunday in a parliamentary election thought about a key test for Prime Minister Albin Kurti as talks on normalizing ties with competing Serbia remain stalled and foreign funding for one of Europe's poorest nations in question.


Kurti ´ s left-wing Vetevendosje!, or Self-Determination Movement Party, is viewed as the front-runner however is not anticipated to win the required majority to govern alone, leaving open the possibility the other two contenders join ranks if he fails to form a Cabinet.


The other challengers are the Democratic Party of Kosovo, or PDK, whose main leaders are detained at a global criminal tribunal at The Hague accused of war criminal offenses, and the Democratic League of Kosovo, or LDK, the earliest celebration in the nation that lost much of its support after the death in 2006 of its leader, Ibrahim Rugova.


The parties made big-ticket pledges to increase public salaries and pensions, improve education and health services, and fight poverty. However, they did not explain where the cash would originate from, nor how they would attract more foreign investment.


Kurti has actually been at odds with Western powers after his Cabinet took numerous actions that raised tensions with Serbia and ethnic Serbs, consisting of the restriction on using the Serbian currency and dinar transfers from Serbia to Kosovo ´ s ethnic Serb minority that depends on Belgrade ´ s social services and payments. The U.S., the European Union and the NATO-led stabilization force KFOR have actually advised the federal government in Pristina to refrain from unilateral actions, fearing the revival of inter-ethnic dispute.


Here's what we know about a commuter airplane crash in Alaska that eliminated 10 individuals


JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Authorities are working to recover the wreckage of an airplane crash in western Alaska that eliminated 10 individuals while investigators are trying to identify what triggered the little commuter aircraft to go down in the icy Bering Sea.


The single-engine turboprop airplane was traveling from Unalakleet to the center neighborhood of Nome when it vanished Thursday afternoon. The Bering Air airplane was found the next day after a comprehensive search. Nine guests and the pilot were eliminated.


Crews on Saturday was successful in recovering the remains of those killed in the crash from a drifting ice floe before the awaited beginning of high winds and snow.


Here are things to understand about the airplane crash, which is among the most dangerous airplane crashes in the state in 25 years.


Officials said contact with the Cessna Caravan was lost less than an hour after it left Unalakleet on Thursday. Authorities said the flight was a routinely scheduled commuter journey, and the aircraft went missing out on about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Nome.


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Trump's AI aspiration and China's DeepSeek overshadow an AI top in Paris


PARIS (AP) - The geopolitics of synthetic intelligence will remain in focus at a significant summit in France where world leaders, executives and professionals will hammer out promises on directing the development of the quickly advancing innovation.


It's the most recent in a series of international discussions around AI governance, however one that comes at a fresh inflection point as China's buzzy and economical DeepSeek chatbot shocks the market.


U.S. Vice President JD Vance - making his very first trip abroad since taking workplace - will participate in the Paris AI Action Summit beginning Feb. 10, while China's President Xi Jinping will be sending his unique envoy, indicating high stakes for the conference.


Here's a breakdown:


Presidents and leading government authorities, tech bosses and scientists are collecting in Paris for the two-day top cohosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The occasion aims to address how to harness expert system ´ s potential so that it benefits everybody, while containing the innovation ´ s myriad threats.