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Portuguese investigators search for cause of Lisbon streetcar crash that killed 16
LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- Portuguese officials are sifting through the wreckage of a streetcar in downtown Lisbon, trying to determine why the popular tourist attraction derailed during the busy summer season. The crash in Portugal's capital city Wednesday killed 16 people and injured 21, five of them seriously. Prime Minister Luis Montenegro called the derailment "one of the biggest tragedies of our recent past." Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas meanwhile said "the city needs answers." The Elevador da Gloria derailed during the evening rush hour Wednesday. The electric streetcar, also known as a funicular, provides a short and picturesque trip a few hundred meters up and down a steep city street.
Macron says 26 countries pledge troops as a reassurance force for Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- French President Emmanuel Macron says that 26 of Ukraine's allies have pledged to deploy troops as a "reassurance force" for the war-torn country once fighting ends in the conflict with Russia. Speaking after a meeting of the so-called "coalition of the willing" in Paris, Macron says the countries have committed to deploying troops in Ukraine -- or to maintaining a presence on land, at sea, or in the air -- to help guarantee the country's security the day after a ceasefire or peace is achieved. Earlier Thursday, Macron and other European leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the U.S. envoy for peace talks, Steve Witkoff.
Palestinian death toll passes 64,000, health officials say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Health officials in the Gaza Strip say that more than 64,000 have been killed in the nearly two-year war. Hamas and Israel meanwhile reiterated their incompatible demands for ending the fighting sparked by the militant group's attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Local hospitals said Thursday that Israeli strikes killed 28 people overnight. Israel is pressing ahead with its planned offensive in famine-stricken Gaza City. In the occupied West Bank, Israelis established a new settlement in a Palestinian city, according to an anti-settlement monitoring group.
Death toll from Afghan earthquake jumps to more than 2,200
JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AP) -- A Taliban government spokesman says the death toll from a major earthquake in Afghanistan has risen to 2,205. The shallow, magnitude-6.0 quake struck the mountainous and remote eastern part of the country late Sunday, leveling villages and trapping people under rubble. Most of the casualties have been in Kunar province, where people typically live in wood and mud-brick houses along steep river valleys separated by high mountains.. Rescue efforts are ongoing, but rough terrain and funding cuts are hindering relief. Afghanistan has already been facing drought, a weak economy, and the recent return of some 2 million refugees.