Israel to keep border crossing closed as it trades accusations of ceasefire violation with Hamas
The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, adding its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over the bodies of deceased hostages as the two sides continued to trade blame over ceasefire violations, Reuters.
Netanyahu's statement came shortly after the Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced that the Rafah crossing, the main gateway for Gazans to leave and enter the enclave, would reopen on Monday for entry into Gaza.
Netanyahu's government and Hamas have been trading blame over violations of the U.S.-mediated ceasefire for days. Late on Saturday in Washington, the State Department said it had received "credible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the people of Gaza."
Afghanistan pulls out of cricket series after it says Pakistan air strike killed local players
Afghanistan has pulled out of an upcoming cricket series after three players in a local tournament were killed in an air strike it blamed Pakistan for, BBC reported.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said it would withdraw from November's tri-nation T20 series out of respect for the dead. The three did not play for the national team.
The strike hit a home in Urgon district in Paktika province, where the players were eating dinner after a match, witnesses and local officials told the BBC.
Eight people were killed, the ACB said. Pakistan said the strike hit militants and denied targeting civilians, according to BBC.
Chinese Nobel laureate and physicist Chen Ning Yang dies aged 103
Chen Ning Yang, Nobel laureate and one of the world's most influential physicists, has died at the age of 103, according to Chinese state media.
An obituary released by CCTV cited illness as the cause of death.
Yang and fellow theoretical physicist, Lee Tsung-Dao, were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957 for their work in parity laws, which led to important discoveries regarding elementary particles - the building blocks of matter.
US says Hamas is planning 'imminent' attack on Gaza civilians
The US State Department says it has "credible reports" that Hamas is planning an "imminent" attack on civilians in Gaza, which it says would violate the ceasefire agreement, BBC reported.
A statement released on Saturday said a planned attack against Palestinians would be a "direct and grave" violation of the ceasefire agreement and "undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts".
The state department did not not provide further details on the attack and it is unclear what reports it was citing, according to BBC.
